One Month

Sweet Ava - One Month Old!

(click photo to enlarge. I know I'm biased, but I think she's so precious!)

"birthday" flowers from grandma Pam

Starting to have more "alert" time. (I think she's looking at the photos on our wall?)

Not to be forgotten...the other girl in the house. Our kitty Ruby makes her presence known! She's a sweet kitty and has adjusted well to the new baby also.

Week 4

Ava's 4th week was a very full week of parties, visitors, and some special cozy family time.

The week kicked-off with a wonderful "welcome Ava" shower/party organized by my dear friend Kelly at my parent's house in Keizer. It was a lovely evening of special friends and yummy treats. We feel truly blessed to have so many people who wanted to come meet and welcome Ava! Our dear friend Mary Gene is a talented photographer, and generously agreed to help document the evening for us. We are so grateful to have a file of photos from the evening (perfect for Ava's baby book!) and below are just a few of the highlights!

Mary Gene with the party girl. Thanks for taking so many great pictures, MG!

Brian had Friday off work so we spent the afternoon at a nearby park. Neighboring the park is a pasture with cows. Owen loves to watch and "moo" at the cows. We brought a picnic dinner that evening, and instead of having dinner at the park we decided to park the car near the pasture. We all sat in the trunk to have our picnic and watch the cows. Owen was thrilled with this little adventure! Brian and I laughed, realizing it was a Friday night and although many people might be out-on-the-town, we were in the trunk having a picnic with our kids and the cows. And with Owen's sweet smile & giggles, there was no place we'd rather be :)

Good Morning!

Owen begs to have his sister lay in his bed with him. So sweet!

Coffee and snuggle time. What could be better?!

We enjoyed a visit from Auntie Angie, Cousin Landon, and Angie's mom Chris. Angie's entire family is very special to us, and we love our opportunities to see them!

Amazing to think that these two will be the same grade in school!

Owen - sharing his cars with Landon. Fun that they can begin to play together!

Sweet Landon (10 months old)

It also happened to be Grandpa Clark's ("sabba") Birthday! He enjoyed the special opportunity for a birthday photo with all 3 grand kids.

Ava - 4 weeks:

Week 3

Week 3 was a quiet week at home. Ava is still sleeping much of the day and night, up every 3 hours to feed. Owen has continued to transition really well - he loves sister and is very gentle with her. We are so grateful everything has gone so smoothly!

A party dress from grandma. Too cute!

Linnea's mom got Ava some Linnea flowers as a welcome gift. Linnea is essentially a small and delicate ground-covering with small pink flowers. In perfect timing - it bloomed during Ava's 3rd week. So very special!

Week 2

Ava's second week included her first vacation - what a great way to start life! Linnea's parents have a vacation rental at Black Butte Ranch in central Oregon. It's occupied most days of the spring/summer, however it happened to be available Memorial Day Weekend. So, we all took a spontaneous get-away to their place - a wonderful way to spend some special family time and get a little R&R following Ava's arrival!

Ava getting a bath from her two grandmas. Clearly she's enjoying the experience :)


Oh my goodness - all the gear for just a few days away!

Owen ready to go - and now he has a partner to ride in the back seat with him!

(Although truth be told, Linnea ended up sitting between the kids for much of the drive. With Ava continuously needing help with her pacifier, and Owen with his snacks or toys that he dropped, it was much easier just to join them in the back. Oh how our road trips have changed now that we have kids!)

We love Black Butte!

Our sweet Ava - taking a bottle like a champ! After the struggle we had with Owen taking the bottle, we started Ava on a bottle week-2. She's been taking one each day ever since, and does a great job. Good girl!

At the two week checkup Ava was up to 6lbs 11oz! Although she's still in only about the 5th percentile (our little peanut!), with a birth weight of 5lbs 14oz this is great weight gain in such a short amount of time. We are so grateful to have such a healthy girl!

2 Weeks....exactly! (3:53pm)

Newborn Photos

When Ava was just shy of 1-week old, a friend who enjoys photography offered to come and take some photos. We expected an informal occasion where she'd snap a few pictures. Instead she generously arrived with all of her equipment and gear - spending several hours and taking more than 300 photographs! Such a generous gift of her time and talent, and we are forever grateful that she captured our sweet Ava during these precious first few days of life.