Fall, Football, and Family Pictures

Since Ava's birthday it has cooled off quite a bit and we are enjoying the weather much more these days. I have put out fall decorations and we have proudly hung the Tech flag on the front porch. Chris is demanding more Saturday TV time for the college football games and Ava is demanding pumpkins! We took some family pictures when we were up in Frisco and they turned out beautifully! Ava got to stand on a choo-choo train and we got to eat at Babe's Chicken Dinner House afterward. It was a very good day!
Ava also got to visit a pumpkin patch in Coleman, TX at Garner's Garden Center this week. She took some fun pictures while we were there and got to pick out her very own baby pumpkin. Mimi and I picked out some homemade butters, which are fantastic, and looked around at all the goodies they had in store. They sell some very pretty wreaths!
It's coming up on Chris and I's one year wedding anniversary and we are excited to get the big box of one year old cake out of the freezer and take a bite! I hope it's as good as it was last year!

Happy 2nd Birthday

Ava had a fantastic 2nd Birthday! She loved all the watermelon, balloons, cake and presents! Thank you to everyone who came and helped, we could not have done it without you! Here are a few of the pictures! Enjoy!

Look who's turning 2

Ava will be two years old! I can not believe how much she has grown up and turned into this sweet little girl. She can count to 5 (when she wants to), knows all her colors and shapes, knows how to spell her name (can't write it, but will tell you A-V-A), knows pretty much every animal and noise, sings Itsy Bitsy Spider and Rock a bye Baby, and has just started saying "I love you!" She is talking up a storm and will tell anyone who listens anything they want to know. Her favorite sayings are:
"See you soon"
"How do that"
"What doing here"
"How about that"
"No thank you, I'm fine"
There are many more, but you will have to come to her birthday party to hear them! We will be celebrating at home in the backyard again this year. We have added to our water activities for the kids so bring swimsuits and towels. There will be a gourmet hot dog buffet for lunch and of course cake! Party starts at 11:30 on Saturday the 21st. Call or email me for directions or more information! Can't wait to see everyone here!

Dance Party!

We just got a new game for our Wii called Just Dance and at first Ava liked to just sit back and enjoy the entertainment. Just lately she has been begging everyday to play Dance Party (that's what she calls it). So Chris caught her in action striking a pose. There is much more to come!

Hoppin Down the Bunny Trail

Ava is growing like a weed these days. She is taller by the minute and talking like a 4 year old! She is using 2-3 word sentences most of the time, but her favorite phrase is "Thank You Mama." She loves eating chicken, steak and cheese but her favorite is berries of any sort. We are working on the potty training thing, but so far she has only used her potty once. She really did not like that it made a mess, which is another favorite phrase we hear often, "Oh no mess!" Since the weather is warming up we have been playing outside pretty much every day. She draws with sidewalk chalk, plays throw-catch the ball, and chases the dog around saying "Oh no mess!" We have also added another chore to her list. Now she checks the mail and then waters Mommy's plant. She also gets wheel barrel rides around the yard like we used to from Dandy and thinks that is too fun!

Yesterday was Ava's 2nd Easter but 1st egg hunt! It was a beautiful day, but pretty windy as you will hear in the videos. She absolutely loved running around outside finding the eggs! But when the eggs would accidentally open and spill she would pick up all the candy and put it back in the egg! The handle on her basket was also a little long so she would just drag it around behind her spilling eggs out along the way. It worked out pretty good though because then she would turn around and say "Oh look more!" I'm sure we probably could have just left the eggs empty and she would have been happy because she had more fun finding them then eating the candy. We plan to have a few more egg hunts this week in the backyard since she loved it so much.

We also had some time to venture around Papa Keith's place yesterday which Ava also LOVED! She is definitely an outdoor girl. She collected some rocks, she threw some rocks in the water, she helped Daddy skip some rocks, and got to jump on the trampoline. What a blast! She is just getting to do it all these days.

