Limes!

We love our LIMES!

...so much that when we took it away, she threw a screaming fit. Needless to say, it was our cue to leave.

Our little girl has learned that she can make quite a fuss to get what she wants...from Grammy and Poppy. Mommy and Daddy are still staying strong and trying our best to stay sane.

Justin and I got to go to the AWEFUL Texas vs Texas A&M basketball game on Wednesday. I was so excited, seeing as A&M was ranked 10th and the horns were 11th. It would have been nice if the Aggies had shown up to the game though. It wasn't just aweful, it was embarrassing. Either way, we both had fun and it was a great experience to see the game live! We'll get em next time in Reed Arena! Gig 'Em!

Have a good week!

Christmas/New Year's/7 Months!

I have a feeling this one will turn into two different posts...

I didn't realize how long it's been and how much I have to share. These last couple months have been a whirlwind and I have loved every minute of it! Christmas was so much fun. It was great seeing everyone together and I'm so glad Jason and his family got to join us on Christmas day. Ava seemed to be skipped by the sicknesses this winter and it's been such a blessing! I know this time of year can be really hard for babies and I'm so glad she's fighting it all away. The worst she got was a little raspy voice for a few days, praise God! Times like Christmas really remind me of how much I miss my family and how different life is now. I'm not a fan of change at all. When we were younger, I couldn't wait for my brothers to leave for college, but once they were gone, I missed all the fun things we did. We can never go back in time and I'm okay with that. It's times like Christmas that I feel I can have just a tiny part of growing up back.

After Christmas past and everyone went home, Justin and I decided to make a spur of the moment trip to Florida for New Year's Eve. He really wanted to see his sister, and I really wanted to meet her, so we packed up and drove the 22 hours to Ft. Myers, Florida straight through. Contrary to people's warnings and flat out laughs, the trip went smoothly and better than we could have imagined! Ava was amazing. She hardly fussed, and it wasn't more than she typically does during a normal day. The time change didn't even seem to bug her for her schedule while we were there. Justin and I are so thankful for such a wonderful, even-tempered baby! We love her so much! Florida was a blast. We spent time with his sister and her family. We played lots of Wii with the little girls of the family and I have plenty blackmail videos if I ever need them ;) just kidding. We laughed so hard at the dance off game. The weather was sunny and a tad humid, but still felt great! We were slightly delayed home with a prolonged hospital trip, but we are so thankful to have found what was wrong and to have an easy solution to the problem. We took our time getting home on the way back and really had a nice trip. Despite the trip to the hospital, being there for a week really made me appreciate Florida. I've never wanted to live anywhere but Texas, but that trip got me thinking. Now if only I could stand to be that far away from my family...

When we got back, Ava had her 7 month doctor appointment. For as chunky as her little thighs are, she is not as big as I thought she was. This month she weighed 18 pounds 4 ounces, which is the 75th percentile. She was 27 inches tall, which was also in the 75th percentile, and she has a whoppin head circumference of 45 cm, which is in the 94th percentile! She's got some brains, that's for sure! :) According to her doctor, she is now ready to try out some juice in a sippy cup and she's ready to eat fruits, veggies and meats at least 3 times a day. I have a feeling we're gonna start porking up. I'm so excited for this new step in my little girl's life. I feel like she's growing up so fast.

Things Miss Ava is up to now:

Definitely rolling over now, although it's really more of a flop over once and lay there routine. She's pretty content on being in one place.

She sits up very well on her own.

She has made the da-da, ba-ba, and once the ma-ma sound.

She LOVES to talk!

She reaches for EVERYTHING and puts EVERYTHING in her mouth.

Her favorite thing to do right now, is rock. She will sit and rock back and forth and just smile and laugh. It's so adorable.

She lays her head down and burrows into mommy when she's tired.

Immediately starts crying when you walk away from her.

She is taking big girl baths in the tub and loves playing with her little animals!

She's teething! Two little teeth have popped through and it's so cute!

She loves riding on her dino that her Grams got her. Has to be her favorite toy.

She is just starting to show signs of wanting to crawl. So far she just curls her legs up and sticks her booty in the air, but we still haven't managed to get up on all fours.

I'm just going to save the pictures for the next post so keep scrolling.

Pictures!

7 Months Old!!

Christmas Time:

With mommy on Christmas Eve

With daddy on Christmas Eve

Peekin around Abigail!

I love this picture for some reason..

hehe

Cousins (-Hudson)

Love her.

