The stats are in: Month 4

Today was Ava's 4 month "Well baby check-up."

We learned again that she is huge. haha

Here are her stats:

Weight: 16 lbs, 8.6 oz (95th percentile - weight for age; 25th percentile - weight for height)

Height: 26.5 inches (99.5th percentile)

Head circumference: 16.5 inches (75th percentile)

This means, if Ava was in a room with 100 girl babies her age, 

she would be taller than 99.5 of them and heavier than 95 of them. 

Only "half of a baby" would be taller than her. 

And only 5 babies would weigh more.

But, if she was in a room with 100 baby girls that were her same height, 

75 of them would weigh more than her. 

Are you following? haha 

She weighs more because she is SO tall for her age.

BUT taking her height into consideration, she is actually very thin (25th percentile). 

Long and lean. 

(Can you tell I like the charts, numbers and data - I just think it's all so interesting!)

She is destined for life in the back row and jeans that come in "long" sizes.

Don't worry, we look at this as a good thing. :)

See here.

16 pounds, 8.6 ounces. Oh my aching back. :)

On the table.

Ava's pediatrician was every impressed that Ava can stand up so well for 4 months. 

I didn't know that wasn't "normal" haha. 

Ava always wants to be standing up.

She also got 3 more shots. 

I was nervous because last time was so sad. 

This time was 100% better...I was shocked!

This time I got to told her on my lap while they gave her the shots and she cried for a very short time and then calmed down when I cuddled her right after. 

It's never fun to see her little blue eyes well up with tears. 

She was smiling and laughing with her Auntie on the way home and she fell asleep in her stroller as we ran a quick errand. 

Ava on the way home.

4 months!

Dear Ava,

Today you are 4 months old! How did we get to 4 months already? It's going by so fast! To me, it feels like yesterday we were singing "happy 2 months to you!"

Ava, you are the absolute joy of my life! You have brought me a new level of happiness that I can't even explain. I love you so much!

This month has definitely been the most...(hmm, how can I say this?)...confusing month so far. Up until 3 months, you were the champion sleeper! You slept 9-10 hours straight through at night and took great naps! Mommy never should have gotten used to that, or expected that to be normal haha. I don't know what changed - Maybe it has been a growth spurt? Maybe the month we spent travelling and the lack of routine, sporadic naps and constantly changing beds took a toll? Who knows. But ever since we got home from Christmas vacation, your nighttime sleeping has been consistently inconsistent. :) A couple nights this month, you woke up every 2 hours. Usually you sleeps 6 hours and then 3 hours at a time after that. 

You laugh! You had your first "belly laugh" with your daddy! He was just playing with you as usual, and all of a sudden you laughed! I was so shocked, I cried. Little girl, you have the most beautiful laugh. You don't laugh too often, but when you do, it. melts. hearts.

You talk up a storm constantly! I don't know who you are talking to or what you think you're saying, but you don’t just coo, you coo in elaborate paragraphs. We have long one-sided conversations. I can’t get a word in edgewise. When you get excited, you squeal and kick your legs!

You LOVE your daddy! One evening when he came home from work, you smiled so big, squealed in delight and started fervently flapping your legs and arms in hopes to swim through the air to get to him. No one can make you smile quite like your daddy. 

Everything goes into your mouth, and you like to put it there. You’ve gotten so good at holding objects and then shoving them into your mouth. You love toys, especially ones that play music and make noise.   You love going in your door bouncer and your Baby Einstein jumparoo. You could play forever in those! 

The day before you turned 4 months, you rolled for the first time from your back onto your tummy. We were SO proud of you! Auntie Kait was even there to see your new trick! We cheered and clapped. Daddy said this means he has to be extra careful now and never step away from the changing table when he's changing your diaper. :) 

You take 2-3 naps a day. Usually 2. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. You usually sleep for 2 hours during each nap. You still love white noise while you sleep. 

You are wearing size 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers. Pampers Swaddlers are our diaper of choice.

We have a lot of nicknames for you. I will admit I have come up with some very strange nicknames. They have all just randomly popped into my mind. I call you Monkey, Munchkin, Munch, Munchie Moo Moo, Chicken, Ava Lulu and Ava Soso. Your Daddy calls you Ava Bean. Grandpa Webster calls you Little Birdie and Aebleskivers. Your Auntie Kait calls you Little Lovers. Aunt Maddie calls you Boo Boos. Your Great Granny called you "Kay-Lu" before you were born, but now calls you Ava Lu. You know you're cute and well loved when you have many nicknames. :)

You love to be upside down. Whenever we lay you on our legs, you push your little head through our legs so you can hang upside down. You also like to lean over the armrest on the couch. Even when you are being fussy, as soon as we lean you over the armrest, you are instantly happy again! :) I think you are going to climb on and over everything once you can crawl and walk. 

We still swaddle you every night. Once or twice, I tried keeping one arm free and I watch as your arm moves endlessly, all over your face and even managing to take our your own pacifier. You just don't know what to do with those hands. SO, we stick to swaddling you. Someday you will learn to sleep swaddle-free, but for now we will keep wrapping you up like a little pink burrito. 


