Ava, Our Daughter

P Double Oh with the Fam 4 Days Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter We spell out "pool" as "p double oh" when we want to talk about going to the pool without Ava knowing what's up. Today I ran and Heather drove to Matt and Kendy's pool for some good family time. Knox, Matt and Kendy swam too. Ava swam on her own in her floaty vest. It was the first time she had to kick or go under a little and so she kicked. She was scared at first when I stepped away from her but she kicked hard and smiled when she stayed up. Then she'd say "I can't swim." But I stayed at it and after a while she said "I can swim." Which is all pretty cute. Emme sat by the side of the pool with mom until I got out and mom got in. Aves mini melted when it was time to get out, of course. She loves the p double oh. The most amazing part of the experience was seeing Ava's emotions. When she was afraid I wanted more than anything to help her, but I didn't because I knew she could do it. When she looked at me for help I felt like a daddy. When she started to smile it felt great. I was proud of her. When she finally made it to me and clung to me I felt her love. 1 Comments | 3 Images Kids Make Me a Better Person 2 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Every parent claims that their kids made them a better person. I didn't have a lightning crashing moment where I reformed my rtarded ways as placenta hit the floor (what's the band Live up to these days?) But I do know that the kids make me a better person. Most of the changes are visible but every now and then one becomes obvious. Today, while going into Kroger the Georgia Firefighter Burn Victims Association (or something like that) was out in force. Initially I said "ugh, somebody looking for money." But then I thought about Ava and Emme and immediately felt the importance of what firefighters do. If Terp, Ava and Emme are home alone (or even if I'm there) I like to know that firefighters are at the ready to save them in case of fire. I donated a few bucks. I'm not better because I donated. I'm better because I'm thinking more about other people. Having kids expands your sphere of personal concern beyond yourself. You truly want them to be safe and happy. And that makes you a better person. (Side note: having a fulfilling relationship with your spouse does the same thing.) 2 Comments | 0 Images Ava Knows Mimi 3 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Mimi is what Ava calls my mother, her grandmother. The other day she was telling me about how she "had fun day with Mimi," remembering when we went to the restaurant. And a few times throughout the last couple weeks we've heard something about Mimi. So Mimi's in Ava's head! 0 Comments | 0 Images To the Playground 3 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Aves and I gave Emme and Mom a break by heading to the playground for a couple hours. First we headed to a lake and saw some ducks and geese. Then we headed to the playground near Matt and Kendy's place. Knox, Matt and Kendy came out to play too! 0 Comments | 9 Images Playing in the Rain, Reading to the Snail 3 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Aves and I played outside in the rain this morning. Mom found a snail and Ava said "I want sit here and read book to snail." She ran upstairs to get her book with the snail in it. She told the snail "look, that you." And the snail was very happy. 3 Comments | 10 Images Ava's Matching Stuff 3 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter It's all about the match. For the last couple weeks colors on shirts and pants have to match. I get told "doo dah, dis shirt not match pants." Today she started matching based on pattern. She wanted to get a specific new shirt down because it had stripes that matched the stripes on the back of her new Dora the Explorer diapers. Later, she informed me that my red t-shirt doesn't match my plaid pajama bottoms. Matching is very important right now! 0 Comments | 0 Images Ava's Roller Skates 4 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Sure, they're diaper wipe boxes to some people. But to Ava, at least for today, they were roller skates. She got her foot stuck in one and then came into the office asking "where other roller skate?" We looked high and low before finding the other. But just as I got the camera out she got spooked and wanted them off immediately. They didn't agree and even mom said "I think they may be stuck." Eventually we got the roller skates off. 0 Comments | 1 Images Ava Draws a Face 5 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Ava drew something like a face today. She draws a good bit and this isn't the first that had some resemblance to something in the real world. But, it's the first I caught with a pic. As she drew the outline of the face she told us as she added eyes, a mouth and some ears. Her spacial development will improve with time but it's interesting to see something formed coming out of her drawing. (And a pic of Ava giving Emme a kiss.) 0 Comments | 2 Images What are You Doing? I Need. 5 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter In the last few days Ava's started saying "what are you doing" every few minutes. "What are you doing DoDah?" "I'm putting on my socks." "What are you doing MaMa?" "I'm making apple peanut butter." It's cute and I like that she's asking about others. Simple understanding of what other people are doing is the start of empathy. The "why" stage can't be far behind and I'm looking forward to it. Plenty of science to throw at her! The other new one we're hearing a lot is "I need." "I need more apple peanut butter." "I need play cars." She's a needy little kiddo. And so dramatic when she doesn't get what she needs. 