Happy Thanksgiving!

Seasonal onesie

Visit with Dana and Currie in Annapolis on our way down to spend a few days with Ava's Uncle Mike in Norfolk, VA

Truck diaper change

Had Thanksgiving dinner on board the USS Kearsarge with Mike, who had to work that day.  

We--well, Erik--cooked the traditional dinner at Mike's on Friday.  

Ava is now obsessed with the jungle floor gym on loan from Dana

Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Beach

Back home

Tummy time

Getting stronger every day.  Still doesn't tolerate much tummy time, though.

Sunday morning

Gracious Hostess

Ava presided over a lovely dinner last night with Kara, Bonnie, Adam, Michelle and Petra.  Michelle brought cheeses, pickled okra (love it), her glorious homemade pates and the most amazing proscuitto-style ham made in Virginia that she scored from a food competition for which she was a judge that started us off while the geese and veg were in the oven.  Petra made a delicious Croatian-style carob-apple cake with chocolate glaze for dessert number 1.  Dessert number 2 was a re-appearance of the ham.

Big-eyed girl

Broken record

She's still obsessed with the string of colorful blocks on her bouncy seat.

Christmas cactus

Ava and Daddy have been tracking the buds' growth and now blossom.

Giant baby in Connecticut!

We visited Julie Granger up in Groton, CT, this weekend.  We drove up Friday evening after Ava's pediatrician appointment.  On Friday morning Ava weighed one ounce shy of 15 pounds and is literally off the charts for weight, length and size; she's the size of an average 5-month-old.  We'll see if this meteoric growth trend lasts or if she plateaus out on the charts.

Stonington, CT

Happy baby on the changing pad at Julie's house

Julie's fan is captivating

Sacked out on a brief walk in a state park on the drive home (about a 5 hour drive according to Google--longer than that with a baby).  When she's awake in the car, Ava gets bored and/or lonely easily, so we made a few stops for non-feeding-related baby time.

Back at home

Concentrating very hard on mimicking Daddy's kissy-face

Ava at the bar

Going away party for Daniel Stanton at the Ivy.  Thanks to Caroline for the adorable homemade strawberry hat and for taking the photos.  Documenting Ava's first trip to a bar was her dad's idea.  The bartender was quite game to get her in front of the tap.  On our walk down Nassau and Witherspoon on our way home afterward, we got caught behind a group of high school boys, who were raucously joking with one another.  We realized that it will probably feel far too soon when Ava is their age and similar boys are trying to date her....

9 weeks old

Unimpressed by Daddy's ordinal regression code

Totally captivated, still, by the colorful wooden blocks.  Kicking the feet!  We really don't put her in the bouncy seat that much.  Really.  Great onesie from Aunt Laura.

Happy baby with Bonnie

Canning stock

Ava in her younger days...

When Ava was a week old Christian Ziegler kindly did a very nice photoshoot for us at our house and just sent us the beautiful photos.  Ava seemed so big to me then.  It's amazing to me to look at these photos and realize how small she was then and how much she has grown!

Rebuffed by a belch!

Aunt Laura and Uncle Serge visit

I assume Ava is thinking:  "I like Aunt Laura."  

Ava:  "I was so content with Aunt Laura.  Why did you give me to Uncle Serge?"

Ava:  "Well, maybe he's okay."  

Ava:  "I knew there was a reason Aunt Laura hangs out with this guy!"

Ava:  "Aunt Laura is beautiful."

Ava:  "What camera?"