She's 8 Months Old Today!

Today is the day Ava turns 8 months old. We've had her for 2 and a half months. Boy, it seems like longer! Not because she's difficult but because it feels like she's always been a part of our lives.

I thought it would be fun to dress her in an outfit that she wore in a picture we took in Vietnam and get a comparison shot. I thought it would be a good way to see how much she's changed. I didn't put the white shirt under the little romper like I did in the first shot so the new one is slightly different. And I had just given her a bath in the recent picture so her hair is all wet and fluffy! But besides that I kept it the same. So here is the result:

It's funny...I can't hardly get a picture of her with her tongue in her mouth anymore! She's like a little puppy dog. Making rasberry noises is her new "thing". Well, I can definitely see a difference in the photos! It's amazing how fast they grow and change. I'm so thankful that God allowed us to get her at such a young age. What a blessing to be able to see all these changes. I LOVE this age. Today, I was giving her a bottle and she was getting sleepy. When she finished, I held her up so she could rest her head on my shoulder (this is usually how she falls asleep) and she laid her head down and reached her arm up around my neck like a big hug---this is how she fell asleep. It was such a sweet moment. I didn't want to put her in her crib. I held her as long as my arms would let me and then put her down. Oh, I hope I can always remember that feeling of her tiny arm around my neck and her sweet breath on my neck. Precious.

Our weekend

Saturday we had a lazy morning around here. Brian woke up with Ava and they played and watched Sesame Street. We have the vintage DVD's from the first 2 seasons and they are the best! Ava loves them. They're fun for us to watch too as they bring back memories from our childhoods. I prefer them to the new ones. And then Ava watched Brian do some work while she played in his office. Then I watched her while he napped. We have a whole system here and it works very well! We all still get our naps which is very important. After he woke up he watched her while I got to go out by myself to run errands. I do not mind getting out with her during the week because she does great in the stroller most of the time. But she has her limit and it's about 2 hours. And that's from getting in the car to getting home. So I have to factor in the drive and shopping and the drive back and that doesn't leave much errand time. So it was nice to go alone--I got a lot done! And while I was gone, Brian cleaned the sofa!! Now that's what I'm talkin' about!

We grilled out steaks that evening. The weather was pretty nice. Ava decided she wanted to wake up around 8pm and wasn't ready to go back down until 10:30 that little stinker. So I wasn't sure how church was going to go the next morning. But she woke up happy and was such a cheerful thing all morning! She was happy to see everyone at church. I think she's going to be a people person, our little social butterfly! Our intention all morning was to go to Sunday School and service but by the time we were all ready to go it was 10:15 already. We didn't get to the church until 10:30! So we were either really late for Sunday School or really early for service. I'll say we were early! Obviously we haven't perfected our getting ready routine. That'll come after some practice I hope. She did great in the nursery and when we went to get her she was just finishing her bottle and falling asleep. She was happy to see us though and let out a happy squeal when she saw her daddy! We ALL got to take a nap that afternoon--perfect!

We grilled out again Sunday night and ate out on the deck. The temperature outside was awesome and it wasn't humid at all. So nice. As it started to rain we moved it into the sunroom and opened the windows so we could listen to the storm. It was an all around relaxing weekend and I think we all feel very refreshed from it. We are enjoying Ava so much. I am just trying as best I can to soak in all the "baby-ness" while she's so small. I know she won't be a baby for long. She has already grown so much. We are really trying to enjoy every moment of every day with her. And that's not a difficult thing to do!

I'm going to add some recent pics soon. So be lookin' out for 'em!

2 Months Ago This Day....

...began with Brian and me...

...in Vietnam

...we were a bit nervous

...as we walked through the courtyard of an orphanage

...and with hearts pounding we took deep breaths

... as our lives were about to change

...Then we rounded a corner to see the most lovely thing on earth...

...and at that moment we received the sweetest gift...






Our Ava.

Happy two month anniversary to our family.

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights..."
James 1:17

Morning has come

"Weeping may endure for the night,
but JOY comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

"It's a great trick!"...

...As qouted from Mrs. White in the movie Clue. I think of this everytime I give Ava a bath b/c she does fun tricks with her feet. She is particularly good with her them. She claps with her feet and can use them to pick up toys to bring them up to her hands--She's very coordinated! So I took some picks of her in the bath picking up the big cup I use to rinse her hair with her feet. She picks it up with her feet and bring it up to her hands and then to her mouth. Pretty smart chic. The pics are so cute and I've got several. So here they are....













..."TADA!!!"

We should take this act on the road!!!