Our Little Love {Ava's 1st Birthday}

Little Girl you are ONE. I can't believe a year has already gone by. It has been one of the best/fastest year of our life. You have brought a joy and love into our lives that we never knew existed until you were placed in our arms. I never knew my heart could love like this and that you have truly taken hold of my heart.

Your actual birthday was on a Friday so Mommy took off work and we went to the zoo with A. Carrie, Caleb, and Kendall. As you get older you will soon realize the weather in Cincinnati is unpredictable. When you born it was sunny and in the 70's. On your first birthday it was rainy and 50 degrees (unseasonably low temps). We had a great time at the zoo, not sure you really cared about the animals but we did get to see many of the animals. You were not a fan of the train but I think you were hungry and just wanted a bottle :) We went over to U. Timmy's and A. Sarah's after Daddy got home and hung out Caleb, Kendall, U. Mike and A. Carrie.

We celebrated your birthday on Saturday at Fernbank park. We invited too many people to have it at our house so we toughed out the cold temps and few rain showers to have it at the park. Most of your pics your in your coat but hopefully for your next birthdays it will be sunny and in the 70's. It was still nice to have all our friends and family come, you are loved by so many. I had such a fun time making all the decorations, cakes, and invitations for your party. We had a love theme, since you are our little love Ava. Here are pics from your celebration, there were peeks of sun shine so you can barely tell it was cold :)

some of the table decorations

love notes for Ava to read on her 18th Birthday

caleb and kendall helping Ava walk

opening presents :) 

12 Months {5.16.14}

Little girl you’re ONE!! Where has the time gone? I cannot believe this time last year we welcomed you into the world and held you in our arms for the first time. Now you crawl over to mommy and daddy and give us neck hugs. You bring so much happiness, joy and love into our lives.  Love you so much Ava!

Here is what you have been up to this past month

Little Swimmer: U. Mike and A. Carrie took you swimming for the first time at the YMCA. You had a great time once you got used to the water.  You loved it so much you fell asleep in A. Carrie's arms in the pool

Easter: You celebrated your first Easter. We has breakfast at Mamaw and Papaw Jackson’s, then went to the park with Bentley and finished the night at Mamaw and Papaw Crofford’s. You enjoyed your first of many Easter egg hunts. Although you could not walk around the yard by yourself you were able to grab the eggs when we brought you to them. 

Half Marathon: On May 4^th Mommy, Daddy, U. Timmy, A. Sarah, Mamaw Crofford, Molly, Chris and some of our other friends all participated in the Flying Pig Half Marathon. Mommy is not really sure why I decided to do it since I am not a runner and as the date got closer I knew my lack of training was going to leave me in pain. Everyone ran the whole half marathon except for Mommy. I ran to mile 9 and then walked the last 4. Everyone had a good time at the event and you had fun cheering us on J Papaw Crofford, Vivian, and Olivia entertained you while we ran.

Graduation: U. Timmy graduated from NKU. You were great during the ceremony but since it was a little long we spent some of the time out in the lobby until we heard U. Timmy’s name read. We went back to Mamaw and Papaw’s to help him celebrate his big accomplishment!

Mother’s Day: Last year I had no idea I would have you four days after Mother’s Day. It was surreal to think you were in my belly this time last year. You and Daddy got me a pretty dress and we spend the day with our families. I am so blessed to be your mommy Ava. There is a love I never knew existed until I saw you for the first time.

Other moments:

*The weather has been great so we have been taking lots of walks.

*You experience your first shopping cart ride without your car seat. You really enjoy looking at items and wave to strangers all the time. You have also learned how to pick items off the shelves in the cart. I now have to be careful what I place you by when I am looking for items.

*While we were at the park with Ashley, Lyle, and Emery I was holding you near the play ground and a fluke thing happened. All the sudden pee came shooting out of your diaper. I had never seen anything like that happen with a diaper. It was really weird but gave Ashley and I a good laugh J

Ava you have such a sweet, kind personality. You are content to play by yourself in your crib or with some books but love it when we get on the ground to play with you. You are always willing to share what you have but eventually want us to give it back to you J You get concerned when your cousins cry and want to know what’s wrong. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know. 

11 Months {4.16.14}

Little lady you will be ONE in less than a month! Party planning is in full swing. I can’t wait to celebrate your one year of life with all the people who love you. Here is what you have been up to this past month.

March Madness: March is Daddy’s favorite month of the year. Get used to not seeing Daddy much in March because when college basketball is on he will be by the TV. UK actually made it to the national championship game, but sadly lost. We spent a lot of time at Mamaw and Papaw’s house watching the games; you enjoyed watching the games but were more into playing with your toys. One day I’m sure you will be watching the games with Daddy.

