Monday, November 30, 2009
Our Very Own Butterball!
Okay she will probably be very upset with me for posting this when she is older but Ava Kate has definately turned out to be a little butterball. I am in love with all her yummy rolls and her delicious baby fat! I can see she will be mobile anyday now and I know that means that chubby bunny isn't going to be so chubby anymore so I decided I better document all of the yumminess while it is still around. Enjoy!!!
Happy Thanksgiving!
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with some of the things I’m most thankful for-my family and friends. We celebrated Thanksgiving at my mom’s house with a big spread of food. All of my mom’s family was in town and Justin’s mom also came to celebrate with us. We all gathered together several times throughout the week and as usual had a lot of fun eating, sleeping, watching football, visiting and laughing together! We are blessed with two wonderful families!
Carving the turkey!
This is what we did while we waited...
Ava Kate enjoyed her first Thanksgiving as you can see by the pictures. She got to try some new things- broccoli rice casserole, pumpkin pie, homemade whipped cream, cranberry salad, turkey and she also got some of her favorites- mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and rolls. I think the homemade whipped cream is the new favorite! She made it very well known that she wanted more and more and more of it! Who wouldn’t though?
I had some friends in town for the holidays and Ava Kate and I got to spend an afternoon with Robyn, Kimberly and Jill and all of there little ones. It was a lot of fun to get to visit with the girls and watch all the kids play together. It still blows my mind that we all have kids now and we aren’t the silly high school girls we used to be, well maybe we are deep down. I love these girls and their friendships and feel very thankful that we have remained such good friends so many years later.
Justin, his mom, Ava and myself all ventured out into the madness of Black Friday this year. We didn’t get up with all the crazies but we made it out about 10am. By then the lines were much shorter but we still got some good deals and completed the majority of our Christmas shopping which always feels really good.
Another highlight of the week was a slumber party with Lila. We had been planning it for over a week. I think she was pretty excited about it- her mom said all week she had been talking about the s-l-e-e-p-o-v-e-r which she spelled out instead of saying so her little sister Laney wouldn’t know about it. Lila and Ava Kate took a bath and then Lila helped me get Ava ready for bed. Lila read Ava Kate several books. After I put Ava to bed Lila and I baked some peanut butter cookies and then we watched Dennis the Menace together. I am pretty sure we only watched about 30 minutes of it before looking at each other and deciding we were both about to fall asleep. We got up and played with Ava and Justin got us donuts. Lila helped pick out mine and Ava’s outfits for our family pictures we were taking with all of the family later that afternoon. I wish I had her around everyday to help me get dressed, that girl definitely has a sense of style!
Looking back on the week I realize yet again we are blessed beyond measure- with lots of love, health, family, friends, food, home and most of all hope which we find in our salvation!
“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love.”- Thomas Merton
Carving the turkey!
This is what we did while we waited...
Ava Kate enjoyed her first Thanksgiving as you can see by the pictures. She got to try some new things- broccoli rice casserole, pumpkin pie, homemade whipped cream, cranberry salad, turkey and she also got some of her favorites- mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and rolls. I think the homemade whipped cream is the new favorite! She made it very well known that she wanted more and more and more of it! Who wouldn’t though?
I had some friends in town for the holidays and Ava Kate and I got to spend an afternoon with Robyn, Kimberly and Jill and all of there little ones. It was a lot of fun to get to visit with the girls and watch all the kids play together. It still blows my mind that we all have kids now and we aren’t the silly high school girls we used to be, well maybe we are deep down. I love these girls and their friendships and feel very thankful that we have remained such good friends so many years later.
Justin, his mom, Ava and myself all ventured out into the madness of Black Friday this year. We didn’t get up with all the crazies but we made it out about 10am. By then the lines were much shorter but we still got some good deals and completed the majority of our Christmas shopping which always feels really good.
Another highlight of the week was a slumber party with Lila. We had been planning it for over a week. I think she was pretty excited about it- her mom said all week she had been talking about the s-l-e-e-p-o-v-e-r which she spelled out instead of saying so her little sister Laney wouldn’t know about it. Lila and Ava Kate took a bath and then Lila helped me get Ava ready for bed. Lila read Ava Kate several books. After I put Ava to bed Lila and I baked some peanut butter cookies and then we watched Dennis the Menace together. I am pretty sure we only watched about 30 minutes of it before looking at each other and deciding we were both about to fall asleep. We got up and played with Ava and Justin got us donuts. Lila helped pick out mine and Ava’s outfits for our family pictures we were taking with all of the family later that afternoon. I wish I had her around everyday to help me get dressed, that girl definitely has a sense of style!
