32 Weeks Old!

Hi all,


Hope that you all had a great week...we did! Avalon is now 32 weeks old.


The most exciting news of the week: Avalon can crawl now! She had been close to crawling for a week or two, but she put it all together and now she is on the go! It's amazing watching her...she crawls around the livingroom floor and gets into all of the nooks and cranies where we'd rather she didn't go. :)


The baby proofing has begun...John installed the baby gate at the top of the stairs, and we are moving everything that we can out of her reach. In good news, she can now crawl over to her toy box in the livingroom and pull out things that she wants to play with! Of course, the TV remote still ranks pretty high on her list of things that she would like to put in her mouth...


Crawling is amazing...but it isn't the only new skill that Avalon has debuted this week. She is also trying to pull herself up to a standing position now! She can't quite get herself on her feet, but she can pull herself up to her knees. We are surprised with how fast she has mastered this! She clearly has places to go...


We drove into the Valley on Saturday to catch up with our friends, Carrie and Scott. It was great to see them...we are getting very excited for the arrival of their son, Sawyer, in December. Avalon is ready for her surfing playmate!


This week also contained another Mommy and Me class, some time in the park feeding ducks, lots of cuddles with Bronte, singing with mommy, playtime in the bouncing jumper, being tickled by daddy, and too many kisses to count. We continue to be completely impressed and amazed by our daughter! What a great thing parenthood is.


Here are a couple photos from the week:


#1 John installing the baby gate with Avalon looking on...

#2 Avalon with the level...she wanted to give dad a helping hand!

#3 Avalon mid-crawl...

#4 Avalon showing off her other new skill...learning to pull herself up! Of course, she is going after the television remote control! :)

#5 My focused little crawler!

Hope that you all have a wonderful week!

All our love, xo

Johanna, John + Avalon

31 Weeks Old!

Hi all,

Avalon had a big week of traveling! We took two trips...Hawaii and Seattle.

Avalon and I went to Hawaii (the Big Island) to visit my parents, who were staying there for three weeks. We had a great time. Avalon enjoyed some pool and beach time! We missed John, who had to stay home and worked...someone has to! :)

The flight to Hawaii was about 5.5 hours long - definitely a bit more of a challenge by myself! Avalon was a very good girl, though.

While in Hawaii, Avalon got her first taste of papaya and mango...both were a success! Ripe, sweet fruit is a hit with Avalon...vegetables don't rate nearly as high!

The day after we arrived home from Hawaii, the three of us flew to Seattle to attend the wedding of Sara and Craig. It was an incredibly special day and we wouldn't have missed it for the world. Congratulations you two - we love you! (Photos are below.)

Avalon is getting more and more talkative and louder, and is getting very close to crawling! She's also trying to pull herself up to a standing position. She is so active and busy now! It's so fun watching her on the go!

We had our first "Mommy and Me" class. The class is for babies between 7-12 months old. Avalon is the youngest. Several of the older babies are walking and Avalon seemed pretty interested in watching them move so fast. It's amazing to think that our girl will be walking soon, too.

I have a bunch of pictures from the past week to share...hope that you all enjoy them.

Here are some photos from Hawaii:

#1 Avalon on the plane headed to the Big Island of Hawaii.

#2 In her sunhat...

#3 A marine reserve area near Kona.

#4 Avalon at Anaeho'omalu Beach on the Kohala Coast.

#5 With Mommy...

#6 In the pool with Grandma and Grandpa Nagel...

#7 Chilling in the condo... Her arm rolls are still going strong! :)

Here are some photographs from our trip to Seattle:

#1 With Daddy on the plane...


#2 With Mommy...


#3 Wearing the Kenneth Cole sweater dress than she wore to the wedding...so cute!

#4 Sara, Craig and Isabel during the wedding ceremony.

#5 Sara and Avalon cuddling...

#6 So happy to see my girl get married!

#7 Avalon and John before the outdoor ceremony started.

#8 At the reception...


#9 With Mommy again...

#10 Sara and Craig being serenaded by Steve Segura, one of the best Elvis impersonators in the US.

Here are a few pictures of Avalon from the week:

#1 Playing with the activity mat at my parent's house in Washington.

#2 Avalon trying to crawl...

#3 Looking so cute!

#4 Avalon looks like she's waving!

#5 In the park in Hermosa Beach, wearing my favorite onesie...

#6 Photos in the park...

Hope that you all had a great week!

All our love, xo

Johanna, John + Avalon

30 Weeks Old!

Hi all,


Just a quick blog entry for today since I'm about to head off to the airport! Avalon and I are going to Hawaii to visit Grandma and Grandpa Nagel for a few days of sunshine, swimming and rest. Unfortunately, John has to work so he can't join in the fun this time. At least he will be able to get some solid sleep at home!


