Oh-Bla-Di

My Valentine

2010-02-15T21:33:00.001-08:00

This guy...

...totally gets me. Ya'll, guess what I got for Valentine's day. A new website! If you know me, you know he was speaking my love language when he built the thing.

Although the new site is still a work in progress, we're taking the training wheels off this little blog of ours and moving on to more functionality and our own web address. So, update your bookmarks and your sidebar links...we've moved!

Thanks, Matt, for a lovely Valentine's Day surprise. I love you and your nerdiness more than I could ever say.

Find us at www.mscaspers.net/ohbladi now. See you there!

Honey Honey Princess

2010-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

Last summer, we signed up for Netflix and one of the first movies we got was Mamma Mia. Matt and I realized that we didn't have nearly enough ABBA in our music collection. Fast forward to Christmas and now we have more ABBA in our music collection that one family probably should.

All that to say that we played a lot of the Mamma Mia soundtrack there for a while and now Ava's favorite song is ABBA's "Honey, Honey," performed by Amanda Seyfried. We have a nightly dance party to this song and have recently had to institute a two-play maximum for the song - just to save the sanity of any adults in the house.

Since this is such a defining moment in our day (it's the lead up to playing chase and hide-and-go-seek for the next half hour) we thought we'd share our ABBA inspired dinner and dance routine.

Enjoy!

This Week's News

2010-02-03T09:04:00.000-08:00

Just in case the photo doesn't come out so great on your end, we're just pleased as punch to announce that Ava's going to be a big sister! We're expecting our new little guy or girl at the beginning of September. Ava's claiming she's getting a baby sister, but we'll all be surprised when the little one gets here. We're excited that soon we'll be a family of four!

Fun in the Snow

2010-01-31T08:02:00.000-08:00

We headed up to Mt. Charleston yesterday for some wintertime fun. They've got about five feet of snow up there and so, after gathering some winter gear for the munchkin, we went to go introduce Ava to the snow. She loved it.

Mobility was a bit of an issue since she was bundled to within an inch of her life and the snow was so powdery that you would just sink into it. Since she couldn't walk much, she got around pretty good on Daddy's shoulders.

We tried to make some snowmen, but this desert snow doesn't actually have much moisture in it and it wouldn't stick.

Instead, we taught Ava to make snow angels.

And then we fed her some snow. She didn't like getting her face in the snow at first, but she was thirsty enough from all her exertions that she got used to the idea pretty quickly.

Midway through our visit, Ava got pretty fussy. That meant it was snack time. We got unbundled and had a PBJ picnic in the back of the van. That was almost as popular of an activity as the snow play.

And here's proof we were all there together and we liked it. :-)

Videos of the trip:

Ava getting out into the snow for the first time:

Sledding down the hill with Daddy:

Matt sledding down the hill (and almost killing some passersby):

Storytime

2010-01-24T10:08:00.000-08:00

Ava's got several favorite stories, but lately we've been reading piles and piles of books. More often than not in these sessions, she ends up reciting the books to us. She can "read" all of Goodnight Moon and it's really a struggle to get to read it to her at bedtime. We've got several Margaret Wise Brown books and I think it's safe to say that she is Ava's favorite author. Runaway Bunny and Big Red Barn are huge favorites too.

As avid readers ourselves, Matt and I are so excited that Ava's taken such a liking to the activity. I've got Little Women all ready to go when she's finally ready. Can't wait to share one of our great loves with our little girl!

Ava @ 26 Months

2010-01-22T17:00:00.000-08:00

Twenty-six months. That seems like an awfully big number, doesn't it? But, it's been two months since Ava's second birthday and she's grown and changed so much since then. We're truly on our way to little girl-hood and it seems that we're racing to leave toddlerhood behind. Before we blink and miss another few months, here's a glimpse at Ava just as she is now.

*She's potty-trained! Such a big life lesson and she accomplished it with so much confidence and independence. She's so good at it that it's not uncommon for her to tell us now, "Go away! Ava do it!" Granted, that only lasts until she needs help pulling her pants up, so she's maybe not ready for college quite yet.

*Ava has a new best friend and she conveniently lives in any reflective surface on the planet! Our girl loves her reflection and evidently spends hours (really, hours) twirling and laughing with herself in the mirror at school. Windows at night are equally interesting. Don't get me started on pictures and videos of the beauty. She's obsessed.

*Favorite songs: Honey, Honey, from the MammaMia! Soundtrack; Taylor Swift's Fearlessalbum; and The Monkey Dance, by the Wiggles. Any of the above will result in dress-up skirt wearing and twirling on the tile. Also, they will be played on repeat indefinitely.

*We still haven't managed to help Ava master her colors, although we're certain she can tell them apart since she can sort according to color. Everything is blue on the first inquiry. She may, in fact, be her mother's daughter.

*Ava can count to ten and sing her ABCs. Her favorite letter, inexplicably, is J. It's the only letter she can pick out of a line-up. Weird, right?

*We've got a very creative girl on our hands. She loves to paint and do other types of art. We've got a lot of it hanging up around the house and she's pretty proud of her creations. The easel Daddy made for her birthday has been getting quite a workout.

*Ava loves to Skype with our families. Every time I bring out the laptop or we close media center on the TV, she says, "Hello? Papa?"

*In response to "Who are you?" the response is, "Ava Pappers." She also knows our names and we play this game often because we think it's hilarious how she says them. Here's a little video so that you can have a chuckle too...

*Our girl is fiercely independent which sometimes challenges our sense of order, but she's got a great sense of humor and a kind, compassionate heart that makes us proud. We're so pleased that she's a part of our family and so excited to see how much she'll grow in the next few months. Here's hoping, though, that she slows down...just a tiny bit. We don't want to miss a thing.

New Haircut

2010-01-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

Ava's always had a ton of hair, so getting it to grow out has never been a challenge. The harder part has been keeping it pulled up and out of her face. In the old days, she sported a whale spout that was the envy of every other six month old on the planet. Then, just after her first birthday, I cut it into a very cute bob...the bangs made her look so old!

Lately, we've been letting her hair just grow and have been trying to grow those bangs out. Turns out keeping them trimmed and out of her eyes was more than I could keep up with. But, the tangles and the constant ponytails were getting on all of our nerves. (Just imagine the screaming when you take out four plastic ponytail holders every.single.night.)

So, it was off to a professional to get a new 'do. I think it's just darling and, boy, one tiny little ponytail is way easier on our morning routine and our bathtime prep!

Here's the shaggy, unkempt before:

And the adorable after!

Happy Hour

2010-01-18T09:59:00.000-08:00

Fridays around here usually find us doing happy hour nearly as soon as everyone returns to the casa. Ava loves happy hour (although she looks sort of bored in this photo) and enjoys laughing at all the jokes and joining in the conversation.

This Friday, in preparation for a party we were throwing on Saturday, we tested a recipe to recreate one of our favorite appetizers ever. The Dublin Pub in Dayton, OH, offers cheesy pub fries on their appetizer menu and they're awesome. It's been a long time since we've been to the D-Pub, so we tried them out ourselves. Our replication isn't exact, obviously, but man....they were awesome! I see many more very happy hours in our future with this treat!

A Walk in the Desert

2010-01-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

We've been making an effort to get out and walk more, especially on weekends, since the new year began. About a mile from here, near the park where we hosted Ava's birthday party, is a horse park. It's wide-open desert space on which horses are allowed to be exercised. The park also has a few miles of sidewalk-type trail - perfect for stroller or unrestrained toddler walking.

It was a beautiful day and Ava wouldn't stay restrained in her stroller very long. She easily ran a mile and a half. The best part of the walk? The three hour nap girlie took that afternoon. :-)

Potty Trained Princess

2010-01-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update on potty training. I think it's fair to say we have a graduate! Ava has been doing great going on the potty, both at school and at home. And, I have to say, it was a relatively painless experience. She was ready, we had plenty of time, and we were lucky things worked out so well. We haven't tackled nighttimes yet, but school nearly has naptime under control.

