Baby book

Over the holiday break, I found my baby book!

This cute, slightly tattered, well-loved, carefully written-in yellow baby book.

I had seen this baby book before...

but I had never appreciated it the way I do now that I have my own baby.

I am SO glad that my sweet mom took the time to write down the things that she did.

She wrote down how much I ate and how much I slept.

She wrote cute things and she wrote down frustrations she had with me.

She glued in pictures and cards, recorded measurements and even had the copy of the positive pregnancy test she took home from the doctor's office. :)

It was the closest to insight and baby advice that I will get from my mom.

It was refreshing and SO needed.

I just soaked in every single word.

Then I realized...

I never bought a baby book for Ava. 

Fail...I thought to myself.

I couldn't go out and buy one now...

I wouldn't be able to remember all those things from the last 3 months. 

My grandma reassured me...
"But think of your blog! 

All these things your mom wrote down in this little baby book...

you've written on your blog!"

Then she reminded me of websites that will print out your blog, pictures and all.

And voila! 

I have myself a baby book. 

And someday, maybe Ava will appreciate it as much as I appreciate my own.

SO, on that note... :)

I'm going to write about Ava's sleeping habits, because I want to remember this.

She still sleeps most of the day...

which bums me out sometimes because I just want to play and play. :)

We always start her "nighttime routine" at 9pm. 

Bath, baby massage, bottle, books, wrap her up and sing lullabies 

and she it out like a trout by 9:30 at the latest. 

Then, she usually wakes up to eat for 5 minutes around 4:00 or 5:00 and goes right back to sleep

...then again 3 hours later, goes right back to sleep

...and then wakes up for good at 10am. 

So, all in all...she usually sleeps about 12 hours at night with 2 feedings in between. 

Once 10am rolls around, she is happy and smiley and she loves to laugh.

At 11:00 almost on the dot...I'm not even exaggerating...she is ready for her morning nap.

And she usually sleeps for 1.5 - 2 hours. 

After that nap, she is awake for about another hour

and takes another nap at 2:00, sleeping for 1.5 - 2 hours again.

Then, she takes her final nap around 5:00 and sleeps for another 1.5 - 2 hours.

And then the bedtime routine starts all over again at 9:00.

I was thinking yesterday just how few hours she is awake during the day. 

An hour or so in between her naps...

Really, only about 5 or 6 hours out of the day are spent awake.

Geez, the girl must be growing or something. :)

Anyway, here is a little video right before bath time tonight. 

Bryson and I always switch off...

one of us bathes her and the other one dresses her in her PJs after.

Tonight was Bryson's turn to bathe her.
So, Ava and I played on the webcam while he got the tub ready.

At about 1:15 into the video, listen for Bryson telling me the bath is ready haha. 

And if you are wondering why I put my finger in her mouth (haha), it's because, for some reason, she babbles like crazy anytime she puts anything in her mouth. 

So, if you listen closely, you can hear her talking a little bit. 

I discovered this when I was feeling her gums to see if she is getting teeth since she drools so much. 

(But would be a big fat no, thank goodness haha). 

And here are some pictures of my sweet, sweet baby girl. 

Ooohhh I could just squeeze those cheeks ALL DAY!

Hello, my name is Ashley and I'm an Ava-holic!

I'm obsessed! :)