Christmas 2011

Baby girl,
Hey sweet girl. Boy are you walking! You want to walk and not be carried. You are really gettibg good at it too.
Last weekend we had a family Christmas gathering at Stella. The furnace quit so we had to use space heaters. The living room furniture was not delivered so we all sat in camp chairs or game table chairs. No dining room furniture either. We also had to use air mattresses. With all that, we had an amazing time. You tiddler around everywhere. There is lots of room for you to walk and walk. Tucker was a big chicken and stayed close yo your daddy the whole time. Lots of memories were made.
As always, grammy loves you. 12-21-2011 Avery

Christmas 2011

you are walking!

Hey sweet girl,
You are walking everwhere! You are a little stiff legged but are so proud of yourself.  Your personality is really beginning to show. You are so much fun!
Saturday you and your parents came to Stella and you loved the horses across the street. You  are such and animal lover.
You played with the snowmen today that are out for Christmas. When Papa came home, you had to show him how you could get in and out of your rocking chair by yourself. You were super proud of yourself. Then you showed him that you could get on and off your firetruck all by yourself. You kept eye contact with him to make sure he was watching. We had a great day today.

as always, grammy loves you! 11-28-2011 Avery

wind in your hair

Sweet baby,
Today was a great day. The weather was warm and sunny. You love to play outside better than anything and today was perfect for outdoors. I took a blanket out for us since you don't like to crawl in the grass. Boy, did that change today. You were crawling everywhere as fast as you could go. You were so carefree. You were not aware of how dirty you were getting. To you, dirt is a by product of fun. You washed up just fine. lol
At one point, we were sitting on the blanket and the wind was blowing slightly through your hair while you played with leaves. I was overwhelmed with thanksgiving for such a special little girl and the amazing blessing of getting to take care of you. I sat and watched you and praised God in my heart.
Me and Papa get the keys to the farm Thursday. We have so many plans for having fun with you there.
You have several grandparents that love you so much. Your papa says you can't have too many people to love you. We all need as many folks in our corner as we can. You, my sweet one, have many!
As always, Grammy loves you! 11-7-2011 Avery

birthday girl

Sweet girl,
Last week and weekend was pretty busy. You turned one last wed. You are growing up so fast. You had your third tooth break through last week. This one was hard for you. One day you crawled up in my lap and went to sleep. I loved it. Your birthday party was great. Your momma worked so hard for it to be good. It turned out wonderful. You even had cake in your hair. Last night we went with you and your daddy and momma to Ghouls at the zoo. Your eyes would get big when you saw some of the things. You were by far the cutest lady bug there.
This last year with you has been amazing! You are such a joy. Watching you grow and learn has been so much fun. You have so many people who love you. That is such a blessing.
As always, Grammy loves you! 10-24-2011 Avery

lots of energy

Sweet Avery,
Wow do you have some energy! It is so fun to play with you and try to keep up with your energy. You have learned how to communicate with the people that are around you often. You have a way to ask if it is ok to touch something. You are careful about new things and whether touching and exploring them is ok. Today, you were curious but very cautious with the tomato plants. It was fun to watch you touch them then pull back quickly and see what the plant was going to do. What a blessing to get tobhelp you learn and grow!
As always, Grammy loves you! 10-14-2011 Avery

fun times

Sweet girl,
Wow, are you growing and learning! We have so much fun playing. You are starting to point at your nose. Today you were amazed by your knees. You aren't walking but you are cruising everywhere. You try to put shoes on by mashing the shoe and your foot together. It is really cute to watch.
You love trees and leaves. Lights are also a favorite of yours.
Sometimes I just sit and watch you. God blessed us all when He healed your momma's womb. You are loved by so many.
As always, Grammy loves you! 10-06-2011 Avery

sweet things

To my sweet grandbaby,
Just a couple of things today...I will always cherish the way your eyes smile and you bounce when you are on the floor playing and I reach for you. My heart smiles everytime!
Naptime is always hard at my house. I can not stand to let cry and you know it! So many times I end up getting you up and laying down with you. The sweetest thing ever happens at some of these naptimes. You will snuggle your face as close as you can to me, your knees against my tummy and your feet against my legs. As I begin to feel you twitch as you fall asleep, I see your pretty eyelashes resting in your cheeks. What an amazing experience!
Sweet girl, when your
 mama was pregnant with you, I often imagined what you would be like and how it would feel to be a grandmother. In my best imagination I had no clue how great it would be or how precious you would be.
As always, Grammy loves you. 09-20-2011 Avery

fun days

Hey baby girl,
I had a chance to have your company two days this week. You are so much fun! You giggle freely now and smile all the time. You have the most amazing dimples. Pointing is your favorite thing to do right now. You point at everything and jabber all the time. I can just sit and watch you. I get excited to think of all the fun things we can do in the future. It is hard to believe that you will be 11 months old in a few days.
As always baby, Grammy loves you! 09-16-2011 Avery

