Ava - 6 months

Ava is 6 months old!

Ava 1 month

Is this the same baby??

Ava 6 months

I started the whole Friday Favs thing so that I wouldn't save a month of pictures for each blog post but that didn't really work. Prepare for picture overload.

Mom and her best bud!

She is such a good helper in the kitchen ;)

 Just looking at this picture makes me want to squish her cheeks. At her 6-month checkup her weight was still at the top of the charts. She's a healthy girl! :)

Shorts! Love those chunky legs. Baby legs in shorts just makes me smile. Her height wasn't even on the curve - I guess she's got her daddy's genes. We'll see!

She goes down great for naps; bedtime is something we're still working on.

Out for a walk!

I drove out to my parents' house for a visit and when I got there this is how I found Ava:

I had a newborn coming and I was testing my light so I used Ava as my subject for a few quick shots - I actually laughed out loud because it looked like she was totally posing for me. Really she was just trying to roll over but whatever. :) These are just straight out of the camera, and she's facing the wrong way for the light setup and I feel the need to explain that (?) and this must be my favorite shirt for her. It seems like she's wearing it in every picture - I promise she has other clothes!

This girl loves her books. At bedtime we have our little routine and she definitely knows when it's time for stories because she reaches for them at just the right time.

She has finally figured out how to jump in her jolly jumper. Part of that may be that she hasn't been in it that much, but before she would just walk around and get bored and want out. I love watching her jump and get her two little feet in the air. And I love that it makes her happy now!

She's just about sitting on her own. She's still a little wobbly but she'll sit for awhile before she tips over.

Another blowout while shopping - this was before we went to the car for her extra shirt. She had poop up her back through her onesie and I carried her all the way across Superstore holding her by one leg and one armpit so I wouldn't get any on me. I got some interesting looks as people saw the brown smear. Her onesie ended up in the garbage because I had nothing to put it in to take it home. Lovely! :)

Oh and sidenote: if you bought this shirt from Modest Is Hottest, read the label and hand wash it. I didn't. And there are only about 1000 frayed elastic ends sticking out everywhere. And a small hole by the side seam. But anyway.

This was a shoot just for fun. She loves sticking her tongue out! Lately she's been doing it less, but in the last few weeks that's been her thing.

This is her with Winnie the Pooh - her dad gave him to her when she was born.

This was her 6 month shoot. Thanks to my friend Steph for the adorable bow and skirt!

Look at that chub!

This was also part of her 6-month shoot but it was too windy and bright where I wanted to do it, and it just kept getting windier so we didn't try later, and the next day was the same. Packing an 18-lb baby, blankets, a camera and props across the street and across a field was a lot of work! I don't know why my arms don't look better because they get a very good workout every day. She wasn't staying up on her own very well so I couldn't even hold a reflector in one hand and my camera in the other because I needed one to catch her. Next shoot we'll do the on-a-blanket-in-a-field idea. :)

Hangin' out with daddy.

And her 6-month collage! We love our Ava! :)