Stick with me, kid. I'll show ya how it's done.

As many of you know, our dear friends Chris and Brandy Laakso recently had a beautiful baby girl so we made a trip to Houston to meet her. Her name is Peyton Elizabeth, and she's the tiniest little thing you've ever seen.

Since Ava's gotten pretty good at working the system, I can only assume that she's got a thing or two to teach the newest Laakso. I can almost hear her now:

1.) "First of all, you have to use the crying to your advantage. Do it too often and it'll lose the 'poor baby' factor. But make sure that it sounds really sad when when you do use it. The cuddles you get are totally worth the red eyes."

2.) "Second, smiles are worth their weight in gold. Don't just give them out all willy-nilly; if you hold them back a little, you can get your parents to do anything to see that little grin. And I do mean anything."

"That should get you through the first few months. We'll reconvene this summer when I'll show you how to properly wear a cute hat, and explain why no one can resist a baby in jeans."

Ava did great on the trip. She sat through her first full meal in a high chair, where she politely inquired about the mashed fajitas, then did a little light reading while she waited for us to finish our meals.

She helped Aunt Marianne do a little work, and took some walks in the warm Houston sunshine.

And showed off her fashion sense at a little soiree thrown by Aunt Brandy and Uncle Chris. The whole family had a great time; Daddy got to have a little guy time, I got to do some bonding with little Peyton, and Ava spent some time reading stories with Sammie. It was so great to see some of our old friends and introduce them to Ava. I know she's going to grow up to love them as much as we do. We already can't wait to see everyone again.