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