12 Months

Where did twelve months go so fast?!  Before I go into bragging on our little Bug I must brag on her mommy and daddy.  I have told many people lately that while the tiny little newborn we brought home was sweet, tiny and amazing, she was also exhausting, time consuming and mind boggling.  I enjoy this stage of her life much more than that newborn stage.  Every day is a new adventure!  I am so proud of what our little Miss Ava is learning and growing into, but I MUST say that she is the VERY happy little girl that she is because her mommy and daddy have been patient, loving and and diligent in their taking care of her.

With that said, at 12 months Miss Ava can:

-take steps on her own!  She is not full fledge walking yet, but she is definitely taking steps!!!

-talking all of the time, but we can't understand a word she is saying because it is in complete gibberish ;)

-happily play by herself.  She also enjoys watching older kids play.  

-will place things in your hand if you hold your hand out and ask for them.  Take that 10 month exam questionnaire!  Who needs to work on social interaction skills now?!

-watch Mickey Mouse Playhouse all day long!  She L-O-V-E-S when they do the "hot dog dance" at the end, and often stands up and moves her body around attempting to join in on the fun.

-sleep in a bigger room.  That's right Tim and I worked hard for an entire week to get Ava moved into a bigger room.  We did just in time too, because the closet in that room has a little more space and she got a whole new wardrobe at her birthday party (I will blog about that shortly).

-sit in your lap and watch TV.  She will toddle up to you, put her arms in the air and smile the biggest smile silently saying, "put me in your lap"!  She and I do this most afternoons when I get home from work and Tim is fishing.  Its really quite nice to enjoy those few silent moments with her laid back on my chest.  I know I won't get her to do this forever, so I let her do it as long as she wants.

I got her a cute little outfit to wear to daycare on her special day.  The daycare workers met us at the door to sing happy birthday to her!  She is a clear favorite up there ;)

It is beyond amazing to me how fast a little one can grow!  God can perform truly amazing acts!

11 Months

Miss Ava is growing like a little weed!  Where has 11 months gone too??  People tell you that time flies, but until you have a little one I don't think that you can really understand what that really means.

At 11 months Miss Ava can:

-crawl with lightening fast speed.

-walk as long as she is holding on to something.  She wants to let go and try to walk on her own, but she is just not confident enough yet.

-stand without holding on to anything.

-squat down and stand back up without falling down.

-sleep through the night, but she will not do it every night.  Hey, mom and dad will take a few all nights over no all nights.

-eat anything that Mommy and Daddy eats.  Her favorites right now are chicken nuggets, french fries, spaghetti, chocolate animal crackers and fruit loops.

-drink whole milk, but will only drink it with strawberry or chocolate Nesquik in it.

-drink only from a sippy cup!  Bye-Bye bottle! 

 It is almost impossible to get her to sit still for a picture now.

Such a happy girl!

10 Months

Miss Ava is still growing and learning by leaps and bounds...it is exhausting just trying to keep up with all of the new things that she does on a daily basis!

At 10 months Ava can:

-  walk while holding on to things (tables, couches, baby strollers, people).

- help take everything out of any cabinet.

-  eat regular food.  She absolutely positively refuses to eat baby food!

-  clap her hands when she is excited about something.

-  stand without holding on to anything.

-  hand something to you if you ask for it (even though she thinks you are supposed to give it right back).

-  still babble saying da-da, ga-ga, na-na, but still no ma-ma.

- interact with TV by laughing, smiling, and dancing when she enjoys what is on it.

-  kick off any socks or shoes placed on her feet with lightening fast speed.

-  feed herself a bottle and any food you put in reach of her hands.

Our little girl is growing too fast!

9 Months

On Christmas Eve our baby girl was  NINE months old!  She is growing so fast that we can barely keep up with her.  Everyday she has learned something new.  It is so refreshing to watch her discover new things that we take for granted on a daily basis.  

At nine months old Ava:

- crawls like a champ!

- pulls up and stands while holding on to something.

- eats regular food...and we have yet to find something that she does not like.

- puts said regular food in her mouth by herself.  As a matter of fact EVERYTHING in reach goes straight to her mouth.

- talks with her hands.  

- says "dada" "gaga" "baba".... just about anything but MAMA!

