Go, Go, Goers!

We've had a wonderful first Christmas with Ava. We stayed in Minnesota to celebrate the holidays with Scott's family, as we were in KC with my family for Thanksgiving. Last Sunday, we hosted the Goers' Christmas party - it was great having all of the cousins, aunts, and uncles over to our house. We truly look forward to getting together with them during this time of year. On Monday, we attempted to take pictures of the four great-granddaughters for Scott's maternal grandmother's Christmas present. Ava and Callie did SO well, but Tatiana and Jenna just weren't in the mood. This is the funniest pic from that night...Ava's trying to get Jenna to stay with her! We spent Christmas Eve with Scott's mom's side of the family - the four great-granddaughters were there, and after the presents had been torn into, the living room looked like a wrapping paper factory had exploded. But, they all had fun! Christmas morning was a special time for the three of us - I...

We've had a big week...Ava had her 6 month well-baby visit last night where she got more vaccinations, as well as the flu shot. We also discussed introducing veggies and fruits to her with her doctor, and we now have his blessing to do so. Some basic info first: Height: 26.6", 90th percentile Weight: 16.5 lbs, 75th percentile Head: 16.5", 25th percentile She's doing great, and growing as she should be. And she won't have to get any more shots until we go in for Part2 of the flu shot in January. Yay! She's been rocking a lot more on her hands and knees, and launching herself forward. It's a great next step, but then I think about what comes next, and realize we need to baby-proof the house! We also gave her squash tonight for the first time. At first, she did great, and was eating it so well...and then the meal progressed. By the end of the meal, she was slapping the tray and throwing her hands in the air! If she could have escaped, I think she would have. ...

My, we've been busy the last few weeks! Last week we got new carpet installed in the basement, and then spent several days moving our furniture downstairs, and getting our new furniture arranged on the main level. It's so nice to have a new family room, where Ava can roll on the carpet, and we can spend time together as a family. We also put up our Christmas tree and decorations last week - it took us 3 days to decorate the tree. I guess that's what happens when both parents work full time, and have an almost 6-month old baby to entertain each night until she goes to bed! But, the Christmas shopping and wrapping is mostly done with a few minor items left to pick up. We're getting ready to host the Goers' Christmas party next weekend, so I know we'll be busy for the next few weeks. Plus we have Ava's 6 month check up this coming Wednesday (that's the day Scott and I went on our 1st date, 8 years ago!!), and we have her 6 months photos on Saturday, 12/20. ...

Scott, Ava, and I went to KC to visit my family for Thanksgiving. My aunt Stephanie flew in from NYC, and my great-aunt Doris joined us for dinner, as well. In addition to listening to family tales from the past and eating a fabulous home-cooked meal, we also decided to let Ava open her Christmas gifts from my parents and Steph. I've included a video from her first gift - once she got past the shiny ribbon, she just tore into the gifts! We're back home now, and looking forward to the next time we head south to KC! Enjoy the pictures! And gobble gobble! Dee, Ava and Gramma Karen - 3 generations of fabulous women! :) This was just too cute...Ava is so good at really studying the person who is holding her. In this case, it's Grampa Doug! Grampa Doug, Gramma Karen and Ava - after a great breakfast... This is nice - we don't have too many pictures of the three of us. What's this? Turkey legs on my shirt! Ava the Dragon Slayer! And a happy slayer to boot...! The Blackwood...

Ava's gotten really good at holding her own bottle, as you can see in this picture. However, the sippy cup is still in practice...at the end of this drinking session, I think there was more water on her bib than what went in her mouth! Here's a cute little video of her "playing" with Darla...notice Darla's pleading look to me at the end. Again, she is THE BEST dog ever. She has so much patience! I wrapped all of our Christmas gifts today...it's amazing how Ava had 3 times as many gifts as everyone else! It's so hard to stop buying things for her! Have a wonderful night!

Quick story of the week...my best friend, Angie, and I had an early Christmas dinner this past Thursday. We had a wonderful meal at La Grolla in the Cathedral Hill area in St. Paul - the ambiance at the restaurant is fabulous - very romantic (yea Ang!), with a Tuscan feeling to it. As I was opening her gift, we both realized that it was suddenly very bright at our table...the tissue paper in the gift had caught fire! Angie was trying to blow it out, I was waving it around, and finally, our waitress came to our rescue - she stomped it out on the mat by our table. The other patrons clapped, and we were even thanked for the excitement at the end our meal. Anyone who knows me knows that I do NOT like fire that's even the tiniest bit out of control...so, of course, this had to happen at our table. :) At least the cute sleeper that Angie gave Ava didn't get fried!

