34 Weeks

What a week!  Avery sure has a way of keeping us on our toes.  As soon as I think that I have a schedule down for her she throws us for a loop.  Up until this week, Avery would wake up between 6 and 7 and go down for a nap around 10.  This past week she has been waking up around 5 and eating and then finally waking up around 6.  This means that her first nap is happening around 830 or 9 in the morning.  I am chalking up the early mornings to teething but in all honestly I have no idea why she is waking up earlier all of a sudden.  I don't think it would be that big of a deal if I would just go to bed when she did by 7:30 but we all know that's not going to happen.  The good thing is that Ben and I make a great team.  I get up with her and stay up with her until about 6:30 or so when Ben gets up and stays up with her and I get at least another hour of sleep.  I really do have to hand it to single moms who never get a break that's for sure!  All in all, Avery is still sleeping about 10 hours a night and taking 2 solid hour to hour and half naps.  I really can't complain!

The biggest news of the week was that Avery had her first babysitter!  Jan, my mother in law, is in Cabo this week for her nephew's wedding.  Ben had some things to get done this week so we had our first babysitter last Wednesday.  I have to be honest that I was absolutely terrified!  The funny thing is that I babysat pretty much my whole life and yet when it came time for me to have a babysitter, the thought scared me to pieces.  My company has a thing called "back up mommy care" where they work with nanny agencies here in Vegas and when I need someone, I call them up and tell them the dates and time.  I then pay a deductible ($7.50 for up to 4 hours or $15 for up to 10 hours) and my company pays the rest.  I don't get to meet them person before they come but they are all screened and have gone through a extensive back ground check.  So, Avery's first babysitter was name Neesie and she really was a nice girl and good with Aves.  She is 20 years old and going to school to be a midwife.  I am sure that when I need someone again I will request her.  I can use this service 20 times per calender year.  It is a great thing and part of the reason that Pearson has voted top 100 companies for working mothers.

We went to the Italian festival here in town and Avery road her first carousel.  She had a good time but was a little unsure about it.  I think she enjoyed people watching more than anything.

We also went to the outdoor mall area that has a great kids play area with a big water feature.  Since Avery loves water I thought that she would really like this and she really did.  It is getting a little cooler outside but still warm enough for some serious fun in the water.

We also got her a new water play area for the back yard.  I opted to go with the sand/water box since at some point she will be old enough for sand but for now we are going to just stick with water in it for fear of her eating the sand.  Overall she loved it!  Everytime that she uses it she soaks herself!

Avery continues to be the avid crawler and can now stand on her own for quite awhile.  There have been times when she will stand unassisted for about 20-30 seconds and then plop on the ground.  She knows how to prepare herself for the fall and sticks her butt out and lands pretty nice.

Passed out listening to music on the way to SD in the motor home!

Sporting a little mohawk now that her hair is growing in!

She loves using a straw!

Her 8 month update will be next!