Happy Halloween

Well, Halloween 2011 was quite the event.  We usually go to our church Fall Festival but we didn’t have one this year so it was Michael’s first time to officially trick-or-treat.  Michael was so cute as a little fireman and Ava was beautiful as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.  I think Michael’s favorite part of the day was pulling in our driveway and then having Derin open the door.  Michael screamed “Daddy!!”  He was so happy and we were so glad he was home. We headed to eat with our friends and Michael got to play with his friends Laylin and Linlee (Michael keeps saying how pretty they are:).  After dinner, it was time to hit the streets and go for candy!  Ava was escorted in style in her stroller and Michael wanted to walk in his boots.  I originally thought the fireman outfit was just cute and then I realized how safe it was because it had all the reflective gear on it!

Michael wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do, he just kept going up to people and saying “please” and holding out his hands for candy.  He then thought that he was supposed to eat the candy at every door.  I was very pleased that he kept saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome” when people gave him his treats.  How did I get so lucky?Lulu and Uncle Craig were sweet enough to walk around with us, we wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun without them.  Lulu looked beautiful in her orange (my favorite color) sweater and hat!  Ava just watched everyone and would have slept but I think that all the costumes and lights were fascinating.

We headed home, where Ava truly showed her exhaustion, but after baths and bedtime stories we all collapsed and fell fast asleep.  A great Halloween and a fun night that I will never forget.

 

Pumpkins

  Every year at Uncle Sam’s and Aunt Karen’s we carve pumpkins.  I have to say that I have been spoiled living so close to them.  We have loved our Wednesday night dinners and it is something I will surely miss when we move in January. Anyway, it was fun and the weather was beautiful…thank you October!  I picked up a Lightning McQueen pumpkin kit from Target (of course) for Michael to use on his pumpkin.  We cut holes in it and then pushed the face and lightning bolt in.  We also had a small pumpkin for Ava that Michael painted and Ava put her hand print on. It was so cute because this time last year, Lynn and I were pregnant and this time we had our sweet Ava and Cole to help us with our pumpkins. 

At Missy’s house on Friday, Michael got to make another pumpkin with his buddies.  Missy bought sweet little pumpkins and felt stickers for the kids to decorate their pumpkins with.  They are very precious and look cute in our kitchen.  Just another reason why I love the Fall!  I can’t wait for Halloween so we can go trick-or-treating with our two little treats!  Just wait until you see their costumes!

Six Months Old

Happy half birthday my littlest love!  My goodness how you have grown, it just amazes me!  You now eat all of your fruits and vegetables.  You even love carrots, which Michael hated until recently.  You now weigh 18 lbs and are 27.6 inches long.  You gained three pounds and grew almost three inches in three months.  I cannot believe you have tripled your birth weight already.  Doctors expect that by the first year!  Now I have to buy a new carseat in the next couple of months silly girl! You still roll everywhere and try to sit up by yourself.  You can do it for a few seconds but then you look at me or Michael and lose your focus.   So cute.  Your favorite thing to do is to stick your hands out in front of you as far as you can and star at them.  Almost as if you are inspecting your manicure.  It is hilarious that you can amuse yourself for a good ten minutes doing that. You love to blow raspberries with your mouth especially while you are eating because then the food goes everywhere!  You are a messy eater unlike your brother because you stick your fingers in your mouth and then spread stuff all over your beautiful head of hair. 

You coo constantly and have found your high voice.  For a while there you only hit low notes but not anymore!  Just like your brother, the louder you get, the higher you get!

Finally my love, I am beginning to see myself in you.  I can see me in your smile and it just melts my heart.  You have the best parts of me my love.  There is just something special about having a daughter, something unexpected but so sweet.

