Ava at 6 Weeks

Ava is six weeks old today! That seems like a milestone. And what new things is she doing, you ask? Well, she has several new tricks. In about the last week and a half we've noticed her beginning to see objects in front of her, including toys and her mobile. She now enjoys watching them, especially if they're moving! Her bouncy seat has a little bar that goes over the top with some things that hang down for her to look at. We've begun using that and it is good for entertaining her for a while. She likes to watch the toys move. When they move she wiggles, which makes them move more, which makes her even happier and more wiggly! It's pretty cute. She can also follow an object with her eyes for a little ways, if you hold it in front of her and move it to the side. She can hold a rattle or smallish object if you help put it in her hand. There's a video below of her shaking a rattle (not so much on purpose, but still fun). She can hold her head up like it's her job and loves to do so. Her little neck is pretty strong. There's video below from almost two weeks ago of her doing that, so she's even better now! What else? One of Tim's favorite tricks is helping her stand up on her legs in his lap and then balancing her while she "stands". She can hold her own weight pretty well. Unfortunately, this trick only works if she's mad. :) And the best of all: she's smiling! She's still a little stingy with her smiles, but when she gives them they're adorable! And I captured the elusive smile today! I figured it would be months before I got any smiles on camera, but she gave me several good ones this afternoon. There are pictures below. And she definitely smiled back at me this afternoon when I smiled at her and said "hi!". So fun to see a response!
In recent events we had dinner with Grandpa Clint last night. He was in town on his way to Sturgis. Ava slept through it all, of course, but I'm sure she was glad to "see" him.
Ava and I went for a walk today with Jenn, Breyton and Mara. Breyton is almost two and a half and Mara is about 12 weeks old. Ava and Mara may not know it yet, but they're going to be best friends (at least if Jenn and I have anything to say about it!).
Ava and I only have one more week at home, so we're going to try to make the best of it! Soon she'll be experiencing all kinds of new things when she's at "school". I keep telling her about how neat it will be to watch all the other babies and learn from them. Hopefully she likes it!

I think she's going to love it when she can sit up on her own.

Aren't I cute?

Look at me! I'm holding a rattle AND smiling!

Look at that beautiful smile!

Sparkly little eyes.


Check out these videos. They're probably only exciting if it's your baby, but . . . well, I think they're cute!

Happy Anniversary!

Four years ago today Team Kelleher was created. It's hard to believe it has been that long, and yet, at the same time, it's hard to remember what life was like before we were married. Much has happened in those four years and our lives have seen some pretty big changes. In January 2006 we were engaged, in August 2006 we were married, in April 2007 I started a new job, in May 2007 Tim graduated college, in July 2008 we bought a house, and we've seen several huge changes already in 2010. While all four years have been wonderful, it is the last fifteen months or so that have really made me wonder what I would do without my partner in life and all the messiness that goes with it. From our miscarriage in May 2009 to the death of our parents in April and May of 2010 and of course the birth of our daughter in June, life has definitely required a team effort. I am grateful for all of these things because I know that we are stronger now because of them. And I am so thankful to have my loving husband by my side as I look ahead and consider what else life might bring. I'm so glad that the Lord brought us together. I'm so glad you asked me to marry you, Tim. I'm so glad to be where we are today. I love you, husband!

Happy Happy Joy Joy

It has been nearly a month since Ava entered our world and life is good. Little Miss has her moments, but she's a good baby and we are really enjoying having her here. She's quite the trooper and has been out and about with us many times now. She's good at sleeping through meetings and events, which is quite convenient for us. She even went grocery shopping with me this week and had her first trip to the Foothills Mall today. What fun. She continues to be healthy and happy. We're struggling a little with her daytime naps (she mostly just doesn't sleep through them) but I'll take that any day considering how well she sleeps at night. It's wonderful to get to spend so much time with her; it will be hard to go back to work, although I suspect that a part of me will be ready, too. It's like the old days of being in school: at the beginning of summer you wanted to never have to go to school again, but by the end of summer you couldn't wait to get back. At least I know she'll be close by and in the best of care. That helps a lot.

