Anyone know a good baby-manicurist?

For the first 6 weeks of Ava's life I couldn't bring myself to clip her fingernails. I was terrified I would cut off the end of her fingers, effectively ending her future as a famous fingerpaintress. Or at the very least, make us both cry really hard. But I've gotten progressively braver, and can now clip all ten in record time. I was pretty proud of myself until yesterday when all I apparently succeeded in doing was turning her nails into little weapons. She now has a nasty self-inflicted cut above her eye. If the next picture you see is her wearing an eye patch you'll know why.

It's Ava's first Halloween! Her Grandma Sally bought her this adorable tiger costume, and we actually managed to get a picture of her flashing a little smile in it! I may be biased, but I think she looks pretty darn cute.

There was another first in the Lundstrom household yesterday. Drum roll please.....we left Ava with a babysitter for the very first time! Ok, so maybe the drum roll was a bit much, but it felt like a pretty big deal to us. Andy and I had tickets for Wicked (fabulous, by the way) and were really lucky that the couple that went with us has a terrific babysitter that agreed to watch all 3 girls. Terrific, and very patient. She didn't seem to mind at all that I made Kristi text her half a dozen times to check in. Hey, I may be annoying but I'm a great tipper.

Happy Halloween!

It's Ava's world. We're just livin' in it.

Here is a picture of Ava shamelessly petitioning for Christmas gifts in her "If you think I'm cute you should see my grandma" jammies. I told her this was never going to work unless her Grandma's actually saw her in the jammies, so she insisted I take this picture and post it to her blog. She also said to post that she wants a pony. Told you she was shameless.

I'm beginning to learn where Mommy falls in the pecking order around here. Andy and I took Ava to dinner a couple of nights ago, and before the meal even landed on the table she was loudly expressing her displeasure at being forced to face the prospect of yet another bottle of formula in the presence of Italian food. I picked her up and tried to reassure her that there was indeed lasagna in her future (once she gets some teeth - I was pretty clear on that point), but it was no use. She was mad. Until her Daddy took her, that is. She spent the rest of the meal quietly sitting on his lap. Guess the promise of lasagna has nothing on cuddles from Daddy. Oh well. They do make a pretty cute pair.

Ava made some new friends!

I've been dying to get this on film for days. I just wish you could see her face better. As many of you know, we've been waiting on the dresser in this picture for months. Up until it arrived, we had no actual changing table. So several days ago I laid Ava on the changing pad for the first time, and she discovered the fairies. She's been smitten ever since. From the second I lay her down she coos, smiles, stares and "talks" to them, and so far seems oblivious to the fact that they don't talk back. Keep your fingers crossed that it stays that way - if Ava decides she's mad at those fairies, diaper and clothing changes are not going to be fun for Mom and Dad.

Speaking of clothing changes, I'm a little behind on the laundry. This left me changing Ava into an outfit this morning that has all the simplicity of a Rubik's Cube. About 40 snaps and lots of whining (me, not her) later I finally had her wrestled into the silly thing, only to realize she had managed to pee all the way up the back. I have no idea how she did it, but I must admit I was a little impressed.

We're still waiting on Ava to sleep through the night. The doctor says it'll happen when she hits 12lbs. She was 10lbs 15oz at her last appointment. We've decided to start adding puréed Halloween candy to her bottles until she fattens up. Ok, so not really, but when the whole family is awake at 2 in the morning the idea gets tossed out there. Thank goodness for caffeine.

And then there were 3

I'm a little behind on this blogging thing, so I'll start from the beginning. Or Ava's beginning at least. Andy and I had taken all the baby classes, filled our house with tiny clothes, and bought every pink item sold at Baby's R Us. We pronounced ourselves prepared. And then she got here. The dazzling (and very sleepy) creature you see on the left here arrived on August 4, 2009 at 2:07pm, weighing in at 6lbs 8oz, and 18 inches long. Grandma Sally and Grandpa George were on hand to help us welcome her into the world.

Ava might not know it yet, but she's one lucky little girl. Since she was born the house (and phone lines, and email box) have been filled with people that love her - and are willing to change a diaper. To all of you, we send our sincere thanks. Ava, Andy, and I are so fortunate to have you in our lives.

Ava's already learned to smile, so we spend a fair amount of time making silly faces and dancing her around the house so we can see her grin. We haven't been able to catch it on camera yet, but hopefully we'll have a picture of that sweet little smile to post soon. In the meantime we're keeping the blinds closed.

At almost 3 months old, Ava's survived her first shots (thanks to her Aunt Marianne - I was crying in a chair. Pathetic, I know.), learned to hold her head up, impressed loved ones and strangers alike with her sassy sense of style, and wrapped everyone she's met - including the dog - around her dainty little finger. She really is an amazing little girl.