Vacation, Crawling, Old Man Smile...

Last week we had our first family vacation up north camping, nay- RVing. The Chapa's camper doesn't really count for camping but we did stay in a campground. I switched vehicles with my sister-in-law so we had a minivan for the week (Jim was SO thrilled to have to drive a minivan). So the girls started the trek up to Wilderness State Park and the guys took the truck and trailer. Norah was in the midst of being potty trained so it took awhile to get up there (5.5 hours I think) but it went by really fast. Ava slept most of the way up (thank goodness). I was afraid she'd scream the whole way up there. She didn't though, both the girls were wonderful. We spent a few days in Mackinaw City and had bonfires and ate A LOT of food. The weather was cool but comfortable. Jim and I spent our third wedding anniversary at the Bayfront Inn in Petoskey having dinner. It was exquisite. On the Fourth we packed up and headed down to Traverse City. There we watched fireworks and went to the beach a few times (Jim even took Ava all by himself!). Norah entertained Ava a lot... there was one evening when the boys were out fishing and so it was just us girls, and Norah was just sitting next to her and Ava was hysterically laughing. She even snorted. I was on the phone with my mom so she got to hear it and I got the very end of it on my cell phone. I hope she always finds things that funny! The day before we left Jim surprised me by renting jet skis for an hour on the Grand Traverse Bay. It was SO much fun! All in all it was a blast even though we missed the Cherry Festival. Yeah- we made reservations in the winter for it, and then at some point the dates for the festival were moved and we had no idea until we got there. Bugger.

Ava is now 7.5 months old and is army crawling everywhere. Yesterday she crawled all the way down the hall by herself (no one calling her to come), I grabbed the video camera and got her going into her room and finding herself in a mirror I haven't hung up yet. She then proceeded to laugh and squeal at herself and then kissed her image. It was so cute. She also suddenly has separation anxiety really bad and wakes up in the middle of the night numerous times screaming like I've left her forever. It's awful. Yesterday was the worst though, she would have a tantrum if I wasn't on the floor playing with her the whole day. She took two 45-60 minutes naps and that was it. It was a long day. It is nice to be needed so much, but a little exhausting.

She also has this new smile, she shows her teeth and crinkles her nose so she looks kind of a like an old man. It's the best! She is also babbling "mamamamama" quite a bit, but I don't think she's saying it on purpose.

6 months (and a half)

I am done teaching for the summer, my graduate class has ended and I can now breath for the summer. Jim has finished the basement and we have a cool place to hang out when the heat gets to be too much, which earlier this week it was.

Ava is now a half year old! We had a doctor appointment on the 2nd of June where she was to get her first immunization. I got all worked up about it and decided to not make my mom go with me (Jim had to work), to be strong and go it alone. I arrived, waited, got into the room and was asked what Ava was being seen for and lo and behold, they did not have the immunization in that day. I was so livid and inraged. I had specifically made the appointment to get the shot and TOLD the receptionist this, but there was a miscommunication. So when I pulled into my mom's driveway with tears streaming down my face, my mom instantly thought I was traumatized. Ugh. So I rescheduled, asked this time if they had it in (who knew you had to do that) and then asked for the specific brand and such so I could Google it (I have no idea what I was looking for, but it made me feel better). So we went on Tuesday and I was so anxious. A girl I went to school with is actually a nurse there and she got to give Ava her shot (go Stacy!). So.... yeah, she didn't even flinch. All that, and not a flinch. Which I am thrilled about because I agonized over it. Now I'll know she's a trooper (and Mom's a big wussy). So the big weigh in was 16 pounds, 1.5 ounces and 26.5 inches. We call her McChubs.

So I am sure you have all heard or experienced what a wonderful, beautiful, perfect and angel Ava is. Well, just so you all don't hate me, she has started to cry. Yeah, I said it, cry. I know! She had a tooth break through on the 7th, and then another one on the 12th (Happy 87th Grandpa!). I am waiting to get bitten, but it hasn't happened yet and I anticipate it at every feeding. Which, by they way is going great, but is happening less often because she is totally into solid food. Well, pureed in her case, but she LOVES everything but oatmeal. I pureed up some chicken, peas and carrots and she gobbles them right up. She is also learning how to use a sippy cup.

Ava had her first swing ride last week at the park down the road. It's like a daily ritual now... Jim comes home and after dinner we put her in the stroller and walk down the street and put her in the swing. She loves it. She is almost scooting. She propels her body into a teepee, which takes so much energy, and when she is doing it, she looks like she'll move herself pretty far, but she only moves a mere inch or so. It's pretty funny to watch. Today she got herself forward pretty well. The mobility factor is bittersweet for us. It's going to be so cool that she'll be more independent and can move... but that's the bitter part.

Next week we leave for our camping trip with the Chapas. I cannot wait!

