Christmas Eve Snow!!!!

We woke up to a LOT of snow on Christmas Eve morning so we decided it was time for Ava to join us outside for the first time while Jon and I shoveled. She lasted longer than we expected. We also gave her new sled a try. The first sledding picture is in the yard (which did not work very well) so we moved to the road where she enjoyed the ride a bit more.

Christmas Photo Shoot

Trying to get the perfect Christmas card photo. Like her fake smile in the bottom one?

Love My Books

Ava LOVES reading! One night she decided she wanted to read on the couch with me and Jon caught this picture. Looks like she will be taking after Mommy :)

We're Back ...

So after a 2 month hiatus, part my fault, part our computer that died, we are finally up and running with a new computer (thanks to lots of convincing from Jon). To catch you up to speed on things, we made it through the holidays and enjoyed time with both of our families and even some of our extended. It was a busy time but we enjoyed seeing everyone! Ava continues to keep us on our toes so there is never a dull moment in our house. She has really come out of her shell this fall and is quite the social butterfly after warming up to people. She continues to amaze us with her verbal skills and is learning a lot at daycare. She loves singing and at this time the most popular on her play list are the ABC's, Happy Birthday and I Love You (Barney Song). Also, as some of you know, her hernia surgery which we had done in August did not take. As of last week, we had rescheduled for January 22nd that was until our trip to Urgent Care on New Years Day. We were informed that her left ear tube has fallen out and she has an ear infection. So an appointment with the ear surgeon was made for next Monday and we will know more then which surgery will be occurring first. We tell ourselves Ava likes to let us know she is here and kicking and has let us know since the day she arrived but we love her all the same. So enjoy the next few posts and we will keep you updated on the next steps with her ears and belly.

Happy Halloween!

Apple Orchard

We went to visit an apple orchard in Lakeville today. Ava enjoyed being outside, picking out a pumpkin and picking out her own apples. She decided she couldn't wait to eat her apple before we reached the cashier and we didn't realize she liked apples that much to eat as much as she did. By the time we got home this apple was pretty much demolished. It was great to get out for probably one of the last times before winter arrives.

Climbing

Ava's new hobby is climbing on or in things apparently. On Saturday I was in the living room and she was wandering the hallway as usual. I had left a closet door open with one of those closet organizer drawers in it open also. Well, as you can see from the picture someone decided it would be fun to get in but of course couldn't get herself out.

First Haircut

Ava had her first haircut last week. We just had her hair trimmed a bit ( I didn't want to get rid of the curl). My stylist also gave me some pointers to control her massive curls. She even got a certificate for bravery and courage :)

Ava's Surgery

As most of you know, Ava had surgery on August 21st to fix her umbilical hernia. She has had this since she was born and we had seen a surgeon when she was 2 months old because we were told by our pediatrician that it was one of the larger ones she had seen. The surgeon wanted to see her back at 9 months, which was when we were getting the ear tubes in and he then decided to not see her until 12 months. So, Ava got her tubes done and then saw the belly surgeon in July. He determined that her hernia was the exact same size as it was at 2 months and asked when we would like to have the surgery. Although no parent ever wants to put their child under for surgery, much less twice in a few months, we wanted her to have it done now so 1) she would not remember the pain and 2) so she would recover faster. The surgery went well and there were no complications other than Ava's reaction to anesthesia (she gets VERY upset) so we are thankful that it is done and we are on the mend. She did catch a bit of a virus a week after but now is back to her old self. Here are the before (she posed like that herself) and after pictures. The surgeon even gave her an inny (Yeah!) Thank you everyone for your thoughts during her surgery, we appreciate you thinking about her!

1 Year Pictures