Professional Newborn Photos

When Ava was just 10 days old we had a photographer come and take pictures. He got a lot of shots of the family and of course the star, Miss Ava Marie! We don't really like the ones of us, but who cares. As long as we got some good ones of Ava that is all that matters. She is so tiny and frail in these pictures. She has grown SO much! She doesn't even look like the same baby. I am so glad that we have these photos to look back on! :) http://www.poeticexposure.com/

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Ava Smiles

I have been waiting for the day that Ava starts to smile and she did for the first time this weekend! I caught some smiles on video this morning. She even has dimples like me! Something else that is new is she has discovered her hands. It's so cute to watch her as she looks at her hands and tries so hard to put them in her mouth.

We got our pictures back from the photographer that came to the house right after Ava was born. I will try and post those this week. It is amazing how much Ava has changed since those pictures!

Papa and Grammielle came to visit us this weekend!




On Saturday night the family went to one of our favorite places, Shake's Frozen Custard! Usually we just drive through but it was such a pretty night that we got out of the car. Macy LOVES the "puppy cups" that they give dogs. Ava wanted some food of her own so we weren't able to stay long but it was fun for all 4 of us to get out of the house for a little bit.

1 month old!

I can't believe Ava is already a month old. In a way it seems like we have had her forever but then again it seems like the time has gone by so quickly. I don't want her to grow up! She has already outgrown a few of her newborn outfits, mostly in length. I have a feeling she is going to be tall. She has the longest arms and legs and have you seen those precious feet?! They're huge!

She has gone through some major growth spurts recently. Not only does she look bigger but she is also wanting to eat more frequently in the evenings. Have any of you other moms experienced this with your newborns? When she cluster feeds like this in the evenings she does sleep longer stretches at night, about 5 hours, so that is good for mom. We are also really trying to work on the eat, wake, sleep routine throughout the day. She is such a good baby already but having her on a better schedule will help us in the long run.

Ava's cord finally fell off today so we were able to take a real bath. She loved the warm water. She's pretending to be superwoman in this picture!

This is Ava's favorite place to sleep. It's the only place she sleeps soundly, so therefore this is where we put her at night. Hopefully someday soon we can transition to the crib.

We try naps in her crib but they are unsuccessful right now. :(

I love it when she is all cuddled up on my chest.

So does Daddy



Gigi came to visit last week. She was such a good help! She watched Ava so I could run some errands and even cleaned the house. Thanks Gigi!

FYI to all my nursing friends (or soon to be)...I have found the perfect nursing bra. I am so picky when it comes to bras, especially nursing bras. I have been trying to find one that is not only comfortable but also has a good shape, none of this pointy "Madonna like" look! They are made by Bravado Designs (http://www.bravadodesigns.com/) and they are sold at Pickles and Ice Cream Maternity stores. They are kinda pricey but worth every penny!

So Much Love

We continue to have lots of visitors stop by to meet Ava. Here are some of the most recent.

My work friends Stephanie, Sara, and Kelly

Rebekah

Kristen and Keli (Kristen lives in San Antonio and surprised me with a visit to see Ava!)

My mom's side of the family came in town for Easter. Our first holiday at our house! If you have a baby they will come! It was nice to not have to travel and still get to see the people we love. I was very excited to introduce Ava to her great grandparents!

I know the flower is a little big but I think it looks cute!



Ava's Easter outfit (thanks to our friend Jennifer Zamzow) I don't have many "newborn" outfits for her but this one worked out perfectly. Have you ever seen a cardigan this small?


4 generations of women :)


Ava has now met all her great grandparents! Here is Big Bob and his great grandaughter- so sweet!


Granny Jean and Ava


Mimi and Ava

Someone just turned 30!!!!

Happy Birthday to my amazing husband! I love you so much! You are such a wonderful husband and friend and now an incredible father. My heart melts everytime I see you with your little girl. We hope you have a special day!
Love,
Your girls
(Kristen, Ava, and Macy)

More pictures of our sweet girl

Here is a 2 minute slide show (with music) of some pictures from the very beginning of my pregnancy along with some others taken since her birth. Enjoy!


Ava Slideshow - click here

2 week check up

First of all I want to say Congratulations to our dear friends Jenny and Zack who are now the proud parents of Rebekah May Burkhart! Also a congratulations to my sweet friend Rikki who gave birth to her little girl Sally (on the same day as Jenny). I can't wait to meet your precious girls!

Today was Ava's 2 week check up and she is doing fantastic! She now weighs 7 lbs. 7 ounces and is 21 1/4 inches long. She has put on almost a pound since birth and has grown 2 inches longer. She is growing healthy and strong, such an answer to prayers. The doctor calls her the star baby. That makes her mommy very proud! The one thing that we need to keep an eye on is Ava's neck. She has a slight bit of Torticollis which in simple terms means her head tilts slightly to one side. The doctor didn't seem like it was anything we needed to worry about but we just need to do some gentle stretches of her neck and repositioning so that she gets comfortable relaxing her head to the other side. Here is Baby Center's explanation of Torticollis.

Torticollis (also called congenital muscular torticollis) is a condition that causes a baby's head and neck to tilt to one side. It affects about 2 percent of newborns. The cause is unknown, but doctors suspect that when a baby is positioned in the uterus so that her head is tilted to the side and her neck is down, the blood supply to the neck is cut off. This results in some tightness in one of the two strap (or sternocleidomastoid) muscles that connect the breastbone, head, and neck, and allow a baby to turn her neck. Though the baby may look uncomfortable, this condition causes no pain.

Some things we love about our little 2 week old:
~She makes the cutest little grunts, like a piglet, when she is waking up in the middle of the night to be fed. No cries, just grunts!
~When I unswaddle her she throws her arms up in the air with jazz hands. Always makes me smile.
~She is becoming more and more alert each day and loves to just stare at things with her big beautiful eyes. At least once a day she will stay up between feedings (about 2 hours) and just stare at things, perfectly content.
~I love the way she calms down when her daddy or her mommy is holding her and talking to her. I know she recognized our voices from the first time we held her.

Visitors

Miss Ava is quite the hit with our friends and family. We have had lots of visitors. There are a few of you that we didn't get a picture of, sorry about that! Thank you to all of you for the outpouring of love and FOOD! :)

Papa Jim and Grammielle (Mikey's dad and stepmom)

Gigi (Mikey's Mom)

B-Pop (Mikey's step dad)

Kay Kay, Aunt Alli (my mom and sister), and Greg (Alli's boyfriend)

Kay Kay and Great Aunt Kathy

Aunt Brianna



Aunt Alli



Aunt Hilary (Mikey's step sister)

Papa Mike (my dad)

Great Granny Jean

Great Granny Jean and Great Aunt Kassandra (my grandmother and aunt)

Ben and Tana

Amy

Chris

Taryn and Tim

Sarah and Jennie

Rikki (she's expecting her baby girl in a week!)

Greg, Alli, Great Aunt Konnie

Wendy and Shelly

Ryan, Vaune, and Luke

1 week old

A little late but here is the picture of Ava at one week old. We are really enjoying our little girl. Mikey went back to work this week so it is just Ava, Macy, and I at home. Feeding and sleeping are going pretty well. I have been getting about 5 hours of sleep each night because Ava has been doing great at going right back to sleep after her middle of the night feedings. She wakes up every 3 hours to be fed so she is already getting on a schedule. I haven't felt the need to nap a lot during the day although I know I should try and squeeze in at least one. We have had a visitor almost every day. It has been nice because it forces me to get "presentable" and allows me to have more interaction with others during the day. It's amazing how great a shower makes you feel after you have been in your pajamas all day and been spit up on.