Ava's Likes/Dislikes

I have to say the 3 month milestone has been very enjoyable. Ava is sleeping through the night and has been for about 3 weeks now. We put her down around 9:00 pm and we usually have to wake her up around 7:00 am. It's been so nice to be able to get a full nights rest. We have been very lucky to have such an easy going baby. Over the last month, Ava has really opened up and started showing some personality. We love to find new things that she enjoys doing or looking at. She loves to swing, if she is fussy, we can usually put her in the swing and she will quiet down immediately. And, if you put the swing outside, that's even better! She still enjoys sitting outside in the evenings with me. She loves walks especially when she is in her Baby Bjorn where her head is free to move from side to side. She is very observant and loves to be able to look around at all her surroundings. She also enjoys talking (well, what she thinks is talking). She tries so hard to talk to us, but no words come out...just coos here and there, it's the cutest thing ever!

Right at 3 months, we noticed she was actually focusing on the TV and staring at it for minutes at a time, so we popped in some Baby Einstein DVD's (Baby Noah and Baby Neptune) and those occupy her as well. She will make noises, smile, and her eyes get so big when she is watching the DVD's.

A couple of weeks ago, she discovered herself in the mirror. Every time I take her in front of a mirror, it is sure to bring a smile across her sweet face.

She LOVES bathtime. As soon as she hears the water running, she starts kicking and flailing her arms, you can just see the excitement in her eyes! We make sure and give her a bath every night as part of her bedtime routine. She also enjoys sleeping on her stomach, I tried and tried to get her to sleep on her back, but she wasn't comfortable and very restless. As soon as we started putting her on her stomach, she would sleep for hours and hours upon end. I think this is a big reason why she started sleeping through the night. Her neck is very strong now, so I don't worry as much as I did when she first started sleeping that way.

She is a very active girl, I think we are just getting a small glimpse of what's to come. She never wants us to be sitting down when we hold her, she always wants us to be up walking around or showing her new things. She still has a fascination with the ceiling fan too, something we noticed in her very early days.

One thing that Ava has not taken to at all is the pacifier. I guess in the long run, that will be a good thing for us, but right now, sometimes the only thing that will soothe her is her bottle. She is a hungry girl, so we have pretty much gotten out of the 3 hour routine that we used to be on and I just let her tell me when she is ready to eat. As long as she is sleeping through the night, I will feed her as much as she wants during the day. She has to have a certain calorie intake in a 24 hour period so I assume she is just catching up on what she missed out on at night. Here are some pictures of some of her favorite things:

Watching her Baby Einstein DVD
Smiling at Mommy
Eating and sitting in her Baby Bjorn
Discovered herself in the mirror

Hanging outside in her swing

Silly Saturdays

A typical Saturday for us these days involves staring at Ava, waiting for her to crack that toothless grin, dancing around and talking just to get her to make noises and smile for us. I am constantly taking as many pictures as I can on the weekend, since we are so busy during the week with work. Here are just a couple of pictures from this past Saturday as well as a video of Ava trying to talk to Gabe. It's so funny, she tries so hard to have a conversation with us...it's the cutest thing in the world!

Ava and Mommy

Holding her head up for the picture

Ava's Dedication

Sunday was a special day for our family. Ava is our little gift from God, so what better way to show our appreciation to our Heavenly Father than through a baby dedication. Ava's dedication ceremony was this past Sunday at church. Although this is not an infant baptism, it is a promise that Gabe and I will do everything within our power to raise Ava in a godly way, until she can make a decision on her own to follow God. We will always remember and cherish this glorious day. We are so blessed to have this little angel in our lives. Our prayer is that Ava will one day understand that Jesus died on the cross for her sins and she will accept Christ as her Lord and Savior. One day this life will pass, but we will all be reunited and live everlasting life with our Father in Heaven.

After the ceremony we went over to Jerry and Dianna's to eat some brunch. Thank you Jerry and Dianna for having my mom and dad over for such a wonderful meal!

Here are just a few pictures from the special day. A picture of Ava cracking a smile
The family before Dedication
Ava on the Big Screen
The Ceremony
Ava slept through the whole ceremony
Ava and Aunt Alyssa
Ava with Grandaddy and Nana
One last shot of the family

Ava's Birthday Gift to the Grandmothers!

My mom and Dianna's birthday are on the same day (crazy, I know)! Their birthday is this Wednesday, July 21st. Ava wanted to do something special for them. So, after she thought long and hard about it, she decided to book a portrait session to get professional pictures made with both of her grandmothers. At first, all she wanted to do was sleep, but after the camera started flashing, she woke right up and really gave us a show. She is a natural already and did so good for the photo session. I couldn't be happier with the way the pictures turned out. Here are just a few of my favorite shots from the day. It was so much fun, and I think both grandmothers loved their birthday gift from Ava.

