Easter

Ava is about to wake up from her nap, but I wanted to get some pictures up here. Here are some pictures of Easter and St. Patrick's Day.

St. Patrick's Day (Sadly, this is the best picture I could get)

Before the hunt began

She didn't understand that the eggs should stay in the basket, but she was willing to share!

Ava and her cousin, Claire, trying out some of their Easter candy. She didn't know what to think!

Ava fell asleep on the way home from church. This pretty much set the mood for the rest of the picture taking.

Ava did not like sitting, standing, walking, etc. in the grass.

Ava with her two cousins, Caleb and Levi

Ava loves Levi!

Ava and her Easter basket

After all that, she was done with Easter...

Update on Ava

Since Ava is now 13 months old, I guess it's about time I post her one year stats. At her one year check-up, she weighed 18 lbs. 5 oz. (10%) and was 30 in. (75%) long. She is doing really great. She has definitely caught up and doesn't look like a preemie anymore!

Other big news is that Ava started walking this week. She has been taking a couple steps at a time for a few weeks now, but this week she has taken off. She can take 10+ steps in a row. It won't be long before we are running after her trying to keep up. Of course, like everything else, she does not like to walk for other people. I don't think anyone believes us when we say Ava is doing something new. It's usually another month before she will show off her new "trick".

About a month ago, Ava also started going to Gymboree and taking swimming lessons. She still isn't too sure about the gym, but she loves swimming! She even "swims" under water and it doesn't seem to bother her. We can't wait to start taking her to the pool this summer. She is at such a fun age!!

I know most people only visit here for the pictures, so I'll post a few. I feel the need to explain them though. A couple nights ago, Ava threw up while eating dinner. We stripped her down and cleaned her up, but she was still acting a little hungry. We put her back in her high chair (without the tray) and she was definitely relaxing while she enjoyed a few cheerios.

Happy Birthday Ava Grace!!

I am a little bit late with this post, but our little girl turned 1 on Saturday! I can't believe she is a year old! The time has gone by too quickly. In one short year, we have gone from this

to this

We are so blessed to have the sweetest, most amazing baby girl! We can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

We had Ava's birthday party on Saturday. I need to get the pictures other people took because we didn't end up with a good one of Ava. Anyway, here are the pictures:

Ava's Cake

Our Family

Ava enjoying her cake...

Santa

My sister, Jennifer, and I took our kids to see Santa yesterday. I thought Ava was too young to be scared of Santa, but I was wrong!! Obviously, she was not a fan...

Halloween (late) and Much More!!!

I know...once again it has been a while. I really intended to post Halloween pictures on Halloween, but both Ava and I were sick and we are just now starting to feel better! My sister's family got us sick (if you read her blog, you have heard all about it) and it has been a challenge to get over it. I feel like Ava has been sick since we moved!

Anyway, I just wanted to share some cute pics of Ava and her cousin, Caleb, in their Halloween costumes. First, I need to explain Ava's costume. Early on, Kurt started calling Ava "Sugar Bear". We don't really know why he chose that nickname, but it stuck. We decided she should be a Sugar Bear for her first Halloween, so here she is...

I know I am her mother, but isn't she cute???

Here are some more pictures. Caleb was a very cute lion for Halloween. He even roared like a lion. :)

Caleb is "roaring" for the camera in this picture.

We told Caleb to kiss Ava, but it looks like the lion is eating the bear. :)

A lot has happened since I last posted. Ava is crawling now! She has been doing this for about two weeks and she is into everything!!!! It look her a while to figure it out, but once she got the hang of it, she was off. She is also pulling up on everything. She was pulling up before she learned to crawl, but now she has more choices. She is starting to "cruise" along the furniture and toys a bit, but she isn't quite strong enough to walk yet. She used to love to stand before she learned to crawl, but now she prefers to sit down so she can go where she wants to go.

Ava also got her first FOUR teeth last week. She cut all four teeth in two days! She has definitely been a trooper though. She has been a little fussy, but nothing near the horror stories I have heard about teething.

The last major change since I posted last is that Ava is 100% on table food. We officially gave up baby food last week. She has been eating table food for a couple of months, but baby food was really for my convenience. We were going through at least six jars of baby food a day, so I figured it was time to finally make the switch. She is doing great! She loves eating off of Mommy and Daddy's plates.

I am so excited about her first Thanksgiving this week! I can't wait for her to taste all the Thanksgiving food. We are having family pictures taken this week, so that should be fun too. Of course, I'll post them on here as soon as I get them. We will be using some for our Christmas card, so you'll have to wait to see that one!

