Sweet smiles

All good things must come to an end.

Well today is the last day of maternity leave. I've loved maternity leave but I also am looking forward to getting back in the swing at work as I am returning on a part time basis. I've missed the staff there and that part of me but these first few weeks are sure going to be harder than I thought many months ago. So lots of mixed feelings as we approach this transition.



She is also exactly 12 weeks old today which means she has graduated from newborn status to being a full fledged infant! I heard the 12 week mark would be significant and life would return to some normalcy and routine. Its pretty true in our case, she's been a pretty descent sleeper all along but in the last week she is going to sleep a bit earlier and sleeping longer. She also smiles and coos so much now! She loves bath time, I am excited that I think we have a water baby on our hands which will suite me just fine! Her skin still has a dark complexion to it so she looks so pretty in so many different colors. I love getting her dressed in the mornings. On Saturday while I was at the grocery store her dad got her dressed and I was impressed to fine he matched her socks to her outfit! If your ever wondering how old she is, watch the evening news, she was born the day of the BP explosion so whatever day we are on on the oil spill is how old she is!



Here's some random pics of her for my faithful out of town readers who are always wanting to see what she's up too, couldn't leave you hanging with a post with no pictures:

Cousins

Anyone that knows me knows that I absolutely love and adore my little nieces Chloe and Allie. I was there when they were both born and have been blessed to get to be a part of their life in the way I do. I was so excited for them to meet Ava. They had been asking for a baby cousin to play with for a while so I was really excited to share our baby news with them, they eagerly awaited her arrival always wondering why my belly wasn't getting bigger faster. They are so sweet to her, they want to hold her, help me change her and talk to her. I have lots of fond memories of my cousins throughout my growing up years but never did I get to live in the same town as them so I am super excited we get to live so close to Ava's cousins. Ava smiles when see's me and her dad's face now and when we were visiting with family the other day there were several extended family members looking at her and talking to her. Ava heard Chloe's voice slightly behind her and searched to find her face and then gave a huge grin, it melted my heart!

Happy 4th!

Ava's first fourth!

Hope you and yours enjoyed the holiday like us! good food and good friends which was what makes this one of my favorite holidays!

Ava meets her uncle Matt.

Last weekend Ava got to meet her uncle Matt. He recently moved to California after being offered a great job that couldn't be passed up. We originally thought he wouldn't get to make it back this way till thanksgiving but luckily he had to go to Dallas on business so he worked out a stop here to see Ava. (Aunt Lori got to come see Ava on her way out to California to join him after finishing her semester of teaching). So glad he got to see her while she's still a tiny tot!


I really hope Ava gets to have a brother and a sister someday (not someday soon but someday). The love and bond that comes with sibling relationships is so different from any other, their a part of you in a deeply connected way that is such blessing that I really want Ava to experience too!

Read any good books lately?

I realize I haven't put any book reviews on here as of late so thought I would update you on a few books our book club read over the past few months and Its my turn soon to pick the book for my book club so please let me know of any good books you've read lately.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter Sweet: This was a pretty average read, I didn't find myself turning the pages just wanting to know what happens with this story. The main character is pretty lovable, covers world war II time frame, which I like reading fictional stories set in real historical settings. It goes back and forth between current day and his childhood. Books that go back and forth like that have to be exceptionally well done usually as the reader I find myself interested in one story line rather than the other. So I give this one an average rating of 5 out of 10.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: This one was also a fictional story set in a real historical setting. This one was one of my favorites we've read! I stayed up many late nights when I just could put it down. It makes you thankful to be a women in our time and culture. I give this one a 9 out of 10.

Still Alice: Just finished this and read it in less than a week. Its a fictional story but very sad that it is many people's real life experience. The author has a PHD in nuero-science from Harvard and wrote this, her first novel about a women who has early on-set Alzheimer's and her experience with family, work, etc as it takes over her life. I give this one a 9 out of 10 also.

I just realized I'm not real loyal to reading the same author again and again most books I have loved are often people's first novel or book: Time Traveler's wife, Still Alice, comeback, Twilight...Sometimes you get it right the first time.

don't forget, I need book suggestions!

A pool day of firsts

Well Ava had her first dip in the pool this weekend at my parent's neighborhood pool. Its a pretty special pool for such an occasion as this. They didn't live in this neighborhood when I was growing up but I spent many summer days at this pool with Amy and Ryan and other family friends that lived in the neighborhood, its the pool I learned to swim in, took swim lessons in, did my first dive at and did swim for the heart at age 8 in which my dad mistakenly sponsored me per lap instead of a one time donation and I swam 75 lengths of the pool, they made me get out at the end when time was up, I would just casually swim on back and side and just kept going and going. My dad owed the red cross quite a bit of money, we still laugh about that. So this weekend it was fitting that Ava make her first pool trip here. She seemed to have a confused look on her face most of the time but was just perfectly content the whole time we were there. The water was nice and warm and at this time of day there was tons of shade so it was perfect! There's few places I'd rather be then pool side on a summer day, was nice to enjoy that with our baby girl. (I have a video but its not cooperating so here's some pics).

we started her off in the wading pool

Other firsts today, Chloe did her first flip off the diving board!

Then we went to the big pool to watch the Uncle Matt and the cousins on the diving board: