29 Years and 1 Week Old

Happy Friday!  I never thought I was going to be able to update the blog on a daily basis, but Miss Ava has been such a good little napper, I have been able to steal a few minutes every day and I always seem to have new pictures for you to see!  I'm not sure how long these daily updates will last or if I'll be able to keep up, but it's been fun to let you in on how our first days are going and we've loved reading all your comments about our sweet little girl :)  We are definitely proud parents these days!

Today was a big day in our house, for several reasons. 

-Ava and I took our first trip out of the house together for a lunch date with some friends.

-Ava had her first bath and she loved it!

-Travis and I took her to her first restaurant while we had dinner (and she was great).

-Ava Page turned 1 week old today.

-I turned 29 years old today.  

It was a busy and fun Friday for all of us :) 

We decided we would try our luck at a night out to celebrate my birthday.  Ava was a good little dinner date.  She slept most of the time, although the noise of the restaurant was keeping her from falling into any kind of deep sleep.  It was fun for Trav and I to get out of the house though and have a little dinner together.  And even more fun to have our baby with us :) 

She also went with me to have lunch with some of my friends from Church.  I was proud of her and me :) We both had baths this morning and we managed to only be a few minutes late!  She was asleep the whole time we were there, which was great because I got to enjoy myself and chat :) 

And I had some really great birthday cake!  Thanks ladies for a fun lunch :) 

Here are two of my sweet friends with their babies.  When we came to Minnesota and Travis joined the Pastoral staff, I was a little sad to discover that we were the youngest couple and the only one without kids.  I imagined that we would have a baby and everyone would already be over and done with that phase of life.  Imagine my joy when two of my friends found out they were pregnant this last year and also had babies!!  Ava has two little playmates here, Callan and Julia, and I have two friends who will be walking a similar road :)  It's fun to think they will all be in the same class together.  Aren't they cute??

Here's my little cutie, worn out after her bath this morning.  

And wearing the cutest little onesie, monogrammed by my sweet friend, Faith.  I just love this on her!  I am such a sucker for a monogram :) 

After a week, we decided it was time for Ava to have her first bath at home.  We had to give her a sponge bath because her cord hasn't fallen off yet, but she was so good and I think she even liked the warm water on her skin.  

She didn't cry at all, until I had to take that band-aid off her leg from her shot.  

That made me sad :(

Wouldn't you love to know what she's thinking here??  I love those eyes :) When we finished washing her hair, it was so soft and wild.  It looked like a lion's mane!  

Who knew how much fun a sponge bath could be?  

I had a great day with my girl and a fun night with Travis.  It almost feels like my birthday was in-consequential this year...How do you top the gift of a newborn baby??  There is nothing I've wanted more than her and no greater joy than to wake up every morning with the love of my life and our precious daughter.  It just doesn't get any better than that :) 29 feels no different than 28 did, but Ava turning 1 week old seems unbelievable.  I'm not sure how much of this is hormonal, but I'm already sad about her getting bigger.  I'm loving every moment with her and part of me wants time to stand still so I can just freeze these days forever.  But I know that with everyday she gets older, we have more joy waiting for us on the other side.  And someday I'll be making the same phone call to her that my parents did today..."You know Steph, 29 years ago today..."  

Now that's a weird thought  :)