Ava Elizabeth Birth Picture Montage

This is a video montage made from the pictures taken in the hospital from Ava's birth. My multi-talented sister took all of the amazing shots (don't worry, they are very well edited and there is nothing graphic. Believe me, I would NOT have even let her take that kind of picture, much less post them anywhere.) and she also put together the video for me. Thank you Kyla! So here is Ava's birth story in photos! (Just try not to cry, I dare you!) ;)

The Month of May (in cell phone pics)

1 month old! At Conner's 6th Birthday Party. It was a bit chilly that day and Ava rocked her little hat! (April 28)

Sister Love! (May 2)

Addison with her big girl french braids, playing with Snookie the cat at Nana's house. ( May 3)

Addison ready to tackle the day in her cute little Summer outfit! (May 4)

Sleepy little baby! (May 6)

This carrier is the best $20 I've ever spent! Ava loves it! This was the only way she would sleep that day! (May 7)

NC Primary. Addison ready to go to the polls to help her Daddy campaign for NC House Rep Julia Howard. (May 8)

Ava slept through it! (May 8)

 My freezer, full to the brim with breast milk! I came to the realization that we really need to get a deep freezer and soon! (May 9)

Our first morning at Myrtle Beach. I got up early to make coffee. It didn't exactly go as planned...I got coffee grounds everywhere while trying to open the new container of coffee. I was expecting to feel the sand between my toes, not coffee grounds! (May 14)

Love this!! My slow camera just missed them smiling at each other! (May 15)

Ava cooing at her Daddy! (May 15)

Addison was all ready to go out to the beach or to the pool to swim like a mermaid! (May 16)

The birthday girl in her new night gown from Tutti! (May 17)

We ate at Taco Bell before I took Addison to her 3 year doctor's appointment. She weighs 30.7 lbs (46th percentile) and is 35.5 inches tall (15th percentile). She's developing normally and is wonderfully healthy, doing exceptionally well in the verbal language development. Is anyone surprised there?? :) She had to get one shot, and thanks to our wonderful nurse, she did amazing. The nurse laid Addison down, gave the shot, put a band-aid on her, and stood her back up before Addison even knew what was happening. She cried for about a minute and then got to pick a prize out of the toy box (princess figurine) so all was fine again! I still can't believe I'm Mommy to a three-year-old! (May 22)

We spent the morning with Salem and Baby Kai! (May 24)

Salem and Addison found the Band-Aids while LeeAnn and I were chatting in the next room. Addison had about 10 Band-Aids on each leg and several on her belly, under her dress. Silly girls!(May 24)

Put 'em up! (May 25)

Kyla and sweet Ava at Mom's house. Addison is peeking around too! (May 26)

Pool party at Pat's after church! My beautiful girls got to wearing their adorable, matching, smocked dresses that Grandee made for them. They looked so adorable! (May 27)

Ava is 2 months old (plus one day)! Sweet Baby! This day marked one year since my Granny went to Heaven. I miss her so much! (May 29)

We went on a last-minute double date (plus Ava) with Kyla and her boyfriend, Sean. Enjoyed Cold Stone ice cream and then let the boys handle the sweet baby while Kyla and I looked around in Old Navy. Fun little date night in Salisbury! (May 30)

Ava was channeling her inner Gene Simmons (minus the black and white makeup)! :) (May 30)

Addison vs Ava at 2 months

Here are some pictures of Addison around 2 months old:

This is the best comparison I can get with their pictures. Addison is on the left and Ava on the right. I think they look a little alike, but not as much as I did at first. Addison has my coloring (pale skin, blue eyes and lighter hair) and Ava has Jordan's (darker skin, brown eyes and dark hair) but Addison's features are just like Jordan's and Ava's are more like mine. They are opposites. I think they share similar noses and lips and big cheeks. I know I'm super biased but I think they are both just BEAUTIFUL!

 

I don't have any really good pictures of Addison at this age smiling. She was apparently not as co-operative with posing for her pics as Miss Ava is.

I just love both my girls to pieces!

Ava is 2 months old!

I can't believe my baby is two months old already! She has grown so much! Here are her stats from her doctor's appointment:

Weight: 13 lbs 1 oz (91%)

Length: 23.25 inches (76%)

Head Circumference: 40 cm (76%) 

Ava is cooing and making lots of little noises and they are so precious!