Love, Ducks and Snow

Ava celebrated Valentines day by taking her 4-wheeler for a spin and spending some quality time with her Mimi while Mom and Dad had a quiet dinner together. She may not seem like it from this picture but she really does love hugs. She is extremely cuddly and likes getting kisses and hugs from everyone. She is also an animal lover! Who could see that coming?!




We took her to Riverside Park here in Brownwood and she happened to make a new little furry friend. There was a squirrel who came right up to her and took bread from her little hand. Some of the ducks would too, but they made her nervous. The geese of course kept honking so she had a few face-offs with them and didn't care for all their racket. She also had a good time pulling Papa around by his little finger to show him those mean old geese! She actually drug him all the way to the creek bank to steal a dobber out of a fisherman's tackle box. Luckily he was kind enough to let her have it because I'm sure the sky would have fallen if she had to put it back.

Then within the week it suddenly snowed 6 inches! So we got another chance to run around and feel snow under our boots. This time was different though because she decided to taste it and then I couldn't get her to stop eating handfuls of snow!

Reading while in diapers

We made it home from our big trip North to Panhandle. It was quite a drive with Miss Ava telling you when to "go, go, go" at every stop. She was definitely a show-off while we were there! She sat and read a Dr. Seuss book to Jennifer, showed Grandma how to ride a 4-wheeler, showed Hayden how to feed and burp Jackson, told Murr & Dandy what coyotes say, and taught everyone her new dance moves! She had a ball playing in Panhandle and told us many times on the way home she missed her cousin Jack.

I'm very glad to be back home where Ava has all her things and bedtime is back to normal, but there is something different about Sprout. Before we left Ava only ever had one accident in the bathtub and since we've been home she has pooped in the tub every bath time! What happened up there?! I'm not sure what is going to happen now, but Chris threatened no more baths :) so if you smell a stink on 8th it's either the baby or the bath!

Let it Snow!

Today the snow started coming down in big chunky flakes so Ava and I decided to go play in it! She loved it until she fell down and she didn't like the cold on her hands at all! But before she had a chance to topple over I got some good shots of her.

Home for the Holiday

The holidays have really come and gone fast this year. Thanksgiving was an amazing mix of the families and an awesome turnout of 28 people. It could not have been more fun to see everyone and eat till we all were stuffed! I think I was a tad bit overboard on the menu because everyone ended up taking leftovers for the rest of the weekend as well as have leftovers for dinner that night. Then Christmas came and we did it all over again!

There were a few mishaps along the way, but we pulled off an amazing Christmas. Hayden, Chris and Jackson ended up staying home and coming to Brownwood because the weather up north was not letting them fly to Chicago. Then Heather and the boys ended up on the road for 8 hours instead of 3 because of ice, I cut my finger open, Grandma set her purse/Mimi's china cabinet on fire, Mimi burned her arm on the over rack, I hit Grandma in the face a few times, Grandma burned her fingers, I burned my hand but we made it alive!

Ava had a blast playing with all her new toys and spending time with her cousins. Santa brought her a kitchen for Christmas which she absolutely loves! She is already mixing things up and feeding Chris and I. I already can't wait till next year to see what she is doing then.

She has started feeding herself with a spoon, or trying to at least. She has already got the "I do it mine own self" attitude her Aunt Hayde had. She wants to be a big girl already! She is talking up a storm and always wants to call her Mimi or Daddy on the phone. Yesterday I was wanting to get a snack from the kitchen so I said to Ava "Do you know what mommy wants?" and she said "Daddy!" She is one smart cookie.

Chores and Duties

Ava was assigned her first chore around the house! She absolutely loves checking the mail. Everyday when Chris gets home she's ready to go. She will run to the front door and wait for him to come hold her hand so she can walk out to the mail box. She is so excited when there is mail in there and will bring them all straight back to me. I let her have the junk mail and flyers to read through, but she loves the journey more than anything.

Halloween Big Style

As promised in our last blog here are the pictures of the adult costumes. Enjoy!

