Ava Rolls Over

I like to believe that our daughter is advanced. Check out this video.

Hmmmm...

Apparently, Dad didn't get the "No TV Until Ava is 2" memo....

Our First Christmas

Our first Christmas has been perfect. Ava gave us the greatest gift of all...5 consecutive hours of sleep! It's almost like she knew exactly what we wanted for Christmas. The rest of the day only got better. We had a leisurely morning (sleeping between 5 and 9 AM) and then Ava woke up and we spent the morning with her. In the afternoon we got some more time to nap (can you tell that we are sleep deprived) and then had a fantastic turkey dinner.

We also celebrated a "pre-Christmas" with Grandma before she went home. Thank goodness for Grandma or we wouldn't have had any decorations or pretty wrapped presents.

Here's Dad wearing one of the presents we bought him at Nordstrom's when we went on our shopping adventure.

Grandma's Visit

Last week Grandma and Grandpa came to visit Ava. Grandpa stayed for a couple of days but then had to go home (so we don't have any pictures of him--Mom is slacking again!) Grandma stayed to help out so Ken and I could get some much needed rest. We did go on an adventure to Longwood Gardens to see all of the Christmas decorations. Of course we picked the coldest and rainiest day of the year and didn't realize that the indoor Conservancy was a long (outdoor) walk from the Visitor Center. We can attest to the fact that Ava's canopy on her car seat is completely water proof.

Mom and Ava Lillian in the lillies

Grandma and Ava just after a bath--note the spiked hairdo

For Great Grandma Joyce

Great Grandma Joyce has been looking for new pictures of sweet Ava every day and I have been a total slacker. So here are some new pics just for you, Great Grandma.

Ava went on her first shopping adventure yesterday. We went to Nordstrom's to pick up a Christmas gift for Dad (shhhhh...don't tell) and then to Trader Joe's for some groceries. She is an excellent shopper as she slept the entire time. All the ladies (and some of the men) in the grocery store fell in love with Ava when they saw her. I was very happy that none of them touched her though...it is cold and flu season, you know. But of course, I would have made Daddy proud because I had my anti-bacterial hand sanitizer at the ready.

When Dad got home from work last night he almost didn't recognize Ava since I had actually dressed her in an outfit. (She's been spending her days in nightgowns...it's so much easier to change diapers that way!) Thank you Aunt E for the pretty clothes you see here in the pictures.

Our First Week

Last week at this time, we were at the hospital in the early stages of labor. Here are some of our favorite pictures from Ava's first week.

Hip Hop Baby

Ava was very excited to head home from the hospital. To celebrate she starred in her first video!

(Make sure your volume is on and you pause the music player on the left hand side of the blog before you hit play.)

Santa Baby

Ava Lillian had her first professional photo shoot on Friday and she did a perfect job. We needed her to be sound asleep and figured that having a doctor's appointment in the morning would ensure that she would be awake during the appointment and then ready to sleep in the afternoon for the photos. Our plan almost worked. She apparently didn't mind seeing Dr. May since she slept through most of our visit with him. We got her home, fed her a bottle, and she managed to fall into a pretty deep sleep for about 2 hours. We got lots of cute pictures of her including some where Dad was holding her in his hands. Of course, that's when she decided she had to go potty. Dad was officially baptized as a father!

Here is a sneak peak of our little Santa Baby. There is another picture on our photographers blog that you can see to. Just go to www.jenniferbretonphotography.com/blog

Check out the eyelashes!

It's Official

Meet Ava James Reita!

Okay just kidding; Ava Lillian Reita.

It's a Girl!

She's here! After much anticipation our little girl has arrived. And of course, we believe that she is practically perfect in every way. You can judge for yourself.