Avas New Room

We have finally finished Avas room. We still have to hang a few things, but all in all its done. See more here: AVAS ROOM

the big Walker

I should let you all know that Ava continues her walking efforts. She now on average takes 13-20 steps at a time. Check out her swivel technique.

Rock-a-bye Baby

I'm not sure how long Ava has been doing this, but as she started stirring at 5.40 this am, Rich brought her into bed with us to see if she would sleep just a LITTLE bit longer. (wishful thinking) She seemed a bit restless and then it happened, she rolled over and it looked like she was going to crawl to the wall, but she went back to a little ball position. Then back to the wall....It was then I realized she was rocking!! Just like I did and my mom did as well. It still amazes me everyday to see her develop so many different skills and awarenesses.

She has also mastered the step between the kitchen and the family room. She can go up and down it just fine. Very cautiously, too. I picked her up at daycare yesterday a little bit early. So I got to talk to her teacher who proceeded to tell me that Ava was standing in the 'pool' today(the pool is this gym mat type pool)and she wanted to get out. So she reached over the edge to find the floor(like she does at home) and she couldn't reach. You know what she did next? She took some toys out of the pool and put them on the floor so she could reach the ground and get out. Which is exactly what she did. This to me seems almost impossible. I'm not sure if its because I still think of her as a little baby, I mean she is right? But she truly is growing up so fast. *sigh*

Christmas Day Morning

Well, we decided that we were not going to get Ava anything for Christmas. We figured she would enjoy the paper and ribbon more than anything else, so why not go with it. Last minute we decided to get her something, just to do that parent kid thing on Christmas morning. Rich set up her 'TUBE WITH A VIEW' before we got downstairs. Its much more exciting that way as I recall my childhood memories of Christmas morning. I've got a video of that as well. The quality is really horrible, I might try and re-compress these so they look better. But until I get to that, you get these.

I must say that Christmas was a big hit and Ava was so good and happy for the most party. She got some really great gifts from her family and friends as well.

Christmas Eve

Avas Grandparents(Pete and Claudia) and Great Grammy(Joyce) came over for Christmas eve dinner and a present exchange! The biggest event of the night was watching Ava open her gifts. She was in heaven! Im pretty sure she enjopyed the wrappings much more than the gifts. Very Cute. Here is a snippet of last night:

Cheeriooooooohhhhhh-s!

This is sort of old, but it must be posted.

Claps, Meatloaf and little teeth

super fans.

So there has been MUCH going on. It has been SO BUSY at work and home. Ava is still a nut. 2 days ago she climbed ALL of the stairs by herself to the second floor. DON'T Get crazy, I was behind her the whole time. I saw her go to the bottom of the stairs and I said to myself, no way she goes up. Then shes up 1 step and i get behind her just to see how far she will go. ALL THE WAY UP. No help from me. And would you believe we still have not purchased any gates? I guess its time. I believe I mentioned she was clapping and waving hello and goodbye.

Its fair to mention we had our first REAL accident the other day, I thank god Annie was there with me. Ava tipped over a small empty trash can and with her new teeth the lip of the can pushed up on her lowed jaw, causing those teeny teeth to bite right onto her upper lip. Now, it sounds like nothing just stating it as that, but as a first time mom and forgetting mouth wounds bleed a lot, I just about had a heart attack. There was so much blood in her mouth on her hands on her pacifier...on me. I thought she lost a finger. Anne calmed me down and said that it was her lip. She encouraged me to sit down and comfort Ava while she got some ice. I am pretty sure I was shaking. Ava really only cried for about 3 minutes. She sucked on one of those meshy bags filled with ice for at least 15 minutes, which really helped with the swelling. But she did get a nice fat lip. Instead of admitting that she fell on the trash can in my presence, I think ill tell people its the new baby botox. The latest thing for babies. In any event it was SO scary and im glad its over. For now. I know its just the beginning esp because she taking more and more steps everyday. We can hold her hands and she will RUN around the house for as long as we hold her hands.

She has also started eating REAL food. Daycare has fed her hotdogs, english muffin pizzas, meatloaf, mac&cheese, potatoes, beans and check this out, at daycare she drinks out a sippy cup by herself with BOTH hands. The cup has NO handles. The things she doesn't tell us when she comes home!

