These Boots are Made for Walking...

Things are going well here in the Cunningham household. hehe! I am THOROUGHLY enjoying break and am excited to celebrate Ava's first Christmas. I am not sure if I blogged that I broke my camera on our St. Charles trip (hence no blog of that yet...short story long, I do have the pics from cousin Megan's blog and my mom's from Snapfish, but haven't done anything with them yet AND I do have my old camera but need to ask Travis about the memory card for it. It says it is full. hmmm!). Anyway, that is why I haven't blogged many pics. Well, and nothing much exciting has been going on. We will be home until Christmas morning when we'll go to celebrate Christmas with Trav's extended family, then Christmas with my extended family the day after Christmas and Trav's mom/dad/siblings on the night after Christmas. Then my b'day on the 28th. I already told Travis I want a CAMERA for my birthday...hehe, and dinner at Red Lobster.

It will be a busy few days!

We made a trip out to the mall yesterday - she loves shopping! :) Can't you tell!?

I wish her cute boots had made it (fully) in the picture. I found them at Target...and they actually stay on her feet! I told Travis that I was going to just buy the baby Uggs since I was on pair #3 of boots NOT staying on her feet but he got lucky I found these and they are really cute--and a little cheaper, too.

She loves paper but we've had to monitor her when she's playing with it (you think? LOL...) since she actually swallowed some the other day and then gagged it up. TMI!? haha

Don't you like her outfit? All we had were the dress pj's upstairs last night so I stuck some of those baby legs (baby legwarmers) on her and socks too. All of different patterns. Quite the sight! I think she's looking at me saying, "I can play with this? REALLY?"

Little Peanut

Ava had her 6 month well-baby appointment last week--finally--after being sick.

Her stats:
Weight: 15 lbs something ounces. It was right under 16 pounds. 50th percentile
Length: 25 inches. 25th percentile
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 inches. A whopping 97th percentile.

I was hoping she'd be average height (and who knows...) but so far she's a little peanut I guess. She seems pretty average to me but it is funny to talk to a few friends with babies her age that are in 9 month clothes or bigger. She can still get away with some 3-6 month clothes but is typically in whatever actual month she is in clothing so most 6 month right now. I have noticed her sleeves are often too long and pant length too long---sounds quite familiar to me!

She's back to herself--funny, smiley, etc. for the most part. She is still coughing here and there with the occasional gagging on her bottle and is continuing to enjoy solid foods so I think we are going to start with more real people food and not just baby food soon.

Ava's Favorite Things

{Ava's Favorite Things}

• Eating. She loves just about anything, well, except baby food turkey. YUCK! She actually SCREAMED the last time I tried to give her that. I would too, I guess. It reminds me of dog food. Double ICK!


• Hands and Feet. She loves loves loves her own feet and giggles anytime I tickle her belly with my foot. Who knew! She is also infatuated with hands and fingers.


• Paper. She is obsessed with paper right now.


• Cell phones. She smiles anytime you get your phone out. I can almost get a smile in a picture if I am using my phone.


• The computer. She LOVES the computer. Taking after her daddy? haha. No, I think I'm on it WAY more! As a matter of fact right now she is trying to get our of her Bumbo to get to the computer.


• REMOTES! Give her a remote and she's happy!


• Cords. Yes. Time to baby proof the house!!!


• Rolling over. She has mastered rolling over and is figuring out how to get around. No signs of crawling yet but she can pull herself up and do 360s.


• Music, singing and dancing.


• On that note, she does seem to love her own voice. I think I've even heard "Da" a few times but "Bla" (blah blah blah?) is her fave. She also still loves to stick her tongue out and spit.

Such a little character!

SHE IS MY FAVORITE THING!

Sicky Girl

Well, we have survived Ava getting sick for this first time...sniff sniff. She started with a fever on Saturday night through Sunday and then just had a stuffy nose and cough. We took her to the dr. on Monday and her strep test came back negative and no ear infection---I say THANK GOODNESS but like Dr. Emm said, if it is strep or an ear infection they can fix that in 1 day. Unfortunately since it wasn't they can't give her anything and she just has to get better. Her appetite has gone down a little but I think it'll be back to normal once she's completely better.

