Ava's 6 Month Update

Believe it or not, Ava turned 6 months on March 20th. I know, I'm still in denial that 6 months have already gone by.  I feel like this month has been a big one - she has learned and grown so much.

 Here she is with her daddy at her 6 month check-up.  She is perfectly healthy and developing right on track.  Here are her stats: She weighs 16lbs 7 ounces and is in the 60th percentile. Her height is in the 80th percentile and her head circumference in the 70th.  

 Remember how her head is in the 70th percentile?  Well, this is a dress we bought for her last summer in Mexico and when I pulled out her 6 month sized clothes I thought we should try it on.  Yeah, no chance it was going over that big noggin of hers!

Maybe this picture seems a little strange, but I just had to take a picture of her back rolls!  Seriously, how adorable is that?  We love our little chubby baby!

Ava is now eating solid food - well, let's be honest, semi-solid.  She actually has done really well.  This is a video of her first bites of rice cereal.

Other updates include Ava being able to sit up on her own (which she LOVES) and she now has two teeth.  We were wondering why she all of a sudden started waking up screaming in the middle of the night, but on Friday, March 25th a little tooth popped through on her bottom gum and then yesterday, April 8th another one right next to it came through.  Hopefully we get a little break with the teething now so we can get more sleep!

Ava is such a happy baby and we just love making her giggle and smile! 

St. Patty's Day - Chicago Style

For our St. Patty's Day festivities this year we decided to go to Chicago with our friends the Stones.  We headed up there on Saturday, March 12th.  We drove part of the way and then got on a train that took us into downtown Chicago which was nice so we didn't have to deal with driving in the chaotic downtown area or pay like $40 to park all day. (We were without a camera for this trip, so most of the pictures of the day are from Dan and Becca.)

Becca and Scarlett with the friendly train conductor

To start out the day we headed to the Art Institute of Chicago.  I have always wanted to go there ever since I have lived in Illinois and I finally got to go!  Drew was not as excited as I was but, like always, he was a good sport and tried to act interested.  Let me just tell you, the museum did not disappoint!  It is filled with some very famous artwork, including pieces by Picasso, Monet, and Van Gogh.  It was so impressive to see these masterpieces in person!   

 I think this was my favorite painting, but it's hard to say for sure.  There were just so many!  It's called "A Sunday on La Grande Jatee" by Georges Seurat.  It's HUGE (6ft x 10ft) and the detail is incredible!

American Gothic by Grant Wood was Drew's favorite

Drew and I in front of a famous Buddha statue

Becca and Dean and Ava and I in front of Chagall's stained glass windows

In case you didn't know, the Chicago river is dyed green every year for the week leading up to St. Patrick's Day, and not just a little bit green, we're talking BRIGHT green.  It's pretty impressive.  After the Art Institute we walked up Michigan Ave and took some pictures on the bridge over the river.

Little Ava was such a trooper even though it was so very cold!

After seeing the river we found a little lounge area at a mall and warmed up and fed the babies.  It was a nice little rest and Dan took some great pictures while we were there.

 Ava couldn't keep her hands off Dean

 Dean wasn't overly thrilled with the affection

Let's just talk about how great this picture is.  Maybe I'm a little biased because it's of my two favorite people in the world, but come on!  Precious!

After our break we walked to the Grand Lux Cafe and had some very yummy dinner including the best dessert in the world - a red velvet cake that Becca ordered that was to DIE for!  If you are ever in the Chicago area and are in need of a good treat, I highly recommend it!

(We had to eat our desserts on the train ride home because we were running a little late)

We had such a great day and now feel like true Illinois residents because we've seen the green Chicago River.  Special thanks to Dan (who I realized we didn't get a picture of) for being our photographer!

A Week in Utah

March 2nd - 9th Ava and I were able to go out to Utah to visit my family and meet my brand new niece, Laurel.  It was a great trip filled with family and fun.  Here are a few pictures of the good times.

When we got there on Wednesday my sister-in-law Kori and her three kids, my sister Michelle and her daughter, and my parents and Ava and I drove to Midway to see the ice castles there.  It was pretty impressive to see what can be created out of ice.  The kids LOVED it to say the least!

Harris (sneaking in on the left), Jetta, Lily and Grant under a MAMMOTH ice castle.  The sculptures were starting to melt so you got a shower if you stood under them!

My sister Michelle (doesn't she look FABULOUS for being 2 days away from giving birth?) and her daughter Jetta

My cute nephew Grant and I in a little ice "window"

My mom and four of her grandkids

Lily and Jetta are the cutest little friends

Kori and her kids

My Dad and Ava all bundled up

My nieces and nephews absolutely adore Ava.  They were always giving her hugs and kisses, tickling her and asking to hold her. 

On March 4th, 2011 Laurel Ann Barber entered this world at 11:45am.  She weighed 8 lbs. 6 ounces and is perfectly healthy and beautiful.  I was able to babysit Jetta while Michelle was in the hospital and we had a blast.  It was really neat to get to take Jetta to the hospital to meet her baby sister for the first time. 

The whole Barber Family

Michelle took this picture (gotta give credit where credit is due) when Laurel was 4 days old. 

Isn't she perfect?

I had to include this picture to show that I have somewhat successfully completed something crafty and domestic.  I just LOVE the booties that my friend knitted for Ava so I thought it would be nice to make some for Michelle's baby.  I've never knitted  in my life but I did learn to crochet way back in the day so I thought it couldn't be THAT hard, right?  Wrong.  I found a pattern online that was labled "easy/beginner" and bought my supplies.  I had no idea what I was getting into.  Let's just say that after several attempts at following the pattern I just made it up and I ended up getting a left bootie when I followed the right pattern and vice-versa.  Needless to say the booties turned out a bit wonky but as you can see in the above picture, they do fit on a baby's foot and for that I will call my newfound craftyness a success!

On Saturday I left Ava with my mom and went on a hike with my brother, Dallin and my Dad.  We hiked up Adam's Canyon which is only about a 2 minute drive from my parents' house. 

Me and my "little" bro

My amazing hiker-dad.  This man seriously goes on 2-3 hikes per week, year round!  He has such a love for nature and has taught me so much about enjoying God's beautiful creations.  Needless to say I was working hard to keep up with him! 

The trail basically follows a river up the mountain until you get to this waterfall at the top.  It is sooooo worth the sweat to get up there!  I've hiked this trail at least a dozen times but I never get tired of it.  

The three mighty hikers 

Me and my Daddy-O

The Barber Family stopped by my parents' house on the way home from the hospital on Sunday - very brave! 

Little Laurel was an instant celebrity - of course

My nieces and nephews adore my little brother Austin.  When he's around he's pretty much always surrounded by little kids!

On Tuesday night we had a little pizza party at Michelle's house. 

Grant and Jetta holding Ava

My Mom bought all of the grandkids matching orange shirts and so we just had to take a picture with them all together.  Getting 6 kids ages 5 and under to sit still, put their hands in their laps, smile, AND look at the camera turned out to be an impossible task but we did get a few cute shots.  I sure do love these kiddos!

We had a beautiful snow storm while we were there.  My parents' house is surrounded by trees and they were so beautiful that I just had to take a picture or two.

It was such a fun week and I was once again reminded of how grateful I am for such a great family.  I sure do love spending time with them - they're just so darn much fun!  Even though we had such a wonderful time, after a week of being away we were pretty excited to get back home to see Drew!  Until next time Utah!