Ava 4 month portraits

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7 months

I can't even begin to believe that seven months ago today my baby bug was born!  She is just growing and changing second by second it seems.  Everyday she seems to learn something new or do something different! So at seven months Ava:

- sits up with no assistance and play with her toys.

- eats breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Today she tried Chicken Noodle baby food for the first time and LOVED it.  She still enjoys pears, apples, squash and carrots.  She has also added green beans and sweet peas to the list.  

- will eat every puff in the container.  L-O-V-E-S them more than anything else.

-grabs everything in her reach!  Do NOT take her into a store and let her get close to a rack because she will take it all down :)

- pushes herself completely up on her hands while lying on her tummy.  She is finally starting to tolerate being on her tummy thank goodness.

- tries to get her knees up under her body, but every time she gets there she just falls over to the side.

- laughs at just about anything that her daddy does (kid loves her daddy more than anyone).

- is skeptical of people.  I have learned to allow her to sit with me or Tim for a few before I hand her over to someone else.  Otherwise she starts poking her lip out and then the crying begins.

-sometimes hides her face in my chest when she sees new people.

- has TWO teeth.  Both are on the bottom.  No sign of any top teeth yet and we are okay with that:)
- is still a little bit of a runt compared to clothes size b/c she is just now able to wear 3/6 month clothes.
- still does not sleep through the night:(

Put some Braves on the TV and the kid is a-ok

She will pull out every single toy and grunts until you to put it all back so she can start over again.

 Look at that face:)

 XOXO

Videos

So sorry to be sharing these videos so late, but they are fun to watch even if they are a little late so enjoy!

Ava has only been able to sit up unassisted for about 2 days here.  9-13-10

Ava's first sink bath.  She L-O-V-E-S it!  9-14-10 

Ava playing her bedroom floor razzing and laughing. 9-30-10

Ava loves playing in the bath.  10-11-10

Hope you enjoy watching her grow as much as we do!

XOXO

And 6 months later...

our little Ava is no longer a baby, but she is now a little person!  It is absolutely amazing what a sweet little girl can learn in such a very short period of time!
Ava at 5 months old

Of course before I tell you about what she can do at 6 months I have to tell you what she was doing at 5 months.

At 5 months Ava :

- could roll over in all directions.

- still absolutely hated laying on her tummy...I am convinced that she will never crawl.

- ate breakfast every morning.

- enjoyed her favorite fruit is pears and her favorite veggie is squash.

- still enjoys watching TV.  Her favorites are Super Why, Wonder Pets, and Dinosaur Train.

- enjoys reading with mommy, but it is almost impossible at times because she wants to hold the book and control the page turning.  Mommy cannot keep up with Ava's pace on this one;)

- LOVES bath time!  She is definitely going to be a water baby!  Can't wait to see her swimming in a pool next year!

- plays with simple toys.  Her favorites are her plastic keys.

- could grab things and pick them up.

Ava's first UGA game

Ava at 6 months old

At 6 months old Ava :

- can completely push herself up on her hands and pull herself around, but she still hates laying on her tummy so getting her to actually do this generally requires making her whine. In other words...it happens rarely.

- can sit unassisted.  We L-O-V-E this one because we can now sit her down in the floor and she can occupy herself for a short time with her toys.

- plays with most toys.  Her favorite thing to play with is anything that she can get to her mouth :)

- has acquired a tooth!!! It has just broken the gum, but it is there!

- babbles to anything that she thinks is listening to her.

- reaches for the cat.  Poor Miss Kitty just runs for the hills hahahaha

- eats two meals a day (breakfast and dinner).  Still loves pears and squash, but will eat mostly anything except bananas and sweet peas.

- loves playing in her Exersaucer, but does NOT like to be in her walker.

- enjoys that PBS now has The Cat in the Hat on at 7:30 a.m.  It is her favorite book, and she really enjoys the show too.

- still wakes up once at night and at 7:00 a.m. like clock work.

- was told at her six month Well Check that she is perfect.  Dr. Flowers was very impressed with her in all areas.

- is constantly asked by her daddy if something is wrong with her because she is too happy heehee.  She seriously is one to the happiest babies that I think I have ever met!

- can hold her own bottle.

- will drink from a sippy cup on occasion. 

Isn't she just too cute?!

She will be seven months old in just a few days, and I promise to be timely in posting about what she is up to now!

XOXO

You still wanna be Judge down there?