Speaking of the little devil, its 7.45 and she has slept maybe 30 minutes today. And shes WIDE AWAKE. Unreal. I think there was more I wanted to report on, but I cant recall at the moment. Stay tuned for the Christmas morning video though!

School Pictures

I never anticipated the day i would be handed Avas school pictures. The white envelope and the crinkly plastic window for a preview! Before I looked at these photos, the ladies at daycare told me they broke a sweat trying to get Ava to smile for the camera, not to mention pulling the props out of her mouth. I mean, come on, don't those apples look DELICIOUS?! Anyhoooooo...here is a previewing of them. All 3. They crack me up every time i look at them. You all know if you click on the photo, you see an enlarged version, right? Check her out. HA!

I forgot to mention this past Friday she started clapping(as far as i know) and shes also waving. Its random wave and she often gets confused by it and is not sure whether she should or she shouldn't. Or she just happens to be shaking her arm at appropriate moments. But we all know how 'gifted' she is. ;)

Unbelievable...

So I was planning on posting to the blog tonight and I got this email today:

" ...And she's off! The stages of crawling usually go something like this: from a sitting position to all fours, to rocking back and forth, to finally pushing off with her knees — and then starting to move forward (or back). But there are plenty of variations on this progression. Many babies never crawl at all. Others develop a crawl style that looks more like soldiers bellying through the brush or monkeys poised on fingertips and tiptoes"

The funny thing is, I was posting to let everyone know she took her first steps last night!! I mean I cannot believe it! We heading out to a friends for a holiday party, Rich was finishing up getting ready upstairs while the babysitter, Monkey(AKA Shaun) and myself were waiting downstairs(plus Ava of course). Now you should all know, our babysitter is a girl from daycare who interacts with Ava every day. So, Ava is pulling herself up on everything and standing holding her toys and such, when Nikki says, "you know shes going to walk any day." And I look at her and say, "DON'T say that!" Of course we smile and turn back to Ava. Out of no-where she takes a few steps. There were legitimately 1 1/2 steps. Probably an additional shuffle before she fell. But it was a shocker non-the-less. My jaw was on the floor, Niki was laughing with her hand over her mouth and Monkey was trying to talk about his job or something of the like. Rich was still upstairs. It was like she did it for Niki. At least people will believe me at daycare now. They all think Im nuts. And well, I guess I am, but listen-she really WAS teething for 4 months! I swear.

Anyhoo-shes pretty much the smallest walking human I have ever seen. I should have known she would be taking her first steps soon. That day she was pretty much running with that little car of hers. It seemed like just yesterday she looked like a cross between Frankenstein and the hunchback of Notre dame.

Shes the cutest!!

Teeth and More

So after 4-5 months of me telling everyone that Ava is teething (which includes 2 ear infections), shes got a teensy mountain range erupting from her lower jaw! It feels like a barbie saw! Her eating has gotten worse. I'm not sure if its due to the tooth or her nose- that is running like the dickens!! I felt like I had some monumental stuff to write tonight, but my brain is mush. Ava woke up last night at 3 and pretty much didn't settle back down until 4.30.

She turned 8 months this past weekend. We got her some fun stuff from Ikea. Namely a large turtle that she is crazy about. I'm not sure if its because its a giant round plush disc that is almost as big as her, but she loves putting it over her head or leaning back on it in her saucer. Then of course over dramatically, throwing her hands above her head. It cracks me up every time. She is also experiencing separation anxiety. Its bad. I could put her on the floor and walk behind the couch and she flips out. Thank god i don't drop her off in the mornings! Rich says shes a little bit clingy and cries just a little bit.

Lights are also a deep fascination of hers. She loves to point at them and touch them. Not the hot part people. Her facial expressions are much more vivid and her smiles and laughs are abundant. Shes still quiet serious though.