Poor thing! You can just tell she doesn't feel good and her cough does not sound good. So far she is breathing ok overall, but we're watching it to make sure no pneumonia or anything more severe develops. She will go back to the dr next week for her 6 month well baby check up---providing she's better. Dr. Emm said he has seen several babies this week and last with the same thing. Last week they all had strep and this week they all came back negative. Interesting!

She weighed in Monday at just under 16 pounds and from our measurements on length (we just did it while we were waiting for the nurse) she was 25 inches. So, she's grown an inch since her 4 month appointment. :) Still a little peanut I think and I swear her feet have NOT grown!?? I can't seem to find shoes that actually fit her. All 6+ mo. are huge. Hats are a different story. She is in at least 6-12 mo. there :)

Anyway, I knew it was pretty inevitable she'd get sick and we'll survive (she's building immunity, right!?), but I will say that is the most helpless feeling knowing that your baby is sick and there isn't a thing you can do about it. I spent all of Saturday night and into the a.m. just holding her and though I'd never want her to be sick, it was nice to be able to snuggle with her. The worst was when she was actually whimpering!!! Heart breaking!

I stayed home with her yesterday and I'm happy to say that was the day she decided to start rolling over ALL of the time! She has done it before (both ways) but never has been a fan of her belly and would scoot around rather than rolling over, to get to something. It's pretty funny watching her. I grabbed my phone and took these pictures so they aren't the greatest but you can see it won't be long before she'll be into ANYthing and EVERYthing!

Here I go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She always ends up stuck on her mat in some weird position...LOL...

I think she's saying "Ooooohhh Mommy hasn't baby-proofed the house yet!!"

Super excited for her 6 mo. photos this weekend and our family Christmas picture as well as hers. She got to see Santa last week at the mall in Springfield and actually smiled. Lately she's been a little scared of men in particular, that she doesn't know. We got a smile in the professional photo. :)

Thanksgiving post coming soon. :) Why does it seem I am always working out of order here???

Thankful

Wow! How is it already Thanksgiving? I asked one of my students yesterday what the date was and was so shocked it was November 24! I mean, I obviously knew Thanksgiving was coming, but I literally could not believe it was actually Nov. 24! Tomorrow also marks Ava's 6 MONTH birthday!!!! Time definitely flies when you are having fun and the past 6 months have been a blast! I feel very blessed this year and am so {thankful}...

***

...that I have been blessed enough to be Ava's mommy! I always wanted a daughter to share those special memories with. Each and every day gets more and more fun and special.

***

...for my AWESOME husband. I have always thought he was pretty great but seeing him as a daddy has really made me love him even more. I was just having a conversation last night about how he enjoys doing things with her and it's never a situation where I have to say...will you PLEASE do this or that. He loves his baby and she definitely loves her daddy!

***

...that Travis stays with Ava and gives me some ME time when I need it!

***

...for my health and my family's health.

***

...for my awesome friends and family. I am so thankful for all of you!

***

...for my job! Not only do I feel lucky to have a job with this economy, but that it's something I do truly LOVE! Not only do I have the chance each day to be creative, but I work at a great school with an awesome principal and the kids make each day fun and they keep me on my toes!

***

...and soooooooooo thankful that Ava has started sleeping through the night with NO interruptions---going on 5 nights in a row! :-) Just had to throw that one in there!

H A P P Y T H A N K S G I V I N G!!!!!!!!!

Ava and her new thing!

Little Sweetie

Misc.

I know I've been a little M.I.A. I had 800+ grades and report cards due last week, not to mention I was sick with strep throat Monday and gone Wednesday on a field trip with the 3rd graders to the art museum at U of I = 2 days of sub plans to write!

I will post some cute pics and videos of Ava soon!

She has now mastered the sticking her tongue out thing and SPITTING all over. She thinks it is pretty funny, too! Her favorite time is when you start to give her the bottle! :)

She has also experimented with almost all 1st baby foods. She loves most of them! She is even eating peas now. Usually I pair it with a fruit.

On Friday her sitter gave her some of those little Gerber 'puffs' that dissolve in their mouth and she reeeeeeallly likes those too!

She finally rolled over from her back to belly!! Travis put her on her mat one morning this past week and I was uptairs getting ready. When he went back in the room, she was on her belly. :) Little stinker! Neither one of us got to see it...but she's been so close for a while now.

