Ava is Born!

We joyfully welcomed Ava Marie on September 12 at 4:39am.  She was a healthy baby, weighing 6lbs, 10.6oz and measuring 19.5".

They say one child's labor and delivery means nothing about the next, and my experiences would agree with that.  Jameson's and Ava's birth stories are different from each other in numerous ways.  Jameson's labor began with my water breaking, Ava's with increasingly painful contractions at home.  Jameson was born 23.5 hours after my water broke, which included 3 hours of intense pushing; Ava was born 5.5 hours after calling the doctor from home, and after pushing through just 5 contractions.  Jameson was born with a fever (likely due to the lengthy labor) and had to go immediately to the NICU, whereas Ava was born without any complications and was able to rest in my arms for over an hour of snuggling before they took her for vitals.  Jameson had to be monitored in the NICU for the duration of his stay, but Ava spent all of her hours with us in the maternity unit, and we were able to discharge a day early.  Hooray for things being somewhat easier the second time around!

Cuddle time in the delivery room.

First time checking those vital signs.  Happy baby!!!

Daddy's first time holding his little girl.

On the evening of the 12th, Jameson got to finally meet his little sister, "Aya", as he likes to call her.  He was immediately curious and intrigued.  He would become easily distracted, but come back to wanting to touch her or look at her. 

Fortunately, Grandma "Lou-Lou" and "Papa" were already in town due to a false alarm the prior weekend.  It was so helpful having them around, allowing us to get more done before Ava arrived and to get a little bit of rest.  My Dad stayed busy painting the basement and my Mom spent a lot of time with Jameson and prepared tons of meals for us to freeze.

Sweetness and curiosity make the cutest combination.

He's so gentle with Ava.

Bundled up and ready to head home.

Two of my favorite moments following the births of Jameson and Ava have been exposing them to the outside air for the first time.  I'm not sure what about it is so exciting to me, but I cherish it more than walking them into the house!

We were so happy that Ava blessed us with her arrival in time for Grandpa to see us bring her home.

A fun new toy from Grandma and Grandpa for Jameson to be excited about during this time of transition.  Jameson took some initiative in grabbing a tool and joining dad in putting the new bike together.

His first set of wheels.

Thank you Grandma "Lou-Lou" for helping us over the past couple of weeks ease into life as a family of four.  Jameson seems to be taking fondly to his new role.

As soon as we walked through the door with Ava, Jameson ran to the basement door, eagerly wanting us to follow.  While we were at the hospital, "Papa" finished painting the trim (to cap off several days of marathon painting), and the electrical work was finished and carpet installed (so close to being done!).  We followed Jameson downstairs and got so much joy out of seeing him excited about the space.  He kept saying "run, run, run!" while running circles around the room and playfully throwing himself onto the floor and rolling around.  Big smiles all around!

Our little Ava is what I would - so far - call an easy baby.  She loves to sleep, eat, and be held.  She can stay asleep in your arms for hours.  :)

Pregnancy & Family Photo Session (19 mo & 37 weeks)

Love you (both)!

37 1/2 weeks pregnant.

Baby girl...you are so active!  I love getting those constant reminders of how blessed we are.

We've told Jameson what his sister's name is and he says it in the cutest way.  He loves the song "Happy Birthday" and will ask for us to sing it to her at night before bed.  "Happy ____" is his request when we're done reading stories - not something that we ever prompted or suggested to him.  One day very soon it will be entirely appropriate!  Lately, he's been pointing out "baby" everywhere we go whether he sees an actual baby or a baby item, picture of a baby, etc.  And he's also figured out that the sound a baby makes is "Wah!" - a sound he'll have to get very accustomed to!  We're hoping it is all in some way preparing him for the arrival of his sister.

A lot of love already surrounds you.  We can't wait to meet you!!!

We had the hardest time getting Jameson to smile for photos.  He just won't smile on command.  We resorted to tickling him and Shannon had to be quick with the camera!

What a look :)

My little boy, growing up to be a big brother. 

Jameson at 19 months.  I've been waiting to share some fun details about him at 18 months and I think I'll take the opportunity to do so here.  In the last couple of months, his vocabulary has exploded and he's experienced a growth spurt.  Right around 18 months, he started saying so many more words and when Rob and I reached a list of 75+ we stopped counting.  It's so fun hearing him say new words each day.  He's now more "average" on the growth charts - height and head are at the 50th percentile and weight is at the 75th percentile.  Here are just some other fun notes that I'd like to remember about him at this age: his self-soothing strategy at bedtime is to lay down and stroke his sheets, he's learned how to feed himself with a bowl and spoon, he most often gets into "trouble" for feeding the dogs and occasionally taking swats at them which he thinks is hysterical, his love for balls continues (and has grown into a love for watching sports on TV), he's had his first fall down the stairs (falling a couple of stairs and hitting his head/face - which he remembers now when he goes down them), he's started to engage in pretend play (remote control is a phone, pretends to squeeze lotion onto his hand and puts it in his hair and on his face, watering flowers outside with an empty watering can and the unattached hose nozzle complete with "pssh" sound effects), he likes being clean (if snot drips down his nose he says "nose" and waits for you to bring over a Kleenex, says "yuck" when his feet are dirty, wants to be wiped clean if he got messy while eating), he's started to like the iPad for the sake of pushing buttons and listening to noises only (he'll watch the intros of shows on PBS kids but as soon as the show starts he changes it to a new show), he'll shout to get our attention "mom...dad...Rob", loves throwing things in the trash and recognizes that certain items belong in recycling, insists on going outside whenever the dogs do, transitions from tantrums to giggles in a matter of seconds, he has more awareness of his bodily functions (laughs when he burps, says "toot" when he passes gas, will acknowledge having gone in his diaper, is fascinated watching himself pee), he's caught onto the idea of delaying bedtime, he over uses the word "owie" for anything that he's unhappy about, he loves eating (favorites include: yogurt, fruit, goldfish, kalamata olives, cookies, cheese and cereal with dad), he still most often sleeps through the night (falls asleep between 7:30/8:00pm and wakes up between 6:30/7:15am), and he takes one nap in the early afternoon typically for 1.5-2 hours.

Our Little Fireman

During a quick run to Target, this hat grabbed Jameson's attention.  When we saw how happy he was wearing it, we couldn't resist making the random purchase.  One dollar well spent!

Football!!!

I got a text from Rob while I was out one Sunday afternoon informing me that our son sat himself on the couch and actually showed an interest in watching TV.  The program that enthralled him?  Not a cartoon, but a preseason football game!  I think all our time in the football bar last Fall paid off!

This was opening day of the NFL season: Seahawks vs Packers.  Sad that the Packers lost, but Jameson's enthusiasm was just too cute.  We quickly started recording after seeing Jameson (unprompted) repeatedly and with excitement throwing a football pass after seeing the players getting introduced on the field.

First "Professional" Haircut

This setup would be difficult to replicate at home.

Our last attempt at an at-home haircut resulted in a little too choppy of a look.  With his fine hair, it just wasn't worth the risk of trying to "fix" it and chancing it looking even worse.  Now, he's handsome as ever and ready for his new big brother role and some family photos :)