December? All ready?

Wow. I can't believe it's December. I haven't posted in forever! Last week Aves and I flew down to Houston to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We had so much fun! I can't wait to go back in 3 weeks! Here are a couple pictures I took today of Avery, man she is growing up. 

The Good Life

Wow. I can't believe it's been over 2 months since I last posted! We moved to Fargo last month and are finally all settled in. Avery has grown so much! She has started crawling around and saying 'mama'. She also loves to imitate noises! Avery has her 6 month shots tomorrow (delayed because of her skull fracture) so we will get to find out how tall she is and how much she weighs. 

5 Things That Made Me Happy This Week

1. Avery. She never ceases to amaze me. I am trying to enjoy every minute of it, she is growing up so fast! Avery makes me happy.

2. The cold. The past couple of days have been in the 40's! I don't really like the cold weather, but I love the Christmas season, which is fast approaching! Christmas makes me happy.

3. Ice Cream. I love ice cream. And I really appreciated the DQ Blizzard Brian brought me the other night which makes me happy.

4. Photography. Just thinking about being a photographer makes me so excited! I can't wait to graduate college and begin my own business. Taking pictures of my adorable daughter makes me happy.

5. Shopping. Who doesn't like shopping?! Avery and I had a mission this week to find her a high chair (which we found) and a winter coat. Still haven't found a winter coat, but we found the cutest mittens. A girl has to accessorize right? I love shopping and it makes me happy. 

Here are some of my fav photos!

We're Moving!

It's official! We are moving to North Dakota in August. Brian's last day at Verizon is August 9th so we will be moving the 11th or 12th. I am surprised to say this, but I am so excited to start school. There is only so much hanging out at home that I can handle. I only have class for 2 hours a day, which works out great with Avery.

Avery started standing up last week on her own! A couple of weeks ago she couldn't even put weight on her legs, but now she is standing up unassisted. Not for very long of course, but it's a start. Boy, she is growing up fast!
Avery had to get her four month shots yesterday. They were scheduled a month ago, but she fell behind due to her head injury. She weighs 16lbs 10oz and is 26 inches long! Her pediatrician had her lying on the table while she checked Avery's arms and legs. Every time the doctor touched her Avery would just giggle and giggle. The doctor said she has never seen a baby with such personality! Avery's personality is definitely showing more and more every day.

Busy Busy June!

So, It's been over a month since I've posted, it feels just like yesterday! We have been so busy since our trip to North Dakota. At the beginning of June, we stayed at the lake house on Lake Travis. Avery had a little accident and was rushed to Dell Children's Hospital and was treated for a skull fracture. She was such a trooper and is doing great now! Here's a picture of Avery in the hospital with her new teddy bear.


Besides the hospital trip, we had a fun vacation. Avery got to go for her first boat ride and she slept the whole time. We had a couple interesting trips on the golf cart...one ending with Brian pushing it up a couple hills. The trip was really relaxing and much needed for everyone.

It was Brian's 1st Father's Day this year! He actually had the day off from work! We spent the day just hanging out and we went to Zamitti's with my dad and brother and The Hangover (which was hilarious).

Last week, we helped my mom and Will move into a new house in Eagle Springs. I guess my family decided that Brian and I didn't get enough packing and moving because my dad is now planning to move to the Woodlands within the next couple of weeks. Brian and I are also talking about moving back to North Dakota. He had a job interview at Verizon today and he said it went really well. I don't want to move out of this wonderful weather, but school is a priority for both of us and we NEED to finish! I will be sad not seeing my parents almost every day, but now Avery will get to spend some time with her other grandparents. I will keep ya'll updated on our plans! I hope everyone had a good 4th of July!

I updated our smug mug site with a couple of pictures...FINALLY. http://hotten.smugmug.com

Avery's First Trip!

