Back to School

This morning was my first day back to work.  It was bittersweet for me because I love my job, but felt like I left my heart at home.  After I finished getting ready for work I snuck into Ava's room and quietly whispered good morning.   I was greeted with a big sleepy smile from a beautiful baby!  After feeding Ava I passed her off to Nick and left for work.  Leaving the house was the most difficult, but knowing she was at home with her Daddy made it a little easier.  Throughout the day I received texts and pictures from Miss. Tara, Ava's babysitter.  As soon as the clock struck 2:45 I was out the door to go get my baby!  When I got there Miss. Tara had just gotten Ava up from her nap and she was smiling and giggling!  I was so happy to see her and see that she had a wonderful day.  Miss. Tara gave her a kiss and handed her over and we left.  When I got home I saw a note in her bottle cooler and this is what it said, "Ava had a wonderful first day! I can't help but to fall in love with her.  She was in great spirits all day and shared lots of smiles with us.  Ava had no trouble napping or eating.  All in all we had a great day!! I am looking forward to our time together.  Miss. Ava is already so precious to my heart.  I hope I was able to provide some peace on your first day back at work!"  We just love Miss. Tara!!!  Here are some of the phone pictures that I got throughout the day!!!

Ava's 4 Month Check Up

Today was Ava's 4 month doctors appointment!  Knowing that there was going to be shots involved I was not looking forward to this one.  Dr. Brennan measured Ava and gave us our stats.  Turns out our little girl is even more little than we thought!  Ava is 24 inches tall (25th percentile), 15 1/4 head circumference (2nd percentile), and 10 pounds 12 ounces in weight (2nd percentile).  Dr. Brennan gave us some advice on getting Ava to sleep past 5:45am since I am going back to work on Monday so we are going to try them out tonight.  Ava received 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine today.  Ava spit up the oral vaccine and then cried (with real tears) until I picked her up and held her.  I'm not sure who the shots were harder on: me, Nick, or Ava! This Momma's gotta learn some toughness!

Family Fun!

Monday after Christmas we decided to keep things low key.  While Auntie Em and the kids played with their new toys we hung around Gigi's house before heading over to play at Auntie Em's house.  We enjoyed hanging out and playing together.  Of course we had to get a photo of the cousins in their matching pajamas!  Thanks Auntie Em!

On Tuesday we met Auntie Em, Kailey Kate, Luca, Grandma, and Gigi down at Lenox Mall to ride the Pink Pig.  This is a tradition in our family since Auntie Em and I rode it as little girls.  It was very cold and windy out side so we had to bundle our little girl up!  Once we were ready to ride Ava had to sit on the seat like a big girl!  She barely saw anything since the seats were so high but she was wide eyed the entire time.  After the ride we walked around the mall for a little while and then headed to Grandma's to open presents!  

On Wednesday we met Auntie Em, Kailey Kate, Luca, and Gigi at the Forum for lunch and shopping. One of our family traditions is a Trader Joe's dinner.  So...of course we had to go to Trader Joe's and pick out some random food to throw together for dinner.  After shopping Auntie Em wanted to show us her new school, The Wesleyan School.  We walked through the quad and enjoyed the beautiful campus.   It was getting colder quick so we headed back home to Gigi's to feed Ava her very first solid food...oatmeal!  Ava was such a big girl!  She loved eating big girl food and ate almost the whole bowl full!  

On Thursday we celebrated Ava's 4 month birthday!  We can't believe she is growing up so fast.  Her doctors appointment isn't until January since we aren't in West Palm Beach, but we can tell she is getting bigger and bigger every day!

For the rest of our stay in Alpharetta we enjoyed spending quality time together as a family.  We are excited to see what the new year has in store for our family.  So many wonderful things happened this year.  Last New Years we celebrated the wonderful news that we would be having a baby and this year we are celebrating the joy that she has brought to our lives!!!!

Christmas Part 3

On Christmas Day everyone gathers at Gigi's house for brunch, stockings, presents, and then a big Christmas Day dinner.  This year is very special for us since it is Ava's first Christmas.  We opened up Ava's gifts while Kailey Kate and Luca tore through theirs.  Ava received pink monogrammed cubes from Pottery Barn, a laugh and learn activity table, clothes from Gymboree and BabyGap, her first baby doll named Ava, and her cross stitch that took Gigi hours upon hours to complete!  Ava was blessed with many presents!  We then opened Ava's stocking from Gigi and then her stocking from Santa!  Mommy and Daddy didn't need any gifts this year as we already received the most precious gift of all...our Ava!

Christmas Part 2

Christmas morning we woke up, got showers, and headed to Grandma's!  Nick's PawPaw and Pat were there too! Grandma prepared shrimp and grits, sausage balls, and my favorite...peanut butter balls.  While Ava took a nap we enjoyed catching up with Nick's PawPaw and eating delicious food!  As soon as brunch was over we headed out to Christmas at Gigi's house!  We are so glad we were able to spend Ava's first Christmas in Atlanta!

Nick's Birthday!

Sunday was Nick's 30th birthday so we had a day full of fun activities!  First we headed down to Phipps Plaza in Atlanta to see Santa.  We met Aunt Emily, Uncle Paul, Kailey Kate, Luca, and Gigi for our appointment to see Santa.  When we got there we wrote down Ava's list of items that she wanted for Christmas.  On her list was an activity table, Jenny jump up, diapers, pacifiers, and a taggie blanket. We know our little girl was good so she should be getting exactly what she asked for!  When it was our time to see Santa, Luca ran to greet him!  Santa held Ava, Luca sat in Santa's lap, and Kailey Kate stood beside Santa.  It was so nice to see the three cousins together with Santa.  While Ava stared at Santa he read each one of their lists and wished them a Merry Christmas.  After pictures we ate at The Tavern for Nick's birthday.  For the rest of the day we enjoyed spending time with family.  That night Nick and I went out to dinner with our friend Chase while Aunt Emily and Gigi watched Ava and put her to bed.  Such a wonderful day!

Last Stop...Atlanta!

Friday evening we arrived in Atlanta after hours in the car, traffic, and several stops to feed Ava.  We were so glad to get to Gigi's house and were super surprised by Aunt Emily, Kailey Kate, and Luca being there!  We quickly unloaded the car and got Ava to bed since we had to get up early to celebrate Christmas with Papa and Nana in the morning.

Saturday morning we headed over to Aunt Emily's house to celebrate Christmas with Papa and Nana.  They drove all the way down from the north Georgia mountains to open gifts and eat barbecue.  It was so nice to get to hang out at Aunt Emily's house while we all got to catch up.  This was the first time Kailey and Luca were able to interact and play with Ava.  Kailey has found her a new best friend.  Cousins are the next closest thing to having a sister and I can tell that they are going to be very close!  We hung out at Aunt Emily's house until dark then headed back to Gigi's to get Ava ready for bed and another busy day on Sunday!