Stories from the Big Sky Country

We had a fabulous trip to Montana to see friends and family and to continue the "Ava Parade". Ava did remarkably well with traveling and meeting all sorts of new people. We had a great time attending family parties, my cousin's wedding, and Ava's baptism. Ava also experienced her first forest fire which was located just outside of Helena. Although thousands of acres burned and 4 houses were lost, we are thankful that no one was hurt. I think I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking...

Good Morning Smiles!

Oh so pretty in her fancy dress.

Hanging out with GGMa

Ava and her godmother Jen

Three generations-Nana, GGMa, and Ava

Ava's baptism

Receiving chrism on her head

A blessing for Ava

Ava and Grandparents at the baptism

Ava and one set of godparents- Jen and Gus...We missed her other godparents Steve and Amanda!

Happy little family

Bath time! Ava loves all of it from splashing in the water to being wrapped up like a "burrito baby"

Ava reading her favorite book. I love how she holds onto it!

Ava practicing some tummy time at Mother Baby hour.

We love you so much Ava!

Our good friend Lil

Waiting at the airport to go to Montana

Cuddling with GGMa

Yummy hand

Ava is one cool little girl in her shades

  

Hanging out with Grandpa Kerry in the back yard

Check out the flowers...

Oh so interesting!

More flowers to check out

Auntie Steph is sure good at relaxing me

Hanging out with Grandma Ivy

Ava meets her cousin Juniper for the first time

Ava and great-grandma carol

Ava has many funny little faces. I often thing she looks like Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Sitting up so big and tall!

Enjoying some tummy time

Mommy and Me

The big excitement for this week is that Ava got a Wubbanub...what is a Wubbanub you ask? Basically it is a pacifier attached to a beanie baby and Ava LOVES it. It is funny that just a few weeks ago she would hardly touch a pacifier and now she definitely has learned of the soothing nature of sucking on a paci.

Ava is talking more and more every day. She is getting a wide range of coos and ahhs and sounds that seem to indicate joy, frustration, contentment, and sometimes is sounds like she is just chiming into the conversation. 

Lots of pictures of Ava this week and finally a few pictures of Mommy and Ava! A big thank you to my friend Masarah for her pictures.

Without planning, Ava has a collection of giraffe toys. Here she is playing with two of them and trying to decide which one is better to chew on :)

Ava loves talking to her little lamb! Although sometimes the lamb gets in her personal space and Ava gets a bit frustrated trying to get the lamb away. Check out this series of pictures...

 

Just hanging out...

and now we're done hanging out!

Ava and Mama at coffee

Sweet little feet

Ahhh, a little hand.

Ava got to meet Bucky at a graduation party this weekend. Go Badgers!

 

Smokin' Meats

Alan finally got to try out his new smoker that he received as a gift for Christmas. He smoked a pork shoulder and it was absolutely delicious! Ava and I watched Alan do his magic and then we got to feast! Our neighbor Katie shared in the goodness with us and she commented it was as good and the BBQ she ate while growing up in Texas....great compliments for the chef.

Ava had a great week. She is  really a joy to be around as she is more interactive in both her play and language. Ava also has longer periods of quiet alert time where she is pretty chill- what a difference from a few weeks ago!

The smokin' machine!

 

Ava is checking out Daddy's heavy duty welding gloves...safety first!

Stop getting in my face Mom!

The finished product...dee-licious!

Happy Two Months!

I can hardly believe that my little girl is two months old! She is growing so quickly and learning new things every day. I am also thankful that as she gets a better grip on her environment, the inconsolable crying is also starting to dwindle. Ava had her 2 month check up yesterday. She is super healthy and the doctor and nurse complimented her on her head control, ability to focus and track with her eyes, and how alert she is...maybe they say this to everyone, but it sure made Alan and I feel good to know our little girl is developing right on schedule. Ava weighed in at 10 pounds 1 ounce and is 23.74 inches long. She is kind-of a string bean right now and that is reflected by being in the 95th percentile for length for age and the 23rd percentile for weight for age. Interestingly her head circumference for age is right in the middle at the 50th percentile. We talked with the doctor about how her weight gain has slowed down from last month. The doctor is not too concerned because Ava is eating well and seems satisfied when finished. She thought that the slow down might just be Ava's natural growth curve and nothing to worry about. Alan thinks the slow weight gain is from too much crying...she does work up quite a sweat when she really gets going :) The last part of this appointment is definitely the hardest...vaccinations. Ava received an oral vaccine for Rotovirus and then THREE shots that included vaccines for DTaP, Polio, Hep B, bacterial influenza, and meningitis. Ava was a really good little patient, but her cries of pain were really hard to hear. She had very little negative reaction to the vaccines- just a low fever and the injection sites were swollen and tender. We had a nice day together snuggling and soon enough she was smiling again.

