Long Time No Speak....

Wow I can't believe it's really been almost 5 months since I posted anything. I guess mommyhood has me busy or something, lol! So alot has happened in those months, all of which I cannot blog about in one post, so I'll have to hit some highlights!

Little miss Ava is growing... A LOT! She started crawling on April Fools Day, which was funny to call Chris and tell him. That was just shy of her 8 month birthday. She was slow at first but now can crawl across a room in no time flat. She currently has 4 teeth, the 2nd of which to come in was a bear! She was up one night every 20 minutes, that was one rough night, and 2 tired parents the next morning. Otherwise, teething hasn't been that bad--the first tooth came in without any major notice, and the 3rd anf 4th tooth, you couldn't even tell she had teeth coming in except for a lot of drool. The funniest part is that she got her 2 bottom teeth then she got her right "fang" so she looks kinda like a little vampire. Her fourth tooth has just recently broke the surface and is her right front tooth. She is also cruising and will walk holding onto one hand. I'm convinced that she will be walking very soon, she just needs to perfect that balance a little more! Her hair has also grown in quite a bit and I can get one little twig of a ponytail on the top of her head now! She is a very sweet baby and happy the overwhelming majority of the time! We have been so blessed by her joining our family!!

In the past few months we have traveled quite a bit. We went to Colorado to vist our friends Mike and Kate and their 2 little ones, Charlotte and Cameron. We had a blast and Ava loved playing with them! Of course, I love Colorado and it was very hard to leave. Chris always teases me that the first half of the trip home, I talk about how we can eventually move back there. This trip was no different, we weren't out of Denver 10 minutes before I started.

We also went home to Nashville for the 4th of July. That was so much fun! Ava got in the lake for the first time, met her cousins, and got loved on by Mimi, Papa, Paw Paw, and Uncle Mark! She loved the water and we learned a valuable lesson about swim diapers vs. regular diapers. Apparently if you forget the swim diaper, a regular diaper will just not do--it explodes and gel substance erupts from it! Mom and Dad also got some fun time in on the jet skiis with a free babysitter, Mimi, loving on Ava!

Our most recent trip was to St.Louis for a THOGL reunion. Several of the families in the surrounding states/area met up at a park for some great fellowship and then back to the hotel to hang out. We got to meet many of the families we've only corresponded with via Facebook or Skype and it was just so wonderful to finally meet them in person! The kiddos were so fun to see run around together and play! It truly was beautiful site to see everyone united in their families, and to see all the kiddos so happy and growing! Several of the THOGL workers were also there and got to see how much the little ones had grown since they last loved on them in the orphanage, they are all such a blessing to us!

Lastly, Ava is turning 1 in a week from today! I just can't believe our little girl is going to be 1! She is hardly a baby anymore, and getting so independent! She loves to giggle, be close to Mom and Dad, play, and kiss Linus! She is eating solid foods and would eat blueberries until she exploded! We're planning a ladybug themed party and I can't wait to see her dive into that cake!

What's Ava doing now?!

Well little miss Ava is growing so much these days! I was looking back at pictures from when we first came home, and I just can't get over how much she has changed! Her hair is finally starting to grow in, she's getting really tall, and gaining weight--she is in the 90% for both! She is also becoming so much more interactive and staying awake for longer periods of time too! In general she is a very happy baby. She is bonding with both Chris and I very well. She lights up when either of us comes into the room....and she sometimes cries if we leave the room too. She will also reach for us now too! She loves to smile and giggle. Her verbal skills are really starting to shine, particularly in the evening and out at restaurants. We took her to dinner with us and another couple that lives down the street and she talked very loudly the entire time! We thought it was hysterical (the other people around us may not have)! Her favorite toy is this turtle bath toy thingy that she puts the whole head of in her mouth to chew on; it's quite humorous. And although she's chewing on everything in site, she has no teeth to show for it! We keep thinking any day now, but alas, every morning we wake up to no teeth.

Our biggest challenge these days is sleep. She was sleeping through the night when she first came home, but every since she got sick around Christmas, she has not slept through the night. Some nights she wakes only once, other nights 3, 4, or 5 times. We are not sure what's going on, she's not hungry, she's not wet, all her needs are met. The biggest thing is she turns herself over, and while she can roll back over, she won't. She just cries in the crib until we come in and turn her back over. She will usually go back to sleep after that.

We have also recently started her on baby food! So far, she likes everything we've given her--rice cereal, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes. So I'm hoping this easy going gal keeps it up and doesn't develop any picky eating habits! So far so good! She's so cute when she eats too, she's like a little bird and just opens her mouth for you! She continues to take a bottle at each meal and then at bedtime. She's always been a good eater and so far the trend is continuing!

Chris is determined that she will crawl soon. He gets down in the floor with her and puts her in the crawling position and then helps her get to a toy. He does all the work for her, but I'm sure those little wheels are turning and she will figure it out soon! She is also sitting up independently now and has been for several weeks, if not a month! She's really good at it and rarely tumps over.

We are also starting to teach her baby signs. We checked out a Baby Einstein video called My First Signs and have been watching it with her. So we are all learning. So far, she doesn't get it, but they say it will be several months before she will actually sign anything, but this is the perfect age to start teaching them. Their little language centers are starting to develop around 6 months and supposedly can understand almost 400 words! We're hoping that teaching her baby signs will decrease her frustration later as she tries to communicate her needs.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now! Until next time, God bless!!!

Christmas, National Championship, and Milestones

Well, again I find that we have been so busy, and thus the blogging has been neglected. Man, I wish I were better at this. Well, let's see, we've had Christmas and Ava has been sick since 2 days before Christmas. Mom, then got Ava's sickness 2 days later. While I'm better outside of a lingering cough, I can't say the same for Ava. Amazingly though, she is still her sweet, fun self for the most part. I really don't think she knows what a bad mood is!

Christmas in TN was a ton of fun! Ava met her Uncle Mark for the first time as well as several cousins, great aunts, great grandparents, and of course saw Mimi, Paw Paw, and Papa! Her first Christmas was even a white one!!! TN got snow and it was so beautiful! She got to see deer and wild turkeys outside Mimi's window too!

Chris and I went to see Auburn play in the BCS National Championship game--and WIN!!!! That was a trip of a lifetime and we had so much fun! We met up with my best friend, Audra, and a couple of my friends from college, Kat and Brent Curtis. The atmosphere was unlike anything, so electric and so fun! We went to Tigerwalk only to find out the crowd was so big the team couldn't get through. I got on top of Chris' shoulders and it was blue and orange as far as the eye could see. I've never been so overwhelmed with people to say War Eagle to since I was in Auburn! I relish those moments to say War Eagle now that I'm out of the South and most people around here don't even know where Auburn is much less what War Eagle means!

While we were gone to Phoenix, Nana and Papa Earhart kept Ava and she rolled over! So sad we missed it, but she has reached a new milestone and has rolled over several times since. I wouldn't say she's discovered as a mode of transportation yet, but I'm sure she will soon!