Sunday, December 6, 2009

Daddy and Ava

Cute...this is their nighttime ritual...Ava sure loves her daddy!!

Daddy and Ava

Cute...this is their nighttime ritual...Ava sure loves her daddy!!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Recent musings from Massachusetts

Nothing much going on here. A house a few doors down just got bulldozed and now we have a mouse problem. Gross. Our resident troublemaker, Ava, is still having a hard time sleeping at night. I am regularly getting 1 3 hr stretch and a few 2 hr or less each night. Startin to wear me down for SURE. Last night however, Ava slept for 4.5 hrs straight and it was blissful. I felt like a new woman. Then she slept in until 9am. HOLY COW. Today was a good day. Hence the post :)

Ava really is a joy (minus the night-times) and is so happy. She loves toys and now regularly entertains herself with wrappers and paper. Crazy. She has started to be up for longer periods during the day so we really get to have some fun. She has also started "humming" (for lack of a better word) while eating. Hilarious, but does not make the process as easy to hide in public anymore! She smiles a lot and LOVES her night-time ritual with daddy. He can always get her to smile and talk with him, even after starting to fuss because she's tired. We love our Ava girl!

Cute church outfit (can you see the drool covering the top of her dress? she's teething)


addictive smiles



pucker lips


i've been having fun making hair accessories :)


(anyone else having a hard time uploading videos to blogger?)

Recent musings from Massachusetts

Nothing much going on here. A house a few doors down just got bulldozed and now we have a mouse problem. Gross. Our resident troublemaker, Ava, is still having a hard time sleeping at night. I am regularly getting 1 3 hr stretch and a few 2 hr or less each night. Startin to wear me down for SURE. Last night however, Ava slept for 4.5 hrs straight and it was blissful. I felt like a new woman. Then she slept in until 9am. HOLY COW. Today was a good day. Hence the post :)

Ava really is a joy (minus the night-times) and is so happy. She loves toys and now regularly entertains herself with wrappers and paper. Crazy. She has started to be up for longer periods during the day so we really get to have some fun. She has also started "humming" (for lack of a better word) while eating. Hilarious, but does not make the process as easy to hide in public anymore! She smiles a lot and LOVES her night-time ritual with daddy. He can always get her to smile and talk with him, even after starting to fuss because she's tired. We love our Ava girl!

Cute church outfit (can you see the drool covering the top of her dress? she's teething)


addictive smiles



pucker lips


i've been having fun making hair accessories :)


(anyone else having a hard time uploading videos to blogger?)

Friday, November 6, 2009

What a crack up

Here are a few more Ava videos...I know, you've been waiting... :)



Grammie came to visit last weekend and Ava seriously scored with some cute new clothes. One of her favorite items was her new shoes - the first one's she's worn!


She loves them - can't you tell?!


Unfortunately she inherited a few things from her momma - like sneezing in the sun and scrunching her nose when she laughs...but here is evidence of her BLUE BLUE eyes that obviously came from her daddy...whom she loves VERY much :)

Ava LOVES this toy elephant she has...like seriously LOVES it. She gets this goofy smile every time we give it to her and it is a sure way to get her to talk...so funny.

(the video isn't uploading at the moment - I'll add it later)

In other news, Ava has learned to squirm out of her car seat...what?! She is not supposed to be mobile yet! Oh yeah, and we are pretty sure she is teething. EVERYTHING goes in her mouth and she bites pretty hard! Pray for me and my anatomy :)

What a crack up

Here are a few more Ava videos...I know, you've been waiting... :)



Grammie came to visit last weekend and Ava seriously scored with some cute new clothes. One of her favorite items was her new shoes - the first one's she's worn!


She loves them - can't you tell?!


Unfortunately she inherited a few things from her momma - like sneezing in the sun and scrunching her nose when she laughs...but here is evidence of her BLUE BLUE eyes that obviously came from her daddy...whom she loves VERY much :)

Ava LOVES this toy elephant she has...like seriously LOVES it. She gets this goofy smile every time we give it to her and it is a sure way to get her to talk...so funny.

(the video isn't uploading at the moment - I'll add it later)

In other news, Ava has learned to squirm out of her car seat...what?! She is not supposed to be mobile yet! Oh yeah, and we are pretty sure she is teething. EVERYTHING goes in her mouth and she bites pretty hard! Pray for me and my anatomy :)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween!


