Back to Church!!

We have not been very consistent with our church attendance since Avery was born. The few times we have been, we have kept Avery with us during the service. She was always very good, but I was on the edge of my seat ready to take her out if I needed to. And we were really starting to miss our Sunday School class. So this week we decided it was time for Avery to go to the nursery. I think I was more nervous about where to go and what to do than I was about leaving her. (We've had lots of practice with daycare) But our friends, Paul and Kelly, arrived at the same time to drop Luke off for his first day in the nursery, too. Of course, we had to commemorate the day with a picture. Luckily, Kelly remembered her camera :)

Avery's Room

Our friend Katie requested that I post pictures of Avery's room. Since Avery decided to make her grand entrance a little early, we didn't exactly have her room finished by the time she arrived. So last time Katie was at our house, the nursery was still in shambles. Hopefully, it looks a little better now.

Another Lazy Saturday

On Saturday mornings, we all get to sleep in! Then we hang out in bed playing with Avery and Tucker until at least 10:00 when Ben gets up and cooks a big breakfast. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite Hopper family traditions! Today was no exception. After we finally got up, we made a quick trip to Lowes but had to put our yardwork on hold because of the rain. So our friends John and Mary came over to visit for a while. When they arrived, Avery and Anna were dressed in perfectly coordinated outfits. We, of course, had to take some pictures. Mary and I laughed about how much things had changed since the girls were born. Instead of going out to a nice restaurant for dinner we stay in and order pizza now. And instead of hanging out well into the night, we have to cut our visits short due to fussy babies who are up past their bedtime :)

Our Mini-Vacation

Our good friends, Andrew and Victoria, moved to Louisiana last year so we don't get to visit as often as we would like. They have two girls, Allie who is 2 1/2 and Anna Grace who is 9 days older than Avery. We had not seen them since before the little ones were born. So when we found out they were going to be in Knoxville for Andrew's Spring Break, we jumped at the chance to visit for a few days. Allie was so sweet with the babies and Avery couldn't take her eyes off Allie! Thursday night we ate dinner at Andrew's grandma's house and played outside for a while before watching the basketball game. Victoria and I really wanted some pictures of the girls together. Unfortunately, we couldn't get them all to smile for the camera at the same time. On Friday we all headed to Chattanooga to spend a few hours at the Aquarium. Avery was more interested in watching the fish than I expected. She loved watching the jellyfish float around in the colored lights!

Happy Easter

We all had a wonderful, bunny-filled Easter weekend visiting my family in Morristown! We arrived late Friday night and, after opening all of the baby gifts that had arrived since our last visit, went straight to bed. Saturday morning, Avery got to open her Easter gifts from her Mimi and Granddad. She got a cute bunny, ducky and wrist rattle. But her favorites were three little bugs that attach to her carseat. She spent the rest of the weekend mesmerized by the butterfly! That afternoon we took Avery to the Easter Egg hunt at the Country Club. I know, I know, she is too little to look for eggs but I wanted to get her picture with the Easter Bunny. He turned out to be kind of scary looking. Luckily, Avery didn't seem to notice. She just had fun petting his fur! Continuing the bunny theme...Avery slept in her little bunny gown and wrapped up in her bunny towel after bath time on Sunday. In her Easter basket, she had another bunny and Guess How Much I Love You along with some other little toys. So far, her new pacifier is the only thing she has shown any interest in :) After church, we headed back to the club for lunch. We made it home just in time to change into our gameday attire and cheer the Vols on to a spot in the Sweet Sixteen!!

Pretty Princess

Last time we went to visit my parents, Avery talked her grandmother into buying her a cute pink headband with a gigantic taffeta bow! Ben thinks it's pretty silly and I'll admit it's too big to wear everyday. But she looks so cute in it I couldn't resist a little photo shoot while she was in a good mood last night!

