Catching Up with Family & Friends

Last weekend we headed off to Bedford for a quick trip to catch up with friends and family. On our way into town we stopped off at Central Market, one of my faves, to catch up with one of my college girlfriend’s Rayshelle, and her family. We hadn’t seen each other in over 5 years so we got to meet each other’s babies for the first time. Ava Kate had a blast with Emme and Rowan while their daddies chased them around the play area and Rayshelle and I got to catch up on the last several years. After that we headed on to Justin’s Aunt Linda and Uncle Jerry’s, our home away from home for the weekend. I love staying at their house in fact when I first moved to the metroplex after college they let me live with them for several months while I saved money for an apartment after meeting me only once. I still am amazed at what generosity they showed me and still do! Linda is the best hostess, she always has the yummiest food at her house and makes you feel so at home. We got to enjoy the pool Friday morning and Linda even treated me to a workout with her personal trainer which is a good thing considering the amount of calories I would be intaking over the next few days! Friday night Jerry treated me, Justin, Will, Terry and Jeff to Ranger’s tickets. Ava went with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jerry & Lala (Aunt Linda) to dinner while we had an adults night out. I hadn’t been to a Ranger’s game in years and am more about the atmosphere, food and people watching so I didn’t mind too much that we got beat by the Astros, of course this made the experience even more pleasant for Justin, an Astros fan. It rained a little but we were sitting on the first row back under the 2nd level so we had perfect seats, we got to enjoy the cooler air thanks to the rain without getting wet! Saturday we did some shopping, Ava raked in the loot at the Baby Gap sale! That evening we got to meet up at Uncle Julio’s with our friends the Kaebels and their four kiddos- Jensen, Zoey, Izzy & Zeke. Sunday we got to spend the day with all of Justin’s family, everyone came over to the house for Linda’s amazing pulled pork tacos! We did some swimming, a lot of eating and visiting. We got to meet sweet baby Ben Sunday night when we met Keelan and Peyton for dinner. It was our first time to meet baby Ben and he is adorable! Monday Justin and his dad played in a golf tournament in ACU so Ava and I headed up to Denton to visit friends at Peterbilt. We did our usual lunch visit and ordered in NY Sub, one of my favorite sandwich shops ever. Unfortunately not everyone was working that day so we didn’t get to see everyone but we had a great visit with Marla, Tina & Darlene and even got to meet Marla’s new grandbaby Tyler and visit with him and his mommy Brittney. Unfortunately I did a really bad job of documenting the weekend and missed out on lots of photo ops so we didn't get pics with everyone. It was a great weekend of catching up with family and friends!

Happy Dado's Day!

I’m so blessed to have such loving and thoughtful men in my life. For the last 9 years Justin has supported, encouraged, pampered, spoiled, forgiven & loved me through the beautiful times and the dark times. His love is a love I often feel I don’t deserve and a love I often take for granted. It is a love that looks very similar to God’s love for me and for that I feel very blessed! Now I get to watch him as a father to our precious baby girl and I am so thankful for the way he loves her, teaches her, plays with her, encourages her, comforts her & adores her. I had high expectations for the kind of father he would be too because I have such a wonderful father who has loved me unconditionally, sacrificed and worked very hard for me, been an example to me in his faith and walk with the Lord and taught much about family, faith, love and work over the years. Not only that but he is also one of the funniest men I know! I was lucky to get to grow up a few blocks down from my grandparents and my papa and I have always had a special relationship. He has taken me on dates since I was a little girl and it has always been something we’ve both treasured. I also have a father in law that has always treated me as one of his own. He loves to take care of us and cook for us!

For Father’s Day this year we spent the afternoon out at mom’s house after church. We had roast, potatoes, carrots, home grown green beans and cake. We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon together eating and visiting. My tradition the past few years has become to give the men in my life a gift card for a date with me for Father’s Day. I treasure those moments we get to spend together. Ava got her Dado, as she calls Justin lately, a sweet book about daddy’s and daughters. We got to celebrate again at dinner after Vince got back from Houston with spaghetti and more cake.

Adventure in Eastland

We've been wanting to drive to Eastland and check out the waterpark there so recently we went with the Muzechenkos. We all packed a picnic lunch and drove out to the waterpark last Saturday. Ava did brave a couple of the little slides with Justin and I but she wasn't that keen on them. Lily even went down the very big slide with her daddy and she loved it! As usual Ava was more interested in the picnic than the waterpark but Lily on the other hand loved the slides and the water and was so sad when we had to leave. It was definately worth the drive to get to do something different and enjoy the afternoon with good friends!

