Sprinkler Time

Ava will run right thru the middle of the sprinkler and she wants me to run with her. I tell her NOWAY! Too cold for me.

Backyard Photo Shoot

We took few pictures in the backyard last week. Ava looks so old to me.

We are having a...............................................

So we had our ultrasound yesterday and found out that so far everything looks healthy and that we are having another girl. They estimate that she weighs one pound right now. Anyway we are so excited. I am a little in shock because I really thought we were having a boy for some reason. So I was at Old Navy and caught myself looking for a deal on little boys clothes today. It is funny because I have been asking Ava for a few weeks if we are having a girl baby or baby boy, and every day she would assure me that we were having a girl baby. I would ask in a different order and it didn't matter. So the other day I asked her are you a boy or a girl. She answered "a boy" with confidence. So she was right about her sister, but wrong about herself :)

PAY IT FORWARD!

IT"S HERE AND YOU COULD WIN!!!!

Finally I have found the time to PAY IT FORWARD. I don't usually win anything, but lucky me, I won a great pay it forward from my sister Lori. It was in December and I decided to wait until Christmas was way over. Well Christmas is way over and I am pretty excited and hope I get a lot of entries. Below are the rules.
1. You must have your own blog to perpetuate the Pay It Forward Exchange/Craft. YOU MUST Pay It Forward! It can be something you have crafted or bought. (I'm doing "a few of my favorite things" as a theme.)

2. You must enter by making a comment with something interesting about yourself and don't worry if I don't know you. Please send friends that would want to do this fun activity to my blog.

3. You have until Monday night, August 11th to sign up through my blog.

4. I will pick 3 of the commenter's randomly.

Happy Birthday Ava!

Ava is hiding in my arms while the folks at Red Robin sing her a loud Happy Birthday. We went with her Uncle Corey and Grandpa the day before her birthday. It actually scared her and she cried. Who knew?

Ava and her Birthday Breakfast-A Rice Crispy w/chocolate and two candles to blow out.

Ava's new picnic table and some other birthday presents.....Oh and her giant princess balloon that sings and cost ummmm............$13 (this was a Dad purchase)

Ava and her best friend Derek eating pizza, one of Ava and Daddy's favorite things to eat.

Opening up presents form her Grandma Jones, a picnic basket and a cash register.
Ava blowing out her candles on the chocolate cake I made for her. It is the famous cake my Aunt Diane makes. Yum Yum!

The day after her birthday her Grandparents, Aunt and cousins took her out for dinner and came to the house for leftover cake and open all the presents they brought over. 3 days of celebration, what a lucky little girl. (she wore this crown all through dinner, what a princess)

Ava and her cousin enjoying a play picnic.

Ava turned two at the end of June. She loved having a birthday and still requests the birthday song every night when we sing songs. When she woke up she got a rice crispy treat with two candles to blow out. A treat for breakfast you ask? Oh yeah I had one too! I'll list a few great things about Ava.

1. She is a gentle giant. Even though she is a big kid (35.5 lbs and 36.5 inches, and wears mostly 4T) she is tender and careful. I'm not sure she will always be this way, but for now she doesn't use her size to her advantage.

2. She loves babies, puppies, and kitty's. If she spots a cat or dog she wants to stop and pet them, even if we are in the car. She is constantly pointing out babies and will let me know that she here's a baby crying that is 3 aisles over. I hope she still loves babies in 5 months :)

3. She loves the show Yo Gabba Gabba and will sit and watch it while I take a quick shower and the Wiggles if we are on a long road trip. Otherwise she won't watch more than 3 minutes of anything unless she has just woken up.

4. She loves to help cook, clean, water plants, check the mail, etc...Can't this quality last forever?

5. She is a great sleeper especially now that all 8 of her molars are in. Her summer bedtime is around 9 pm and she sleeps to around 8:30 am. She still takes an afternoon nap for 2-3 hrs. She prefers to wake on her own and awakes happy. If I have to wake her up she is happy at first and then grouchy and demanding for at least an hour. This girly needs her sleep!

6. She is a little monkey and climbs on everything. Last week she climbed out of her pack and play while we were in St. George. So far no attempts to climb out of the crib.

7. She gives big hugs and even kisses on demand. Once in awhile she sneaks in a licky kiss when you least expect it.

8. This takes me to her sense of humour. She is a big tease and very silly. She has us laughing constantly.

9. So far she has traveled a lot. We had to buy her first plane ticket last week now that she is two, so her travel schedule will probably slow down. She has been to Chicago, San Francisco, Milwaukee, the Bahama's, St.George, Mexico, St. Louis, Phoenix, Boise, and Salt Lake City. She always points out airplanes and will ask every couple of weeks "Airplane Mommy?" I assure her that we will go on an airplane soon.

10. She is a good little eater. Fruit and cheese are at the top of her list. Even though she always asks for chocolate, she is good to try new things. She likes Thai, Indian, and Mexican. She also likes things that are a little spicy. She still drinks rice milk and peanut butter and jelly is on the bottom of her list.

Happy Birthday Ava! Of course there are lots of things we love about you, these just happen to be the first 10 things I though of.

Just Kickin' Back for Breakfast

I caught Ava just kicking back while she was eating breakfast one day in June. She usually follows our rule of no feet on the counter, so I was worried that by taking a picture of her breaking the rules, it might encourage her to do it all the time, but surprisingly she hasn't made it a common practice.

Gettin' Wet

Ava enjoyed playing in the hose on a nice warm evening in June. At first she was watering things and getting herself with a bit of water. She would just gasp and giggle as the cold water landed on her skin. Then she wanted dad to hold the hose while she ran through the water. She loves playing in the water and we need to take advantage while it's warm.