Today Ava Had Her First Dress Fitting

This morning we met with Father Nick at Most Pure Heart of Mary Church in Shelby regarding your upcoming Baptism. I won't mention how you farted in my arms for all to hear during the meeting or how you spit up on the floor as we were getting ready to leave. Wonderful first impressions.

Your Great Aunt Beth called me earlier in the afternoon and wanted to stop over. She's creating your Baptismal dress and wanted to swing by for a fitting. 

Of course we wanted her to come over. Growing up with brothers, I never would have imagined myself scheduling a dress fitting. But to be honest, it was exciting. 

Aunt Beth arrived around 5:45 and we got to work. We had you outside on the deck for a few minutes so you were in a good mood when she got to the house. 

The fitting went well and we're looking forward to your Baptism!

The one verb I overuse to describe you is adorable, and this afternoon, you forced me to use it again. You looked adorable. 

I can't help myself but to think this is the first of two times I'll see you in a white dress. 

The next time, I'll be walking you down the aisle.

Today Ava Went Swinging

Your might need a personal assistant as you had quite the full schedule today. 

We finished your seven month photo shoot (last night you were a little crabby so we had to postpone), we went out to Shelby for the weekend, and you hung out with the guys for the night. 

Prior to guys night out
With Ava,you took Great
Grandpa for a walk around
the house.

Before I get into what I want you to learn about from today, a funny thing happened this evening. For Christmas your Grandpa Fenner bought your mom, Aunts and Grandma Bon Jovi concert tickets (no need to ask who he is, I'm sure the band will still be playing into your 20s). Well the concert was tonight so you, your Grandpa, Great Grandpa, Aunt Casey's boyfriend Brian, and I went to B-Dub's for dinner and as we got seated out waitress comes to the table and the first words out of her mouth were  "Four dudes and a baby, huh?" 

Loving it!

Typed words don't do the statement justice, just the way she said it had us all cracking up. And not to mention the nasty diaper I had to change in the passenger seat of our mom's Corolla because the men's room didn't have changing tables (embarrassed yet?).

Back to the point of this post - part of your full slate for the day called for a trip to the park. It was a Spring-like day in the mid 50s. We are yearning for the weather to break so we can get you outside. We all went over to the Playscape at Setzer Park acros from your Grandparents house. When we got you on the swing you had a great time. 

Your smile and overall giddiness has me even more ready for nice weather. We won't be inside much.

Today Ava Went to Work

Your mom has been on spring break all week so you have not been going to Marissa's. Well, we got a bit of bad news on Thursday, and a meeting came up on Friday. The details are not necessary here. 

Your mom had a meeting with the AD this afternoon and since you hadn't been at the sitter's I brought you back to work with me for a little bit.

You are so well behaved in public. We are so blessed with that. 

Anyway, you were asleep in the car seat in our bedroom when I got home and you napped until just before we were on our way out the door. 

I never thought to change you and had to get back to work anyway.  What a mistake that was. 

As soon as I got back to the office I started to take your purple suit off. It wasn't long before I realized something wasn't right. You had messed your diaper and peed all over your outfit. 

Rookie dad mistake for not checking you before we left. 

After a quick change you were passed around the office to my boss and coworkers. You are a hit no matter where we take you. Don't get a big head now. 

After things died down, we sat in my workstation and you were on my lap. I have a dual-monitor setup and I must admit, after nearly ten years of working at the Hall of Fame, I had a first. Working on the left monitor and streaming on of your favorite cartoons - Sophia the First - on the other. 

We had a good time and a short bit later, your mom came and took you to see "Aunt" Kay for a biit then you went home. 

It would have been preferable for the circumstances to be different but I really enjoyed having you in the office for a bit today. 

Today Ava Played with the Cats

I've been wanting to tell you about your pets for some time now and today gave me the opportunity to tell you about them.

We have had two cats for a number of years and thought they weren't too fond of you when we brought you home from the hospital, they have now become your guardians of sorts. 

They'll lay with you on the couch or in our bed, they'll come to you and make sure you're okay, and they generally just don't run away when you start crying anymore. 

Let me give you a bit of background. We took Cookie (or Monster as you've probably gotten to know her as) in first - well i did. She was a stray that I took in shortly after I moved out and was on my own. See I had a few years before I met your mother at this point.

She showed up at the Hall of Fame and greeted all of us as we walked in the door that day. When the doors opened to the public, the cat followed. She could be seen greeting customers as they came to the building. This was April of 2005. 

We always had cats growing up and I told our security that if she was still around at 5:00 p.m. I would take her home and try to find her owner. Well, closing time came and went and she was no longer around. I figured she was gone. 