Wow time is flying by! Avery will be 15 weeks tomorrow and she is getting so big! She is nonstop smiling and talking. She is definitely a morning girl. She wakes up at about 7am and smiles and giggles for about 2 hours.

Last week we flew up to North Dakota for the week and we had a blast! We flew up the previous Thursday and Avery slept the entire way on the plane. People kept commenting on how good she was! Friday we met Brian's parents in Grand Forks so Brian's mom could see her for the first time! They took Avery for the weekend so we could hang out with friends in Fargo and ride around on the Zumas. On Saturday, Brian and the guys had a Test & Tune for the motorcycles on the drag strip in Sabin, MN. That night we had a BBQ at Ethan's and lets just say certain people *cough cough brian* got a little crazy. But its was really fun! Monday we went up to Neche to visit Brian's parents and to see Avery. By this point I had gone almost 3 days with out seeing her and I was missing her so much! We hung out at their farm until Wednesday and headed back to Fargo. Thursday and Friday, we bummed around Fargo and we flew back Friday evening. It was a very fun and exciting trip, but I am glad to be back in Houston and the warm weather!

Avery's first airplane ride!

More Pictures!

I thought I would add some more pictures of Avery because we have so many!

Apartment Life

Well we are finally getting settled into our apartment after moving last week, but we still have a few boxes left to unpack. I forgot how much stuff it takes to furnish an apartment (let alone a house!). At least I had pots & pans and silverware :) Brian pretty much covered the rest.

Avery will be 10 weeks on Tuesday and boy is she getting so big! We had her two month doctor appointment last Thursday and she got all her 2 month vaccines. She was such a trooper! She only cried for one out of the three shots that she received (I think she did better then I ever would). Avery has been crying nonstop for the past week and a half so her doctor said she has colic. Thursday we switched her to a hypoallergenic formula, since I stopped nursing a few weeks ago, and she was better instantly! She has not cried at all in the past 2 days. Whew I definitely needed a break! Hopefully she will stay calm. Although, the new formula is so expensive! It will be about $25 every 4 days, but its so worth it.

Brian is going crazy with all my picture taking! We have so many pictures of Avery and I plan on capturing many more! Every time she does something cute or looks adorable, I whip out the camera while Brian just roles his eyes. I'm sure in 10 years when Avery is growing up he won't complain looking back at all the adorable baby pictures :) Here are a few of my favs:

Time is flying by!

Wow where has the time gone? I can't believe I haven't posted anything in 2 weeks! Avery is now 6 weeks old! I can hardly believe it! She is growing up so fast. I am trying to enjoy every minute before she grows too fast. We haven't done a whole lot in the past few weeks. We watched a couple of Christian's lacrosse games up at kingwood high school. Avery always gets a good nap in at the game, so I'm sure she enjoys going. Other than hanging out with Brian, Avery and I have just been relaxing at home, while I try to get some of my school work done. We are planning to visit Fargo in May and I'm so excited! I'm glad the flooding will be done by then!
Avery loves her bumbo from Papa John and Great Grandma Shirley!

Avery Anne Hotten

Today is the first time I'm trying out this whole blog thing, so we will see how it goes. I can not believe that Avery is going to be one month old tomorrow! Boy, time has flown by so fast! Her delivery went really well. I woke up Tuesday, Feb. 10th at 4a.m. with some contractions, but wasn't sure if it was true labor. At about 7:30 a.m. I called my doctor and she told me to come in. I got to the hospital around 9:30 and was already 6 centimeters dilated! Although I never really felt much pain, I still got an epidural and I'm so glad I did. Several hours later, Avery was born at 3:08p.m. The delivery went really well and was way easier then I thought it would be. Avery was born on Feb. 10, 2009 and was 8lbs 15oz, 21 1/4 inches long! 4 weeks later, I look back and am so thankful for such an easy pregnancy, delivery, and recovery! She is an absolute angel and I would go through the 9 months again in a heartbeat for her. I will try to remember and find time to post on here so check back often!