48 Weeks Old!

Hi all,


Another good week over here...hope that you all are doing well!


This week was full of more fun activities for Avalon including Mommy and Me class, swim lesson, and a nice dinner with our old neighbors (and Avalon's God Parents) Mark and Mary, and their daughter Drew.


Also, Avalon started to go down stairs...this is a great thing since for the past 6 weeks or so, she's been able to get up the stairs (mainly the two stairs between our living room and dining room), but hasn't been able to get back down. She loves to go up the stairs, but then finds herself unable to get back to where John and I are in the living room! Well, that is a problem of the past now... :) We tried to teach her how to safely go down the stairs backwards (which she can do on occasion), but she prefers to go head first!!! Yes, this creates a little anxiety, but she seems to be a master of her non-traditional style!


Here is Avalon smiling on the top step:

And starting to make her way down...



Here we go!! Head first...

And then a little sideways twist to make it all work...

Looking so serious (but still cute)!

And again...



The sleep adventure continued during Week 48. Avalon is still going to sleep at night around 7:30pm after a warm bath. This week I've also started getting her to take two naps in her crib each day. This is such a big victory it's hard to explain!!! Avalon's always been a nap-on-the-go girl...and well, to actually get her to sleep in her crib without her protesting is sooo amazing... It's working and she's happy. Mommy is happy about it too!

One of Avalon's favorite things in the Mommy and Me class is playing in the ball pit. We decided to get some of the plastic balls and fill up her play yard. She has so much fun kicking the balls around. John put Bronte in too, but she was terrified! :)

Avalon in the ball pit...



Loving it!!!

Avalon still has eight teeth. In this photo, she's showing her four little bottom ones.

I love this profile shot. Look at the chubby cheeks...

It was so nice to see Mark, Mary and Drew (Carly was gone for the evening, so we missed her). Since they moved to South Redondo we don't see them as much. It was fantastic to catch up. [Mary....we are so sorry about Scarlet! We hope you guys are feeling better soon! xo]

Avalon loved playing with Drew! Drew was showing her how to take a few steps in this shot.

And finally, in this shot, Avalon is showing how much she loves chewing on plastic straws! This is the way that we get through going out to dinner these days... Give Avalon a few straws to play with. It makes her so happy!

Hope that January 2010 is off to a great start for all of you.

All our love,

J, J + A

47 Weeks Old!

Hi all,


Week 47 was another great week for us!


We went back to our Mommy and Me class, swim class, and two fun playdates with some of her baby friends. Avalon also spent alot of time on the swings! She loves the swings so much...


The biggest news is that we finally started "sleep training" with Avalon and have gotten her to start sleeping in her crib. She took to it really well...almost like she was telling us that she prefers being in her crib! Now she starts out the night in her crib around 7:30pm each night. She still wakes during the night sometimes for some cuddles from mommy, but then goes back to sleep in her crib. It's working out really well!


We are also working on naptime...Avalon is now taking two naps a day in her crib! This is a HUGE change for us and it's going so well. All this structured sleep is making for a very happy mommy, daddy and baby!


Here are some pictures from the week:


#1 Avalon on the swings at Polliwog Park...



#2 Getting pushed on the swings by daddy...



#3 Playdate with Livie, Lexington, and Carter.






#4 Playdates are the best!



#5 These next two pictures are so great...have you ever seen a happier baby? Here is Avalon having a real belly laugh!






We hope that you are all doing very well! More Carver Street news soon!


All our love,
J, J + A

46 Weeks Old!

Hi all,

Week 46 brought the end of 2009 and the start of a new decade!

Since my parents were in Redondo Beach, we were lucky enough to have babysitters on New Years Eve! My parents watched Avalon so that John and I could ring in the new year....this was basically my first night out since the birth of Avalon. We had a great time. We kep in low-key and had dinner in Manhattan Beach with some friends.

Happy New Year!!! Here's wishing everyone a successful, happy and healthy 2010!


Here are some New Years eve pictures:












We also had a little New Years eve fun at home with my parents before going out:

Even Avalon got in on the fun...



John, Avalon and I decided to check out a new spot in Los Angeles this week. We went to Griffith Park and the Obsevatory. The park is huge and the observatory has a fabulous sprawling view of LA. We checked out the observatory and then had a little picnic in the park.

The park is close to the Hollywood sign...about as close as you can get without some serious hiking!

The bronze statue to James Dean is outside the observatory. Apparently his movie "Rebel Without a Cause" was filmed in the area.

Mini picnic in Griffith Park...

At the end of the week, my parents left Southern California, where they've been enjoying the winter sun for the past 6 weeks, and headed back home to Seattle. It was hard to see them leave! Mom and Dad, we miss you...Avalon misses you! Thanks for all of your help while you were here!

We hope that 2010 has started off in a great way for all of you. It's been a great start here. We are "sleep training" Avalon and it is going fantastically!!!!! More updates soon.

All our love, xo

J, J, + A

45 Weeks Old!

Hi All,


Week 45 was an exciting one....Christmas week!



First we were excited that Carrie and Scott visited us in Redondo Beach and brought their 4 week old son, Sawyer! It was great to see that they are settling into parenthood and seem to be loving it! Sawyer is adorable, of course, but how could he not be with such a fabulous mom and dad!



#1 Carrie + Sawyer and Johanna + Avalon



#2 Daddy Scott with Sawyer

One cool thing in Avalon's development this week is that after leaving a store in the afternoon one day, she spotted the moon in the sky - not a nighttime moon, but a daytime moon. She saw it, pointed at it, and seemed pretty amazed! John and I were also amazed that she was able to see it!

Avalon also got her second cold this week. It's been a bad one, but it hasn't gotten her down too much. She still has plenty of energy to chase after Bronte!

My parents spent Christmas in Redondo Beach with us. Bronte's present was that Cole, my parent's dog, came along, too!

Christmas was great.....good food and good times. Avalon seemed excited about the tree and the presents and all of the pictures that I was snapping...but clearly didn't know what was going on. She will understand what is happening more next year, I'm sure! Of course, Santa still spoiled Avalon this year....she's loving all of her fun new toys and clothes. Thank you everyone!!!!

Here are some photos from our Christmas festivities:

#1 Daddy helping Avalon to open up a gift...

#2 Mommy and Avalon by the tree



#3 The family - Christmas 2009



#4 My Dad and I opening up a BIG present for Avalon......an electric train! She LOVES it. Thanks Dad!!!



#5 Avalon's train...



#6 Avalon first checking out her new toy.

#7 Avalon riding the new rocking horse from Santa!

#8 She loved grabbing the ornaments on the tree.

#9 Avalon's favorite new horsey! It makes lots of horse sounds when you press on the ears. Mom and Dad might have to take the batteries out to keep from going crazy! :)



#10 Grandma and Avalon

We hope that everyone had a geat holiday season. We hope that it was fun and restful for you all.

All our love, xo

J, J + A