Speed Racer- You are crawling so much faster now. You still take little breaks when you crawl. I’m not sure if it’s because you’re tired or because you want to see what is happening behind you. You do the cutest belly laugh when we walk behind you and act like we are chasing you. You can also pull up on just about anything in your reach. You get up so quickly but still have not started walking on your own. For the moment you enjoy crawling everywhere you need to go.

Clingy/Crying in Sunday School: The past few week at Sunday School when we pick you up your little face is all red from crying. I think you are starting to realize when were not around and it makes you sad or it might be the wrong time of day since sometimes you take a nap during that time during the week. You have also been clingy to mommy lately and crawl over to my feet to pick you up.

Colds & Temperatures: Little girl you have not felt great this past month. You had a cold that lasted a few days and also ran a really high fever. Mommy can tell when you are not feeling good because all you want to do is cuddle. You don’t usually cuddle with mommy so when you do I treasurer it. It is heartbreaking seeing you not feel good and there is nothing I can do to fix it. All we can do is give you medicine and hope It starts working. You still have a great attitude when you’re sick and are not too whiny.

Sleep: The colds/temperatures you have had lately have thrown off your sleep schedule. You used to wake up between 6:00-6:30 now you have gotten up between 4 and 5. When you wake up really early I feed you and then put you right back to bed. Most of the time you go back to sleep without any crying.

Sticking your tongue out/making kissing noise: You have started something new this month by sticking your tongue out when you walk around the house. I’m pretty sure Daddy you mimic daddy doing it and that’s where you learned it. You also walk around making a kissing noise with your lips. It is really cute to see you do both of them!

Favorite Part of my Day: My favorite part of the day is coming home from work. You are usually in the living room when I get home and your face lights up when you see me. You do the same thing for daddy when you see him. No matter what kind of day I’ve had seeing your smiling face makes it all better!

10 Months {3.16.14}

Ava you're 10 Months Old! O how the time has flown by, this is what you have been up to during the past month.

Weight: 21 lbs 7 oz (85%)

Height: 29” (85-95%)

Crawling: You’re officially crawling! Over the past month you have gotten so much better at crawling too. You are also starting to pull yourself up on basically anything you can get your hands on. Your head has had some little bumps on it from you now exploring the world you live in but most of the time it does not even phase you when you bump your head. You actually get really mad at me when I try to protect your head when you are climbing on things and I know you will hit your head.

Daddy’s ear: Little girl your ears may look like Mommy’s but you’re following in Daddy’s footsteps with all the ear infections you have had. You had two ear infections this past month. If the ear infections don’t clear up you will have to get tubes.

Chatter Box: You are babbling a lot more now. You love to say “da, da, da” and will sometimes repeat certain sounds that we make. It is really cute to hear you chatting with us or when you’re in your crib all by yourself. I love that you are starting to get more of a personality and that you can now “talk” to mommy.

Silly Girl: Daddy put you in front of a full-length mirror and usually you will hit the glass with your hands and you love that you can see yourself and us in the mirror. Lately though you have been kissing the mirror which is really funny. We were able to capture the funny moment on video J You also think it’s so funny when I’m holding you and Daddy tries to tickle you. I have make sure I’m holding you tight because you almost squirm out of my arms trying to get away from him J

Big Girl: We had to lower your crib this past month. It is now on the lowest level, since you can pull up we decided it was time to lower your crib before you accidentally fell out! I can’t believe you’re big enough now that we lowered your crib, the time has flown by!

Sleep: Ava you’re still a great sleeper! Before daylights saving time you were getting up pretty early (around 5) but I would feed you and then you would go to sleep  usually for another hour before you wanted to wake up. You’re still getting around 11-12 hours of sleep at night which is great! You usually go to bed between 6-7 and wake up around that same time in the morning. 

Little girl we love you so much!! You are bring so much joy to our lives that I cannot even begin to describe. We are so blessed that we are you're parents!!

9 Months {2.16.14}

Little lady you are 9 months old!! Mommy is already thinking and planning for 1^st Birthday that will be here before we know it!!

Here is what you have been up to lately

Weight: 21 lbs 7 oz (85%)

Height: 29” (85-95%)

No Work: Mommy and Daddy were both off for Martin Luther King Jr Day. It will probably be one of the few times we are both off work at the same time. It was fun to spend the day with you. It was cold so we mostly stayed inside but it was nice to all be together.