Glow Worm!

Love this book!

"Look at all my stuff!"

What We've Been Up To:

Trying a banana...

She didn't really like the chunkiness yet...those are two bites that she spit out lol

Pretty Princess in her tutu Grammy made her!

Dino!

Her first puzzle!

I wish it was a different hat, but it's so cute!

Ava driving to Florida!

Sitting up (looking at the dogs)

In the sink!

First big girl bath

6 months old!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday to my sweet girl! She's getting so big. She was being so cute while taking her picture. Shortly after this, she grabbed the paper and crinkled it all up. She has a thing for paper, especially important ones!

Should be doing homework

I should definitely be taking advantage of this naptime, but I wanted to blog instead. I don't know why this seems to surprise me day after day, but I can't believe how much I can love this little girl! I didn't think my love could grow anymore for her, and every day I wake up and see her sweet face, my heart grow one size bigger. I want to look at her like she's still my little newborn baby, and then I go to pick her up and realize there's no way any newborn could weigh this much! On Saturday she'll be halfway to not being a baby anymore...6 more of these months and i'll have a "toddler." They weren't lying when they said it goes by too fast. I want more sweet baby moments.

She's learning so much. She's holding her own bottle, playing with her toys, laughing, talking and loving everyone she comes in contact with. I think my favorite thing at the moment is that she's starting to lay her head down on my shoulder and hug me when she's tired. Every time she does it I just want to hold onto her and squeeze her. Everything about her is intoxicating! I can imagine my obsession is a tad over the top for some, but she is my whole world at this point. My life revolves around her and I count myself truly blessed.

To sum up the last month, we had a great Thanksgiving with Justin and his family, full of babies, wonderful food, family and football. Ava tried some mash potatoes (unseasoned and plain). She was a little confused at first, but she liked then in the long run. It was great to see the Aggies win in a house full of longhorns! Ava finally got to meet her Great Aunt Kim. We had a great time visiting with her and grandma. Our conversation really lifted my spirits about everything going on in my life right now. It's nice to have someone who can relate to your experiences. Ava and I have been spending a lot of time with Justin. I know many of you have your concerns, but I know what I want, for me and Ava. I want a relationship that is God-centered, respectful and loving. I will not waver from that, so set your worries at ease. We will not return to the past, and that's that! :) I'm excited for Christmas, so ready to see my family.

Ava had her first cereal recently. Justin and I loved feeding her. All she wanted to do was play with the spoon. I have a feeling we're gonna have a messy eater on our hands.

We also have a prayer request: Justin's mother recently received some bad news. I'm not sure how much she would want me sharing, but please pray for her and her family.

Update: Ava rolled over (back to front) today, finally! I really think she's just been lazy...she's doing all sorts of things today that she hasn't done before. and she's doing them like she's known how to do them for months. Yay!

Statistics!

My precious baby was a champ today! She barely let out a whimper and is already smiling and laughing again :) Not to mention, she looked so stylish doin' it!

She is now 26 1/3" long (92%), 16lbs 11oz (80%), and 43.2cm head (85%)! Her doctor said she looks great and we can start giving her cereal! I'm excited :) He was very impressed at how well Ava is sitting up and says it's perfectly ok if she doesn't do everything in the order we would imagine her to (she hasn't rolled over yet). I'm so proud of my baby girl, I just love seeing how much she's grown already. Here are her last stats at 2 months for comparison!

Catching Up!

Ava has really been showing us her great personality! She laughs and smiles a lot. I could spend my whole day just trying to get her to smile, i love it so much! She gives "kisses" now. I used to think it was just her being hungry, but she'll do it right after she eats too. She grabs onto your face and pulls it to hers and just sticks her mouth on you. Sometimes she tries to lightly suck on your face, but I think it's just out of habit because she's not hungry. I fall in love with her more and more each day and I really hate being away from her. She's intoxicating.

She still hasn't rolled over yet, but she's trying really hard. She does a great job at tummy time and has turned everything over except the last leg. The way she is progressing, sometimes I think she'll sit up before she rolls over. She does a great job sitting up by herself. She teeters and totters but typically can catch herself and push herself back the right way.

We got some GREAT pictures of her at her cousin's birthday party! I'm so getting some of them framed!

This one is my favorite!!

My baby girl is officially 5 months old!! Her appointment is tomorrow. I can't wait to find out all her measurements. Here's my beautiful princess after church this morning!