I've been putting her to bed later since I bought Dr. Ferber's book about sleep. In it, it says that a 6 month old should get 9 1/4 hours of nighttime sleep. With Ava going to bed at 8pm, she was pretty much getting her 9 hours (occasionally waking up after around 8...). Anyway, I figure if she goes to bed at 9 or 10, and sleeps 8 or 9 hours, at least then she isn't up til 6 and lately even if she wakes up then, she'll go back to sleep for another hour or so while I'm getting ready. She still takes her evening nap, which is helping her to stay up until 9 or 10 and this is seeming to work well for us! I know that might sound crazy to some, but it works for us. Last night she slept from about 9:45 until 7:45!!!!!!!! With NO interruptions! Whohoo! I, of course, woke up at 7am and freaked out!

Check back soon for updated pics. :)

This is me journaling...

Just got home from a weekend crop. Mom and I scrapped all day on Saturday and today. It was fun AND I got 11 two-page spreads done! Thanks to some pre-designed pages! :) I still want the digital scrapbooking program from CM, but I really do enjoy scrapbooking the old-fasioned way, too. I started on Ava's birth and am up to about week 2...11 pages later. Something is telling me this is going to be a thick book. :)


As I was working today, I realized I want more things documented so I am going to try to blog more/journal more, so I'll have plenty to go back and print if I choose for scrapbooking purposes. Soooooo---bare (sp?) with me.


{A few sidenotes...}



Ava is getting more and more mobile. She still hasn't rolled over from back to front, BUT I know she could if she really wanted. haha! She started out on her mat in the middle of it and as I am typing she has moved pretty much off of it just by scooting around. She also will roll onto her side to get to things or see things. Won't be long before she'll be mobile!

(Here she is...her mat is the blue thing to the right where she started out). Look out! Here I Come!

• Not only is she infatuated with her own feet, but with this nice weather, I've been going without socks and she is also infatuated with MY feet. She is very intrigued. :-)
• We have been continuing to experiment with foods. She isn't really enjoying anything green too much. She even will CLAMP her mouth shut when you try. She likes green beans more than peas---but peas = NO WAY! I did read on the baby oatmeal box to "Try, try again." It said that it may take up to 15 tries for a baby to accept a new taste. It said to try mixing a new one with one she has already mastered. I did scoop a little green beans under the peaches to sneak them in but she figured that out after a few spoonfuls. She still likes ice cream---my bad! She's only had a tiny little taste, I promise! She will also clamp her mouth shut and bat the bottle away when she's full. It even went flying the other day! oops!
• She has figured out how to stick her tongue out and basically spit, making that fun spitting sound. Pretty funny!
• She is still getting there with the sleeping. The other night she did sleep from 9ish until 6am (9 hours)!!!! WHOHOO! I actually went to bed around 10pm so I got EIGHT FULL HOURS of UNINTERRUPTED sleep! OMGosh! What a great feeling. :-) Travis and I do alternate some nights, so that is nice too. She still isn't consistent and I'm not sure why. The night she did sleep through she took an 8 ounce bottle before bed so we are trying to stick with that. Some nights she takes a 5pm catnap and some nights she doesn't. Anyway, I don't know what to do if she takes say 4 or 6 ounces and then wakes up around 4am or 5am. Do I feed her or not? hmmmm. I'd say she should be able to sleep through for another hour or 2 but I admit, it is sometimes easier just to nurse her back to sleep, plus I second guess myself thinking 'well, maybe she is hungry'. I know it's a habit I guess I'll have to break later---I'm thinking, when I don't have to go to work the next day. The interrupted sleep can be hard but so is being up for an hour at 4am waiting for her to go back to sleep! I also try to take into consideration when she does wake up she has slept for 8 hours and went 8 hours without food and I guess other than my dr. telling me I could cut out the middle of the night feeding at her 4 mo. appointment, I don't know what to really expect of her at 5 months. :)
• A lady I talked to today at the scrapbooking thing said her daughter just had to break her daughter of her middle of the night feeding and that getting her out of the crib might be an option and just rock her back to sleep but get her little tummy used to not having that 4am feeding. She said after about 3 nights she got used to it. I was hesitant to get her out of the crib and rock her for fear that then she'll expect/need that but I guess I could try it to eliminate the feeding and then eliminate the rocking after that.

• I even tried the 'dreamfeeding' the other night. I thought I would just see what would happen. Well, I got her out of her crib (around 11pm after she went to bed around 8:30) and she did not even flinch!!! I was shocked...me picking her up and trying to feed her and NOTHING! haha! I didn't want to actually wake her so I just put her back in the crib. I know in time she'll get there and I'm prepared to deal with it as it comes I guess. :)

Super Ava!