In other news, Tim and I have a new nephew! My sister, Jessica, and her husband, Brandon, had their second child just yesterday, the 21st. Little Everett Anthony Sather was born at just about 4pm their time and is a healthy baby boy, weighing in at 7lbs. 13oz., with a length of 20.5in. Both he and mommy are doing great! I can't wait to hear what big brother Cameron thinks of him (he thought his little brother's name should be Spiderman). Tim and I have just bought tickets this week to go out and visit all of them over Labor Day. Ava will get to meet her cousins! I'm slightly fearful about flying with an infant, but figure it's probably easier at 2 months than at 12 months.

Tim has just started another job at work, which is kind of exciting. He'll be working next on a jail renovation in Denver. He'll still be working on the project from the office in Longmont, so he doesn't have to commute down there every day, thankfully. Many of his co-workers will not have work (they will still be employed-but with little to do) come September, so we are praying that FCI is able to find more projects.

I've attached some more pictures, including one of Ava's first visit from Grandpa Clint. He and Great Grandma Garnie (GGG) came up for a bit to see us last Saturday.



Here she is having some "back time" on her "playgym". She now can/will lay on her back happily for quite a while, which makes her much easier to entertain.


Awwww . . .



Grandpa Clint!




Tummy time.

Her first nap in her crib! She's been napping in there for quite a while now, although we have yet to attempt to put her there through the night.

Someday she'll choose her own clothing but for now . . . mommy wins.

She may be scheming . . . or just pooping.

2 weeks?!

2 weeks old already?! My how time does fly. Little Ava is doing great, though! At her appointment with the pediatrician last Wednesday she was up to 7 lbs. 10 oz. and had grown an inch in length! We can tell that her little face is filling out. She's still pretty itty bitty, though. It seems we're getting things somewhat figured out. She's such a good little baby. Other than struggling with an upset tummy off and on over the last couple days (she's learning to love gas drops!) she really is rarely fussy. She's been sleeping pretty well at night (for a baby, that is). We're working on having a bit of a routine/schedule and that seems to be helping her. She at least is beginning to understand when we want her to sleep and falling asleep better on her own. And some nights she only wakes up to be fed once (that is, if you count her 5:30am feeding as morning, which we early-risers do!). All in all, it's been a wonderful two weeks, even if it has been a little challenging at times. Nana and Papa Ernie left yesterday, so now the dust is beginning to settle and we're excited to be able to establish our routine as a family and return to "normal"--the new normal, that is.
Here are a few more pictures!


The car seat works its sleepy magic.


Ready to go to Old Town for some lunch and shopping with Nana and Papa Ernie.

Burrito Baby all wrapped in her little flour tortilla! :)

It's a little tricky to get good pictures of her because she's such a little squiggle butt.

Baby knows how to groove.

The cats seems to think that every surface that Ava sits in/lays on is meant for them, too. Especially Elsie. I couldn't keep her out of the bouncy seat one morning!

I have to admit, it's pretty fun to dress her up! Here she is in one of her designer onesies (DKNY). :)

Introducing . . . Ava Marie, Our Ray of Light in an Otherwise Dark Year

She's here! Little Miss Ava finally decided to quit pretending she was coming and actually make her arrival on Friday, June 25th at 4:48pm. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 19 and 3/4 in. long. Her delivery was a little long and arduous, but she came safely and we couldn't ask for more. She's a beautiful, healthy little girl and is such a joy to us! It's been fun (and challenging) getting to know her. We still have so much to learn! Grandpa Kelleher, Gigi and Uncle Toby were the first to meet her in the hospital. This week Nana and Papa Ernie are visiting from Montana. You can be sure she's been getting lots of attention. And she's experienced many firsts in the last couple days with Nana and Papa Ernie: first restaurant experience, first time to church, first Sam's Club experience and first walk in her stroller.
Here are a bunch of pictures, but once again I seem unable to upload them in the right order, so they're a little bit backwards. Cute nonetheless! So without further ado, here she is!

She loves to be swaddled at night, but this is usually how she ends up after a while.

Sometimes Nana makes me yawn. :)

Dancing with Nana after doing dishes. It all began with a little Bruce Springsteen.

You're lucky if you get a hold of her when Nana's around.

I usually only burp when Mommy doesn't have the burp rag.

Meeting Nana! I wore my polka dot dress for the occasion.

I'm awake!

Tootsies

A little tummy time on the quilt that Grandma Chrisann made for me.

Sleepiness directly follows eating.