Oh! Some new explorations in Ava's world. Crawling UNDER things. She loves to take the route under/through legs versus around them. Also between narrow passages of say the couch and ottoman. Monday morning she got stuck in her excersaucer, or should I say under it. IT was too slippery for her to crawl out. This past weekend we werea t the Rings admiring their new baby, Max, when I noticed Ava was semi lying on the floor attempting to crawl...but an ottoman was in the way. I then realized she was trying to crawl UNDER it, but there was not enough head space so she just stayed there and kept on trying.....I guess thinking if her legs kept moving she eventually would get under there. At some point before or after this attempt, she chucked her paci under it. Either in pure disdain or another reason to attempt getting under that ottoman! Or perhaps it was her way of waiting to watch someone else go get it so she could see how it was done. :)

In any event, she never stops, there are not breaks in her world, just *pitstops* for eating and sleeping. And, you know, shes still tapping a foot, bouncing a leg, rubbing my arm and any number of other things WHILE shes at an ole pitstop.


Rich holding little Max Ring

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Ava goes big for her first turkey dinner. I think she enjoyed her first Thanksgiving. We did our annual turkey trott in the morning. This was Avas second, if you count I was almost 6 months pregnant last year. It was good fun and Ava was GREAT! Rich did great and we saw many friends as usual at the start and on the course.

She walks. Oh. No.

It happened. We went to the Stroms last night and Ava had a blast playing with Liam. I cant tell you HOW CUTE they were playing together. Liam was so nice to her. She pet her on the head and shared many of his toys without a whimper. Then it happened. Ava saw his push cart thing, she grabbed hold of it and stood up. The wheels started to move...I was like, "oh no here we go flat on her face" and she was soon in step behind it, walking. Unbelievable. With no help at all. I was in shock, mouth agape. So we moved the cart back to see if it was a fluke. Nope. She did it over and over again. And everythime we picked her up to move her back, she had to let go of the cart. - this caused massive irritation and screaming and crying until she was reunited with it again.

On our way home Ava fell asleep in the car and Rich though about stopping by Target to get her a cart of her own. I suggested maybe going home and getting it later. Richs response was, "I want to buy her her first bike though." So we veered off the course home to stop at target and pick up her new cart. Which I have a little snipet of her walking this am. Unfortunately its not her really going strong, but you get the idea. Check out her left foot. Its the ole drag technique! Hahaha!

Check Me Out

This picture cracks me up. I don't know if its her outfit or her face.

Date Night

Rich and I just got home from our first official date night. We left Ava in the hands of one of her favorite daycare providers, which made the transition really easy for all of us. Dinner was fabulous and the movie following was great fun too. I cannot recall the last time we saw a movie out.

Avas greatest achievements to date are that she is standing. This girl is determined to be the smallest walking human ever! I have to say, not as her mom, but as a person watching a baby growing with everyday challenges its totally amazing. As soon as she started crawling she started pulling herself up on anything she could. Immediately, and I mean within a day, she learned that if you let go - you fall. Shes a got a lil' bruise on her forehead for a good fall at daycare. Her solution - slowly lower herself to the floor while holding on with one hand. Then she started doing squats while holding on. Then she started cruising across the furniture. Now, check this out, she lets go and sees how long she can maintain balance. It would be for a split second at first and she'd grab back on to the ottoman/couch/excersaucer. Today she was practicing so intently over and over again, I can say she legitimately stood. She stood for at minimally 5 seconds. Count that out. That IS a long time. This all started with the crawling, 2 WEEKS ago!!! She is a determined little bugger. The best part is, is when she does her stand move she turns to look for recognition, or a "hey, check me out-did you see what I just did. I rock?!" I try putting her in the excersaucer a little more these days. That could slow her development down right? I don't think we are ready for a walker! Gates, we need gates!

turn it UP!

Listen to Ava snore.

Excernutso!

Avas first experience 'bouncing' in the excersaucer. I have about 6 of these videos because this was just so darn funny. I'll give you all the short one, you get the idea.

pics:
Black&White shots at brunch

Barley Teether

Tastes nasty, but looks cuter than ever, eh? We hit a local bakery shop for coffee and snack this am.

Close up crawling

I couldn't find the zoom key to zoom out on this! Its a funny one. She had climbed up the step into the kitchen with her eye on the sparkley water bottles. A favorite of mom and dad too.

Daddy, where are you going?