Trusting my instincts: Mommy took you to the doctor because you had a runny nose and you were fussier than usual. I thought you had an ear infection but the Nurse Practioner looked in your ears (for maybe a second) and said that you did not have one. I should have made her check again and be more through (like your doctor always is) but I did not. As a result, Mamaw Crofford had to take you back to the doctor because your eye started to be really red on the top and bottom of your eyelid and had all kinds of goop on it. The doctor said you had a double ear infection and gave us some medicine. I felt this could have all been avoided if the first appointment would have been more through.

Poor little girl so sick!

First leader weekend: We went to Great Wolf Lodge during the day to spend time with our team and hang out with our new leaders. You are always so great when we go places and always a crowd pleaser.

Basketball Games: We went to U. Timmy’s basketball game and you had a great time watching the cheerleaders. When they would do cheers you would smile and try to clap, it was too cute! You went to see your cousin Jeremy play basketball too. You were a little fussy at the game (you were tired) but still were great while the game was going on. Mommy and Daddy also went to a Taylor basketball game and took you along. I thought you might not like the loud music from the band and noise of the crowd, but you did great. You were happy the whole time (even when it was past your bedtime)

Cuddle bug: Mommy stayed home one day because of all the snow. We sat on the couch for a little bit and watched TV and I kept thinking about when you get older how we will cuddle on the couch and watch movies or shows together. Right now, you are too interested in everything to cuddle but I know you will want to eventually J

Pizza Olympics: Every Olympics Mommy and Daddy’s friends throw a Pizza Olympics party. They call five different pizza companies, order the same thing from each, and then wait to see who delivers the pizza first. This year they did a running of the torch, a homemade pizza contest, pizza eating contest, and also played the Olympic theme song when a pizza delivery car showed up. There were soo many people at the party and since it was cold we were all inside for the majority of the time. You were the youngest participant at the pizza Olympics and did great with such a big crowd. Mommy brought home the gold by winning the homemade pizza contest.

Happy Valentine’s Day: We do not usually do anything too fancy for Valentine’s Day and this year we stayed home because of all the snow. I had fun taking your picture in a cute Valentine outfit though.

Loving her pretty shirt :) 

Ava your smile is contagious and you bring so much joy to our life! You are constantly making me laugh with the funny faces and sounds you make. We are so blessed to be your parents and cannot wait to see you continue to grow. We love you little girl!!! 

8 Months {1.16.14}

Little one you are 8 months old!!! The time is flying by. It seems like every moment during the day your doing something that makes me smile or laugh. Your two front teeth are so cute when you smile. You are always a smiling, happy baby!

Weight: 20 pounds (the same as last month or maybe a little more)

Height:  28 inches (the same as last month or maybe a little more)

EKG: We had a follow up appointment from your EKG and Echo appointment you had when you were 1 month old. They said that you still have an innocent mumor but everything sounded good. They also said we don’t need to worry about your hands and feet sometimes turning a purple/blue color. They said it is common for babies to have that, as long as your face and stomach never turns blue we should not be concerned.

Festival of Lights: A. Carrie and U. Mike had free tickets so we went to the festival of lights with them J We were there around when you usually go to bed so you had your “serious” face for most of the time but you did great being pushed in your stroller. You smiled more right before we were getting ready to leave J

Tis the Season: We have been to lots of parties, shopped a lot, and seen family/friends we do not usually see that often. It is always a busy time but I really enjoy spending time with everyone. You are so great when we go places! You barely fuss and are usually all smiles J

Feliz Navidad: Little one you celebrated your first Christmas! We went to Mamaw and Papaw Crofford’s for Christmas Eve and Mamaw and Papaw Jackson’s for Christmas breakfast and dinner. You had fun opening presents with your cousins and even tore the paper a little bit on the presents. We also got to open presents on Christmas morning. We may not always get to open presents on Christmas day due to daddy having to work but I’m glad we were able to do it for your first Christmas J

Cousin Love: We were able to take some pictures for Christmas with your cousins. One of the photos was Pinterest inspired. We thought we might have some melt downs trying to get a picture with three kids but it turned out great :) 

Happy New Year: Little girl we are no longer in your birth year, say hello to 2014! 2013 brought us one of the best blessings when we had you! We cannot wait to see what 2014 holds for our family and how much you will grow and change this next year.

Baby it’s Cold Outside: It has been really cold a few days this month. With the wind chill a few days after New Year’s felt like -30! I don’t ever remember it being this cold. When it is really cold outside we try not to take you out and I also dread being outside when it’s that cold. We have also had lots of snow days. We have not gotten more than 3 inches at a time but anything over 1” makes people crazy drivers, so we try to avoid going anywhere when it snows.

