One Month - Photo

I didn't get a chance to include a picture of Ava as a one month old on the post the other day so here it is! Plus I love this outfit so an even better reason to take pictures!

Water Park

This week has been really nice so I decided to take Jayden to the water park. He seemed to have a good enough time that I think I'll probably try it again when we have another hot day. Ava hung out in the wrap and got to run through the water with us as a result! She didn't seem to care one way or another; she slept the whole time we were there.

Jayden spent a lot of time watching the other kids running around and holding his tummy. Ha ha

This is where he waited while I nursed Ava; he would only run through the water if I did it with him so I got wet too!

A Moment in the Life

...Of Jayden...


(I swear I will make a better attempt with my videographer skills in the future! Also I would advise not watching this video if you've ever had equilibrium or vertigo issues. Seriously it's bad; I don't know why I thought swinging the camera around was better than turning my body around...)

 Playing with homemade playdough

Reading his book

Learning how to take turns sharing momma's lap with this little girl

One Month

Ava is...

• Growing! She's starting to get chubby cheeks and a few rolls already! She was weighed on Tuesday and is now 10 pounds 5 ounces. It appears she is officially on the "Jayden track" of gaining about a pound a week! She is wearing size 1 diapers at night (and when I forget to do the laundry promptly) but is still wearing newborn diaper covers when we put her in cloth diapers during the day. She'll probably be outgrowing those really soon though. She is also wearing 0-3 month clothes now.
• More alert! She still sleeps a ton during the day but it seems like there are more periods of awake time now. She is usually always awake for a good 2 hour stretch between 6:00 and 10:00 every night and she usually wants to nurse every 45-60 minutes during that time as well. That is also her fussiest time of day.
• Happy! There have been about three occasions where I swear she has actually smiled back at me when I've smiled at her. It reminds me that soon we'll have another interactive member of the family instead of a passive newborn. I look forward to those days just about as much as I am enjoying these laid-back newborn days!
• A good sleeper! With the exception of about 2 or 3 nights, Ava has been the best sleeper a parent could ask for when it comes to nighttime sleeping. I really didn't know that babies like Ava existed especially breastfed ones, but she has gone as long as 7 hours at night between feedings which has made life so much easier for this momma!
• A great eater! Although not the best nurser... but she is getting better! Thankfully we haven't had too many troublesome issues in the breastfeeding department, but Ava has never had the best latch. She often takes in a lot of air when she eats and she has to be burped quite often and sometimes will spit up what seems like everything she just ate. I never had to burp Jayden much but Ava often gets gas/air bubbles and will cry a very specific cry/scream when she gets gassy so I have to be careful to remember to burp her often. Also Jayden was able to accommodate for, what I have determined to be, a very forceful letdown of milk whereas Ava often chokes and gags when my milk lets down. This also creates an issue with gas so I'm hoping that will go away as she gets older and she learns to deal with it a bit better. But she does like to eat and enjoys a good meal every two hours or so.
• A very enjoyable little person overall! The first month with our sweet girl has been easier than I could have ever dreamed. I feel so extremely blessed to have this sweet baby in our family!

Computer Fun

We bought Jayden a computer game that we figured we would bring out during these new baby days when I felt like he needed a change of pace. So last week, I decided it was time to bring it out. These videos are kind of long (a couple minutes each) but I think it's fun to watch Jayden's expressions as he experiences something new and I think they will be especially fun to watch again in a few years when he's a pro on the computer!

Father's Day 2012

I decided to celebrate Father's Day a day early this year because I couldn't wait to give DJ his gifts!

DJ already owned a helmet but I got Jayden one so he could use the other gift that I got DJ!

DJ spent a good portion of Saturday trying to put the carrier on his bike but the short version of the story is that it didn't work and we had to take the carrier back. DJ was so bummed because he was really looking forward to taking Jayden on a bike ride. We're going to research the carriers more and find one that works for DJ's bike because we both think it's a great idea to have one!

I also made DJ this; I found the idea online and I think it's so cute. My version isn't quite done because I'm not sure I really like the colors that I chose for the paper but once I determine the proper color scheme, it'll just be a matter of writing our name and the date!

Jayden also made a card with a little of my assistance and a poem with his handprint and footprint with his teachers' assistance at "school". DJ said he loved all his gifts and had a great Father's Day 2012!

A new pet

I mentioned in another post that we bought Jayden a new fish which he named Grover/Bert. This video was taken when we first gave him the fish.

Jayden is doing so good with reminding us to feed Grover/Bert every morning and he loves to drop the little pellets into the bowl!

Music to my ears

Jayden is always singing and making some kind of noise these days. It is so entertaining! He's also doing another of his favorite activities these days in this video - coloring with crayons!

Picture Post!

Ava spends most of her days sleeping, eating and well, pooping. But I guess that's pretty typical for a newborn! This was about a week ago.

Jayden and I have come up with a pretty good routine these days and just as I expected, I am really liking our time together now that we get more of it while I'm on maternity leave. I think I am going to have a VERY hard time when Jayden goes back to daycare full-time. Here, Jayden is enjoying his delicious breakfast of french toast and blueberries!

