Look what I can do!

Walk!!

Ava has been taking steps for awhile now but had never really walked across the room till this week! Each day that passes she is getting better and better. She walks most of the time until she falls on her bottom and then she crawls the rest of the way. I love watching her toddle around with her arms straight out in front of her. Sometimes she gets going so fast that she starts going sideways. Very funny! She always has the biggest smile on her face as she is walking towards you. She is pretty proud of herself and we are too!! I am so amazed at how determined and brave this little girl is.

More big news is one of her top teeth finally came in this week!!! I have been waiting months for those little suckers. She got her bottom teeth in September so the top teeth waited a long time to come in. I kept thinking they were always right around the corner but 5 months later the first one finally appeared. She had a runny nose for about a week with no other symptoms or fever so I am sure it was all because her teeth were coming in. She didnt sleep well the night before her tooth came in so it all makes sense now.

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Cheerleading

This weekend my mom and Bri came in town for Bri's cheerleading competition. Ava and I, along with my Aunt Konnie, met my mom and Alli at the competition to watch Bri perform. She was cute as can be cheering, with facial expressions and all, and quite the little dancer (she was front and center during her teams dance portion of the routine). This was my first time to watch Bri perform and she did awesome. I am so proud of my lil sis!

I mean, how cute is she?

Alli, Konnie, Ava, Brianna, Me

Ava liked Bri's sparkly eyeshadow.

11 months old

My precious little girl is 11 months old today! I seriously can't believe it. She is one month away from turning a year old and the past 11 months have flown by way too fast. Every morning we play quietly in her room before naptime and I just sit back with tear filled eyes and watch her in wonder and amazement. I ask myself every day, is this beautiful happy baby really mine? She is growing up so quickly and this past month I have noticed the light bulb really going off in that head of hers. She has shown me more this month that she understands what I am saying to her. She acts so much like a toddler already and her adorable personality has really come to life this month.

Here are a few other things I want to remember:

*She points to everything now. The first thing she does when I pick her up from her crib is she points to the light or out her door.

*She has a fascination with lights. She loves to point to light fixtures or lamps and we have taught her on and off by flipping the light switches up and down. It is a fun game for her.

*I swear she has tried to say Macy. She loves to look for her after her nap and she says "may may" on occasion. Much different than "ma ma".

*The new love of her life is Elmo. We have several Elmo books that she always wants us to read over and over and so I found a little Elmo doll at the store for her and she carries it around a lot. I put on Sesame Street every once in awhile and her face lights up when Elmo comes on the screen. I have heard her say a couple of times "mo mo" too.


*She continues to be such a good eater. She eats a ton!!! The other day I was shocked when she ate a whole sweet potato and some fruit. I gave her fishsticks for the first time the other day and she seemed to like them.

*She has become such a snuggler this month. Before nap time she just hugs my neck and lets me hold her. I love it! Her daddy loves it too. One day I came home from running errands and found these two snuggled together in her glider. She fell asleep on him and he didnt want to put her down.

*We have completely darkened her room and it seems to be helping her napping. Yay!

*We have started going to a music class on Wednesday mornings with the other mommies and babies from our playgroup. I dont think Ava enjoys it as much as some of the other babies because all she wants to do is roam around and do her own thing. Forget about sitting still in mom's lap! We still enjoy going because it gets us out of the house and we get to spend more time with our friends.

*Ava is soooo close to walking. She is taking more and more steps on her own but isnt quite a walker yet. :)

*We went to the dr. yesterday because she has had a runny nose and I wanted to get her in before the weekend to make sure she doesn't have any infections. Turns out she just has a cold. She did get weighed while we were there and she now weighs a little over 18 pounds.

*We just purchased a bigger carseat for her that we will be switching over to soon. Bye bye to the infant carrier. :(

Happy 11 months old my sweet sweet Ava Marie!! I am so very proud of the little girl you are becoming. I wish I could keep you tiny forever but I know this next stage will be a fun one for both of us. I love you more than you will EVER know!

