Baby Ava Renee'

Yep...she gave up the goods :-) We had another ultrasound today and found out that it is definitely a girl! She will be named Ava (Aaron is happy there is another A name) Renee' (which is mine, my mom and my neices middle name!).

Below are two pics...not great...one is her beautiful face and one is her hand waving! She is breech right now and SO active that they had a hard time with the ultrasound again:-) But they are sure it is a girl. I am doing okay but putting on weight like a whale. They think it may have something to do with my medication but aren't sure. In a few weeks we will do labs and make sure that it is not the dreaded d word...diabetes. But... we know that Ava is healthy...and that is ALL that matters!!!!

Here is Baby Ava's face...blurry but beautiful!

Here is her wonderful hand...if you look closely you can see all five fingers. She is actually holding her foot in this pic but you cannot see that part....she is definitely a mover and a shaker!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas! We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve we went to my uncle's house and Christmas day we went to my mothers. Both days were such joys. Malia was overwhelmed by all of the gifts as were we.

Malia and Daddy loved the snow! Malia wasn't a fan of the cracking sound that came with a lot of the snowy areas...she wanted to be held quite a bit.

Our home...there was SO much snow!!!

Here is Malia with her cousins. They are SO good with her and she definitely adores them!

Here is Malia with the bike that Santa brought her. She loves it but has not had a chance to ride it outside yet!!

Malia and Santa!!

Malia went to see Santa today and it was wonderful. She literally RAN to him when it was her turn (no bashfulness in her) and climbed on his lap. When he asked her what she wanted for Christmas she said a bicycle. He told her she would have to keep her room clean and she just smiled at him. It was so adorable!!!

Here she is meeting Santa and telling him what she wants for Christmas.

Still talking to Santa...I think she forgot there was a line of people waiting. :-)

What a cutie...she did great!

SO EXCITED to be with Santa!

It is so hard to believe how much Malia has grown since last year. Not just her hair:-) but her personality as well. We included last years picture with Santa to remind everyone of Malia's changes. We feel so blessed to be starting this journey again with another baby as well.

24 weeks and growing...

24 weeks and growing!!! Baby, Malia, Aaron and I are enjoying the snow. I am a little antsy...not knowing the gender of our baby but appreciating the excitement of it all!

Here is where baby Ava Renee' or Ramsey Michael is developmentally:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Getting Ready for Christmas!

It was so fun getting ready for Christmas this year. We have a fake tree (at least until the kids are a bit older) and I never really thought about it until Malia said, "Daddy's building our tree!" Then I did feel kind of bad:-) Malia was pretty good about taking our holiday pic...Aaron wouldn't get his head in half the pics. Ahhhhhh....the joys of Christmas. We are looking forward to Christmas break to get ready for the baby and enjoy. My nesting has TOTALLY taken over. I went from relaxed and laid back TO...we need a nursery NOW! Thank God for my mom. Life is great.

Malia loved helping with the ornaments. There is no rhyme or reason to where the ornaments are on our tree....and that is how we like it. I guess the only reasoning is that the less breakable ones are the bottom. :-)

I love this picture. Malia is so excited to be a big sister. She goes back and forth between wanting a brother and a sister. We can't prepare her either way...because we are just not sure!

We found out we were pregnant with Malia on Christmas morning. This holiday is extra dear to us because of that. She is the best present we have ever received.

We owe my mom big for taking our pictures. I am so picky about them (I am a picture freak if you didn't notice) and I always want a ton. She is such a great sport...so is Malia and Aaron!