All that glowing news aside, I wouldn't really be a mommy-blogger if I didn't ever post some "will be embarrassing in high school" pictures of my kid. Ava did have a few accidents during the first couple of weeks and, sometimes, if it was close to bedtime, we didn't bother with more clean clothes before her bath.

On this particular evening, our very beautiful princess had wet herself, but then decided running bare wasn't going to cut it. So, naturally, she chose the only scratchy skirt in her dress-up arsenal to put against her bare skin - the skirt she won't wear over clothes because it bothers her. Oh, the logic and hilarity of toddlerhood!

Our pretty, potty-trained princess checking herself out in the mirror!

A New Year: Inspired

2010-01-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

Here we are starting a new year. As it happens, tomorrow is this blog's one year anniversary. Couldn't start a new blogging year without a new post!

2010 will be a year of creativity for this family as we learn lots of new things and take on new challenges. Here's a little glance at what we're going to be up to....

~Ava is continuing to grow in leaps and bounds and has most recently taken on the challenge of potty learning. She's doing a fantastic job (lots of stamps on the potty chart!) and somehow manages to squeeze in some book reading and imaginary play with all the trips to the bathroom.

~After so much success with Ava's kitchen and easel (a glance at the finished kitchen project below), Matt has decided to leave his car's side of the garage set up as a woodshop. Several projects are already in the queue for the coming year. A bed and dresser for Ava, and a wine cork case for me are among the items on the list. He's also got several digital media projects planned as we've found that we take quite a lot of photos and video. :-) Matt's set an ambitious visitation schedule to nearby national parks for the family, so we'll all be busy on weekends too!

~I'm heading into my final semester of my masters program and am excited to begin working on my final project. Work should prove to be interesting, as well, as we look toward the exciting launch of our new center.

As we look forward, 2010 looks to be a year of opportunity, challenge, and creativity in so many areas of our lives. We're looking forward to rolling up our sleeves...

...and, clearly, we're not afraid to get messy in the process. :-)

Here's to a new year and the many adventures that will fill it!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T13:38:00.002-08:00

This Christmas was awesome. We had so much fun with lots of visits from good friends and tons of yummy food. It was sort of a two-day, marathon adventure. Of course, that's not to mention the hours and hours of preparation in stores, the kitchen, and, of course, the woodshop.

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner celebration with the Hoffmans and Brooke. We enjoyed a steak & twice-baked potato dinner, yummy apple pie and lots of great conversation with friends. It was a wonderful way to prepare for Christmas festivities the next day.

The big gift for Ava this year was a play kitchen. Matt built it all of his own design (but I picked out the faucet!) and it turned out absolutely beautifully. Of course, it was a down-to-the-wire creation, so it was still being constructed at about 2315 Christmas Eve. Regardless, here's a few shots of Santa's elf in his workshop.

As I said, Christmas this year was amazing...mostly because our little girl sort of undersood what was happening. Ava loved opening her presents (although all she wanted to do when she woke up was watch Clifford dog) and we were delighted to watch her have so much fun. We got to enjoy that fun for several hours as it took four hours to work through the mountain of gifts under the tree. We never seem to learn to stop opening each toy as it's unwrapped. We played with everything for a while before we moved onto the next present. Guess that's good for extending the merriment!

The kitchen Matt made for her was a total hit and well worth the many hours (and couple of late nights) in the garage to get it done on time. Thanks to all our friends and family for the many wonderful gifts...knowing and loving you is indeed the best present!

We took almost 300 pictures on Christmas, so here's a little collage to sum up the big day. Present opening videos will arrive in another post.

Wishing you all the merriment of the season and lots of joy as we look forward to ringing in the new year!

Potty Training Begins

2009-12-22T21:44:00.000-08:00

We're passing another major milestone in this house. Ava's been going on the potty for several months, but she's finally advanced to wearing panties and going consistently. In reality, she was ready a long time ago, but Mommy & Daddy needed the time at home to be able to support the endeavor.

She's doing so great! Every time she goes pee in the potty, she gets a stamp. And, oh boy, is she proud of those stamps.

Way to "go," Ava!!

TPS 07B Mini Reunion

2009-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

The Jungquists drove to town on Saturday to catch a flight for a family Christmas get-together. We met up for dinner that night at the Hoffmans and had a great time. We got a call from Grabber at about 8:30 on the night they were to depart looking for some room in the inn. Due to the major storms all over the eastern part of the country, their flight was cancelled and they were delayed until Tuesday. So, we got a mini MOTO/Bond girl reunion fun for a few days. (Dave decided it was a worthy occasion to crack open some MOTO graduation wine.)

With four kiddos in this house, we stayed very busy. We went on an afternoon picnic.

We watched Christmas movies.

We tormented the dog, made lots of very loud noise, and played super-silly games.

We made and sugared Christmas cookies.

We nursed babies and then dressed them up like silly Christmas elves.

Then, the babies spit up everywhere.

So much fun! Thanks for visiting guys!

A Visit with Santa

2009-12-19T20:35:00.000-08:00

We took Ava to visit Santa Claus the weekend before Christmas, fully expecting the same terrified toddler we had last year. Instead, she snuggled right in and we got a boatload of adorable pictures.

We even got one of the whole family! Thanks Santa!

TPS 09A Graduation

2009-12-12T20:17:00.000-08:00

Matt's best buddy, John P., graduated from TPS at the beginning of December. They were mostly celebrating the bad-for-your-kidneys process of having built a huge pyramid of Pepsi Max cans.

We went back for the big event to celebrate and simply enjoy the simplicity of Edwards living. We never thought we'd miss much of the life at that base, but it was a wonderful weekend of relaxation and festivities.

Thanks to the Jungquists for watching Ava for the duration of the graduation!

These graduations are often a little long. But the attendees have plenty of options for keeping themselves entertained. Bond girls, this one's for you...a throwback to 07A's graduation and my best impression of Lynette. :-)

Did I mention that the drive home from Edwards is long and boring? Thank goodness for the DVD player in the van!

Congratulations, John! Glad you've joined the TPS family!

St. Nicholas Day

2009-12-06T19:21:00.000-08:00

Matt's family always celebrated St. Nicholas Day growing up. I knew nothing about it until we were married, but I have to say I'm pretty much a fan of a random day chosen for present giving. :-) We've celebrated each year we've been married.

Ava, of course, has no idea what it's all about, but she was pleased enough to open her present from St. Nick. This year, Matt received some router bits (clever St. Nick knew he'd be in the woodshop); I received a PostSecret book; and, Ava received the coolest Very Hungry Caterpillar pop-up book.

The best part, as always, was the packaging. This one is nothing if she's not her daddy's girl.

Five

2009-11-28T11:56:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving, Matt and I celebrated our fifth anniversary. We had a wonderful day. We saw a movie (New Moon!), went to a casual, low-key dinner, and then went to see an amazing show (Ka!). We didn't manage to get a picture of the two of us that evening, but just picture us happy as can be, loving our time together. That's how we'd look. :-)

I don't have a picture of the two of us, but I grabbed this shot of Matt the day after our anniversary. We were having a very quiet day and snacking, watching movies, and chilling out after a long couple of weeks. Even with all the amazing fun we have, days like the one pictured here are still my favorite.

Thanks for a wonderful five years, Matt. Looking forward to all the decades to come!

Thankful

2009-11-26T11:35:00.000-08:00

After Ava's birthday, it was time to coast into Thanksgiving celebrations. We love to cook Thanksgiving dinner and really enjoy having a houseful of people on this very fun day.

On Wednesday, known around here as Pie Day, we cooked nonstop to get all the side dishes ready for Thursday as well as the pies, of course. Per White family tradition, Pie Day usually ends with an enchilada meal, but this year, since Matt wouldn't be home to make them, we opted to make a Renfro family traditional meal - pizza!

Thursday was a beautiful day and, thanks to all the help, dinner was a breeze to put on the table. In fact, we had enough time to do some playing around before all the eating began.

We're a very blessed family and one of our biggest blessings is the people with whom we get to share our time. Love these people...we're so very thankful.

Our Family Rules

2009-11-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

One of the walls in our family room has undergone some updates and I wanted to share the fun!

