Dr. Ava

And you think she is kidding?!

This is completely serious, people.

Celebrations!

Well, we have been busy the past few weeks with TONS of celebrations! Here's how we spent some of them!!

EASTER!!!

Easter was especially fun this year because Ava is totally into all these magic people who manage to get into our house at night (Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, etc!) and leave all sorts of fun things.

In order to get her to stay upstairs until we were ready to go down (to take pics and video), we told her that she better not go down 'cause the Easter Bunny might still be there. She was looking down the stairs and then excitedly ran to us and said, "I saw a shadow!!!" I said, "Really? What kind of shadow?"

With wide eyes and the pure excitement of a 3 year old, she said, "Bunny ears!!" It was just perfect. :)

The girls both got baskets that the Easter Bunny hid for them...and Ava got to find a few eggs that were hidden as well. They both got bunny ears in their baskets, and Ava was so sweet to help Bella with hers first. She truly is a wonderful big sister!
My sweet girls...

Well, hello there! :)

Ava found one of her eggs!
My sweet little Bunny. Later, we all met at my parents house for an Easter Egg hunt with all the kids. It was a perfect day, and everyone had a blast!

Belly had fun, too! Here she is playing with Grandpa Mike!

Belly found some eggs she wanted to test out...

This is the closest we got to a decent family picture. I swear this was the best out of about 20 or so!! Belly does not like to look at the camera. She's always finding other things soooo much more interesting!

I caught Grandpa Mike and Bella just hanging out. He's got a special place in his heart for babies (especially his granddaughter babies!), and it is sooooo sweet!
I will admit that it was a bit difficult to explain to Ava the real story behind Easter. It's hard for intellectual adults to comprehend, much less a 3 year old. But, we're working on it!

SARAH'S GRADUATION!!!

Aunt Sarah graduated from nursing school a few weeks ago! I am a complete emotional mess and I totally got a little teary and got a big 'ol lump in my throat when I saw her walk across that stage! Caught me a little by surprise, I must say!

Sarah- we are so proud of you!! Congratulations!!


Ava snuck up during the ceremony to get a quick pic!The fam! :) Ava was in a mood and didn't want to smile at that moment...but it turned out great anyway!

Sarah and Kyle!There's that smile we've come to know and love!
A rare Ava-Mommy pic! LOVE!

PREEMIE PARTY!!!

You all know that Ava spent a month in the NICU when she was first born. Each year, the hospital where she was born throws a Preemie Party - when all the preemies reunite and everyone gets to see how well all the other babies are doing! It was really nice!

Here's Bella enjoying the festivities!

And Belly with our favorite and awesome night nurse, Karen. Karen was always wonderful. Since I couldn't be there all the time, she spent lots of time with me on the phone at night giving me all the details of Bella's updates. Sometimes she would talk to me for 10 or 15 minutes just telling me about Bella's day. No one else did that, and I really appreciated it. I will always be grateful for her.
A group picture! Bella never once looked up- she was mesmerized by the plastic silverware in front of her!

AVA'S FIRST CLEANING AND CHECKUP!!!

Ava had her first official dental visit! (There was a picture I posted about 9 months ago of her in a dental chair- that was just me looking at her teeth real quick- but for this one, I was like a real mom and sat in the waiting room while she went back). She did great!! Tracey was wonderful with her, and Ava was super pumped about the Ariel sparkles that she now has on her teeth!
The most important part! Picking a prize....or 17!

Here's Ava with one of my fab assistants, Ashley. She was (not surprisingly) great with Ava! Notice Ava's bag-o-prizes....she doesn't leave the office with anything less than that! Ever. :)

FAMILY WEDDING!!!

Congrats to my cousins, William and Jessica, who got married this past weekend! It was a perfect day for a wedding, and we had a blast!!
My mom, me, and my Aunt Patty (my mom's sister- aka: Aunt Poopy. Yep, that's what I said...Aunt Poopy).

Think we're related?! :)
Some of the girls.

My cousin Erica (sister of the groom) and my bro, Pat!
Pat caught the garter and Noo (Pat's girlfriend) caught the bouquet! And that's William, the groom!

It was so great to see my Aunt Patty....I haven't seen her since my wedding 7 years ago! I always love hanging out with her, and I really wish we didn't always go so long between seeing each other! We are NOT waiting that long until our next visit....right, Patty?!?! :)

Here she is with sweet Belly.

ANNIVERSARY AND MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Speaking of our wedding, we celebrated 7 years a few weeks ago! It actually fell on the same day as Mother's Day. We celebrated the night before by going to the Zac Brown Band concert (just like we did last year on our anniversary!), and we had a blast!!!

Mother's Day was great, too! The weather was perfect, we went to church in the morning, then came back to our house and had a small brunch for the moms. We ate outside and it was perfect! Patrick and the girls got me a necklace that I love- it has the initials of the girls', a teeny cross, and a little pearl. I had an inkling, though....