Rich got up at 5.30 to give Ava her morning bottle, he was spending some quality QT with her. Then I got up and we all played for a bit. Rich then went on the incredibly needed dunks run and ran into our good friend Elly and her son Tynan. LOVE our neighborhood! After he got back he had to run to Home Depot. Ava crawled her way over to the door and watched him drive away. It was the cutest thing I have seen in a long time. Well since maybe a few mins before when she was smiling and laughing with snot hanging out of her nose.

You should all know, it has been a week since she debuted her crawling skills. Everyday they improve with agility and speed. She literally follows me around the house. I have had the comfort of knowing she couldn't get up the step from the family room into the kitchen. That comfort has since gone, disappeared...poof! It took her just a week to decide to explore beyond the crazy flower rug. This is in part due to the fact she is mastering crawling on the wood floors. Slippery fleece or not. We need gates SOON. Unreal.

I dropped her off at daycare Thursday am, as I had a function after work and could not pick her up. So there I am at daycare, putting her bottles away in the bottle fridge. I had plopped Ava on the floor surrounded by a variety of toys of different textures and colors. This will keep her busy until I say goodbye. I hear a few babies crying, not unusual in the infant room. I turn from the fridge to put her bag away and i see her standing - standing over a baby bouncer hanging on to the toys dangling over the seat, with a young baby in it...at least 3 months. The baby is crying. Ava is smiling. It was almost horrifying to think that maybe she poked the baby in the eye, or pushed off of his face to get into a standing position. However, she didn't care. She was so proud. I honestly think he was just crying and maybe a little freaked out. I quickly 'removed' Ava and sat her on the floor with her toys and told her that we didn't climb on other babies to play with their special toys. She nodded in acknowledgment and said 'mommy, i wont do it again. i love you.'. That what she said in my head anyways. It worked for me. With a quick kiss, whisper and head rub I dashed out the door before she saw me leave.

we . are . in . trouble .

Crawler

This is a bad vid of her crawling, shes really much better than this, but her leg kept getting stuck in the body of her jammies. I guess that is what happens when you are a lil bit 'under' weight. If i get another clip that is better, i will update ya'll.


(this is not working right now..hopefully it will remedy itself. Otherwise ill try and figure it out.)

Dancin' Dancin' DAAAAANCIN"

I cant figure out how to rotate this-anyone have any ideas?

Sleeping Beauty

The crazy thing about crawling is how it increases your appetite so! Ava has broken her bottle strike(i think) and is taking in 6-8 oz more a day now!! She also seems to be taking better naps to boot. However our sleeping thru the night phase has seemed to end too. Shes teething and has a bit of a cold that isn't really helping with the sleeping thing.

Swim Class

Today we had our first real kid swim class. We had been attending another swim class previously, but it was geared towards a 'workout' for mom. This will be her official dunk class. Rich came and took a few pics then got ushered to leave the floor.

As punctual as ever.

Ava turned 7 months yesterday and wouldn't you know she started crawling. Shes also teething BIG TIME. Big milestones that seem to be making her sleep thru the night! Yippeee for mom and dad!!!

I should also mention, shes been seen drinking from her sippy cup. We got it to get her used to handling it, but she seems to want to go straight for using it for its intended purpose! Isn't she so *advanced*?!! teehee!

Happy Halloween!!

The big day is here. We can shake off the dust from the costume purchased 8 weeks ago (just in case they sold out) and wear it ALL day. What can i say, shes the cutest lil' tiger i ever did see. She even posed for the camera. Did I mention it was 6.30 in the am? I cant wait to see how she takes to trick or treating tonight. If shes anything like her mom and dad, shell be sorting her reeses pb cups into the "good pile" and her "bagged popcorn" into the 'things to trade pile'.

New Rug

The new rug finally came today, which means its real easy to put Ava down on the floor and let her practice creating a strong core. She LOVED looking at all the colors and patterns, not to mention feeling it. Head of the Charles is this weekend. Rich took her to registration in the rain with her poncho. She was quite good and crashed on the way home. I will update the blog with more pics this weekend!

Tights!

Did I think I would really want to dress my 6 mo old in tights? Not until I found these bad boyz! How CUTE is she? I mean I'm biased, but I think shes pretty damn cute! Check out the boots. Who is STYLIN' now?! Rich is looking for a pair so he can be twins with Ava.

