Lions, tigers and bears- Oh my!

April was a busy month for Ava! First, we went to the zoo with some of Ava's friends. She saw lots of animals but I think the highlight of her day was feeding the giraffes. A close second was playing in the waterpark with Ava G. Check out the pics below!








Another big event this month was Easter! Ava went on her first Easter Egg hunt. She went with her friend Ava C. but met up with her friends Ava G. and William. At first Ava wasn't sure what to do. Michael and I kept telling her to pick up the eggs and put them in her basket. Finally, she picked up two eggs- one for each hand. However, she had no interest in putting them in the basket! She wanted to hold onto them. Her friend Ava C. in the meantime had a basket full of eggs (She caught on pretty quickly). So we made the mistake of telling our Ava to fill her basket like Ava C. So she did. She walked right over to Ava C.'s basket and began taking her eggs and putting them in her own basket! Fortunately, Ava C. wasn't that upset about it and they began hunting eggs together. It was absolutely adorable to watch the two of them toddling along together picking up brightly colored plastic eggs.








Some Ava highlights for April:
-She says "Mama"...a lot!
-She loves to give hugs and kisses!
-She is very outgoing!
-She repeats (or attempts to) everything we say!
-She is a daredevil! She likes to swing high and fast.
-She has a nightly ritual of "Hop on Pop". Michael gets on the floor and Ava toddles over to him and plops down on his stomach and bounces up and down. She thinks it's hysterical!

Ava's Birthday - Part 3

Our last two entries told all about Ava's birthday party, and then her actual birthday a few days later. There is one final piece of what became Ava's birthday week, and that was a trip to Disney World to see the Magic Kingdom. We arrived in Orlando on Thursday, so we could get into the park early and beat what we figured would be big crowds. Unlike Universal Studios, which Ava had been to before, Disney actually had rides that she could go on.

I had not been on "It's a Small World" since I was maybe ten years old, so I really did not recall anything about it except for the song that gets in your head and stays there for a few hours. That was the first ride we went for, figuring it was mild enough to be a good gauge of how baby girl would handle the attractions. From the moment we got in the boat, her eyes were open wide in amazement as she saw all the singing dancing figures. She laughed, she waved, and she bounced with excitement when she saw the giraffes in the Africa portion of the ride. Since she loved it so much, we figured she'd like some other kiddie rides, too.

She loved the Dumbo ride, because she got to fly way up high in the air and feel the wind in her hair. She loved the Peter Pan ride, too, leaning over in her seat and saying "oooh" at things that caught her attention. We took her on "Snow White's Scary Adventures" and in retrospect, the third word in the name should have tipped us off that she wouldn't like it. It was pretty dark and, well, scary. She tried to climb up from her seat onto our shoulders to hide a couple of times, but she emerged unscathed, waving at the seven dwarves.

We also wanted her to meet her buddies Minnie and Mickey in person, since she loves them so much whenever she gets to see them on television and books. After she cried at Santa, we weren't sure how she would react to them in the flesh. So we warmed her up with a visit to Pinnocchio first. We bought her a little autograph book and a Minnie Mouse pen, and we got in line when we saw him. She walked right up to him, did a lap around to inspect him, and then she came closer and patted him on the knee, grinning. Success! So we were off to brave the 45 minute line for her to meet the mice.







When we got to the Minnie and Mickey on-deck circle, we were a little wary again because the much older child in line right in front of us had a meltdown when he got right up to them. But when it was our turn, Ava just turned on the smiles and the charm. She high-fived Mickey right off the bat, and gave Minnie a hug and a pat on the nose. She was all grins and giggles, and she even sat alone with them (with her little arm around Minnie) for us to take her picture. When she was done with the visit and we walked away, our munchkin was busy giving the pageant/princess wave to everybody still waiting in line, as though they had come to see her. As we were on our way out of the park, we stopped in at the "Chapeau" so Ava could get her first pair of mouse ears.









We powered through the day without a single nap, so Ava was pretty exhausted by the time late afternoon rolled around. The next day we made our way to the ESPN complex so Tam could pick up her registration packet and number for the half-marathon that she was running the next day. Afterwards we got to enjoy the hotel amenities a bit, and grabbed a nice dinner and an early bedtime, since the race started so early. The next day, Tam completed the race with a very respectable finish time, and Ava helped her do a little victory dance. We enjoyed some more time with friends who came down from Tennessee to run in the race as well, and we packed up and headed home.