A discussion I had with Ava weeks ago....

Ava: Mommy, Mother's Day is in 2 days (really it was in 8 days!), and we have a present for you. It's a secret. .......It's jewelry!
Me: Oh, really?! Oh, okay, but I think it's a secret, so shhhhhh, don't tell!

A week later:
Ava: Mommy, Mother's Day is in 2 days (actually 2 days this time), and we have a present for you. It's a necklace!


Hahaha. Kinda funny! But, it was a great Mother's Day and Anniversary! Happy Anniversary, Patrick. I am truly lucky to have you. :) I love you.

GYMNASTICS JUBILEE!!!

Every spring, Ava's gymnastics place has a "Gymnastics Jubilee"- and it was super cute! They did a little routine and got little medals at the end....this is a terrible picture, but if you look real close, you can see her standing on the "podium" and saluting for everyone! She was so proud!I mean....does it get any cuter?!?!
With Daddy when we were all done! (I'm super sad 'cause my camera didn't focus properly, so this one is a bit out of focus...but it was waaaaaay too cute not to include)!

Daddy's little girl or what?!

Watching all the other girls....such a good listener!
When we were all done- we went for a little post-gymnastics treat!
So, that's what's been going on with us lately! I hope y'all are doing great!!!

Woops! 9 months already?!

Okay, soooooo....it's not that I haven't THOUGHT about posting, it's just that life gets in the way. :) (By the way- I'm pretty sure the above photo is the first time we've taken a picture with Bella since she was in the hospital)!

So, anyway...just a quick post today...mostly a picture post! Lots of things have been happening the past 2 months!

Just as Bella turned 7 months, we introduced solid food! Oatmeal cereal to start. She had NO IDEA that she was supposed to OPEN her mouth! Just a blank stare! HA! She much preferred to hold the spoon herself! First food with actual flavor- homemade organic sweet potatoes! I think she likes.... Mmmmmm!
At 7.5 months, we started seeing teeth! (Click on the picture to enlarge....you can see them just barely coming through)! A week or so later...
Daddy is a little silly sometimes...she's just gonna have to get used to it...
Around 8 months (6 months adjusted age!), she started getting better at sitting up! She still falls over from time to time, though! It must be hard to hold up that big head! (By the way, her second follow-up with the neurosurgeon went great! She's perfection....with a big head)! :)

The bow was on clearance...sometimes she looks so much like Patrick, I feel she needs a little help looking like a girl! ;)
She still loves to lay on her back....still hates tummy time! And no real signs of crawling yet! When I put her on her tummy, she ends up like this every time...can't get enough of those toes!
She loves to pet Salsa. :) Salsa is so good with her. Isn't this sweet?!
Ava continues to be wonderful with her...and Bella can't get enough!!
Bella's always been such a serious baby, but we've finally started to get some of those gigantic smiles I've been waiting for!!Although, she's still very stingy with her laughs! We've only ever heard her laugh a handful of times! We've made lots of progress just in the past week, though!! I'll try to get it on video!

Loves to swing on the swing next door!


They love Aunt Sarah time....and, of course, Bella always goes through several outfit changes when she's here!
Last weekend, we had my brother's family over and had a wonderful day letting all the neighborhood kids play together. Our next door neighbors have a great playset. It needed new mulch, so all the guys pitched in while the kids played ALL DAY! Got lots of great pics!

Daddy and his mini-me...
She puts everything in her mouth! E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

She makes this face all the time. Hilarious. It's similar to Ava's Chinese face, but for Bella, this is a "that-was-funny-but-I'm-still-a-little-irritated" face. Hee hee.
Gotta put some pics of Ava in here too! LoOoOoOoOve those little freckles. :)

The girl never stops talking...I have about 15 pictures in a row and each one is just a different expression mid-sentence.
Oh look! A pause for a smile!With Uncle Ian and Aunt Booj!
Not sure what to think about all that scratchy stuff....

LOVE Bella's sweet face and smile in this one!!
They have a great horse swing that all the kids love!
My niece, Emery, loved it too!
A little bit of work, a little bit of play. :) Patrick was oh-so-nice to give LOTS of wheel barrow rides! This is Ava with her most favorite neighbor, Josh, hitchin' a ride with the mulch! And Keegan, too!
A bunch of the kids...

And what better way to finish the day than with a pizza picnic!
It's been a fun few months. Bella is doing great, and so is Ava. Patrick finished up his LAST WEEK OF CLASS next week. He's got finals and will then be studying for his boards and begin his rotations this summer! Two years down, two to go!!! Well....then residency....but lets not burst any bubbles. :)

I hope y'all have a wonderful Easter weekend, and I'll try to not wait so long until the next post!