the zacs: first pics of ava at the hospital

first pics of ava at the hospital

I have heard so many moms say that being a mom is absolutely the best job in the world, but I really never imagined it to be this wonderful. (I know that I will question that thinking when Ava hits the terrible twos or even worse the sassy teen years, but for now, I choose to remain in my bliss.) Anna Scott Torn was born the day before Ava in the room next door...how cool is that? The timing was brilliant. I was so anxious for Ava's arrival the week before, but like with every other event in my life, God had a plan. Saturday at 12:46pm so of course my family filled the waiting room.

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luke's stats

4/18/14 waved hi to daddy
4/17/14 sat alone (while watching Ava's soccer practice)
4/16/14 said Mama (finally I won!)
3/6/14 signs for milk
2/6/14 second tooth (bottom right)
2/1/14 first tooth (bottom left)
1/28/14 rolled over
1/20/14 can find his paci and put it back in (what a glorious day!)
1/15/14 found his toes
11/13/13 first giggle (again for Mommy!)
11/5/13 first responsive smile (for Mommy!)
10/14/13 first smiles (for being clean, dry and fed)
now that i have 4, who really knows when he started sleeping through the night...i don't always know who's fault it is, but i think we get up every night with someone!

lewis' stats

5/1/13 favorite movie requests: "thinking bee thinking bee!" (The Bee Movie) and "how bad can I be!" (The Lorax)
9/4/12 eight front teeth
8/21/12 finally started waving more than just flapping his entire arm, but it's backwards!
8/17 said thank you
8/10/12 constantly signing for food
8/5/12 fully walking, standing up to walk without any help
7/15/12 said did it!
7/15/12 walked across the room
6/23/12 first steps (I really thought I had more time!)
7/4/12 said mama (love it)
6/5/12 understands sign for change, bath and books
6/1/12 can sign milk, eat, more, and all done
5/31/12 fourth tooth (top front)
5/21/12 loves to say hi
5/15/12 army man crawled to get to Isaac and his toys
5/1/12 third tooth (bottom right)
4/15/12 said dada to get Mark's attention
4/1/12 can sit up by himself
3/21/12 second tooth (bottom front)
3/15/12 first tooth (bottom front)
2/26/12 started signing for milk
2/19/12 leans in with a big smile when you ask for kisses
1/21/12 found his toes
1/15/12 growled like a bear at Ava for getting too close
1/3/12 rolled tummy to back and back to tummy
12/20/11 started holding the paci (and putting it back in by himself)
12/15/11 grabbed a toy dangling in front of him
11/21/11 started sleeping 12 hours at night (what a gift!)
11/1/11 laughed for Mommy (while I was singing)
10/12/11 really slept through the night (8 hours)
10/1/11 smiled for Daddy (I so wanted to win this one!)
9/28/11 slept through the night (6 hours)
9/5/11 lifted his head

isaac's stats

8/9/10 spotted the waterfront at camp where all the kids were swimming, raised his hand in the air and said "I do!"
8/7/10 took 3 steps all by himself at camp
7/25/10 signed "eat" w/o being asked or prompted
7/15/10 sits at the back door, waves his arm in the air and says "aah!" to sugar in attempt to make her hush
7/5/10 loves to give high five
7/3/10 adding more words to the list (dada, hi, bye, doggy and I did it) but still not mommy (not that I care)
6/24/10 walks along the furniture
6/1/10 pulls up to a standing position on everything he can (he's so anxious to keep up with Ava)
5/31/10 still flashes a bashful smile and partially hides his face in my neck when someone speaks to him
5/16/10 says hi and huh? for a laugh (he's been saying both of them for awhile now, but I haven't counted them yet b/c I was hoping for him to say mama first, but nope. nada)
5/14/10 stands by himself for a few seconds. stands well with just one little finger to hold onto
5/3/10 says dada to get Mark's attention and not just as babble
5/1/10 loves to give kisses when asked (he lunges for the cheek with slobbering mouth wide open)
4/21/10 shakes his head no
3/30/10 will stand up next to the coffee table as long as his little legs will endure (he loves it)
3/28/10 officially moving now (uses the army man crawl to chase Ava or to race her to a toy)
3/21/10 started waving hi and bye (although it looks more like he's driving a motorcycle)
3/8/10 second tooth popped in (front left bottom)
3/7/10 scoots by kicking his feet (trying to chase Ava)
3/1/10 waved bye bye
2/28/10 baby dedication at Tallowood
2/17/10 front right bottom tooth popped through
1/24/10 started sitting up (although he topples over after only 20 seconds)
12/28/09 manages the paci all by himself
12/25/09 found his feet on Christmas morning
12/17/09 lunges for my cheek when I ask for kisses
12/1/09 started rolling over (back to front)
11/21/09 started grabbing toys dangling in front of him
11/12/09 found his voice
11/1/09 started holding his head up on his tummy with no trouble
10/12/09 started hugging me back (thank you God for another snuggler)
10/3/09 started trying to giggle
9/27/09 turned his head from side to side while laying on his tummy
8/14/09 flashed a real smile (this time for mommy first)

