Nine Months Old!

Avery, you are nine months old now and you keep getting cuter and sweeter every day. If this continues, your dad and I might just explode.

You are an adventurous little girl, afraid of nothing (...except for public restrooms and the end of a meal). You are crawling now - and fast - so I spend my days trying to corral you and keep you from eating whatever you find on the floor. You think it's hilarious when I dig in your mouth to retrieve these foreign objects.

You were also humored by my first attempt at discipline. We went round and round with you reaching for the wall outlet, me smacking your hand and telling you, "No, No" and you throwing your head back laughing. Of course, when the message finally translated, you cried and broke both our hearts.

You say "mama", "dada" and "hi" (with a silent "h"). You have perfected your wave, and you love to wave to the folks at church and Wal-Mart, mommy and daddy, every room you enter, your bed, etc. We are working on teaching you the sign language for "more" and you use it selectively. We may regret this in the future, given your voracious appetite! You make the "m" sound for more, and other sounds like "enuh" (?), "oooo" (very cute) and miscellaneous babbling. You squeal and/or grunt when you are excited. You are so active and full of curiosity.

You visited your new pediatrician, Dr. Feit, on the day after your nine-month birthday. He said you were growing wonderfully and looked perfect. You had a ball crawling around on the exam table. You weighed 18 pounds 2 ounces and measured 27 1/2 inches long. You are in the 50th percentile all around. You got two shots and didn't even cry for the first one. You are a tough little one.

Some other things about you at this age:

You Love: ALL food but especially green beans, bananas, fresh pears and oatmeal; playing with Levi and Lydia; watching people and being social; pulling up to stand - you think you are such a big girl; your pacifier; laughing at your bottle when you're done with it; bath time; mommy's hair dryer; when Daddy carries you like a sack of potatoes; Patty-Cake; kisses on your tummy; seeing yourself in the mirror; shopping; Skyping with your Grandparents; giving us sweet pats on the back (which we love, too!); giggling and being silly.

You Don't Like: Having your feet touched (ticklish!); mommy brushing your hair (because it gets so tangled!); being still; when we use the bulb syringe to clear your nose out (man, you hate that); when diaper changes interfere with play time; sleeping in (could you work on that?); the absence of food.

Halloween: Elvis, Baby!

Avery doing her best Elvis impersonation...

Watch out, Mama got a new sewing machine for her birthday, and you're the first victim!

We got you all moussed up and went to Trunk or Treat at Buford Church of Christ. You loved all of the decorated trunks - especially those with lights! And everyone loved seeing the Miniature King of Rock!

Eight Months Old!

Who knew you would turn eight months old in Georgia?!? A year ago, the Beauchamps had never even been to Atlanta and now we live here. It's crazy how life can change so quickly. We are so thankful to God for the blessings he's poured into our lives; we are happy to trust him and rely on His providence.

We are getting settled into our new residence (the Dolinger Basement) and enjoying their company. We recently attended our first GACS football game with them...Go Spartans!

Big news in your development - you are now a crawler! After weeks of rocking back and forth on your hands and knees (or extending one leg for a half-crawl/half-walk maneuver - my personal favorite), you finally became mobile on September 23rd. Then, the very next day, you pulled yourself up to stand. Okay, you may slow down now, thank you.

Celebrating Mommy's 31st Birthday at The Cheesecake Factory

First pigtails!

Motivation for crawling...

Considering a puff...

...and, she likes it!

Goodbye Searcy, Hello Atlanta!

Our family of three made the move from small-town Arkansas to big-city Georgia on Labor Day Weekend 2010. Beforehand, our wonderful church friends threw us a goodbye party and made us a special keepsake book. We will miss them!

I also had some of my girlfriends (and yours!) over for a Saturday morning brunch the weekend before our move. Too bad you won't be growing up with these sweet babies, but you will make new baby friends in Atlanta!

Lots of girls (and a baby boy)! Lucie, Anna, Kate, Gabie, Alyssa, Avery and Lexie (and Hudson).

And, finally, a homage to your birthplace and home for your first seven months...

Searcy, Arkansas

Our cute little home at 3 Blueberry Road

Harding University - where Daddy worked

First Security Bank - where Mommy worked

Cloverdale Church of Christ - where we attended church

White County Medical Center - where you were born

Seven Months Old!

These busy weeks have been a testament to your laid-back, easy-going nature, baby girl! You've gone easy on Mommy and Grandma while we've frantically finished packing up the house. You officially stopped nursing during this month, and you seem perfectly content being on the bottle full-time. You are working on sitting up on your own...for now, you still topple over but you'll get the hang of it soon!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday with some chocolate! We traveled to Fort Smith at the end of August for Cousin Heath's wedding. You were a hit with our Arkansas family!


Then, it was on to Olathe where we got to meet your new baby cousin, Abel Davis! (We stopped at a Pizza Hut on the way, and you had your first shot at a high chair.)

Finally, it was back to Searcy with Grandpa and Grandma...they came to help us move! We met up with Daddy, picked up the rental truck and got to work. Lots of people came by to help us pack (and a few came by just to see you). We headed for Atlanta on Sunday morning, September 5th. When we finally rolled in to the hotel parking lot around 2:00 a.m., you looked a little road weary...

Here's to life as a Georgia Peach!