Playdate!

Yesterday afternoon, Miss Caroline came over to play! Ava was SO excited when they got here. For a little while the girlies sat and stared at each and talked a little.

Isn't it cute the way their feet are touching in these pics??

One of the cool things about going to a friend's house is that your friend usually has toys that you don't!!! The girls were excited to play with something new to them!

Caroline had some toys from Ava's purse...

... and Ava played with some toys from Caroline's bag, including her hat!!

The girls seemed to enjoy themselves. We hope you'll come to play again, Caroline! And the other great thing about it - after it was over, Ava crashed for a two and a half hour nap! That is a rare thing in this house!!

Super Saturday

I have some cute pictures to share from today! The day was incredibly busy. I had somewhere to be at 7:30 this morning and didn't get home until 1:00. Then I got busy getting ready for company tonight. My dear sweet friend, Chenin, and her fiance, Chuck, were in town for their engagement photos with the Beatys. After they finished, they all came over for dinner. My brother Stephen came over too (he was friends with Chenin in college too).

Before the other group got here, Stephen spent some good time with Ava.

She doesn't appear to understand the phrase, "look at Momma!"

Stephen is a big time fishing guy and loves spending time on his boat. He sent me a text message earlier in the week telling me that he had gone to a trade show and had bought Ava a life jacket to wear on his boat. It's a little big, but she'll grow into it. We tried it on her tonight, and well... the pictures speak for themselves!

Not a happy camper!

Our other friends arrived for dinner and I have to say, it was one of the best nights we've had in a long time. We talked and hung out way longer than we expected - and had Chenin and Chuck not had a 2.5 hour drive home, I'm sure we would have kept the party going. We're so blessed to have such wonderful friends!

Staying busy!

Today was a fairly normal day for us. We got up, went to work and school, came home, met some friends for dinner and then came home to get Ava to bed. Ava is getting so close to crawling these days. She is VERY determined and can move but always seems to fall after she takes her first "step" (I don't know what you call it?). Her faces these days are cracking me up.

We had a wonderful time at dinner tonight at The Pink Flamingo catching up with friends who don't live close (and also those that do!). I only took one picture while there and it didn't turn out so well.

When Zach picked Ava up from my mom today, she reported that Ava had slept a total of 20 minutes today. 20 MINUTES!!!! Ugh.. she was fairly pleasant (until we got home) for being such a tired little girl. We got a bath and went to bed as soon as we got home!

Ava has recently figured out how to sit up from laying on her belly. She gets up on all fours and then can put her rear on the ground. She tried doing this in the bathtub tonight but didn't have any luck...

So she decided to bite her ducky instead...

After making her bottle, I found Ava like this - this was a new one. I've seen the binky in upside down, but never sideways! (Edited to add: look at how her nose is squished!) At the moment, we thankfully have a little girl snuggled in her bed and fast asleep. I can't wait to get up tomorrow and do it all over again (except for maybe the going to work part!!!)!!!

Beautiful day!

Today was a GORGEOUS day! I've been waiting for these days because I've been so anxious to put Ava in some of her little dresses!!! We went outside this evening after dinner and took a few pictures.

Examining the grass

Flying high!

I ♥ her face in this picture!

Such a sweetie!

100th Post!!!

Woo-hoo!! I finally made it to 100 posts! (It sure took long enough!) We had such a busy (but great) weekend! Friday night we had dinner with some friends from church. Ava and their twins enjoyed the time out and were good enough to give us a couple of hours to eat/visit. No pictures though!

Saturday was Zach's birthday!! I co-hosted a shower for my future SIL that afternoon, so Zach got to spend his birthday on the golf course, which I'm sure he didn't mind at all!!

I was getting ready for the shower on Saturday and came across the scene in this next picture. Remember this seat and how much I said I thought I would love it? Well, I do love it. But apparently Ava has found another use for it besides sitting in it to eat. It seems to make a great toy as well. She is obsessed with those straps! (Why do we bother buying her toys???)

(and check out those thighs!!!!)

The shower was great although I was busy playing hostess and didn't snap any pictures! After the shower, we headed to watch my cousin's baby get baptised. We then headed to a party at their house after that. It was an exhausting day!

Sunday we recouped and then celebrated Zach's birthday with dinner out. Also, yesterday our big girl turned 7 months old!! It is so hard to believe it is going this fast. She is so cute with the things she's doing right now, but I'll save those for another day. I'll end with this picture of our girl.

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Zach!!!! Ava and I love you so much and are so lucky to have you!! You are an amazing husband and such a wonderful father and we couldn't ask for anything better. You are the favorite guy in our life! We hope you have a wonderful birthday!!

Little Chatterbox

As evidenced by pictures, it's pretty clear Ava looks like her daddy (minus her eyes, which she got from me.) However, she has another characterstic from her mommy - she loves to talk (much to Daddy's chagrin)!!! He was hoping she'd be a quiet little girl!