Kayden gets baptized

Today we went to Hummelstown for Kayden's baptism. Kayden took a nap during the service and woke up just in time for his part :) He was so good during the baptism smiling and bright eyed. Grandma Heckman is always very excited to have her 2 grandbabies together :) After we all went back to Danielle and Kevin's for lunch. It was a great family day.

Baby shower in Baltimore

Today Ava and Mommy drove to Baltimore to go to a baby shower for Mommy's friend Sarah. Sarah went to high school and the university of Delaware with Mommy and it turns out Sarah's sister Amy lives basically right around the corner in Gaithersburg. There was another little girl there who was 13 months. She and Ava had a great time playing together. When we got home Ava played with a new toy Mommy got for her when I went shopping for the shower gift and we got some foam blocks to cover the tiles in front of the fire place.

It bounces back

For Christmas Uncle Shannon got Ava this blowup penguin. Until recently Ava wasn't really to sure about it. She was finally starting to play with it so I got some C batteries to power it up. It plays music when you hit it and it falls over and pops back up. It is quite heavy with the batteries but Ava thinks she can pick it up. Sooo funny :)

Is it seriously only Wednesday?

Mommy has been at a conference since Saturday. It is nice the conference is here in DC so she got to come home every night but it has made the days kind of crazy. Monday night Mommy had an event for work so Daddy got to put Ava to bed. She was an angel! Ava sure had fun with Daddy while mommy was away :)

While Mommy's away the baby will play :)

Mommy spent the weekend downtown from 8-5 each day. On Saturday Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard came to play. Grandma took Ava on a walk to the park while Daddy and Grandpa put up the baby gate.

Pulling up at the coffee table

Ava has been pulling herself up to stand in her crib for about a week but she hasn't been pulling up on other things...until today! Today Ava wanted something that was on top of the coffee table and she pulled herself up to get it. She was very proud of herself. And the best part is she did it again so I could get it on video for all of you :)

You have to swallow before you can get down!

Ava had on a sleeper today that was inhibiting her ability to crawl. She was crawling around with an empty leg that looked like a tail. Daddy thought it would be funny take off Ava's sleeper and give her a cape - Super Baby! Ava had steamed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots for dinner along with some cheese - of course. She has started to chipmunk the food in her mouth and then decides she is done. Today I made her stay in the seat until she finished everything in her mouth. She thought it was fun to play with her feet. She does this when she nurses too.

Shoes!

Although Ava has a ton of toys and every night she gets them all out and spreads them across the living room floor, she would rather play with Daddy's shoes!

The park

It was a beautiful day so the whole family headed out for a walk and some time at the park. Ava was a little unsure of the swing at first but she got the hang of it quickly and was enjoying the breeze although there was too much to look at to take time to smile for the camera. We also spent some time sitting in the grass which made Rusty very excited!

Bridal Shower in DE

Today Mommy and Ava drove to DE and picked up Grandma Stoddard to go to cousin Maggie's Bridal Shower. Ava was great in the car, napped on the way there! Ava got to see lots of people she hadn't seen since she was 4 weeks old when she went to Anabel's shower including Aunt Evelyn, Courtney, Anabel, Aunt Mary, Aunt Sis and of course Maggie who she had never met. They couldn't believe how big Ava had gotten. They couldn't decide if she looked more like Mommy or Daddy, we think she is the perfect combination! Ava also got to play with her third cousin Delanie who is a month older. They had lots of fun and I took lots of great pictures unfortunately I was trying to find a function on the camera and I reformatted the card :(

Cheese, Cheese, I Love Cheese!

Ava is obsessed with cheese! Last week I gave her a small piece of a cheddar cheese stick and she loved it this week she has had a 1/3 of a cheese stick each night with dinner. She is doing really well chewing the small pieces and swallowing. Occasionally she hoards the pieces inher mouth and ends up with a chipmunk cheek full of cheese, too cute!

Our little girl is growing up :(

After crawling for only a week Ava has started show real interest in pulling herself up to stand. She will only crawl in order to get to a place she can try to stand. So tonight Daddy lowered the crib mattress. Our baby girl is growing up so fast!

Daddy's favorite holiday!

Yes you know what it is- Opening Day! Today was the first day of baseball season. The Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 11-1 and the whole family was sporting Phillies gear. Ava actually got this outfit from Uncle Dave and Aunt Sheila when they came to visit her when she was first born. Looks great and it was perfect on a very warm first day of baseball!

Happy Easter

Today we drove to Hummelstown to spend Easter with Grandma Heckman, Alexandra, Shannon, Danielle, Kevin, and Baby Kayden. To document the first time we have all been back in the house together we took a few pictures. Leave it to Earl to do something inappropriate like kick the person in front of him :)

Today was also the first time that Uncle Earl met Kayden. Ava was very excited to se Kayden again.

Grandma Heckman got Ava some great Phillies gear for Easter. Hopefully the weather is nice and we can go to the game on Thursday! For lunch Ava had some of her cereal and then she ate some potatoes and turkey sitting in her high chair at the table with everyone. She also had some water out of a big girl cup.



After lunch I took Ava for a long walk so she could take a little nap. When we got back Ava wide awake and ready to play again. She played with some new toys that Grandma got for her house with Uncle Shannon. Then before we left Ava and Grandma had a Razzer contest, Ava is a champion at making the Razzer noise. Ava gave everyone lots of kisses before we headed home.

Cherry Blossoms

This morning after Ava's nap we headed out to see the cherry blossoms, a tradition in DC this time of year. It was an absolutely gorgeous day, 75 degrees and sunny! Thursday was peak bloom downtown and the tidal basin has been swamped with people. We decided since Ava would know the difference going all the way downtown wasn't worth the hassle. I found a neighborhood in Bethesda that all the streets are lined with cherry blossoms, Kenwood. It was perfect. We found a side street in the neighborhood were we could park and we walked around for an hour an took some great pictures. There were probably a couple hundred people instead of the tens of thousands downtown. We then headed to the cheesecake factory in friendship heights to meet Dave and Cara for lunch. Ava was so good. She ate all her cereal, played, and smiled all afternoon. It was a perfect family day!

Flu shot X2, Part Deux

Today Ava went to Dr. Hirsch's office to get her second round of Flu shots - Seasonal and H1N1. She got the first round at her 6 month checkup and 28 days later we needed to do it again. The office is great about this. We didn't have to make an appointment. They have open vaccine clinics everyday from 9:30-12:30 and 2:30-4:30. Daddy held Ava while the nurse poked her in the legs..she cried with a big fat lip and then turned to give Daddy a big hug and smiled.

As a reward we went to Buy Buy Baby to buy Ava a big girl stroller. We looked at the City mini, the BOB, and the Bumbleride Indie. The Indie weighs 20lbs., but only had a child weight limit of 45 lbs although it comes with all the accessories. The BOB is a jogging stroller that weights 23 lbs and has a 2 step fold, with a child weight limit of 75lbs. I have read lots of great things about the BOB. Ava looked so tiny in the BOB. The City mini weight just under 17lbs, folds by simply pulling a handle in the seat, and has a child weight limit of 50 lbs, and costs $200 less than the others. We decided on the City mini. The 2010 version has a 40% larger basket which was the main complaint about the 2009 version. We will use it tomorrow to go see the cherry blossoms!