Avalon is STILL waking up every two hours of so throughout the night. Mommy sometimes wonders what all of this long term sleep deprivation will do to us! So far we are surviving it just fine luckily!


Avalon's development is amazing. She's sitting up perfectly and is trying very hard to crawl around and be mobile. The other day I watched her slide open a drawer on the TV stand and pull two of John's surfing DVDs out! :)


I'll write more next week and post more pictures...here's one adorable one for now:







Hope that everyone has a great week!


All our love, xo
Johanna, John + Avalon

29 Weeks Old!

Hi All,


Avalon is now 29 weeks old! We had another busy and happy week together!

Avalon is slowly adjusting to being back at home after our Mexican holiday. She is now in a phase where it's hard to get her to take naps - uh oh! I try hard every day to get her to take naps, since she is a happier baby when she sleeps.

She still has just her two mini teeth (lower front). The teething pain is obvious sometimes, but some days she seems oblivious to it. We use lots of cold teething rings to help her, but she still prefers to just chew on mommy's finger!

We took her to the final summer concert in the park in Manhattan Beach. Her baby friend, Stone, was there too. She also went to another baby music class.

Our baby gate arrived today - John is going to get it set up at the top of our stairs very soon. Avalon seems to be only days away from crawling, so baby proofing is underway!

Below are tons of photos...most from the past week, but also a few (such as the first feeding pictures) that I've been meaning to share. Enjoy!


#1 Avalon with mommy in Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach during a playgroup event.

#2 In the park.



#3 More park time...



#4 While in Mexico, I bought some "musical instruments" for Avalon to use during the baby music class...so far, she just loves to chew on them!

#5 Avalon in her sun hat.



#6 Avalon is growing out of her activity mat, now that she doesn't want to lay flat on her back anymore...she would rather roll over onto her tummy and get moving!

#7 Getting up on her knees -- crawling is not far off!



#8 Feeding (or attempting to feed her!!) Avalon in her new high chair.



#9 Eating sweet potato puree...



#10 Avalon's favorite rubber blocks!

#11 Chewing on Sophie, her French giraffe!

#12 Big eyed girl!



#13 Check out the arm rolls!

#14 More posing for the camera...

#15 I love this happy shot!

#16 Avalon at the Manhattan Beach concert in the Park.

#17 Enjoying the concert in the park...

#18 Another happy picture!



Finally, we'd like to give a big "congratulations" to Liz and Alex who just became engaged! We are excited for you both - well done!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!

All our love, xo

J, J + A

28 Weeks Old!

Hi All,

These weeks just keep flying by...

Avalon had some fun activities this past week...starting with Baby Yoga and a Baby Music Class. Both classes were filled with babies that Avalon "knows" - - the new children of the girls from my prenatal yoga class. Avalon really liked both classes; they will be regulars for her now.

In eating news, Avalon is still trying new fruits and vegetables. Bananas have been a hit, and she's been enjoying the carrots, too. That reminds me that I still need to download the "eating" photos...I'll do that soon and get them posted!

The main activity of the week was our family vacation! We went to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for 5 days to enjoy some sunshine and pool time. It's the 3rd trip Avalon has taken on a plane now, and she did really well again, although since she is so strong and squirmy now it is definitely getting harder to keep her amused (read: not crying) on the plane! :)

Cabo was hot - around 100 degrees with humidity. We spent most of the time in the swimming pools at the resort. We stayed at the Dreams Resort which was awesome - I recommend it! We brought Avalon a little yellow inflatable boat for the pool since we weren't sure how comfortable she might be with the water. Luckily, she wasn't nervous at all - - she LOVES the pool! John was pretty happy about that!

Now that we are back at home, we are trying to get Avalon adjusted back to her "home" schedule...it's taking some effort as vacations tend to throw babies off their routine. Hopefully we'll be back in business soon!

Here are some photos from the week:

#1 Avalon laying down at the top of my mat before her first Mommy and Baby Yoga class! She loved it...

#2 Avalon on my lap during her first Baby Music class in Polliwog Park in Manhattan Beach



#3 On the plane headed to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for our first ever family vacation...



#4 The livingroom part of our hotel room

#5 The bedroom part of our hotel suite.



#6 Some views of the hotel...

#7 Excited to finally be in Mexico!

#8 Avalon ready for her first dip in the swimming pool!



#9 Daddy and Avalon



#10 I think this is the best photo of John ever taken!! Of course, I may be biased since I took it myself - so perfectly posed! :)

#11 John looks so tan!



#12 Sitting in one of the outside bars, enjoying the view of the Pacific...

#13 By the pool with my girl



#14 Avalon LOVED the blowup "boat" that we found for her. She learned how to kick her feet and splash around!



#15 So happy in the pool!



#16 Playing with a few toys in our hotel room. Avalon loves the blocks from Grandma Nagel...she is always chewing on them!

Hope that everyone has a great week!

All our love, xo

J, J + A