The wall behind our couch (now behind the La-Z-Boys) used to have three big floral prints from Michael's hanging on it. You might remember it from this awesome photo of my Bond girls. Nothing fancy, and certainly nothing personal and awesome about it.

I found inspiration for the change from this blog post. The theme of the rules posted there weren't for us, but the project concept was great. So, after some crafting, lots of consultation with Matt, a bunch of Modge Podge, and some cheapo frames and photo printing, we've got a wall full of family that we're happy to look at every day.

Maybe the best part of this project was that Matt and I sat down one night and really discussed these rules. (Believe you me, the thesaurus and dictionary got a lot of use that night!) We both realize that words have power and wanted to choose just the right ones to guide our family. These rules really are what we hope our family will value and the way we want to be reminded to live each day. It was nice to have that time with him, to reconnect about our purpose, and to have a tangible result of that work to help us remember.

They're a little hard to read, so here are our rules (sorry about the flashy glare in the picture...photographer, I am not!).

Family Rules

Point Out the Good

Listen

Share Love Generously

Celebrate Peace

Make Time to Play

Have Faith and Seek Hope

Honor and Treasure Friendship

Strive for Patience

Accept Yourself

Be Kind

Happy Day

2009-11-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Our baby girl isn't such a baby anymore. She turned two at 8:45 this morning. (We toasted, of course, as is tradition, but we didn't manage to get a photo of that. Our hands were otherwise occupied.)

Just after Ava woke up this morning, we gathered for early morning birthday present opening. She was pretty excited to see the gift Daddy had made for her.

Grammie and Grandad Renfro were here to help us celebrate and they showed up with two big sets of fun. I have a feeling we'll be playing dress-up for days and days and days in our house.

A couple hours later, we kicked off a celebration of this exciting event at a nearby park. We hosted a ladybug picnic for some family friends and some of Ava's school friends. We were so glad so many sweet people were able to join us for some playground time and lunch. After the kiddos got all played out, we ate lunch and then cupcakes and ice cream.

Ava was a pro at blowing out her candle and loved having everyone sing happy birthday to her.

Judging by her frosting-smeared face, she also loved her cupcake.

Happy birthday, dear sweet girl. Your mommy and daddy love you so.

TPS Friends (with new babies!)

2009-11-21T08:40:00.000-08:00

On their way through town to the airport, our TPS friends, stopped by to share some dinner and playtime before their big airplane adventure.

This was the first time two of these new babies had been met and enjoyed by the whole group. Hard to believe how big all these kiddos are getting.

Every time we have a get-together like this, I find myself yearning for a big 07B reunion. All my Bond girls, the MOTOs and kiddos in one place...just like they belong. Florida girls, want to come visit us yet? We'll save space for you at the table. :-)

The ABC's

2009-11-18T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here's Ava singing (most of) her ABCs. :-)

Where We've Been

2009-11-16T09:32:00.001-08:00

Two years ago today, our little Peanut was due to arrive. Of course, Ava had other plans and took her time arriving in this world. My, how time flies.

Speaking of time flying, someday, we're going to have to post a doozy of a post all about the last three weeks and all that we've had going on. We've taken lots of pictures to share and we always say "Oh, quick! Take a picture! We need to blog that!" But, between doing the things worth blogging and all the other not-so-bloggable things, we've just run out of time.

So, until we get around to posting all the fun pictures and videos of the last couple of weeks, here's a little run-down of what we're looking forward to in the next couple of weeks.

~Ava's turning two! That's right, we blinked and two years went by. Our baby girl is now a walking, talking, big girl sleeping, changing daycare rooms, ready-to-potty-train big girl. She's grown up so much and we're just as proud of her as we could be. We'll be celebrating with friends and family at a park for a ladybug picnic. Very excited!

~Thanksgiving! We're cooking up some yummy deliciousness to share with friends and family at our house. We love this holiday and are so glad to be hosting!

~Matt and I have been married for five (5!!) years. Holy buckets! We're grateful my parents and brother will be here to babysit Ava while we hit the town. This will be our first anniversary date in three years...2 out of 5 isn't bad, I guess. :-)

~Fall 2009 semester ends December 11. And not a moment too soon. One more semester and I'll get to walk that graduation stage in May. Really looking forward to just working full-time rather than doing the work/school thing. Ah, sanity.

More soon, friends. (With pictures!) Have a great week!

Air Power!

2009-11-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

We braved the wind and cold to take Ava to the Nellis airshow. She loved seeing all the airplanes and, when we let her "pet" the jets, she would say "Nice jet. Nice jet." :-)

We didn't make it all the way through to the Thunderbirds, but we had a fun time. Hopefully, it will be a little less windy when we go next year!

Karaoke - Little Einstein Style

2009-11-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

Ava's singing debut...the theme from Little Einsteins.

While Ava's heard this song plenty at home and in the car, evidently they play it over and over for her at school because she puts on such a show.

Fair warning: Ava's almost two. Just ignore the nasty bossiness of the first 20 seconds. I don't know how to edit the movies so that they come out all sunshine & roses. :-)

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T20:21:00.000-07:00

We've had a busy day Halloween-ing around here. We started with pumpkin coloring and carving this morning and ended with a fairly successful trick-or-treating outing. This year was Ava's first time for trick-or-treating, but she did the dressing up thing last year.

First, Daddy carved while Ava colored our pumpkin.

Later, Ava prepared for the night's festivities by practicing her monster walk.

For trick-or-treating, Ava dressed up as Minnie Mouse.

We started with a visit to the Hoffmans and then went to several houses on our block to gather some treats. Ava wasn't real sure what was going on at the first house, but by the second bowl of candy, she was a pro.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween!

White Family Camp-In

2009-10-27T20:36:00.001-07:00

We had such a nice time visiting San Antonio to celebrate Poppie's 93rd birthday at the White Family Camp-in. The lodge was beautiful, the weather was gorgeous and the fun was flowing freely.

White Family Camping tradition...Jack Daniels + Fire.

We took about 300 pictures during our trip, so I'm going to let a few of them do the talking. :-)

Ava experienced her first hero-worship during camp-in.

Elizabeth was a great sport and spent a lot of time playing with Ava.

Barbara and Judy took charge of teaching Ava life-skills. "Eat dessert first!"

Quiet moments with Poppie & Mahgie.

After opening confetti poppers at the official birthday celebration.

After 5 years of work, Matt finally delivered the family's 8mm movie collection on DVD.

The world was Ava's oyster on this trip. She spent all day outside for two days.

Needless to say, she was exhausted at the end of it!

We found a chameleon in the grass on the second morning.

Ava let him crawl all over her and then, once we released him, spent most of the rest of the morning looking for him.

I love this photo. I took it.

I hope I have half the sense of humor and a quarter of the spunk Poppie does when I'm 93.

I'm grateful to be a part of his family.

Not to get too sappy, but isn't this just what it's all about?

Thanks for the fun, White Family! Happy Birthday, Poppie!!

Not Quite Two

2009-10-27T19:29:00.000-07:00

So, here it is the end of October and Halloween is looming large this weekend. Of course, the other thing looming large, the thing we don't think of as often, is Ava's second birthday. Invitations are motoring their way across town and across the country, but it seems like we ought to take a pause and think about who our little girl is at not quite two. Conceivably, she'll be an entirely different person once we leap across that yawning chasm.

So, at 23 months....

~Ava is speaking in short sentences.

*"More yogurt please, Mommy."

* "No, no Janice school."

*"No, no diaper change."

* "Ok, Libby? Ok? Sorry, Libby, sorry." (By the way, Matt & I are sorry, too, Libby.)

~Our smart girl is going pee in the potty about once a day. Her reward is toilet paper to wipe with. Useful and economical!

~Ava has a constant wardrobe of yoga pants, t-shirt, sunglasses, and backward hat. Oh, and Mommy's heels.

~Ava's been sleeping in a big girl bed for three weeks. We sneaked in there tonight to get some pictures. Where's Ava?

~Ava's becoming a bit of a TV freak. Her favorite shows are Sesame Street, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Word World, and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Chitty-Chitty, especially.

