cherishing every moment

It has finally been warm outside lately and Ava and I are loving it. It has been wonderful to be able to play with chalk, play in the backyard with the dogs, and go for walks.

This was Ava's first time to play with chalk and she loved it. She was thrilled that I was able to draw "fowers" and "su-shine" on the driveway. After awhile she got sort of bored and decided to "feed" Rusty and Ellie rocks and dirt through the fence.

Speaking of Rusty, Daddy brought his chocolate lab, Rusty home from his parent's house recently. Ava loves it--and I think Ellie does as well. Every time we drive into the driveway Ava has to say "Hi Russy, hi Eyee". But when the dogs bark it is always, "Hush Russy"... never Ellie. Poor Rusty.

This past Sunday was Daddy's birthday. Ava loved singing "Happy da Daddy" to him all day and of course--eating cake!! We went to Mema's to celebrate with our family and had a wondeful time.

Ava is talking like crazy lately. Every day she is talking more and more it seems. We went to Target to buy her some sandals the other day. She instantly saw some that were sparkly and have rhinestones on them and had to have them. The minute she put them on when we got home she started saying, "oooh cooot" and "I wuv shoes". We went to the store and she told everyone she saw, "wook, I wuv shoes" : )

The other night after saying our prayer and tucking Ava into bed, I left the room and she started to cry. I left her in there for a few minutes to see if she would calm herself down and go to sleep on her own but it wasn't working. So I went back in there and sang and talked to her. Afterward I told her I was going to go in the other room now and she was going to go to sleep. She looked at me and said, "Jesus, Jesus!!" : ) We have always talked about Jesus, but this was the first time I have actually heard her say it on her own. So we said another prayer thanking Jesus for all of our family, and of course--"Russy and Eyee", and she was satisfied and went right to sleep. It was one of those moments that just warmed my heart : )

This morning it was raining. Ava came and climbed into bed with us as usual and we layed there watching cartoons until about 9:00. It was a wonderful break to our usually hectic schedule. I am hoping for a relaxing weekend spent with each other--It's Pappy's birthday weekend!! :)

snow day #4

Yes, you read it correctly. Today is our fourth snow day!!

After breakfast this morning, Ava served our other 2 family members (Ham and Bunny) breakfast.

 This breakfast consisted of soup, corn, fried chicken leg, and other assorted plastic foods.

I would say they thoroughly enjoyed their breakfast.

It has warmed up today and the sun is finally out!!! Perfect weather to finally make a snowman, we decided.

I think it is safe to say that Ava has "warmed up" to the snow after 4 days so she and I built a snowman (or woman).

Ta-da!!!

Ellie has warmed up to the snow too, I believe. She has been outside the majority of the day and hasnt "complained" so far!

We stayed outside playing in the snow, building a snowman, and then having a snow ball fight with Daddy for about an hour and a half.

Ava was in heaven.

And of course, still being silly.

 We named our snowman George.

Ellie sneaked out of the back yard while Ava was trying to get out of the gate. Daddy to the rescue!!!

Ava was very happy that Daddy caught Ellie.

Today has been a wonderful day and we are thankful the snow is finally starting to melt and the ice is turning to slush on the roads. My car is still in the garage and hasn't moved since Monday. Hoping to finally venture out in the morning. For tonight, it is pizza and movie night!!

snow day #3

By the third snow day (Thursday), Ava and I had a case of cabin fever so it was time to get creative. After having breakfast and watching our morning cartoon lineup we had established from our many days off, Ava wanted to color...

coloring Dora was the perfect solution to her "cabin fever-tude".

That evening in the bath tub, I took some advice from Mema and mixed shaving cream and food coloring to "paint" with in the tub.

When Daddy and his sister Shannon were little they would do this at Mema's house. Needless to say, Ava loved it.

Unfortunately, Daddy had to work that night so we had to send him pictures ... and a little message.

While the bath tub paint was an absolute hit with Ava, getting out of the bath was not (as you can probably imagine).

