In a state of chaos...

...more so than normal. Ha. :) So, Andy is off all this week from work and originally we had planned to head back to Disney but then we decided to surprise the kids at Christmas...so, this week we are home and we are busy, busy, busy around the house. Things are being painted, I'm organizing and throwing stuff out/donating like crazy, spring cleaning, etc. I don't have time to do details, yet, but here are a few pictures of Avi-Kate in her room right before Andy and AG started painting it moments ago. She's excited about her new big girl room. 

Can't believe that she'll be a year old one week from today! This year has flown by. Oh, and she started walking yesterday! Andy was really excited to be home to see it. More updates soon...

Half way there...

...hard to believe that Avi-Kate is sixth months old already. Her first birthday will be here before we know it. Which is crazy because I feel like you just arrived Peanut. (Really though, you are not a peanut...you are more like a Butter bean these days!) At your 6 month appointment you were 18lbs and 3.9 ounces and 26 inches long. These days you love to sit, sit, sit and roll, roll, roll. AG is your biggest source of entertainment and the two of you feed off of each other. It's quite comical to watch the two of you interact. Your Dad and I hope that you two will always be best buds.

You love to eat! You are already eating two full solid meals a day and your doctor said to bump you to three because you are doing so well with it. She was very pleased with your progress and all that you are doing...including how strong you are and how well you stand up. I'm not certain if you'll walk as early as AG did, 10 months, but I can totally see you being a master crawler and racing to keep up with your brother. I'm sure if you could you'd do it right now because you love to be where ever he is at.

You love to chat with me early in the mornings while we snuggle in bed and AG is still snoozing. You just giggle and 'talk' to your little hearts content. You are quite taken with Samson these days and love to watch him.  You chew on pretty much anything you can get your little hands on. The doctor says those lower incisors should come in in about 8 weeks or so...we'll see.

We love you so much sweet girl! And we are so grateful that you joined our family six months ago. We are looking forward to celebrating your first Christmas in a few short days!

Here are a few sixth month pictures:

Five Months Old...

Are you really five months old almost six? Crazy how quickly the days seem to fly by. Before I know it we'll be planning your first birthday party! This month we've seen you start to sit alone and master rolling on to your back. You currently wear a size three diaper and sleep at least nine hours a night. We figured out that you had a touch of reflux and needed to switch to a formula geared towards reflux babies. (Thank heavens for a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for a grandmother and a Pharmacist for an Aunt!) We quickly got you squared away and it has made a huge difference. You've been a great baby and so we had no reason to suspect that you might have this till your spitting up became extremely excessive the last month or so. (Conveniently, after your four month check-up!) After consulting with GiGi and Aunt Meg we decided to just try switching your formula before trying medicine. (Especially, since most kids begin to wean off medicine for reflux around six months.) You have become a better/even happier baby, if that's even possible. And thankfully, you can now eat more than 3 to 4 ounce in one sitting. You take 6 ounces now and your back to sleeping thru the night again. You've also really started to enjoy 'meal time' and tasting solids. You also LOVE to sit in the high chair since it makes you feel a part of the daily chaos that is life here at 320 E. 11th Street. You light up when your brother is near. He can always make you smile. And you have taken an interest in Samson this last month. We can't wait to celebrate Christmas this year with you. Thanks for being our Avi-Cakes. We love you dearly!

A few pictures from our five month shoot. Due to the weather we opted for indoors. So far, these are some of my favorites of all the monthly ones I've taken. 

Sittin' Pretty.

Look who is sitting up like a big girl these days. I can't believe how quickly she is growing up and changing. Oh, how she makes my little heart happy. Avi-Kate, your daddy and I love you dearly, sweet girl. Are you really almost six months old? It's flying by and we are cherishing every single moment. 

November 17th--First time by herself.

November 24th--Happy Thanksgiving! A little evening play time on the couch.

November 29th--A few weeks over due but 5 month pictures.

AG walking...captured on video...

Well we captured a video and I've tried for over an hour to get it to load to the previous post...for whatever reason Blogger will not let me load it to the previous post. So I'm going to try and load it to this post.

Excuse AG's getup...we had mac-n-cheese with dinner and despite wearing a bib he ended up with a ton on his overalls. Andy took 'em off so that he could play. We couldn't decide if he looked like an old man or a hillbilly. You decide. :)

Walking...

Well, AG hit a huge milestone this last week! He started walking! His pediatrician predicted at his 6 month check-up that he would walk before his first birthday and he started right at 10 1/2 months. Last Tuesday night we were in the kitchen and we did a double take because we thought we saw him do something but we weren't sure. The next day I was on the phone and sure enough he started walking towards me! I ended up stripping him down because his footed pjs weren't helping him and I wanted to see what all he could do. He started with 3-5 steps at a time. He would get excited, clap for himself, and then fall down...thus starting this whole process over again. We celebrated with dinner at Chick-fil-A for chicken nuggets...it was a nice way to end a rainy Wednesday. Also, check out that red hair coming in. :)

So proud of himself.

Multitasking it...

What a big man!

Since last week he's done up to 9 to 12 steps in a row. He's starting to get the hang of it. I'm still trying to get it on video...when I do I'll post it. Emma came over for dinner last night and AG enjoyed trying to keep up with her. Andy and I are looking forward to seeing him walking with his cousin Ronnie in two weeks for Christmas...last time we saw her she was almost walking. Should be fun. :)