Ava's first photo shoot

Ava had her first photo shoot a few weeks ago. Grandpa Pete came over and took some pictures of Ava, Steve, and I. He is a wonderful photographer and got some great shots of Ava! She was so well behaved, alert, and happy the entire time. After doing a little research I learned some tricks to make it a happy photo shoot......Turn up the heat, lots of swaddling between shots, and start the photo shoot after a feeding and a nap. Now we just need to decide which ones to frame. I love them all so much I can't make up my mind!  Here are some of our favorites..............

Growing like a weed........

Ava had her two month checkup yesterday! Steve took the day off so he could join us at the doctor. I was very uneasy about the 2 month shots and didn't want to see my baby in pain, so it was nice to have him there to comfort both Ava and I. I think it was harder on me than it was on her! She ended up only getting half of what we thought she would get. The doctor was uncomfortable putting all that medicine in such a tiny body, so he suggested we only do half the shots and come back in a month for the other half. Turns out Ava was not fazed by her shots because she was very pleasant the rest of the day with minimal tears. :)

Ava is growing like a weed! She weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces and is 20 inches long. Even though her current weight is the average weight of a newborn it is almost double her birth weight which we were ecstatic about. The doctor said she is not quite caught up in size to the average 2 month old, but she is growing so quickly he is confident she will be caught up by one year of age. As far as developmental milestones, she will also reach these at her own pace. She is doing more than a 2 week old (her adjusted age), but less than a 2 month old. The older she gets the smaller that gap will become and eventually her adjusted age and actual age will match up. She is cooing, holding her head up for a short time, and rolls to her side (twice all the way to her stomach), but has not been socially smiling, focusing, or tracking yet. With that said, just this morning I was holding her and talking to her like I do every morning and she looked right at me and gave me the biggest smile I have ever seen. It was as if she was saying, "Don't worry mommy I will be just fine." I was so excited I grabbed the camera and tried to get her to do it again, but of course it was a one time deal. Hopefully I will catch that beautiful smile on camera next time so I can share it with everyone! :)

My big girl trying out her bumbo seat.

She loves the swing. She even likes it when she is awake, but usually it puts her to sleep. 

Ava meets baby Asher (aka - her future husband). My good friend just had a baby boy on March 16th and we went to go see them after they got home from the hospital. Such a cute baby boy!! Both babies are not very happy in this picture...probably because I was holding Asher and my friend was holding Ava. They both wanted their mommies. :)

Budha baby. Steve was holding Ava and she looked so funny all wrapped I just had to take a picture.

Making funny faces. Something she loves to do these days.

The second month..............

In a few days Ava will be 2 months old. I cannot believe it has already been that long....it really does go fast! Everyone warned me to soak up every moment because the baby stage goes by quickly and now I believe it!

Ava has not had her 2 month check up yet, but did have a brief doctor visit last week to get her second RSV shot. She was weighed and measured, which I was really happy about. It is reassuring to see her weight go up and watch her grow. She weighed 6 pounds 12 ounces and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has had a pretty busy month for a newborn.  She has had many visitors and ventured out of the house a little more than during her first month of life. Since mom always forgets the camera when we are out most of the pictures are from hanging around the house.

 Trying to capture Ava's hilarious facial expressions. She makes the funniest faces and sounds and I never have the camera near by to capture them.

 We weren't able to do newborn pictures since Ava was in the hospital during the time you would usually have them done. When she came home time got away with me and I never found anyone in time, so I decided to have some fun with camera. Well, there is a reason they say to do this right after they are born. She was hysterical the whole time. I was able to capture a few pictures of her not screaming. Grandpa Pete is coming over next weekend and is going to help us get some good pictures of Ava, Steve, and I.

Ava was going to attend her first birthday party on Saturday night at our friends house. We were all ready to head out the door and Ava had a meltdown. Since she doesn't usually cry we were very surprised by her hysterical behavior. We discovered she had a mild fever, so Ava, Bruce, and I stayed home from the party while dad stopped by to say hi. He then joined us back at home and we had a wonderful night snuggling as a family. Not the kind of Saturday night we are used to, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.  Luckily, the fever was gone by morning and all was back to normal. :)

Aunt Page and Uncle Adam came to visit.

Grandma Nancy with her grandkids. Grandma comes by on Fridays so mom can go to the gym!

Aunt Sandy flew in for the weekend just to see Ava!

Snuggle time with Grandma Jayne

Lola and Megan came to visit us.

Lola and Ava. :)

Aunt Jamie and Ava. :)

The grandparents babysat while mom and dad went out to dinner.

Ava's first trip to the beach. She slept the entire time, but mom was happy to get some sun and see the ocean!

Ava meets her grandpa for the first time!

Grandpa joined us for the last leg of grandma's trip. Grandpa is a natural with the little ones! Ava is very lucky to have two sets of amazing grandparents and two sets of wonderful great grandparents. She will get to meet her great grandparents this summer and is very excited!!

Ava experienced many firsts while grandpa was here. Her first trip to home depot, cost co (well only the parking lot, but close enough), Bay Cities Deli, and her first celebrity sighting! Grandpa spotted Karl Urbin while we were at lunch. Nobody believed him, but after some help from google he proved he was right.

The football hold.

Ava loves her grandpa. So happy in his arms.

Ava with her grandparents! She is one lucky little girl. :) Steve and I took advantage of the wonderful babysitters and went out on a date.

We had to join in on the picture fun when we got home.