Happy 4th Anniversary!

Today is our 4 year wedding anniversary! I can't believe how fast time really does fly by as you get older. It has been such an incredible 4 years, but this anniversary has definitely been the sweetest, now that we can celebrate Ava in our lives.

Gabe is my best friend and I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. He continues to make me laugh every day of my life. I love him to pieces and cannot wait for many, many, more wonderful years to come! Gabe has brought so much joy into my life. I know I can depend on him through the good times and the bad...he is my rock. He is a blessing sent from above and I thank God everyday for bringing us together. I am so proud to be his wife.

Although we are still both so new to parenthood, he is such a natural. He is such an amazing father to Ava. Every time she smiles at him, it melts my heart. She loves her daddy so much already and just seeing the bond between Gabe and Ava overflows my heart with joy and happiness. We love Ava so much, she has brought another dimension to our marriage...it has brought us so much closer. I didn't think we could be any more closer than we already were, but I was wrong!

Gabe-I love you so much. I hope you know how special you are to me. I am the luckiest girl in the whole world! Thank you for 4 amazing years of marriage. Can't wait to continue on this wonderful journey with you.

Love,

Jennifer

Dinner with the Penningtons

Last night we had the Penningtons over for dinner. We wanted the little kiddos to have a play date. It was so funny to watch Ava and Cole, they would just stare right at each other for minutes at a time. Carter just continues to grow, he has learned everyone's names and is curious about everything. He is definitely a little cutie! Cole is such a good baby, he is so relaxed and just sits in your arms and studies all his surroundings. Ava had so much fun with the boys, hopefully they will have many more fun visits together in the future!

Trying to get a good shot of the 3 little ones...maybe we will have better luck next time!

Carter blowing on his vuvuzela that Gabe gave him

Ava and Cole studying each other
Carter
Cole
Cole trying to eat Ava's head

Ava Smiles

Here is a clip of Ava smiling. It takes her a minute, but she finally smiles about mid way through the video...so cute! She loves her daddy so much!! I think he gets her to smile the most! We definitely have a daddy's girl on our hands :)

4th of July Fun

This weekend was a weekend of firsts for Ava. She had her first boat ride, first golf cart ride, and first fireworks show, not to mention she turned 3 months old on the 4th of July. She loved being on the boat and especially riding on the golf cart. She enjoyed having the breeze on her face as we drove her around all the little coves, it even put her to sleep a couple of times. For the fireworks show, Gabe and I drove Ava down to the Marina and parked in a spot where we could see the show perfectly. She watched the fireworks for a few minutes but then fell asleep in her daddy's arms. We took so many pictures over the weekend, but here are just a few of my favorites. I tried to get a good picture of Ava in her 4th of July outfit, but couldn't get one of her smiling. We took so many pictures this weekend, that she was probably tired of all the flashes. Oh well, better luck next time. There is also a short clip of Ava's first fireworks show down towards the bottom.

Enjoy!
Mommy and Ava
Big Eyes
Family
Ava decided to smile for Daddy in this picture
Putting on her life vest
Ava ready to swim! Riding on the boat with Nana!

3 months old

July 4th, 2010
Ava had some visitors

First Fireworks Show

Swim Time!

It's been so hot in Memphis, that we decided to let Ava take a swim in the pool to see how she reacted. She loves her bath time, so why not try the pool! The water was like bath water, it felt amazing and Ava loved it! Here is a video of our little Ava swimming around in the pool. Sorry in advance for the sideways video action part way through. I will know better next time!

Grandma Comes to Visit

We were so thrilled to have my Grandma Guthrie come to Memphis for a visit. This was her very first time to meet Ava. Ava absolutely loved Grandma! We were jam packed with fun things to do while Grandma was here. We got to go downtown to walk around and see the Peabody Ducks for the first time. We ate at Rum Boogie for lunch and had Central BBQ for supper. We also took a stroll down Beale Street. This past Monday, the girls took a trip to the Botanical Gardens. Although it was very hot, there were so many cool things to see. We will definitely be going back when Ava is a little older and maybe when it's not so hot outside. Overall, I think Grandma had a great time and we enjoyed spending every minute with her.

We love you Grandma Guthrie!

Ava and her Great Grandma Guthrie

Mom and Grandma at the Botanical Gardens

Taking a break to cool off