Last Thursday evening, we ventured out of the house to attend our church home group.  We love our home group friends dearly and it was great to reconnect with everyone after being away for a few weeks.  Other than for doctor's appointments, it was Avery's first trip out of the house and she did great... she's  a little social butterfly and she seemed to enjoy being passed around from one set of eager arms to the next.  Avery is blessed to have so many people in her life who can't wait to love her up.  Her mom and dad are pretty blessed too!  As you'll see from these before and after shots, she had a great time!

Before...

All dressed up and ready for a night out

After...

looks like someone had a little too much fun

Happy St Patrick's Day!

I was very excited to introduce Avery to one of my favorite childhood traditions yesterday. Celebrating St Patrick's Day has always been a big deal in the Kelley family.  Growing up, every year we would "Jig" (Kelley style - meaning dance around like fools and kick our legs out now and then) around the house to an old Ruby Murray record, eat shamrock cookies and drink green 7up, and raise our glasses in honor of Grandpa Kelley.  It's all just silly fun, but my heart nearly exploded with joy last night when it hit me that we now have a daughter to pass on our family traditions to.  She slept through the entire thing, but I'm pretty sure she had a good time.  I know I did.

Showing off her cute Irish butt

She was the life of the party

The Kelley women

Avery's first week

The first week of Avery's life has flown by and in between naps, Avery has had many new experiences.  We're loving having her home with us.  It feels like this is how life was always meant to be.  We're also extremely grateful to have Grandma Kelley here this week helping us get adjusted.  She has been busy cooking, cleaning, and of course holding the baby!  We can't thank her enough for all she's done.  Here are some pictures of what Avery has been up to:

Chillin with Dad

Enjoying more "awake time" every day.  It's nice to see her eyes open!

She survived her first bath 

She screamed for the sponge bath, but seemed to love having her hair washed.

Meeting Nellie the cat

Enjoying dinner with Mom and Dad on the first night home from the hospital.

 

Avery Ann Piland

We are proud to announce that Avery joined us on March 11th, 2009 at 11:47pm.  She weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long.  She is truly beautiful and so far she has been very kind to her mommy and daddy. She is such a good girl!  We are so in love and can't wait to introduce her to all of our friends and family!  Although I'm sure the lack of sleep will catch up with us soon, right now we are on cloud 9 and can't stop praising God for the miracle in our arms. 

sleeping beauty

Our first family photo (she was about 20 minutes old!)

Daddy's little girl

Proud momma!

napping in the sun

 

Welcome to Piland Pages!  Avery Ann Piland is due to arrive any time now and Erich and I can't wait to meet her.  We are excited to become a family of three and we're looking forward to sharing the journey with you.  With both of our families and many of our friends living out of town, we thought starting this blog would be the fastest and easiest way to update all of our loved ones with photos, videos, and life experiences.  Please feel free to stop by any time and see what's new in the Piland home.  Prepare to be inundated with photos of a beautiful baby girl in another week or two!  

Erich and I are blessed beyond belief to have all of you in our lives and near or far, we are grateful for all of your love and never-ending support.

Stay tuned....