It has been really fun to see Ava's development recently. We feel like every other day, there is something new. A week or two ago we pulled out some toys to see if she would be interested in them. Fortunately, we had a couple that she has really enjoyed. One in particular is a blue elephant that has legs that dangle down with big feet. When we first pulled them out she enjoyed looking at it and hitting it, but this week she has started to actually grab the feet with both and even one hand! She sometimes is even able to pull the feet all the way to her mouth. It has been exciting to see her motor skills develop and to see her get less shaky.

On Monday and Tuesday she had rolled over a couple times be they were mostly unintentional. Then on Wednesday morning, she rolled like 5 times in a row, and even rolled both directions. It was very evident that she did it on purpose. Luckily, I was working at home Wednesday morning, so I was home to witness the excitement. It was SO fun!

For Halloween, the three of us plus Grammie decided to go to Beacon Hill to join in the festivities there. Last year Britney and I went there and had a great time, so we were excited to go this year with baby Ava. Like last year, John Kerry was out (he lives in Beacon Hill), but this year he seemed a lot more tired or less excited about being there. We had amazing weather, upper 60's but windy, and had a fun time walking the narrow streets. Ava got into the action (thanks to some handy work by Brit) and dressed up as a Lady Bug. We even saw some people with some INCREDIBLE costumes of Where the Wild Things Are, and it turns out that we knew them!



The latest excitement was that just this afternoon, Ava gave us a few real laughs! These are her first real laughs EVER and we got a few on video! We really lucked out with having a camera in the right place at the right time. Take a look!

Happy Halloween!


It has been really fun to see Ava's development recently. We feel like every other day, there is something new. A week or two ago we pulled out some toys to see if she would be interested in them. Fortunately, we had a couple that she has really enjoyed. One in particular is a blue elephant that has legs that dangle down with big feet. When we first pulled them out she enjoyed looking at it and hitting it, but this week she has started to actually grab the feet with both and even one hand! She sometimes is even able to pull the feet all the way to her mouth. It has been exciting to see her motor skills develop and to see her get less shaky.

On Monday and Tuesday she had rolled over a couple times be they were mostly unintentional. Then on Wednesday morning, she rolled like 5 times in a row, and even rolled both directions. It was very evident that she did it on purpose. Luckily, I was working at home Wednesday morning, so I was home to witness the excitement. It was SO fun!

For Halloween, the three of us plus Grammie decided to go to Beacon Hill to join in the festivities there. Last year Britney and I went there and had a great time, so we were excited to go this year with baby Ava. Like last year, John Kerry was out (he lives in Beacon Hill), but this year he seemed a lot more tired or less excited about being there. We had amazing weather, upper 60's but windy, and had a fun time walking the narrow streets. Ava got into the action (thanks to some handy work by Brit) and dressed up as a Lady Bug. We even saw some people with some INCREDIBLE costumes of Where the Wild Things Are, and it turns out that we knew them!



The latest excitement was that just this afternoon, Ava gave us a few real laughs! These are her first real laughs EVER and we got a few on video! We really lucked out with having a camera in the right place at the right time. Take a look!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Our cute baby

My cute cousin Jess took these fun pictures when Ava was two months old...what a sweetheart, huh? I am a proud mama, it's true :) Just proof that she is the cutest baby ever! EVER!!







Ava is so happy and so expressive now - it is really fun to see. Of course I am already evaluating her speech, and she has actually had a couple of consonants lately! Could be a fluke, but I'm betting she's just precocious. :) Her cries are differentiating and she is known for "protesting" often. Not really a cry, but an obvious verbalization that she didn't want you to leave the room or that she is not happy that you're not paying attention to her. The doctor mentioned that it means that she is understanding that she doesn't need to cry all the time to get what she needs. Erik and I often laugh at how expressive she is.

She also can grab things and LOVES conversing with her toys...like all the time. It's already a great distraction for her. Lately she has been wanting to sit up a lot too, it's really funny. She'll be laying on my lap and start to lean forward until I put her sitting on my lap. Of course then sometimes while sitting up she will lean until she falls over. That is pretty funny to watch.

It's so fun to see her learn and grow! This week I have finally realized that I no longer have a newborn...she has changed so much! We are SO grateful that feeding is going better and sleep is...........well I won't say too much about that. I have been able to put her down after she falls asleep which has been such a blessing. Still working on regaining longer stretches at night, and until then, the bags under my eyes are growing :)

BUT WE SURE LOVE HER!

Our cute baby

My cute cousin Jess took these fun pictures when Ava was two months old...what a sweetheart, huh? I am a proud mama, it's true :) Just proof that she is the cutest baby ever! EVER!!