Hanging in my bouncy seat.

Little Peanut in a big world.

First ride in my car seat, leaving the hospital.

Ready to go home.

Daddy looks ready to go home, too.

I'm not so sure about this clothes thing.

Snuggle time with Daddy.

Uncle Toby!

Just moved to our new room after leaving the Birthing Center.

My hat is a little big.

First family photo!

She's a girl and she's healthy!

Sometimes It's the Little Things . . .

HOME!!! After a tough week in Grand Junction we are finally back home. Tim's beautiful mother passed away on Sunday the 23rd and we had a lovely funeral service and burial for her last Wednesday. We are so sad to see her go and Tim misses her greatly, but we are glad that her long struggle and battle with cancer (for 11 years!) are over. As sad as it is that we should both have experienced the death of a parent this early in life and so close together (only about 6 weeks between), we consider ourselves fortunate that we are able to understand and relate with each other so well over the grief. God has really blessed us through this in that He has given us each other to lean on and new life (in the form of a beautiful baby girl) to look forward to. Here we are experiencing firsthand life and death within the period of a couple months, and all we can do is praise the Lord for it.

Very shortly after getting home we paid a visit to one of our own OB doctors. I do not have to take the medication to stop contractions anymore, as there really is no point. If I should go into labor at any point from now on they will just let me go and the baby should be fine. Hurry up and wait, right? That's what Tim keeps saying. It's a little frustrating to have contractions so often and know that they're not being very productive. They're not really painful still, but they are uncomfortable and wear me out. Ah well, I am praying for patience and doing my best to trust in the Lord's timing. Just over 3 weeks now until the actual due date!

We have to admit, it's been kind of nice to be back at work. There's definitely something to be said for routine, especially for people like us. But it was also nice to have a three day weekend right after getting home, so we had lots of time to catch up. We spent the majority of Memorial Weekend at home and boy were we productive! I'll attach some pictures of the progress we made. Tim finished and hung the shelves that he was making for the nursery, and they look very nice. My husband has some talent, that's for sure. And he makes it all seem so easy! We went shopping for plants for our garden and flowers for my flower pots (always fun to shop for) and planted those on Memorial Day. I love having pretty flowers to look at and am excited to watch our garden grow. I'm so glad we were able to finish those things before Baby comes. Tim got a lot of work done in the yard, too, so the weeds are now under control. Our landscaping came back really well from last year and we are pleased. I spent some time cleaning inside, too, and doing a little of what they might call "nesting". We feel much more prepared at this point.

The weather was beautiful all weekend. I think it may be the nicest Memorial Day weekend I've ever seen. That probably only happened because we didn't try to go anywhere. It seems like every time we go camping or something on that weekend the weather is crappy. Like last year. We've been reminiscing a bit about our camping trip with Chrisann and Clint last Memorial Day. The weather was pretty bad but we had a lot of fun and are glad we were able to do that with them in their camper at least once.

On Monday evening we had a little barbecue with our small group and that was a lot of fun as well. What an amazing group of friends we have. We are so thankful for the support group that we have here, especially now during these hard times. We barbecued at our friends Evan and Kristen's house and they even had a new little outdoor fire pit that we used for making smores. There's just something so great about sitting around a fire with friends and talking. AND it helps keep the mosquitoes away! :)

So we've been back for a week now with no trips in sight other than a short trip to the hospital at some point (we've got a bag somewhat packed and have considered what we will need to throw in). We are thankful that we were able to make the trips that we did and spend time with our families through all this, but now we are just looking forward to being home for the next couple of months.

Here are some recent pictures:

First four pictures: Our vegetable garden with it's wee little plants, tomatoes!, my flower pot on the front porch and then my barrel on the back patio

Next three pictures: The shelves are up in the nursery!

Wasn't it nice of me to make them such a cozy place to sleep? Brats.

One of the best parts about the weekend was that we got to see some good friends from out of town: our friends Joe and Liz Messer from Omaha and my friend Erin Reese from St. Louis. Erin brought baby gifts, including this cute little John Deere onesie that her friend made! Check out the little ruffles on the bum. :)

Finally, there's me at 36 weeks. Look at that tummy! It's definitely lower now.

That's about all that I can think of to post for now. Soon enough I'll be posting baby news and pictures, and that will be much more exciting. :)