7 Weeks Old

What a big girl! This weekend we had Ava dedicated at church. This is a picture of the family with Pastor Fred. I was really nervous that we would get up and during a prayer she would start crying. But she did great. She made it through worship and through the dedication. We ate and then she slept through the sermon. We had 30+ family members over for a BBQ after church. We all had a great time and I am so happy that everything went great.

Ava is getting so vocal. She talks to the tv all the time... little coo's and babble. She even does this excited gasp. It is so cute. Of course, every time I turn on the video camera she is quiet. She loves to lay on her little play mat and kick kick kick while she watches the colors change on the tv. Her neck is also getting a lot stronger and when she is on my shoulder she has her head up and is looking around.

Leaving for work is still hard, but it is better than last week. Only 20 more days of work for me until summer break. I cannot wait. I want to just hold her all day long. I cannot wait to take her to the pool so she can kick around. She has been kicking in her bath recently and is getting water all over the place. We took her to the doctor last week for her pesky diaper rash and found out she weighs 11 lbs 2 oz. She is Momma's big girl! I could stare at her forever... she is so beautiful.

Back to Work- 6 Weeks Old

I am at work today : ( What a sad day. I only have to work for 23 more days before summer break though. "I can do it, I can do it", I keep telling myself that. I miss her so much already. Work has kept me busy so atleast my day is going by quickly. I get to see her in about 3 hours after track practice. She is getting so big. She is in her 3 month old clothes now and cannot wear anything that is newborn size. She grows so fast. This past weekend we hung around the house a lot. Matt did yard work and I cleaned when I could. Ava is a snuggler and she will sleep as long as she is in your arms. If you lay her down you may get 20 minutes to start a project. On Sunday we went to dinner at Jose Peppers with GiGi, Papa, Uncle Brad, and Aunt Fannie. Ava was pretty good at dinner but she did tell us when she was ready to go.
Ava is really starting to make little cooing noises and Papa and GiGi even got to hear her giggle at the KU Relays. She is smiling all the time. She really is a happy baby and only cries when she is dirty or hungry. I cannot wait until I get to pick her up today. Come on time...fly by!

5 Weeks Old

I cannot believe how fast the time is going by. I start work in one week. Noooo! But I will only have 4 and a half weeks of school left and then I will be off the entire summer. We received Ava's newborn photos this week. They are amazing! Ava has changed so much from even these pictures. She has already outgrown her newborn onesies and sleepers. We have started to wear all of our new 0-3 month old clothes. I think we have worn a new outfit almost every day this week. We even blew out a diaper on 2 of our new outfits. The blowouts continue to be funny especially when you have someone else to laugh with you. At 3am... it's not so funny. She has had a nice sleeping pattern this last week; sleeping 5 hours then waking up for a diaper change and to eat. She then goes right back to sleep for 3 hours and wakes up between 5 and 6 am again. One night she slept 7 hours! I had to check for breathing several times. Ava also went to 2 track meets this week. She even sleeps through the starting gun. My little trackster!

Ava also celebrated her first Easter last weekend. She got 2 new outfits and a new rattle from the Easter Bunny. He even brought her some chocolates and Jelly Beans for Mommy and Daddy. At Gigi's she got some money, new outfits, and stuffed animals. What a lucky gal. We took tons of pictures of her in her Easter Basket surrounded by eggs. It was so cute. She is gaining more neck control although she still smacks herself in the face with her wild arms. Her diaper rash has gotten a lot better and is almost healed up and her hair continues to get longer (but only in the back). Mommy and Daddy are so in love with her and when we talk she will turn her head to find us. She also seems to be able to see a bit further too. Ava is pretty amazing and each new day we find her doing something new and adorable. Her smile is so infectious and even in the middle of the night you cannot help but smile back at this little miracle. Parenthood thus far has been nothing but blessings!

March Madness

This obviously didn't help them win... but it is still pretty cute! (2 weeks old)

1 month old

It's hard to believe she has been here for almost a month. Boy have our lives changed. I did not realize how amazing having a baby could be. She is pretty amazing. Her smile makes my day and I could stare at her forever. Being a mom is the greatest thing ever.
My favorite highlight of the day has to be bathtime. I am not sure why, but there is something about a clean baby all bundled up in a towel... I then nurse her and we get ready for bed. She is sleeping about 3 hours at a time at night. And it is hard to get up with her at 3 in the morning, but it is only hard to pull my feet out of bed. Once I have her in my arms, it might as well be 3 in the afternoon. I nurse her in our glider and just stare at her until she falls back asleep. She seems so peaceful!
Our families are crazy about her too. She has spent a lot of time with Nana and Aunt Fannie because they live so close. Matt's mom came up last week to spend some time with her while I went to the dentist. I am sure Ava is held so much she probably won't walk until she is two. She is a cuddly baby who love to be up on the shoulder and loves her butt patted. It makes my family crazy that she loves the shoulder so much because they cannot see her pretty face.
Speaking of her face... she is the spitting image of Matt. Everytime I look at her she just reminds me of him. All that work by me, and she looks like Matt. haha. Matt is such a great dad. He does diapers, washes blown out onesies, and cleans out bottles and pumping equiptment. He is so great with her. I could not imagine us without her now.
Labor was not as bad as I thought it would be. My students and athletes always ask me, "did it hurt?" Yes it hurt! But when it was all said and done, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I stayed in control and made it all the way to 7cm before I was ready for an epidural. (and praise Jesus for that!) From start to finish, I labored for about 7 hours at the hospital, although my contractions had been going for about 12 hours before I had to report for my induction. We did eat our last supper (without a child) down at Bucca de Beppos on the Plaza- contractions and all. Yes, she had to be evicted. She liked my womb a little to much. But she was worth the wait.
All in all, I cannot believe how amazing she is. She is perfect. From her dark blue eyes to her long toes. God is so amazing and everytime I look at her I am reminded of how truely blessed we are.