0 Comments | 0 Images Ava Falls Down. Bumps Head. 5 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Thump. It's the sound all parents are always listening for and never want to hear. I can hear The Thump from two floors up on the other side of the house. You just kind of know when it's your little one making contact with the ground. Today I heard The Thump and ran downstairs to find an Ava, hair in her eyes with a confused look on her face. That means I'm fast because only seconds later she was crying hysterically. She fell off one of the love seats that she plays on a lot. Heather says she heard an "Oh no" immediately after The Thump. Before the pain set in. She hit her left forehead on either the hard wood floor or the wall. It quickly swelled up into a golf ball sized contusion about 1/2cm tall. Not what we like to see on our daughter but other than the bump she seems to be fine. No confusion. No lack of hand/eye coordination. No slurred speech... well, no more than normal. She clung to Mommy for a couple hours saying, "no GooDah, go 'way" which is always just so cute that I can't resist giving her a hug. Whenever Heather or I came near her with the ice she cried and said "no ice." Whenever we even discussed her head she put her hands up and cried. She just wanted to watch Max & Ruby! This is Ava's first big injury. The first one where the pain doesn't subside in a few minutes. She's had bumps and bruises before. Even some fairly scary looking ones. But this one will be tender for a while. As a parent you wonder whether there's something more serious wrong. You immediately wish you had become a pediatric doctor. You quickly Google some first aid info from the most credible looking source. You worry about brain swelling. And severed capillaries. Heather said she was surprised I didn't freak out. Often I do freak out when Ava gets hurt. But as stress levels increase I seem to have a personality that calms down and gains focus. That I wasn't complaining about child safety standards and the stability of the love seat was testament to how seriously I was taking it. I never like seeing Ava hurt and to see her really hurting just tears me up. We watched her for a while. Heather called Grandma Ball. I surfed the internet. But she's fine. Tough little cookie. We're hoping there isn't too much black and blue tomorrow. Going through this makes me wonder how my parents made it through my shenanigans. Of course, I'm a guy... blood is expected. 4 Comments | 2 Images Ava's First Snow and First Sledding! 6 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter 1:01:23 AM: Big snow action in Atlanta tonight and tomorrow! I've made a concerted effort to lay off the microblogging/liveblogging for a while but I think I'm gonna have to break out the timestamps for this one. Snow news as it unfolds! 1:23:09 AM: Alright, so here's how this is supposed to go down. First, rain... starting in the wee early morning hours (3am-ish). Then, cold in the mid/late morning. Highs should be right around freezing and so a few degrees could make this a non-event. 09:56:55 AM: We've got some light drizzle mixed with a few flakes. Looks like the snow line is fast approaching. 10:40:10 AM: Big fluffy snow in Smyrna! 11:43:12 AM: Got some light accumulation. Really snowing solidly. Love it. 04:06:34 PM: We got a solid three or four hours of snow! Very nice. Bitzel and I made a snowman. And I took her sledding in the front yard. She took off her gloves saying "no gloves." I let her. She picked up some snow and said "whoa... cold... bitzel need gloves." She's seen all of this snow stuff on her Max & Ruby DVD's so I heard "like Max & Ruby" all the time. Very fun first snow with Bitzel. 2 Comments | 58 Images Bitzel and the Snow 6 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter She had fun with the snow today. Started slowly but really picked up. "Cold outside," says Bitzel. 0 Comments | 10 Images Bitzel Sees Mars 6 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter After a trip to the supermarket that included riding in the race car shopping cart we came back to a clear night with Mars visible. I held Bitzel up and pointed it out. She looked at it and said "ready go inside now." Mars is closer than it has been in years and shows up as a big bright red star. I wish I had my telescope from childhood to check it out. 0 Comments | 1 Images Aves Gets a Christmas Cold 7 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter She started sniffling and sneezing a few hours ago. Update 12:46AM: She's having a rough time sleeping. Congestion and a dry cough. Poor Bitzel. It was probably the Fernbank Frogs exhibit that did it. I tried to keep her away from the glass and I tried to use hand sanitizer on her hands but she was just all over the place... as were fifty other kids. Not to mention the buttons they have for kids to touch to hear frog sounds. Buttons... more like vectors. I'm hoping that I get sick soon and get over it quickly... SufferFest starts in 8 days. 0 Comments | 0 Images Fernbank Frogs Exhibit 7 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Barbara and Sr recommended