~The girlie loves her computers but she's also becoming quite the little parrot. No kidding, it's monkey see, monkey do around these parts. In this case, Daddy-monkey played some Lock-On, so Ava-monkey tried it too.

~We've been taking Ava to UNLV volleyball games on Saturday afternoons and she loves them. When we turn toward campus, she shouts "Go Rebels!"

~So, in the spirit of Halloween...Ava says "Boo!"

Just One

2009-10-26T21:26:00.001-07:00

Because she's pretty and because it's been a while and because I have to go to sleep, here's just one shot of our lovely, not-quite-two girl.

Just a little something

2009-10-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

I'm swamped here in paper writing land and haven't had time for blogging lately. But, we did have some very cute video from the day of Ava's surgery a couple weeks ago. So, here it is to tide you over until I can get back to more regular posting. :-)

Sounding pretty good right after surgery

Not so much with the letters and numbers yet, although we try

But at least she's got lots of words!

See you all again when I dig out from under my syllabi!

Playing Wii

2009-09-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

Otherwise known in our house as "Ready?"

Ava and Matt have been ski jumping in the afternoons after school. Ava's got an old tv or stereo remote (not sure where it came from) that is her wii-mote and a rag towel as her Wii Fit. They stand together in front of the "big box of happy" and try to score a personal best.

Tennis is up next!

Playing with Two

2009-09-25T13:41:00.000-07:00

We're not there yet, but Ava's definitely showing signs that she's nearing two. She's got a will of her own and when you play with her, you play by her rules. Here's a game of "night-night" from a couple weeks ago.

Just try...

2009-09-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

...to tell me this isn't the cutest kid on the planet (excepting your own children, of course).

Love that girl.

Last Swim of the Season

2009-09-23T11:00:00.000-07:00

As the weather cools down here in the Vegas valley (finally!), we have to close down the most fun part of this house. It's funny to think that a pool temperature of 88 degrees is too chilly, but with such dry air, it really is "refreshing" to swim at that temperature.

Ava came a long way with her swimming this season. She's a confident doggy-paddler with the help of her yellow innertube suit. She's willing to jump off the edge of the pool alone, as long as willing arms are near by to bring her back above water. Looking forward to next year, water wings, and, hopefully, swimming lessons!

The Great Outdoors - Overnight Adventure

2009-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

After enjoying our previous weekend's hike and picnic at Mount Charleston, we decided that it was time to take our outdoor adventures to the next level: CAMPING! Using the same "build-up" approach we had taken with the hiking and picnicing, we decided that our first night's stay in a tent should be relatively close to home and plan not to exceed more than 24 hours of camping. We are very fortunate to have such beautiful camping (and a radically different climate) only an hour drive from Las Vegas. We had been "planning" this adventure for a couple of weeks. Of course, we did not make a reserveation for a camp site on Labor Day Weekend. This proved to be both a curse and a blessing. We embarked for Mount Charleston early Friday morning hoping to arrive before everyone else from Las Vegas and therefore claim one of the many "space-available" campgrounds. Unfortunately, every other family in Las Vegas had the same idea. We toured all the available sites (in the hundreds) looking for a spot to set up camp. Only after resigning ourselves to a day trip, did we find a spot to pitch our tent. It turns out, that the "Old Saw Mill" picnic area is also a tent-only campground. Fantastic! We found a place to camp after only and hour of driving around the forest "slightly disappointed" that the entire park was full.

After we found the perfect spot to camp, we setup the tent (Ava was very helpful), ate lunch, and explored the forest. (And, yes, Ava put the pink hat on her head herself, and she did not take it off for the rest of the trip.)

The temperature dropped down into the 40s overnight which gave us a bit of a chill in our tent. Fortunately, the fire was warm and the coffee was hot. Camping turned out to be great fun for Ava. She seemed to really enjoy exploring nature and running around "off the leash." The only toy we brought along was a small plastic bucket and shovel. She spent the better part of the day putting rocks and dirt in the bucket and then dumping them out.

Hiking at Mt Charleston

2009-09-21T08:00:00.001-07:00

In search of cooler weather, we've been venturing into local higher elevations. Mt Charleston is about an hour away from our front door and offers just the escape we need.

Ava loves getting out into nature (read: mucking in the dirt) and it's such a welcome break from the heat that we find ourselves relaxed and refreshed when we descend again into the valley. Looking forward to using the mountain again in the winter for sledding and other snow sports!

Ava's Big Girl Room - Step 4

2009-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

While Matt & Ava had adventures in Texas, I kept busy to keep from missing them too much. The result? Lots of crafty progress on Ava's big girl room!

Growth Chart, book sling, and corner for vanity table

Kelli's artwork will hang over her bed

Window tie-backs with ladybug print, hairbows will hang over changing table/dresser

Cutie hairbow holder from Carrie

Coat & hat rack

All that's left to do now is for Matt to build her bed and move it into the room. Can't wait to get her all moved in!

Blogging Frenzy

2009-09-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

We're doing lots of updating here in blogland today. Ava was feeling a little left out. Creative Daddy set up a creative station for Ava to get some work done.

Drawing upon inspiration from being out after dark yesterday, she drew multitudes of crickets on her Magnadoodle.

Yay for getting some work done even with a toddler in the room!

Meet Thomas

2009-09-20T14:33:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, the Hoffmans, welcomed a new baby boy into their family at the end of August. (Can't believe he's a month old already!) We are so lucky to be able to get to know Thomas at this early age and, at a recent dinner gathering, Ava got to hold him for the first time.

Ava's enthralled with this little guy. Her face lights up just looking at him. Of course, Grace has to supervise to be sure Ava's being nice to her much-loved baby brother.

It's hard to believe that Grace looked at Ava in much the same way as Ava does Thomas at just a few months younger than Ava is now. Oh my, how time flies.

Sarah & Grace on coming home day with Ava, 24 November 2007

So happy to have these people in our lives!

Two Passports to the Republic of Texas

2009-09-13T14:35:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I know…this post is WAY over due. (28 days overdue for those of you who may have been counting.) Ava and I visited San Antonio just over a month ago so that Ava could spend some quality time with her Grandparents and Great-Grandparents before she grows up and moves off to college. Unfortunately, Sally had to remain in Vegas and go to work, so Ava and I travelled to San Antonio—just the two of us. Ava and I missed having Sally with us on the trip, but the trip was a nice opportunity for Ava and I to get to know each other. The first stop on the trip was of course the “Big House” at Air Force Village II for dinner with Mahgie and Poppie. The following day Mom and Dad hosted a party so the Great-grandchildren could meet each other (and be photographed together.)

The party was good fun and I think that everyone would agree that the fajitas were spectacular!

August in San Antonio is hot and humid! Much of the time, Ava enjoyed relaxing in the pool, playing in the sprinkler, and blowing bubbles in the backyard at Grandma & Grandpa’s house.

During our visit to San Antonio, Mahgie and Poppie were gracious hosts to Ava and I for an overnight stay at Air Force Village. Ava and I had a great time playing at the AFV—there’s a pond near Mahgie and Poppie’s bungalow with a walking path. In the morning, we all went for a walk to feed the fish; Ava made sure to remind us of the importance of pausing to smell the flowers along the way.

Stopping to smell the flowers

Mahgie and Poppie's 65th Wedding Anniversary Tree

Feeding the Fish

The heat and humidity kept us all inside most of the week playing either McDonald’s or Fischer-Price Little People. The F-P Little People Farm Ava was playing with was the same farm I played with when I was her age. Of course, there really is no substitute (at home or on the road) for casting a toy aside in favor of its packaging. In the end, I think Ava settled on the VW Beetle car as her favorite San Antonio toy. (I’d have to agree with Ava. If I recall, the VW car was the source of many sibling scuffles between Maureen, Michael, and me.)

We've gone green!

2009-08-31T10:31:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it would be more appropriate to say we're going green, but we're making definite strides here in our house to be more eco-friendly. You already know we do cloth diapers and love them, but I've felt ready to really step up to new changes in the last few months.

First, we ran out of most of cleaning supplies this week. I have been wanting to switch to homemade household cleaners for a while, but wanted to use up what we had first. Well, that was this week and this weekend I made a whole new set of stuff.