Ava is so happy and so expressive now - it is really fun to see. Of course I am already evaluating her speech, and she has actually had a couple of consonants lately! Could be a fluke, but I'm betting she's just precocious. :) Her cries are differentiating and she is known for "protesting" often. Not really a cry, but an obvious verbalization that she didn't want you to leave the room or that she is not happy that you're not paying attention to her. The doctor mentioned that it means that she is understanding that she doesn't need to cry all the time to get what she needs. Erik and I often laugh at how expressive she is.

She also can grab things and LOVES conversing with her toys...like all the time. It's already a great distraction for her. Lately she has been wanting to sit up a lot too, it's really funny. She'll be laying on my lap and start to lean forward until I put her sitting on my lap. Of course then sometimes while sitting up she will lean until she falls over. That is pretty funny to watch.

It's so fun to see her learn and grow! This week I have finally realized that I no longer have a newborn...she has changed so much! We are SO grateful that feeding is going better and sleep is...........well I won't say too much about that. I have been able to put her down after she falls asleep which has been such a blessing. Still working on regaining longer stretches at night, and until then, the bags under my eyes are growing :)

BUT WE SURE LOVE HER!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Yuck

It's snowing in Boston. Sick. I literally feel sick in my stomach. Here is something to cheer me up...it's from a few weeks ago when Ava "found" her hands...she is concentrating so hard!


Yuck

It's snowing in Boston. Sick. I literally feel sick in my stomach. Here is something to cheer me up...it's from a few weeks ago when Ava "found" her hands...she is concentrating so hard!


Monday, October 12, 2009

More Ava!

The babe is growing, growing, growing! She will be 12 weeks this week - time sure flies! At her two month appointment these were her stats:

Height: 24.75 inches (off the charts)
Weight: 12.5 lbs (75%)
Weight vs Height: 10%

Is she the child of Erik and I or what? ;)

So I guess I have to do the dirty work if Erik isn't going to post the videos about Ava :) She is so fun...LOVE her smiles and almost laughs. I think I've heard a real laugh from her once or twice when she is awake, so hopefully they will be coming full fledged soon. She keeps us plenty busy with her "talking" - cute exchanges of coo's when we imitate her back to her...it is cute cute! Here is a video of her talking to one of her toys:




She is so cute, but we can't wait until she gets a little better at sleeping. She was doing so well for a while with 6 hr stretches at night and sleeping on her own during the day, but she is recently on a 1+week kick of not being able to sleep without being held and waking up every 3 hrs or less at night (she did this a few weeks ago too). It is killing me and I am feeling like I have a newborn again. I've tried so many different tricks and read up a lot, but it seems like she is just not able to calm herself down and put herself back to sleep once she wakes. I'm hoping that improves as she gets older because right now I just feel like we've regressed!!

Anyway, sleep deprived and all, her smiles sure make up for the hard times. Erik has been a great support as well, so that has helped. Needless to say, I haven't been very productive this week, but I have lots of projects in the works, so I'll post about those soon!

More Ava!

The babe is growing, growing, growing! She will be 12 weeks this week - time sure flies! At her two month appointment these were her stats:

Height: 24.75 inches (off the charts)
Weight: 12.5 lbs (75%)
Weight vs Height: 10%

Is she the child of Erik and I or what? ;)

So I guess I have to do the dirty work if Erik isn't going to post the videos about Ava :) She is so fun...LOVE her smiles and almost laughs. I think I've heard a real laugh from her once or twice when she is awake, so hopefully they will be coming full fledged soon. She keeps us plenty busy with her "talking" - cute exchanges of coo's when we imitate her back to her...it is cute cute! Here is a video of her talking to one of her toys:




She is so cute, but we can't wait until she gets a little better at sleeping. She was doing so well for a while with 6 hr stretches at night and sleeping on her own during the day, but she is recently on a 1+week kick of not being able to sleep without being held and waking up every 3 hrs or less at night (she did this a few weeks ago too). It is killing me and I am feeling like I have a newborn again. I've tried so many different tricks and read up a lot, but it seems like she is just not able to calm herself down and put herself back to sleep once she wakes. I'm hoping that improves as she gets older because right now I just feel like we've regressed!!

Anyway, sleep deprived and all, her smiles sure make up for the hard times. Erik has been a great support as well, so that has helped. Needless to say, I haven't been very productive this week, but I have lots of projects in the works, so I'll post about those soon!

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Forgotten Picture

Instead of posting the pictures or videos of Ava like I was planning, I got distracted (and it got late) so instead I will just post this. It is a picture of a shirt we saw when we were wandering around Newburyport with my sister and Brother-in-law. I enjoyed the shirt so much that I had to take the picture.
Enjoy!