- HATES shoes, socks, anything placed on her feet.

- takes a bath in the big tub!

- has five teeth, two on top and three on bottom.

8 months

Ava is now a crawler!  She talks on a regular basis and even though we have no idea what she is babbling about we talk back like we do.  She has definitely chosen Daddy as  favorite for now.  Actually she has chosen men in general as a favorite.  She is beginning to eat table food.  She has outgrown the sink as a bath tub:(  She has also now experienced an ear infection...mom and dad were scared to death...why doesn't anyone tell you about what ear infections turn your child into???

Such a cutie!  We are enjoying every single moment!

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

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

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

2 month update

Our little Ava was officially two months old on Monday, and look how big she has gotten.  I can't believe that time is flying by so fast.   I know that everybody says take it all in because it goes by so fast, but until Ava entered my life I don't think I really understood exactly what they meant.  

Monday also marked the first day that she was placed in the big world of daycare.  She has done well in daycare.  The girls just love her and tell us that she is just the sweetest little baby.  She really is a great baby.  We have been so fortunate because she is only fussy when she is hungry or when she needs to be changed.  All that could change at any time, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will stay the same:)  

Things that Ava can do at two months:

-  She is doing really good with holding her head up on her own, and as you can tell she can pretty much sit by herself when she is propped up against something i.e. a chair.  

-  She is starting to try to talk.  

-  She finally started to notice her mobile (if it is moving) and toys (if they are placed right in front of her). 

-  She will push her legs when she is laid on her tummy.  She is really good at scooting herself if you let her get frustrated enough lol.

-  She wiggles all over and can pretty much roll from her side to her back and from her back to her side.  

-  She has started to put her hands on her bottle when I feed her.  She isn't holding it by any means, but she definitely puts her hand there for some reason;)

-  She will smile when you talk to her in a "baby talk" voice.

-  She loves Popsicles (yes I know that this is not a milestone, and some people might even say that giving it to her is bad, but her daddy insists upon doing it and she really does love em.)

-  She has also gotten into a bed time routine.  Around 7:30 she gets a bath, then drinks a bottle, and by 9:00 she is tucked away in bed.  This happens just about every night, of course there is the occasional time when it doesn't happen quite so smoothly lol, but for the most part this is the routine.

I can't believe that 2 months has come and gone so quickly!  Can't wait to see what month three brings our way:)

XOXO

Introducing Miss Ava

So a lot has happened in the one month that i have not posted anything.  I must apologize now for being such a terrible blogger, and not keeping everyone informed of what's going on in our lives.  So let us start where I left off:)
Last I wrote I told you that Dr. Umana said since we had been good patients that I could possibly be induced at 38 or 39 weeks...weeeelllll Ava decided to come on her own at 38 weeks!  I will not give all of the details of the birth story, but long story short I went to see Dr. Umana for my 38 week appointment and I was dilated 2 cm, he stripped my membranes at 3:30, told me to go home and take it easy, at 5:00 p.m. I was having contractions, at 9:15 p.m. I was in active labor, and at 1:15 a.m. we were on the way to the hospital.

Me waiting on Timmy to get out of the shower so we could head out.

At 6:00 a.m. they were admitting me into the L & D room, and at 3:07 p.m. our lives were forever changed when we welcomed Miss Ava Elizabeth Webb into the world. 

Isn't she beautiful:)

Tons of pictures were taken thanks to her daddy (who fell instantly in love with her) and her Aunt Sue... you can view those pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/ashgilbert227/AvaAtTheHospital?feat=directlink.  There are way too many pics to go through and decide which ones to post on here! 

Easter morning (4 days old)

So we have been home for a full month now, and things are going good.  We have survived when at times we thought we might not lol.  Ava is growing by leaps and bounds.  She changes everyday!  It makes me wish more and more that I did not have to go back to work and put her in daycare because all that I can think about is what I am going to miss for those 8-9 hours that I am not home with her:( 

1 month old

 

I promise to try my best to be better at updating this thing, if for no other reason than I like to look back over it to see where life has taken us in such a short period of time:)  I'll leave you with one of my favorite pics taken at the hospital...

Wish it was better quality, but it was a quick snapshot taken with my phone...isn't it sweet...he loves his little girl:)

XOXO