the Frogs exhibit at Fernbank to give the moms some rest. I packed Aves into Terp's minivan and we headed downtown. Aves loved the frogs, the dinosaurs and running around. Her take on the dinos was "eat Bitzel." Knox was along too. It was neat for me to take Aves because she's at a point where she can look forward to something and carry the thread throughout the day. By the time I got back from my meeting today Terp had been talking up the frogs enough that I could ask Aves "where are we going?" and she'd get a big smile and say "frogs with dooDa." It was neat. Afterwards we had a few hours alone without mommy to read books and play with toys. Thanks to Barb and Sr. for making the recommendation and taking the time! 0 Comments | 30 Images Bitzel Hair 7 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Aves and Terp create some interesting hair styles. 0 Comments | 3 Images Ava Goes to the Zoo 7 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter With the incredible weather down here Beep took Aves to the zoo today. I have to admit that I smiled all day thinking of Aves at the zoo, pointing to animals. When she got home she told me about the mommy and daddy monkeys that were hungry, the yellow lion and the zebra that she saw. Big day for the Avester! 0 Comments | 0 Images Aves is All About Safety 7 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter I hop into the car this evening and Aves tells me "seatbelt GooDa." Then she says "cold out there, jacket." Earlier today she was walking outside with Ball and when she saw a squirrel jumping around in a tree she said "careful, fall, bump head." 0 Comments | 0 Images Aves Knows She's Sick 8 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Today Ava told Terp that "baby sick, have bad day." She also said "mouth hurt, kiss fix it." She clearly knows she's sick and is telling us as much. Today Terp took her out to Beep and Ball's... they take great care of her when she's sick. Terp came back and we cleaned the house and ran some errands. The plan was for Ava to stay out in Villa Rica but later in the evening she kept saying "mama coming back." She wanted mommy. So Terp, great mommy that she is, saddled up and headed out to Villa Rica to be with Aves. Hoping she gets over her cold/flu quickly. 1 Comments | 0 Images DooDah and GooDah 9 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Aves has taken to calling me DooDah or GooDah. She used to call me DaDa but heard Terp calling me Goo and I guess she combined the two... and then went off on her own with the DooDah. It's cute to have a nickname created by your daughter. 0 Comments | 0 Images Ava Pics 9 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Some random Ava pics. 0 Comments | 10 Images Aves is on the No-Fly List 9 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Aves woke up with liquid diarrhea today. She got it from her cousin Dylan. The bug lasts four days or more. So Aves is on the no-fly list and won't be heading to Connecticut with us for the family reunion. 2 Comments | 0 Images Red Shooooos 10 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter The last four days Ava has gotten up in the morning and said "red shoes." One of us tracks down the coveted red Crocs and puts them on her. Then the day can begin. She loves the red shooooos. And, as you can tell, she's doing colors these days. Yellow flowers vs. blue flowers. Green shoes vs. red shoes. Etc. 2 Comments | 0 Images Ava Meets a Horse 10 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter Ava's first live horse. She's been saying horse for a while now. She was a little shy and didn't realize exactly how big these horse things are in real life. 0 Comments | 25 Images Aves Can Count to Ten 10 Months Ago | Posted to: Ava, Our Daughter This really surprised us. We were bathing Aves and she was in the post-cleaning bathtub-as-amusement park portion of the show. I asked her how many bubbles there were. I then said, questioningly "two bubbles?" She said "tooo bubbles." Ok, we were happy with that. Terp and I talked about her grasp of numbers up to three and how she'll count down steps and stuff. Next, I say "how many bubbles?" I start to count "one" and she says "one." Then "two" is "too." "Three" is "tree." Not really surprised. Then I hear "fowww." Heather and I look at each other surprised. I continue with "f" and she continues "fiye." She needed some prompting about every other number but made it up to ten. "Niye" was unprompted and clear as day. We clapped loudly and Aves danced around. Amazing how much the little buggers pick up. Sorry for the "my kid is so smart" moment... we really don't mean it that way. For all we know she should have been doing this months ago. We're just amazed that she knew how to count to ten but we'd never heard it. There's a lot more rattling around up there than we know. A little scary, in fact. 1 Comments | 0 Images 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next >> Most Read Last 7 Days 1 Embryo Size at Seven Weeks   2 P Double Oh with the Fam   3 Playing in the Rain, Reading to the Snail   4 Ava + Cindy??   5 Ava Tallulah's Birth   6 Ava's First Day   7 Ava Coming Soon. Some Dilation and Effacement.   8 Crib Assembly   9 Ava, The First Couple Days   10 Our First Born Child Will be a Girl!   11 Weekly Doctor's Appt: Priceless   12 Ava Butt   13 Ava Name Problem: It's Popular   14 Preggers Update   15 To the Playground   Most Recent Files