Happy Easter Everyone!!

Just thought I'd share a few pictures from Easter Day! Here's a picture of the cutest bunny EVER!
Ava had a fun first Easter...we hung outside all day in the beautiful weather and relaxed. Here she is in one of her many Easter dresses! SOOOOO CUTE!!!Daddy said she needed a bow...so I put it on her for a while...then she was done with it!
"Ggggooooo"...her favorite noise.
Too much....
Seersuckers and a bonnet...HOLY COW....ADORABLE!!!

More cuteness!!!Here's a little sleepy Easter video...


We hope everyone had a great Easter!

We've been doing lots of exciting new things in the last few days....I'll post as soon as I can with that info and some more pictures!

Birthday Fun!

So, it's official....I'm old. Yesterday was the first day of spring...and the day that I got old! BUT, it was a fabulous day! I had the morning off and my afternoon clinic went well (no screamers)!! I got to hang out with Ava in the morning, got food from my favorite lunch place (Chipoltle!), had two sets of flowers delivered to my work (one from Patrick and Ava and the other from my mom and dad), and got some fabulous gifts! Then I got to go to dinner (at ON THE BORDER!!!) with all of my resident friends, and Sarah stayed behind to babysit Ava and put her to bed!! (And let me just tell you...the cheese dip was AWESOME)! So, I actually got to go out and relax and not worry about if Ava was being loved enough!! :) So, thank you, Sarah! And thanks to Nate for driving Patrick and me around last night! So, anyway, here's proof that I actually went out!!

My favorite drink.... My lovely husband!
My sweet, sweet girls! We are just too cute!
Seven of 10 residents! Not bad! And Dr. Silva even came by for a little while! (She's our residency director)! Not sure what was so funny here....but it's cute!
So, it was an awesome birthday...and the weather was just perfect! After On The Border, we went to a low key bar (if you can call it that) near our house and hung out for a little while longer with us girls and our hubbies)! It was a great day! Thanks everyone!! An Ava update will be coming soon!!

Our trip home

It was so nice to be home and see everyone! Although, it was definitely not relaxing! :) But, I guess I should have expected that! Everyone wants a piece of Ava, and Patrick and I also try to visit some friends while we're there...we're just never there for long enough to do everything we want to. One day, we'll be back home (after 10 years of being a nomad!) and we can feel normal again! But, I love going home, and I got to show Ava off too...which is always fun! :)
Kristin and Matthew (Ava's God parents) got to hang out with Ava for a while too!
Ava did so well on the plane ride! On the way to Atlanta, it was perfect timing for me to nurse her as soon as we got on the plane...then she slept for a little while...and then was very happy. On the way back, she was awake most of the flight, but she was pretty easily entertained. She fell asleep for the last 10 mins of the flight. Oh well! She is just such a good traveler!
So, Ava got to visit with her cousin, Keegan, (who is 9 days older!) while she was home. They had so much fun playing together...and it was like prom all over again with the amount of pictures that were taken all at once! It was so fun to see them interact. I'm sad that they probably wont be able to hang out for quite some time...maybe until they're about 1 year old. :( But, we'll see!
Ha ha ha! They're gonna have so much fun when they're older!
The mommies and the babies!
Ava and Grandpa Mike....he loves to make her laugh!
Michee made sure Ava and Keegan felt just at home with lots of toys all around!
This is Ava when we got back home from our trip. She's a pretty happy girl!
Okay, so this is a little ridiculous....Aunt Sarah bought Ava this outfit! This is what I came home to see after work yesterday!!! She's the cutest kid I have EVER, EVER seen!!!Profile from the top!Here's a CUTE video of Keegan and Ava playing together at Michee and Pop's house!



Here are some more pictures from Ava's trip home!


***Disclaimer*** I posted two posts today (we've got the morning off!!), so be sure to look at the St. Patty's Day post below also!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Well, it's a little late, but HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!! I just wanted to share a few photos and a video of my little Irish baby! Hope you had a fun St. Patty's Day!

OH MY GOSH!! Could her hiney be any cuter?!?!? :)
Building muscles....doing push-ups!
Hello Mommy.She finally found her feet...and the LOVES them!
Here's a little video!

7 Months!

Hello!! Sorry for the delay! Silly me....I thought I'd actually have some extra time to make a post when I went home...but no such luck. I was reminded that going home is far from relaxing, and I definitely shouldn't plan to do anything extra! So, anyway, Happy 7 Month Birthday Ava!! Wow! It is just completely crazy that she's 7 months...I still feel like she's my little baby (I mean, she still is...), but she's just growing and changing SO FAST! So, there's a lot going on this month! She's still trying to crawl...not quite there, but oh so close!! :) She talks constantly...I just love listening to her sweet little voice! In the past few days, she's just begun to say "da da da da." It's very, very cute. She's gained a little baby fat...she now weighs 16lbs 3 oz...up one pound from one month ago!! She graduated from rice cereal to fruits and veggies! Her first food was carrots! I bought some organic carrots at the store, boiled them, blended them up, and voila! yummy, homemade food! She did great with the carrots and we most recently added bananas to her diet! She seems to like them both, and is getting so good at eating! Next up is squash! Here she is looking so sweet in her highchair!
Here she is trying out a carrot! :)