ava's stats

April 2013 lost first tooth (bottom left) and second tooth (bottom right) within a week
6/1/10 still loves to say "Look it, Mommy. I'm super fast."
5/31/10 favorite thing to do is to hold the iTouch and sing at the top of her lungs to Taylor Swift
5/16/10 recognizes each letter on a flash card and can tell you whose name starts with that letter for about half of them
5/10/10 knows her birthday and mine
3/7/10 spelled her name with Boggle blocks
2/28/10 new found love for Taylor Swift (thanks, Caroline)
2/1/10 started counting on her fingers
1/15/10 actually catches a little air when she jumps (finally)
12/27/09 randomly asked for Chick-a-way (on a Sunday of course)
11/12/09 sang the entire ABC song by herself
11/1/09 sings multiple songs by herself (itsy bitsy spider, twinkle twinkle and little tea pot are her favs right now)
10/25/09 can sing the first verse of Jesus Loves Me by herself and can sing all 3 verses with just a little help (she really likes to hold onto the last word in each sentence for a few seconds longer than needed)
10/13/09 actually catches a little air when she jumps
10/3/09 started recognizing her name written
9/28/09 first sommersault (I think it kind of shocked her to actually flip over)
9/13/09 counted to 10 in both english and spanish
4/13/09 started putting full sentences together - just not always in the right order ("mama, where go dada?")
4/10/09 started trying to run (really only a slightly faster wobble)
4/10/09 started walking on her toes everywhere
4/5/09 sighs and say "ah, dada" after Mark tickles her
3/29/09 dove off the couch head first onto her chair and did a entire front flip (not a safe trick, but it was pretty impressive)
3/21/09 sings "Wheels on the Bus" with all of the action
3/11/09 loves to smell the flowers (or blow on them)
3/9/09 decided yellow was her favorite color (just ask her)
3/2/09 knows all of her animal sounds, even the condor
3/1/09 tries to jump (of course she only bends her knees and says jump - we're really not measuring her vertical yet)
2/28/09 first full sentence ("I don't wanna go night night!")
2/18/09 started turning in circles until dizzy
2/15/09 started flashing her mean face in search of a laugh (thanks, mark)
2/10/09 said "love you" for the first time and I melted
1/29/09 started flashing her mean face...while we were trying to get her portrait taken of course
11/18/08 more 2 word combos ("hi, sugar")
11/16/08 started stringing 2 words together (unfortunately it was to say "no, no, night, night")
11/16/08 started signing "thank you" without being prompted
11/15/08 started taking 3 steps and then diving to her next location
11/15/08 shakes her head yes (finally - although she stills shakes her head no 99% of the time))
11/12/08 pointed to her nose when asked
10/31/08 started to give us the double wink with her fake smile
10/19/08 started holding up one finger when you ask her "how old is ava?"
10/10/08 called grandpa zac "papa"
10/06/08 turned one year old!
10/01/08 stood by herself for about 10 secs
9/30/08 stood on her head as if she were about to do a sommersault and stuck her tongue out at me and laughed
9/22/08 said "ava" for the first time
9/21/08 pointed at her picture on the wall and then pointed to herself and smiled
9/15/08 said "yogurt" for the first time
9/6/08 said "pop" for the first time
8/31/08 said "caroline" for the first time
8/31/08 said "sugar" for the first time
8/24/08 teeth seven and eight (bottom)
8/15/08 teeth five and six (top)
8/4/08 said "ball" for the first time
7/24/08 pulled herself up to stand next to the bassinet
7/24/08 started saying "no, no, no" before nap time
7/23/08 fourth tooth popped through (second top tooth)
7/21/08 started saying "teta" (bottle en espanol)
7/19/08 first Astros game
7/16/08 third tooth popped through (first top tooth)
7/12/08 crawled for the first time
7/7/08 said "dora" for the first time
7/6/08 started the fake cough and the fake laugh
6/30/08 signed "all done" and pointed to her crib when I was rocking her (I didn't know if I should feel proud or sad)
6/23/08 sat up after laying on her tummy
6/21/08 said "mmm" after every bite for an entire meal
6/20/08 started rocking back and forth on hands and knees wanting to go - but no crawling yet
6/12/08 said "mama" for the first time
6/11/08 signed "all done" when she wanted out of her high chair
6/10/08 clapped her hands with her hands open
6/8/08 stood up by herself at the coffee table (b/c she'll do anything for the remote)
5/31/08 started giving high five
5/26/08 signed "more"
5/19/08 said "dada" for the first time
5/5/08 clapped her hands with her fists closed
4/13/08 sat up by herself
4/8/08 second tooth popped up (bottom right)
4/7/08 first tooth popped up (bottom left)
3/23/08 rolled from tummy to back
3/19/08 blew daddy a kiss
3/9/08 tried to sign "milk"
2/29/08 rolled from back to tummy
2/23/08 started chewing on her feet
2/21/08 started giving kisses
2/16/08 recognized and responded to sign for "milk"
1/12/08 first aggie event (basketball game)
12/22/07 giggled out loud (this time for mommy!)
11/26/07 slept thru the night (8 hours, how did i get so lucky?)
10/28/07 first smile (for daddy of course)
10/14/07 slept thru the night (well, 6 straight hours)
This section is really for me. Since I don't scrapbook I have to keep these stats somewhere. The little pieces of paper that I was throwing in the cabinet (the same cabinet at least) just wasn't working for me.

