Hello there!

Lots has been going on lately. First and foremost, Ava is 9 months old! We cannot believe how quickly these past nine months have gone. She is nothing short of amazing and I absolutely love this stage! Ava is getting way up on her hands and can push herself up onto her knees a little, but she's not quite ready to crawl yet. Which I'm actually just fine with...once she starts crawling, we'll be in trouble as I'm sure she'll get into everything! She's eating all kinds of solid foods and we actually just started giving her cheerios this week. She's still working on getting them from her hand into her mouth though. It's so cute to watch. We go for her 9 month check up tomorrow, so I'll post an update with her stats after we're done.

She loves bath time!

She love her dog, too!

Another big thing is that I have begun babysitting for a friend of mine. Classes started back up for her this week, so her daughter, Eily, will come over to play with Ava and I on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Eily is almost 7 months old, actually she was born on my birthday! And she is just such a little sweetheart. She's such a good little girl and is so content, for the most part. Ava has down really well with having to share her mommy, too. The girls are so cute together as they learn to interact and play with another child their age. Aside from helping out a friend, I'm happy that Ava is getting this socialization and is able to play with another kid rather than just hanging out with her boring mom every day.

Ava and Eily

I also recently signed up for an at-home study course to become a medical transcriptionist. Not very glamorous, I know, but I was starting to feel like I needed to contribute more financially since I wasn't, well, at all. The course is self paced, so I can finish it as slowly or quickly as I want, so there's not really any pressure which is nice. It's exciting to be learning something new. It's also great because I'll be able to work from home when I'm done which is the main reason that I decided to do it. I don't want to have to send Ava t0 daycare especially after being home with her for so long. I think I'd have a meltdown if I had to leave her every day to go to work!

And last, my sister has convinced me to do a triathlon with her in June. I'm only writing this on here so that other people know and can hold me accountable. I have to admit, I'm not in the greatest shape right now and I'm just not happy with my body. I guess that's what having a kid does to you. So, with the impending wedding, what better time to get back in shape? I'm actually really excited to have something to work towards. Erin has been awesome at helping create a training program and get me motivated to get off my butt. She even volunteered to watch Ava a few days after work so that I can get to the gym. (They have a kids club, but I'm a little neurotic when it comes to germs...) Ava and I have gone on a couple walks this week, but I'm officially starting my training program on Monday! I'll let you know how it goes.

So, those are our big updates. You are now all caught up on the happenings at the West-George household.

And here's one of Matt and Ava being silly. Ava has a spoon hanging out of her mouth, too.