Rice cereal...yum yum!!

1/2 Birthday already?????

We celebrated Ava's 1/2 birthday last week! At her 6 month check-up the pediatrician said that she was almost caught up to her actual age and that she believes next time she sees Ava (9 months) that she will be exactly where she should be for her actual age and we can forget about her adjusted age. She weighed 13 pounds 6 ounces at her appointment and is finally on the charts for height, weight, and head circumference. She is 5th percentile for weight, 10th for height, and 50th for head! She can now roll from her tummy to back and back to tummy. She doesn't do it often, but she is capable of it. She still loves her hands and has just discovered playing with her feet. She is talking up a storm and cracks us up with her "pterodactyl" language! I am absolutely loving this age and want her to stay 6 months old forever! She smiles and giggles at everything and it warms my heart every time. The summer has been flying by! Ava and I have been having a blast this past month and a half. I can't believe I have less than a month until school starts and don't want to begin to think about leaving her all day. Luckily, we found an amazing nanny who is going to watch Ava while I am at work.

I have the worst timing with these "monthly" pictures. I decided to attempt the 6 month pictures before a feeding and a nap. Needless to say, I did not catch Ava in the best mood.

Growing like a weed!

"Ok mom enough is enough can I please eat and go to sleep now?"

First time eating rice cereal and she LOVED it!! I don't think it was the actual rice cereal she loved....it was more the spoon she was fascinated with.

Yum Yum!!

Along with celebrating her 1/2 birthday we also had a fun weekend with my good friends Brooke and Kearston who came to visit us from Chicago. Ava had a blast hanging out with the girls and didn't want to nap or sleep at night in fear that she would miss something. :)

Hanging with the girls. Aunt Brooke and Aunt Kearston. Ava is very excited for Aunt Brooke's baby to arrive in late November.

Lunch and Shopping with the girls!!

Trip to Chicago and Wisonsin to see family.....

We were in Chicago and Wisconsin this past week visiting family. Ava was introduced to her great grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, and cousins. She also got to spend a lot of time with her grammy, papa, and Aunt Beth while we were there. Here are some pictures from Ava's first big vacation!!

Playing with papa!!

Ava meets her Great Grandpa Carpenter

Ava and Great Grandma Carpenter

First boat ride in Lake Geneva....she loved it!

First Chicago bar!!

Reading with her Grammy. <3

 

 

 

 

 

Ava with her G-Pa!

And with her GG

GG, G-Pa, and Ava <3

4 generations!!

I stood in front of this same fireplace posing for pictures as a kid. It is very special to be able to do the same with my baby girl.

Keeping G-Pa company as he rests

Aunt Susan putting Ava to sleep.....she had the magic touch!

Hanging with Grammy. :)

Getting ready for the pool

First time in the pool. Not to sure about it....

Starting to like the pool a little bit more....

Meeting Cousin Issac for the first time.

Ava is not to sure about this......

Now she's into it. Holding hands with her cous! :)

Ava and Issac enjoying some play time!

Flying high in the sky......

Ava experienced her first flight last week when we flew to Chicago to see family and friends! I was a little nervous about the trip, but luckily she was a champ! She nursed during take-off which put her to sleep for about the first hour of the flight. Once she woke up Steve played with her until she got fussy and then she nursed again and fell asleep. This was pretty much her pattern for the entire flight, nurse, sleep, play, and repeat! On the way home it was just Ava and I since Steve had to fly back earlier in the week for work. I was very nervous to do this by myself, but yet again Ava was amazing! The one thing I learned for next time is that less is more! I brought WAY TOO MUCH stuff on the plane! 5 outfits, 2 blankets, pretty much every toy she owns, and 10 diapers. What was I thinking? It's a 4 hour flight.....this much stuff was NOT needed! Lesson learned!

Ava's first 4th of July!!

Ava enjoyed her first 4th of July! In the morning she took one of her longest naps, which allowed mommy to go for a nice long run and daddy was able to get some work done. In the afternoon we had a cookout with some of our good friends. Lucky for all of us, the babies went to bed around 8 and we were able to enjoy a baby free dinner!!

It was hard to get a good picture when all she wanted to do was play with and eat her dress!

Ava is saying, "Peace, America"

Mommy and Ava

Ava with her buddy Claire. The girls looked so cute in their festive dresses

Asher and Ava shared a pack-n-play for the night. We placed them on opposite ends of it, but by the end of the night they were snuggling. So cute!

Such a trooper and still asleep after our walk home at the end of the night!

Gymboree Class!!

Ava started attending gymboree class! A few times a week we go to play with the other babies, learn some new songs, and have a lot of tummy time! Ava loves looking at the other babies and gets a kick out of the bubbles and parachute. She is still not a fan of tummy time, but the wonderful instructors at gymboree have managed to make it somewhat tolerable for her.

Tummy time is so much better with fun toys, a mirror, and other babies to look at!

Ava was not a fan of the tumbler. I was told that her big head is probably the reason she dislikes being on her tummy so much. Big head = big brain!! :) We've got a future Harvard grad here!!

Asher and Ava having some extra play time after class, so their mommies can enjoy lunch!

Father's Day!!

I know I am a little late in posting about Father's Day, but I wanted to share some pictures from the day. We had a wonderful day, enjoyed a picnic in the park, and Ava tried out the baby swings for the first time.

Playing at the park

Ava loves her daddy. <3

Not to sure about the swings.........