Our July 4th

We had a great July 4th weekend at the beach with Lee's family. Ava did great, even with so many new faces to see, being in a new place, sleeping in not-so-quiet quarters (and in the same room with us) and just generally having her schedule thrown off. She loved the sand, the beach water, swimming (sitting) in her little pool, and being the center of attention 24/7.

At the island, first time playing in the sand:



First (of hopefully many) beach naps:



Swimming with da-da:



Snacking in her tent:



Celebrating America!:





Since Ava was up at the crack-o'-dawn every morning, we went for a daily walk to keep from waking up the whole house.



Working on her crawling:



On our second day we took a break from the island and broke out the baby pool instead:





Her cousin Brett loves his baby, and she loves him :)



Day 3 on the island:











Naked watermelon eating (well, just Ava was naked):



One of my favorite parts of the beach -- before-dinner high tide swimming with all the neighbors:



First time "out" in ages. The Dock House had a great band, so we hit it up for some drinking and dancing. (And as you can tell, out way past my bedtime.)



Last day:





It was a great trip and we can't wait to go back!

Father's Day Weekend

We had an awesome Father's Day weekend.

It started with dinner with friends and their baby Friday night. I forgot to get a pic but did snap one of Ava and I in our coordinating outfits.



It was a beautiful evening and when we got back from dinner we spent some time outside before putting Ava to bed. My dad found a fishing bobber for her and she was so enthralled with it.

As I said on social media, these are my two favorite dads in the world. And they both love my girl so very much:



And I just love this pic of Lee and Ava with her fishing bobber:







On Saturday we hit up the new water park in Kinston. We were very impressed and Ava loved it!

Ava and beautiful Brevyn:



Ava and Easton checking things (and each other) out:





Brevyn giving Ava and Easton kisses:



Keiley enjoying the slides:



I hit up the zebra slide once and the lazy river -- and that was quite enough excitement for me.





After the water park we visited with Lee's mom and dad (Ava'a Granny and Pa) and Ava's great-grandma Pearlie:



We had dinner with family Saturday night and then Ava got to take a bath with Brevyn, which she loved.

What, your family doesn't crowd into the bathroom and sing songs and hymns together?



Happy Father's Day Lee! We hope you had a great weekend and we love you so so much.

Ava: 9 Months

Eating: I nursed her morning and night right up until the nine month mark, when a stomach bug and cold really took its toll on me. I still nurse her occasionally in the morning but it's more for comfort. She's getting around 5 5-oz. bottles of formula per day. Plus three meals of solids and finger foods. This month we started stage 3 chunky purees and some chicken/turkey/pasta type dinners. We've tried hummus, cucumbers, diced pears and strawberries this month, and she liked them all. Girl loves her groceries. She's getting less and less interested in milk (I actually have to work to get her to finish a bottle, which is new for us). I think she's starting to slim down because of it, which the doctor said is totally normal at this age as they start moving more and are more distracted eaters.

Sleep: Doing good here. Still the occasional early morning wake-up, but mostly sleeping 7pm-6am. She doesn't nap well at daycare, which is frustrating. Too much going on, plus I've probably spoiled her by rocking her to sleep at home, which they don't have the luxury of doing at daycare. We can usually get two good 1.5 hr naps from her at home on the weekends, sometimes longer if she's not feeling well or is worn out from the pool or something.

Illness: This month was no bueno. She got a really bad (yeast) diaper rash, plus we were still dealing with some rash/eczema issues. Then she got a stomach bug (one evening of vomiting, followed by three days of diarrhea, which didn't help the diaper rash). Then on the heels of that was a nasty cold/virus that had her sounding like a purring kitty and barking seal all at once. Of course, that was just in time for our 9 month "well visit." I don't think we've ever been well for a well visit. Maybe one day. Thankfully, her cough is sounding a lot better and I think we've almost got the diaper rash kicked. Of course, I got the stomach bug and cough too, and they took a much worse toll on me than her (thankfully). I think we're finally on the other side now but it has been a ROUGH two weeks. So tired of being the house of sick!

Activity: She loves being out and about. Eating at restaurants, shopping, going to the pool or park. She gets bored and fussy if we stay at home too long (like her mama, much?). And I broke down and bought her some new toys at Target because we were SO OVER playing with the same old things. She likes stacking her stacking rings, shaking anything that will rattle, dumping things out, knocking things over and playing with her musical/talking toys.

