She climbed out of her crib! (13 months)

So I heard Ava babbling when she woke up from her nap, but I was talking to Grandma Lotzer on the phone so I was going to wait awhile before I got her. About 5 minutes passed and then I decided to go upstairs to get her. Imagine my surprise when I met her at the top of the stairs WALKING out of her room with her teddy bear in her hand! I was completely dumbfounded! She has been climbing on everything like crazy lately, but out of her crib? And there wasn't a crash/bump/crying or anything. All I could do was laugh at the whole thing. Thank God I went up there when I did, though, because I didn't have the upstairs gate locked. This is a whole new ballgame!

We did discover that the crib wasn't at its lowest setting...we promptly fixed that and she hasn't crawled out again (yet).

12 Month Stats

18 lbs, 14 oz (1oth percentile)
29.5 inches (60th percentile)

Ava went back to the doctor at 13 months for her second flu shot and tipped the scales at 20 lbs even.

9 Month Stats

16 lbs, 6 oz (10th percentile)
27.5 inches (40th percentile)

While we were in the waiting room for this appointment, Ava cruised along furniture for the first time. She walked along the row of chairs and was so pleased with herself!

Blah Blah Blah...

Well, Ava is making more and more noises...and at 9 months has quite an extensive vocabulary. Her application to Harvard is pending.

She can say:
ba ba ba ba ba ba
da da da da da da
la la la la la la la la
ma ma ma ma ma ma (YAY!)
pbbt pbbt pbbt pbbt
hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi

At this point, they are all just sounds. We haven't observed that she relates these noises to anything in particular, although "da da" and "ma ma" seem pretty close. At least that's our story.

First Teeth

Well...it's finally here! Ava's first tooth made it's grand entrance on Tuesday, July 25th. It arrived with little fanfare, as Ava didn't behave any differently in the days prior. In fact, Ava's sitter Vicki pointed it out to me when I came to pick up Ava that afternoon. Could our little girl really be immune to the ill effects of teething? Not so fast...four days later, Ava was not herself. She was feverish, she barely slept during the day, she was whiny, she wanted to cuddle. It was a long, long day. Lo and behold, the next morning--Sunday, July 30th--Ava's second tooth popped out. They are still just little nubs, they are razor sharp, and they already make my sweet baby look less like a baby and more like a little girl. A new chapter unfolds...

We're Crawling! 7 months, 1 day

Ava made her crawling debut on June 11, 2006 at Grandma Di's house! Her motivation? Trying to get to a magazine.

6 Month Stats

14 lbs, 12 oz (25th percentile)
27.5 inches (90th percentile)

Ava is 5 months old!

Wow! Ava is 5 months old...where has the time gone?
Let's see...what is Ava doing now? She still loves to jam her fists in her mouth, and anything else she can fit in there. Now that she's a bit taller, she's becoming a lot more interested in her exersaucer and can stay pretty entertained for quite a while. The gym is still a big favorite as well...one minute she's on her back, giggling happily at her lights and hanging toys and the next minute she's on her tummy! Yep, she's rolling over like a pro these days. She's talking a lot and laughing a lot more. Things that make her laugh? Her bee toy, blowing rasberries on her naked tummy, looking at herself in the mirror, and playing peek-a-boo.
Since my last entry she has been in her own room and her own crib every night and for most naps. We are getting more sleep now that we're not waking up with every baby noise. She is able to soothe herself back to sleep sometimes when she wakes up, but she still freaks out when she comes unswaddled. We are trying to wean her of this, but so far we haven't had much luck. We may just have to go cold turkey and suffer a few sleepless nights in the process...that doesn't sound all that appealing either.

Ava is 4 months old!

It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed...and that our little punkin is 4 months old already. She had her 4-month doctor appointment on Friday, March 10th. She tipped the scales at 13 lbs, 8 oz and measured 25 1/2 inches long (this is up from 6 lbs, 7 oz and 19 inches at birth). The shots were horrible, although I'm still not sure if they were harder on Ava or Mom. She went into a near comatose state for about 24 hours afterwards and then became a little fussy-pants over the next few nights. We're still not sure if it was a reaction to the shots or if it had more to do with our attempt to trasition her into her own room at night...at any rate, she is back in our room. Ava's next doctor appointment will be in another 2 months.

Week 19 (3/20/06)

WEEK 19...(3/20/06) Ava's favorite new toy is her fist. She loves to jam it in her mouth and doesn't seem to have a preference over the left or the right. She is still a spitter and is in a bib 24/7. She is also becoming harder and harder to swaddle for naps and nighttime, due to her size. However, she still seems to need this comfort in order to sleep for extended periods. In fact, she isn't waking up at night to eat anymore, but does wake up with flailing arms coming out of her blanket. But, she falls back asleep within minutes once we get her wrapped up tight again. Otherwise, she still loves playing in her gym, holding and sucking her caterpillar, and is getting more use out of her exersaucer. She smiles a lot, but doesn't laugh much yet. She still doesn't really roll over regularly, but has done it before.

4 Month Stats

13 lbs, 8 oz (50th percentile)
25.5 inches (75th percentile)

2 Month Stats

10 lbs, 8 oz
23 inches

From Ava: I was wide awake! I kicked my arms and legs around while on the table and was very alert when Dr. Lockhart examined me. I didn't like the shots, though! My face turned bright red and I cried really hard. Mommy cried a little too. Daddy held my legs down for the nurse.