Happy Halloween...from SUPER Ava! Travis actually came up with the idea for Super Girl and we found it online pretty CHEAP! I thought her tights that she already had went great and though I didn't have time to make her "A" headband, I thought her pink bow was 'super' cute.

We had to miss the school festivities, which I planned to take Ava to, since we ended up being out of town for Trav's grandma's funeral. With all of the sickness going around, I figured it was probably for the best anyway.

5 months old

Ava is 5 months old today! I can hardly believe it---I think I say that every month! I was able to spend the day with her today since our babysitter and her daughter are both sick. It was a fun day even though we didn't really do anything special. I just enjoyed spending the day with her. Each and every day her personality comes out more and more - as I think you can see from her facial expressions in some of these pictures. She is starting to giggle more and continues to LOVE her voice. We went to dinner tonight and she was 'screaming' almost the whole time and I don't mean crying. It probably doesn't help that I make silly noises all the time with her and we scream and sing. She is also more and more interested in her toys and really grabs things and inspects them---including her feet. She is infatuated with them and has started chewing on them! She is ABOUT to roll over from her back to belly but most of the time she will just do 360s until she can get to something. I still don't think she loves her belly so hopefully she'll eventually do it on her own. :-)

I. Love. Her.

Trying to eat her ducky...





What a big girl!

Cousins

The cousins!
Ava, Reddington, Dasani




Ava and Reddington were having a blast apparently 'inspecting' each other! Hopefully Ava's not going to be a hair puller but she does already like to grab ANYTHING!



Please excuse her outfit. This was the end of a LONG day---she'd lost her headband and her dress by this point. :)

Rader Pumpkin Patch - Take 2

Travis and I decided to take Ava to the Pumpkin Patch again since it was such a nice day yesterday. We actually bought some pumpkins too so that was fun! I'm happy with how the pics turned out.


Boo!

Nothin like layin in the dirt! She didn't seem to mind!

Yep--that's right. 24 inches!

I LOVE FALL!!

hmmmmmm...Not sure how great this will taste, but let me try it out!

On our way home. I think she is thinking "Are we done now???????"

Playing with some of our purchases. :)

Spoon River Drive

The first weekend in October is the Bettis girls annual trip on the Spoon River Drive. This year it was me, Megan, Mom, Bridgett and my friend Anne, who I consider like a sis! We always have fun no matter what and are always looking for a photo op. I actually really like how the picture of me with the hat turned out, thanks to Bridgett's 'vision.'



I decided to take some fun photos of all of the RANDOM things we encountered on our trip. Wow! These were just a few. My favorite is still the SHOUPIES mainly because I said "Wow! Look at all of those Sharpies for just a $1!" And Anne replied, "No, Steph, those are SHOUPIES!" haha!




It was a little chilly but it gave us a chance to fashion some of our new winter attire!

Fall Pics by Lori

Going out of order here but I HAD to put our fall pics on. We went to Taylorville last weekend so Lori could take our fall photos, as well as hang out with the Bettis Fam for a cookout. I am in love with them all!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spoon River Drive and Rader's Pumpkin Patch - take 2 - coming up!

Lauren and "ABA"

Here are some super cute pics of Ava and Lauren. Lauren is Kim's daughter, my good friend that I met at Fairview several years ago. She is a 1st grade teacher there and our girls go to Jeanne's together. Lauren will be 2 in December. She loves her ABA! If she gets to Jeanne's first, she always greets Ava at the door and has named her dolly's Aba, too. She loves her---when her mommy isn't paying too much attention to her. :-)

I especially love the picture that Lauren is pointing to Ava's bow. So cute! Check out Ava's patchy 'do! :)

Rader Pumpkin Patch

We met Laura and Dave in our Childbirth classes while we were both pregnant. We never exchanged numbers or anything and though Laura was due 5 weeks after me, she ended up having Izzy 2 days after me. Travis ran into her at the hospital as we were leaving - just by chance! We're so glad or else we wouldn't have hooked back up. Since then, we've kept in contact and have gotten together a few times. Yesterday we went to lunch at Moe's (YUM!) and then took the girls to Rader's Pumpkin Patch. It was C.O.L.D.!!!!!! but we had fun. We got a few pics anyway and I thought Ava looked super cute in her 'So Cute It's Scary' outfit even if her ski hat didn't match! :)

Quirky Girl

I LOVE this picture! The other night I put Ava in her bathrobe after her bath to take some pictures. I loved how this one turned out--my total favorite! Then I had Lori do some touching up to make it look a little more 'professional.' :-) Then I had some fun on picnik.

