Holiday Break!

We have had a relaxing holiday break over the past two weeks, and are dreading reality come Monday morning when I go back to work, and Justin cares for the baby until returning back to school late January. We had an early Christmas celebration with my parents in Colorado, where Avery spent more time ripping paper than playing with toys! However, my parents bought her a rainforest jumperoo, and she absolutely loves having a portable bouncer accessible in any room throughout the house. She seeks everyone’s attention, and loves performing for an audience. It was a wonderful celebration before heading to Spokane to visit Justin’s family.

Our visit to Spokane was just what we needed! We spent our days visiting with family, taking care of Avery, playing games, and just lounging a good part of the vacation. Justin and I commented several times how different our trip was from the hustle and bustle of our real life of work, school, cooking, cleaning, homework, etc. We are constantly on the move, but we literally left all of that in Colorado (I even forgot my grading) and were pampered with delicious dinners from Diane, and a chance to be somewhat “lazy” for 10 days out of the year!


Avery was a great little traveler all the way to Spokane and home to Colorado. The plane didn’t seem to bother her ears at all. However, she turned a little Jeckyl and Hyde once we reached Washington, and became incredibly clingy and whiny! I read that to varying degrees, babies have stranger anxiety around 6 months to 1 year, which made her a very difficult baby (I can’t even sugar coat it…she was hard!). We tried to assure everyone that she was acting very different from her generally happy and comfortable nature, and though she did warm up towards the end of her 10 day stay, she was quite stubborn in adjusting. I feared this may be a permanent part of her personality, but after returning home, she finally became the active but happy baby we knew she was! Luckily, Grandma and Papa Walker were very patient with their little granddaughter, and seemed understanding of her difficulty in adjusting to so many new people! I think they just enjoyed having her around, since we don’t get to visit as often as we would like. She did give them several snuggles, smiles, and content moments before leaving Spokane.



Aunt Julie was a big help in babysitting, and became my “put the baby to sleep please” auntie! Uncle Jason, Aunt Jenny, and Aunt Jayna were also huge helps with entertaining Avery! It was great having Jessica and Clinton with their two little ones…they are sooo cute! After seeing those two little balls of energy, I don’t know where their stamina comes from in trying to keep up with their little guys.



It was also lots of fun attending Tammy’s baby shower for what we thought was a little girl! Upon leaving Spokane, Aunt Debbie called to inform us that Tammy’s ultrasound was wrong, and they will actually be expecting a boy! Luckily, my gift can be used for either sex, but we couldn’t believe that after seeing all of those girl gifts, she is now expecting a boy. I guess life is full of surprises.



Well, it’s back to school or work for most of us! We appreciate all of the cute things that were sent for Avery for Christmas, and as always, feel blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends. Keep in touch! Click here to enjoy some fun pictures.