Forgotten Picture

Instead of posting the pictures or videos of Ava like I was planning, I got distracted (and it got late) so instead I will just post this. It is a picture of a shirt we saw when we were wandering around Newburyport with my sister and Brother-in-law. I enjoyed the shirt so much that I had to take the picture.
Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

For Daddy

Ava and I are in AZ for a couple weeks before we meet up with Daddy in Seattle. We are sure missing him!!!!! These are for you Daddy!

For Daddy

Ava and I are in AZ for a couple weeks before we meet up with Daddy in Seattle. We are sure missing him!!!!! These are for you Daddy!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

6 weeks!

Ava has been smiling now for a few days, but I finally caught it on tape!






We did a footprint with water-based ink that turned out to be not so washable. Oops! Sorry baby girl!


She is getting so strong! We are so proud... :)


This one is just cute...


Daddy/daughter time! (don't worry, no one is truly indecent in this picture :))


We sure love her! Both sets of grandparents, 3 aunts and 2 uncles are all coming into town for her baby blessing this weekend. We are so blessed that everyone is so supportive and willing to fly out! Should make for a fun weekend. Tuesday I am flying out to AZ for 2 weeks so if you are around, let me know and we can play!

6 weeks!

Ava has been smiling now for a few days, but I finally caught it on tape!






We did a footprint with water-based ink that turned out to be not so washable. Oops! Sorry baby girl!


She is getting so strong! We are so proud... :)


This one is just cute...


Daddy/daughter time! (don't worry, no one is truly indecent in this picture :))


We sure love her! Both sets of grandparents, 3 aunts and 2 uncles are all coming into town for her baby blessing this weekend. We are so blessed that everyone is so supportive and willing to fly out! Should make for a fun weekend. Tuesday I am flying out to AZ for 2 weeks so if you are around, let me know and we can play!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sweet Ava Mae

Ava is such a joy to have in our home. She is generally a very happy baby and is content to sit and look around much of the time. She has been very aware and alert since she was born and is just starting to focus on things. I swear I got a smile out of her today as well! She also gives me a little break and will sleep 4-5 hours once during the night. She loves black and white pictures and being outside. We sure love her!

Mom and dad have made the transition to parenthood relatively well. We are generally sleep deprived but love having her in our home! Ava and I are still working on the breastfeeding thing which has been a challenge, but we are determined to get it working. Anyone else have breastfeeding issues? I'm surprised how NOT instinctive it is and how much it can hurt...wow. We are working with a lactation consultant so hopefully mommy will be more comfortable soon.

Erik has been such a fantastic support. I have no idea how I would do this without him and I feel like he often takes more than his fair share of work around the house. I am a very lucky girl, and so is Ava!

We also have been blessed to have such great friends and ward members who have brought us dinner, sent emails, and inquired about our well-being. We feel very blessed! Thanks also to fabulous friends and family who have been so supportive. We really appreciate it!

Here is a video for the grandparents...and to show off how dang cute our little girl is...



And a few pictures to prove it further:



after the first bath that she enjoyed :)


this is one strong girl....look at that leg extension! bum in the air!!

what a sweetheart

Sweet Ava Mae

Ava is such a joy to have in our home. She is generally a very happy baby and is content to sit and look around much of the time. She has been very aware and alert since she was born and is just starting to focus on things. I swear I got a smile out of her today as well! She also gives me a little break and will sleep 4-5 hours once during the night. She loves black and white pictures and being outside. We sure love her!

Mom and dad have made the transition to parenthood relatively well. We are generally sleep deprived but love having her in our home! Ava and I are still working on the breastfeeding thing which has been a challenge, but we are determined to get it working. Anyone else have breastfeeding issues? I'm surprised how NOT instinctive it is and how much it can hurt...wow. We are working with a lactation consultant so hopefully mommy will be more comfortable soon.

Erik has been such a fantastic support. I have no idea how I would do this without him and I feel like he often takes more than his fair share of work around the house. I am a very lucky girl, and so is Ava!

We also have been blessed to have such great friends and ward members who have brought us dinner, sent emails, and inquired about our well-being. We feel very blessed! Thanks also to fabulous friends and family who have been so supportive. We really appreciate it!

Here is a video for the grandparents...and to show off how dang cute our little girl is...



And a few pictures to prove it further:



after the first bath that she enjoyed :)


this is one strong girl....look at that leg extension! bum in the air!!

what a sweetheart