You are really good at standing up. And you are very close to being able to sit up on your own! You can sit by yourself for a little while before you topple over. 

Here you are at one month, two months, three months...

...and now at four months!

This picture makes me laugh. It makes me realize that you look almost like a completely different baby from one month to four months!

Ava, I lay awake at night sometimes and just think of how special you are to me. I hope you will always know how much I love you! You have brought so much happiness into our lives and we can't wait to see the little girl you become as you grow. 

Rolling 2.0

I was looking in my baby book tonight and realized again how thankful I am that my mom wrote down important milestones and dates during the first year of my life!

SO...

I'm writing this down just for the sake of documenting, and maybe one day Ava will appreciate it, too. :)

OR, maybe not. haha 

Tonight, Ava rolled from her back to her tummy all by herself!!

Thank GOODNESS Bryson and Kaitlyn were both there to witness it!

We were cheering and clapping and celebrating!

I was so excited!

And then...in the middle of my laughter and excitement, 

I noticed I had tears streaming down my face. 

Boo...

My baby girl is growing up! 

Before I know it, she will be mobile! 

I didn't take a video, but I'm hoping there will be many more of these "Rolls, version 2.0" to come.

Then, we can all clap and cheer and celebrate!

(And I promise next time, I won't cry...) :)

New lens

For my birthday and Christmas this year, both Bryson's family and my family pitched in and I was able to get a new lens for my camera!

Thank you everyone!!

When I got it, I realized that I have SO much to learn so I can go from just taking "OKAY" pictures to hopefully someday being able to take pictures that actually look good! :)

So I pulled out my camera's manuel again and scoured over each page 

(which is NOT easy to do because it's pretty boring haha) 

and read a lot of articles and "How To's" online. 

I am still lost in so many ways haha.
BUT...ultimately, the best way to learn is to PRACTICE.

So I took some pictures today of Ava and I was just experimenting with aperture and adjusting the shutter speed, setting the white balance and blah blah blah.

 It's hard to take pictures of babies - they are so wiggly! :)

Poor Ava...she will probably be my "guinea pig" for a maaaany years to come. :)

So these pictures are NOTHING special and not edited or anything, but Ava is too cute not to share. :)

Is this one of the first times you've seen Ava without a headband...? :)

A long way to go, a lot to learn.

 But good thing I have such a cute, cooperative subject to take pictures of. :)

Laughing

This was the CUTEST thing I've ever seen!

Bryson was playing with Ava and she was full on laughing. 

REAL laughing!

Please ignore how horrible I look at the end haha.

This was a couple days later...I was playing with Ava and for some reason, she thought it was funny. :)

Little baby velociraptor?

Ava is loud. 

She sounds like a little baby velociraptor.

(whatever that sounds like haha)

Maybe you will understand what I mean when you watch this video...

Chewing on my hands

This is what you can find Ava doing 95% of the time:

chewing on her hands and talking up a storm.

Both at the same time haha. 

And usually, she's LOUD!

We even found her doing this at 6:00 in the morning. 

Just laying in her crib, wide awake...talking and talking to herself.

(Thankfully she fell back asleep eventually)

At least she's waking up happy, right. :) 

She's a sweetie peetie!

This is a video I took of her while we were in the car waiting while Bryson ran into the post office to mail a package. 

Also, this is what my desktop background looks like. 

It's okay, you can call me obsessed and I won't be the least bit offended. 

Have I ever mentioned...

...how much I LOVE this baby?

Well in case you've missed it the million other times I've said it...

I love her A LOT!

A lot, A LOT!

I feel like I know SO many people who have had babies recently or who are about to have babies.

It makes me SO nostalgic! 

I get emotional just thinking that 16 weeks ago, we were in the hospital with brand new baby Ava. 

Seriously the most wonderful, life-changing day of my life. 

I told Bryson seeing new babies makes me want another baby.

He kind of laughed and rolled his eyes. 

"Obviously not right now..." I quickly assured him.

But it's amazing how having one baby and experiencing this greatest joy

makes me want more and more! 

I love being a mom!

I truly feel it is my divine role as a woman. 

I love what President Ezra Taft Benson said way back in 1987 (when I was 2 months old) :) ...

No more sacred word exists in secular or holy writ than that of mother. There is no more noble work than that of a good and God-fearing mother.

President David O. McKay declared: “Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

President McKay continues: “Motherhood consists of three principal attributes or qualities: namely, (1) the power to bear, (2) the ability to rear, (3) the gift to love. . . .

“This ability and willingness properly to rear children, the gift to love, and eagerness, yes, longing to express it in soul development, make motherhood the noblest office or calling in the world. She who can paint a masterpiece or write a book that will influence millions deserves the admiration and the plaudits of mankind; but she who rears successfully a family of healthy, beautiful sons and daughters, whose influence will be felt through generations to come, . . . deserves the highest honor that man can give, and the choicest blessings of God” ( Gospel Ideals, 452–54).