Daddy's New Car

We took Ben's car to the shop Monday morning for what we thought would be an oil change and a new battery. Instead, we found out it needed a bunch of expensive repairs! So we decided that money would be better spent on a new car. Not that we have ever really enjoyed car shopping, but we quickly found out that car shopping with a two month old is just plain miserable. Avery cried the entire time and went through 2 bottles, 2 bibs, 3 burp cloths and 2 outfits in just under 4 hours. We think they finally accepted our offer just to get rid of us :)
Otherwise, it has been a rather uneventful week at our house. So I am posting some random pictures we have taken recently.
Avery is now wearing some of her 3 month outfits! So last night, I packed up all the clothes that she has outgrown to make more room in her closet. I had forgotten just how tiny some of her preemie clothes were!

This week she is starting to show more interest in her toys. She has a little phone rattle that she holds and shakes some. She loves watching the mobile over her bassinette and the birds on her swing. And she is beginning to babble quite a bit. So I now spend hours at a time trying to get her to talk to me.

Avery is also interacting with Tucker now. Recently, she has started watching him a lot more. She even pets him when he gets within arm's reach! Tucker loves his baby and runs to meet her at the door when she gets home from school. And he snuggles up with her to take naps on the couch.

Two Month Pictures

What a crazy week it's been! We somehow survived the return to work and daycare. However, Avery is still not feeling well so we went back to the pediatrician. Her cold has developed into a slight case of bronchiolitis. So she is now taking Robitussin, which has helped her cough tremendously. But her doctor recommended that she not go to daycare Thursday or Friday to prevent her from catching anything else. Luckily, Ben and I were able to juggle our appointments so one of us could be home with her while the other one worked. In the mean time, Ben and I have both caught Avery's cold. Hopefully, we will all be able to recouperate over the weekend.

With all the excitement, I never posted Avery's two month pictures. Despite her not-so-great mood, we got a couple of cute photos. Our tiny girl is not so tiny anymore! She is 21 inches long and weighs 9 lb 1 oz!

Avery's First Day of School

The dreaded day is here...Avery went to daycare this morning and I am officially back at work. We took a few pictures to commemorate Avery's first day of school. But I think she was more interested in trying to go back to sleep. She couldn't quite figure out why I was making her get out of bed so early this morning. Then Ben and I took her at about 8:00 to meet her teacher and get her all settled in. She did just fine. As soon as I laid her down in her crib, she went right back to sleep. There is only one little boy in her class right now. He is just a few days older than Avery. Her teacher, Miss Helen, said there are two more little boys who will be joining the class later this month. So Little Miss Avery will be the only girl! I managed to make it back to the car before I cried. Since I don't have any patients scheduled today, I spent the morning making phone calls and getting organized. Now I am just trying to occupy my time until Ben lets me go pick her up in about an hour :)

Meeting the Great-Grandparents

Ben's grandparents came to visit us this weekend to meet Avery for the first time. They arrived Thursday afternoon before Ben got home from Jackson. So Avery and I met them at Olive Garden for a late lunch. After Avery's doctors appointment on Friday, we had a big lunch then headed to Franklin for a little shopping. Papaw found a rifle he has been looking for. And Nana was excited to visit Dillards and Macy's. Avery must have been worn out from her big day because she slept from 11:30 until 7:00 am! Yay!! After we all finally woke up, Ben put Papaw to work fixing our fence so that Tucker can't escape through the drainage ditch. We spent the remainder of the afternoon teaching Nana and Papaw to bowl on the Wii! Then it was off to Outback for dinner. After all, a visit with Nana and Papaw wouldn't be complete without a trip to Outback :) We had a great visit. However, Nana and I realized as they were leaving that we had only taken one picture! Hopefully we will get to take a trip to Valdosta soon and we will be sure to take more pictures then!

Two Month Checkup

Avery had her two month checkup on Friday. She now weighs 9 pounds and 1 ounce! She is growing so fast!! She has been really congested and not feeling well all week. Her pediatrician thinks it is just a cold. We had been giving her saline drops and using the nasal aspirator. He said to keep doing that and to try using a humidifier. He also said not to be suprised if it lasts a couple of weeks! She also got her two month immunizations...four shots plus an oral vaccine. She was so brave. She only cried for a minute after they were over. However, she was in a pretty rotten mood for the rest of the day. I can't say that I blame her! I tried to get some good pictures of her bandaids, but she wasn't feeling very cooperative :)