A Few Of Our Favorite Things

Over the past 6 weeks we have discovered some new favorite things.

Ava's Favorites:

1. Feeding Time

2. Pacifier 3. Snuggle Time (we all enjoy this time)

Mom's Favorites:

1. Rocking Chair 2. Weekend Nights (Rich takes the night shift)

3. Bouncer (it allows me to shower)

4. Baby Feet

5. Chubby Cheeks

Dad's Favorites:
1. Ava's Big Eyes

2. Burping

3. Ava's Milky Smell

First Stroll on the Trail

Today we took Ava for her first stroller ride on the trail. It was a beautiful day and Rich got home early, so it was perfect. I was so excited because I have been wanting to go for a walk for a while, but it has been either bad weather or too dark by the time Rich gets home. Getting out in the fresh air and enjoying the trail made me happy and I can't wait for spring and daylight savings to come, so we can enjoy more time on the trail.

The wind picked up during our walk so I covered Ava up and watched her through the plastic window. Ava stayed warm and fell asleep.

I love the green fields and all the old trees. My favorite is the woodpecker tree. Today we saw a couple of woodpeckers.Woodpecker flying

Rich picked some Miner's Lettuce for Mo (our tortoise). He is pretending to eat it here, but he gave it all to Mo.
Ava back at home, happy, and a little worn out from her stroll.

Long Week

This past week was a long one. There were a couple of days that I didn't feel great and then Ava didn't sleep well a few nights, so we had a rough time. Rich was great and took care of me so I could take care of Ava. He made dinner a couple nights and even help with Ava one of the weekday nights. Rich is a great husband and dad and I sure did appreciate him this week. I also was happy when Friday came and Rich took the night shift. I was able to get a good nights sleep...which I really did need. Ava did give Rich one rough night and I think he appreciated why I'm so tired most of the time.

Since I had energy this weekend I made some chocolate chip cookies and a vanilla bean cake. I just felt good and wanted to bake. Ava helped me with the cookies and they are yummy. The cake didn't rise the way it should, so I don't know how great it was. It is a new recipe, so I will have to try it again.

Daddy Time

Rich is a great father. He loves to spend time with Ava and is willing to do it all...change diapers, feeding, laundry, etc. The only weird thing is he likes the smell of spit-up on her. I often catch him sniffing her neck where the formula came back-up. It is kind of cute, but oh so weird.Today while Rich was holding Ava he gave her Eskimo kisses. This is something I remember my parents doing when I was younger and was happy to see Rich rubbing noses with Ava.

Happy One Month Birthday

Today was Ava's one month birthday. It is weird because it feels like she has always been a part of our family, but at the same time the past month has been a blur. We love our Ava and can't imagine life without her. We are so grateful for the opportunity to be Ava's parents and to have this special little spirit in our home.

Yesterday we did our own mini photo shoot with Ava. We don't mean to brag, but we think we are pretty clever. I love photography and decided we could take cute, semi-professional pictures at home for a lot less, so we did. We went to Lowe's and purchased PVC pipe to make a frame to hold our bed sheet back drop. We also used the natural light coming in from our sliding glass door. We think the photos came out pretty darn cute and we have some great ideas for photos in the future....it is pretty hard not to have cute photos with Ava as our muse. Please enjoy some of the photos of our beautiful one month old baby.

Ava didn't like the bear rug too much because she got cold. We had to wrap her up all snuggling in her fleece blanket to calm her down. We think the bottom picture is funny because it looks like she is kicking the bear in the head.

These are Ava's cowgirl pictures. Papa Harry bought the jeans for Ava. In the top picture it looks like she is saying Yee-Ha!

BATH TIME

Now that Ava's umbilical cord fell off we can give her real baths. We bought a soft bath chair for Ava to sit in and we gave her a proper rinsing in the bathtub. I was hoping this would make bath time faster, warmer, and more enjoyable for Ava, but it didn't. Ava did get clean and smelled great, but she didn't enjoy it. She screamed almost the entire time and didn't calm down until we dressed and fed her. I felt bad, but she is going to have to get use to it. Rich and I are trying some different tricks to try and make it faster and less stressful. I'm hoping eventually Ava will learn to like bath time.