Some other highlights of the trip for Ava were the discovery of Rice Krispy treats shaped like Mickey Mouse, some splashing around in the hotel pool, and the as-big-as-she-is stuffed Minnie Mouse that our friends brought her for her birthday.

A birthday in three parts - we won't necessarily go so big for some of Ava's future birthday's, but turning one is a big deal, and we wanted to celebrate big with her. She loved every bit of it, and we loved doing it all with her. I hope she can look back on the pictures and these blog entries when she gets older, and get a sense of just how much we love her and enjoy her company.

Ava's Birthday (part 2)

Our last post chronicled the events of Ava's birthday party, which was actually held on the 19th. Her birthday proper was on the following Tuesday, and since Tam already had the day off, I took it off as well so we could spend a nice day quietly celebrating the day with our sweet girl. Aside from us singing "happy birthday" to her as we came in the nursery after she woke up, it was a fairly routine morning for her. But after her morning nap, we got her dressed and took her to the Butterfly Rainforest at the Museum of Natural History. She had been once before with her Auntie Jen, but being a little older this time, she was a bit more alert and observant of all the butterflies. It was not just the butterflies that caught her attention, though. She saw plenty before we even reached that exhibit.



We started off with some lunch at the cafeteria at the Harn Museum next door. We had the place to ourselves, and Ava strutted around as if she owned the place. She found a lovely set of stairs just outside the cafe, and climbed them (supervised) up to the exhibit hall of the art museum.





Afterwards, we went into the nature museum and she oooohed at the skeleton of the wooly mammoth. She tried to sneak past the railing for a closer look, but security busted her for being shoeless first. So we put her shoes back on and she moseyed over to the Florida Cowboys exhibit, stopping to moo at a stuffed cow on the way.

She looked all around at the butterflies, and reached as close as we would let her to them. She waved at some little finches that live in the rain forest enclosure, and she picked up fallen leaves with delight. We probably spent a half hour or so with the butterflies before we moved on to a few more exhibits.



Our next stop was across the street at the UF Hilton, where we took Baby Girl for a little birthday portrait session under the beautiful live oak on their property. We brought her new rocking horse with her, and she hammed it up for the camera, as you can see.




Our last stop in Ava's birthday adventure was an early dinner at Yamato. We sat at a grill table, and Ava clapped and oohed and aahed at the show our chef put on. She liked the flames at the beginning, and especially the little onion volcano that he made. She got to have a few little bites of our dinner, and then it was back home, to her birthday cupcake.



Remembering the fun she had with her smash cake, we put her in her high chair in just her diaper, lit a candle, and sang happy birthday to her one more time. I think she would have eaten the entire cupcake if we had let her, but we stopped her about halfway through and got her cleaned up for bed. I hope she had as much fun with us that day as we did with her. We decided to start a tradition of taking her birthday off from work each year so we can have a special day with her on her actual birthday.

Ava's birthday (part 1)

Any of you who have known Tam for any length of time know that she is, at heart, a planner. So it should come as no surprise that as Ava's first birthday was approaching, ideas for her 1st birthday party were tossed around, discussed, built upon, discarded, reconsidered, etc. She was born on Feb 22nd, so naturally this planning began somewhere around the middle of March.

I'm exaggerating a bit, but not by much. Realistically, we started planning baby girl's party in November. There were lots of good ideas, and we went with something that fit Ava's personality - "Ava's Sweet Shoppe." Tam scoured the internet for crafty design ideas, and she found a lot of really fun things we could do to decorate and make it a lot of fun for Ava while also being fun for our guests. With these decor ideas came a lot of craft work. The projects included banners, big lollipops to put up along the walkway, lots of apothecary jars for a good candy assortment, goodie bags for our guests to fill with said candy, Dum Dum topiaries, Ava's highchair skirt, and working on our big gift for her.

We felt like we got a nice jump on things, beginning projects towards the beginning of January. We worked on things in the evenings and on weekends, getting a little done here and a little done there. We used our garage as a storage space and workshop so we could have a place to leave projects out as they were in progress.

Tam found a freelance designer on Etsy.com who put together a graphics package that we printed, cut out, and assembled into her banners, signs, labels, tags, party hat, etc. We painted, glued, and wrapped styrofoam plates to make big lollipops. We scoured Target, TJ Maxx, Pier One, and other stores for an assortment of apothecary jars. We shopped for a mix of classic old-fashioned candy for the sweet shoppe. We toiled for HOURS making the Dum Dum topiaries (this alone called for plant pots, spraypaint, styrofoam balls, dowel rods, acrylic paint and a 40-lb bag of concrete). We worked for hours sanding, priming, and painting Ava's rocking horse, which was originally built by Ava's great-grandfather.

Of course, no matter how big a headstart we feel like we get, the last minute always comes and brings a mad scramble to finish projects. True to form, we were up until midnight the two or three evenings before the party, but it was worth all the hard work, because our sweet girl certainly seemed to be enthralled by the decorations. She gave plenty of "ooohhh's" and pointed at and reached for the banners, balloons, candy, and cupcakes.



After all the planning and all the work, the party was fantastic. We've said it before, but we feel so lucky and blessed to have so many friends and family who care about our little girl. She had around 40 people come to help us celebrate her first year, and she really knew that everybody was there for her, so she was hamming it up as usual. She had a great time playing with the big kids, playing with her buddies, opening up presents, and smashing/eating her birthday cake.





We can't believe a year has gone by already. Our baby girl has gone from a fragile little swaddled-up munchkin to a walking, babbling, sassy little toddler. It's been amazing to watch and take part in, and as difficult as it has been at times, having her is the best thing that we have ever done. Happy birthday, Ava. We love you.

Viva Las Vegas!

The holidays are behind us now, and the first big thing on Michael's radar at work for 2011 was his company's annual national sales meeting. It was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas this year (at the Venetian resort), and being big Vegas fans, we decided to make it a family trip. So he wouldn't miss all the fun, we figured we would fly out a day before the meeting and stay an extra day afterwards.

Ava has flown a few times now, but we were a little worried about how she would handle the nonstop flight to Vegas. She was her usual charming self the whole flight, though, babbling with all the surrounding passengers and even taking a stroll up and down the aisle with daddy a few times.

We arrived at the hotel easily, and found our room to be spectacular. It was on the 43rd floor of the Palazzo, with a view overlooking the Wynn and the mountains in the distance. We had just enough time to freshen up before we raced to the theatre to see Phantom of the Opera! We didn't purchase tickets in advance for fear we would be delayed and miss the show. It didn't matter. The show was spectacular and there was not a bad seat in the house. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip!

Ava transitioned to the time change quite quickly- which made us nervous for our return trip home. Our first morning in Vegas we made the trek to Mr. Lucky's at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. On previous trips to Vegas this was our "must dine" spot for breakfast...at various hours of the night. They had a fabulous cinnabon french toast platter that was delicious! Unfortunately, they took it off the menu along with a few other of our favorite items. We were disappointed but made the best of it with blueberry pancakes. Ava didn't seem to mind. Fresh blueberries taste the same at Mr. Lucky's or at home. Check out Ava's rockin' Aerosmith onesie and faded denim. She totally rocks!





After dropping Baby girl off at the hotel for a much needed nap, we headed for the blackjack tables! Another highlight of our trip was not losing our shirts to the casino. Tam loves to play blackjack and has brilliant strategy that usually allows her to play for long periods of time...usually. It doesn't hurt that we usually head to the Sahara - the oldest casino on the strip - where they have $1 tables. A string of bad hands there doesn't hurt as bad as at the $25 tables.

All too soon it was time to head back to the Venetian so Michael could report in to start his role in the setup for the sales meeting.

The next two days we barely even saw Michael as he had to be downstairs at the conference center from 6:00 am until 9:00 Friday night and 11:00 Saturday night.

Tam and Ava and Auntie Em were on their own for two solid days. Let's just say that two days in Vegas on the best of trips can be a long time. And two days anywhere with Auntie Em can be even longer still. Put the two together and you end up with tired Tam, cranky baby, and lots of horribly composed blurry pictures of them courtesy of Auntie Em's photographic "skills."

