Two Months

Two months is a great place to be!  We feel like we've made it through the hardest part of newborn life, and we're looking forward to more smiles, laughs, and fun times as Ava continues to grow.  It's a joy to see Ava develop each day.  With each new development, she becomes a happier baby and more fun to play with!  We're starting to see her little personality!

Stats:

Weight - 10 lbs. 2.5 oz. (21st percentile)

Height - 22.5 in. (51st percentile)

Head - 38.5 in. (56th percentile)

Milestones:

Ava continues to smile all the time.  Praise the Lord!  When she wakes me up at 2 am and I am annoyed, I go in to get her and she is grinning at me.  Pretty hard to be annoyed at this smiling face!!   She can focus on faces, track sounds, and use her feet to kick things.  I think she is starting to recognize Brent and me, and she knows when a person is new to her.  She is also sitting and "standing" with assistance and can sometimes put herself to sleep without crying.  She is taking all naps in the swing and sleeping at night in her crib.  She's eating every 3 hours during the day and usually waking up twice during the night.  Ava is wearing mostly 3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.

Strengths:

Ava just discovered her feet.  She used to lay on the play mat and just stare at the animals, but now she kicks them and delights in the sounds they make.  We're still working on discovering our hands.  Ava is fabulous at tracking sounds with her eyes now.  She looks towards sounds from toys and voices and follows them when they move.  She loves to "stand", and I swear we are barely holding on to her.  Little girl has great balance and strong legs!  She's ready to walk on out of here.  Similarly, her head control is also really good, and her neck is strong.  She can sit in the Bumpo seat or in the baby carrier and hold her head up almost completely on her own.  She is improving at happy awake time, which her parents are very thankful for.  She loves to look at funny faces and make funny faces, and she can coo and make sounds now as well.

Struggles:

Ava still struggles with the evening time.  She is typically fussy from around 5 - 8, but she is getting better!  She still loves baths, but still hates getting out and getting dried off.  This week, Ava got her two month vaccinations.  I didn't cry when she got them, but I did cry when we got home and she was just screaming in pain for hours.  Poor baby.  She had a REALLY bad day of screaming, but it wasn't frustrating because I knew what was wrong.  We gave her baby Tylenol, and that seemed to help.  We thought we were in for our roughest night yet, but little girl surprised us and gave us her BEST night yet!  She slept from 10:30 - 3!!  Whoo hoo!!  We're still working on independent play time.  I'd like her to be able to play on her play mat or blanket or bouncy seat for 15 minutes by herself, once or twice a day.  Right now we're at about 5 minutes before she gets upset.  She's still a little sleepy at feedings, and I have to work to keep her awake.  (Wish she would be that sleepy at 2 am!!!)

Loves:

My mother discovered that Ava LOVES to play on her changing pad.  There is something about being up high and close to mom/dad/Winnie that she loves.  She also loves to be free of diapers and clothes for a few minutes, and she kicks like crazy.  I sometimes keep a hand on her because I feel like she's going to kick herself right off the dresser.  She likes to MOVE!  She is happy and content on the changing pad for 20 minutes just making faces and kicking.  Ava also loves music.  We typically have two dance parties a day.  We like 80s in the morning and 60s in the evening.  If you've never made a baby dance, you should try it.  It's hilarious.  She also loves One Direction songs (oh wait, maybe that's me).  Ava is very alert and curious and likes to be aware of what's going on at all times.  She likes to face outward on my lap or in the baby carrier so she can see.   She also still loves white noise and loud places like restaurants and church (during worship).  She loves riding in the stroller for walks, and it puts her right to sleep, so we try to take a walk every day for her late afternoon nap.  We like to think she loves Blazer, though right now she probably just tolerates him :-)

Here are some of my favorite pics from this month!

{I love the Bumpo!!  I hate the Bumpo!!}

{happy morning baby}

{Saturday afternoon rest}

{sweet smiles}

{blowing a kiss}

{fussy time and tummy time} 

{all my children}

{changing table fun & napping with Daddy}

{a sunny afternoon}

We love you, precious Ava Grace!