Ava meets the family

Over the past week Ava has been making the rounds and meeting her extended family. She met both sets of her grandparents the day she arrived home. Ava was also introduced to her great-grandpa Bowling and great-grandma Oliveira. Ava has many aunts, uncles, and cousins, but she was only able to meet the ones close by. She looks forward to the day she will get to meet the rest of the family.

GREAT-GRANDPA

GREAT-GRANDMA

UNCLE DAVE & COUSINS

Dave's kids were sick, so they couldn't get too close to Ava. Kobie really wanted to see Ava, so we drove by their house on our way home and let them peek at her through the car window. They seemed happy and Ava stayed healthy. Aunt Jessica also held Ava, but we didn't take any pictures because we were eating dinner...sorry Jessica.

THE JENSEN FAMILY

Ava also met my brother, Uncle Eric, but he was sick so we stayed far away and didn't get any photos...hopefully next time.

Give the people what they want...More pictures of Ava

1st Shopping Spree

On Saturday we took Ava on her first shopping spree. We needed to get a few things so we headed to Babies R Us with my parents. Ava is a lucky girl because her grandparents are already spoiling her. Nona Carole and Papa Harry picked out several cute outfits and made sure Ava had all the things she needed. Ava slept through most of the shopping spree, but she was sure grateful for all the fun things she got.

WELCOME HOME

On Thursday January 22nd we got the approval to leave Utah, so Friday morning we hopped on a plane and came home. Fortunately we were able to fly first class for just a little bit more, so we had more room and didn't worry about a lot of sick people coughing on Ava. Friday afternoon we touched down in Sacramento and met my parents at baggage claim. After a short drive we welcomed Ava to her home. Ava was greeted by Luca who just wanted to lick her and her other grandparents. Overall, the day was amazing and it was so nice to be home.

Best Birthday Ever--Rich

On January 15th I turned 34. It was not a typical birthday. I only slept for about 2 hours. I was tired and worried almost all day. I had to leave home (on the 14th) on short notice. My wife didn’t have a chance to wrap any of my gifts. I was definitely not the center of everyone’s attention. Despite all this it was my best birthday ever.

As most of you probably know our first child Ava was born January 15th 2009 at 12:25 A.M. Kimberly her birth mom had toxemia and needed to be induced. Lisa and I were given the privilege of being present for her delivery. She called us as soon as she knew she was going to be induced on January 14th. We arrived at the hospital in American Fork UT about 8 hours after she called. That gave us time to meet some of Kim’s friends and family. Kim was so strong she waited for over four hours before she got the epidural. Her delivery went without any complications. I was given the honor of cutting the umbilical cord. Ava’s Apgar score was 8 and then a 9. They were worried that she was struggling some to breathe. She was taken to the nursery quickly and given an IV. That was an intense time. It was around 1 A.M. and we were watching Ava get an IV through the window while worrying about how Kim was doing up stairs. Everyone was healthy and happy in the end.

Lisa and I spent most of the next 24 hours at Kim’s side with Ava. We were able to see the many people who love Kim and Ava. Kim hardly had a minute of her own to relax that day. I was worried about her being overwhelmed with all the visitors and all trauma of the day. It was also Kim’s birthday on the 15th.

I am so grateful for the wonderful day that I had. I experienced many different emotions. The theme of the day was love. I could see the love that Kim has for Ava. I could see the love that Kim’s family has for her and Ava. I could feel the love that we have for Ava and Kim. The Love that I have for Lisa has never been greater.

Thank you Kim. I will never be able to repay you for placing this beautiful daughter of God in our arms. I think the best way to show my appreciation will be to Love her and let her know of the great love that Kim has for her.

Pictures Of Our Beautiful Girl

Life in a hotel with a baby

We are still in Utah and not sure when we will be heading home, but we are hoping by Thursday or Friday. We are all doing well, but Rich and I are missing our bed. Ava can sleep in our arms, (borrowed) bassinet, or car seat with no problem. She is also eating well and enjoying her food much more than us. We are eating microwave food and sandwiches. We definitely can't wait to get home, but it is all worth it to be with our beautiful baby girl.Oh, did I mention it is FREEZING COLD here?...Check out the icicles...BURRRRR!!!We are washing the bottles in the sink and then sterilizing them with boiling water from the microwave...dishwashers are great inventions.This is just Ava's stuff. We have a suitcase and laptop bag of our own. It should be fun trying to carry all this stuff with a baby through the airport...can you say "Curbside baggage check".I forgot how much formula stains and how much babies spit-up. We have been soaking her clothes, burp rags, and bibs in oxy clean to remove the formula. Fortunately our hotel has a washer and dryer which we will be using later tonight.