 Excuse my worn look but I just love these pictures. Jayden is more of a cuddler now that Ava has arrived. He likes to lay on this pillow in particular when we are cuddling.

 And while I cuddle with Jayden, Ava gets to spend quality one-on-one time with Daddy.

 Part of our routine these days is to spend a LOT of time outside, especially if it's minimally windy. Jayden likes to climb up on these chairs all by himself and we hang out here watching the buses and cars and trucks go by.

 Or sometimes he prefers to sit in the grass...

 When Jayden is home, this is where Ava spends most of her time. She LOVES the wrap and it is so much easier to hang out with Jayden when she is content and comfortable and I have my hands free!

 We always take a walk to the mailbox to get the mail after I pick him up from day care. Jayden is learning all about putting a stamp on letters and taking them to the mailbox to be mailed. His job is carry the keys and the letters when we walk to the box.

I love little Miss Ava's feet. They are so much more petite than Jayden's ever were. Jayden has adorable feet too though don't get me wrong!

 Another way we spend our afternoons is by spending it with our friends Mandy and Piper. Piper has a cool water table that Jayden had a blast with one afternoon.

 I am loving dressing Ava in her girly clothes. This is one of our favorites thus far. 

 We can see the smoke from the fire that is burning down by Fort Collins right now. It is a HUGE fire and has burned about 43,000 acres and about 100 structures. It's so sad and all we can do is just continue praying that no more lives will be lost (1 lady has died) and that God will send rain to help the firefighters contain the fire. The smoke made for a beautiful sunset last night though. The sun was a deep deep red which my camera phone does no justice for in the picture below.

 And here's the most recent picture of our little girl today. She had a bath this morning so her hair is nice and fluffy.

Update on life as we know it now

Ava is such a good baby. Life for the first two weeks with Ava in the house was a learning process but not a painful learning process thanks to the fact that DJ took two weeks off of work. DJ and Jayden majorly bonded and got to spend so much time together and that helped immensely. Jayden has done so well with having Ava around and he's gotten to the point where he will look at us with his eyebrows raised and say "sister?" if he doesn't know where she's at or if he hears her and can't see where she's laying. 

We're still trying to teach Jayden that he has to be super gentle with Ava because she's delicate or fragile or breakable or whatever word seems to be the most understandable to a 21 month old at the time. He loves to give her toys which is great unless they are hard plastic because he tends to toss them at her. Jayden also gets confused sometimes and thinks that whatever blanket Ava is wrapped up in is his so the sharing thing is also a work in progress. 

Jayden has started doing things to mimic how we take care of Ava which is super adorable. For example, the last few nights he has slept on the pillow that I usually use to prop up my arm when I feed Ava. He also has been wanting to cuddle with me on my chest, the way I hold Ava a lot of times and of course there are no complaints from me on that one! He also likes to have a blanket to wrap up in and he will either walk around with it wrapped around him or he just wants his blanket laid on him when he's sitting on a chair. He also likes to wrap things up like a baby. The other day he wrapped up his little cloth bird in a diaper insert. It was so cute! He walked around holding it to his chest. So Jayden is definitely observing the way we are taking care of Ava and so far nothing negative has come of it.

We decided to get Jayden a fish last week. It's a beautiful beta fish and Jayden calls it either Grover or Bert. We're not really sure which name to use because he seems to use the names interchangeably, like they mean the same thing. He feeds Grover/Bert two teency pellets twice a day and Grover/Bert's bowl sits up on the counter where Jayden eats his meals so it's been a good distraction for Jayden while we get meals ready. Jayden will set his chin on his hands on the counter and just stare into the bowl watching the fish.

Ava is sick this week which is NO fun at all, of course. She started getting really congested on Monday and got worse through the night. She had a fever this morning (Tuesday) but since she had her two week checkup in the afternoon, they told us to wait to have her seen until her appointment. She has a lot of trouble sleeping though since she is so congested poor thing and is always gagging and choking so that has not been a fun experience. Hopefully this early illness is not a sign of things to come! Jayden was never sick but then again he didn't have an older brother bringing daycare germs home either. I'm just hoping that (1) the breastfeeding will do its job and boost Ava's immune system and (2) any extra illnesses will also boost her immune system so she doesn't get worse illnesses when she has to start daycare.

DJ went back to work on Monday. Monday went fantastic for my first day on my own with Ava and Jayden. Jayden woke up early enough that DJ was able to bathe Jayden while I showered so as far as first days go, it really was perfect. I don't expect every day to go that well but I'm glad it wasn't a miserable experience for a first time. Jayden went to daycare for a few hours and we had a good time that afternoon together. We spent a lot of time watching construction trucks working and cars and buses drive by. 

The days have been absolutely beautiful with the exception of some crazy wind. My outlook on life is so much better and more positive when the days are sunny and warm and when we can spend our hours outside so God is good for giving me these beautiful days! I am loving being a mom of two!