things i love about isaac

10. i love how happy he is, his adorable belly laugh, and how much he really loves to laugh (i pray that his life is full of laughter)
9. i love his distinguished ears
8. i love how soft and sweet his skin feels and smells
7. i love that he adores Ava and wants to be with her all the time
6. i love that he holds my cheeks to give me kisses
5. i love that he laughs and tries to get away as soon as Mark says he's going to get him
4. i love that he likes to army crawl instead of crawling on his hands and knees (b/c it's faster)
3. i love that he reaches for his bed when he's tired and sleeps for 12 hours straight
2. i love that he snuggles his face into my neck when someone says hi to him
1. i love that he smacks his lips like he is blowing me a kiss to get my attention instead of saying Momma

things i love about ava

10. i love that she raises her eyebrows at you right before she gives you her mischievious smile
9. i love that she now grabs my cheeks with both of her little hands when she wants to give me a kiss
8. i love that i can hear her giggling with Elena in the other room while i'm working (i know i'm getting the best of both worlds)
7. i love that she smiles and kicks her feet with excitement when i walk into the room
6. i love that she laughs with a true hard belly laugh when mark tickles her
5. i absolutely love the way that she smells...i pray that i never forget that smell
4. i love that she likes to sleep with her hands behind her head like she's sleeping in a hammock
3. i love that she likes to sing herself to sleep
2. i love that she likes to snuggle her face in my neck when i rock her
1. i love the way that her lip is slightly crooked when she smiles (just like her daddy)