Revelation!

Thanks to everyone that has listened to all of my questions and thoughts on Ava's sleeping habits. This morning I had a REVELATION!

Being a parent brings upon so many questions and doubts---'why is she doing this or that, is this what's best for her, why won't she do this?' etc. I've realized you have to go with your 'gut' feeling. You know what is best. You can't compare your child to anyone else's child. Each baby is their own person--unique and special in their own way. It may be hard to hear that so and so's baby is sleeping through the night or that so and so's 3 year old is 'already reading' but you can't let any of those things bring you down or make you feel like you aren't doing your job. :) I've realized that once you REALIZE all of that and accept it, it is then that you will really be able to be the best parent you can be. It is so true. All babies are different. They are little people and that's just how people are, right? Different.

My revelation happened this morning when Jeanne asked how Ava's night was--if it was better. It really got me to thinking as I answered saying "Well, it's not that she's not sleeping well, it's that she is getting up once in the night to eat." Jeanne asked what time she was going to bed and as we were discussing I realized something. #1 Ava is going to bed at 8pm and sleeping until almost 2am (6 hours) and that in itself is great!! Like I mentioned in my last post, she is also taking TWO - 2 hour naps during the day where she goes to sleep in a crib on her own. So I'm thinking little Miss Ava doesn't have any sleeping issues. It was ME that had an issue feeling like 'why is everyone else's baby sleeping through the night by this time' or having these preconceived notions of what should be happening.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't want her to get in the habit of waking up at night to eat but I am thinking with the introduction of some baby food, hopefully her little tummy will start getting more full for longer and hopefully her 2am feeding will turn into 3am, 4am, 5am, and eventually disappear! :) I've realized that if she isn't hungry and is just waking up, the paci or her blanket works to put her back to sleep and if it doesn't work, then she is hungry. Dr. Emm also didn't ask what time she was going to bed so I think all of those things factor in. I admit it. I was feeling like 'by now' she should be sleeping 12 hours (haha) and what is wrong that she isn't.

I doubt this is the ONLY time I will have to stop and remember that Ava is her own little person - special and unique - and will do things on her own time! I am very blessed to have such a sweet, happy baby. She is definitely her daddy's girl. Smiley all the time. And at least Travis and I are aware of things that could lead to bad habits and we'll try anything to help our little girl.

4 month Appointment

Ava had her 4 month appointment last Friday with Dr. Emm. She is doing great! A healthy 13 pounds 11 ounces and 24 inches long. Her head is still in the 90% :-) She is a happy baby and is really getting into a nice routine at Jeanne's - taking two 2 hour naps a day. She also takes a little catnap at about 5pm each day. Dr Emm said that since she has had formula (I'm still pumping but I can't quite keep up!), we can continue the rice cereal but also start solids. Fun!! We started with peas----the first night she actually seemed to like them but every other night since she literally gags when I put them in her mouth. Too funny! Travis and I both hate peas.


I am still awaiting the night she sleeps THROUGH the night, however. I'm in such total debate about what to do about it. Is it an issue?, I don't know. When I mentioned it to Dr. Emm, he asked "Are you feeding her?" I said, "Yes." He said that she is old enough and big enough (he said he would not have said this at 2 months) to not have a middle of the night feeding. He also said if I want to get more sleep in the long run, I should not feed her in the middle of the night, however, it is my choice and he can't tell me what to do. The getting up doesn't bother me because she nurses and is back in her crib quickly. I just don't want her to be eating out of habit so the real question is "Is she hungry?"

She has also been going to sleep much earlier - in her crib asleep around 8pm, which is still going great. She goes to sleep on her own with her blanket and paci. Anyway, for example, last night she woke up at 1:45 (almost 6 hours!). They say that sleeping through the night for a baby really means 5 hours but I'm not sure what age that is referring to. A book I was reading also said that some babies may need a middle of the night feeding up until 9 months (and maybe even 2 feedings), however, you shouldn't feed them if they are not really hungry (duh!) and awake because all babies have a period of partial awakening and if you go to her during one of these, you could cause night-waking or night-feeding habits. A little confusing!