In order to get the house disinfected and smelling good, we're relying on plain vinegar, essential oils (lavender and tea tree), and a little bit of pure, unscented castile soap. I picked up some cheap spray bottles at Wal-Mart during my Friday grocery shopping and filled them with the following:
-Plain Vinegar
-Half-and-half plain vinegar & water
-Delicate All-purpose cleaner (see #14, but the others are great ideas too!)

The vinegar & water solution is perfect for glass cleaning, the all-purpose cleaner is really all-purpose, and the plain vinegar is for toilets. We're using the all-purpose cleaner minus the soap plus 1/2 cup vinegar to mop. After a round this weekend, our house smells & looks clean. Plus, I'm on a natural, do-gooder high - as opposed to the chemical high housecleaning usually brings with it.

I will admit that we have one new homemade household cleaner which isn't quite as environmentally friendly, but is really working wonders. Mix 1 tablespoon liquid fabric softner with a spray bottle full of water and use to dust surfaces. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks and it's been awesome. It's a way better dust repellant than Pledge and doesn't make the TV screen streaky. Loving it!

In other green progress, we've decided to not use papertowels anymore, opting instead for cloth napkins (which we already had) and rag towels for spills. So far, we're not missing them.

I'm also currently campaigning for a clothesline. We've got a difficult backyard and a budget, so finding a workable solution has been a challenge. I think I've found our resource, so thought I might share here. I'd like this one and will likely hang it in the garage, but other great options are here also.

I'll post an update in a few weeks to let you know how all the changes are going, but I'm excited about this new direction!

A quick note...

2009-08-25T20:20:00.001-07:00

...Ava peed in the potty for the first time tonight! Just wanted to be sure that got documented somewhere.

That is all.

A Little Update

2009-08-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

We're long overdue for an update here in blogland, but I figured Matt ought to write about his and Ava's trip to Texas. Look for that soon. I was busy here, but didn't do anything that merited picture-taking. :-)

Until we get that post up and going, here are a few videos from dinner today which are mildly entertaining.

This one is long, but hang in there, she's a real drama queen toward the end.

Such a polite girl...and just tickled about it.

Bye-Bye. Love you.

So hot, she's cool

2009-08-10T11:40:00.001-07:00

Ava's got a double ear infection today and has got quite the fever. Luckily, though, she's discovered that shades make her cool.

Ready for a Trip

2009-08-10T11:36:00.001-07:00

Matt & Ava are headed to Texas. Ava's packing her backpack and dolls....she's ready to go!

Ava's Big Girl Room - Step 3

2009-08-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend saw us doing some more work on Ava's big girl room. We finished up the lighting project for her room...

...and then started working on a few of the wood craft projects that are part of the finishing touches. I'm headed back to classes soon, so needed to get these finished.

First...a gypsy-friendly growth chart....

...and then a coat and bag rack.

I'm still working on a few sewing projects and will finish them up next week. Check back for more soon!

Ava Videos

2009-08-05T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a moving picture says even more than the thousand words a still photo can. So, here's about a billion words. :-)

Reading Books, July 18, 2009

Playing Piano, July 30, 2009

Twirling, August 1, 2009

Handy Man

2009-08-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ava and I are pretty lucky to have a live-in handy man. Matt's knack-ish tendencies come in really handy when, say, we want speakers wired for our stereo outside and, oh yeah, we want them on a switch inside. Matt spent one Saturday afternoon recently doing just that for us. Now when we go swimming, we have tunes to keep the party flowing from inside to outside. These electrical skills are going to be put to good use again soon as he wires the new light for Ava's room. We love our handy man!

Here he is hard at work trying not to solder his finger off...

And here's the fabulous finished project...

And don't think that Ava and I don't help while Matt's working his magic. We're right there...snuggling and napping because the work is exhausting!

Ava @ 20 Months

2009-08-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ava turned 20 months last week. It seems that each passing month brings so much more independence and vocabulary with it. It's nice to know that our baby is growing into a truly wonderful and funny little girl but, looking back, it all seems to have gone so quickly.

Subversive propaganda T-shirt from Uncle Michael

Ava is becoming quite the independent little girl. She walks into school by herself now and greets everyone she meets on the way in. She leads the way to her classroom and is very happy to see Miss Kristin every morning. Drop-offs are a breeze these days and it's such a relief to know that she enjoys her time there. We bring home Ava's artwork about once a week and she's very proud of her creations. We hang a couple pieces in the living room and she likes to go point to it and say "Art. Ava." I love that she feels pride for doing things well.

Opening presents from Bama & Bampa Caspers.

Ava is also becoming quite a good little helper...as long as you have the timeline to let her. She enjoys picking things up and putting them back in their homes. She also enjoys wiping things with a dustrag. She's a very orderly little person and is proud when she cleans things up. No idea where she could have picked up a piece of genetics like that (wink, wink).

Sesame Street has become a morning staple in our house and gives Mommy and Daddy a little transition time on those 6am weekend mornings. (Thank goodness for the new Tivo and weeks' worth of saved episodes!) However, on the one Saturday morning Matt did sleep in, our early riser requested Star Trek. She watched half an episode before requesting a switch to Sesame Street. I think Matt's heart broke a little when he learned he'd slept through that.

Strutting in Mommy's heels.

Imaginative play has come to live at our house, as well. Ava and I spent a while playing "time out" a few days ago. I was the misbehaving child and she was the mommy. Pretty funny to see yourself acted out through the lens of a toddler. Ava also likes to share her milk and her hugs with all the stuffed dolls and animals hanging around in her playroom. Recently, after finishing reading a book, she pretended that Elmo was reading it and helped him hold the book in his hands.

Although we've been battling colds and ear infections the last couple of weeks, Matt and I keep remarking that this is a really fun age. Ava is communicative, independent and just a tiny bit stubborn. But, she's also very sweet and snuggly still. We don't take any toddler hugs for granted, though, as we know that could change at any moment. Her musicality hasn't waned much and we have regular dance parties in the guest room and, increasingly, listen to her sing her own tune from the backseat of the van. Love this little girl!

Baby Showers!

2009-07-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's nearly time for Thomas Hoffman and Baby Jungquist to arrive, so it was definitely time for a Bond girl celebration! I hosted a baby shower for Sarah here at our house Saturday morning, and we got to go to Firefly restaurant downtown for an evening shower for Amanda.

To make the weekend even more special, it was a virtual Bond girl reunion. TPS friends in Florida, Carrie and Lynette, flew out on Thursday to join in the fun, and Amanda and Katie joined us from Edwards on Friday. Luckily, our husbands took over most of the parenting duties starting on Saturday morning and we were free to party it up.

Friday afternoon after everyone's arrival, we hosted a pool party and little birthday celebration for all our July birthday girls. {Sidebar: All the food this weekend was prepared from Pioneer Woman recipes. If you haven't yet discovered the cooking section of ThePioneerWoman, then let me pause while you go visit. I'll wait the several hours it'll take you to return.}

Saturday morning was full of last minute preparations for Sarah's shower and then it was time to celebrate! We played a funny MadLibs game, baby gift bingo and decorated onesies. The food was yummy and my most recent cupcake creation turned out really well. The clothes for baby Thomas were simply adorable and we were so happy to celebrate Sarah in this experience.

After an afternoon of girl talk, the Bond girls left our kiddos with the daddies yet again and headed downtown for a dinner celebration of Amanda's newest little one. We went to a great little tapas restaurant and did presents and cake. Yummy food, great friends, and lots of laughs - a great way to celebrate friends!

In spite of the crazy-busyness of the weekend, it was wonderful to have so many good friends here with us. The house seems so quiet now that they've all left. Friends, we miss you! Sarah and Amanda, congratulations on your newest little ones! Can't wait to meet Thomas and Baby Jungquist!

Ava's Big Girl Room - Step 2

2009-07-30T19:59:00.000-07:00

Things are slowly coming together for Ava's big girl room. We've nearly completed a new light fixture for the room and received some lovely artwork for the walls when our friends came to visit from Florida.

