and now there's 4

teeth...that is....see!

fun in the snow

Aynslee is really starting to love this white stuff. Can you tell from her pictures!

9 months

Her 9 months stats at the doctor's office:

24.4 lbs. WOW, she's big! LOL <99%ile
29 1/2 inches tall                           <97%ile

This is one BIG baby! I love it though. I know all too soon she will stop nursing and loose weight. For now, I am eating her baby fat rolls as much as possible. I never, in a million years, thought I would have a baby bigger than Miss Ava Shaye, and sure enough, baby sister is beating her! Ava was a few lbs less than Ayns at this age. I can't believe it!

She was terrified of the scale...poor baby! She didn't want to see the results! 

much happier....she just smiled as they gave her shots! 

found it!!!

I posted below that she was cutting her top teeth...one of the top ones popped through today...I'll let you know when (I am sure soon) the other top one pops through. :)

during her 8th month...

She is trying her best to crawl....

and eating a variety of self-feeding foods....

She loves the cheeto things and the yogurt melts the best. A close second are the puffs....and then for dinner, she eats the diced carrot's. She drinks VERY well from a sippy cup....and also makes a VERY big mess with it too. :) She has two little teeth on the bottom...and cutting her top ones soon I am sure. She's getting so big....this makes my heart so happy!!!

Oh, and I completely forgot to mention how much she is babbling...."dadadada....mamamama"...you know me, I'm still not 100% sure we can call it her first words, but she can definitely imitate after you. When she wants me, and if I am in another room, she will holler "mama...mama...mama"....like I said before, we will see soon if this is meaningful speech, or /m/ and /d/ seems to be her first consonants.

logo

Love, love, love Ava's foundation logo....don't u?

The Story Behind the Logo:

A is for Angel Ava: We have a halo over the "A" in Avalyn because we called Ava our precious Angel. On her birth announcement, we have her tied in a Christmas ribbon with the wording "our angel". We have a picture of her with angel wings on her dedication announcement (which was April 20, 2008....Aynslee, her baby sister, was born April 20, 2010), and a month before she passed, her favorite shirt said "A" is for angel. Ava loved this shirt and would frequently say, "mama, wanna wear my angel shirt". She wore it all of the time!

Hearts: The hearts signify Ava's love...she had SO very much love for everything and everybody. She made this artwork, which is her two hands and the inside is a heart, a month before her surgery. She made it for valentines day...."love day".

Pink, Brown, and Polka dots: Pink and brown were Ava's colors. It was her nursery, her blankets, car seats & strollers, her toys, her invitations, everything was pink and brown. She was wrapped in pink, brown, and polka dots when she entered this world, and when she left this world, she was wrapped in her favorite pin, brown, and polka dot blanket. She called them "polkie-dotts".

Bows: Ava had a hair bow in her hair everyday of her life. We took it out at night so she could go to sleep, and she would wake in the morning and say, "need me hair bow mama". She loved hair bows and was so pretty in them.


Why a rainbow?: A double rainbow was texted to Ava's mommy the evening of March 21, 2010. These rainbows were seen just miles from the hospital where Ava's mommy and daddy were saying their final goodbye's to sweet Ava. A rainbow was also texted to our preacher, who was also at the hospital with us, the night we said goodbye to her. Exactly a week later, on Sunday morning on our way to church, we spotted another rainbow in the sky. On Aynslee's birthday, April 20, 2010...almost a month after Ava passed, we were watching t.v. and right before Aynslee was born, the news showed a rainbow in the sky. A few months later, in June, Ava's mommy and daddy both saw a double rainbow end to end on the lake. It was the most amazing thing we have ever seen. We have never seen so many rainbows so often in our life. There were many more rainbows....all around us all summer long. We believe that these double rainbows and rainbows were a sign, from God or one of his Angel's, a promise to us that Ava is safe...laughing, dancing, singing, and coloring her own rainbow in Heaven. I invite you to appreciate all the colors in your life and think of Ava each time you are blessed with the sight of a rainbow.  

Here is the double rainbow that was texted to me on March 21, 2010...taken while we were saying our final goodbye's to our sweet Ava. 

Happy 9th Birthday to Ashley Rhodes

The girls' cousin, Ashley, turned 9 years old today! Yay for you Ashley! May you enjoy this day and many, many more birthday's to come. We love you!

the birthday girl

little Aaden

little Addison and her grin. :)

Ava's beloved Austin

The girls (- one :( )

Aynslee: What?!?!?

Uncle Terry and Aynslee

Ashley

and the award for the best snowman goes to....

ava and aynslee's daddy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So super cute BAMA snow girl!!!!!

mommy it's coooold outside

sweet snow memories

Sometimes, I like to just write my memories down..so I have them somewhere..so one day I can print this blog and  have a record of my thoughts....and memories. Tonight, my thoughts are floating back a year ago...to the  snow days with Ava....for many of the snow days last year, Jim got to stay home and play with us too. He never did that before...usually, he drove in. This year, for some reason, he wanted to play with Ava in the snow. He said since I was 6-7 months pregnant, he wanted Ava to enjoy the snow..I am so thankful for these days and these sweet memories of my darling girl. She loved it (like everything else is life)...she was so amazed, so intrigued, so overjoyed about playing in the "snnnoooowwwww"

"look mommy, a snow ball"

She couldn't walk in it AT ALL! She would take a few steps and then fall down straight in the snow. You should have seen the pregnant mama trying to help her walk in all this snow. 

 Trying to walk in the snow.....step, step, step....

Daddy trying to help her "get up" 

Uh oh,  fell down!!!! 

These pictures are all different days...just snow days of 2010. But these "snow days"....they hold so much meaning to me now...because these days were my last days with Ava...my last 10 weeks with her before spring. These were my last memories spent with her...so now, a simple "snow day" brings my floating self down....Here are a few of her when she first saw the snow for this year...she thought is was the coolest stuff ever!

"Wow mommy, look"

Someone on facebook commented on this picture and said, "It looks like she thinks she won the lottery". Ava looked at everything in life that way. She was so happy, so full of love, so full of life, she loved it all. Everyday of her sweet, precious life, she loved!!!! Why can't we all learn from Ava and love like she did? 

Now, here are some of her building her "snow woman" with daddy. Now, those of you who know Jim, know that everything he does has to be absolutely PERFECT! This snow woman was just that...perfect! Ava had such a good time...and of course, she LOVED the snowman...so she tried to hug her. :) 

Trying to hug her snowman. 

Putting the heart on her. Just the right finishing touch Ava. :) 

Well, I need to go to bed...I'll post more tomorrow...I'll have plenty of time...it's snowing right now so NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! I heart my job! :)