Spider Sprout

Well October has come and gone with the wind. Texas Tech played some lousy football and we had a fantastic Halloween party! Hayden and Chris came down with Jackson to celebrate the fun weekend and he was possibly the cutest dinosaur ever in the whole wide world! I mean he was definitely the show stopper! Hayden and Chris dressed up as tourists with their matching attire from Hawaii, which I heard Chris insisted on buying. Mimi and Papa Keith were Little Red Riding Hood and The Big Bad Wolf. Owen came as the cutest pumpkin in the patch! Aubrey was a sweet bumble bee, Tyler was a mighty firefighter, and we can't forget Baby Trenton was an adorable little tiger. The kids won the contest by far but you have to admit Chris and I were pretty creative. Chris was a "stick in the mud" and I was a "babysitter." Pictures of the kids are below and pictures of the adults will soon follow.

Also, the 2nd photographer posted her preview of the wedding! Check them out! http://kandicerayphotography.blogspot.com/2009/11/chris-and-becky-autumn-wedding.html

Pumpkin Munchkin

We took Ava to the pumpkin patch in preparation for Halloween next week. They were so nice they gave her a little baby pumpkin to take home with her and she carried it around the whole time we were there. We had already bought pumpkins to carve but we spotted another golden egg in the bunch and couldn't resist. It is a monster of a pumpkin weighing in at more than 30 pounds! I can't wait to carve a giant Double-T in it so all our Texas neighbors can see. Ava will of course get another Ava pumpkin, but there is one more I'm not quite sure what to do with. Guess it will have to be a surprise. I also went out and bought candy to give away to all the Trick-or-Treaters and let's just say I hope we have lots of them because I went a little overboard.

Also awhile back we took Ava to the Brownwood Reunion and for those of you who don't know it's much like a fair. Fair food, fair rides, concerts, games and lots of vendor booths. One thing in particular they have, which I have personally never heard of, is the corn boxes. Very much like a sand box but with lots of dried corn instead. Ava was not a fan this year, but next year I think she will be swimming in it!

October already?!

The time has flown by and so many things have happened since our last blog! After getting Aunt Hayden and Uncle Chris moved down to Texas we were in a hurry to put Hayden to work on the wedding. There was shopping and creative madness for the last 2 weeks before the wedding and then it came. The wedding of the year! It was perfect and everything turned out better than imagined. It will take Chris awhile to get used to his new bling, but he hasn't taken it off since the day I put it on him. AVA however has not been allowed to have hers since then! Her wedding locket will be stored safely in my jewelry drawer until she is old enough to appreciate it and understand its meaning a little better. She did get to taste test it and said it was pretty good silver.

After the wedding when we came home there were boxes of presents and wedding decor everywhere! You better believe Ava was the first to jump at unpacking them and putting things together. You might be surprised that most everything she found in the boxes was a toy of some sort. (At least she thought so) One of them actually was for Sprouty, it came from Chris's boss and his wife (Scott and Terry). She even got to help her daddy put it together and that was probably more fun than trying to ride it. It's a John Deer Tractor tricycle which for now she just pushes around and walks behind, but sooner or later I can see her chasing her daddy through the yard fast as lightening!


Then just for fun here are some random riding in the car pictures since we have been doing plenty of that these past few weeks. I will also add pictures from the wedding as soon as I get them, but for now get a preview from the photographers at http://www.jacquelinereitzphotography.com/weddings/.

Utensil User

Ava is growing by the mile these days! Walking on Monday and eating with her fork on Wednesday! If anyone had told me she would be a baby one day and a toddler the next I wouldn't have believed it. Now seeing her go from my little swaddled screamer to my walking mess in just a week I'm amazed. I wish we could keep these days forever.

Time Flys and Summers Gone

So many things have happened since our last post. We went to the Gillespie Country Fair in Fredricksburg, visited Aunt Ludy in Santa Anna, helped Aunt Hayde and Uncle Chris move back to Texas and started walking! Well with her walker anyway, but that's walking!

So at the Gillespie County Fair Ava got to see roosters, pot belly pigs, sheep, goats, baby cows, and the biggest bull ever! She loved the animals but the merry-go-round was her favorite part so she rode it 3 times. There were also horse races which would have been more fun but it was very hot that day so we only saw one run. They went by so fast Ava hardly saw what they were but since the fair she knows exactly what a horsey says.