Ava started smiling around 6 weeks and is such a happy, smile-y little baby now. She also started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks old (anywhere from 8 to 12 hours!!!) when she started sleeping in her crib all the way across the house in her nursery. She does better in the car now and doesn't scream as much while we are driving. We took Ava to the beach at 7 weeks for the first time and she loves to swim in the pool. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of her in her little swim suit or out on the beach (we spent more time shopping and napping than we did on the beach, but in our defense, it was slightly chilly and raining most of the time).

Addison still loves her baby "sissy" and is doing so good with her. She still gets a little jealous when certain people hold her baby and she'll tell them to "give her back to Mommy!" so that they can hold her instead!

Pregnant Friends

 

So I don't know if I mentioned before or not, but my co-worker and friend, Stacey, was also pregnant when I was.

In fact, we were only due two days apart (me on March 30 and Stacey on April 1) and both having little girls.

We joked the whole time that we would end up having the babies on the same day and that maybe we could share a hospital room and split the bill (unfortunately doesn't work that way)! :)

Well, while I was in the hospital and in labor, I got a text from my other co-workers saying that Stacey was on her way to the hospital because her water had broken! I was just in shock that we were actually going to be in labor at the same time and that there was a very big possibility that the girls would be born on the same day!

Well, amazingly, they did!

Ava came at 3:09 pm (8 lbs 4 oz) and Emily Grace came at 10:30 pm (7 lbs 4 oz).

I just thought that was too good a story not to share! It was so much fun to share the experience with someone that you get to see for 8 hours a day, everyday! And now we're getting to share the newborn and jealous toddler experiences together. Our girls will get to share a birthday each year and I think that is so much fun!

I was also pregnant at the same time as my friend LeeAnn with both Addison and Ava, just a few weeks apart.

Addison and Salem were born 3 weeks apart.

Ava and Sekaiah were born 5 weeks apart.

We also get to share lots of the same experiences with our kids and it's lots of fun!!

I'm so thankful for all of my friends (and their children) that are in the same place in their lives as I am and all of the fun times we share together!!

Addison's Beach Birthday

Addison had her 3rd birthday at the beach! She had such a fun time! She played in the water and sand (which she likes now "with her shoes off"), played "pup pup"(putt putt, which she loved. She abandoned the club after hole 3 and just threw the ball!), swam "like a mermaid" in the pools and chilled in the stroller while we hit up the outlets and shopped!

She opened presents that we brought along with us and loved them!

Addison got a free Happy Birthday doughnut (with sprinkles) from Krispy Kreme and wore the hat for a lot of the day.

Mom was drinking a fruit slushy and she dropped her cup. After if flipped in the air a few times, she caught it. On her thumb! Poked a hole right through the cup! It was quite funny!

Here's the Birthday Girl table! We had the condo decked out with tons of balloons and steamers. It was lots of fun for a little last-minute run to Walmart party! Addison enjoyed it!

Here are some videos from the party.

Happy 3rd Birthday to my Big Girl!! I love you Addison Kate!

Ava is 1 Month!

Ava is one month old! She is such a pretty little baby! I think she's going to be chunky just like her sister was! Here's her stats from her doctor's appointment:

Weight:10 lbs 11 oz (84%)

Length: 22.75 inches (89%)

Head Circumference: 39 cm (86%)

Ava is a mostly easy baby but definitely knows how to use her lungs! She screams a lot in her car seat while we're driving but settles down pretty easily once she gets what she wants (normally milk). 

Ava is very different than Addison there, because I can only remember Addison screaming the way that Ava does once, and it made my so upset that I cried hysterically also. I guess it's different with the second child because you know that they are okay even if they are screaming. She is sleeping in 3 to 4 hours increments, both during the day and at night, which is wonderful!

Addison loves her baby and has been very good with her! We've definitely had a big adjustment period. Addison went through a few weeks of being very whiny and defiant. Where she used to go to bed from naps or night time in about 10 minutes, it started to take around an hour to put her down. It was a hard adjustment for all of us and very trying for me while I was at home with both girls all day. Thankfully Addison has gotten back to sweet little self and is back to being a pretty easy toddler! :)

I love my girls so much and am so thankful for the two growing, thriving, healthy, and sweet children that God has given us!