Ava meets Santa!

We had brunch Sunday morning at a special party where we were able to meet Santa and get a photo with him. Ava sat on Santa's lap and I told him what she wants for Christmas. Chris, Ava and I just happened to be seated right next to Santa's chair where we were completely entertained by the other children who were also there to meet him. Some were happy to see him, some were timid to be near him, but didn't want to miss the chance to let him know what they wanted for Christmas (I felt most "sorry" for this group of kiddos) and others were down right frightened! What an entertaining breakfast! I made sure to let Santa know that Ava has been a very good girl this entire year!

My cousin Knox

Knox Schroller is the oldest cousin Ava has and Ava is the youngest of all the cousins...until next August when Ava's cousin on the Hajdu side is born. Knox is 18 years old and about to go to college. He has been accepted and will most likely attend Baylor University in the Fall. Knox has five younger brother's and sisters and is very good at holding babies! He has the magic touch...as you can see from the photo of Ava staring and smiling at him. After these photos were taken, Ava fell asleep in his arms. Adorable!

Home wellness remedy

It's official...Ava is sick with a cold. This marks the first "official" sickness she has encountered her entire life. Last Wednesday Ava and I took a road trip to San Antonio to visit her cousins (the Schroller's) and both Elizabeth and Emily had colds. Neither of them could stop touching Ava because they love her so much. And...as life would have it...we brought the cold home with us. Two days after we returned to Austin, Ava was congested. We are sleeping on an incline, using saline solution and extracting what we can of her drainage. Poor baby...she hasn't skipped a beat. She is just as good natured as she always is...this cold hasn't set her back a step. Also, we read that a steam bath would help us help her drain the drainage. So...we ran the shower water as hot as it would go and I shut Chris and Ava in the bathroom. The photo you are looking at isn't a bad photo...it is of Chris and Ava standing in a hot, steamy bathroom.

Hands, fingers and toes...

Baby milestones are the cutest, sweetest things in life. Ava first began to chew on her fist and suck on her fingers before she realized she had hands...functional body parts! Once she realized that she had hands...she constantly stared at the right one. She has long, feminine, beautiful hands and she would admire the right one endlessly...until she figured out that she had another one just as nice on the left side of her body! She now uses them to grab toys. The next milestone was when she discovered her feet! She isn't quite where she grabs them on her own, but when we put them in her hands she laughs. When she is wearing her pink booties she really notices them and tries hard to grab them. She just doesn't have it ALL figured out yet.

Ava's first site of snow...in Austin, TX!

What I mean by "snow" is aka...slushy ice. Yep...the cold front blew in last night and brought freezing rain with it. Believe it or not we DID have snow flurries. Chris woke me up around midnight to check them out. This morning they were frozen to our deck. We showed them to Ava and she had no idea what she was looking at, but we took a photo to capture the moment!

Bathing in the bathroom sink

I hope that I always remember these days...when Ava is such a little girl. Sometimes I think that I can't wait for her to grown up and get to where she is walking and talking. I know that it is going to be so much fun to have a little person around the house to play with, talk to and teach new things. Then, at other times I hope that these days never end and can't imagine my baby girl not being a baby. At this age and weight Ava can still fit in the bathroom sink for her evening bath. She loves to see what is going on around her, opposed to laying down in the tub where she can't see anything. Sitting in the sink allows her to see and check out everything around her - even herself in the mirror!

Ava's first Thanksgiving!

Ava made it through her first Thanksgiving. We had such a fabulous time at her Papaw and Mer's house in Taft, TX...right outside of Corpus Christi where I grew up. Thanksgiving dinner was the most fabulous and scrumptious it has ever been...so was the red wine, desert and company. Ava met (pictured) her Uncle John (who hasn't held a baby in about 12 years!), Aunt Bridget and cousins Brooke and Johnny. That means...Ava only has three more Aunts to meet, three Uncles, and six Cousins! Whew...to date, Ava has met four Aunts, two Uncles, eight Cousins, four Grandparents, eleven second and two third Cousins and four Great Aunts and Uncles! Ava even has a first cousin that is due to arrive next year! Keep the family coming...Ava likes lots of love!