Bath time fun and Ava-Bunny

First things first - I've been searching high and low for a new bath tub for Ava for a very long time. She's pretty much outgrown the baby tub, and it just takes so much water right now to fill up the regular tub and I hate wasting. I wanted an inflatable tub but just couldn't find one I liked. So, we saw that Ava's pal Caroline was sporting a new tub, and I looked for one and couldn't find it either. Yesterday I came home from work and this was sitting on the counter:

Zach went and bought it yesterday while out yesterday. We're copy-catters but it was a super cute tub and it does the job perfectly. We try to buy gender neutral items in case we have a boy down the road, but Zach said she could have a pink bath tub! It's too cute - and it quacks when you squeeze it's beak! It made Ava giggle (which by the way is pretty much the sweetest sound in the world to me!).

First meeting - eyes wide with fascination

Giving it a test before bathtime

She was focused on all of her toys, she wouldn't look at me the entire time

But we did get her to look tonight

Today we went to NWA to do a few things. Can you believe it's almost April and soooooooooooo cold! It was snowing so hard up in Rogers/Bentonville. Craziness!! We spent some time at the mall and then had lunch at Abuelo's. I couldn't believe how hard the snow was coming down. We were back in town by about 3:00 and did a few more things to round out the afternoon.

Oh, and check out this cute Easter bunny!

Hello, old friend

Dear Crazy Driving Lady,

Hello, old friend. I can't say that I've missed you since I last saw you. Last year sometime, I began noticing that on my way to work, I was always around this one particular car with an annoying driver - and it turns out it's your car! You would pull out about a mile down from where our neighborhood is, and we would follow the same path, until we parted ways right before I got to work. Why do you annoy me you ask? You cetainly like to whip yourself in and out of whichever lane is the one moving and you are always right up on the bumper of the car in front of you. I can't tell you how many times you have been on my rear. I always worried you'd hit someone because you go super fast and you followed so closely and because you don't seem to care if anyone else is around while switching lanes. I know that on days when my lane seemed to be moving slow, I could look ahead and see you just weaving between the lanes. Or if there were days when I was a little early, I would sometimes look in my rearview mirror and your car's nose poking out and moving in and out. It's almost comical how you are such an agitated driver, Crazy Driving Lady! Seriously, if you're that enthused about getting to work, leave a little earlier! And it might be sad to admit, but I realized after returning to work from maternity leave that I wouldn't be seeing you on a daily basis anymore, because I was leaving earlier! And I'm happy to say it had been over six months since I had seen you...

Until today...

I have been leaving the house later this week since I am not making a day care stop. And I was riding along, minding my own business, when all of a sudden I saw your little blue car doing its dance between lanes! I just had to laugh. I think the funniest thing though was when we got the intersection where we part ways. You turn, I go straight. As we were coming up on the intersection, the car in my lane whipped in front of you when it realized that was the turning lane and boy were you mad! You can dish it out, but not take it, huh? Did you just not like someone doing to you what you do multiple times on a daily basis?

I just thought I would say hi to you, since it's been so long since we've seen each other. I'm hopeful that I will miss you again tomorrow, as I have been lucky enough to do for most of this week. If not, I'm sure we'll cross paths again this summer.

Until then,
Sarah

These are the days

Life is screaming by in our household. Zach and Ava are on Day 3 of Spring Break and have had a good week so far. We thought Ava might be a little sick of her "daddy time" on Monday. I went home for lunch and she was leaning so far out of her Bumbo for me to pick her up. Then, Zach had plans to golf with my dad that afternoon and was getting ready to take Ava over to my parents' house so Stephanie my mom could watch her. (I guess Stephanie found better plans.) Anyway, when Zach was putting her in her carseat he told her where they were going and he said she started kicking her legs and squealing. Then, when they got there, she actually reached out for my dad. (Sidenote: Ava has typically not done well with my dad. For some reason, she would generally cry whenever he would hold her. In the past couple of weeks, she's really warmed up to him.) We joked that it must have been really bad at home if she wanted her Grandpa!

So, Ava ran a slight fever Sunday and Monday. It was never over 100. I don't know if she has just a plain old cold, or if she's teething. Check out this picture:

She's practically frothing at the mouth! And see her outfit?! Yeah, bibs are much needed now. She has been really congested and really snotty. Also, she has this intense determination to gnaw on anything.

And not only does she want to gnaw, she's fanatic about it. She starts panting and trying as hard as she could to shove chosen object into her mouth. The best was when she tried to shove my forearm into her mouth. So, really, who knows what's wrong with her at this point?

She's enjoying staying at home, but she has sure enjoyed getting out a little bit each day. I'm curious to see her reaction when she returns to school next week.

Oh, how much I love this sweet girl (and her daddy!)! I wish more than anything I was at home with them on Spring Break this week.

And on another note, can you believe it is supposed to be back down into the 40s this weekend? Isn't it spring??!

I ♥ the weekend!

This has been a GREAT weekend! For me, it was a 3 day weekend (woo-hoo!) and for Zach it is only the start of a week long break! I got an unexpected day off from work on Friday. The school district made up a snow day, and Ava's daycare was schedule to be closed, so I took the day off to stay with her! It was soooooooooo nice and much needed! We spent a fun morning at home playing and after a long nap, we headed to Shoe Carnival where I got some shoes for an upcoming wedding and to Target where we picked up a few things. Then we headed to Sonic:

Who doesn't love Happy Hour??

When Zach got home, I did a quick trip to Wal-mart and picked up groceries. That night we went to my parent's house for dinner to celebrate my future sister-in-law's acceptance into her first choice program for her residency next year. Congrats, Kelsey!!

Saturday started out a little rainy. We went and ran a couple of errands in the morning. That afternoon, I went to a wedding shower for my long-time friend, Sandy. It was through Sandy that I met Zach. He lived with Sandy's fiance in college.

A slightly blurry pic of old friends

Today we headed to church and came home afterwards. Zach played golf this afternoon and Ava and I went to see my sister's newly decorated room, of which she was so proud. Miss Ava isn't feeling the best today - she had a slight fever earlier but has perked up a little this evening. If she's still running a fever in the morning, she'll be heading in to see the doctor. She's drooling excessively today so I just wonder if another tooth is on its way in.

Did you have a nice weekend?

Ava's Pictures

Go here to see some more pictures of our sweet baby girl!! LOVE these pictures!!

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Ava!!!

Six months ago we got to see this sweet face for the very first time!!!!!! How can the time have passed so fast???

Ava turning six months old is so bittersweet for me! I miss that teeny, tiny newborn stage, but I absolutely adore how she is right now. She is so much fun and she never ceases to amaze me!

She continues to grow and change each and every day. I was looking back at pictures from her first few days and it has absolutly amazed me how much she has changed since then!

Little girl just a few days old

Big girl on her six month birthday!

The day we brought her home from the hospital

This morning before leaving for school

Slowly waking up on her 6 month birthday!

Giving Mommy some smiles

Ava is staying super busy these days. She talks and coos and laughs and spends a large portion of the time with her feet in her mouth. She can sit up and is now sleeping through the night (a feat which her mother thought may never happen!). She has also started eating some baby veggies. Her favorite so far is carrots, with squash coming in a close 2nd. We are anxious to start fruits soon too.

This little girl makes my heart melt! I can't wait for all the future holds in store for her!

Sneak peek

Over the weekend, we had some pictures taken as Ava is almost 6 months old and I wanted to have some shots of her at this stage. Our great friends from Beaty Photography came and did a session with us and I got an email yesterday with this preview:

I loooooove it! :) I'm so excited and cannot wait to see the rest of the images!!!