Where's Ava?!

Today we tested out the backpack that Amy and Larry 'lent us'* with Ava. Annie and Mike had us over for breakfast which allowed us to "hike" through Menotomy Park. It was a gorgeous morning and Ava really seemed to enjoy herself. So much so, that she fell asleep for the last bit of the walk, head bobbing all over. Very cute.
*lent us: Many of our friends with 2 kids are saying they are done and giving away their kiddie items. Thus far, 3 are surprised by the 3rd pregnancy. So we will hold on to this for Larry and Amy, JUST IN CASE. ;)

6 Month Doc vist

At Avas 6 month visit she looked great! We have a 'showcase showdown' price is right style contest between some friends and ourselves on her measurements whenever we go to the doc. You'd think it would be unfair as Rich and I see her everyday. And you would think it was MORE unfair that the pediatrician wanted in on it right before we started. She even had the chart in front of her! The winning deal-a Jim Dandy from Friendly s. Natasha has won once, I won last time and now Annie has won. THE PEDIATRICIAN DIDN'T EVEN WIN! The Stats: 14.12Lbs(37%), 28.75 inches(97%). {at 4 months: 13.1lbs(50%), 26inches(90%)} Not that percentiles matter, but within her own percentiles she has shot up in length and decreased in weight. The doc has ordered solids once a day versus 2. Reason being she get more nutrition from one bottle than the amount of food she may be getting in that one 'solids' feeding.

She also had a second round of immunizations with an addition flu shot. 5 shots! Rich came along for this one. Ava did an amazing job, she recovered much quicker this time then any other! Rich should come along more often!! She also didnt cry when Dr. Newbold say hello. Teehee. She got a slight fever from the shots and is fighting a stuffy nose, but all and all seems to be doing quite well.

Roll, Roll, Roll...Crawl?

Ava has mastered the roll and is trying to rub it in that she is much better at the yoga move 'plank' than I am. I think its really only because she practices way more than me and has a lower center of gravity. (right?) I know its really the next step to crawling and is she really mad that she cant when she gets into that position. I,m cool if she is late developer in that department....i can barely keep up with her now!! The best is once she rolls she eagerly awaits recognition of clapping or "GOOD JOB! WHAT A BIG GIRL!". She then radiates the biggest smile in the whole wide world. So, I say its worth it to keep giving that recognition.

I give her 2-3 weeks to start crawling. Then we will see how often I get to this blog!

Its official. Ava is Catholic.

The rumors are true, Ava became a catholic today. I have been neglecting the blog and finally have a really good reason to update it. It started off to be a grand day, Ava slept in ate well and took some good naps. We got all the food out and picked up ready for our celebratory guests. I think I ironed Avas gown 10 times...Rich a few more. In the end it didn't even MATTER. The thing was mangled once she got it on. I could have bought some time earlier to..to...i don't know do something. Put batteries in the vid camera, which i forgot to do. I did remember gas i the car to get us there, however. ;)

8 other babies shared this day with Ava. Some very new and some much older. Father Ronan had the pleasure of baptizing her. She was very good in the church, though she has always been quite good in church. Her first appearance in that church was her 5th day on earth! Not to mention spending the 8th day of her life at the easter vigil. Not a peep! She was quite busy looking all around, playing with a few toys, a few cousins & Nan ripping wipes in half and having some small commentary here and there.

I would assume that everyone is DYING to know what her dress looked like, right? Ha! Well because dad had some input it was very very simple and cotton. He did have concern for the length (he didn't believe me that these gowns are supposed to be past the feet). I was looking for a super duper cute Victorian gown with some beautiful vintage lace or eyelet work. Rich wasn't having it though. She was still pretty darn cute in her over sized gown.

Now, if you don't have one of these you should get one. Have you ever heard of a 'Kathy'? Its the latest rage and if you don't know about it, find out about it. Thats all I can say. She kept Ava calm and relaxed all afternoon. Not an easy feat for many.

Unfortunately the pics on my camera were not fantastic. Lots of wiggling....and of course the evil red eye. Here are a few.