Is the question that was asked of my very AWESOME boss on July 12, 2010.  Yes that's right it has taken me this long to write about it (I think I mentioned it briefly in a previous post, but never followed up with it)  so sorry for lack of posting:(
Anyway, on August 18, 2010, Mr. William C. Rumer was sworn in by Governor Sonny Perdue and was officially named JUDGE William C. Rumer.  I cannot express how immensely proud that I was to sit in that room and watch such a wonderful person be bestowed such a tremendous honor!
Taking the Oath

Signing the Oath

Two of most favorite men in the wide world!!!

Many thanks to the Judge for bringing me along for the ride!  I love each and every moment of my new job!  Everyday that we enter the courtroom it is affirmed to me that the Governor made the BEST choice!  Judge Rumer was absolutely born to do this job, and I thank GOD I was born to be his assistant;)

Candler Michael Shaw

was born on August 14, 2010.  He is absolutely positively precious!  I am so sorry that I have waited this long to post the announcement and a picture of the little man.

Yes he did keep his head FULL of hair;)

Well Check

Tuesday was the day for the dreaded 4 month well check visit with Dr. Flowers.  I say dreaded because well check means shots...ugh :(  Ava weighed in at 14 pounds 3 ounces and is now 25.5 inches long!  She is getting big right?!  Dr. Flowers says her growth is right on track and he is very proud of her hitting milestones early or right on time.  Of course he wanted to see her roll over and as soon as he laid her on the table she poked her lip and started to scream...that's my girl :)  He finally addressed her eczema issue that had turned into a big RED rash taking over her body little by little, and I am very happy to say that the steroid cream he gave to us has worked wonders, and she looks like she never had eczema!  Our Bug has also had issues with her sinuses since she was about three months old and Tim was told at an earlier visit that she was too little for any medication.  Dr. Flowers told me that this wasn't true and told me to go get her some over the counter Zyrtec or Claritin and switch her to a soy based formula.    Other than that she is perfect!  

She loves to sit in her high chair and watch the Braves play baseball.

XOXO

A Whirlwind...

is what I have been in lately.  My very wonderful boss received a phone call from the Governor on Monday, July 12 at around 10:30 a.m. to say that he was to be sworn in as the newest Superior Court Judge in the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit!!!!! Everything has been total chaos for me since then...in a good way of course.  So very soon Mr. Rumer will take the bench and he has asked me to come along with him and continue to be his right hand woman!  I feel very privileged that he thinks so highly of me, but this means lots of prep work in a very short time.

Anyway, along with the exciting judgeship news Ava and I had a baby shower for my sister, Robyn, to attend.

I can't believe that Candler will be here in just a few weeks!

Saturday, July 24 Ava turned 4 months old!  Can't believe it!

Here is a collage of how she has changed (top right 1 month, top left 2 months, bottom right 3 months, bottom left 4 months)...

(If you click on the collage it will get bigger and you can see the difference a lot better.)

Today we are going to visit the magnificent Hadley Scott for her 4 month panel pictures.  I just can't believe that it is already time to do them!  And next week we go see Dr. Flowers for her 4 month well check and shots.

At four months old Ava can:

-  Roll over to her tummy, but cries when she gets there because she hasn't figured out how to get back.

-  Still doesn't really like being on her tummy, but she can push herself up and look around a little bit now.

-  Tries to scoot when she is lying on her tummy.

-  Grabs her feet and almost pulls them to her mouth.

-  Babbles non-stop at all times of the day and night.

-  Wakes me in the morning babbling not crying.

-  Sleeps until seven most mornings.

-  Enjoys eating rice cereal made with Apple Juice.

-  Enjoys sitting in her high chair long after she has finished eating.

-  Recognizes mommy and daddy and greets them with a smile.

-  Plays with simple toys, but enjoys chewing on a burp cloth more.

-  Enjoys standing in her ExerSaucer.

-  Still loves Dinosaur Train and SuperWhy on PBS.

XOXO

Our little lifesaver...

the ExerSaucer! Ava is in L-O-V-E love! It allows her to do her most favorite thing in the world, STAND, and it also offers super fun toys to play with while she stands :) Below is a video of her enjoying her ExerSaucer and talking to me in the process.

4th of July Weekend

was tons-o-fun!  Friday Robyn, Michael, Cameron and Ethan came down to visit.  Robyn and Michael watched Ava while Cameron and I went to see Eclipse (best movie so far in the Twilight Saga) and Tim cut the grass while Ethan followed every move he made.  Ethan LOVES his Uncle Tim!  I wish that I had have thought to get the camera out and snap some pictures, but it all went by too fast.

