2 weeks old!

Ava Renee' is 2 weeks old today! We are adusting and doing very well. I am healing well from my C-section and ready to rock and roll:-) Ava has nights where she sleeps great (for a newborn) and nights that I feel like I must be in a sleep study to see how little sleep you can get and still function:-) Every single second of it is a blessing!

Ava is so alert. Her pediatrician cannot believe how well she can focus. She is 30 percentile for weight, 80th for height, and 50th for head size. No 99.9 percentile for head and height like sister:-). The dr. is not worried about her weight. She was supposed to gain about 7 oz last visit and she gained 13...she's doing great!

And it begins...the chair pictures. I did one with Malia every month until she turned 1. Now we do it every year. All pics are posted outside her room so we can watch her grow. Ava was such a champ taking her pic!
Malia is transitioning wonderfully. She has moments where she will melt down but overall she has done fabulous. She continues to crack Aaron and I up. This is her wearing Daddy's shoes and being Super Weela (she calls herself Weela instead of Malia...it is hilarious!) . If you ask her, her name she says Weela Kathryn Qualls. If you ask wear she lives, she says Acoma (Tacoma). I feel like I am living in a coma right now too:-)

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Grandma Sheila and Grandma Shell took Malia to the Easter egg hunt in Fircrest and she had a blast. She was well prepared after watching Max and Ruby's Egg Hunt a thousand times:-) We are doing well with our new family of four...Aaron is amazing! He does everything...I can't imagine not having him as my hubbie/teammate. Life is great...Ava is a blessing and I feel truly lucky to celebrate such an important holiday with such wonderful blessings! Malia and the Easter Bunny!

Malia with her cousins...she loves Makenzie and Claudia SO much!

Picking up the candy...she knew exactly what to do!

Easter Beauty!

Malia's auntie Robin got her this outfit...it was so adorable and said Baby's First Easter!

These are our dear friends, Becky and Arlo. My family loves them dearly and we were so glad they came for a visit. Becky played well with Malia while we watched the Masters :-) Good friends are such an amazing thing to have!

Malia loves to play music. She insists that Aaron and I have an instrument, too. Then she sings and dances. It is hilarious...we are thinking of going on the road.:-)

Ava Renee' Qualls

Ava is here! She was born on April 6th at 1:46 p.m. She was 7 lbs. 2 oz. and 19 3/4 inches long. She is smaller than Malia was, but she also was about 18 days earlier! We had so many wonderful visitors in the hospital and so many well wishes by phone. Malia is getting to know her sister...overall she is doing very well!!! Ava is a relaxed baby (so far so good) and absolutely perfect. Love to everyone and we will keep the pictures coming!!On our way to take Malia to school. She took cookes for Ava's birthday! The last pic of the family of three!Almost ready to have Ava! We arrived at 10:30 a.m. and she was born at 1:46 p.m. That is my kind of birth!Ava...only a few hours old!

Happy girl!!
The whole family is together!!What a cutie!Big sister, Malia is holding Ava for the first time!

Getting ready to go home!!!

Last Shower...

Ginger, Me, and Jen...Malia,also!

Yesterday marked the last (of 3 ) showers for Ava...she is so lucky! This one was especially touching because it was thrown by my coworkers. Also, I have been lucky enough to go through my pregnancy with two other ladies...they are due two weeks after me (both on the same day!) and it has been so nice to have someone to share this with! Jen is an especially dear friend...she and I are SO similar that sometimes the school has to watch out:-) She calls us Hammer 1 (thats her) and Hammer 2. Sometimes I feel bad for my principal:-) The shower was amazing and I could not believe the amount of gifts for the three of us...it was insane! I feel ready for Ava to come. One more week of work, one week of rest...and then she will be here!!!

36 weeks!!!

All About Ava:

Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of her first bowel movement.At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she's in a head-down position. But if she isn't, your practitioner may suggest scheduling an "external cephalic version," which is a fancy way of saying she'll try to coax your baby into a head-down position by manipulating her from the outside of your belly.

Here is one of our last photos as a family of three. We are all so excited for the arrival of Ava Renee'.

Class Baby Shower!

Lucky Ava got another baby shower yesterday! My class gave her a baby shower and it was unbelievable. I had parents come and take care of the whole thing. The students put together a beautiful quilt. Each student was responsible for each square and it is pretty awesome. I felt overwhelmed by all the attention but the kids loved it. We played baby bingo and they couldn't say baby or they lost their pink pin. It was hilarious how competitive it got. What a great class! Unfortunately, most of my photos have my students in them and with photo restrictions I can't share. But here are just a few to give a glimpse!

Ava's big day is arriving quickly!!! We now know that she is coming on Monday, April 6th. We even know that the procedure is supposed to begin at 12:30p.m. It seems so crazy to me to have it planned in advance like that but I am just choosing to see it as one of the few perks of a Csection. My last day of work is March 27th and I have to be honest...I am pooped!!! I like to think that I am a trooper but it is really difficult. Malia was due in Aug. so I was done working at 29 weeks. Also, I could nap whenever I wanted!! During the weekends, we are spending as much time together as a family of three before we become a fabulous four. Malia is very excited for Ava to come and we know she is going to be the best big sister!!! Malia loves to go SO high on the swings...she has the best time every time we go to the park!!!!!

I cannot believe how big she is getting! I cannot wait for her to meet Ava and to hear her reaction. I packed my bag for the hospital and included a gift from Ava to Malia. I think that will smooth over some of the anxiety with the new baby:-) Much love to all...less than a month until Ava Renee' joins the fam!!!