Ava Ellison Scott

So, it's been a while since I caught up on our blog. Since then, we have been blessed by the birth of our daughter Ava on Monday, January 4, 2010 at only 28 weeks gestation. She is at Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters and is doing fairly well. She had a minor heart problem that many preemies have (PDA) and is struggling to breathe at times on her own. Sometimes her heart rate drops (Brady's) which give us a scare, but our hope is that as her central nervous system develops in the next few weeks she will grow out of this. Her doctor says that she is making her own path because she is not doing what she is expected to do according to her gestational age. We are just blessed by her presence and praise God for her safe arrival.

We look forward to letting Will meet his little sister and we try to talk to him about her, but he is really jut interested in his trucks.

This is a picture of Ava yesterday when we visited her. We just love her to pieces.

WIll's First Year

I wanted to do something for Bobby for Will's first birthday and this is what I put together. I will post pictures of his birthday later.

Jumping Boy

Will loves jumping in doorframe-hanging jumper that Leslie lent us. It belonged to our friend Becky's son Bradshaw, then Brooks used it and now Will is enjoying it. We just have to time it well so that there is no spitting up.

I can eat by myself - kind of!

We have been giving Will little puffed cereal to get him to work on his hand-eye coordination. Finally, he is able to get the yummy cereal from his table to his mouth, even though most of the time it is accidental. Most of it still ends up in his lap, but we use it to pacify him while we are getting his meal ready. It was sweet to watch because he would try to pick them up and they would stick to his hand and he didn't know how to get them in his mouth. Now he has figured out that he has to bite them to get them off his fingers. He is such a sweetheart!

Will's Visit with his Great Great Aunt and Uncle

On the Friday before Christmas, my mom kept Will because Leslie had to go out of town. She invited my Great Aunt Helen and Uncle George Oden over to meet Will. I was sorry I missed the visit because the pictures were great. Aunt Helen made Will a beautiful cross-stitched picture for his room which we will treasure. She also gave Will his lunch and they played together. I am so glad my mom took these pictures for us, but sorry I missed seeing everyone.

Dynamic Duo

Probably Will's favorite present he got for Christmas has been his keyboard, which costs $5.99 from Family Dollar and was a gift from his Gramma (not that he hasn't enjoyed all the others !). Shelby got a piano for her first Christmas and so Gramma thought it was appropriate for Will to get one too. He rocks out with his dad whenever they sit down together. I finally got it on video with Dad on keyboard, Will on vocals and Lucy as an amazed observer.

Christmas Celebrations

What an adventurous few days it has been for our family. We started celebrating Sunday, Dec. 21 with Christmas at Grandma's house with the whole Barbour family. It was wonderful and Will was a great sport even though he missed nap time. Then Grandaddy Branch visited on the 23rd, and the next day was a packed one with Nanny's in the afternoon and Mimi's at night. Gramma and Grandad stayed overnight wth Gracie and we all spent Christmas morning together. When Will woke up we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus before opening presents. This year it took a lot longer because we had to pause for breakfasts and naps. Grammy and Grandad Scott came over to shre gifts too. Will made out very well. We are blessed to have so much family around us and to share the holiday with so many people. God has been good to our family in 2008 and we are thankful for his Son our Saviour. What a great year it has been.

Weekend at the Rivah

This weekend Will and I spent the weekend in Deltaville with my college roommates Sara, Tess, Jane and Kate and their kids, Alexandria, Gayle and Liam. We had a really good time. We went on walks, played around the house and ate very well. Will didn't sleep too well Saturday night, which left me not well rested either, but we still had a great time.

On the way home, we had to pick up Lucy at my mom's, where she stayed for the weekend. Mom's dog Gracie was sweet and let Will hug and kiss her.

Visit With Santa

We went to the Santa Breakfast the the Exchange Club of Poquoson hosts the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Will got his first picture taken with Santa, who left a little to be desired, but oh well, he cooperated.