(if you can't see the slideshow below then click the refresh button. sometimes that happens to me)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Valentines Day

Our Valentines Day was filled with lots of love! It was a wonderful day. We spent the day as a family and then went over to Luke's house because Ava had a special valentine for him. Once Ava went to sleep Mikey cooked a wonderful dinner for us. I wouldnt have wanted to spend this day with my sweeties any other way.

Knock Knock Luke. It's your Valentine!

He loved his valentine from his girl

Holding up their valentines from each other in thier love wagon. I pulled them around Ryan and Vaune's house and it was like thier own romantic carriage ride. We aren't trying to force this relationship or anything! ;) Vaune and I can't help it. They are just so stinkin cute together!

Playin some music

Me and my sweetie

1st Haircut

We took Ava to get her 1st haircut yesterday! Dad was a little hesitant at first but when I brought her in the living room after her morning nap and he saw that hair I think he knew it was time too. We went to a place called Hair Diddle Diddle and it was really cute. Ava sat in a little pink car and watched Dora while the nice lady cut her hair. She was pretty cooperative until it was time to cut her bangs and then she was turning her head a lot, making it difficult for the lady to cut her hair. Luckily she never cried and sat still long enough for her to get a little trim. She cut a little off the bottom and in the front but left the sides so that it would grow out like a girl's hair should. Most people wouldn't even know she got a haircut but we are happy that it is no longer in her eyes.

The before picture- watching Dora

Hair is wet and ready to be cut

Cut those bangs!

ahaha!!! Didn't know what to think about the blowdryer. Oh boy this one makes me laugh!!!!

The after picture- much better

More Snow

It snowed again here in Dallas! I have never seen it snow like this in Texas before. It is beautiful!! It ruined some of our plans to meet up with friends but that's ok. Me and the girls just stayed inside all day and stayed warm.

My girls admiring the pretty snow

How many pictures have I taken from this angle? I can't help but take pictures when I see them both looking out the window.

Ava and I went outside briefly so I could take her picture in the snow. She wasn't that impressed.

When Mikey got home we put our hats and coats on and went outside to play in the snow.

Watching as Mikey and Macy build a snowman

They built not one but two snowmen.

First glance on snow on Thursday morning

It snowed all day and all night and this was our view this morning (Friday)

It's Time...

For a haircut!!!!

It's getting harder and harder for me to swoop that hair out of her eyes. I never thought she would need one this soon but I think her hair could use a little trim. I am a nervous though. I hope she actually lets someone cut her hair and I hope they do a good job. Any recommendations of where to go? I think tomorrow is the day....Stay tuned for after photos!!

What Every Mom Needs

I already hinted to the hubby that I would like one of these some day. They're so pretty I had to pass them on.

Ava Kisses and Bubble Baths

Ava loves giving kisses these days and if you are a mom you know that those first kisses are open mouth slobbery kisses. I love that she can now show us signs of affection. She has been an extra good snuggler lately too!

Pretty sure my puckerd lips were completely in her mouth. haha

Ava also recently had her first bubble bath. Bubbles are so fun! (we still haven't graduated to the big tub yet)

Checking out the bubbles

Of course we have to taste them too. It's all part of the discovery!

New Friends and Old

This past weekend Mikey, Ava, and I packed up and headed south for a quick trip to Round Rock and San Antonio to spend some time with friends. My sweet friends from high school Cassie and Carla are expecting their second babies in April so our group of friends threw them a joint baby shower in San Antonio on Saturday. We stayed with the Isaacsons on Friday night and that allowed Ava to hang out with her new friend, Alex. They had met one other time when she was much smaller but they weren't able to actually play together till now. I was really looking forward to watching these two play together. It kills me that I don't live in the same city as some of my closest friends with babies. We are missing out on lots of playtime and mommy bonding!

Alex sharing one of his many toys with Ava. He's got a toy collection like you wouldn't believe!

Ava meeting Paige's teeny tiny chihuaha, Lola. Not quite sure Ava would even put Lola and Macy in the same category. They are on opposite extremes for dogs!