I should mention a few things. Friday evening we had a baptism class at the parish with Father Ronan. This happens to us with father Ronan....we got the front row, which means you get picked to answer his questions. You know when there is a pop quiz and your brain freezes? Somhow everything you thought you knew, you never did. Thankfully he picked Rich most of the time. Ava was so bust he picked her up for a bit and walked around with her. She did add commentary here and there through the talk. She also tooted when it was dead silent. I feel bad admitting this, but i was slightly embarrassed between the silent hysterical laughing I was doing. Who did father Ronan look at, thats right....me. ha! Special thaqnks to billy and Lynn for coming out Fri night and sunday-except bill who came out sat to fix the floors with Rich. Also, for being Avas God Parents. Also, thanks to the Scannell fam for brining out so much delicious food. I have all of the extra bowls/trays!

She ROLLED OVER!!!!

Today Rich painted the family room while I went up to Rockport with Ava to visit her greatgram. She was on the best mood, all smiles and chatter. I got her some building blocks which she loved. The cardboard kind with letters and nursery rhymes on them. She tasted them, pushed them, held them and tried to crush them!!

Low and behold she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first REAL time. She did it once at the doc 2 months ago, but this time she did it on her own because she wanted some toys. She then did it 2 more times!!!! Once while I was talking to Rich even!! Then when she rolled over she pushed herself up on her hands arms out straight and smiled!!!! What a funny bug!

Not only did she roll for the first time but she ate her first mushed peas!! I'm not sure she digs them as much as the sweet potatoes, but she did eat some with a few scowls. Heh!!

More pictures!

Ive been a bit lax on putting up some photos, so here is a collection of them from random visits and playtime. Enjoy!
Random Ava shots on Flickr

Sweet Potatoes!!!

She likes it!! She really likes it! As Rich and I would sit down for a snack or a meal....or if one of us would be feeding Ava and the other eating....Ava finally realized that 'hey-I'm not eating that'. So she would stop eating and watch us. Time to introduce solids. Rice cereal was OK...but not enjoyable and she only ate it some of the time. Time for some sweet potatoes!! After her first screwy face of taste, her mouth was wide open for seconds and thirds!! Yay! So fun!

See more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64468320@N00/sets/72157602056164141/

Our lil' talker

I thought that she was a talker before, but now she just has conversations with herself, whether in her crib, excersaucer or on her mat. Even in the car seat! My how times have changed!!! There was time when i thought the only thing she would do is cry in her car seat.

Shes loves chatting when on the changing table while reaching for everything in site. I think shes really trying to master the raspberry. Then out come these angry noises...always followed by big smiles. Stretching her vocal chords they say! One of my favorite things right now is when coming into the room where she is at, esp when she is in the excersaucer, smiling and clapping at her...she gets SO excited! Its just about the cutest thing ever!! We will have to get some video posted to support this note here.

This Friday we have our FIRST swim class! I cannot WAIT to see how she handles it. I hope she loves it. I also wonder how I will handle singing in front of strangers to nursery rhymes I forgot the words too. I don't think lip syncing will fly.

Tha Bottle

Oh yea! Shes been holding her bottle a few times at feedings! Not for crazy long but she holds it herself and brings it to her mouth, has a few sips, and then puts it down...talks a little bit and repeats! How fun!!

Ear Pulling

Sometimes this action it means 'teething' and sometimes, I guess it means ear aches/infections. Since shes been ear pulling for a few weeks I assumed it was teething, but after the runny noses, coughs and 3 days of fever above 102....we saw the doc. It ends up she has an ear infection in her left ear and some puss(EWE!) in here right ear. Not to mention the doc had to remove what she called 'potatoes' of earwax from her ear before she could examine it. Just to clear the parents names in childcare grooming, there was NO WAY we could have seen these 'potatoes' to remove them ourselves. She had to use a long teeny weeny ice cream scoop thang.

So Miss Ava is currently on antibiotics and getting her step back. If you have met her or seen her you know shes on the go all the time. Those lil legs just don't stop, not even for sleep. However, this labor day weekend she was a giant sack with that glazed look in her eyes. It was so sad! It gave some real meaning to being parents though. The only thing you could do was hold her and do your best to comfort her over anything else. Rich mentioned last night to my bud Chris, 'this was the first labor Day in a long time that I didn't have anything alcoholic.' Now that I'm thinking, no burgers either. Ha!

