AVERY DOUGLAS JOHN MATHERS

Hi there! As you can tell my name is Avery. I also have a lot of nicknames like Munchkin Man, Monkey Man, Magooroo, Little Man, Bubble Boy, Little Budda, King Tut, Ave, and Munch. You can call me whichever you want!!! My Mummy (Shannon Lee) and my Daddy (Kyle James) were in Paris, France when they found out about me! So, I guess you could say I'm part French!:-) When they found out they planned to move back home to be around family and friends here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They came back in May of 1999 and I was due to be born on November 20th. I ended up not arriving until December 2nd at 06h32, but I know I was well worth the wait! I have blond hair and so far my eyes are still blue, but who knows whether or not they'll change! Only time will tell! They say I was their best Christmas present ever!

I have no siblings yet, but hopefully someday I'll have a baby brother or sister that I can play with, love and ocassionally boss around! We currently live in a 2 bedroom apartment, but Mummy & Daddy are planning to get a three bedroom townhome soon. Once I start crawling and walking around I'll really need the space and the yard to play in! I can hardly wait to have a  kiddy swimming pool during the summer. Every Sunday I go with Mummy & Daddy to their gym and I go into the pool with them! I love it so much! I can already kick and move my arms around. One day Mummy & Daddy won't be able to keep up with me!

I love my bedroom...there's so much to see! It's theme is half teddy bears and half Winnie the Pooh. I'm beginning to love just lying in my crib looking around me at my mobile, my Fisher Price soother, my little Elmo musical guy, and the wonderful teddy bear crib set. In my livingroom I have all sorts of toys too! I have my swing which is great for playing and for sleeping, my Bouncing Buggy which I can FINALLY sit in all by myself (and let me tell you...the keys on that toy taste sooo yummy!), and my Fisher Price Crawl & Play. I'm getting really good at hitting the toys on the Crawl & Play! Sometimes I even pull them right off! I'm just starting to be long enough to kick the other side too! Life is just so exciting!!!! I also have lots of stuffed animals that I play with. I love my Winnie The Pooh beanies because they are the perfect size for me to pick up and pull to my mouth!!! I also love my bug beanies. I have two of them. Larry the Locust and Andy the Ant! They're just as tasty! You know what's not so tasty though??? My kitty cats! I have two of them Solange and Scooter and I've tried licking them to much disappointment. You end up with a face full of hair! YUCK! For any other babies out there comtemplating the idea, take it from me...DON'T!!!! As for the cats, I like them when I'm not trying to eat them! They are really soft and I love watching them. I'm noticing more and more about them everyday! When I'm cuddling with Mummy & Daddy they often jump up to join us. I love that. Especially when they purr. They used to purr on Mummy's belly when I was in there! Another "toy" that I enjoy is the television. Mummy and Daddy try their hardest not to let me watch it, but sometimes I sneak a peak! I like Winnie the Pooh, Tele Tubbies, and Sesame Street. Well, actually, ANYTHING on TV! Especially the animated sort! And, of course, I love bathtime! It's so relaxing!

Another thing I can't get enough of is stories! Much to everyone's amazment, I loved books from day one. Even when I was still in Mummy's tummy my parents would read "Oh Baby The Places You'll Go, A Book To Be Read In Utero" and I enjoyed it. And they seemed shocked when I recognized it after I was born! Now, I'm starting to hold the books that are read to me. And I notice all the pictures. I love all books, but I do have favourites! "R2-D2" which has sound buttons, "A Bug's Life-Dot's Great Big World", "The Lion King-Way To Go Simba", "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch, "Pat The Bunny" by Dorothy Kunhardt, "Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney and anyhting Winnie The Pooh especially "Pooh and the Dragon", "King of the Beasties", and the entire "Just Be Nice..." series!

I also like when Mummy and Daddy sing to me. Mummy usually sings "Hush Little Baby", "You Are My Sunshine", "The Grand Old Duke Of York", "Five Little Monkeys" and "This Old Man". Not to mention all the songs she makes up for my benefit. Daddy on the other hand sings me musicals like Phantom Of The Opera, Les Mis, & Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and celtic folk songs. And he always recites the poem "The Jabberwocky" to me and has since before I was born! I have a lot of cassettes too, which I play in my Fisher Price tape recorder. (Can you tell I like Fisher Price?). There's Kenny Loggins "Return To Pooh Corner","Lullababy-Tender Dreams", "Baby Lullabyes" (music box music), the "Wee Sing Collection" and Sharon, Lois & Bram's "Wild About Animals". My tape recorder follows me everywhere.

I have now rolled over!!! I passed this milestone on March 21!! Everyone is very excited! I'm a pretty clever kid, learning to do most things quite early! I'm even teething early which is hard on Mummy & Daddy because I end up in crying spells! When I'm not in pain from teething, I love smiling and I've become quite the Giggle Monster! I love it when everyone makes goofy faces or sings to me! I think it's funny when people try their hardest to make me laugh! Silly people! I'm getting a better vocabulary all the time! I have had a word for food since I was a month and a half. It's "ying" or "ging" or a variation of it! Nobody believed Mummy at first, but they all believe her now!!! I say it all the time!

Speaking of food, I eat four 8 oz bottles in a day now.. I love my bottles! I drink Similac formula and sometimes I get some Rice Cereal too! Mmmm...! I can hardly wait for solids, it looks so much more interesting and I love sitting in my highchair watching everyone else eat. I've been sleeping right through the night since I was 10 weeks old. But, when I wake up, I'm starving! I scream like you wouldn't believe! I want to make sure they know to hurry! Lately my bedtime has been at 20h00 because I get a lot sleepier now that I see, hear, taste, smell and feel more. My senses are on overdrive.

I'm all in all a very happy baby. I have a lot of quiet, serious moments, but I'm very easy going.  I love being held and I love cuddling into people. I like variety as I get bored quite easily, but as long as I have toys and hugs, I'm a happy camper!