MEET AVA

BIRTHDAY: JANUARY 15, 2009

TIME: 12:25 AM

WEIGHT: 6 LBS. 4 OZ.

HEIGHT: 17 IN.

WE'RE HEADED TO UTAH

Kim had her doctors appointment today and called us immediately following it. She is at the hospital and they are going to induced her. We are packed and ready to go, so we are heading out on the 4:10pm flight.

More info to follow in the next few days.

Fluffernutter

On Friday we watched our niece and nephew. While they were with us we played Trivial Pursuit Jr. and came across an interesting question.

To find the answer click here to go to our recipe blog.

Happy (early) Birthday

On Sunday we headed to Gridley to celebrate Rich and his brother, Dave's, birthday. Dave turned 31 on January 10th and Rich will be 34 on January 15th. We had a great time eating and playing games. Rich's mom made the traditional Bowling cake and I made a chocolate cake with almond filling and apricot preserves.

It's the Final Countdown

We can't even begin to describe all the emotions we are experiencing right now as we wait for Ava's arrival. There is just under 3 weeks until her due date and everything is going well. Kim just let us know she is dilated to a 1 and has begun to efface. Ava has also dropped into position and the doctor says everything is on schedule. The due date is January 26th, but we have to admit we wouldn't mind if she came a little early. We are so excited to meet our beautiful baby girl and hold her in our arms.

We are now taking guesses for Ava's arrival. Leave a comment and guess what day and time you think she will arrive. We aren't giving out prizes for the best guess, but you will have bragging rights.

Lisa's guess: Saturday, January 24th @ 1:13am; weight- 8lbs. 3oz.; height- 22 1/4 in.
Rich's guess: Wednesday, January 28th @ 3:05am; weight- 7lbs. 12oz.; height- 21 in.

HELP US RENAME OUR BLOG

When Ava arrives we will need to change the title of our blog to something that includes the whole family...and who are we kidding the blog will turn into the Ava Show. So far we have come up with a couple ideas for a new title and we thought we would ask for your input. Leave comments stating what title you like the best or maybe you can think of something better. This is an invitation to be creative and use your imagination. So far we've come up with...

Dreams Do Come True

A pinch of Rich, A dash of Lisa, and A whole lot of Ava

Nevermind Rich & Lisa...Here Comes Ava

Just Like Heaven

You Think You're Tired Now...Well Wait Until 3am

It's A Beautiful Day

*Guess which 2 are inspired by Rich's favorite band, The Cure?

Baby Registries

As it gets closer to the arrival of Ava we are making sure we are ready and prepared. Last weekend we went to Babies R Us and purchased the items we would need to take with us to Utah and to have when we get home. We also updated our baby registry and then started a registry at Target. If you want to check them out go to:
http://www.toysrus.com/ControllerServlet?target=viewDetails&operation=authenticate_user&registryNumber=49970909&from=registrySearch

http://www.target.com/registry/baby/61VG5QK1VHRR

HAPPY NEW YEAR

On New Year's Eve we hung out with our friends the Norman family. We had some yummy burritos and lots of candy to keep us going until midnight. Rich and the boys played some video games while the girls played card games. Later in the evening the boys joined us for a game of phase 10. At midnight we went outside and shot off poppers to celebrate the New Year.

Holiday Treats

This year I made three different desserts to share with family. To check out any of these recipes go to my recipe blog... http://foodinspirations.blogspot.com/.

APPLE COFFEE CAKE

This cake is nice for breakfast or dessert. It has a layer of cooked cinnamon apples in the middle of the cake. Rich says it is better a day or two after it is made because the apple juices seeped into the cake and made it more moist.

APRICOT TART

I found the recipe for this apricot tart after a long search. A couple years ago I asked Rich what he missed about food in Italy and he told me about the delicious apricot tarts they had over there. I searched and searched until I came across the right recipe and now it is a family favorite (my mom and Rich love it).

Real TAPIOCA PUDDING (not instant)

After watching an episode of "Good Eats" with Alton Brown I decided to make this tapioca pudding. My grandma used to make instant tapioca pudding and it disappeared quickly. I thought it would be neat to make real old fashioned pudding using the tapioca pearls. It was easy to make, but was not as well received as my grandma's instant pudding. The tapioca pearls looked like caviar (fish eggs) and my family said it had an interesting texture. Rich enjoyed it. He said it had a good flavor because I used vanilla beans and he actually liked the fish egg/eyeball texture. I thought I would have to get rid of it, but to my surprise Rich ate it all.