 Saturday we packed up and headed over to Mr. Billy's house for some delicious BBQ and a good time around the pool.

 Ava went on her first swim and enjoyed it (at least I think she did anyway).

She was pooped from all of the excitement of the pool ;)

    

Brodie insisted on holding her in his lap as always.

    

Hanging out with Daddy is ALWAYS one of her faves!

    

Sunday (while Timmy was cutting grass) Ava and I made an appearance at her Auntie Sue and Uncle James' house.  

She loves Auntie Sue:)

     

Getting so big!

     

Monday we relaxed at the house.  While relaxing Ava found a new favorite thing to do...play in her ExerSaucer!

     

She still H-A-T-E-S being on her stomach, but I still make her try it on a daily basis.  She is getting really good at holding her head up while in that position, but she doesn't like it because she can't see everything that is going on around her:)  She is such an inquisitive baby, and she MUST see what is going on at all times!

  

XOXO

Little Reader

Ava enjoying her bedtime story...

and yes she does look at the book as I am reading:)

Real Quick

Just wanted to share a couple of cute pictures from this past weekend...

Ava talking to Daddy

She loves to stand up and listen to Daddy make duck sounds

Starting to enjoy her jumperoo...Thanks Gamma and Pap-Pap!

XOXO

T-Ball, Daddy and Three

are the magical words this week.  I have so many things to tell about in this post so let me get straight to the point!
Saturday Ava and I ventured to big ole Thomaston to watch Ethan play his first t-ball game of the season.  He seems to enjoy t-ball a little better this year, but he still hates standing out in left field.  He tried telling the coach that his stomach hurt, but that did not work with Robyn, she sent him right back onto the field lol.

Ethan crying in left field because we made him keep playing

He always enjoys when he gets to bat though, and he is actually pretty good at it.  He did get to run in to score after his first time at bat!  

Ethan batting

Running to 1st

After the t-ball game we went to spend some time with my Nana.  Ava has not had the opportunity to meet her great-grandmother until Saturday so they were both very excited!

Sunday was Father's Day, and like Mother's Day we did not do anything special at all.  We just laid around the house and rested.  As a matter of fact I believe that Tim got up with us that morning and ended up going right back to bed and staying there until around 1.  We didn't take any pictures since we didn't do anything special.  Ava and I LOVE you Timmy!  You are the best daddy that a little girl could ever ask for...thank you for all of your help and support!

Tuesday was a very big day for our Ava bug...she went to her first sick child doctor's visit AND she rolled over all by herself for the first time!  The sick child visit was just for a little cough and some congestion that I had noticed Ava had in the mornings.  The nurse practitioner said Ava is too little for medication, so we should just try propping her up at night to allow the drainage to go down.  Propping Ava up has proven to be impossible, but what else is new...she likes things the way she likes things lol.  As for rolling over...wellllll she started trying to roll from her back to her tummy Saturday while we were in Thomaston, but she could never figure out how to move her arm out of the way.  So Tuesday night I put her on her tummy time mat and went into the kitchen to start cooking dinner.  (Disclaimer:  Our kitchen and den are opened up to one another so I can stand at the stove and see Ava in the floor in the den.  She is not just left laying around unsupervised.)  As I'm cooking and listening to her babble I look up just in time to see her flop over flat on her tummy!  I was so excited and proud!

Ava right after she rolled over

Silly me put her back on her back and went back to cooking without thinking, "Hey she might do it again.  Stick around with the camera so you can video her."  So of course later she had rolled back over and wiggled until she got comfortable and passed out.

Notice that her other arm did not make it out from under the pillow before she was asleep...too cute

Annnnnddddd three is a magical word because Ava is three months old today!  Can you believe it?!  So of course here are pictures of her in her chair...

Some things she can do now:

- She is a smiling baby.  She smiles all of the time now for all different kinds of reasons.  Of course the earlier in the day you see her the more likely you are to catch one of these smiles.  

- She can roll over from her back to her tummy (still perfecting this skill, but she can do it)

- She holds her head up on her own now.  

- She can sit up as long as she is propped on something.  

- She enjoys her bebePOD for short periods of time (15-20 minutes).

- She really enjoys watching TV.  Her favorite shows to watch are Super Why and Dinosaur Train on PBS, Wonder Pets and the Backyardigans on Nick Jr. and of course she L-O-V-E-S to watch the Braves play with her daddy.

- She enjoys standing when someone will hold her so that she can.

- She does not like to lay down when she is awake unless she is laying on her tummy time mat in the floor where she can see everything that is going on around her.