Looking back on the week I realize yet again we are blessed beyond measure- with lots of love, health, family, friends, food, home and most of all hope which we find in our salvation!
“To be grateful is to recognize the love of God in everything He has given us and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love.”- Thomas Merton
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Crazy about Christmas!
It is taking everything in me to keep from putting up the Christmas decor early! I love Christmas! Don't get me wrong I love Thanksgiving too but Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. I think it is because my mom always made Christmas such a special and memorable time for us growing up. She started lots of special traditions and I have been so anxious to continue these with my children one day as well as start some of our own. So you can only imagine how excited I am about Ava Kate's first Christmas. I bought an advent calendar this year and I have decided instead of filling it with gifts it will be filled with daily family activities and will incorporate our traditions. I am going to do my best to document our daily advent activities with a photo and blog post. For now to settle my itch to start decorating I went ahead and hung the advent calendar. Only 9 more days until the activities begin!
Friday, November 20, 2009
Eight Has Been Great!
What fun we have had with our funny bunny the last month! She has reached some big milestones this month.
1) Probably the most exciting is she is sleeping all night in her crib now, from 7:30pm to somewhere around 6am. She seems to love bedtime and the routine. As soon as she hears the bath water running her head turns toward the hallway and her face lights up and she starts kicking those little legs. She loves to splash and play with her toys in the tub! She most always is very happy to be laid down in her crib to go to sleep. It has been nice for Justin and I too to have some time to ourselves again in the evenings and to get a full nights sleep again! We went from 3-4 feedings a night (yes still waking up to eat this many times at 7 months) to no middle of the night feedings.
2) After what seemed like several months of teething she now has two little teeth coming through. I love the way her little smile looks now with those two teeth popping out. She is getting to enjoy more new foods now too although I’m pretty sure mashed potatoes are still her favorite!
3) She is also starting to learn to drink from a sippy cup and loves to do so. You can just see by the look in her eye that she thinks she is so big when she does.
4) She gives kisses now which is probably my favorite of this months milestones. Of course they are pretty slobbery and open mouthed kisses but they sure are sweet!
5) She has really started to mimic us more. She loves to pat everything- people’s heads, faces, legs, the floor, the bathtub, just about anything. She likes to give five now too.
6) She had her first night away from mommy which I’m pretty sure was harder on me than her. I went with my mom on an overnight women’s retreat with her church last Friday and Saturday. It was a good time with my mom and a time of being reminded of the need to feed myself spiritually everyday. We were away from each other just a little under 24 hours but it was starting to feel like an eternity to me. I was so happy to see that sweet face when I came home. Grandma and daddy did a great job keeping her busy- she even went grocery shopping!
7) She gets to ride in her big girl car seat now. It is still turned backwards for now but she really seems to like riding more upright and being able to see out the windows better. Just another milestone that makes me realize how quickly my baby girl is growing up!
8) She is really starting to get curious about her surrounding or as some like to say getting into things! She loves to be in her walker and the ability it gives her to explore the house more freely. She is having lots of fun looking at mommy’s pretty things and doing her best to get hold of them! I can see that her increasing mobility is going to keep her daddy and I on our toes!
1) Probably the most exciting is she is sleeping all night in her crib now, from 7:30pm to somewhere around 6am. She seems to love bedtime and the routine. As soon as she hears the bath water running her head turns toward the hallway and her face lights up and she starts kicking those little legs. She loves to splash and play with her toys in the tub! She most always is very happy to be laid down in her crib to go to sleep. It has been nice for Justin and I too to have some time to ourselves again in the evenings and to get a full nights sleep again! We went from 3-4 feedings a night (yes still waking up to eat this many times at 7 months) to no middle of the night feedings.
2) After what seemed like several months of teething she now has two little teeth coming through. I love the way her little smile looks now with those two teeth popping out. She is getting to enjoy more new foods now too although I’m pretty sure mashed potatoes are still her favorite!
3) She is also starting to learn to drink from a sippy cup and loves to do so. You can just see by the look in her eye that she thinks she is so big when she does.
4) She gives kisses now which is probably my favorite of this months milestones. Of course they are pretty slobbery and open mouthed kisses but they sure are sweet!
5) She has really started to mimic us more. She loves to pat everything- people’s heads, faces, legs, the floor, the bathtub, just about anything. She likes to give five now too.