Here are the photos from our Girls Night in Stillwater last night. It was definitely good to get out, and have some adult female talk! At Whitey's: Corinne, Kristin, Lisa, Dee, and Tiff At Marx Wine Bar: Corinne, Dee, and Tiff Kristin and Lisa

Scott, Ava and I all came down with a nasty stomach bug this week, so we didn't have the best week ever. BUT, Ava and I did manage to squeeze in some fun yesterday while Scott was up north hunting. Ava and I joined Lisa & Dylan, Tiff & Isabel, and Corinne & Colin for a play date in River Falls. It was the first time all four of us had been together since January! Here's a cute pic of the kiddies (Isabel, Ava, Dylan, Colin): That night, we ditched the kids, and joined by Lisa's neighbor, Kristin, we went to Marx Wine Bar in Stillwater for a girls night. It was really fun catching up, and I can't wait to do it again sometime soon...I'll post pictures of that event later when our resident photographer (Lisa) sends her pics to us. Here's a few random pictures from this week... She looked like she was in jail and was trying to get out! Better late than never...the Halloween costume where you can actually SEE it! Curled up in a blankie, ready for a nap And...

Nothing too new on our lil' Peanut Butter, but I did get some cute shots this week. Scott's been hunting this weekend, so I've gotten a glimpse of what it would be like to be a single parent...and no thanks! It's been a lot of work for me. Yesterday we went Christmas shopping at Southdale, and Ava got lots of comments on her pretty blue eyes. That kid is going to get a big head if we're not careful. :) Hanging out with Daddy - and examining her fingers... Granted, it didn't snow THAT much on Friday, but I wanted to try out the lightweight snow suit for our 20 second walk to daycare! Rough night, Ava? Smiling at the dogs...she's been doing that a lot lately. She seems particularly taken with Spanky... Enough with the pictures, Mommy! I was catching up on my email this morning, and look who was cuddling together. Dar and Ava! Darla just kept wagging her tail the whole time - even when Ava was chewing on her ear. Yuck! Have a great week!

We had a great Halloween on Friday! We visited Scott's grandma for her birthday celebration, and then we went to the Greg Goers' house for some additional fun. Our little chicken was wiped out after a long evening of people holding her, cooing at her, and trying to feed her candy! It will be so much fun next year when she's walking and able to have a few pieces of candy. She's also discovered her yummy toes - whenever she can, she's trying to suck on them. It makes for a harder time changing her diaper, since her feet never leave her head! Daddy's been busy this weekend installing our new basement ceiling - next is the carpeting, and finally new furniture! It will be so nice to have an extra living space in our house. It's going to be a beautiful day here - enjoy that extra hour!

Tonight we brought Ava in for her four month well baby visit. She's such a charming little girl, and is always complemented by the doctor and nurses about how content she is. Until they stick the needles in her - but, can you blame her?? Here are the current stats: 25.5" long - 95th percentile 14.4 lbs - 75th percentile 16" head circumference - 40th percentile Everything checked out great, and she even took the shots like a champ. She cried for a minute and stopped when I picked her up. By the time we got on the road, she was zonked out. We'll see how she sleeps tonight... Here are some fun post-bath pictures from last night. I had dried her off, and all of a sudden she flipped over and looked like she was ready to go! Cutie! Striking a pose... Look at me! I'm so cute! On a sad note, there were several layoffs at my company today, so it's been a bit of a downer day. I'm hoping that everyone who was let go us...

Scott and I have finally had a chance to slow down and take a few minutes for ourselves these past few days. I realized that we hadn't cleaned/assembled the Jumperoo from Scott's cousin Josh. I washed everything up, and made sure it was at the right height for her. She seemed to like it better today than yesterday. OMG! What IS this thing?? HOLD ON! Oh, this "thing" has toys, so it can't be that bad. I guess. The next project is to assemble her Exer-saucer. My question is, "Where are we going to put all of these HUGE toys??" We're looking forward to this week - lots of big things are happening. Ava will go to her 4-month well baby visit, and she'll be getting the next round of vaccines. Hooray. I'll be sure to post how big she's getting. We also have a Halloween party at her daycare on Thursday. We'll be bringing fruit snacks for the kids. However, we'll need to buy a new box of fruit snacks, as Mommy attacked the original box ...

This past week just flew by! I worked a bit of OT, which always makes the days go by fast, but this weekend was packed with fun activities. Ava loves her waterfall soother that's in her crib - she's been turning it on and off with her feet. On... And off! (the waterfall is no longer lit up) Friday night, we attempted to give Ava her first taste of rice cereal. The looks on her face as she tried the new taste (blah), and the new texture (smushy) were priceless! She kept pushing it out of her mouth with her tongue. I do think that some of it made its way down, tho. By the end of the meal, she was bawling, so I gave her a bottle to calm her down. We tried again tonight, and it went much better. She still had weird expressions, but she kept much more of it in this time. What's this new treat?? YUCK! Saturday morning, Scott, Ava and I went to the Minnesota Zoo for the Trick-or-Treat with animals adventure. Two of the moms from my Mommy & Me class this past summer also met up...