Nap Time with daddy...

Another quick video we took of Avery as she sleep on daddy's lap after a long day with the infant photo shoot photographer. She's just too cute- we can't get enough of her. Enjoy!

Nap Times...

Because newborns don't interact much in their first month, some of our most cherished and cute times with her have been as she's drifting off to sleep or waking up. We love to watch her as she sleeps, she's so beautiful (we're biased!) and so peaceful. She's also starting to develop darling facial gestures and movements which we captured here on video. In this one she's curled up on Christie's lap and, if you look closely, Avery shows a quick smile after being kissed on head. Too cute! We are cherishing these moments and hope you will too!

Visitors for Avery

Since Avery's birth 23 days ago (yes we count each amazing day!) we've been blessed with friends coming to visit and also bringing much-appreciated meals. We want to send BIG thanks to everyone who has come by with meals for us during this sleep and cooking deprived time. We have loved every piece of chicken, enchilada, salads, tri tip and yummy desserts. Thank you, thank you for your generous provision. Avery has loved meeting our friends who've come by. Here are some pictures of our visitors with Avery- Wendy Tribbey and Amy Hann, Sheri McCampbell and her sister Breanna, Dana Hojsack and Liz Zarr. We'd love to see more friends who want to come by and meet Avery!

Sleeping Beauty.

We're posting our first video of Avery to see how this works on the blog. This is just a short glimpse of Avery's many adorable faces she makes as she sleeps. We got really excited this week when we started seeing her first smiles, but then learned that the smiles are pretty much a response to her being gassy and not about her being excited to see us (we're still entertained!). The good news is that her real smiles should start after a month or so. We can't wait for that! We're totally entranced by our daughter and hope you are too. We'll definitely be using our video camera more and posting so you can see her closer up. Happy Smiles!

Nursing times are bonding times

One of the unexpected joys we've experienced in our first 10 days as parents is the special time we get to spend with Avery after I nurse, during "burping time". At first it was awkward to try and get her over my shoulder to get that every important burp out so she'd feel better, but now we realize she loves the pressure on her tummy and has some of her more peaceful moments in this position. She also gets feisty at times, lifting herself up on her arms and holding up her head- she's so strong! These times also seem to provide great picture moments so we've recorded a few to share here. Oh the simple joys!

Avery's first workout

One of the amazing shower gifts we were blessed with was the BOB jogger stroller. This is an great stroller that is lightweight and allows you to go out for a walk or run with the baby. We were excited to get this gift from a bunch of our friends in San Francisco and I've been eager to use it with Avery. After a few days of being home from the hospital I was feeling pretty good in my recovery and antsy to get out of the house. My mom and I decided to try my first post-delivery walk around the neighborhood so we loaded Avery into the infant seat which clips into the jogger. She loved it! The rolling vibration sent her into a peaceful sleep and we enjoyed the walk around our neighborhood. After the walk we brought her back into the house and she was still groggy from her sleep so we laid her in the bassinett and she stretched out like she'd had the biggest workout in the world- so cute!! Thank you to all our friends who contributed to the jogger gift. I'm getting great use out of it already!

Life at home with Avery

It's been 5 days since Avery came into the world and there hasn't been a dull moment since. I'm learning how to operate on 3 hours of sleep and change diapers by the light of the moon. We're figuring out which crys mean what and how to anticipate the next feeding. I've also become a pro at doing everything with one hand as I hold my awesome daughter in the other. Life has certainly changed and what a blessing it has been. Guy has been an incredible partner in this process, loving "daddy/daughter hang-out time" and my mom has been a savior making meals and helping around the house. We had our first pediatrician visit yesterday and they say she's super healthy and doing great. Yeah Avery! We're trying to restrain ourselves from taking pictures of her every move, but it's hard- she's adorable. Here are some pictures of recent time at home- Mom and Dad made a great Welcome Home sign, Guy and Avery taking the first of many naps together, Guy and I fumble through our first sponge bath, and too many cute moments in the bassinet. We are in love!

Avery Grace has arrived!!

Was it the Preggo Pizza? Was it that our daughter is so smart she knew her exact due date to kick me into labor? We'll never know, but what we do know is that Avery Grace came into the world on Sunday, May 3rd at 9:03am weighing 6lbs, 13ozs and measuring a long and lean 20 inches. I had no signs of labor most of the day Saturday until mom, Guy and I were watching a movie at home and my water broke. We headed straight for Marin General, checking in at 10:30pm. After 3 hours of excruciating contractions (I have a new appreciation for the term "labor") I was blessed with the most heavenly epidural I could ever know. My support team "aka Guy and mom" were amazing. We were also very impressed by the team of doctors and nurses at the hospital. I had great care all around. My dad drove up from southern cal when he got the labor call so my family was able to celebrate together. We've attached some pictures of this amazing experience. We're thrilled to finally meet Avery and can't wait to introduce her around!

Preggo Pizza!

Have you heard the legend of Skipolini's pizza? Apparently 15 years ago a woman wandered into this pizzeria in the east bay and was very overdue with her baby. She asked them to make a pizza that would make her deliver. They promptly made up a 4 lb creation of 6 meats, spices and all the veggies. She had her baby that night! Since that day, this pizza place has become famous for their "Preggo Pizza". Some call it the Inducer. Needless to say, I was told about this place yesterday by 2 different people. I thought it was worth looking into so I checked out the site and saw that it wasn't too far from where we were picking up mom from the airport yesterday. Guy, mom and I took a roadtrip to Skipolini's in Walnut Creek and promptly ordered the infamous Preggo Pizza! Check out the history of this pizza here: http://www.skipolinispizza.com/prego.php When we arrived, the owner told us I was the SIXTH pregnant woman that day to come in for the pizza! In fact, preggos apparently come in daily! We brought the pizza home and had it for dinner. No labor yet, but she said it can kick in within 48 hours. So far she's had 60 women call in after eating the pizza to announce their labor. Whether it works or not, it was a fun adventure and a great story!!