Milestones: Here I am waiting for her to crawl, and she decides to pull up instead, which I had no idea she was close to. We have a storage ottoman/toy box in the living room and she decided she really needed to see what was in it. She's not pulling up regularly though because she can't crawl over to things to pull on, she has to happen to already be sitting in front of something to pull up on. And speaking of crawling, she's moving more, scooting more and will walk her hands out far enough reaching for something that she gets onto her belly, but then she gets mad because she hates being on her belly. I think she's getting closer to figuring out how to get up on all fours but still not there yet. But oh, the waving. She has learned to wave and is so proud of herself. Homegirl loves to wave. You walk into the room and she lights up and starts waving. So cute. And she's even started making "buh buh" sounds when waving bye to me at daycare in the mornings. And yes, I stand at the window for 10 minutes waving at her like an idiot.

She's really starting to get develop a little personality now and it's so much fun. Here are some pictures from her ninth month of life.

Mother's Day flowers, cards and crafts :)



No margaritas for you!



Always with the hands behind the head, even in the car seat:



A sweet daddy-daughter moment:



Just out for a little picnic:



Ava's very first Aurora Fossil Festival:



River napping is good napping:



Loves swinging at the river:



A day of fun in the sun:



Sugar and Lee sharing a towel:



Watermelon at the river:



Sick baby snuggles:



Happy girl:



Loooooves mama's glasses:



Got that hand propped up:



Her very first school picture:



Out to lunch in her watermelon outfit from Aunt Erin:



First time at the pool!

Ava: 8 Months

I didn't mean for this blog to turn into just Ava's monthly updates. I do have other things I want to talk to you about, so maybe I'll find the time one day!

Eating: She's still nursing in the morning and evening, but we had to start giving her formula at daycare. She's now eating three meals of solids a day, two at daycare and one in the evening at home. In the evening she also gets finger foods of some sort, like puffs, banana, or watermelon. And she figured out the sippy cup this month and has gotten pretty good at it (we've just been putting water in it for now).

Sleep: We went through a patch where she was waking up too early, and was waking up earlier and earlier every day. It started with 5:45, then 5:30 then 5:15. She was obviously not done sleeping because she'd either fall back to sleep nursing or be up for an hour and then be ready for a nap. Finally she woke up at 4:30 and we let her cry it out (not fun at 4am!). We had some inconsistent sleeping due to travel too, but after a few nights of letting her fuss I think we're back on track. This week she's slept straight through from 7pm until 6 or 6:30am. (fingers crossed, knock on wood, please don't jinx us)

Illness: Good news on the ears front (again, knock on wood). By the time we saw the ENT, her ears weren't infected any more, just a little bit of fluid. And she hasn't been sick lately, so hopefully they won't get reinfected. We have a recheck with the ENT in a few weeks and hopefully the fluid will be gone by then and we'll be in the clear. I did take her to the doc once for her eczema. When she started on formula it really flared up, so we're still trying to figure out which formula to use. We started out with a regular one (Similac Advance) but I suspected a cow's milk allergy because she broke out around her mouth and her eczema on her belly and under her chin got really bad. We switched to Nutramigen (non-cow's milk hypoallergenic formula) and used a steroid cream the doctor prescribed and it cleared right up. I'm still not sure if she really needs to be on Nutramigen (it's stinky and expensive, so I'd prefer her not to be) so I'm trying to experiment to see if that's what caused the eczema or if it was something else going on or just coincidence.

Activity: This month we went to the park and swung for the first time, which she loved. I finally bit the bullet and started bathing her in the big tub. (She was taking baths in the infant tub inside the big tub.) She loooooves it and loves playing with her bath toys. We've gotten good at taking her to restaurants now with her sitting in the high chair. For the most part she's content to watch people come and go, munch on crackers and drop her toys on the floor.

Milestones: She finally mastered rolling from back to belly, so now she can roll to get to where she wants to go. She got her first boo boo at daycare after rolling herself into the bookcase there. We've found her on her belly in her crib a few times in the morning, but she still much prefers to sleep on her back. When we took a little family vacation to the beach last weekend we had fun watching her scoot around on her belly, although she can only really go backwards. She backed herself halfway down the hall at one point. And she's finally growing some hair, even though it's hard to see in pics. It's fine and light (who would've ever thought I'd have a blonde haired, blue eyed baby?) but filling in all over. Also, she pooped in the tub for the first time. That's a milestone, right?

She really is the sweetest. I'm having a harder and harder time coming up with "dislikes" every month. On this, my first Mother's Day, I couldn't be any more thankful to be her mama.

Swinging for the first time:



Going for a stroll at school:



Think this baby is doted on?




Enjoying a pancake at IHOP:



First time in the big tub:



Can you find the baby? (also, what happens to your house after you have a baby):



Close up:



Lashes for days:



Tupperware cabinet = hours of entertainment:



First trip to the beach:



Beaufort waterfront:



Lunch in Morehead City:



Trying out Granny's wig:



Blanket full of toys, and she wants Daddy's shoe:



First watermelon!



And you know I love my readers (or maybe just my baby's laugh?) when I'm willing to post a video of myself singing: