Ava, enjoying her “tubby” with Daddy!
P.S. I apoligize for the moments where you have to stand on your head to view the video. When I was twisting the camera I thought the image was going to show up the other way…that would be RIGHT side up. Boo for mistakes! yay for cute video!
That pretty much sums of Ava at this stage. She is just so fun, funny, and happy! I guess we couldn’t ask for much more, and if we did we wouldn’t get it! Here she is just after her bath! When we get her out of the tub we wrap her in the hooded towel and show her herself in the mirror and ask her “Who is that burrito baby?” and she just SMILES wide as can be!
There was a new library that opened up in our area. It just happens to be right next to the school where I work so I knew what was going to be at the grand opening celebration becasue they have been coming to our staff meetings and hyping it all up. When I heard that this guy was going to be there:
I knew we had to go! I just LOVE Curious George. I was so excited when I saw him walk out from behind a book shelf! Yep, I am an official dork! Jon was too star struck to get near him for a picture!
This library is SO AWESOME! They have a teen area with a cafe, they have a museum area for a rotating exhibit, they have a HUGE digital section with thousands of movies (like every TV series you could dream of, etc) and they have a free digital download section, so kids can download thier books on their i-pods and read them that way! Cool!
They also set up 5 or 6 classrooms so we can walk our kids over there and do reaserach! I am so excited about it. Anyhow, it was so fun to check out the library and meet George!
Since we had a big long post earlier this one will be short and sweet!
1. We are thankful for getting our photo Christmas cards ordered! We can’t wait to get them in our hot little hands! The entire time we were trying to get pregnant we couldn’t wait to have a family to send pictures out of, this is our year! 
2. We are thankful for getting our professional pictures ordered. We got the proofs back, and the photos ordered in record time. They will be ready for us to deliver when we are home for the Holidays! Perfect!
3. We are thankful for our upcoming trip home. It has been a while since our feet have been “Back home again in Indiana” and we are ready for it. Lets cross our fingers that is snows…..once. Once is enough! 
4. Thankful that this week is over. Holy cow it was a busy one! Either Jon or I had something going on every night this week. We had our time carefully coreographed so each of us was with Ava everynight for a little bit.
5. We are thankful for our great neighbors. We have some good people that live around us. If nothing else they are good for some entertaining stories (what more could you expect from an O.R. nurse and an E.R doctor?)
The title of this post is so fitting for the stage Ava is now going through. She is such a busy little girl. Always on the move…or as on the move as someone who is still pretty stationary can be. The seventh month was a big one for Ava! I think we still have a pretty big milestone to hit soon, crawling, but she did so much this past month. Lets check it out! (some of these images might have been previously posted, just bear with me here…)
She learned that there really is someone inside the computer! She wanted to get to my mom so stinkin’ bad. She was pushing my hands out of her way trying to go over them, under them, next to them…anything to get to my mom!
She became an expert eater! So far Ava has tried, and loved, apples, bananas, pears, green beans, avocado, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, rice cereal, and oatmeal. I am making most of her food, and she does seem to have a preference for the home-made stuff. Can you blame her? I took one whiff of jarred bananas and wanted to throw them out! I now buy fresh bananas and mash them up!
She has started to drink out of a sippy cup. Only an ounce or so of water at dinner, but she is doing it! Yay! Usually she holds the cup on her own, too, but she has Daddy wrapped around her little finger….Don’t believe me? Just look at the next picture…
The more things change the more they stay the same, right? This sure hasn’t changed. She is just about as snuggly today as she was when we brought her home from the hospital. Now, in between snuggles, she is much more interactive, though! (the little finger of her right hand is hidden in this picture…hidden by Jon’s big body wrapped around it! Hahaha, I crack myself up! He might not think I am so funny when he reads this…….Better to ask forgiveness than permission, right?)
For months Ava has been trying to get ahold of that banana on her jumpy seat. She FINALLY got it this month…look at how proud she is!
Her balance is getting very good. You can see my hands there, waiting for her to fall, but she is getting pretty good at this. I think her love of all things with buttons (remotes, cell phones, etc) is powering her to stay up there!