The room that is Ava's playroom downstairs was intended to be a dining room and had a chandelier type light fixture hanging in it, but it was replaced with a ceiling fan by the previous owner. Matt found the old light fixture in the attic a couple weeks ago and we decided to repurpose it for Ava's big girl room. It's not hung up and wired yet, but with a little spray paint, it's very close to being ready!

Another new addition to her big girl room is the artwork generously supplied by a dear TPS friend. She's been working on several pieces of art for her daughter and some other lucky little girls, and we feel so lucky to have some of her creations to hang on Ava's wall. Here's a couple pictures for now (Ava insisted on sitting on the bench for the picture) with more to come when we finally get her room finished and have them hung on the wall. Thanks, Kelli, for the wonderful artwork!

Ava @ 19 Months

2009-07-20T08:15:00.000-07:00

Since we're days away from Ava being 20 months old, I guess it's about time we share a little of what she's like now.

In a nutshell, she's very communicative, she's funny, and fiercly independent. She likes her school and shows me the way to her classroom each morning. When I walk her in, she gives me a hug and kiss, then she says "window" which tells me to leave...she wants to wave goodbye at the window. Ava is talking up a storm these days and has baby versions of a lot of words. Rudimentary as her language is, it has changed our communication from something that is highly frustrating to something that resembles a cooperative partnership. She speaks, we listen...and sometimes vice versa.

Ava loves to read books, to feed "breakfast" (all meals these days) to her stuffed bear, and to color. She also really enjoys running and jumping. Exploring her new physical prowess is apparently one of her greatest delights.

It's hard to put into words how cool we think this baby is. She's really not a baby anymore, but an increasingly capable toddler, but it's hard not to want to hold & squeeze her just like when she was littler. She's an affectionate kid and loves to give kisses and hugs, so we feel very lucky to be the objects of her attentions.

Since she's doing so much, here are a few videos that capture a little bit of Ava just as she is...right now.

Ava playing computer, July 5, 2009

Running Amuck, July 5, 2009

Baby on Fire

2009-07-18T09:44:00.001-07:00

Not really, but it's catchy, isn't it?

Since Ava had to go to bed before we did fireworks on the 4th of July, we saved some sparklers for her to do on the 5th. Probably a 19-month-old and fire isn't the best of combinations, but Matt always had her under control.

She had a pretty good time although I think she'll enjoy it more next year. For now, she was pretty content to let Daddy help and didn't mind being done when the sparkler went out.

4th of July Festivities

2009-07-05T14:54:00.001-07:00

We had lots of fun for the 4th! We hosted a pool party in our backyard and were joined by lots of friends for a fun afternoon of swimming, hamburgers, and sparklers. We had great music, too, thanks to Matt wiring up some outdoor speakers.

Ava and Grace both sported new hairbows for the occasion from our friend Carrie's etsy shop. They were about the cutest firecrackers I've ever seen.

I continued my Martha Stewart streak from the day before and made a cupcake flag from the recipe in this book. It was so fun to make that I'm excited to try more of the designs for upcoming parties.

Happy birthday, America!

Us, as Martha Stewart

2009-07-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

Things have been busy around here this weekend! We've been crafting, cooking, and tinkering up a storm.

First, our new TV antenna arrived on Friday. Since we were home with the day off, Matt spent the afternoon getting it hooked up and tuned in. We're now the proud viewers of 6 crystal-clear TV stations! The really interesting thing is that the 3-foot metal antenna is in the closet in the office. Yep. Lots and lots of swearing was required to get that in place and working. :-)

While Matt worked on that and Ava napped, I got to sewing. Our outdoor seat cushions were a total mess and really needed to be replaced. Since they're so expensive, I decided I could make them on my own. A quick-ish trip to JoAnn's and I was on my way. I cut-out and sewed together 8 new seat cushions. I also made two patchwork quilt beds for Libby. It's so hot here that she never slept in her other beds. These help her keep cool, but are still cozy.

Ava stayed busy too...she's perfecting her strut in Mommy's heels.

We've got more projects coming up this summer. Looking forward to all the creativity!

Ava's Big Girl Room - Step 1

2009-07-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

So, our goal by the end of summer is to have Ava transitioned into her big girl room. We've set an August 1 deadline so that we can be through the worst of the challenges in time for me to catch a nap before starting classes again.

In order to get there, though, Matt and I are taking on several projects for making her new room homemade. Matt will be doing the furniture and I'm doing several projects for the decorating part. The first step was her quilt. She'll have a twin bed and trundle, so I've made a shaggy flannel/denim quilt to go on it. I started last Saturday and finished up last night. It's drying in the dryer now and will be ready as soon as the rest of her room is.

Next projects are matching curtain ties (already have curtains that will work), a floor pillow, and some artwork from an awesome friend - not to mention the furniture. We'll keep you posted on the progress!

Little Swimmer

2009-06-29T09:40:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day, Ava learned how to swim. We had been in the pool every afternoon for several days because we had grandparents in town, and Matt and I had gone to K-mart to invest in some new pool toys. We had been talking that Ava needed some sort of flotation suit to give her (us, really) a little more freedom in the water.

Well, we found a winner of a suit and after two-days' practice, Ava was motoring around the pool like a pro! She's quite daring now and it's great that she's getting to be so independent...safely!

A Grand Visit

2009-06-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

We were delighted to play host to Matt's parents and sister for a week. While I had to go to work a few days while they were here, Matt was able to stay home and we all had a regular vacation for several days over the weekend.

Ava loved having a never-ending supply of book readers and was delighted with the new armadillo book Grandma and Grandpa brought. She learned three new animals from that book...'dillo, sssssnake, and 'gator. She doesn't let you read the words, but really likes to touch the textured pages.

Auntie Moe was here too and was sure a big hit. She quickly received a name from Ava and spent the week being called "Mutt." Not sure how the little one came up with that, but Maureen was an indulgent aunt and answered to the new moniker.

On Saturday, we went to Boulder City to ride the train. It was just as fun as we remembered, although a little more windy!

After our train ride, we went to El Torito for lunch. Since we had a whole group of Texans along, I'm pleased to report that the enchiladas are indeed up to their high standards!

We spent every naptime watching movies and then spent every afternoon in the pool. We ate TONS of great food and really felt like we were on vacation....all in our own house.

Thanks, Grandma, Grandpa, and Maureen for visiting! We had a great time!

Busy Baby

2009-06-06T09:13:00.000-07:00

Matt took a couple days to build two new computers, so the kitchen was pretty much off-limits to Ava and I during their construction. (I painted the office on Saturday, so the house was all kinds of a mess.) So, I pulled out all the stops to keep the kid occupied while she was awake. We colored, we played with homemade play-doh, we played outside on the turtle and the tricycle, and then it was time for the last ditch effort....shaving cream.

Ava had a pretty good time, but instead of smearing it around on the table, she was all about smearing it all over herself. This coincided with a desired to spread all things creamy on herself - yogurt, peanut butter, and refried beans to mention a few.

Anyway, that weekend we learned that a busy baby = a happy baby. But we'll need to stock up on shaving cream!

After all the excitement, we resorted to dressing up. First Ava in her daddy's new t-shirt, then Libby in a necklace. Good thing Libby's such a patient pooch!

The Yellow House

2009-06-02T09:53:00.000-07:00

The last two years have been rough for my mom's side of the family. In October 2007, just before Ava was born, my Auntie Jean passed away. I wasn't able to fly home for her funeral because Ava was due so soon.

With Auntie & Unkie at the nursing home in Osborne, 2005.

Thankfully, I was able to travel to DC in April 2008 to meet my mom, her sisters, and Unkie for a visit to the World War II memorial. Unkie was a veteran of that war and, in 2008, was finally ready to begin opening up about his experiences and acknowledging the sacrifices he'd made on our behalf. I was so honored to be with him that day and to be part of his family.

Unkie & Ava meet, Washington, DC, 2008.

Unkie at the WWII Memorial, April 2008.

Ava and I traveled home to Kansas to visit later in April and met Unkie at the yellow farmhouse that had become my family's gathering place over the last 15 years. My mom's parents had passed when I was younger, so Auntie and Unkie, along with their home, became my fill-in grandparents.