15 Months

Love Bug,

Trying to remember all the milestones since your 12 month update is seeming next to impossible because it feels like lately each day brings some new word, attitude or activity for you. In the last 3 months I have truly watched you change from a baby to a toddler. You started walking about a month after your 1st birthday. Walking quickly turned into running. Your favorite thing now is climbing up and down steps, chairs, whatever you can find to climb. It seems like you have a new bruise daily from all your falls and stumbles, guess that is part of the age. When we ask you where your purses are you go and get both of your little purses and slide your arm through the handles and throw your wrist up in the air, I’m guessing you have watched your mommy a time or two. You also love to play in mommy’s makeup and hair product drawers in the bathroom. You have also discovered the toilets and think it is a lot of fun to splash your hands in the water! You like to play dress up with your Stella and Dot jewelry and you look pretty darn cute in it! You love to play with your flashcards. You still love music and dancing, in fact you and I like to watch So You Think You Can Dance together! You are still an outside girl and love to swing, swim and do just about anything outside. You are still pretty much sleeping through the night although every once in a while we have a rough night or two. You LOVE to eat and would seriously do it all day long if we let you, your favorites right now are avocados, black beans, spaghetti, bananas, yogurt, tomatoes, corn, grapes, snapeas, cheetos, ice cream and we can’t forget chocolate donuts! You are finally saying mama although still not nearly as often as dada which has now become dado! In the last few months your vocabulary has grown to include pop, grandpa, pretty sure you said grandma and nana at least once, outside, what’s this and what’s that are still two of your favorites, puppy dogs, Keller, papa, breakfast and I’m sure I’m forgetting some but one of your favorites and one that I was so not ready for you to learn is “BO!” (translated NO). Oh I really wasn’t expecting you to learn that word so quickly and say it with such a gleem in those big eyes! After a couple of instances of watching you stand up in your chair and when I told you to sit down and you adamantly responded “BO” I realized it was time to start disciplining you. We quickly learned hand squeezes and swats on your diaper weren’t going to work for you so we have implemented time out and you visit it at least once a day if not more. I also headed to Lifeway to pick up “The New Strong Willed Child.” Yes that is right you are a strong willed child but really can I say I’m surprised since your mommy and daddy both were too. After I had such a hard time moving you to your own bed and giving up nursing (yes you are finally weened) I figured I was going to have a hard time with discipline. I have to say though it isn’t quite as difficult as I thought it would be, not that I enjoy it but I have found that I really am motivated by love. I love you so I don’t want you to speak to your me and your daddy or anyone else disrespectfully, I love you so I don’t want you to stand in your chair and fall down and hurt yourself, I love you so I discipline you. You might be strong willed but you still are such a sweetheart! You love all of your family so and when you see them you just light up all over and look them right in the eye. You have a way of making us all feel so special and loved with your eyes and your smile! Your precious curls just keep multiplying and they melt me so! You are growing into such a beautiful, independent and funny little girl! You are such a delight to your daddy and I and bring us more joy than we would have ever dreamed.
I love you Ava Kate,

Mommy

P.S. I love all your funny little faces!

Summer, Summer, Summertime

Nights like tonight are what summer is all about! We spent the evening with our friends, the Flores, Tetens & Archibalds tonight- swimming, grilling out, playing, laughing and then we finished the night off with popsicles. Wish we could do this every single night- I love summertime!

New PJ's

Ava loves giraffes whether in a book, photo or in person at the zoo so when I saw these precious pajamas at Old Navy I had to get them for her. There is just something so darn cute about a baby in pj's that just makes me want to give them a big squeeze!

Catching Up

I finally got caught up on a month's worth of posts so you'll have to go to older posts to go all the way back and see what we've been up to the last month.

Memorial Day Celebrations

We had a busy and fun Memorial Day weekend. Saturday we met our friends the Phelps and Muzechenkos for a picnic at the zoo. It was incredibly hot that day so the animals weren't very active and even the kids were a little more mellow than usual. We still had a lot of fun though. Then we had Auby's 1st birthday party at the Grace. Ava had a blast with Auby and Henley! After the birthday party we headed out to my parents for a family BBQ where Ava got to naw on her first rib and enjoy homemade ice cream for the first time and of course the cousins did some more swimming. Speaking of swimming we swam everyday over the weekend. Sunday we met our friends Jamie and Henley at the country club pool, Ava had a ball and as usual didn't meet a stranger. She loves new people! Monday we went swimming with Aunt Natalie, Nana and Keller at their apartment pool and then enjoyed a BBQ with the Casey's and Brazell's. It was a wonderful Memorial Day weekend filled with food, friends and fun! I'm so thankful we live in a country where we have the freedom to do all of these things.