Baby girl and Auntie Em hung out in the room while Tam and Michael headed out to do a little shopping, exploring, gambling, etc. We made it back to the hotel in time to get ready and head to dinner at BB King's, at the Mirage. We had plans to possibly catch Le Reve or Holly Madison's new "Peepshow," but our plans changed when Ava announced the beginning of something sinister...

Right when dinner arrived, baby girl went into a coughing fit. Tam took her away from the table just in time for her to barf up all of her previous bottle - all over Tam's sweater. (Somehow, Ava didn't get a drop of it on herself). We cleaned it up, took Ava outside so she could settle down, and then proceeded to eat quickly in shifts and head back to the hotel. It was a rough night, and you could tell Ava was not feeling well. She had a steam shower to help ease her cough, and we took shifts sitting up with her overnight holding her upright so she could breathe. She started running a fever of close to 101, so when morning came we were a little worried about flying home. Michael talked with our pediatrician and the pharmacist downstairs, and we all agreed that getting her home was the best thing to do.

Amazingly, Ava handled the flight home beautifully. We were worried it was going to be a 4-hour nightmare for us and everybody on the plane around us, but she was happy and well-behaved the whole time. Once we got back to the airport, you could tell that Auntie Em was getting sick too. Michael was feeling fine, though. He ended up staying healthy until Wednesday night, when he spiked a fever and entered the new phase of the plague that Tam had just entered. Luckily, Auntie Em was feeling better by Thursday so she came to help us take care of sick baby Ava while we were crashed in bed and useless.

I don't know how single parents do it. Being sick is miserable. Watching your child being sick is even worse, because sometimes you just can't do anything to make them feel better. Being sick while caring for a sick child - ugh. It was all we could do to help each other through it. And as we write this, Ava still has a little cough, but is almost back to normal. We are both pretty miserable though with horrible sinus congestion, but no fever anymore. We can't wait until this weekend when we can wipe down the entire house with disinfectant and get back to a normal routine again.

So viva Las Vegas, though the next trip to Vegas will just be for the grown-ups.

Ava Update:
Weight: Nearly 19 pounds
Clothes: 9-12 months
Shoe: size 4
Loves: Mickey Mouse, books, dancing and Da-Da!

Up next....Ava's First Birthday Extravaganza!

Merry Christmas Baby!!!

Ava’s first Christmas was wonderful! Christmas Eve we had a house full of guests to exchange gifts and celebrate Uncle Doug’s birthday. Even her Grandma Eula came to visit!

Everyone (except Granddaddy, Grandmommy and Goggie) eventually went home to carry out their own holiday traditions. At our house there was lots of cooking (mostly by Grandmommy), lots of eating and lots of ooh-ing and ahh-ing over Ava- which she enjoyed immensely! We watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey version) and chased Ava around the Christmas tree. She was very fascinated by all of the packages and their ribbons. She inspected each package closely and decided she liked the ones with curling ribbon best. She would stand next to the package with the ribbon extended and giggle. It was very precious to watch. The clever girl also discovered that she could push the smaller packages close to the larger packages and use them as steps to get to the tree! We eventually decided to remove any fragile gifts into another room.



We also started our own tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas to Ava before putting her to bed. Michael’s sister, Jennifer, gave us the book the Christmas before.


Christmas day was magical for all of us thanks to Ava! She was in no hurry to actually open presents and I don’t think we even started until nearly two o’clock! But once the wrappings were ripped there was no holding her back! She wanted to help everyone open their gifts. Grandmommy helped her inventory her very first stocking-, which included new spoons, a princess beanie and some other goodies.



Uncle Colin and Dianne arrived as we were opening gifts and Ava had to show them her Monkey Dance! Wish there was video to share with everyone but the only recording was not very well executed...

Our intentions were to have Ava hang out in her playard while we ate dinner. But Ava would have none of it! She wanted to sit with everyone else at the BIG table. So she did, on my lap, right at the center of the table. She also wanted to eat what we were eating. But not off of a “baby spoon”- no way! She wanted to eat from a fork- just like everyone else. And she did. She had sweet potatoes, cranberries and turkey from a fork and “chatted” with everyone at the table. It was very precious to watch, but also a little sad as I realized she is growing more and more and becoming less “baby-like” with each day.