New Beginning: Daddy started his full time fire job! As Daddy put it he “officially started” his life now that he has a full time fire job. Don’t take offense little one, what daddy really means to say is that he is officially starting his career he just does not word it that way. You are a very important part of his life he just meant that he finally got a full time job.

Spitting: Daddy has taught you something that seems to be your new habit. You make a spitting noise with your lips and usually get mommy’s face a little wet when you’re doing it. You think it is so funny and love doing it at random times.

Soon-to-be-mover: You love it when we walk around with you holding your hands. You’re not ready to walk on your own but you will get there soon enough. You are also getting yourself up on all fours but you have not moved yet. You usually rock in place but have never decided to move when you’re on all fours.

Eating: You’re still taking 6 oz every 2-3 hours during the day. We have also tried some new fruits and vegetables but everything is pureed or smashed so you can eat it. You have not tried anything that you don’t like. You don’t love your puffs but will usually eat a couple when we give them to you.

Other moments:

* Mommy and Daddy both went into your room after you just woke up. Daddy was bouncy in tennis ball in your room and you lowered your eyebrows and gave him a very serious face. You obviously were annoyed by the bouncing of the tennis ball. It was so funny to see you do it. I’m sure when you get older we will see a lot of these looks but right now it is so funny to see you making different facial expressions.

*Game Night: Went to Tiffany and Jared Leazer’s for game night. You had fun meeting Brody (who is 1 month older than you). You played with different toys but eventually we put you to bed since you were so tired.

*Friendsgiving: “Friendsgiving-The One in December” was such a great time. All of our friends that we don’t get to see that often were in town. You did such a great with new people holding you and were smiley all night.

*Bowling: You went bowling for the first time. I was not sure if the loud noises at the bowling alley would frighten you but you did great! You slept through most of the first game (Mommy won) but had fun watching us play the second game {Daddy won because he couldn’t let mommy beat his twice J}. 

7 Months {12.16.13}

Little girl you are growing up so fast! I remember when you were born how excited I was to celebrate the holidays with you and I cannot believe it is here. Here is what you have been up to during your 7 months of life.

 Height: 28 inches

Weight: 20 pounds

 ZzzzZzzz: You’re still sleeping great! You get about 11-12 hours a night depending on when you go to bed. You usually take your last bottle between 6:30-7:30 and don’t usually cry very much when we put you to bed. There were a couple nights where you cried a lot when I put you down. I let you play in your bouncer for half an hour and that was just enough activity to get you tired and ready for bed. We are so thankful that you sleep great other places and you sleep through the night.

Happy Thanksgiving: You had your first thanksgiving little one. Though you didn’t get to try any of the delicious food Grandma made you still enjoyed your first thanksgiving. Next year you will be able to feast and enjoy Daddy’s favorite holiday J

Over the river and through the Woods: Ava you experienced your first tree cutting experience. It is one of Daddy’s favorite traditions to cut down a real Christmas tree so we travel about an hour away to cut it down. The weather was great for cutting down the tree, I actually got warm carrying you around. We had to walk pretty far to get our tree but you never once fussed about being carried for so long. You got hungry towards the end so I gave you a bottle and the snow suit you were in wouldn’t let you bend your arms. It was so sad/funny to see you trying to bend your arms to hold the bottle. I actually enjoyed holding the bottle for you since I rarely get to do it anymore.

  

Tree Decorating: You “helped” us decorate our Christmas tree after we cut it down. You stayed up long enough for us to get some cute picture of you and then you were ready for bed. Next year you might be able to “help” more J

Teeth: You have two teeth now! One night you were really fussy and we think that is when your teeth came through. You look so cute with two little teeth on the bottom.

Starting Traditions: We now started the tradition where we go somewhere with Mamaw and Papaw Jackson around Christmas. We had a great time at the Duke Train Display at the museum center.

Bouncer: You LOVE your bouncer. Your face lights up when you’re in it and you bounce like a crazy when you are in it. Sometimes you bounce so high and so much that I think you could just bounce right out of it ;)

Eating: You are still taking 6 ounces every 2-3 hours during the day. You have tried a few new foods like carrots, green beans, bananas, and puffs. You are starting to like the spoon more now. You usually give a funny face when we feed you but you seem to try everything so far. You still like to feed yourself a bottle are starting to learn how to put puffs in your mouth.

Ava every day you are changing and becoming a beautiful little girl inside and out. Your laid back personality and go with the flow attitude has been great with all the traveling from house to house we do this time of year. Mommy and Daddy love you more than we could ever describe!