Four Months Old & A Family Vacation

Avery is four months old. Yes, you read that right. FOUR months. I'm pretty sure I say this every month, but...how is it possible that much time has passed?!

Mommy took her to the doctor the other day and she got FOUR shots in the leg (and one orally). I don't think it's related, but I sure hate to see how many she'll get when she's MY age! Hmm, I might reconsider going to my next appointment...

Anyway, the stats. She was 14 pounds, 14 ounces (75th percentile), 24 1/2 inches long (50th percentile), and her head was 16 inches (45th percentile). If you remember her 2 month check-up, she's pretty much staying the same in height and weight. I can tell she's getting smarter and learning more though because her head is getting bigger.  She may be good and chunky, but she's still not as big as I was, believe it or not!

"See mah bell-eh?"

The doctor said she has such great head control that she's certainly ready to start on solid foods.  I started eating cereal right around this age too, but for some reason, I think Mommy is stalling with Avery.  I noticed she bought some the other day, but it's still in the pantry.  I don't have any hard evidence yet, but if I had to guess, I'd say Mommy's trying to "baby" her.  What's the deal, Mom?!  It must be because she's a girl and not as tough as I am.  Surely that's it.

See how strong she is?!

This video is long, but she's the second child and I think Mommy feels bad there isn't nearly the same amount of video and/or pictures of her as there are of me, so when the video begins...it just rolls, usually until she starts fussing.  You'll see how well she lifts herself up, and even tries to let her arms go and be an "airplane" for a while.  Also, notice how she starts on the mat and ends up...NOT on the mat?  Uh oh...

(This video can also be viewed at http://youtu.be/zRwwnBNwDV8)

The day Avery officially turned 4 months old was our first day back at home from a week-long vacation. Mommy and Daddy took us to the beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama! The best part? Some of my aunts, uncles, and cousins were there too! (Aunt Dee Dee/Uncle Rick & family and Uncle Ben/Aunt Jen & family) I had so much fun playing in the sand and in the ocean...at first. By the middle of the week, I was sort of done with it all and really just wanted to be at the pool. Avery wasn't a fan of any of it. I think it was just SO hot and SO bright outside that the only time she was happy and comfortable was in the condo with Mommy or splashing in the pool. She really seemed to love that, but there was rarely a time we could find a shady spot for her, so she only got to get in a couple of times.

When Daddy got home, he told me how PROUD he and Mommy were of us for how well we did in the car during the long drive there AND back home. (It was about 14 hours both times, including stops.) He said he was going to tell all of his friends about it when he got back to work -- and that really excited me.  I kept asking him if he was going to tell everyone. Sure enough, he came home from work Monday night and told me he did.  It wasn't really that big of a deal; I pretty much just hung out in the car. I wasn't very interested in toys. I watched a few movies and listened to some music on the way home, but I mostly just looked out the window and took a nap when I was supposed to. Both times, Mommy did have to come in the back seat and sit next to Avery for the last couple hours though -- she's still little and didn't like being in her car seat after so long. Plus, she's a girl, and girls just need someone to talk to.

Here are many, many pictures of the same thing over and over again but I think Avery and I kept the parents busy so they weren't extremely focused on variety when using the camera! Enjoy!

Gulf Shores 2011

(The album can also be viewed here.)