6) She had her first night away from mommy which I’m pretty sure was harder on me than her. I went with my mom on an overnight women’s retreat with her church last Friday and Saturday. It was a good time with my mom and a time of being reminded of the need to feed myself spiritually everyday. We were away from each other just a little under 24 hours but it was starting to feel like an eternity to me. I was so happy to see that sweet face when I came home. Grandma and daddy did a great job keeping her busy- she even went grocery shopping!
7) She gets to ride in her big girl car seat now. It is still turned backwards for now but she really seems to like riding more upright and being able to see out the windows better. Just another milestone that makes me realize how quickly my baby girl is growing up!
8) She is really starting to get curious about her surrounding or as some like to say getting into things! She loves to be in her walker and the ability it gives her to explore the house more freely. She is having lots of fun looking at mommy’s pretty things and doing her best to get hold of them! I can see that her increasing mobility is going to keep her daddy and I on our toes!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Quick Weekend Getaway
What was supposed to be a four day weekend trip to visit friends in the Metroplex turned into an overnight trip. We planned to visit several friends over a long weekend but after one night of our newly sleeping through the night baby being up most of the night screaming because she was not in the comfort of her own bed, own room, own home we decided to make it a much shorter trip. We decided since it had only been a week since she started sleeping through the night maybe it was a little early to be trying to break up her routine. We were able to get in a quick visit with Chano, Jill, Jack Allan and Caroline and a visit with old friends at Peterbilt. Caroline and Jack Allan were so sweet to share all their toys with Ava Kate. She loves older children so she had a ball with them. She even got to have her first tea party with Caroline and we hope there will be many more of those!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Happy Halloween!
We had a perfect first Halloween with Ava Kate! The day started off with some great snuggle time followed by chocolate donuts which gave us the energy to get up and have our first Saturday morning dance party of which I hope there will be many, many more in the years to come. I have changed our blog music to include my current favorite dancing song called Forever- it talks about dancing forever and let me tell you this mama loves to dance. In fact doing one of my favorite things with two of my favorite people brought so much joy to my heart I couldn't help but cry a little. I normally wouldn't put hip hop music like this on my blog but dancing to it brought such a smile to my face and I'm hoping it will do the same for all of you in fact why don't you grab your favorite people and dance along.
Halloween night we had lots of family and friends over. We enjoyed chilli, frito pies, cupcakes and dirt cake with worms and all. We took the kids on the hay ride around our circle. I love that the circle we live on has so many kids and so many activities for families. After the hayride we did a little trick or treating. Ava Kate even got a pack of M&M's and a sucker and I'm pretty sure her daddy ate them for her. It was such a gorgeous day- sunny and warm during the day and a perfect cool crisp fall night!
Our pumpkin!
If you look very closely you can see the beginning of a tooth- we finally have one coming through after months of teething!
I wonder if I could eat that?
So happy!
Happy Halloween!
What have they put on my now?
Seriously mom?
Tough guys!
Cutest Scarecrow Ever!
Cousins- Keller, Ethan & Ava Kate
Have you seen yourself?
I wonder what he was doing/saying that made them all look at him?
Conner, Keller, Lily, Ava Kate & Ethan
So glad we caught this love bug!
On the hayride
The boys
Keller getting some goodies!
Ava Kate making her selection!
Mmmm this M&M package is pretty good!
Ethan and Lily getting some more loot!
Halloween night we had lots of family and friends over. We enjoyed chilli, frito pies, cupcakes and dirt cake with worms and all. We took the kids on the hay ride around our circle. I love that the circle we live on has so many kids and so many activities for families. After the hayride we did a little trick or treating. Ava Kate even got a pack of M&M's and a sucker and I'm pretty sure her daddy ate them for her. It was such a gorgeous day- sunny and warm during the day and a perfect cool crisp fall night!
Our pumpkin!
If you look very closely you can see the beginning of a tooth- we finally have one coming through after months of teething! 
I wonder if I could eat that?
So happy!
Happy Halloween!
What have they put on my now?
Seriously mom?
Tough guys!
Cutest Scarecrow Ever!
Cousins- Keller, Ethan & Ava Kate
Have you seen yourself?
I wonder what he was doing/saying that made them all look at him?
Conner, Keller, Lily, Ava Kate & Ethan
So glad we caught this love bug!
On the hayride
The boys
Keller getting some goodies!
Ava Kate making her selection!
Mmmm this M&M package is pretty good!
Ethan and Lily getting some more loot!
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