Playtime

I got my laptop back which means i can upload a few pics. Ava I think is definitely going to LOVE the tub. We start swim classes at the end of September, which we are all very excited about!! We also just purchased the excersaucer for her, which she loves. I guess most babies do......and well we do too!

It seems as though with a bottle between 11pm and 1.30 am she'll generally sleep through the night. I smell relief in the near future!!!

The return of the sleepless nights!!

How did this happen? Ava was so good sleeping through the night from 10 weeks. THEN daycare started -a cold emerged and she began teething on top of it. Not one night has she slept through since. Well, there was one, but I woke up 3 times to make sure she was ok. Last night and the night before we had 4 am feedings followed up with her big cheerful wide eyes and a smile to say, "Hey guys, im so ready to hang and play!". This is not cool.

Enough of that! Her latest and greatest moments arer expanding. She is laughing much more now a days. Its SOOO cute! Ill post a vid clip if i can, or a sound clip(computer with assets is in the shop). AND last night before bedtime, she held her own bottle twice for about 5 seconds! We also 'tried' some rice cereal. SHe did not like it at ALL. I guess we will keep trying and see how it goes. Dr Spok reccomends starting with fruit if the rice creal doesnt take. I dont blame her for not liking it....it smells like paper mache.

Whats new

This past week Ava has been really reaching for everything and examining it as best as she can. The object she reaches for, if grasped and held, receives a bunch of bats and rubs which eventually results in the object tumbling to the floor, much to her amazement. She is also experimenting with making new noises with her pacifier by tugging on the paci ring!! Very entertaining for both mom and dad.

Apparently she also has a belly laugh that she does for her daycare ladies...which I have YET to see!! Although I have been subject to a few giggles. Also, she has been attempting to hold her bottle for quite some time now, which usually results in her batting it out of her mouth with MUCH frustration. Now she has moved on to sticking her fingers in her mouth along with the nipple and talking all at the same time. Its a messy venture and none of it is very ladylike. Rich will have to work on that.

She is incredibly excited by the sounds many of her toys make, as well as the ones mom and dad make. However, the daycare ladies clearly make much better ones, as they get the belly laughs. Jerks. Because of this elusive 'belly laugh', I did my darnedest this past weekend to get those results and I'm not sure if the scratchy/fuzzy throat I got after the effort was worth it. I think secretly inside Ava was laughing at me, the big dumb jerk.

One thing I can say from my own perspective is that as she becomes more interactive and 'social' is that I am so totally in love with this little girl I just want to talk to her, play with her and give her hugs and kisses all day long. She is so damn cute.

4 month appointment

Ava had her 4 month check-up and received 4 immunization shots. Due to the fact she had her first sniffly nose from daycare, she launched into her first fever symptom that afternoon and was pretty much miserable for the next 48 hours. I cant recall her head size...its in the 50th percentile. The other stats are: 13.1lbs (50th percentile) and 26 inches(90th percentile). She has been in the 50th percentile since she was born with her head and weight. She WAS 75th with height and has obviously taken a big jump! Im working on getting some rolls on those legs, but they just go go go!!! I think she must burn more calories than me running! Check out the latest pics on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/64468320@N00/sets/72157601210114082/

non-sleeper

For the past 2 weeks Ava hasn't been sleeping well due to teething, a cold(thanks daycare!!) or the lose of her pacifier. Rich and i are each playing dead to se who can wait the longest before getting up to tend to her. I mean this ultimately ends, right? If she wasn't so damn cute and silly I'm not sure what I would do. I've caught the cold twice....so has Rich. I was sick enough pregnant, she and i should both have the delux immune system treatment!!

so it goes. Bobs yer uncle.

Greetings!

Find all of Avas latest and greatest moments as well as past moments here! Her first days provided by Annie: http://www.flickr.com/photos/39541405@N00/sets/72157600717594225

Also her 4 week shots as taken by Linda Ring: http://web.mac.com/davidwring/iWeb/Rings/Ava.html