Around 8:00 p.m. that evening I received a phone call from our maintenance man, Tim Triner, who was contacted by the cleaning crew who heard about the animal and that I would take it in. How they found out, I don't know to this day. I chalk it up to fate. 

I hurried over the the Hall of Fame in the pouring rain and accepted the soaking wet animal. We never found the owner, and the rest they say, is history. 

Your mom may disagree, but she has the sweetest demeanor and is the best animal I've ever had. 

I've got many more stories about her that I'm sure as you get older we'll tell you about. 

Your other pet, McGee, is a mix of tiger and minx. He's a hefty fellow with quite the personality.

Your mom and I took him in when we found him in a parking lot following a wedding reception on Valentine's Day 2007. 

We were just about to leave when we saw him dart underneath a car. An older couple was getting into the vehicle and we coaxed the cat out from underneath fearing that if we didn't he would be run over. 

We couldn't just leave him there. We're suckers. So we asked the people that were outside smoking if he belonged to any of them. After being assured that he didn't and that he had been hanging around all night, we decided to bring him home and see if we could find the owner. 

We placed an add on Craigslist and with no claims to ownership, we scheduled an apointment with Doc Hickman to have him declawed and neutered. He was staying with us. 

One interesting story that did come from the online ad was that someone recognized him as one half of a pair that they had given away. The couple that took him and his sister only wanted his sister but they insisted the two go as a pair. The only logical conclusion was that he was dumped and they kept his sister. We asssured this person that he was in good hands. 

He's been with us ever since.

You now know the backstory to how your two friends came to be with us. 

A few weeks ago I downloaded a game for the cats on the iPad and they loved it. Last night, I placed the iPad on the floor and let Cookie play. 

You happened to be right beside the iPad and the game caught your attention as well. I found out that your reaction time is quicker than Cookies. I say it's your youth compared to her age that gave you the benefit. 

Have a look:

Today Ava Liked the Simple Things in Life

It's no secret that I have a problem when it comes to buying you toys. Every time we go to the store you and I make our way over to the toy aisle and you come home with something. 

To my defense, I don't just purchase toys simply to keep you entertained. I make what I think are wise decisions in which I buy toys that not only hold your attention but are also educational. I want you to stay ahead of the curve and be smarter than I am or ever was. It's my fatherly duty to make sure you're better off than we were, right? 

Yesterday, mom came down the hall from your nursery and into the kitchen with a diaper box in tow. On it's way to recycling it was void of diapers but full of Gravy. You loved it. And once she got to the kitchen she stopped and you just sat in it and played with the cardboard flaps for about ten minutes.

Today you got a "new" toy made of old things and it is genius. You can thank your mom, it was her idea. 

You like things that make noise and an empty water bottle can be just that, noisy. You also like them because chewing on the rigid cap helps with teething. At least that's my speculation. Maybe when you can talk you can answer that for me.

Mom took an empty water bottle that you had been playing with and added some more noise. Rice and elbow macaroni to be exact. 

Now, you have your very own maraca. 

So much for buying toys. I think we're just going to give you recyclables to play with from here on out. Maybe I'll write some math problems and historical facts on them to make them educational. 

Today Ava Ran Laps

Your expanding your reach, that's for sure. Getting very close to being mobile without needing your mom or I to get you from point A to B or use of our fingers for balance.

We've discussed baby gates, we talked about how close you are to crawling, heck, we've even conversed about how you'll probably skip crawling and go straight to walking. 

Today, though, I want to remember the laps you ran. 

Okay, so you didn't run in the literal sense of the term, but you took a number of laps around the island that divides the living room from the kitchen and dining room.Your mom offered her fingers for balance you off you went. 

Smiles and giggles the whole time. It's incredible how infectious your chubby-cheeked smile is. It melts the stress of the day when we see it. 

You're really getting the hang of "walking" and before long you won't need us to get around. As much as we would love for you to stay little we know you have to grow and learn.  We don't want to hold you back at anything. Ever. 

No matter how big you get, you'll always be "Daddy's little girl."

Today Ava Showed Us Her Tooth

Since it broke the surface a few days ago, you've been pretty persistent in your unwillingness to show us your tooth. 

We can sometimes force our finger across your gums and feel it, but rarely are you willing to let us see it. We may catch a glimpse when you smile or laugh, but that's about it.

Today, your mom went rogue and instead of trying to see it while you were awake, she waited until you took a nap - a long one I might add, 2.5 hours. 

Without further adieu,  here's the first public viewing of your tooth. 

Have a look at that pearly white!