Baby Dedication

“I prayed for this child, and God gave me what I asked for. And now I have dedicated him to God. He’s dedicated to God for life.” 1 Samuel 1:27-28

On October 23rd, Ava Elisabeth had her baby dedication at our church Community Bible Church, New Braunfels.  I could not wait for the weekend to arrive when the entire family including Gigi and Mimi would arrive to celebrate our commitment to raise Ava with Christ as the center of our home.  Uncle Craig played the drums and I sang in the service.  It was so sweet, especially when I finished singing and the prayer had begun, and I heard “Mommy!” from across the sanctuary because Michael didn’t want to go to the nursery.  Oh well, my sweet little one, I love to hear you say my name just like Christ loves to hear us say His name.

It was a fun weekend and I am so blessed to have such a loving family that supports our sweet children.  We also celebrated Craig’s birthday, Ava’s sixth month birthday and PawPaw’s birthday.  A great weekend all around!

Five Months Old

Yes, of course this is long over due as you are now sixth months old little one.  But, with your Daddy living in our new house and us back here, things are a bit hectic and when I do find time to sit down, it is usually to sleep.Well precious Ava, you are quite the little doll.  Your hair is so amazing that it is the first thing people comment on.  Needless to say, your hair accessories now take up an entire wall in your room.  You have begun to actually eat your cereal, we have come a long way in a month on that one.  Now you eat some fruits and veggies but you make silly faces all throughout dinner.  You still eat it so I’m not sure what you are thinking. You roll everywhere.  You have outgrown your play gym because you kept getting  caught in the sides when you would try to roll around.  So, now we have a floor full of blankets for you to roll around in circles.

You amaze me with how much you know your brother.  He makes you laugh like no one else.  There is such a sweet connection there that makes me fall in love with you both all over again. You love for me to sing, doesn’t matter what the words are, you just love the melody. So if you are fussy, I just sing about something and all is well.  You are such a great little sleeper, thank you so much for blessing me with sleep.  Not much phases you, you are a very relaxed little girl.  Not like your mommy. :)Well my little darling Ava, you are growing up before my very eyes and I can’t believe it is happening.  So stop it. Just stay this size forever my love.

Four Months Old

Wow, already?  Ava you are such a big girl!  You now weigh 15 lbs, are 25 1/2 inches long.  You have gained 9 pounds and grown 7 1/2 inches since you were born!  You sleep on average nine hours a night and I couldn’t be happier.  Now you only cat nap during the day with the longest nap being 1 hour in length but I’m not complaining! Your giggle is contagious and you are SO ticklish!  Every morning when I change you, when I go to lift your shirt over your head you just start giggling!  Anytime I reach for your neck you just start to laugh and it cracks me up!  You really are a happy baby just so sweet and giggly.  You love to talk all the time and you have such a silly little voice.  You reach these high notes and just smile the whole time.

You do however, have three distinct cries: hungry, tired and hurt.  The hurt cry usually comes when you pull your own hair or your brother is a little too rough.  The hungry cry comes out of no where.  You are not shy about letting us know when it is time to eat and that time is NOW!  The tired cry is more a whimper, not too big.  The issue with your cries is you are very dramatic. The second you wind up the tears start to flow.  I can only assume this is a glimpse into the future.  Flash forward fifteen years to you shopping at the mall and you want something.  You will glance at your Daddy with those big blue eyes full of tears and he will cave.  Who wouldn’t? You roll around on your playmat, not quite rolling over yet but side to side and back and forth.  You do roll from your tummy to your back and you let me know when you are done with tummy time, make no mistake about that! You have such great head control and like to sit in your bumbo and look around.  You know Michael’s voice and look for him when he enters the room. 

You reach for everything that you can and get so frustrated when you can’t pick it up, but you are getting better!  The best new development is your faces.  You make such funny faces and look at me like I’m crazy sometimes.  I totally believe that you will be able to raise one eyebrow like me and your Nana.  Can’t wait to see it!

Your hair is out of control and I think we will cut it soon, either that or I will start to curl it!  Even though you sometimes wake me up at unspeakable hours, when I go in your room and see your gummy smile, nothing else matters.  I realized the other day while I was holding you that Michael was once your size and now look at him.  You  too will grow up too fast but I’m not going to miss a second.  I love you little one, Happy Four Month Birthday!