Here are a few photos from the last couple weeks...

Our good friend Amanda sharing some snuggle time with Ava. Alan and I owe Amanda and Dawn a huge thank you for being so supportive and cooking us yummy meals. They are also not phased by a crying baby :)

Just checking things out...

The lighting is not the greatest, but I was trying to show how long Ava is getting... 23 inches and counting!

More photos!

We just got some more photos from Grandma Ivy and Grandpa Kerry's visit. Enjoy!

When nothing else will help Ava calm down, Dad comes to the rescue with the vacuum! For whatever reason the noise stops her crying almost immediately.

Ava's first Farmer's Market on the Square. Dad is buying our favorite scones. Yum!

Workin' Out with Grandpa Kerry

Hanging out with Grandpa Kerry

Checking out the other wild animals (see bear in background).

"Grandma and Grandpa are so interesting! Just keep talking to me."~Ava

Chatting with Grandma Ivy

A Big Update!

Sorry for the long hiatus on posting stories and pictures! For the past several weeks our life has been consumed by keeping Ava happy, or at least not crying at the top of her lungs. Ava is perfectly healthy but some would say she has colic or is a high crier or is sensitive...whatever it is, she certainly wants to tell us about it and does so in the only way she knows how. The result is a mind-numbing cry that lasts for hours at a time and lately has only stopped when she is feeding or sleeping, and for the occasional "gym time" so she can play with her friend Tully the Toucan. Alan and I are becoming professional swaddlers, shushers, swayers, and bouncers. When none of those things work we sometimes just hold her and let her cry...and then sometimes I have a good cry myself (you know misery loves company!) We also have invested in various white noise CDs and have found that "Mountain Stream" is a favorite choice for daily maintenance, while Ava prefers a hair dryer for when she is really crazy. I tried to turn off the "Mountain Stream" yesterday and Alan said in a very serious voice...we must never turn off the "Mountain Stream" (let's just say Ava spends a lot of time in her zen space near the "Mountain Stream"). When all else fails we simply turn on the hand vacuum and that seems to get her attention. Ava was 6 weeks old on May 9th and most folks agree that babies that are high criers peak around week 6 and should "grow out of it" somewhere around week 12. All I can think is that we are surviving the worst of it and we can see the light at the end of this very loud tunnel.

Now for the more fun updates!
As of last week Ava weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and is gaining about 3 ounces a week! She seems so big to me compared to when she was born, but then I will see someone else hold her and see how small she still is.

We recently had a doctor visit to determine if Ava has hip dysplasia. After her 2 week appointment her pediatrician was concerned that she might have hip dysplasia so we scheduled an ultrasound to check it out. Ava was a real trooper during the ultrasound- which is not painful, but she had to lay on her side in a funny position with that goo all over her. After the ultrasound the doctor has to push on her hips to feel for how the leg is fitting into the hip. He was quick to tell us that this would make Ava cry, but to all of our amazement she seemed totally unaffected by it :) The doctor even commented on what a tough little girl we have and we agree. 

Ava got to spend some wonderful time with Grandpa Kerry and Grandma Ivy when they visited at the beginning of May. They got to experience Ava in high crying mode, but also had some time when she was calm and very sweet. Ava even made it to the farmer's market and a shopping trip with Grandma Iv- of course she was sleeping the whole time!

Ava and I have been going to a Mom and Baby discussion group and Mom and Baby yoga. I have found that both are essential to my sanity as we get out of the house and can go to be with other moms facing similar joys and challenges and no one bats an eye if your baby breaks down crying or you need to nurse. I am really grateful for both communities!

Alan is busy as always at work, but also does a wonderful job at home. He is balancing it all so well that he makes it look easy, although I am sure there are challenging days. Ava loves talking to her daddy and Alan loves telling Ava stories or making the animals in the gym talk to her. It's really sweet to watch their interactions!

Here are some photos of the last few weeks...

Cuddle time with Mama

Hanging out with Grandpa Kerry and Grandma Ivy

The beginnings of a smile...

Our awesome neighbors and friends- Sonya and Dusty...don't think Alan and I are the only ones that have to listen to Ava's crying! We are so grateful that they are so understanding.

Just chillin' on the porch enjoying a beautiful evening.

 

At first, Alan tried to hide his beer when I was taking a picture of him and Ava. We all laughed because anyone that knows Alan knows he likes a good brew, so we weren't quite sure why he was hiding it. I thought this pose was much more appropriate with Alan teaching Ava about beer....not that she will be drinking it for quite some time!

Gazing out the window

The next several photos show just how fun "gym time" is for Ava! She is such a joy! The blurry parts are her arms, which never stop moving :)