Here's the real picture! LOOK at those LIPS!!! Yummy!Okay, so Patrick and I were sitting at the kitchen table one morning, and we were having oranges. Ava was very interested, so we decided to let her have a little taste...she just kept eating and eating and eating! Well, come to find out that you're not supposed to give babies any kind of citrus (due to the acid) until they're ONE YEAR OLD!! Oooops! She really loved it though! I guess it'll be a while before she gets round two!
Here she is hanging around outside in the beautiful Florida weather. (Are y'all sick of me talking about the weather yet)?!? Check out this CUTE outfit! Well, Hello there!
Okay, so life doesn't get much better when what you wake up to is this!! I mean, come ON!!! Just look at her! This was right after the time change, so she wasn't used to getting up so early... she used to be awake when I got her in the morning...but she's still adjusting. It's really sweet, though, to watch her wake up so sweetly.
I know this one is blurry...but I couldn't resist those eyes!
Kissy, kissy, kissy!!
More push-ups....getting there, though!
I feel like I haven't had her gigantic smile on here in a while...so, here it is!
Nice and cozy after her bath!
So, that's about all for now! I'll update with pics from my trip home when I get an extra minute! I went a little crazy with the pics for 7 months...so, here's a link if you just HAVE to see more! :)

Dancing with Daddy

I don't know why this is just so darn entertaining to me...but I just LOVE it! Patrick makes Ava dance all the time and I can't get enough! Here's a little video to tie you over until tomorrow when I'll post Ava's 7 month info and more pics! Enjoy!!




PS. Atlanta...HERE WE COME!!!! :)

Trying So Hard!!

So, Ava is still trying to crawl!! She's getting SO CLOSE!! It's like she just flexes every muscle she possibly can....she just can't quite figure out how to actually MOVE FORWARD! She's got this move where she pushes up on her hands and her toes...and nothing in between! Kinda like a push-up! Her butt sticks straight up in the air...and I just love it! I know she's just trying to figure out how to move, but she's just not working the right muscles...but she'll figure it out! Here's a little video!



We're looking forward to this week! It's a short work week for me since I'm heading to Atlanta for a continuing education course...The Hinman Dental Meeting. So, Ava and I are flying on Wednesday afternoon/evening! Patrick is driving the dogs (since we don't have a car that can comfortably hold 2 big dogs, a baby, two adults, and luggage)! So, anyway, I'll write again before we leave, and I'll (of course!) have some 7 months pics for you!

Have a great weekend!

6 1/2 months!!

Can you even believe that Ava is already 6 1/2 months old?!? She is growing SO FAST! Lately, I've been a little sad because I just feel like she's getting to that stage where she sometimes looks (and acts) like she's not this little baby anymore. :( I'm not ready for her not to be a baby. I mean, she's eating solid food and laughing at the right times and responding to her name as if she's 3 years old! I just know her teeth aren't far from coming in, and that makes me sad too. Cause when she gets those teeth, then it will really be true....she'll really be growing up! She still has that perfect, gummy, baby smile that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! Oh...I'm just a little sad about all this growing up. :( Don't get me wrong, I always get so excited when we get to the next step b/c I love to see her developing...but she's my baby. And I still feel like I have a new baby....but she doesn't look that new anymore. And sometimes she just looks so LOOOOONG!! Like such a big girl. So, anyway, that's what I'm thinking these days!Having said all that...things are really going so well. I enjoy being with Ava and watching her with Patrick. He's so good with her. She's so lucky to have such a wonderful and involved dad! Here's Patrick and Ava at bath time. Usually bath time is my thing, but every now and then Patrick does it!Ava is still on the verge of crawling. We used to have to prop her up on all fours, but now she gets there on her own from her belly. She still rocks back and forth with no actual crawling. If she's on her belly, though, she can scoot a little to reach a toy! She does however roll all over the living room. In the mornings, we usually lay her on her play mat for a little while when she's still waking up after she eats. Well, she used to stay there and play with the toys...but now she ends up 3 feet from the mat cause she just rolls and rolls and rolls around! So, she's definitely mobile now! Other updates- Ava talks like crazy these days...she's constantly making some kind of noise! Can't wait to hear what her voice is going to sound like! :)

Scooting to her toys...We had a lot of fun this past weekend...Michee was here and then Uncle Pat and Pop decided to come too! So, we had a full house! We all went to a local pizza place and ate outside in the hot sun! It was great! Seriously, I love this Florida weather! We've had visitors every weekend for the past 6 weeks! But, now we're not expecting anyone for a few weeks! We'll be heading to Atlanta mid-March, so we'll have a chance to visit everyone then! Here's Ava and uncle Pat!Here's a family picture. Patrick and I are both looking a little rough, but it's what we got, and Ava looks cute enough to make up for us! :)

Every now and then, we still get a little Chinese face!

Ava is starting to show interest in drinking from a cup (or my drink). She's taken sips from my water bottle...she's still not sure what to think when the cold water goes in her mouth. Don't think she has really learned how to use the sippy cup yet...but doesn't she just look so smart like she knows just what to do!? !
This just cracks me up! Last weekend was such beautiful weather that we spent most of out time outside. Ava was just chillin', taking it easy, and sipping on her fancy new cup in her sweet Seersucker outfit!
Look at those perfect little feet! ;)
So, everything is great...Ava is constantly changing and we are loving every minute of it. I hope all is well with everyone! Have a great weekend! Here are more pics of Ava at 6 1/2 months!

Lots of practice

Over the last week, Ava has been practicing and has gotten so good and deliberate with eating! The second you get the cereal on the spoon, she opens her mouth so wide! I fed her the other day and tried to video her with my little camera at the same time. So, it's not perfect, but she's just so wonderful and cute, I had to share! I'll post again this weekend with other updates and more pictures! :) Aren't you excited?!?