For two weeks nearly every summer growing up, Wes and I would go spend time at this house. Who knows what we did besides plenty of dishes by hand and riding on tractors, but that place - its upstairs rooms full of ancient treasures and old creaky furniture - became a second home. It burned when I was in high school, but Auntie and Unkie rebuilt and improved it. There was no more orange carpet and the entire floorplan of the upstairs changed. Still, it was home.

The kitchen was only "big enough for one butt," as family lore goes, but one Memorial Day it held at least six teenaged cousins and partially contained an all-out towel snap war.

The window coolers only ever put out enough cool air to keep the dining room cool and Unkie would take his after lunch nap on the floor under it every day in the summer.

I love that yellow house on the corner and those people. My mind and heart are filled with too many happy memories of both to even begin to count.

On June 6, 2008, Unkie passed away. It's probably fitting that it was D-Day. The sale of Auntie and Unkie's farm was last fall and, as the land and house were sold, my family's last legal tie to that place in Osborne county was gone.

We were fortunate to gather at the home of friends for Memorial Day this year and, of course, the cemetery is always there. We continue to be pulled home, even after our loved ones have left us.

After a lovely afternoon on Memorial Day, Matt, Mom, Ava and I were in the van on the way back to McPherson, just past Alton, when I realized I hadn't been up to the yellow house that day. I couldn't go home without having seen it at least one more time - you never know when it might not be there to come home to.

Standing empty, the house looked a little more sad. With no welcoming face at the front screen door, I noticed the peeling paint for the first time. My heart broke. We didn't have keys anymore to go inside and the only window I could see in was the back screen door into the kitchen. I pressed my face against the glass and willed my heart indoors to a place of comfort and love as tears streamed down my face. In my heart, I'm so thankful that so much of myself has been shaped in that home and by the people who lived there.

Goodbye, yellow house. I'll love you forever.

Memorial Day

2009-06-02T09:19:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is big in my family. We all get together twice a year - Christmas and Memorial Day. For as long as I can remember, we've gathered at the family farm on Memorial Day to visit our family at the Pleasant Valley cemetery and then to enjoy a great potluck lunch. I love these gatherings. They are truly home to me. My people are there.

We meet at the cemetery on Monday morning and visit those we knew and those we didn't. Grammie Webb, Grandpa and Grandma Webb are there and now Auntie and Unkie have joined Raenetta beside them. We say hi to these people we love and then wander to say hi to Slave Girl Hattie, who has been there at least one hundred years, and the little girl with the flat, broken stone. It's comfortable in this place - not scary or creepy or cemetery-like at all. This is a gathering of family.

On Memorial Day, flags line the center walkway of the cemetery. Until this year, Unkie had taken charge of hanging the flags. Each one represents a member of this rural community who had served...several of them my family. The flags whip in the wind (and the wind always blows on Memorial Day) and truly bring the meaning of the day to our hearts and minds. This year, Unkie's flag joins the rest.

Now, at Memorial Day, a new generation of little kids is learning about our family and our traditions. They're learning to count by playing lawn chair volleyball and getting to do that thing that makes farm kids special - run amok and get dirty. I love that Ava got to meet so many of her cousins. Somehow, they knew they were family and there wasn't a single quibble or clingy kid. What a treasure photos like these are.

We're so grateful to have been home for such a special get-together. Miss all you Webbs already.

Happy Memorial Day.

A Visit to Kansas

2009-05-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

After a not-so-bad two days of driving, we got to spend a lovely week in Kansas visiting my family.

For the first couple of days, we had a pretty tired baby on our hands. That's not such a problem, though, when you have plenty of adoring arms to cuddle you during a nap. Turns out Uncle Wes makes a great pillow and a baseball game on TV is the best lullaby on the planet.

Then, when it's time to finally get down to the business of playing, you find that those adoring arms are attached to adoring people who are willing to entertain you at just about any cost.

Nothing like having a Grandad who has been professionally trained to run little kids ragged and teach them how to have fun!

Ava sure got used to having a delighted entourage.

We did lots of fun stuff during our trip. The above picture was from the park where we fed the ducks. Ava spent a lot of time playing in a HUGE ball pit in my parents' living room...

...and we even got to go see a very cool model train. That visit was pretty awesome for Daddy, too.

Grammie & Grandad even have a baby-sized dog for Ava to play with. She could say "Yankee" nearly immediately and spent a lot of time loving on this little dog.

In the end, this was a great trip. It's so nice to get to spend some quality time with our family and we were so glad Wes could be there for so much of our visit. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for playing host and for entertaining Ava so well!

Petrified Forest

2009-05-22T08:55:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about driving to Kansas was getting to stop at this super cool place along the way. The timing was perfect for the picnic lunch we had packed and it was a really great place to stretch, relax, and regroup.

As we were finishing up our lunch, we heard the thunder start to roll in. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to watch a thunderstorm roll in over this beautiful desert landscape. It rained for the remainder of our drive to Albuquerque that day. A week later, as we drove back, water was still standing in puddles in this area from the storm. Very cool. We *heart* national parks.

Matt Turns 29

2009-05-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

A little over a week ago, Matt had a birthday. We were on the road on his real birthday, but got to do some celebrating the week before, the day before and the day after. :-) I think we got it covered.

On the Friday before, Matt and I had a whole date day to celebrate. We went to breakfast at the Bellagio, to see the new Star Trek movie on the IMAX and then to dinner at the Melting Pot with the Hoffmans. Amazingly fun times.

Then, on the birthday eve, we went to a Las Vegas 51s baseball game. We were able to meet up with lots of other friends and had a joint celebration of Matt & Dave's birthdays.

Since we were leaving on his actual birthday, Matt got to open his presents early. The following is separated by about a week, but really shows that the kid's got a really one track mind. It's all about putting a tent in the house. Oy. Good thing I think he's great. :-) Happy Birthday, Matt!

So, after we got back from our trip on Saturday, we just had to put the tent up in the living room.

In the end, the tent was a big hit and we had a great time playing in it. Can't wait for our first camping trip with it!

Going on a Mission...

2009-05-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

...start the countdown!

Because of Ava's nebulizer treatments, we had to hook her on TV to keep her still. As I've mentioned, we ended up with Little Einsteins. Who knew that an on-a-whim purchase in Kmart would end up so dramatically affecting our lives??

Anyway, these cartoon characters are powerful. They hold the attention of our 18-month old like you wouldn't believe. Serious zombie eyes. But, now that she's not on the meds anymore, she can actually interact with the show too. She sings along to the intro and closing songs (video of that as soon as I can catch it!), pats her lap to give Rocket more power and can pat to a beat all the way to presto. I guess if she has to be hooked on something, it might as well be something she could learn a few things from.

Ava and Grace watched Little Einsteins a couple of weeks ago during a nebulizer treatment. Grace was just as enthralled as Ava. I think we'll be seeing a lot of Little Einsteins in the next few years!

Random Happy

2009-05-13T08:35:00.000-07:00

Just a few fun photos of happy times this spring. It's time for the pool, for date days to celebrate birthdays and lots and lots of sunshine!

Ten on Tuesday

2009-05-12T08:39:00.000-07:00

1. Thanks so much for all your concern about Ava last week. She's doing much better. We kept her home for all of last week, but she went back to school yesterday.

2. Back to school was rough yesterday because I disrupted her day with a nebulizer treatment. Thank goodness for really understanding, caring teachers. We called the doc and got the ok for only three treatments a day. No more disruptions to the daycare routine.

3. Even though we've been filling the girl up with meds, she's been a pretty content kid. She's also added a new word to her vocabulary...movie. She will hold absolutely still for a thirty minute treatment. It's like magic.

4. To Ava, movie (weevee) means one thing. Little Einsteins.

5. Neither Matt nor I can sleep without dreaming about the treasure behind the little red door or cheering "Ra, ra, ra for rocket!"

6. We have a DVD player in the new van. Ava now knows it exists. "We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship!"