During bath time we put up our child/doggie gate to keep Luca out of the bathroom. This really bothered Luca and he went a little crazy. We don't know if he was upset because he was separated from us or if he was concerned by Ava's loud crying...I like to think he was concerned about Ava, but probably not.

Daddy We're Tired!!

I LOVE BEING A MOM!!! The only thing I struggle with is lack of sleep and to tell you the truth it isn't too bad. I am a lucky women because my husband takes the night sifts on the weekend. I still usually wake up (because I'm a mom), but I am able to get back to sleep fairly easily. I usually start the week off strong, since I have been able to rest during the weekend, but once Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday roll around I am really tired. I don't mind though and I wouldn't trade 8 straight hours of sleep for the joy and pleasure it is to be Ava's mom.

Escape from the House

This weekend my parents came to visit us...who are we kidding, they came to see Ava. Since Ava and I are prisoners in our home we escaped for the day. My parents took us to eat at the Elephant Bar and then to the Folsom outlets to purchase some items for Ava's summer wardrobe collection. We had a lot of fun and Ava enjoyed the car ride and her Baby Bjorn.Rich's comments: It was nice to be out, but I was worried the whole time. I just don't want her to get sick. But I recognize that Lisa needed some time out of the house and we kept her away from people. The Baby Bjorn is great to keep her safe because people can't get very close to her when she is in it.

Peaceful, Happy Baby...Most of the time

Ava is an easy baby. She has a wonderful temperment and personality. Ava is calm, happy, and easy-going...

...But sometimes she gets a little mad...

But we still love her!!!!!

Cute Bellybutton

Ava says"Shout Hooray because my umbilical cord is gone and now I have a cute bellybutton for all to see."

Storytime

The other day while I was cooking dinner Rich read some Italian stories to Ava. She really seemed to enjoy listening to her daddy. I know Rich loved reading to her and is excited to teach her Italian. He speaks to her in Italian a lot and it will continue as she grows. I'm just hoping to pick up on some of it while Ava is learning.

GROUNDHOG DAY

Each year Rich and I enjoy celebrating Groundhog Day, Feb. 2nd. We just think it is a weird, yet fun holiday that needs to be enjoyed. Our Groundhog tradition is to watch the hilarious movie, "Groundhog Day", starring Bill Murray. This year we decided to add some excitement to the day by finding a groundhog recipe. We searched the internet and found a lot of interesting recipe. We decided since we can't find groundhog in the store and there aren't any around to hunt, we would do the next best thing and find a ground pork (hog) recipe. The recipe we decided to settle on was Easy Spicy Pork Chili. The ingredients sounded good, so we gave it a shot and were pleasantly surprised. I think this chili recipe will be a new Groundhog Day tradition.

Click here for the recipe on my food blog

Ava spent her first Groundhog Day helping me in the kitchen. Even though, she did not get a taste of the chili, she did enjoy making it with me...When I say "enjoy", I mean she slept the entire time in her Baby Bjorn.

Doctor Appointments

Ava has already been to the doctor two times...don't worry they were both well baby check-ups. The first was in Utah for her 72 hour check-up and the other was on Friday for her 2 week check-up. She did great both times and is continuing to gain weight and grow. It was funny because at the time of birth the nurse measured Ava at 17 inches, but then 5 days later at the doctor she measured 19 inches. Either Ava is a mutant with fast growing skills or the hospital got it a little wrong. Personally, I don't think she is a mutant. She has also amazed us with her weight gain. Ava was born 6lbs. 4oz. She has since been weighed 4 times: hospital-5lb. 15oz.; release day-6lb. 0.8oz.; 72hr check-6lb. 2oz.; 2wk check-6lb. 12oz.

72 HOUR CHECK-UP

2 WEEK CHECK-UP

At Ava's last check-up we discovered she loves mirrors. She hates being cold, so when I undressed her she was angry and let me know it. As soon as Ava rolled toward her side and saw the mirror she stopped crying. We waited for the doctor for about 5 minutes and she kept herself entertained with the mirror the entire time. Immediately following the appointment my mom took us to Babies R Us and bought Ava an Elephant toy mirror.