- She has found her hands and chews on them constantly.

- She will hold a rattle if you place it in her hand, but she hasn't quite grasped the concept of picking it up herself.

- She will sometimes hold her bottle now, especially at her bedtime feeding.  

- She is sleeping until 6:30 or 7:00 in the morning most nights now.  

I am sure that there are other things that I am not thinking of right now, but these are the big ones.

Here are a couple of pictures to show proof that she can do the things I have listed above...

Sitting in her bebePOD watching TV

Holding her bottle

playing with her rattle

Until next time...

XOXO

Chillin...

in her carseat on her way to daycare.  This picture was just too cute not to post for all to see:)

XOXO

Morning Sunshine

I keep telling everyone that they miss Ava at her peak.  Sure she is cute during all other times of the day, but her happiest is between the hours of 9 a.m. and noon.  Last night I tried to get her smiling on video because her smiles come and go so fast and they are so unpredictable that you can't capture them in a picture quite yet.  It just was not happening so I started to think..."How can I get her smiling face out to the world?"  PING! The light bulb went off...when she starts stirring around in the morning grab the camera and video her when you say "Good morning!"  She always smiles big when I tell her good morning:)  So that is exactly what I did this morning and it worked!  The first part of the video is kinda dark because I wasn't thinking about my shadow being cast over her, but I did think about it a few seconds in and moved out of the way...Yay me!  So enjoy this cuteness...

XOXO

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

to a very special lady!  We love you Nana Patti!  Hope you have a day as beautiful as you are!!!

XOXO

Dinners, Cousins and Poolside FUN

What a weekend?!  

It started with dinner Friday night with the wonderful Rumer family.  I always love my time with Meghan and William, and I was so glad that Tim and Sam finally got to join in on our fun time:)  In retrospect I cannot believe that neither me nor Meghan thought about taking pictures...I MUST remember the next time William and Ava are together that they have to have a picture together!  William was too cute crawling all over the place (it was my first time getting to see him crawl), and then we got to witness him enjoying his berry cobbler (making a complete mess). Oh what we have to look forward to lol.  And of course the food and visiting with Sam and Meghan was SUPER too;)  Since we didn't take any pictures here is a picture of the Rumers (stole it from Meghan's Facebook).  Aren't they a gorgeous fam?!

New Baby Recognition at St. Paul this past Sunday

Saturday Ava and I packed up and headed to T-Town.  She was such a good baby and slept the whole way there.  Of course everyone was SOOOO excited to see her, especially Ethan.

He loves his "Aba".  

No one but Robyn has seen Ava since Ethan's birthday party at the beginning of May so they were all  amazed at how much she has grown and changed.  We just sat around the house and walked through Momma and Papa's garden.  It was a very relaxing day (other than the driving there and back home).

Sunday we went poolside at Sissy's house.  Ava had eaten right before we got there, and she slept in her travel swing (under an umbrella of course) for the first two hours.  Poor Brodie had been waiting for two whole weeks to see his "best baby", and it just killed him to see her laying in that swing and he couldn't touch her.  He kept taking his little chair and sitting beside her so that he would know the second that she woke up.  Of course she woke up hungry so he insisted on helping feed her...

Such a good little Mann

Blayd even joined in on the Ava festivities yesterday.  He normally just runs by saying "Baby", but yesterday he took a few seconds to stop and "pet" her as Brodie likes to say (because all babies like to be "pet" lol).  We L-O-V-E our time at Casa de Mann and our Nason-Paul-Dixon-Gaines-Mann family!  

After our fun day at the pool we went home for some much needed rest...

She fell asleep while sitting up bless her little heart

XOXO

Week 10

Ava L-O-V-E-S to sit (straight) up, so while reading mommy blogs (I am addicted) I came across something called a bebePOD and I decided that Ava MUST have one.  Off to BabiesRUs Tim and I went Wednesday afternoon to find one, and after 30 minutes of staring at the assortment of rubber chairs we decided on this one.  Ava likes it, but only for small amounts of time.  I think it will grow on her once she can hold herself up a little better:)

Isn't she too cute

Last night after giving Ava her bath she was overly talkative so I ran and grabbed the camera to get a quick video of her babbling away.

Note that she was trying to eat the towel and talk at the same time lol.

After that I realized how big she was getting and decided to snap a picture of what she looks like on her changing pad now...

Just 4 days old

10 weeks old

It is amazing the difference that just a few weeks can make in the life of a baby! 

Just had to add this one for good measure, and because she is just too darn cute!

XOXO