Happy first Father's Day to Jim! Here is a picture of Ava and her cousin Sophia (10 weeks older). SO CUTE!

Rollin, rollin', rollin'...

So much has happened in the past month, it's hard to keep it all straight: Ava has some new friends that entered the world (welcome Ella Tayler and Joshua Michael!!), she has learned how to roll over from her back to her belly too! It's funny to watch and she can't do it without tooting mid-roll. Then she gets really mad that she is on her tummy and starts yelling. She has discovered her toes and that her fingers can grab them and lots of other things (mommy's lips and daddy's nose). She's got a good grip!

She was baptized on April 22nd, she wore my christening gown and was adorable. She slept through the whole thing. You know, it is so amazing how she learns

new things, I mean, of course she has got to grow and learn, but she won't do anything for like a week and then all of a sudden she does 3 things in a row. It is utterly amazing to watch her grow. When I held Ella Compau yesterday, I couldn't believe that just 5 short months ago, Ava was SMALLER than that! How can that be? How does that happen?

A MIRACLE also occured this past week, my brother changed his FIRST diaper. Yes, it took 5 months, but he finally did it. I handed her off to him and said "Here, change her," thinking he would say no way! like he normally does. But here is picture to prove it. He actually did it right and did a fine job. Now if she'll only take a big duece when he's here....

Yesterday, my sister-in-law Kim and I took our three little ones and walked around the mall. I looked at her and said, "We are those annoying stroller people now." But it didn't take long to realize it wasn't the stroller that makes people act like idiots in the mall. By God, it's the PEOPLE! Who knew!

I only have 15 days left of school and then I am home for 3 months. I still have to go back to clean and do odds and ends but aside from 3 days I have meetings I can bring Ava in with me. I am so excited for the summer.

Bananas!

Ava is 18 weeks and growing like a weed (as her dad loves to say). He took her to her 4 month check up a week and a half ago and she weighed in at 13 lbs 8 oz and 24 inches long. Her cheeks look like they are going to burst sometimes. She's done a lot of new stuff in the past 5-6 weeks. She slept through the night 4 or 5 times. She can sit up assisted, roll over (sometimes) from tummy to back, and she is belly laughing now. It's so hilarious. As soon as Jim figures out how to put a video on this blog, we'll upload her laugh, it's very contagious.

Here she is hanging out with the 'rents during dinner.

Tonight, she had her first solid food, smashed bananas. She spit most of it out and made some hilarious faces. Most of it ended up on her face and her bib. She kept opening her mouth like she wanted more and didn't chuck any of it back up. We'll wait for it to come out the other end though :)

Three Months

Jim and I spent some time this weekend looking at videos of Ava from the past three months. Let me tell you, it's so humbling. I guess because we saw her everyday and all day that we didn't realize how tiny she was! She looked like a little monkey... there wasn't an ounce of fat on her. But now, as you can see- she has plumped out to be a healthy twelve pounds or so and is finally growing out of her newborn outfits.

This is my last week home with Ava and to be honest, I am in complete denial. I feel like I am a pretty strong person, but yesterday I was just holding her and thinking that I only have a week left to just look at her all day, and I started to cry! I hope that I don't choke up during a math lesson in two weeks. I can't think of why a math problem would link my thoughts to Ava, but you never know. I hope I can keep it together. When I get mad about going to work, I just think of how lucky I am to have a job with the summers off, I have to work 55 days (yes I counted!) and then I have three months again with Ava. I cannot wait, and will count the days.

Ava's personality is starting to come through a lot more now. She recognizes family and is starting to squeal at us and her toys. It's the best sound in the world! It's so funny to watch her emotions and her facial expressions when she finds her hands or a toy or a light. It's like the simplest things are so interesting and funny.

What is lost... can be RECOVERED!

All 500 of our beautiful pictures of Ava are from our new camera that we got as an early Christmas gift from Mom and Dad Thorburn. However, there were a certain 10 pictures or so that a nurse captured of Jim and me and Ava during her first minutes of life with a camera I bought over 4 years ago before I went to NZ. It was on the fritz but hoped to get one for Christmas- plus, Ava's arrival wasn't supposed to come until AFTER the holidays.

We got home to find that those first and precious pictures were, at some point, destroyed by all the magnetic equipment in the hospital. I have heard words come out of Jim's mouth that I've never heard before when he went to pull them up the day we came home. On top of Ava staying at the hospital and us coming home without her, we didn't have these pictures. He was so upset, as was I.

Someone at Jim's work (thank you George), suggested some software that you can buy to recover such disasters. And, Voila! $29.99 later, the pictures we thought we would never see, were recovered (along with some from our summer vacation with the Chapa's). Here is one of the newly recovered: it's worth a million dollars in my mind.

