Ava can WAVE!!!

Ava's favorite toys.

Ava always prefer's things she cant have of course. If its a remote control, a cell phone, a cord, anything with sharp edges or has the potential to hurt her she wants to play with. But, she does have a few toys that she does prefer over her others. Here they are!

Sophie the Giraffe!

'Dolly' by Gund.

Balloons

even with a little sprained pinky toe that was super sore...as long as she had her balloon, she was happy!

Jenny Jump-Up!

her lion

Her TOES

Milestone!

Ava waved today for the first time!!!

Her little wrists were moving up and down instead of just this little fingers. She waves now!!!

I can't tell you how ecstatic I was. Its like cracking through the baby talk and now actually being able to really communicate. She waves hello AND goodbye.

Amazing.

I am OVER THE MOON!!!!!!

Ava's new dress from Bloomindales.

Playdates.

I believe socializing your baby is a really good thing. Especially since there is a slight chance Ava could be an only child....for a while. Like 5 or 6 years. So surrounding Ava with lots of playmates is really important to me. Also, I love chatting with other mommies.


I love seeing Ava react to other children. She especially loves little girls around 5 and 6.


She thinks little boys are weird..


But she loves to play with other babies overall :)

Best Day of My Life.

The day was August 14, 2009.

I was awake at midnight, kind of pacing the apartment with a backache. I decided to watch some late night tv and maybe fold some laundry. I started to get really uncomfortable and I was concerned because I hadnt felt the baby move for a few hours. Chris and I had been in birthing classes and they described labor pains as really strong braxton hicks that comes in intervals. So I didnt think this could be labor since it was a consistent backache..PLUS i was atleast 2 weeks away from my due date. I woke Chris up at 2 am and told him I was going to go to the hospital (for the hundredth time) and just get a fetal heart monitor hooked up to me to check on the baby.

"I'll be right back".

During the 20minute drive to the hospital I kept shifting in my seat and breathing really heavily. 'Could this possibly be labor?'

By the time I walked up to the L&D double doors I was doubled over and breathing hard, I told the lady on the other side of the intercom that I was in labor.

I was escorted quickly into a labor room and a really friendly nurse with flowery scrubs on checked to see how dialated i was.

"You're 6 cm dilated...you're in active labor!"

My water breaks.

I called Chris immediately and was already on his way, he was grabbing food and movies and our bag that had been packed by the door for 2 days. His brother was with him calling everyone on my list.

I called my mom at 3 am and told her I was in labor, she showed up pretty quickly. armed with cookies and flowers and a video camera:)

Then the contractions really kicked in.

Chris was really great about encouraging me to breathe and to keep me excited about the baby. I know it sounds weird, but when you are in pain, everything is kind of all about you and you can lose focus on the big picture. He was always saying "The baby is coming honey, Youre doing a great job!"

I had horrible back labor. That is when the baby is facing up, so the back of their head is on your spine and touching all the nerves. Not only is that especially painful, but as they make their 90 degree turn into the pelvis...back labor babies need to turn 180degrees. which makes the labor longer and soooo excruciating.

Epidural (pain meds)

Pitocin (synthetic hormone to help speed up labor)

more Epidural

3 HOURS OF PUSHING.

Finally, our tiny sweet Ava Jade was born at 2:54pm on August 14, 2009. She weighed 6lbs 8oz and was 18 3/4" Long.

She was immediately placed on my chest. Chris cut the umbilical cord. We both cried.

She looked perfect.

She had a raspy little cry. All the nurses would say she sounded like a baby tiger. They also said she looked like a porcelain doll. She was absolutely perfect. Chris was so choked up. I was sobbing!

Welcome Ava Jade!!!

What is it with baby talk?

Is there a code or an actual baby language? or are they just listening to their own voice. Because I swear sometimes Ava tries to tell me stuff or yells at me. Maybe i'm just nuts...

The Struggle. Part 1.

I thought tough life lessons began in childhood, not babyhood.

1st Colic...now struggling to crawl!?

Ava is now 8 1/2 months old and is so frustrated not being able to crawl. she gets on her knees and rocks back and forth, with no success of moving forward. She gets the idea, her legs just dont seem to.

The First One.

This is my first blog.

I have decided to take a new approach and step away from documenting my daughter's life on social networking sites.

I am a new (and very proud) mama!

I love every single minute of motherhood and I document just about all of them.

My daughter is the light of my life!! She came into this world 8 short months ago and has changed her dad and my life forever. She is an absolute blessing.

Ava Jade is our little lion cub. She is a Leo, born August 14, 2009...2 weeks early. She came into this world by taking her time (12 hrs of labor and 3 hours of pushing), she wanted to make an impression (back labor!) and she is an absolute beauty. We love her so!!

basically, this blog will be all about my life and Ava growing up!!