Christmas night was another story. Gone were the “precious moments” to be replaced with exhaustion and aggravation as our little darling refused to go to sleep for the night! Gone were our hopes of a nice evening alone in front of the tree planning for the New Year. After rocking her for two hours she finally went to sleep a little after ten! By which time Mommy and Daddy were exhausted and just went to bed too. Of course she woke several times during the night requiring one (or sometimes both) of us to tend to her. The next day a much-needed discussion was had about how to address our darling baby’s sleep habits.

The Cry It Out Method:
I swore I would never do it because I didn’t want my baby to think I had abandoned her but after months of continuously interrupted sleep and most recently two nights of refusing to go to sleep I had to reconsider. So, on my way to work that Monday I re-read the Baby Sleep book our friend Lindy had given us and the Baby Manual that Daisy had lent to us and made a plan.

1. We would start a bedtime routine of bath, play, bottle and a book read by Daddy.
2. Then I would place Ava in her crib while she was sleepy but not asleep.
3. I make a mad dash to the shower at the other end of the house so I won’t hear her cry!
4. Michael times her crying and consoles without removing her from her crib at five minute intervals until she falls asleep.

I definitely think I got the better end of the deal! And guess what? IT WORKS!!! After only three nights Ava was not only able to get herself to sleep, but she also soothes herself when she wakes in the middle of the night- which happens less frequently now. For the past two weeks (knock wood) Ava has slept 10-12 hours a night virtually uninterrupted. It has been a very pleasant two weeks around the Johnson house!



Now we are gearing up for our trip to Las Vegas in January and Ava’s first birthday in February! Stay tuned….

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It has been a very busy holiday season for us! First we spent Thanksgiving with Goggie, Granddaddy, Grandmommy and our good friends Mike and Andrea. That week-end Ava also helped her Daddy put up and decorate the Christmas tree. On Sunday we took her to the mall to meet Santa. She now has an aversion to large men with beards.





Then Ava had her 9 month check-up...a little late.
Stats:
Weight 18lbs 6oz
Height 26.4inches
Weight for age- roughly the 25th percentile
Height for age- 10th percentile
So maybe her PNP's theory of tall and slim needs revision? Regardless, she is a very healthy, happy and beautiful baby!

Also this month we travelled to Orlando to visit with the Grinch at Grinchmas at Islands of Adventure. And this time Ava rode a ride and played in the parks playground! She liked the carousel but she loved the teeter-totter in Feivel's Playground!

Ava also had a playdate this month with her girlfriends, Ava, Ava, and Ariana! It's difficult to coordinate schedules where we can all be together at the same time. The girls exchanged gifts while the Mommy's ate bagels and chatted. It was a great time and we are so happy that Ava has made so many wonderful friends in her ten months!

Now for Ava's "Parlour Tricks": Ava has been very active the last few months. It seems she went from crawling to pulling herself up in just a couple of days. Then she quickly discovered how to "walk" while pushing her mail cart around the "Avahood." Finally, on December 20th, Ava took her first steps!!! She took a few more steps the next day but has returned to crawling for the moment. We think she's saving it up to show off for Granddaddy and Grandmommy.

Ava also likes to do things her way (wonder where she gets that from?) For example, she insists on crawling over everything instead of around them. Sometimes she even knocks them over just so she can crawl over them.

Ooh, and we almost forgot! Ava is learning to sign! She now signs more, all done, baby, sleepy, mommy and daddy. She claps when singing "If you're happy and you know it" and she can quickly locate her head for "Head, shoulders, knees and toes." She says "Dada" and "book" with a soft k. She also makes a noise that we're convinced sounds like "giraffe."

We have started a Johnson family tradition by visiting the Festival of Lights just outside the city. Ava loves Christmas lights! We strolled around the park and listened to carollers. We met Santa for some last minute gift requests and suggestions. We drank hot cocoa with mint and roasted a marshmallow around the large bonfire. It was a great night!



Now, we are preparing for family and friends to arrive and celebrate Ava's first Christmas!


Merry Christmas Everyone!