Ava is 10 Months Old!

Our little peanut is another month older already. Ava is starting to stand up along side furniture now and is even brave enough to go "one handed". She can stand for several minutes while just hanging on to the couch or chair. She seems to really enjoy this new found skill. Here is the skinny at 10 months....

Teeth: Still none. The good news is she doesn't seem to be drooling as much as before. I can't recall changing her shirt in the last month because of it so that's a good sign.

Sleep: Ava sleeps from around 8:30 or 9:00 pm until 8:00 am. We have been putting her to bed a little later because she wasn't falling asleep anyway and with our summer schedule, it was a bit challenging to get her down by 8:00. She still takes an hour and a half nap in the morning and a two hour nap in the afternoon.

Food: We have graduated to stage 2 baby food. She eats a whole jar a day, usually split between lunch and supper. She also will not turn away anything you give her to try off your plate. She seems to be a really good eater at this point. She still nurses often.

Movement: Ava is able to get up on all fours and rock back and forth, but no crawling yet. Her favorite place to practice this skill is in her crib when she is supposed to be going to sleep! She has also mastered going from the sitting position to pivoting to her stomach. Things are looking promising on the crawling front, but I am thinking it will for sure be another month or so.

Ava is still wearing 12-18 month clothes and she doesn't seem to be growing out of them. Her growth rate seems to be a little slower. Overall, she is doing very well. She has a little separation anxiety when Mom & Dad leave, but that is to be expected with most kids. I am sure it is just one of the many stages we will go through.

A Visit to Hutchinson to see the Reiters

Abi 7 years, Maddie 14 months, Connor 5 years, Ava 10 months

Our friends Ken and Kelli Reiter who used to live in Bigelow have relocated to Hutchinson, MN. We decided since it had been nearly a year since they moved, it was high time we went to visit them and see their new house. They have a nice new home with plenty of room for all of them. We got the grand tour including their newly finished bedrooms in the basement. We loved the open floor plan and the master suite was very nice. It was great catching up and seeing everyone again. It seems the kids all grow a foot every time we get together. We are glad they are doing well, but miss having them close :(

Lisa & Roy's Wedding Day - August 29, 2008

Lisa & Roy Brittney & Ava

Brad's sister Lisa was married last Friday in Glenwood, MN, a small town just outside of Alexandria. Brad was a groomsmen and I was a bridesmaid, so we had plenty to keep us busy while keeping a 10 month old happy. It was a hectic day but the ceremony went well and the reception was very nice. We headed up to Alexandria on Thursday for rehearsal. Ava was a trooper on the trip there. We only stopped once to feed and change her and she was in great spirits. She only slept about 45 minutes of the whole 4 hour trip, but we were happy she wasn't crying. The hotel was very nice, but we didn't sleep all that well as we are not used to being in the same room with Ava. She cried off and on, but was pretty good. She spent a lot of time in her stroller the day of the wedding, being carted around during pictures. Brad's cousin Brittney watched her during the ceremony and somehow managed to get her to sleep sitting up in her stroller. Brad and I both agree that she is a miracle worker! The trip home on Saturday was not as great for Ava. She was exhausted from the last couple of days of no or very little naps and was a bit cranky. I am sure she was sick of being in the car just as we were! Regardless, we made it back safely and Ava has made up the sleep. She slept until 10 am on Sunday followed by 5 hours of naps and back to bed by 8:30 that night. We had our eyes opened as to how much more exhausting it is to travel with children. Not to mention, all the extra stuff you must take with you and then unpack when you get home. We had a fun time but were very happy to be back to our own house!

More Visits with Family

Mom, Ava, Unlce Denny & Angie Shelly, Ava, Jason, & Addison

Uncle Denny and Angie came to visit from Mississippi last week. They came over to our house for supper and then the following Sunday we headed to Mom & Dad's for dinner that included Jason, Shelly, and the kids. It was great to see them and get the kids all together again. Addison and Ava continue to be intrigued with each other. Addison still affectionately refers to her cousin Ava as "Wava" and giggles when they are together. It is priceless. Hopefully, they will continue to get along great.

Ava is Keeping us Busy....

Brad and I agree that Ava seems to be growing "overnight". It seems like every day we are seeing her do something new that we haven't seen before. She is getting better at moving around. She spends much more time on her stomach (we have even caught her sleeping this way!). We think she finally figured out that this was the only way she was going to be able to move. She scoots around in a circular motion on her belly and can also propel herself backward just this last week or so. The backwards movement seems to upset her as usually she would like to be going forward. Ava also seems to be liking more "people food". She will now eat different foods we give her such as bread and pasta in addition to a jar of baby food once a day. She is not scared to open her mouth very wide for whatever you would like her to try. If only this willingness to try new foods would continue to toddlerhood...we can hope!

A Trip to Okoboji with the Kleis's

We were lucky enough to be the guests of Shelly & Jason at a friend's condo on West Okoboji last week. It was a very nice place with a great location...within walking distance to Arnold's Park and a beautiful view of the lake. Everyone had their own bedroom and bathroom which was great, and Ava slept in the pack-n-play up in a loft off of our room. Unfortunately, it had to be a midweek stay as the owners of the condo use it on weekends, so Brad could not spend the days with us. He did come down each evening and spend the night. Mom & Dad came up and spent one day with us at Arnolds Park and then had supper with us at the condo. We enjoyed the amusement park and watching Sam & Addison ride all the rides. Ava even seemed to enjoy riding the train that tours the park. She really couldn't get enough of all the surroundings and everything going on. She was a trooper in the stroller for extended periods of time. The nap was not a success in the stroller, but she remained in good spirits even though she was exhausted. She even took a ride on the carousel and seemed to think that was okay. Overall, it was a great trip. I hope we can do it again very soon!

Ava is 9 Months Old...

Another month has flown by and Ava is 9 months old already! Her doctors appointment yesterday went very well. The only concern is still her clogged tear duct in her right eye. They will continue to watch it and if it has not opened by 12 months, she will probably have to see an eye specialist and have surgery done to open the duct. Overall, she is a healthy girl at 21 lbs., 10 oz. and 27.5" long. This month has been marked by some significant changes.... Movement: Ava is rolling across the room now in fairly short order. She is never in the same place that you leave her. She will also spend some time on her stomach now without rolling over immediately, pushing her upper body up as high as she can. The lower body doesn't do much in this position, and it does upset her. She rocks from side to side while on her belly, but she prefers the continuous rolling for getting where she needs to go. Sleep: Ava typically sleeps from 8:30 to 6:45 am. She still takes a 2 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Food: She eats 1/2 to 2/3 jar of stage 1 baby food once per day. She really has not taken a liking to any table food except ice cream (no thanks to Brad consistently feeding her vanilla as well as chocolate). We have tried tiny pieces of grapes, bread, potatoes, etc and she will spit them out and give us an extremely strange look. Teeth: Still no signs of anything in that department. I guess she inherited one thing from me (I got my first tooth at 13 months). Ava will also raise her arms when we say "so big" and clap her hands when we ask her to "patty cake". We are having a lot of fun with her right now as it seems she is really starting to put things together. We have even caught her trying to peek over her crib bumper to see if we are in her room. She is a character!