After playing in the bath she and I sat by the fire and warmed our tootsies while reading our bedtime story :)

snow day #2

On Wednesday when we woke up, the snow situation hadn't changed a bit. After eating breakfast Ava and I went to the farm with Daddy to feed the horses and cows. Ava enjoyed "mooing" at them at the top of her lungs from the truck.

Ava stayed at home from Jannies again and spent the day playing in the snow and just hanging out with Daddy and I.

Ava warmed up a little bit more to the snow on this day although she stayed in one spot with her "cup" the entire time.

But she sure enjoyed standing there with her cup and laughing at Mama as I jumped and threw snow to try and make her laugh and loosen up a little :) ... it was a little too cold still for her tastes.

Ellie has been a trooper throughout all of the snow but isnt a huge fan and hadn't quite warmed up to it by Wednesday! Every now and then she has to go outside and let some of her energy out. The laundry room isn't her favorite place right now and has had to start sleeping in Daddy's bathroom at night because she has been lonely ...and a little spoiled.

snow day #1

On the morning of Tuesday, February 1st we woke up with about 4 inches of snow outside our window. Ava immediately looked outside and said, "snowman!!!". Little did we know, for the rest of the week she would refer to all of the snow as "snowman".

Typically on Tuesdays, Ava stays with Mrs. Jannie. So, not even thinking, Daddy and Ava headed over to Mrs. Jannies. But due to the snow, many of the businesses in town were closed and therefore nobody was staying at Mrs. Jannies so Ava came home to spend the day with me! :)

(I would have let her stay home anyway, but she had been sick the past few weeks and hadn't gone to Mrs. Jannies a lot, so I decided she should go ahead and go. But, she was able to stay home with me after all ... which is really what I wanted ;) !!)

 

Ava was very excited about "snowman".

But when she was actually in it, she wasn't so sure.

our trip to the zoo

This past Sunday while laying in bed about to get ready for church, we decided to take Ava to the Fort Worth Zoo. Hesitant because of the cool weather at home, we headed out anyway. It ended up being a very pleasant 60 degrees and sunny in Fort Worth--perfect zoo weather. On our way to the zoo, we listened to Ava's favorite Raffi CD and watched Toy Story 2 (or "TWO" as Ava calls it).

When we got to Fort Worth, we ate at Uncle Julio's. When asked by the waiter what she wanted to eat, Ava glanced up from her coloring and very assertively ordered "chicken".

Ava ate her "chicken" (enchiladas), rice, and beans like a little piglet. But then she decided Daddy's rice looked a lot better than her own :)

Going to the zoo was a wonderful idea.

Ava's favorite animals were the fish, "shishies", which she pointed out every chance she got. Here--noticingthe "shishies" over the beautiful giraffes in the background...

and here with the zebras as well. Although I do believe she payed the zebras more attention than the giraffes.

While the "shishies" were probably her favorite, the parrots were a close second who we both "squawked" at.

See?? Told you!

Overall we had a wonderful time. But we did decide, bringing a stroller into the zoo ... bad idea.

Ava is now a "big girl" and wants to walk.

  

After the zoo, we met our dear friend Jillian ("Jillster") for dinner at PF Changs. It was so wonderful getting to see her and to finally catch up over a scrumptious dinner.

All in all, it was a great trip. On our way home we stopped to get a milk shake and Ava recognized the chicken on the menu and immediately began saying, "chicken pease, mmmm chicken, chicken pease". So, at 8:00 at night on the way home, Ava was chowing down on a chicken strip while watching Sid The Science Kid in the back seat and stayed awake the entire way home.

welcome

I have decided to start this blog with a purpose in mind. That purpose is to have the blog printed into a blog book for my little love, Ava to have to read one day. I will write about our many adventures here so that one day we can look back and remember the many memories we have made together as a family. I look forward to starting this and I hope you enjoy it as much as I think I will!! :)