What do you mean I can't chew on this??

I tried to hide all of the cords for the computer behind the footstool but this Little Miss was not to be deterred. It might have been a tight squeeze but she found them! She looks pretty happy here but she was giving me the stink eye a moment later when I moved her out of there.

Homecoming!!

I took Ava up to Flandreau to watch the homecoming Parade with Grandma Lacey and Aunt Bev last week Friday. She loved the bands and all the people waving at her from the floats. Justin marched with the Junior High Band, Zac rode on the Senior's float, and our cousin Josh Lacey marched with the High School band. I got a picture later of Josh and Zac in their traditional Toga's, tie dyed with Flier colors. The boys had been out late the night before working hard on dying their togas so I had to be sure and get a picture. (Neither of their mother's seemed too impressed by their late night endeavor, perhaps because it meant getting in well past curfew. :)

Another tooth!

Ava has been working hard at maintaining her usual good mood while waiting for her second tooth to appear. Ava and I spent a lot of yesterday cuddling because she didn't feel so great. But it seems the end is near for this teething segment because Tooth Number Two is showing up today on the surface of her gum, right next to Tooth Number One. She's been such a good little trooper while getting these first two teeth and we hope that the rest of her teeth come in this well.

Ava's still doing the army crawl though she's constantly getting up on all fours as though she knows there is something more to do at that height. When she's in her crib and wants out she will get up on her hands and knees and try to grab the railing so its time to lower her bed down in the crib. Sometimes when she's just relaxing in her crib (supposed to be sleeping) she'll lie on her back, kick up her feet (propping them on the bumper pad) and suck her fingers on her left hand while twirling her hair with her other hand. It's pretty darn cute.

My Godchild, Malory, is here with us this morning and Ava loves the extra attention. She thinks that Malory is pretty funny and also that Mal's feet taste pretty good. We generally discourage her from sucking on other's feet but she's pretty determined. Yesterday it was my feet and last week it was her cousin Will's feet. At least she doesn't discriminate, right? :)

Our little Funny Face

Look how I've grown!

Ava two days old and ready to leave the hospital.















Here she is at just a couple weeks and so small.















How fast she's grown! She's really filled out now!

Construction Continues...

Jeff and his dad (a.k.a. Grandpa Marv) worked on the garage today, yay! They were able to put up most of the sheetrock in the garage today in just a few hours. Jeff will hopefully get the rest done this week and then we're going to work on putting some shelving up in the garage so that we can move the crap--I mean irreplaceable and valuable belongings of ours from the basement into the garage for storage while we then tackle finishing the basement. Wish us luck!!

Here's a closeup of Ava. Note the fingers? There are times that she'll take a pacifier instead but her digits are just too convenient most of the time.

Sitting all by herself!

Here's proof that Ava is sitting all on her own! :) She's doing so well and really seems to love this new phase. Look, she's so talented that she can even suck on her fingers while balancing! She pretty much keeps those two fingers in her mouth all of the time though there are times that she likes to switch things up a bit by chewing on her thumb instead.

Here's Ava Reese! Word on the street is that she's got the same fuzzy hair that her daddy had when he was a baby. I thought this picture showed that pretty well. :)

A tooth!!

The long awaited, much anticipated first tooth of Ava has arrived!! Grandma Theresa was changing Ava's diaper and I was keeping her occupied (she tends to roll and twist in a way that putting a diaper on her at times seems impossible!!). So, I'm making her giggle and there at the front of her mouth on her bottom gum is a teeny little tooth popping through! I know that its probably rather silly to be so excited but its so darn cute! And it seems like we've been waiting forever for it to come because she's been chewing on everything in sight since her three month birthday. Here we are, two days away from her seven month "birthday" and Ava gets her first tooth. We'll keep you posted, I"m sure there are more to follow. :)

Cluck! cluck!

Ava has discovered that she can make a new, cool noise with her tongue. She's clucking! It's adorable (but then, what isn't when related to Ava?) and she's so proud of herself! She is also sitting up all by herself and that seems to be more of a surprise to her than me. She sits there so cute and will start to fall over and catches herself with her elbow, most of the time. She's clunked her head once or twice before I could catch her but she's getting pretty good now.

At this moment she's crawled over into the dining room and is sucking on the leg of her swing. Yesterday it was the leg of the bar stool. The day before that it was the bottom of the cabinet. Sure, she chews on her toys but for some reason those don't hold their appeal long enough. I have to clarify that she is not yet "crawling" on her hands and knees but rather she's doing the army crawl, mostly pulling herself around with her arms and pushing a bit with her toes. Her other method of transport is rolling to whatever it is she'd like to chew on next.

Want to know what Ava's mommy's been up to? Yesterday I redecorated her doll house. Her dad bought it for her at a Garage Sale but I thought it was pretty out of date so I took it upon myself to put up new "wallpaper" using my scrapbook supplies. It was actually a lot of fun but more time consuming than I realized it would be. The four rooms took me most of the afternoon but it was more fun than cleaning up the concrete dust in the basement. Achooo!!

Amy, can I copy you?

So, I have a sister-in-law who is showing me up with her computer savvy by starting a blog, what should I do? I guess I'll start one too! It was a great idea, Amy, and I'm loving reading your blog so I hope you don't mind if I try to keep one, too. :) Though I think we both know who will be better at keeping hers up. :P This is my trial run, I'll write more later.