Ear Infection and RSV

Mommy flew to UAB on Sunday night for a work meeting on Monday. Daddy was excited to spend the day with Ava until she threw up about 2 hours after I landed in Birmingham. Mommy got home Monday night and took Ava to see Dr. Hirsch on Tuesday. She had a 103.8 fever, an ear infection, and virus but not the flu. She ran a fever until Wednesday night. Thursday she was a little better but still not eating. Friday she finally went back to daycare. That evening she was feeling much better and was even happily trying to put on Mommy's boots.

Zoo

We were very excited to spend the afternoon at the zoo today. It was the third day this week it has been over 70 degrees and we are potentially getting snow next week so we had to take advantage while we could. We got to the zoo about 4pm. The animals we all out.


Before heading out we walked back to the bird section to see the flamingos. The last time we saw them it was colder outside and they were all curled up sleeping on one leg. This time they were awake and making lots of noise. We headed out of the park to find a ticket on the car but at least it had not been towed. Ava passed out on the way home.

Spring...maybe :)

This week has been beautiful so we are taking full advantage. Today we went to the park when I picked up Ava from daycare and Daddy met us there when he was done with work. Ava enjoyed the swing and the slide. They park was full of kids. Some dressed in shorts and others in hat, coat, and gloves. Oh what the fun of the first nice day.

Happy V-Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I could not feel more love than I do when I get Ava out of her crib in the morning and she calls for Daddy and we have a family hug.

Or when I pick her up in the afternoon at daycare and she comes running through the playroom to give me a big hug..followed by her friends Maggie and Heidi who also give me a hug :)

Or when Earl makes me laugh by teach Ava adorable things that only a father can do..like when we ask Ava what a monkey says, she replies "Ah Ah Ah". Or when you point to Ava's stomach and ask what's this? She lifts up her shirt and says "Bell-eee"

Blocks

Ava loves her blocks! After dumping out the container Ava tried crawling in so Mommy helped the process along by standing the container up and burying Ava in blocks.

Our current favorite game

Ava's current favorite game is "CHEESE". She wants me to take pictures of her so she can see herself. These are a few from our session today which she found particular fun.

A new table

We made a trip to ikea this afternoon to by a small table for Ava to play. We rearranged the mass of toys to fit the table in the living room. The first thing Ava did was sit down to have a tea party.

18 Month Check-up

Ava went to see Dr. Hirsch today for her 18 month check-up. Daddy met us there so we could all see how much Ava had grown. They tried to have Ava stand on the big scale but she didn't want to stand still so back to the baby scale we went.... 20 lbs. 11oz.(5th percentile) She has been little since the beginning and continues to grow at the steady rate. She was 31.75 inches long (54th percentile) and thanks to Grandpa Heckman her head circumference is 17.5 inches (6th percentile). Dr. Hirsch came in and checked out Ava. Everything is going well. Good sleeper, good eater, and she is hitting all her developmental landmarks. While we waited for the nurse to come back with the shots Ava fed the elephants some cheese curls and visited with the monkeys.



Ava only have to get one shot, Hep A and her first TB test. She did great although there were a few tears. We went to target to get a new toy, a magnadoodle, and to dinner.

At home we have had some of Ava's baby toys out so we could downsize via craigslist. Ava surprised us by crawling in the exersaucer when we got home from dinner while we were playing before bed. Too funny!

Bathtime fun

Ava loves the shower and now prefers this to a bath. Tonight she got to have a little fun and was showing off for the camera.

Castles with Daddy

Tonight after dinner Daddy and Ava built a big castle...AKA Daddy built a castle while Ava ran around and played.




This included sitting on the sub woofer playing Peekaboo Barn.

Filet-o-fish dance

A perfect day

This is Ava's normal morning perch. She sits on the bed drinking milk, eating waffles, and watching Mickey or Manny while we get dressed.

Ava says cheese whenever I pickup the camera but usually she is far to interested in touching the camera rather than actually having her picture taken. Today I got a lucky shot.



Ava had leftovers from yesterday for dinner and was excited to see her broccoli. I was prepared this time with camera in hand.

Learning to use utensils

Ava has been feeding herself for a long time but she hasn't had to much interest in using utensils other than banging them on the highchair. Finally she has started to use a spoon and fork properly. She is best with the fork. Tonight we had pasta, chicken, and broccoli. As soon as I pulled the broccoli out of the microwave Ava started yelling "Broccoli, broccoli!" Ava had seconds!