10 Weeks

Ava had her 2 month check up on Monday and she is now 10 pounds, 11 ounces and 22.5 inches long. Her cheeks are getting so chubby, her face looks smaller and smaller! She is really filling out her clothes and is finally starting to fit into her 0-3 month outfits. I bought a ladybug outfit for her and her cousin Sophia for their pictures in March and I am afraid Ava's may not fit her then! She is smiling a lot and has figured out how to kick her feet and flail her arms.

We spent SuperBowl Sunday at Jim's parents. It was really fun- Kim, Randy, Nick and Sophia were there and so were the Compau's. It was very loud and fun to watch all the kids! April and I went to a baby store in Birmingham on Tuesday to get these cute cute cute socks that look like socks with Maryjane shoes. We loaded up my Envoy and headed down in the small window we had between Ava nursing and Ryder's lunch, plus is was a super frigid cold day (I think it was 9 degrees). When we were loading the car, April looked at me and said, we would NOT be doing THIS 2 years ago... funny how fast your life changes. April is expecting a little girl in May and we were wondering if 3 car seat will fit in the backseat. Guess we'll find out! Now I see the point of Minivans. No, I will not be getting one. That evening, Ryder kept wanting to kiss Ava, so I had him hold her and he was so sweet. We hurried and snapped a picture. It'll be a great one to blow up at their wedding. :)

Ava went to daycare on Monday for a half a day while Jim and I practiced getting ready in the morning. It went pretty good. I kept myself really busy for those 4 hours. It was harder for Jim because he had to take and leave her. The best part of the daycare situation is that it's April's mom who watches kids from her home, so I'm sure it's a lot harder for people who have to leave their babies with people they don't know. Ava will be spending the days with her best buds (the Compau kids) so it'll probably be her favorite place.

Glo-Worm Begone

The Glo-worm days are said and done, and the pesky bili-blanket is gone. I am hoping to receive the award for having it the longest; the lady at the medical equipment place couldn't believe we still had it. I think we used it for a total of 6 weeks. And at $2100 a month, we can thank insurance for that one.

As for Miss Ava, she has chubbed out to 9 lbs 1 oz as of 7.5 weeks... "technically" that puts her at almost one month of age. The only thing she seems to be behind as far as age is the weight, which at this rate, she'll catch up fast. Today, she is officially 9 weeks old.

She is started to show her silly side... she'll look at me from the corner of her eyes and then smile REALLY big- I keep trying to catch it with the camera, but it's usually happening during feeding time. She is started to babble back once in a while and loves to interrupt me when I am reading her a story. Her stories are much more entertaining.

A routine as emerged in the past week or so- staying awake from 10am until noon, then sleeping until 3ish. Then she is up again until 6ish. She is going longer stretches at night too, thank goodness.

Ava is in the middle of a cold (as is mom) thanks to Daddy!!! Mom's is all sinus, Ava is congested and it is making eating really complicated without the Tylenol Cold. Thank God for aspirators- I never thought I could suck out a booger with that thing without hurling, but apparently, I have it in me. It's like a game- I can't stand it when they don't come out!

I only have 5 more weeks to stay home with her and it's all going by so fast. I can't stand it. I wish it would go slower. I am looking forward to seeing my students and teaching, but I really wish it could just be Ava and mom all the time.

Oink Oink!

Ava had a doctor appointment today and she weighed in at 8 pounds 4 ounces!! She is such the little piglet, and she is growing so fast. She was looking a bit yellow though and the doctor has decided that I should stop breastfeeding for a few days and we'll check her blood level on Thursday. This way we are sure that her prolonged jaundice is caused by the breastmilk and we don't have to endure anymore tests and we can officially stop worrying about her. Which I am all okay with, except now I feel useless. I'll get over it, it's only for a few days. This picture was taken of her today, she sure is filling out, isn't she?!?

We are a FAMILY!

First Family Photo

Ava Catherine Smith was born November 28, 2006 (exactly one month early) at 11:38 AM. She weighed in at 5lbs 10oz and was 19.5 inches long. Her head was so distorted (think Marge Simpson) that when it rounded out 3 days later she was only 17 inches long! She was so teeny tiny and her lowest weight was 5lbs 3oz. Hardly any of her clothes fit her!

Yesterday, Ava turned 5 weeks old- she is looking less like a preemie and more pudgy. It's awesome to get to know and understand her personality... she is stubborn and grunts a lot. She LOVES her daddy and makes her mom feel like a cow. She is starting to recognize our voices and looks around a lot. She has had prolonged preemie jaundice, and has had a bili-blanket for a month, but we just got word from the doctor today that it is okay to take her off of it for a few days to see how she does. Her bilirubin levels aren't dangerously high, but they aren't where they should be by this age.

If anyone cares... the cats are taking this whole baby thing in stride. Jake is fine with it, Friday does not understand why he can't sleep in the bedroom and has decided to chew on anything that is Ava's. It's frustrating, but we are just doing a better job of putting stuff away.