poor tucker

Hi there sweet girl, you were with me two days this week plus part of last night. You are growing so fast. You can crawl like a champ and pull up on everything. You are learning what no means and testing your boundaries with me. You will smile and go for whatever it is.
You are learning to hug and it is so sweet. I must say that your dog "Tucker" is a saint of a dog. He lets you climb on him, hit him, chase him and just about anything else. Poor puppy, he is so good with you. You love him so much.
Well baby girl, as always Grammy loves you and am so blessed to get to spend so much time with you. 09-11-2011 Avery

mobile and nosey girl

Sweet grandbaby,

My goodness, you are crawling everywhere. You are pulling up on anything you see. Pointing is one of your favorite things now. You point at everything and say dada. I tell you to say grammy and you say dada. When you are playing you are saying dada. Enough with the dada. Just kidding baby. Your relationship with your daddy is one of the most important and wonderful you can have. All the other relationships are important but girls need to be the apple of their daddy's eye. My daddy (your great grandpa) was my very favorite person in my life. I was the apple of his eye until your momma came along. He loved her so much! She loved him back.

You are trying to hug your stuffed animals. It is so cute.

You are learning what "no" means. You are testing your boundaries but seem to know what is off limits. You will look at me and do what you know is a no no to see if the rules are the same today as yesterday.

You are growing up so fast. I am overwhelmed with the love I feel when I look at you. You are my little girl's girl. And I am your Grammy! Love you bunches!

busy girl

Baby girl,
You are loving your new mobility. You are everywhere now. It is so fun to watch you explore. You are learning what 'no' means and you are not a fan. You are generous with your kisses and Grammy loves that. I was calling you hurricane avery today. What a mess a little girl can make. (You know I dont mind).
When you were a newborn I would rub your cute little feet. You still like me to do that. When you are taking your bottle you put your feet in my hand for me to rub. I love this.
Again, Grammy loves you and am so blessed to have time with you. 08-19-2011 Avery

grumpy girl crawling

Dear Avery,
You are crawling everywhere! You are fast too.  You stayed with Grammy today. You were quite the grump most of the day. Temper!! If you just take your nap without so much fighting, you would have more time to play.
At some point today, you decided to be happy and was so much fun. Loved crawling around with you and watching you explore.
Regardless of how grumpy you are, I love having you. You are an amazing little girl. Grammy's girl always.
Love you, Grammy 08-08-2011 Avery

Aug 2, 2011

My sweet Avery,
Boy, are you crawling now! You are so curious. My daddy (your great grandpa) used to call your mother "nibby" because he said she was nosy. He adored her. I am sorry you can't get to know him.
I was looking at your hands today as you slept. Your little knuckles are indented so cute. You have the longest fingers. Papa wants to teach you piano one day.
Your first tooth has broken the gum this week! You chew on everything you can put in your mouth. More teeth to come.
You love to wave and play peek-a-boo. Your dimples are the best. Everytime you giggle you get hiccups.
Well baby, that is all for now. Grammy loves you! 08-02-2011 Avery

A little late but not too late to start.

I became a Grammy on Oct 19, 2010.I had full intentions of beginning to record in writing the wonderful days with sweet Avery but have not as if yet. I have lots of pictures and videos but wanted to write from my perspective my thoughts of her. So this blog is going to be written to her so one day it will be a love letter to her from her Grammy Barb.

 To my dear Avery,

 You are my first grandbaby and was I excited for the whole pregnancy! Me and your momma are great friends as well as mother daughter. I love your mommy with all my heart. She involved me in the steps of preparing for your arrival and I felt I kinda knew you already.

The day you were born was the most wonderful day! When I first saw your little swollen pink face, I said, "she looks just like Brittany".  It was like looking at your momma's sweet face all those years ago. Oh, the feeling of looking at my granddaughter for the first time! There is absolutely no words to describe. It is instant love but different from the instant love of looking at your own child for the first time. You were beautiful and perfect!

The first few weeks were a whirlwind for me. I wanted to see you everyday but wanted to not overstep my boundaries. Your momma and daddy were doing such a great job, they did not need me to come over all the time but did allow me to very often. I just wanted to hold you and look at you.

Boy, the next few months flew by. You were starting to smile and giggle. Looking at your hands and feet. Rolling over by yourself. You were changing everyday. Finally, in Feb 2011, your momma went back to work. It was not finally for her but it was for me because I got to keep you on the days she worked. Just like Heaven to me!
It is now the end of July 2011 and we have had great fun. I have watched you go from only milk to some solids and since you are with me all day, I get to watch your reaction to foods and learn your likes and dislikes. You are trying sooo hard to crawl and have for your momma and daddy. You are pulling up and love to stand up as much as possible. On our days you spend a great deal of time standing and sitting on me. I do not mind at all. We spend almost all day in the floor playing and learning. I am reminded as I watch you sleep, that you are a true miracle. The Lord healed your momma's womb and gave us you. I spent alot of time saying thank you Lord for this precious child.

One last thing before ending today, I must mention the nasty little habit you have now of throwing temper tantrums. As temper tantrums go, you are really good at it. You momma was too, so I have been trained. hehe 07-30-2011 Avery