My Weekend

Stars

Ava's cousin, Avery was so excited to meet the new baby. She wanted to hold her so we sat together on the couch. Avery was such a little mother holding and loving the baby. She looked deep into Ava's eyes and then turned to me and in all seriousness said, "She has STARS in her eyes." What a little sweetheart!

Road Trip

Ava went on her first big road trip last week. Her cousin, Catherine, flew out to help me drive from our house to Michigan. Pre-baby the trip took about 10 hours; post-baby it took 12. Thank goodness Catherine was there to help!!

We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house around 9:30. We hadn't been there for more than a few minutes when Great Grandma Joyce came running into the house. We thought she was going to knock us over to get to the baby. I think she missed her calling as a football player. It had been snowing all day so we were very surprised to see her since she doesn't like to drive either at night or in the snow. It turns out that Uncle Jeff had picked her up to bring her to see Ava.

My Auntie

Ava has so many aunties and great aunties and she loves them all very much. But Auntie E got her this great t-shirt and she wore it when she watched the MSU football game yesterday for 2 reasons. First, because her Auntie E went to MSU and Ava wanted to represent and second becuase she didn't have any MSU gear.

"Do you want to know how much I love my auntie?"

"This much!"

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.