Sprouty also got to visit Aunt Ludy Jane in Santa Anna where she met her pet goat, Martha. Did we mention she loves animals?! Aunt Hayden of course brought Lucy and Moto the cats so Ava had a ball chasing them around the new house in Roundrock. Lucy actually gave in at one point and let Ava pet her! The cats weren't the only interesting thing in the house. Sprouty loves her little cousin Jack! She was very sweet and wanted to share her book with him. She also tried sharing her juice, her pacifier, toys and anything she could find on the floor. You can see she is Jackson's favorite cousin.

Then there was this walking business! One day she just up and took off! You can see in her video she is already moving at the speed of turtle so we all know what's next. RABBIT! Good thing Chris and I need some exercise because were going to be running for the next few years.

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava had the best birthday a one year old could ever have! All her friends and family came to play, eat and witness the cake mess and since pictures are worth 1000 words (and I don't want to type that many) here is a slide show of her birthday party!

Thank you to everyone who made it and I have to say I could not have pulled it off without Heather, Jay, Daniel, Darren, Jennifer, Mimi, and Grandma! You guys are the best and I will remember that next year when we get ready for Ava's 2nd birthday!

Ava traveled East

Oh my goodness where to begin?! Last Monday Ava and I took off to the Big-D to prepare for our trip to see Hayden, Chris and Jackson. We had errands to run and people to see so Ava was almost worn out by the time we were heading to the airport on Wednesday. I have to say I have no idea how single parents would ever travel by themselves! Heather was a GIGANTIC help and I am absolutely positively sure Ava and I would not have made it without her. To start the trip we had the stroller, car seat, 2 big check-in bags and 2 carry-on bags each. (Let's just say on the way home somehow our suitcases grew.)Ava was very interested in all the new people at the airport and enjoyed waving and talking to everyone. Thank goodness on the 1st flight we were able to save a whole row of seats so Ava could have her own. She enjoyed crawling back and forth between me and Heather so when we had to share our row she was not very excited. She liked looking out the window, but after a while the plane hummed her to sleep so the rides were pretty relaxing.

At both Aunt Heather's and Aunt Hayden's she had stairs to climb and boy she did. Every time you put her down she would run for the stairs! It was amazing how fast she got by the end of the trip. She would be up the stairs in seconds where as the first few times it took her a little bit. Ava loved Moto and Fat Lucy but I'm pretty sure they did not love her quite as much. Although Moto grew braver over the week she was still not convinced Ava was not going to hurt her. The cats were also the cause of so many trips up the stairs because they just thought they could hide from her under the bed, but I guess she's just too smart for them.

We tried to take Ava to the beach one day, but we happened to pick the day it rained. So instead we took her for a ride with a dinosaur. She loved it! We didn't even have to put quarters in it she just wanted to sit and steer. I don't think she wanted to share the car though because she kept trying to push the T-Rex out.

We had lots of fun in Delaware with baby Jackson and in a few years him and Ava will be into everything, but so far she was not real interested in him. She mostly just wanted to trade pacifiers and take his toys. Jackson does have some pretty cool toys though.

After all was said and done Aunt Hayden taught Ava a new dance and Aunt Heather had her sticking her tongue out at everyone on the plane. She grew a mile while we were gone and I'm told her hair is getting thicker although I can't really see it. I know we are both very glad to be home and even more happy Jackson is moving just 2 hours away! We can't wait!

Brownwood Rodeo

As you all know Ava will one day be a Rodeo Queen so she can ride around the arena looking pretty and waving at everyone. She is destined to at least love horses because she wasn't at all afraid to sit up on these 8 foot Clydesdale's. (They were probably more around 7 feet for those who are counting)
To celebrate the rodeo in Brownwood there is a big city parade with all the Queens, clowns, cheerleaders, high school band, and this guy. Of course next year he will have some stiff competition since we have already started planning the family float!