Ava's first Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! This was Ava's first Christmas and it was a great one. We started the Christmas weekend off by going to the Christmas Eve service at church. Ava got to go into "big church."  She had on her Christmas dress (mad that I didn't take a picture of her) and beautiful extra large bow. We sat near the back, in case we needed a quick get away. We were on the end of the row and ended up being the welcome committee...every person that walked by commented on how prettyAva looked and then she had to smile at everyone. We had a nice time at church and then came back to our house for a slumber party with Nono, Big Pop, LiLi, and Unca Matt. We all woke up Christmas morning and opened presents...we all wore matching jammies which was so much fun.  Later that day, Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Whit came over too.  It was so nice spending the day with family.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

Ava's first gift to open, a walker/shopping cart (Thanks Aunt LiLi)

Her big gift, not sure if she likes it.

OOH, an Elmo remote.

Unca Matt's new shoes.

Electronic storybook from BP and Nono

Scarf from Aunt LiLi

Nono's hint to BP that it's time to shave the beard!!!!

Even Lollie got some gifts

Bet they are already gone...

Dada's new jacket from Mommy & Aviator

Pictures from Ava

LiLi's new coat, very much needed!!

Ava's favorite gift, a silver stick on bow

Momma's new coat from Dada & Ava

Love their matching jammies!

Ball pit from BP and Nono, her most used gift thus far

Give Thanks!!

 Mommy is a little late putting this up, in fact, since Mommy went back to work, there have been no blog posts. :(

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by our family. Big Pop, Nono, and all Mommy's siblings and Aunt Whit were here. Daddy's side of the family was here too, Grandma and Grandpa Vetter, Aunt RoRo, Uncle Eldwin, and all Ava's cousins.

Dada, Ava, & Momma on Ava's First Thanksgiving

Ava ate:  sweet potato, mashed potato, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and rolls. I believe some did manage to make it in her mouth!!

Someone looks like her Dada!!

Her favorite time of day...BATH TIME!!!!!

 Being silly with Aunt LiLi

Our BIG 8 month old:

You love:
Bath time, you splash and kick your arms and legs
Crawling all over the house, especially under tables
Cruising along the couch or around your Leapfrog Learning Table
Burritos
French fries with ketchup (thank you Big Pop!!)
Singing I'm a Little Teapot
GLEE
Key lime pie yogurt
Smacking your lips
Her "poon" (spoon)
Making the "buh" sound
Bread, waffles, buns, anything full of carbs
Vacuum cleaner and cord
Slapping her hand on everything

Dislikes:
When someone sings in a deep voice
Laying still to have her diaper changed
Dada spoils you during the day so sometimes you are a cranky-fuss when you don't get your way! (Dada says he doesn't spoil her during the day but Momma knows he does. He says, she is smart enough to know what she is doing and already working people.)
When someone changes their appearance, i.e. takes off glasses, hat, you get upset
Eating baby food

You are wearing size 12-18 month clothes, they are a little big but Mommy doesn't want to waste money on buying you winter clothes twice this year. You are in your first pre-walker shoes from Stride Rite, man those things are expensive, and you wear a 2 1/2 wide. You had your first double ear infection around Thanksgiving and had to take an antibiotic for 10 long days. You weighed around 22 pounds at your appointment. You are not gaining much weight now that you are so busy and active. Momma thinks you are getting too skinny!!!

We can hardly believe...

...our sweet baby girl is 6 months old!!!

Seems like just yesterday we were leaving the hospital with our Ava Joy!
These past 6 months have flown by.  We have a lot of new changes going on
in the Vetter household! Mommy went back to work on October 1. Daddy is a full
time Mr. Mom, and doing a wonderful job! Ava is getting bigger and
bigger every day.  Here are a few of her new tricks and things she loves:

~ giving a high-five
~ sitting by herself
~ standing up and holding on to the side of the couch or coffee table
~ army crawling, she is getting up on all fours, she can move her legs but hasn't quite figured out her arms
~ singing: This little light of mine, I've got the Joy, Wheels on the bus
~ putting her arms up in the air for someone to hold her
~ jewelry
~ Dada's iPhone
~ real bananas
~ grabbing at faces
~ "touch & feel" storybooks

Things Ava's not crazy about:
~ diaper changes, she's too busy to stay still for 1 minute
~ being in her car seat, this was carried over from last month
~ shots
~ teething



Ava's 6 month stats:
Weight: 20 lbs. 7 oz., >97 percentile
Length: 27.2 inches, 93 percentile
Head:; 43.6 cm, 80 percentile

At Ava's 6 month checkup, the doctor told us to continue doing what we were
doing.  He said that Ava is perfect and she is exactly how every baby
should be!!  We are so blessed to have a healthy and active baby!!

1st trip to the park!

Riding in Big Pop's Jeep

Ava had many first's on Saturday...a Jeep ride, swings, and a ride down the slide.  It was beautiful outside so we decided to take her to the park. Aunt Ninny was driving Big Pop and Nono's new Jeep so we all went to the park in it.  Ava enjoyed being able to see everything, compared to being in Mommy's work car where she is only staring at the back seat. She didn't even seem to mind the wind in her face.  Here's a video of her first ride!

 

Another first were the swings.  The second we got Ava into the swing, she couldn't stop smiling!!

Lastly, Mommy took Aviator down the slide.  She wasn't too sure about this since it was fully enclosed.  The first time down she was okay, the second time was another story!

Had to throw in these sweet shots of Ava and her Daddy! She LOVES him!!!

My new pal, Sophie!

Ava is teething so Grandma Betty bought her Sophie the Giraffe. Ava instantly fell in love with her!! She goes everywhere with us!  Here are a few pics of the new BFF's.

Thank you Grandma Betty for my Sophie!! She makes my mouth feel all better!! I love you!! Ava

The TWENTY pounder!!!

Dear sweet Ava Joy,

It's hard to believe that you are 5 months old today. It seems like just yesterday Daddy and I were on the way to the hospital excited to meet you and imagining what you would look like.  Would you have Daddy's brown eyes, would you have hair, would you be a big baby.  Really, we didn't care about any of those things, we knew you would be perfect just the way God made you.  When you came into our lives that Saturday afternoon, the amount of love we felt for you was indescribable.  You were so beautiful and such a blessing from God.  As Mommy types this all teary eyed, you are in your Johnny Jumper, talking and happy as you have figured out how to jump. You have grown and changed so much and we can't believe how big you are.  Mommy always says she doesn't want you to be big, but it is so fun watching you grow and learn.  We love you Ava Joy and are so thankful and proud to be your Mommy and Daddy.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

LOVES or things Ava can do at 5 Months:

• You love to eat prunes, peas, and pears (Mommy let you nibble on her pear and you would whine when I would take it away)
• Sitting in a big girl high chair at restaurants or in a shopping cart
• Sit up 
• Army crawl across the living room floor
• Lola and anything that she is doing, you giggle so hard at her
• Grabbing at people's faces, especially if they wear glasses 
• Exersaucer is still a favorite
• Jumping in her Johnny Jumper
• Reading a Bible story before bed
• Singing and dancing around the house with Aunt Ninny and/or Mommy

DISLIKES:

• You have developed a personality and have learned to throw a fit when you don't like what's going on.
•  Being in your car seat, you arch your back once we unbuckle you cause you are ready to be free
• People who get too close to your face or make loud noises in your face