With all my heart I endorse the words of President McKay.

A Mother’s Role Is God-Ordained

In the eternal family, God established that fathers are to preside in the home. Fathers are to provide, to love, to teach, and to direct.

But a mother’s role is also God-ordained. Mothers are to conceive, to bear, to nourish, to love, and to train. So declare the revelations.

In section 132 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord states that the opportunity and responsibility of wives is “to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified” ( D&C 132:63 ).

Bryson said tonight how he loves being a dad even more than he thought he would. 

I always knew I would LOVE my baby

but I never understood how MUCH I would love her until she was here. 

Up All Night

Suddenly, I feel like Ava is a newborn all over again.
She was such a great sleeper up until 3 weeks ago or so. 

Suddenly, she wakes up 3 times through the night.

Hmmm...?

I really do want to know...why?

So tonight is our first night of "Sleep Training," where we put Ava to sleep "drowsy but awake."

We did our usual bedtime routine:

bath, PJs, bottle, book, song, prayer...

but this time instead of rocking her to sleep,
I just wrapped her up, laid her in her bed, turned on her mobile, kissed her little baby head and....

...and...

...walked out. 

:(

I was fully expecting her to cry right away. 

Instead she screamed. 

But not angry screaming.

HAPPY screaming. haha

Ava's "talking" lately has sounding more like screaming haha. 

She was just laying in her little bed, talking away...happy as a clam.

After about 5 minutes of this, she did start crying.
I let her cry for 3 minutes, went in and rubbed her head for a minute or two
and she fell asleep.

So now, she's out.
We'll see how the night goes.

Here's to a long night of sleep training.
Wish us luck.

We love San Francisco!

 Bryson and I decided to try to do something new in San Francisco every week. 

He is so good at finding cool places that we have never been before.

And I am really good at following him wherever he decides to go. haha

So last weekend, we drove across the Bay Bridge into the city, loaded up Ava in the Baby Bjorn and went to a park called Lands End. 

It was SO beautiful and it was probably one of the clearest days I have seen in the city. 

Not a cloud in the sky!

Perfect visibility.

We hiked along a trail for a while right on the edge of the cliffs on the water. 

It was BEAUTIFUL!

I didn't bring my nice camera, so thank you iPhone for always taking great pictures! 

After our little hike, we went to a GREAT place for lunch called The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen. We chowed down on a delicious grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup. I would highly recommend this place! It was great!

Ava was SO exhausted after exerting herself so much on the hike (while riding comfortably in the Baby Bjorn), she fell asleep literally sitting up in Bryson's lap. One minute she was all smiles and the next minute I looked over and she was slumped over, dead asleep. Sweet baby girl.

She slept the whole way home and 3 hours after we got home.

We definitely wore her out!

Later that night, I was at a baby store and I saw this book, "Good Night San Francisco" and just had to buy it!

Who knows how long we will stay in the Bay Area, we could be here forever...never know.

BUT...Ava is definitely our "San Francisco" baby and always will be. 

We moved here while I was pregnant with her, so I've been toting her around with me, seeing all the sights even while she was still in my belly! 

I just think this book is SO perfect, so she will always have a little piece of San Francisco wherever (if ever) we go. 

It really was a great day in the city!

Can't wait for our next adventure!

We have our air mattress ready and waiting for anyone who wants to come visit!

We can't wait for you to love San Francisco as much as we do!

She found her voice

(At the risk of embarrassing both myself AND Bryson...)

Lately, Bryson has been saying this a lot...
"She's finally found her voice, and she's not afraid to use it!"
(if you know where this quote is from...maybe you should be embarrassed too haha..jk)

Really though...Ava "talks" constantly.
She babbles while she's laying on the ground, while she's in her Bumbo,
while she's sitting on my lap, while she's in her bouncy chair.
She babbles in the bath, she babbles in her car seat.
And it even sounds like she is singing as I rock her to sleep.

This girl is going to be a talkative one, I can tell.

Here's a video of a little of Ava's baby babble tonight.
Notice how CHUNKY she is!!
I just LOVE me a chunky baby!

Another thing you can see her doing in the video is intertwining her fingers.
She loooooves to sit like this - with her fingers crossed together like that.
Cutie.

Something I ADORE about Ava is how smiley she is.
She is just the sweetest, happiest baby.
Every single time I smile at her, she smiles back...without fail.

Here's a little video of Bryson making Ava smile.
He was standing behind the camera.
She was SUPER fussy, right before bath and bed time...but still cute.

Also, today I found one of the cutest little onesie outfits that Bryson's aunt had given us for Ava.
It's a little Ralph Lauren polo outfit.
I think she looks adorable in it!

She is getting really good at sitting up with a little support.
Whenever she is sitting in her car seat or her bouncy chair, she does what look like little baby sit-ups because she is trying to sit up on her own.
She still needs support, but she's getting here.

Someday, baby girl...someday. :)
Don't grow up too fast. :)