Ava's First Steps!

So, Ava is 9 1/2 months now, and the newest and biggest news of all is that she took her first steps yesterday!! Can you believe it??! She still seems so little to me, and I find it hard to believe that she is already starting to walk!! CRAZY! Yesterday, I just happened to look over and she had just pulled herself up next to the chair...then she just started walking! She took 4 steps then sat down! A little after that, I was filming her playing and crawling around, and she crawled right to me and stood up....and I was able to catch her 2nd "first" steps. So much fun!! Here's a little video!

Ava's doing great these days. She is SO MUCH fun to be around! She loves the game where one of us dips behind the couch and then pops back up. She will laugh hysterically for many minutes playing that. She's getting so smart and will look over the edge of the couch to try and find us. Of course, she still LOVES hide and seek...one of her favorite games! She talks constantly and makes all sorts of crazy funny faces. She's becoming so much more animated! She's just so much fun to be with!

Patrick and I went to the beach with some friends for Memorial Day weekend. We left Ava (my first time away from her!!) at home with Aunt Sarah. Bobbi and Grandpa Mike came to help out as well. They had a wonderful time with her! I tried really hard not to cry when we were leaving, but I couldn't help it. :( I was excited to go to the beach, but really sad to be without her for 3 days. Since I'm still nursing, I was a little nervous that she wouldn't continue nursing when I got back since it was several days...but she is so go-with-the-flow, and she took right back to it without any problems. What a great baby I have!

Ava's got some more teeth coming in! Her top two teeth are on their way...starting to poke through her sweet little gums! So, I'll be looking forward to a 4 toothed smile pretty soon!

Here's Ava with her Grandpa Mike. He came for a very quick visit a few weeks ago when he was passing through Gainesville for work.
Ava and Aunt Sarah...in her fishing dress!
Ava with zucchini and sweet potatoes all over her face!
A sweet pic of my baby...
Just hanging out with Dad. He's always doing weird things to her...but she just tolerates them!
Here are just a few more pics of Ava at 9.5 months. There aren't very many...I'll have more for the 10 month post!

Hide and Seek

Ava had her 9 month check up appointment today. Basically....she's perfection. ;) Just kidding....well, no I'm not. She is perfect! :) So, anyway, everything looks great and she is doing well! She weighs 16lbs and 13oz (25%) and is 28 inches long (50%). My little peanut! She got one shot and was not very happy about that! I scooped her right up, but she didn't calm down quite as quickly as she has in the past...and she had the saddest little tears. :( But she has done great for the rest of the day and wasn't fussy at all! What a sweet little girl.

So, everything looks great, and we wont go back until she's ONE YEAR OLD! Yikes! So, anyway, that's about it. It was pretty uneventful, which I guess is good.

So, Ava has been having so much fun with Aunt Sarah. They play hide and seek together everyday, and here's a little video Sarah made for me when I was at work! SOOO cute! Ava is so lucky to have her!!

9 Months!!

I CANNOT believe Ava is already NINE months old!!! Time FLIES!!! We have had a fun past two weeks! Michee came for a visit for a few days, and that was so much fun. Ava loves it when her grandparents come to visit! :) Can't wait to see you again, Michee!

Also, we are very lucky to have the world's best nanny for the summer....Aunt Sarah!! She moved in last week and will be living with us for the summer. She'll be taking care of Ava during the day until I get home...this way I don't worry if Ava is being loved enough, and Patrick can get work done without having to constantly follow an on-the-move 9 month old!! We love her and are so glad to have her! Ava didn't have any stranger anxiety with her at all and already knows her! Ava lights up when Sarah walks in the room. What a lucky, loved baby girl Ava is!! Here's Ava and Aunt Sarah hanging out in the pool! Ava's doing all sorts of fun stuff now! Her new thing is squealing! I love it. It's adorable. I realize that I may not always feel this way about this high pitched squealing sound, but as for now, it's the cutest! So, the basics...she's now standing up and balancing quite well! (See video below). Everyday she's getting better and better and can balance longer. She's pretty good at falling too...she's learned how to lower herself pretty lightly to the ground. (Although, she does bonk her head several times a day...luckily, she's only bruised a few times...usually it's red for a while then goes away)! Her teeth are still coming in...but no sign of any others quite yet!
Ava's had lots of new foods. Here she is after her first taste of pureed chicken!Just today, she FINALLY clapped! I have been trying to get her to clap forever...and she would do it, but both of her hands were still clenched....today, she actually opened them up and made a clapping sound! I was so excited! She did it several times already! We haven't really gotten more than about 3 waves out of her. We're still working on that! :)

Here's Ava sitting in the top of our closet. Patrick thought it would be funny....it was!
I just thought this face was hysterical! :) She's sitting on my lap here.
Hanging out at the park!
Patrick always wants Ava to cuddle with him, and for the most part, she's too much of a busy body to do that. But for 5 whole minutes she laid here with Patrick while they watched TV. How cute!! I got this pic from every angle!
So, you know Ava has been standing up in her crib. She's getting smarter by the day and is now very aware of us coming in to her room. She now stands and STARES at the door and waits for us to come in! She'll stand there, perfectly quiet, staring at the door for 10 minutes (before OR after a nap)! We watch her on the monitor, and I just love it!

Ava loves to crawl around with Sarah, and she always finds her way to this corner of the hallway. Once she's behind the wall, she sticks her head out from behind it like she's looking for us! Isn't she cute?!?
In one of her bathings suits that Aunt Sarah got her!
More giggles in the pool!
Ava has fallen in love with reading. I've read to her since she was very young...but now she really looks forward to our reading times. We read before naps and before bedtime at night. Now....after bath, lotion, and pj's, she sits on my lap and turns her head to the left (where her books are) waiting for story time! I'm so glad she enjoys the books...hopefully she'll love to read when she gets older too! So, things are really great right now. I am enjoying Ava so much, and I just love her more and more everyday! My first Mother's Day was wonderful. I'm just so lucky that I have such a wonderful baby...I love her so much.

Here are MANY pictures of her at 9 months. Sarah is here while I'm at work, so she helps add to my already ridiculous number pictures....so, be prepared!

2 new things!

Her two favorite new things to do....squeal and stand with no hands!!! :) Here's a little clip of both! More to come in the next day or so!

4 Year Anniversary!

Patrick and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary today! It was a great day! I was able to make it home for lunch for a while today, and we opened presents! He had a dozen roses sent along with a new pilates mat and some running clothes! (For those of you who don't know, I am currently training for the 10K Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on the 4th of July. Brutal for me! So, I need cute running clothes to encourage me to go)! :) So, anyway, it was great! I got him some running stuff along with some other things!! Then, tonight, we went to a very nice place for dinner called Mark's Prime Steakhouse. It was so good and so filling! Just perfect! Now I'm about to get right in bed and sleep on a full stomach....my favorite! :)

So, happy 4 years to us!! Time FLIES!!!

Happy Birthday Michee!!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Michee
Happy Birthday to you!!

Michee visited for a few days this week, and here are just a few pics! I'll post the rest in about a week for Ava's 9 month birthday!!!

We tried to get Ava to hold the sign nicely...She did pretty well at first....
But that was the end of that!
Michee and Ava getting ready to go to the park! (...in Ava's cute new outfit and hat that Michee got her)!