Quarantined!!!!!!

Sad Ava with red eyes, cough, and tons of secretions!






Mom dressed me up for a photo shot!

Daddy dressed me up & feeling better today!














Last week Ava was diagnosied with RSV........ an acronym for an Adult cold in a baby. Of course I have spent the last week suctioning, giving breathing treatments, counting respirations, giving chest physiotherapy...and crying. I am sure that we have spent the last 4 weeks indoors, washing hands with saintizer and sick vistiors wearing masks...and still Ava & I get sick. She is doing much better this week but still has a man-sized cough in her tiny body :( My PED said Ava could not ask for a better mom to take care of her right now....I said I do not want to be that kind of mom!
She is still happy as ever with a new trick of smiling when she is talked to & a big frown when she is sad! Thanks for all the calls of concern...it seems when Ava does have a visitor about 3 days later they are sick too.....Ava "vector" Kristensen. We miss seeing all the grandparents! My mom came by last Friday...not as a Grandma but a serious medical visit (G-Ma is a PED nurse practitioner) to assess Ava's clinical status...by sunday my mom has the same cough as Ava...watch out!

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!

Ava Lolabelle's first holiday. The last few weeks we have enjoyed visits from friends and family from near and far. We made our first of probably thousands of trips to the Uinta Basin to see KK's family. To date this is the farthest away from home Lola has been. We have enjoyed the four B's of parenthood: breastfeeding, burping, bathing, and butt-wiping. Who would have thought these simple human functions would be so satisfying. Lola was so happy to see everyone and we really appreciate those who traveled so far to enjoy time with our little family.




Here Ava is enjoying a swaddle bath. This is a technique KK showed me from work. You use a blanket to keep her warm while washing portions of her body at a time. SHE LOVES IT!!!



















"MOMMY!!! I just finished with my facial and you are greasing me up with your lip gloss again!!!!"














Here's Ava with her Grandma Ruth. We stayed with her in Roosevelt for a few days before Easter. Ruth got a lot of quality snugglin/nappin time with her great granddaughter.
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It is easy to see that Aunt Marie is much more exited about birth of her niece than she was with me. She was trying to smile but I was the 7th boy and she still didn't have a little sister.

"See you guys next time"

WE'RE HOME!!!!!!

Today Ava Lolabelle is two weeks old. Looking at her earlier pictures, she has changed but not too much. Kristin is doing as well as could be expected after the surgery. She spends her days with the new one and is a great mother. She has been around newborns for the majority of her nursing career which gave her a head start on the feeding and diaper changing skills. It has not taken very long for me to catch up with her even though Lola usually waits until I am changing her to do her business. Lola really loves her mother, she calms down with the sound of her voice and usually falls right to sleep in her arms. My favorite thing to observe is the way she kisses her daughter all the time. KK cannot do this at work even if she becomes attached to some of the patients she has taken care of. This is good because parents probably do not want the lip gloss residue that I have to constantly wipe off.

I've notice lately that when I log on at school to see my baby, my pictures do not always line up with explanation text. So I decided to place all pictures to one side to see if that helps.



Yep, we couldn't be happier with our little redheaded angel. It feels great to be home.













We had pictures taken at Kiddie Kandids. Ava Lolabelle posed like she has a future in front of the camera. Here she is in her Cinderella Princess Dress.












Here she is in her second wardrobe change. Kristin wanted to wet down and curl her hair but I thought it would be cute up.














Here she is later in the shoot. She did so good but as you can see, she was needing a little help from her friend. (and KK hand holding up the bear behind the rug) We all need somebody to lean on.









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Of course I saved the best for last!!!!! We love this picture. Photographer placed her arms crossed and set Ava's chin on top. As soon as she started making her look at me noises, Ava lifted her head up long enough to snap a few shots. At eight days old, I think she is just showing off.