First Haircut for Ava

I took Ava in to get her haircut this afternoon. I wasn't sure how she would react but she took it very serious. She did everything my stylist asked her to and sat very still. Everyone in the salon wanted to talk to Ava and tell her how cute she was and she loved the attention. I hope our next haircut goes this well. Her hair isn't much different, we just snipped off the shabby ends.

A Few More Italy Pictures

Matt in front of a giant door. So crazy common here.
This is a replica of the Michelangelo's David. The actual David is in Florence in an indoor gallery that we walked by everyday. We waited until Saturday to go to that gallery and the line was super super long, so we decided to go on a walking tour instead. Well to our surprise we ran into this replica and that was good enough for us!
This warthog fountain has a lot of luck and wishes associated with it. I guess if you rub his shiny snout you will return to Florence someday and then if you drop a coin from its mouth and it fall through the grate your wish will come true.
We are on the way back from our walking tour. Don't ask me what the building is in the background because I don't remember. I bet we saw over 100 cool historic sites, maybe 200, yeah between 100 and 200 sites.

Here are a couple more pictures and I included one that shows a set of large doors. Some of these giant doors would have a small door you could walk through. These castle like doors were on buildings that weren't anything special-like every building had them. Imagine dragging groceries through these doors. I think it would be a workout just to answer the door :)

Our fast trip to It-lee

Me on the Ponte Vechio
Matt and I at the top of the Duomo (a very, very, large cathedral). It was over 400 stairs to the top.
The Market where I found the most beautiful leather handbag and Matt got some super cool silk ties.
Matt chillin' in the coutyard of a church that was built in 345 AD. Ummmm that's old.
Me standing by a very small car. There were even smaller ones driving around italy.

So I had to catch up on my blogging so I could post our most recent trip. I planned a surprise trip to Florence Italy for our 5th year wedding anniversary. Of course I couldn't it a surprise forever so I did tell matt about two weeks before we left. I had been here briefly for work 3 years ago and fell in love the moment I had gelato. The Italians have great food, great style, and amazing amount of history. We left Wednesday night and came back Monday Night. It was a lot of travel for such a short trip, but it was worth it. We left Ava with Matt's parents and sister. They took such great care of her. They sent bi-daily emails on what she was up to (how she sleeping, eating, and even pooping :) ). We missed her soooo much and kept seeing kids around her age in the city. We took over 200 pictures (a lot of gigantic doors) and had a wonderful time. Don't worry I won't put them all in my blog. Matt joked (at least I think he was joking) about setting up a slide show at our house. Doesn't everyone want to look at 200 pictures of churches, statues, and giant doors?

Too Many Fishies

I swear that half of my posts could be little messes made by little Ava. I happened to get a photo of this one. I gave Ava a few goldfish in her snack cup. While I was making oatmeal in the kitchen, she somehow got the whole bag of gold fish and decided she needed a few more. Ummmm........yeah there are many more goldfish than can fit in the cup. Later I noticed Ava had fed some of her "fishies" to some of my plants. This week I found a few Cheerios in my plants. I guess everyone could use a snack once in awhile.

Brunch Anyone?

Girl POWER......Lilly (6), Vivian(5), Morgan(7), and Ava(1 1/2)
Lilly loved my Camera, so we attempted a self portrait.
Lilly and Morgan attack Kevin while Vivian watches the chaos.
The boys Daniel( not pictured) and Matthew play catch with Robert while Jami and Colleen chat.

Our friend Robert lost his mother a couple of weeks ago to cancer. Although we hope we are able to meet under better circumstances next time, we did have a good time getting together for brunch at Jami and Kevin's house. Robert and his wife Colleen adopted two little girls from the Ukraine in November and we finally got to meet them. There were lots of kids running around and Ava loved it! Kevin and Jami's daughter Morgan really took Ava under her wing and kept her entertained with Dolls and Barbies. By the end of the day, to Morgan's delight, Ava could say "Moe" which is her nickname. We enjoyed our time in Milwaukee with friends and look forward to seeing everyone again soon!

Everyone Needs a Best Friend!

Ava shares a big chair with Derek. He makes her laugh often. So this slide house is their favorite. The slide is so small, but it doesn't matter.
Ava is attempting to change Derek's Diaper. What a little mom.
Making Easter Cookies.
At first I only had one diaper box and they would both want it. But of course as any mom knows diaper boxes come around frequently. So I saved another one. 2 boxes, 2 happy kids! (too bad dad didn't know we needed two and threw one out last week)

Ava talks about Derek all week awaiting Monday and Tuesday of the next week. My friend Deanna and I switch off and take care of each others child. The kids don't always want to share or do the same activities, but they get a long great. Anytime anyone comes to the door or even when Daddy gets home, Ava always thinks it's Derek. I'm lucky to have a mom to switch off with. Some of my errands would never get done without this luxury. We are all looking forward to being able to go to the park and pool. Yes I am beckoning summer. Summer where are you?? Yeah, Yeah, I know Spring comes before summer. So we'll wait.......and....wait........and wait.

Potty Time

So we aren't trying to potty train, but we have a little potty that is in Ava's bathroom. She has gone in it a few times by chance and wasn't even sure how the "stuff" got in it. I just thought it couldn't hurt to have it in the bathroom in case she was interested. One thing we do while she hangs out on the potty is blowing bubbles. Ava gets bubble solution on her lips and still is trying to figure out how hard to blow, but I'm sure by this summer she'll have it mastered. Have I sais I can't wait for summer. I should post all the summer clothes I have already bought.