A Three-Ring Circus!

I decided to let Ava try to eat her cereal right out of the dish, but quickly realized that this was not the best idea! Before I could stop her, she'd dumped the entire bowl onto the floor. Then, of course, the food became toys rather than a snack. I couldn't resist grabbing the camera to capture the expression on her face!!!

Later that night, the little monkey discovered that Mommy forgot to put her shoes away. These were also a terrific pair of playthings for her to investigate. As JP always says, "It's like a three-ring circus around here!" The circus is lots of fun though!!!!

Happy First Birthday Ava!!!!!!

Okay, so there's no excuse why it's taken me over two weeks to blog about the most exciting event in Ava's life so far other than the fact that I've returned to work, got a new job, and went away for a weekend...well maybe there are a few excuses, but no good ones!!

Ava turned one year old on June 4th. We celebrated the special occasion with a small party at our house the weekend before. Both sets of grandparents were there along with Ava's best friend Alexa (who'll be turning one later this month!!) and my friend Kari (Alexa's mom). We decorated the house with lots of pink and purple streamers and balloons to go along with the "princess" theme. On the afternoon of the party once all the guests arrived we let the babies play for a bit. The cutest thing was when Ava went over to Alexa, kissed her and started playing Pat-a-Cake with her like she does with her dolls!! After a bit, I helped Ava open up all of her gifts...she was one lucky birthday girl!!! Then we enjoyed a BBQ and the two-tiered castle cake that my mom baked.

It was a wonderful day celebrating a wonderful little girl! JP and I are so proud to be her parents and we've enjoyed this past year immensely. Ava is the best thing that's ever happened to us and we really feel blessed to have her in our lives. We were so glad that we could share it with the important people in her life and I'm glad that I can share some pictures and video with everyone else who loves her too!

Ava the "Project Manager"

Our backyard has quickly turned into a construction zone with the long-awaited arrival of our new swimming pool and deck! Ava has adapted quite easily to napping during the day to the sound of jigsaws and nail guns. On this particular day she decided to be the "Project Manager" just like her Daddy and watch the guys work from our living room window to make sure they stay on schedule!! Maybe Strescon could give us a little baby hardhat for her to wear!!! :)

Ava in her swimming pool!

How excited was I when I got to set up Ava's wading pool on the deck...and it isn't even June yet!!!! Despite the fact that we have a brand new 15' x 30' pool sitting in our backyard we aren't quite ready to go swimming in it yet....but stay tuned! So on one of the gloriously sunny days we had last week I dragged out her little kiddie pool (which was supposed to be one of her birthday presents...oh well, a couple weeks early won't hurt her!) and put on her adorable new bathing suit from The Children's Place. Fully decked out with sunscreen and sun hat, she took a dip, splashed around, and was in and out for a better part of the afternoon. LOTS of fun and I can't wait until we can go swimming together in our BIG pool!!!!!

Pat-a-Cake with Baby

Ava has learned how to play pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo with her doll. The other day she sat with my mom and insisted that they play this game over and over and over!! As soon as you start singing the song, she'll grab the doll's hands and clap, clap, clap. I thought it was hilarious to see the intense look on her face as she does this...very focused play going on now!!! Too funny!! Plus you should check out how blue her eyes look with this outfit on...don't forget to click on the pictures to enlarge them!! :)

Trip to Timberlea!

It had been a few months since I'd last taken Ava into BLT (the school I've worked at for the past two years), so a trip to Timberlea to visit everyone was definitely long overdue! We managed to get ourselves organized and at the school shortly after dismissal time, so luckily we got to see just about everyone...even though I managed to interrupt a couple meetings!! Ava was more interested in crawling around on the floor and digging into the students' desks than she was to just simply sit and chat, so needless to say the visits were kept pretty short. It was so good to see everyone though and I wish that I could be going back to work there!

After our trip to the school we popped over to Kari and Alexa's and joined them for a walk on the trail. We stayed for a bit and the girls enjoyed some play time together. Ava was insistent on piling all of Alexa's farm animals into her lego container and pretty much made a mess investigating a new set of toys! Kari and I reminisced about their first playdate at her place when both babies just sat there and didn't say a word. It's hard to believe how much they have grown over these past few months ...they are so much fun now and totally adorable!!!! I managed to get a couple of pictures of the two of them together...which is no easy feat with two toddlers who are now mobile!!! It was a fun afternoon and I look forward to more get togethers this summer!

Cruising Around with Daddy!

Ava and J.P. have established a new daily routine. As soon as he arrives home from work Ava heads straight for her ride-on toy and he takes her for a few spins around the house. She LOVES that he goes so fast and I love standing back and listening to her shrieks and squeals as she rounds each turn. It's also a great cardio alternative for new dads who are so busy that they put jogging and workouts on hold!!! :)