Five months of Avery

It occurred to me I haven't been posting these, so here's the latest!


Dear Avery,

Today you’re five months old. I’m pretty sure I’ll say this for your entire life, but I can’t believe it. I still think of you as my little tiny baby, and the fact that you still wake up several times every night helps me stay in the newborn frame of mind. I spent a few hours today organizing closets. I went through through all of your clothes, packing away the many items that are now too small, making room for the new outfits in bigger sizes that you couldn’t possible fit into, except that you do. In fact, you’ve already outgrown some of them.

You’re at a place where it’s hard to ignore you are indeed getting older and growing every day, but you still need us on such a deep level. You can’t yet sit up on your own. For now, you still rely on me for all of your nourishment, but that’s not going to last too much longer. You watch us eat with a new fascination and interest. A few nights ago, you watched your dad with such intent, staring at his fork as it made its way to his mouth. When he did finally eat the bite, you cried. You were truly so upset by this process, the bitter injustice that this precious morsel was not for you! This cycle repeated itself throughout the meal. So, I think it’s safe to say we’ll be starting you on solids soon.

You are full of joy. You smile all the time. It took you a little while to get used to daycare, but now you’re doling out the smiles to everyone. You are reliably joyful once someone has won you over. When you do cry, we’ve found a secret weapon: Bob the Builder. If you start to fuss, every scream, you will immediately light up when I start singing the Bob the Builder song. Turns out, yes, we can fix it! Fortunately your brother loves to sing that as much as you like to hear it, so we have used that to our advantage to make both of you happy a few times.

You love your feet. Sometimes you lunge at that as if you’re stalking prey. If your sitting in your carseat or hanging out in your swing, sometimes you will sit for minutes at a time with both legs sticking up in the air. I think it’s just so you can see them better while you work out a plot to get them in your mouth. You are also rolling all over the place now. I’m still not sure where you think you’re going but it seems to be an important missing. Hardly a night goes by when we don’t find you curled up against the very edge of your crib, sometimes with a limb stuck through the bars. Last week you managed to get both your arm and your leg tucked down next to the mattress. I fear for the next few months as you begin crawling and eventually walking! You do not like to sit still! I have no idea where you get that from…

This year has been a tough one, and the last month has brought a lot of heartache and turmoil to our lives. But you, my sweet girl, are the brightest spot of light this year. If everything else crumbles this year, we still cherish you as the beacon. This year has taught us that every moment is precious. YOU are precious. I thank God that he brought you in to our lives, especially this year.

With so much love,
Mama