I let her cry it out when she woke up at 1:45, and she did finally go back to sleep (Yay Ava!) after almost 45 minutes or so. THE CATCH----she woke up about an hour later at which time I fed her. I figured it had been 8 hours since she had last eaten and I just felt she was truly hungry.

I'm in limbo about what to do. I understand the cry it out method for older babies or for when it is at their bedtime, but I am not sure what to do in the middle of the night considering she is only 4 months old. She nursed like crazy at 4am and went right back to sleep. I've explored some possibilities: dream feeding=getting her out of her crib right before I go to bed and nursing her to make her able to go a longer stretch; feeding her the first time she wakes up and then letting her cry it out the second time if necessary; or just feeding her both times she wakes up (if she does...and no more than 2 times) and hoping she is ready to sleep through the night soon!

I've just heard from so many people that 'my kids were still up in the middle of the night at 1 1/2'---OUCH! I think for now I might try the dream feeding or the other option of feeding her the first time and seeing how she sleeps after that and letting her cry it out. Not sure if that is the right decision or not but after one night of getting no sleep, Travis and I both are zombies, and not to mention we both overslept until almost 7am this morning! And really, I'm hoping if I do feed her once in the night, I can focus on weaning that out soon. She's adjusted so well to everything else (no more swaddling, going to sleep on her own) that I'm just praying for the best!

Any of you moms out there that have any advice, feel free to fill me in! :)

Sleepy Girl

Well, I just had to write about Ava's nighttime progress. Last night we went to Springfield for dinner with Trav's family for his brother's birthday so Ava's routine was a little off. She ate in the car and fell asleep for a little bit and then woke up when we got home so I changed her and was getting her ready for bed. Knowing she had a full tummy and that she was tired, I thought I'd stick her in her crib without rocking her to see what would happen. (She's been sleeping in her crib since about 4 weeks but is usually asleep when I put her there...). I have been trying to transition her out of needing to be swaddled also just because I have a horrible vision of her being 2 1/2 and still needing to be swaddled! LOL! Anyway, I swaddled her from the waist down--arms out, and gave her the binky and a blankie and watched her as she rubbed the blanket on her face putting herself to sleep!! The sitter has been also doing the same thing so I knew she COULD go to sleep on her own. It took about 15 minutes last night. Well, tonight it only took about 5 minutes or less and instead of the 1/2 swaddle, I put her in one of those sleep sacks that zip up. I also created a 'sleep positioner' of my own with one of our couch throw pillows (it's long and skinny so fits nicely in her crib) covered with a blanket, and another blanket on the other side so she feels nice and snug and secure. :) I guess she likes it!

I thought it was ironic that in my last post I said we needed to work on this whole going to sleep on her own thing...and now she seems to be a pro!

Now all I have to say is that we need to work on this whole sleeping ALL THE WAY through the night thing.

I'll get back to you in a few days with that progress. haha!

4 months old

Ava was 4 months old yesterday! We got some really cute chair pics. She is getting so big and her personality is really starting to come out. She has also found her voice (again)! She was jibber jabbering there for a while and then we thought she had stopped a little but this past week she has started talking nonstop! She has also learned how to scream---cute at first, until she started doing it when she wakes up in the night! :-) (I'll post some videos soon). I guess she thinks it's playtime! Luckily she does go right back to sleep. I'd love to know what she is saying and what is going on in that little mind of hers.

She continues to be the sweetest baby ever! I think she is somewhat getting into a routine with her naps and we've been experimenting with her bedtime. I read that babies her age need about 15 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period with 10 of those hours being nighttime sleeping. WOW! (uh...me too...haha). She still gets up in the night but usually it is still only once so I won't complain. It's a quick process. :) The only thing that will take some adjusting to is not getting to see her in the evening as long.

She has even been napping in her crib but we're going to have to work on the whole "going to sleep on her own" thing.

This and That...

I realized I never blogged my pictures from our weekend in Grafton over Labor Day weekend. For the 2nd year, the Bettis group (my mom's side) has met in Grafton, IL at Pere Marquette Lodge. On our way home, we stop in Kampsville, IL to eat at the Kampsville Inn (my great-grandparents lived in Kampsville before they passed away). We rode the ferry, an old tradition, and stopped off at the waterfall where my Grandpa Bettis was baptized as a child by his father, my great-grandfather--it has become a photo op for the family.