7. Speaking of trip...Can't wait for our roadtrip to Kansas!

8. Ava's illness didn't keep us from having a great time this weekend. We went swimming in our pool on Friday afternoon and had a blast. Ava wasn't so sure about the water at first, but went through all of last summer's phases in about 30 minutes. Now the problem is that, every time the cover is pulled back, she wants to get in. I see a long summer of fun in our future!

9. Saturday night, the Hoffmans were camping at Lake Mead. (Crazy Sarah, this was her Mother's Day choice. 7 months pregnant, camping in 100 degrees. That girl is adventurous!) We were invited to come along for all the cookout, lakeside fun. Ava felt well enough to play by the lake and made a great effort toward getting all the mud on the shore back into the water.

Yep, that's snot and mud covering her face. Who says I can't let go and let her have fun?

Thank goodness David was willing to give her a lake bath.

Of course, we didn't plan on this, so she didn't have any clean clothes for the rest of the night. Considering the heat, I don't think she minded.

10. On Sunday, we celebrated a really nice Mother's Day. Now that I have one of these, all my hard work will actually pay off. Yay!

Have a great week, everyone!

RSV

2009-05-06T20:50:00.000-07:00

Ava's caught the daycare bug and came down with RSV this week. Kind of a bummer. Started as a cold, but she was sent home from daycare yesterday with a fever. Matt took her to the doc (I was totally expecting ear infection) and came back home with a nebulizer and a grocery bag full of meds. This momma's heart was just a little bit broken seeing my kid with any sort of breathing machine.

Matt's recently become responsible for dealing with all future major illnesses.

It's not terribly serious, but it could be so it's treated fairly aggressively. We're doing four nebulizer treatments a day for the next two weeks. Really wishing we'd trained her to watch tv before this. She did great the first few sessions, but now it's boring and she's fighting it a bit.

Anyway, we'll stay home with her until Monday morning, then it's back to school. Let's hope those other kids leave their germs at home, too!

Playing with Elmo

2009-05-06T20:49:00.000-07:00

Ava, where's your belly?

2009-05-06T20:48:00.001-07:00

Duh, momma, it's right here!

Hiking at Lake Mead

2009-05-06T20:44:00.001-07:00

Two weekends ago (wow that went fast!), we went hiking at Lake Mead to see the old train tunnels. It was a beautiful day, a nice level walk and, if you don't mind having massive boulders hanging over your head, a super-cool reward toward the end.

Supposedly, if you keep hiking this trail, you get all the way (8 miles later) to Hoover Dam. Maybe someday we'll make it. Doubt Ava will be in the backpack for that trip, though. :-)

Catching up

2009-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

So, just catching up on archiving the latest photos and had a few to share.

Here's Ava in a super-cute skirt that Mom and I made for her. I did the applique flower. It's so cute it almost looks store-bought! She pretty much wears it every time it's clean. You probably remember seeing it here. Wonder if she would choose it for herself?

We have an old digital camera that doesn't really work anymore, so we turned it into a toy. Ava discovered it on the day I had emptied her toybox to stain it and played with it for about an hour. She just seems to like the shutter-click sound it makes. Probably because it seems so natural to her due to all the documentation of her life thus far....

Finally, Ava likes to turn on Jack FM in the guest room when she's upstairs. In this particular series, she was working some wicked cool moves. (Really, I think she was practicing jumping, but I wasn't there and Matt called it dancing. Whatevs.)

Yep, this girl knows how to work it. :-)

First Day of School

2009-04-27T14:04:00.000-07:00

Last night, as Matt and I put Ava to bed, we realized that today was a really momentous day. Today, Ava started full-time daycare at Bright Horizons. From now on, until she graduates high school and leaves our little nest (wherever in the world that nest is), she'll be going to school all day Monday-Friday.

On the one hand, it's exciting to see your kid grow up and know that she's totally ready for this next little step on her road. On the other, of course, you never get to go back.

So, here they are, Ava's first first-day-of-school pictures.

**Update: Her day went great. She cried when I left, of course, but then her teachers said she had a really good day. She'll be exhausted by the end of the week learning the new nap routine and by playing so hard, but she's doing great! :-)

At 17 Months...

2009-04-23T09:21:00.001-07:00

I think I missed this last month, but I wanted to do a little snapshot of Ava at 17 months.

*Our baby really is a toddler these days. No more bottles, at lot more "mine!". :-)

*Her vocabulary is getting bigger and bigger. Probably no one else would understand, but Daddy & I do (probably Sarah, too). She says house, Dolly, kinky (this is apparently what we're calling Binkies these days), cook (this is book), car, more, hi, bye, Libby, Ellie, Grace, Sarah, poopy, potty, owie, moon, and then all the old stand-bys too. Uh-oh is still a really big hit.

*Speaking of saying poopy, on more than one occasion, Ava has notified us that her diaper is, in fact, poopy. The days of potty training are not far off. (Doing the happy dance here...not to be confused with the peepee dance, of course.)

*She can run! And, more often than not, she's able to keep her head aligned over her feet...less road rash that way. :-)

*Ava loves grass. We got the artificial turf in our backyard and she loves to pet it. She also loves grass at the park. She, literally, gets on her hands and knees to feel it.

*Ava is a great body part identifier. She can point to head, shoulders, knees, toes, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, neck, back, elbow, hair, bellybutton, fingers, hands, and arms. Libby is less than excited that Ava can point to eyes, however.

*The music thing is still big for this girl. She sings a lot. We still do the Chicken Dance, but also Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes, and Whole World in His Hands. We also sing Rock-a-Bye Baby every day...she'll sing it to her dollies on her own.

*One of Ava's favorite games is "lick your face." She'll lean in to give you a kiss and, at the last moment, change to a full on face lick. Sort of gross...extremely funny. Clearly, allowing Libby to raise this one has backfired for us.

*Ava loves to brush her teeth. It's a struggle to get her to let us do the brushing at night, but she definitely has to have a turn. She's got good technique...future dentists will be pleased!

*Proving that she's a girl after my own heart, girlie loves shoes. She carries them around, loves trying them on, and loves to pick out which ones I'll wear for the day. Walking through the shoe section of a store is more dangerous than the toy aisle. Have to say, I hope she ends up being a size 8 so we can share in the teen years!

*Today, just this morning, she started trying to jump. She'd gather up her chubby little baby self, raise her fists in the air, and then one foot up, and then the other - never at the same time, of course. But, the shouts of "jump, jump" made it clear that she was working hard!

Love you, baby girl. You keep right on doing your thing.

What do you get...

2009-04-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

...when you throw together a hula-hoop, three curtain sheers, a round tablecloth, & some string?

A playhouse!

We made Ava a playhouse for the playroom yesterday. It's a fun little nook and she really seems to like it. Fun stuff!

Scenes from the Playroom

2009-04-20T21:19:00.000-07:00

Just a couple quick shots of Ava in the playroom...

Teaching her stuffed friends how to count...

Modeling her homemade shorts in all their 1980s glory...

Easter

2009-04-20T21:13:00.001-07:00

We had a great time on Easter. We dyed eggs on Saturday, then Ava hunted her basket on our patio Easter morning. Jelly beans were a big hit! Then, it was off to a picnic with several of our Vegas family friends. We had a lovely time picnicing in a nearby park, playing cornhole and hunting candy-filled eggs.

Good times!

Just in case you wondered...

2009-04-08T21:06:00.000-07:00

...this is how a squirrel eats.

Be sure to keep scrolling a ways...I had lots of updating to do this week! -SBC

Grandma is Here!

2009-04-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

I had a ton of work to do over Spring Break, so Mom came out to watch Ava while I spent a couple days in Starbucks knocking out some big papers. (Finished today...yay!)

Matt was home yesterday afternoon, so we took some time and went to the park. Fun times!

Libby even got to go along to the park. Ava took her on a walk....then Libby took Ava on a little drag. :-)

Family Photo Session

2009-04-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

We were a little overdue for a family photo shoot. It was nothing like having a great friend, Carrie, do the photos, but at least we've documented us, as we are now.

Enjoy!

The New Van

2009-04-08T20:14:00.001-07:00

And, finally, three weeks later, here's our new van!