End of week picnic!

Our fun week in southern california ended with a great picnic gathering of family and friends organized by my mom and dad near their home in Corona del Mar. It was fabulous to see so many people who have loved and supported us through our pregnancy. People came from near and far to meet our sweet Avery and she had a great time. Thank you to everyone who made it and we missed those who couldn't. Here are some pictures from the special day!

Visiting Orange County, Part 2

We spent the week of July 19th in Orange County and every day was full of visits to family and friends. We spent a great day Monday with Guy's sister Melanie and her 3 kids- Savanah, Ava and Lily. Avery loved meeting her cousins! Tuesday we were all over LA visiting Christie's childhood friend Brenda and having dinner with Guy's old colleagues from Century City. Wednesday and Thursday we enjoyed Corona del Mar, checking out the Laguna Art Festival (running into Melanie and Savanah!) and walking Balboa Island with mom. Friday Christie met up with some more childhood friends. We also had dinners with Christie's extended family- Aunt Sandy and Uncle Rich, Aunt Arlene and Uncle Bill, cousin Jeff and wife Becca. We feel incredibly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family so close in southern california. Avery loved being held, kissed and loved by everyone. We took a ton of pictures and wish we could publish them all, but here are a few!

Our trip to Southern California, Part 1

Guy, Avery and I hit the road from July 17-26 to visit family and friends who hadn't met Avery. Our first challenge was figuring out and packing all the things we now need to travel with a baby. Holy cow! I was making a list for days prior to our departure and trying to figure out how we'd fit it all in the car. It's amazing how much stuff you use with a baby. After we conquered the packing task, we drove out Friday night and headed to stay with Guy's parents in Lompoc for 2 days. The normal 4 hour drive from SF took 6.5 hours as we stopped multiple times to feed, burp and diaper Avery. More things to learn with the baby! We rolled in around midnight, tired and looking forward to a few days of rest. Here are some pictures of Avery with her Valenzona grandparents. We enjoyed seeing some Lompoc friends who stopped by and went to a local church on Sunday to hear Pastor Wayne from Oahu speak. It was a special visit. On Sunday the 19th we packed up again and headed for the OC...

A visit from Nana and Papa Howard!

This week we were blessed with a visit from Nana Judy and Papa Bob. What fun we had as my mom and dad were able to hold, hug, swaddle, feed, burp and laugh with Avery. They were a huge help to me around the house- with cleaning, cooking and anything else they found that need a bit of work. We had a heat wave this week too, so we enjoyed the pool, taking turns jumping in while someone was on "Avery watch" during her naps. We got out and about as well, with a quick trip over the GG Bridge into the city, a picnic in Corte Madera and a walk with avery in the stroller along the water. We forgot the camera most of the time, but we were able to take some great shots of Avery with her nana/papa on Wednesday night. You can see how proud they are!

Cute moments captured

This week we've captured some cute moments with Avery. She loves bath time, especially being wrapped in her froggy towel at the end. She also has a new buddy- seahorse. He plays soothing music and she loves that on her changing table. I had them hanging out today as we practiced sitting up with Avery. Earlier this week Avery turned 2 months old (July 3rd!) and we captured that as she tried on her 4th of July outfit the next day. Tonight I also captured a precious moment with daddy and daughter. Notice her little hand wrapped around his next. Priceless...

Active, active, active!

Avery's favorite thing to do lately is just hang out under her activity gym. She loves to be on her back and stare, laugh and kick her legs at all the brightly colored toys hanging down. We used to just think she was staring into space and might get bored, but I read recently that when she stares at these bright colors her brain is working overtime and developing. She really loves it! We're having a great time watching her explore and laugh more, especially as she sees herself in the hanging mirror. Guy was watching her this morning and took some fun video. She's having such a good time and she actually tried to roll over for the first time as he took the video. Fun times!

Avery gets stronger

As Avery hits the 8 week mark (how did the time fly so fast?!) we've been enjoying lots of tummy time to help her strengthen and develop her neck, back and arms. She seems to love this special time- making lots of cooing noises and looks very determined every time we roll her onto her tummy. The doctor told us that tummy time also works on our chest and when we burp her over our shoulder. Tonight she was laying on my chest and Guy took this cute video of her practicing holding up her head. We can't believe how strong she is already! We hope you enjoy this glimpse of our darling, precious girl!!

Avery meets more visitors

We've been really blessed to be able to visit lots of great friends during my maternity leave. In the past few weeks we've had lots of fun introducing Avery around. College friend Erika Givens came to visit with her adorable twin boys, Reid and Luke. Avery and I took our biggest road trip so far up to Sacramento to visit my college roommate, Sara, and her whole family. It was great to see her parents Sue and Steve and sister Stephanie and all her precious kids. More recently, mom, Michelle and I headed into SF to have lunch with dear childhood friend Erika Hansen. We'll miss Erika when she moves south to Pasadena in August!

Nana and Auntie visit Avery

While Guy went to Young Life camp last week, we had a great visit from Nana Judy and Auntie Michelle. Mom and Michelle were a HUGE help for me as they learned and helped with all aspects of caring for Avery each day. They helped diaper, burp, rock and even gave bottles to Avery. I know they loved every minute and it gave me a chance to get a few extra things done and rest more. When Guy returned from camp we even went out to dinner and away overnight to celebrate our 2nd Anniversary. It was a big deal to leave Avery for the first time and she was in great hands with mom and Michelle. They made a great team all through the night. Big thanks for all their help! Here are some fun pictures from their visit. Avery misses her Nana and Auntie already!