Ava O'Garrison...

On Monday, Ava was able to do something her Mommy will never be able to do...don 'Kiss Me...I'm Irish' flair. Since Matt's maternal side of the family is Irish, German, Dutch, and American Indian, Ava is allowed to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in full force. So, Ava's Aunt Casey thought it would be just the funniest thing to have little Miss Ava Bear in a 'Kiss Me...I'm Irish' onesie for St. Patrick's Day since she isn't quite the poster child for Ireland (aesthetically speaking). Her outfit did garner some funny looks from people while we ran errands that day, and it was all I could do to not laugh when people would do a double take when they read Ava's onesie and then looked at her face. I think they thought I was crazy. Had she been with Matt, they would have gotten it. I guess it's kinda like when Matt has Ava by himself and people think/ask if she's adopted (and then I appear and then they just smile in new-found understanding).

So, here is our little Miss Ava O'Garrison in her St. Patrick's Day flair..

Even though her Daddy wasn't here to celebrate the day with us, we made sure to celebrate it together by making St. Patrick's Day cupcakes. There was a recipe that I had been wanting to try, so we decided to use St. Patrick's Day as a vehicle to make it happen.

Well, the cupcakes were certainly homemade, as Ava and I got to make the batter, the caramel frosting, and the garnish from scratch (we dyed coconut green to use as a garnish to make them Irish in nature). Ava had a great time in the kitchen baking with me but she really loved icing the cupcakes the best. As you can see in the pictures, she was very helpful and very interested in the cupcakes...so much so that in the last picture as I was pressing the button on the camera to take her picture with the cupcakes we had just made, she stuck her fingers into the frosting of one of the cupcakes and proceeded to put her caramel frosting and green coconut garnish covered fingers into her mouth! Of course, I dropped the camera and frantically wiped her mouth out to make sure that she didn't swallow any of the coconut. What a goober!

Morning Girl

As much as Ava Holt likes to stay up at night, she really loves waking up in the mornings. Very rarely does she wake up crying or upset. Instead, we're usually awakened by a little voice that's just chirping and chattering away. I'm not a morning person and Matt really isn't one either, so we're not sure who she inheritied it from in the family. Anyhow, here is some footage of her from this past Monday (St. Patrick's Day) in her bed...

When we get Ava out of her bed, we are ALWAYS greeted with big eyes and a huge smile. She is so happy to see us, which makes both Matt's and my mornings so great. After getting out of bed, Ava's morning routine involves her getting to come into her Mommy and Daddy's bed to get unswaddled, to play, and to do a little chit chatting about what she wants to do that day. Her favorite day is Saturday when she gets to play with both Mommy and Daddy in their bed (during the week, Matt has usually already left for work before Ava's truly awake to play in bed).

Here are some fun pictures I took of Ava this past Monday morning (St. Patrick's Day). She was so happy and so excited to play in bed with me...

Ava's Big Girl Moment

Well, our little girl is starting to grow up. Technically, she's been growing up since the moment she was born, but in the last 2 months she's really been changing from a completely dependant infant into a co-dependant baby. Besides the need for nourishment, Ava doesn't need me for everything like she used to when her age was counted in weeks. Now, she can entertain herself with toys, her jumperoo, her playmat, or her swing and she's recently become somewhat mobile (she uses her arms and legs to scoot herself around on the floor--think low crawling military style).

On Sunday, Ava really had one of her first BIG girl moments and I was so thrilled to have the camera nearby to catch the moment in action.

Ava has had some 'digestion issues' since we returned from CO and I was starting to worry about her little colon and intestines. So, I gave her a bottle mixed with a little corn syrup to try to get her system back to normal. It had been a little while since we had last given her a bottle, so I wasn't sure how it would go over with her (she's either hot or cold with the bottle). Well, she was hot. However, she was only hot if I would let her HOLD HER OWN BOTTLE! So, I let her take the reigns and she held her own bottle by herself for the first time. In the past, she's always put her hands on her bottle but she was never able to hold it on her own. Now, she's strong enough and coordinated enough to do it.

I couldn't (and still can't) believe that she's able to hold her own bottle now. It kinda makes me sad, as it's proof that she's growing up on me. But, on the flip side, I'm also excited since it shows that she's learning and developing as she should. Like I've said before, there isn't a day that goes by that we aren't amazed by our little Miss Ava.

Here are some pictures of Ava's BIG girl moment...

Yum, Yum, Yum

Instead of the 'Very Hungry Caterpillar,' I have the 'Very Hungry Baby.' As you already know, Ava Holt L-O-V-E-S to pull her toys off her playmat. Well, she's now learned to pull off the big caterpillar that suspends from the top of the playmat (it's attached with two velcro straps). One of her new favorite pasttimes is to pull off all the toys that hang from the caterpillar (there's an orange butterfly and a 2-sided disc with pictures of a frog and a duckling on either side), pull the caterpillar down, and then gnaw on him. She just has the time of her life when she tries to eat him. Here are a few pictures of our Very Hungry Caterpillar Eater in action...

All Made Up

Ava Holt spit up in the bed while playing with Mommy last Tuesday, so I had to strip the bed and wash/change the sheets. Well, I had forgotten to turn on the dryer after I transferred the sheets to it (I blame the 'Mommynesia')...so when Matt got home, the bed was still unmade (oops!). Matt, being the kind and helpful person that he is volunteered to watch Ava and make up the bed while I made dinner. I think he mostly volunteered to play with Ava...hence the pictures of them playing peek-a-boo while making the bed above.

Well, about mid-way through my dinner preparation, I hadn't heard Ava in a while...and this is what I found when I walked into the bedroom...

So, as you can see--my baby got all made up in the bed. She LOVED it! She just giggled, talked, and flirted with her Daddy the whole time. They always have the best times together and it makes my heart melt watching them interact with one another...they've definitely got a special bond.

It's been quite a year...

Ava just loves her Daddy more than a fat kid likes cake. They have such a special bond and I love watching them play together. I'm very blessed to have not only a wonderful husband but also a phenomenal father and daddy to my daughter. I can't even begin to imagine not having Matt in my life to help rear and raise Ava..and seeing him as a Daddy to Ava fills my heart with so much happiness and a plethora of love. Ava will always be a Daddy's girl. She was HIS baby girl while she was in my womb, she was the light of HIS life the moment she was born, and every single day SHE is the reason HE can't wait to come home from work (or wake up each morning). That little girl will know nothing but love from us every moment of her life.

As much as we both love our Ava Bear, we do remember that she is our Creator's child first. God has blessed us to be the parents and spiritual guides to this remarkable little girl and it's our goal to get her to Heaven to be with Him one day. We've only known we were to be her parents a year ago today...and we are humbled by the fact that God has known about her and planned her being for a long time. Why God has blessed us so much, we have no idea...but each day we just try and savor as much of the magic of Ava as we can.

It's been an exciting and beautiful year and this time last year we never would have even imagined how incredible our lives would be today. I can still remember the who, what, when, where, why, and how's of the pregnancy tests both saying the word, "PREGNANT" as if it all happened yesterday. As shocked as we both were to find out that little Ava was growing inside me, we were even more excited to know that we would be parents. Ava is more than we ever imagined her to be and far more than we deserve.

Thank you for all your prayers, support, and love over the past year. We had some scares during that first trimester and we are so thankful for you taking us up before God in your prayers. God IS Good and He never fails to shower His children with love in the form of children of their own (whether biological, spiritual, or adopted!).

We are very blessed and we are definitely very loved.