Crawling around outside in her party dress. Very San Antonio "fiesta like" don't you think?

Carla and Izzie got Ava her first tea set as an early birthday gift

Check out that straddle! Go Jenny! She was so sweet to help me entertain Ava during the shower. She knew all the perfect distractions. We missed having Bekah there but we thank her for sharing her mommy with us.

Kristen is a natural. I don't think I have been able to this with Ava in 6 months or more. She will be a good mommy someday.

Cassie and Carla opening up their gifts!

The girls (minus Shelby)

I had a great time with you girls! I hate how our visits never seem long enough. Glad we have babies and weddings to keep bringing us all together! Who's next???

Ava and Alex got in one last playtime before we left on Saturday night. Cassie, sorry but looks like we made it home with one of Alex's drumsticks. Somehow it was in Ava's suitcase????

First Steps

She isn't officially walking yet but Ava did take her first step about a week ago. It happened one day while Mikey was at work so when he got home we tried to recreate the exciting moment. She's a brave little one so I imagine she will be walking around very soon!

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The joys of a self feeding baby

Clean up time is always fun. ;)

At least it is for Macy who gets to lick fingers and eat food that didnt make it in Ava's mouth.

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Storytime and Music Class

This week we have had several firsts. We went to storytime at the library for the first time with Luke and Vaune and went to our first music class, Tiny Tots N Tunes. It's been fun to start these new activities with Ava and watch her interact with other babies. I like getting out of the house too. Up until now that usually has entailed running errands with her in tow which is not really fun for her or I. We still have our playdates, which I love, so these new activities will be a nice addition to our "Ava playtime."

I have looked into storytime at the Library but the session for Ava's age always seemed to be during her therapy time. When Vaune invited us to meet her and Luke on Monday during Storytime for the 1-2 year olds we jumped on the opportunity to check it out and spend more time with our friends. There were plenty of younger siblings at storytime so I didnt feel bad brining her. She loved looking at all the other kids and once the librarian started reading Where's Spot? she was all ears. We read this book all the time at home and she must have remembered it because she was not paying attention to anything other than the kids before this point. Luke could not have been happier to have his little girlfriend, whom he calls "Ova", there with him. He would pat the floor beside him and say "Ova, Ova" over and over again until I sat her by him. I think it's love.

Afterwards we went to Chickfila for lunch. Can I just say that I LOVE Chickfila more than ever! It has always been my favorite fast food joint but I had never brought Ava there before and it is super kid friendly. They have these awesome plastic place mats that stick to the table for kids, they have a playing area, the manager came by and gave Luke and Ava a little container of cheerios, AND to top it off they play Christian music!! I might be a little chubbier in the next few months because this might be a regular eating spot for Ava and I. She loved the chicken nuggets like her mommy. :)

Luke leaning in for a kiss. They seriously love each other. I am pretty sure that Ava knows Luke's name because when I told her we were going to see Lukie she started looking around for him.

Today was our first day of music class at Heights Baptist Church in Richardson. All the girls from our playgroup signed up as well so it was fun to all be together. It was just what I was expecting it to be. Lots of singing, hand movements, musical instruments. We loved it and I look forward to next week!

Amy & Brinley and Danielle & Jake


Danielle & Jake and Tyler & Heather

Leanne & Carter and Amy & Brinley

Holly, the wonderful instructor, read (sang really) a story and look who was front in center. She crawled out of the circle right up to her while she was reading. Once again, loves the books!

Carter playing with the jingle bells

Ava eating the jingle bells

Cute Brinley shakin the bells

(sorry for the dark spot precious girl. my smaller camera has a permanent spot on the lens)



Some new friends that are also in our music group are Jennifer and her baby girl Madison. Jennifer and I have a mutual friend and met about a year ago when we were both pregnant. Low and behold we end up having our girls on the same day, same hospital. We bumped into each other at one of the breastfeeding classes at the hospital a day after the girls were born. I look forward to getting to know her and Madison more this semester at our music class!