Ava also had her first Thanksgiving. We failed in the parent department that day and didn’t get any Thanksgiving pictures, but I will show you the two I did take….
Jon playing with Ava. They are in Lil P’s penned off area to keep her safe from the big doggies! Kobe and Lu Lu love to lick little babies heads!
Later in the night, and three outfit changes later (hey, we are a messy eater, what can I say?) Jon is reading Ava and Lil P one of the many great Sandra Boynton books. They both love their books! The best part is, they are right at Jon’s reading level too! (better to ask for forgiveness than permission, right? I love you Jon!)
The biggest milestone of the month is…
drumroll please….
I said drumroll please….
I don’t hear your drums…
On well….she got her first tooth on Thanksgiving day! Her second tooth followed right behind breaking through on Friday morning. My kid has teeth. TEETH! (there are no pictures of said teeth yet. Taking picture of the teeth inside the mouth of a baby is like nailing jello to a wall. I can’t hardly get a good peak with my own eyes, let alone a camera lens!) She is growing up, and quick. Someone find the clock and stop it, please!!!!
She is such a little ham. All you have to do is call her name and say “Hi” and you get a smile like this!
I think her new teeth feel funny on her bottom lip, because this was the expression of the day today! This is her first look out our Christmas Tree…..she loved all the lights and shiny ornaments.
I don’t think there is a such thing as babies and “safe distance” from an object like a Christmas Tree. I am pretty sure, if she crawls before the tree comes down, she will want to be by it all the time.
And, okay…I am done with the looking back. Lets see her 7 month pictures. This is where the “no longer a silent observer” comes in. We used to put the sign next to her and get, at least, one good shot before it caught her attention. Tonight? Not so much. Just look at what we ended up with. (No, I will not bore you with the 20+ pictures we took….only 18…..haha, hehe, I am so funny)
This, literally, is the very first picture we got. (No, that is not my arm….that would be…gross! Jon just has really pretty finger nails.)
Take two….
Take three…
Take 27……
Take 43, and realizing that her Daddy is right there. “Oh, hi Daddy!”
Take- are you really still counting?
Take 1,435….and we give up!
Now that I look at all of those pictures in a row she looks like a little prisoner in her stripes. Crime: killing with cuteness!
Ava had her six month check up yesterday and everything is grrreat!! She is growing like a weed!! She weighed 18 pounds and 13 ounces, 4 pounds and 3 ounces more than at her 4 month check up and she is now 27 1/2 inches long, 2 1/2 inches taller than her 4 month check up. She is in the 90th percentile for height and weight, and 50th percentile for her head.
We have been super busy and have not been the greatest at keeping up with the blog lately!! We apologize to our faithful readers!! Here are a few pictures from our visit to Gainesville this past weekend to watch the Gators play. If you look at the pictures closely, you don’t realize that we are in Florida. This is what driving north 3.5 hours gets you. Such a BEAUTIFUL campus!!
Dad, I am telling you, I want to be a Gator when I grow up.
College football tailgating is so different now that we have a baby, more snuggles = less beer!
What is this thing on my head…want to eat it now!
When did you become a Gator??
Our professional pictures are now ready! To see them go to http:\\www.jennifermauren.com click on “enter full screen”, when the site loads- across the bottom click “proofing”. A screen will come up that asks for a password, it is ava…all lowercase. Ta-da, are pictures show up! Let us know which ones you want, if you want any, and we will get them ordered for you. Our gallery is online for the next 14 days!
Ava loves to play peek-a-boo, I finally was able to catch her on video doing it. She is just too cute. We never get sick of her!
Ryan and Jamie welcomed baby girl Ella Joy to the world on Wednesday. Ella is thier second baby, first girl. Welcome to the world of bows, pink, and that special daddy/daughter bond. Ella is beautiful and we cannot wait to meet her when we are home for the holidays!
If you are interested in seeing Ella with your own eyes, you can link to thier blog through ours. Just look at the blog links to the right, the Pepplers are listed!
We had family pictures taken on Saturday by a friend of mine in Bradenton. She just got sneak peek up on her blog of a few shots…check them out!
http://www.jennifermauren.com/blog/
We are so stinkin happy with them! I can’t wait to see the rest!
