16 Weeks!!

Oh my goodness...Avery is already 16 weeks old! This is going by so quickly. It's bittersweet. She hasn't gained much (if any...still just over 12 pounds) over the past couple weeks, but she is definitely growing longer. We've moved up a size in pajamas. Because of seasonal timing, her current pjs are of the winter-type. Yes, it is August and my child is sleeping in terrycloth with snowflakes declaring "Let It Snow." She doesn't seem to mind. She has also developed a sleeping pattern. Her daily sleeping pattern usually goes something like this: goes to bed about 9pm, sleeps until 6am, eats, goes back to sleep until 9am, gets up for the day, takes a nap about 10:30am, gets up about 11:30am, takes her long afternoon nap about 1pm, gets up between 3:30pm and 4:30pm, takes her evening nap about 6pm (this is when we eat dinner), gets up around 7pm, and it starts over with bath, book, bottle, bed at 8:15pm and going to sleep about 9pm. I LOVE this sleeping pattern, but I have been warned that it will change soon!

She is such a fun little girl! We have loved watching her grow and develop. Here are some things that she is doing right now:
rolling over from tummy to back
pushing up while on her tummy for extended periods of time
smiling...A LOT
talking---only vowel sounds, no attempt for anything else
watching everything...tracking and following
supporting her little head
grabbing for things
bringing things to her mouth
playing with toys
spitting bubbles
learning to use a spoon
sitting propped up, but now going after toys and toppling over
Here are some pictures of her playing with the Hungry Caterpillar

She seems to like playing in the Exersaucer now. She has learned that if she puts her feet down, she can spin a little, but she will only do that with the right leg, so she can only spin in one direction. Her favorite toy on the Exersaucer is the purple cheetah print monkey thing.

We said good-bye to some friends from Sunday School class on Sunday. They are moving back to North Carolina. They have a little boy who is 5 months older than Avery, and they have been declared boyfriend-girlfriend ever since Avery was born. We took some pictures of the two lovebirds on Sunday. We'll show these pictures at their wedding in 35 years. See you soon, Bivins Family! We have plans to meet up with them over the Thanksgiving break while we are over in North Carolina on a mini-vacation to see the Biltmore decorated for Christmas.