I am also VERY excited about decorating for Christmas. I always do that the weekend after Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see Ava's stocking hanging on the mantle and her Christmas presents under the tree. Most of all, I love the radio station that plays non-stop Christmas music until Christmas Day. I am going to pull out all of my Christmas CDs and blast them throughout the house for the next month. Ava loves music, so I hope she loves them as much as I do. If you can't tell, this is my favorite time of year!

Ava will be 10 months tomorrow. I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast!!! I just want to keep her a baby forever!!!

9 Month Pictures

Here are a few of the 9 month pictures we had taken of Ava. We had some taken in her Halloween costume, but you'll have to wait until next week to see those! :)

9 Months

I can't believe it, but our little baby is 9 months old already. The time is going by too fast!!! We had her 9 month check-up yesterday and the doctor said she is doing great! She now weighs 16lbs. 11oz. (15%) and is 29in. (90%)! I still can't believe she is in the 90th percentile on height. I knew she was getting tall and outgrowing all of her clothes, but she was in the 50th at both her 3 month and 6 month check-ups. The doctor said he thinks it is just her body type to be tall and thin. You can't beat that!

Ava is still trying to crawl, but she hasn't quite figured it out yet. She gets to where she wants to go, but it is by a combination of crawling, rolling, dragging, etc. She is at such a cute age! She is into everything!!

We are having Ava's 9 month pictures taken today, so I will have more pictures to post soon. However, here are some pictures we took of her this weekend at the pumpkin patch by our house. She didn't want to smile for the camera, but she had such a good time playing with the pumpkins.

Future Aggie...

This will have to be short because I am dealing with a sick baby that does not want to be put down! I just wanted to share some pictures of Ava in her "Aggie" gear watching the A&M game this weekend.

I'm an Aunt....again....

Okay, so I am almost a week late on this post, but I figured I better put it up here. Last Thursday, my sister, Jennifer, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. Here he is...

Levi James
8lbs. 3 oz.
19.5 in.

I had the time to post on my sister's blog, but hadn't had a chance to post here. Caleb, my nephew, is being such a good big brother. He loves to kiss and hold Levi. Here are some more pics. I posted these same pictures on my sister's blog, so if you read both, they will be repeats. I am going to visit tomorrow, so I should have new pictures to post.

Caleb Kissing Levi

The Whole Family

Ava napping on Grandma while waiting to see Levi

Ava has been a mess today and has not wanted to take a nap ALL DAY!!! I finally got desperate and tried to get her to nap in her swing. I think she may have outgrown the swing...

Yes, we are alive!

Wow, it has been such a long time since I have posted. So many things have happened in the last month. We did get moved and are finally getting settled in. Moving was so much easier before Ava. This house would have been put together weeks ago, but Ava knows she runs the show. She has definitely kept her mommy busy!

It took a little while for Ava to get adjusted to the new house. I'm sure she felt our stress, but she didn't sleep very well for the first week or so. Kurt and I have been so tired! Ava was actually sick with allergies when we moved in. All the trips back and forth from city to city really did a number on her. Her allergies are terrible where we live now, so the doctor put her on allergy medication. The medicine has really helped and we are getting our sweet little Ava back.

I took Ava to the doctor today and he said we need to start her on table food. How is my baby already starting table food??? The doctor kept reminding me that she is a big girl now since she is 8 months old. I don't even want to think about it. I don't want Ava and big girl used in the same sentence. I want to keep her my little baby forever.

Beginning table food should be interesting considering Ava gags until she throws up when she is fed anything with a little texture to it. The doctor said if we don't start now with different textures and more solid food, I will end up with the child that will only eat chicken fingers and tortillas. For some reason, this comment makes me laugh every time I think about it. However, I will not be laughing when I post on here in two years frustrated that we can only eat at Chick-fil-a and mexican food restaurants. The doctor said with Ava's issues he is about 99% sure she will be the adult that can't swallow a pill to save her life. My poor baby! Hopefully, she will overcome all of these texture issues. Of course, she has a daddy that can't eat cottage cheese because of the texture and a mommy that can't eat pickles on a hamburger because I don't like crunchy things on foods that should be soft. Maybe she was doomed from the start!

I have received multiple emails requesting pictures of the new house. We are finally about done with it, so I will try to post some pictures this weekend. Again, this has been a very slow process. It is driving me crazy. I am very ready to have everything done so we can just enjoy the new house.

My sister is having her baby on Thursday, so check back to see pictures of the newest addition to the family. This may be a big week for my blog...my first post in over a month, pictures of the new baby, pictures of the house...

It is now officially my nephew's birthday, so Happy 2nd Birthday Caleb! We love you very much!