Catch Up

I know I have been terrible with actually writing lately. The Musselman family has been incredibly busy over the past month or so. As a result, this blog gets neglected.

In mid-November, I found out that I still have a job next year. This was very exciting news as my company has gone through layoffs four times in the past three years. This year, they merged with another major pharmaceutical company and the layoffs will top 15,000 people. While I am fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to work in my industry, I hate to see so many of my colleagues lose their jobs. I am hopeful that the rest of my colleagues in Columbia will get the same good news early next year.

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday visiting Luke's family in Holland, MI. We almost didn't get to go as I came down with the dreaded H1N1 on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Luckily, Luke and Avery stayed healthy. Luke was a great daddy and did everything for Avery for the five days I was running a fever. I was sick the entire time we were in Michigan, but it was worth it for Avery to be able to see her Great-Grandparents, Aunt, Uncles and cousins. She was perfect during the nine-hour car rides and an angel for all of her relatives while we were in Michigan.

While everyone else ate dinner in Michigan, Miss. Avery was jealous so she had to try some food of her own. We gave her applesauce for her first food. It was a hit! Unfortunately, she didn't like mommy's homemade applesauce when we got home. Fortunately, she is getting much better and now eats squash and sweet potatoes. She also LOVES oatmeal. For anyone considering making their own baby food, I strongly recommend the Beaba Babycook. It is fantastic!

Avery turned five months and is quickly approaching her six-month birthday. She is changing every day. I can't believe how grown up she seems. Since I have done such a bad job updating this blog, here is a list of some of Avery's new favorite things:

• Avery loves experimenting with her voice and talking.
• She has started screaming and blowing raspberries at her toys.
• She gets unbelieveably excited when she is hungry and sees her bottle.
• She LOVES the cat. It is so much fun to watch Avery giggle and scream when she sees or gets to pet baby kitty. Now, we are just working on teaching her to pet and not pull baby kitty's hair.
• Avery loves the Christmas lights on the tree.
• She still enjoys looking at herself in the mirror. Whenever she gets fussy, the quickest fix is to take her to a mirror and sing the song, "Build Me Up Buttercup."
• Avery loves being outside and seems to enjoy the cold weather.
• Avery likes playing with anything and everything. One day, we gave her an empty Dove chocolate bag and she was entertained for almost and hour.
• Avery LOVES sitting in her high chair.
• When Avery does something good, she likes it when mommy and daddy cheer and clap for her.

Avery is doing so much that I could write all day, but it's getting close to my bedtime and Luke and I are watching a Christmas movie courtesy of Falalala Lifetime. I love this time of the year!