My Grandpa Bettis passed away 4 years ago after a long battle with cancer and we've all missed him so much. This tradition is in honor/memory of him. It makes me sad that he never got to meet Ava but I think it's so neat that our whole family is able to gather at this special place and feel close to him.

I don't know the exact year but I'm guessing around 1947!

2009

We aren't actually standing in the water like they were but I think we are right in front of the spot they were. Travis and I got in last year (along with my cousin Nathan and wife Megan---pre-babies). :) It's quite slippery and rocky!

Another shot...

"Super Ava" with her Daddy

Hanging out at the pavilion.

We cooked hot dogs, smores, and sat around while my Uncles played their guitars and sang. Reminds me of the good ol' days growing up. I grew up camping---"actual camping in tents" until my grandparents bought a 'cabin' as we called it near Shelbyville, IL and our whole family would go there for all of the summer holidays and stay all weekend. Everyone that had a camper would bring it and my Uncle Darren would usually get a campsite so we could go to Lake Shelbyville to swim. It was soooo fun! Brings back a lot of memories of sitting around the campfire singing songs. My family is very musical so we had tons of fun! Now we all stay at the lodge in the cabins there and we joked we saw more bugs there than if we had actually been camping. I guess I was a little preoccupied this year but last year I got pictures of the HUGE spiders that are lurking all over the place and not to mention the mosquitos. I think Travis' legs are still covered in red dots.

Shopping in Grafton

I thought the "Not a Shop" sign in someone's yard was pretty comical. Don't go knockin' on their door!

Well, I figured I might as well make this one Loooooooong post. It's been a B.U.S.Y. couple weekends for the Cunningham's. We left right after school on Friday to head back to Jacksonville for Trav's cousin Justin's wedding. Another chance for Ava to wear all those cute dresses she has! We stayed at Travis' brother Rob and Abby's. She's the other blonde holding Ava. Someone said we could be sisters and I guess I never really noticed how similar we looked until looking at these 2 pics. Must be the hair. :)


Far left--Proud Grandpa!

The next morning, we got up and headed to see Travis' Grandma in Winchester. She is very ill right now and we just pray that she isn't in too much pain. After hanging out there for about an hour or so we were back in the car heading to Decatur for a family get together with the Bettis fam in memory of Grandpa B. As I said earlier, my family is very musical and I think it all started with my Grandpa (and his parents). He produced records with various quartets and I have fond memories of him and my uncles playing guitar and singing at the Decatur Opry. The service Saturday evening was in honor of him. The money raised will hopefully help support a young person someday who is interested in pursuing a career in music ministry. (Thanks Megan, I couldn't have described it any better!)

Here are a few photos from the night. There are now FOUR great-grandbabies in the family all under the age of 1! From the left:

Macy/Landen (3 weeks old)

Steph/Ava (almost 4 months old)

Abi/Dasani (almost 6 months old--I THINK!)

Megan/Reddington (almost 7 months old)

and the babies with their Daddies!

Brock, Travis, Donovan, Nate

My Aunt sang, my Uncle sang and played guitar, niece Isabelle played piano, cousin Brock played piano and my great Uncle sang and also played saxophone (ok, not at the same time), and his wife, my great Aunt, played piano and sang and my cousin Megan B. also sang. Whew! I think I got it all!

After the celebration, Travis, Ava and I stopped to see my friend Casey who was in town at her parents. She now lives in Chicago area and it just so happened she was in town the same time we were. It made for a late few nights for us but was great to see her! I am very happy to say that after all of the traveling, we stayed home today and just chilled. Ava slept until after 9 (after only getting up once in the night, and then at 6am) and then took a nice morning and afternoon nap. I guess she was recovering!

She has been so much more alert and aware of her surroundings lately and I swear she watches me when I'm eating saying..."Give me some!" so we decided to give her rice cereal for the first time tonight (one week early...shhhh!). Not to mention, the tries to drink out of the cup I use to rinse her hair in the bath. :) Anyway, she seemed to really like it! Gotta love the SPAM bib--her Uncle Jeff works for Hormel in Austin, MN and we've visited the SPAM museum (yes, SPAM has a museum) on a few visits to see them.