Ben's Birthday

Today Ava went to her first friend's birthday party. Benjamin is the other baby that goes to Ava's daycare. His party was supposed to be February 7th but was canceled and rescheduled because of snowmaggedon. Ben's mom teaches 2 year old at the JCC so that's where the party was held. Ava and Mommy crawled up in the tunnel and went down the big slide. Ava and Benjamin had fun playing ball! Ben had an Elmo cake, unfortunately Ava is still too little to have any but she had fun looking at the bright helium balloons.

Sleepy, Happy Baby!

Ava has started to sleep through the night. She goes to bed between 6:30 and 7pm and sleeps until we wake her up to go to daycare at 6am. She is never really ready to wake up and usually goes back to sleep at daycare for a hour 7:30-8:30am. Today Ava woke up at 5:30 wanting to eat and then she went back to bed until 8:30am, GO AVA! Later in the day she took a 2.5 hour nap. She woke up with a big smile on her face and it was there all afternoon!

All that hair!

Since Ava started sleeping on her belly her bald spot in the back is starting to fill in. The hair in the front never fell out and just continues to grow. We try to keep a bow in her hair to keep her bangs out of her eyes. This was just before we went up to get a bath. Her hair is sooo long, but I can't bring myself to cut it anytime soon.

Another Monday

It is amazing how much we love Ava. There is nothing more amazing than waking up to this smiling, cooing little girl. This morning I had to wake Ava up to go to daycare. She ate and then played with me while I got her dressed. She loves to get undressed and be a NAKED BABY! Then I put on this dress that Alexandra got her for Christmas and she will soon grow out of it. she was just too adorable not to take a picture.

Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard

Ava got a visit today from Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard. Ava got to play with them while Mommy got a haircut and went grocery shopping. Although I enjoy running errands with Ava it is nice to not have to rush! Ava is still kind of fussy today. Last night she slept in my arms for about 3 hours.

The sun spot!

Everyday Rusty waits for the sun to shine in through the window so he can bathe himself in the sunlight. Today he was so cute laying on top pillows and as the sun moved so did Rusty.

Ava was very happy today despite having a site reaction to one of the shots that is very tender.

6 month Checkup

When I went to pickup Ava from daycare yesterday she was sitting (Yes - sitting all by herself) under her play gym having a good time. Each day she is getting better and better!

Ava had her 6 month well baby appointment today. That means lots and lots of vaccines! She got Hep B, Pentacel, Prevnar, Flu, and H1N1 - 3 in the right thigh, 2 in the left as well as an oral Rotavirus vaccine. She cried as the nurse stuck her but as soon as it was over she was a happy baby again. The best part of the well baby visit is getting to see how much Ava has grown. She was 14 lbs 13.5 oz (22%), 26 inches long (54%), and her head circumference was 16 inches (5.5%). She has a tiny Heckman head! She still seems to like going to the doctor. The office is bright with lots to look at. Today we were in the Firehouse room - the table is a firetruck! Ava laughed, smiled, and stuck her tongue out at Dr. Hirsch as he listened to her heart and lungs.

For dinner Ava had oatmeal and a little bit of apples- which she seemed to like because she opened her mouth for more but cause a sour face :)

President's Day

Mommy had off work today - because of the federal holiday - not the snow! So Grandma Heckman and Uncle Shannon came to visit. Aunt Alexandra was on a ski trip with a friend. We missed her but we are sure she had a good time! Ava was very excited to see Grandma and Shannon. She laughed and played and gave them BIG kisses. Shannon even tried giving her a bottle.

Happy Valentine's Day

We hope everyone had a great Valentine's day. We spent the day running errands - Whole Food's to get supplies for Mommy and Daddy to make dinner, Buy Buy Baby to get some cold teething toys and gates for the stairs, Dick's for more sweatpants for Daddy, and of course Costco (madness on a Sunday). We had lunch a Corner Bakery. Mommy had a chopped salad with some fresh avocado sliced on top, the perfect ripeness for Ava. She loved them! She sat in the highchair at the end of the table, although we had to put a blanket behind her because the buckle couldn't be made tight enough for her skinny belly :)

Ava also rolled on to her belly for the first time during her afternoon nap! We spent the afternoon playing until bath and bed time then Mommy and Daddy enjoyed a nice dinner.

Sweet potatoes

Ava has been eating rice cereal for a few weeks now so it was time to try something new - sweet potatoes. While I am getting it ready she makes an eating motion with her mouth but when it comes to actually eating she still hasn't really gotten the hang of swallowing yet. Oh well she sure is cute while she is learning.

One more reason why I love craigslist!

Last Wednesday before the Snowmaggedon came to town I answered an ad on craigslist for a $10 bag of toys. Baby toys are way to expensive for a toy they only play with for a couple of months! The ad said it included a tummy time mat and a gym. I had been on the lookout for a second gym Ava could take to her new daycare. Well let me just say this was a superb deal! $10 for over $100 worth of stuff. Ava seems to really enjoy all of it. I was finally able to get everything washed so here she is in the new gym. All it needed was a few links to connect the toys.

Ava's Half Birthday

I can't believe Ava is already 6 months old. It is crazy how fast time passes, well except for this week. We have been stuck in the house now for 6 days and it doesn't look like we are getting out tomorrow either. Daddy worked the overnight shift in the Emergency Operation Center in Baltimore last night. We were very worried about him on his drive but lucky he made it there and back safely - Go Saturn Ion!

Ava is starting to show personality and each day I feel like she can do more and more. She can stay sitting upright by herself although she can't get into a sitting position by herself yet. She need to work on her ab muscles :) When I took pictures of her at 2 months old it was hard to keep her upright because she slumped over, now it is hard to keep her upright because she wants to eat the sticker on her shirt.

February 9, 2010

The federal government closed 4 hours early on Friday, was closed yesterday and is now closed today as well. Yesterday metro only ran below ground every 30 minutes. Today most above ground stations are open but it is still crazy to be driving but Daddy had to go to work. The snow started again this afternoon at 4pm. It took Earl 3.5 hours to get home from Baltimore. WooHoo!

Ava is having fun at home with Mommy. It seems she has found her voice. Constantly babbling!

February 6, 2010

Snowmaggedon 2010

We got a little over 2 feet of snow and Rusty is not happy. We shoveled him a spot down to the grass so he could pee but he just looks at us with a very sad face, "Do I have to Mom? It is cold!"

Rusty did enjoy playing ball with Daddy and Ava inside!

February 5, 2010

The Snowmaggedon is upon us. Earl left for work at 5:30am this morning so he could get to work and come home before the craziness starts. I worked from home because I didn't want to get stuck if they shut down the metro.

To make it even more fun, Ava is seriously teething. She goes from fussy to happy and back again. Frozen things seem to help.