4 Weeks Old

Ava, it's hard for your Mommy and Daddy to believe, but you are 4 weeks old now!!  Your first month of life is behind us and the days just keep flying by.  You have turned our world upside down baby girl and we LOVE it!!  We never knew how much we would love being with you, watching you sleep, watching you eat, and just watching you do anything and everything :) 

At one month, here's what we know about you Ava Page...

You are so stinkin cute!!!  We are your Mommy and Daddy, so we're supposed to think that, but seriously, you are just the most adorable little thing we've ever seen!  All day long we talk about you and we marvel at how God fearfully and wonderfully made you.  Don't ever forget that Ava.  You are perfectly formed, just as God planned you to be.  We will always see you with nothing but incredible love in our eyes.  

You're also funny!  Daddy will love this picture because it looks like you are flashing a gang sign with your right hand and your hoodie :) Daddy laughs and laughs at so much of what you do!  Your eyes are so expressive and when we catch you doing something funny or making a funny face, we start laughing and now, at one month, sometimes you smile back at us as if you know how funny you are too!!  

Lately, you are mesmerized by lights.  You love to look at lamps or the sunshine outside.  In the last week or so, you've really started noticing more of the world around you.  We catch you staring so intently at things that sometimes you go cross-eyed!!  But don't worry, that's normal Ava :) We're certain you will have outgrown this by junior high, when it counts!  

One of your favorite things is this pink musical bear.  Whenever we turn it on, you listen hard and go into some kind of trance :) It's our magic trick when we want to calm you down or distract you.  We always turn this bear on when we change your diaper and lately we've started taking him in the car and stroller, when we think you might have a meltdown!  We think you like the music and we've started playing it a lot around you.  We also catch you leaning over and trying to lick this bear's foot when we change your diaper!  We have no idea why you do that or how you know to, but you do it almost every time :)  That makes Mommy laugh!

We also happen to think you're quite smart.  I mean how many 4 week olds do you know that put their hands in their pockets??  Ok, maybe this was purely accidental, but still.  We think you're brilliant already!  

Ava, you are the girl of a thousand faces!  You have inherited your Mommy's wrinkly forehead and you tell a thousand tales with those wrinkles.  So far, you've been pretty "serious looking."  You often have a look that says, "What exactly is going on here??" 

We've started putting you on your tummy lately and you seem to like that.  You always tuck your hands underneath you and your little legs start to draw up, as if you're about to start crawling.  This thrills us and scares us too!  Although we can't wait for you to crawl one day, we are SOOO not ready for you to be mobile yet :) Your neck muscles are getting strong (they were from day one) and you do a very good job of holding your head up.  

As soon as you learn to roll over, I think you'll probably sleep like this at night!  We always put you on your back to sleep, but we know you really like to be snuggled up and on your tummy too.  Oh, and see that big pacifier??  YOU LOVE IT!!  You have such a strong suck reflex, all your doctors and nurses have commented on it :) You only want this pacifier when you're getting sleepy, but when you want it, watch out!  You suck on that thing so hard and fast, we think you might take our fingers off if they get in the way!

Ava, when Daddy gets home from work, he LOVES to take you and hang with you all night.  We've figured out that you love to be upright for awhile after you eat, so you spend lots of time in this baby bjorn carrier and you are so content and happy in it!  We think it helps your tummy feel better after you eat.  Mommy uses it a little bit during the day, but mostly Daddy uses it a lot at night.  He takes you for walks in it and he paces around the house with you too.  Sometimes, when he's getting tired, he keeps you in it and reads a story to you.  This night he read you your first "Curious George" book and Mommy laughed because you look like a little monkey too with your long arms and legs hanging out!  

Maybe I'll start calling you "Curious Ava??" 

One of your favorite places to sleep is in your swing.  That makes Mommy so happy because she really wanted that swing and thankfully, you love it too!  You sleep for 2-4 hours in it every afternoon and sometimes you just sit there and smile at the little lambs hanging above you.  Speaking of sleeping, you are a champ!!  At night you've been sleeping anywhere from 4-6 hour stretches and even a few nights you've gone 7 hours!!  That has been a wonderful gift for your parents.  We don't know if you're aware of it, but if you are, thank you.  During the day you still eat about every 3 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less.  You are a great eater Ava and you get very ticked if Mom doesn't move fast enough for you when you're ready!!  We're getting ready to introduce a bottle to you soon, so Mom can get a break and Daddy can get in on the action.  Let's hope you like it!  

Lately you've started smiling back at us Ava and we cannot get enough of it!!  When we talk to you and get really close to you, you break out in a grin that makes us melt.  We can't wait until we start hearing you giggle :) 

One of our biggest accomplishments is that you no longer scream every time we change your diaper!!  You still look at me like "what are we doing on here Mom??"  

And you fold your arms like this...

...then you give me this look and swing your arms and kick your legs....

...and then I turn your bear on and you do this!!  

And we proceed to smother you with kisses and tell you how much we love you Ava Page : )

We can't believe you are one month old, but we are so grateful for 4 weeks of joy and love that we have never known until you came along.  

You've changed everything Ava and we couldn't be happier about it!  

Mommy and Daddy love you baby :)