A Few Fun Things . . . . . . .

Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to the last couple of weeks.

Ava and Grandpa Cuff reading a book. She literally sat with him for 20 minutes when they came to visit last Sunday! She LOVES her new Peek A Boo book and Sunday Quiet book from Grandma and Grandpa. (Hopefully her Quiet Book really does keep her quiet)



Mommy Ava. This girl is SUCH a girl. She plays with her baby dolls so much. She feeds them, puts them down for a nap, takes them on pony and stroller rides, and puts them in time out when they're naughty. This baby coming in May may get more than he bargained for when it comes to moms! :)




IKEA Bargain. So, IKEA was having a sale on these three drawer dresses a couple of weeks ago. I got two of them and they were $39.95 a piece! Now we have all of the furniture for the nursery. I have bought quite a few things at IKEA and always had no problem putting them together. Well, this time I decided to do it with Ava "helping." To make a long story short, her helping me turned into taking the dresser apart twice because I put something on wrong. I was so stressed about her scratching the dresser with the screwdriver or hurting herself, apparently I couldn't put my full attention on the project at hand. Next time, I'll try not to be so impatient and wait until she's asleep. Nonetheless, they turned out great and I can't wait to get the nursery done.



Also, here is a pic of the crib we bought. When I need to buy something like this, I search and search to find what I want then search and search some more to find the absolute best deal. Well, it all paid off in the end because I got a KILLER deal on a nice crib. I am SOOOO excited and can't wait to have a little baby to put in it!



PS - If anybody is in the market for a crib, let me know because I can point you in the right direction!

One more little story: Last night Ava and I were eating dinner while Randy was working. We heard a train outside and Ava immediately started saying Choo Choo! I asked her where she thought the train was coming from and without hesitation she yelled, "Nephi!" You know what? The train probably WAS coming from Nephi!

Celine . . . . .

Need I say more? Me and a bunch of my friends from high school were able to go the Celine Dion Concert. It was an "encore" concert of sorts because we went to the Vegas Celine Dion Show a couple of years ago. We had a blast! The music, of course, was AMAZING! The thing I LOVE LOVE about Celine (Yes, we are on a first name basis) is that she is absolutely, positively, truly, beyond belief, talented. She is famous because she has an amazing voice, unlike many other celebrities. She is super animated so it makes her concerts entertaining. Anyway, we had a great dinner at Tepanyaki and then watched the show. Going to concerts now is a bit different than a few years ago. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I am currently 6 1/2 months pregnant, a mom to a 2 year old, and my bedtime is 10:00. :) It wore me out, but it was so worth it. It is SO fun to get together with my high school friends and laugh about good times. I must say, we consider ourselves big Celine Dion fans, but until we all dress alike in little black dresses and cry and scream the entire concert (not unlike the girls directly behind us), then we'll settle with calling ourselves fans, instead of Super Fans. :)






Thanks for the pics Jonesy!

That's my daughter . . . . . . . . .

A couple of nights ago, me, Ava, and my little brother Robert were driving in the car. I said to Ava, "Is Robert a princess?". She laughed and yelled, "No! He's a prince!" Then I said, "What is Ava?" and she yells, "A Princess!" Then I said, "What is mommy?" (thinking she would say queen because that's what Randy has been teaching her :) Well, to my surprise she yelled, "OLD!" What in the world? Who taught her that?

Ava's favorite thing to say to me is "just a minute" which really means, "I don't want to."

When I ask her if she wants something and she doesn't, she'll say, "I'm good." She's such a little adult.

The other night we were all downstairs and Ava wanted me to go upstairs and get her blanky. I said, "Ava, if you want it, you can go and get it." She replied with, "Mom, I'm watching the game with daddy!" Hmmmm . . . . . I wonder who taught her that?

It doesn't matter what I'm wearing, Ava always likes it. I can be wearing the oldest blue Snow College T-shirt from 1989 (some of you know what I'm talking about) :) and Ava ALWAYS says to me, "Mommy! That's a cute shirt!" Nothing like a 2 year old to boost your self esteem.

She's also quite a little mommy to her baby dolls. She's always taking them potty, feeding them, or just hangin' out. Here she is with her "very loved" baby doll. They both have on beautiful princess shoes. They're a little big for Ava, let alone her baby! LOL!

Ginatics

Ava started gymnastics last week. I don't know who was more excited, me or Ava. Well, yes I do. I was. She didn't even know what gymnastics was. :) I was so excited to get her a leotard and tights I couldn't even stand it! Anyway, she was, as always, really shy and clung to me for the first class. So, I made an executive decision that I would drop her off and let her do her thing from here on out. She did great the second week and has been talking about it nonstop! Seriously, I may be prejudice, but have you ever seen anything cuter? She wouldn't not take off her "ginatics" clothes all day yesterday!

All Ready to go!

Walking on the beam:

Standing up straight after her rollover!

Happy Valentines Baby!

5 Years ago YESTERDAY, was our very first date. (I'll have you know there is a bit of a discrepancy about this because HE believes that our date was one week later on the 20th. He says he can prove this because of some basketball game. I, on the other hand, know that our first date was on the 13th because the following morning my friend Ashley and I treated ourselves to massages for Valentines day. Anyway, not the point of the post). The point IS, I am SO SO glad we went on that very first date! We ended up going to a movie (Chasing Liberty anyone?), and I KNEW that Randy had to have been slightly interested because before we ended up with the movie, he had actually agreed to go to a dance. Yes, Randy, my husband, not a dance lover, agreed to go to the dance with us. We didn't end up going, but the fact that he agreed was monumental! Well, I of course thought that Randy was the hottest thing to walk the earth with flip flops and dark shaggy hair. :) And that folks, is where our story began. He went to Texas for the Summer and I went to London. In August I went to visit him in Houston for a few days and as they say, the rest is history. (It's surprising that we were actually able to fall even MORE in love in Houston. Have any of you FELT the humidity?) We were engaged in September just a few days after he got home and married in December. I love you babe and feel like the luckiest girl in the world!

My visit to Houston - apparently the city of LOVE! :)





The night we got engaged:

Dance Dance!

I'm posting this for everybody who has not seen Ava climb out of her shell. :) This girl LOVES to dance and be the center of attention. I really need to find a talent agency ASAP. LOL. If you want to hear "I like the Way You Move" you can pause my music at the bottom.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

"Le's Get Out!"

This past Tuesday, we took the kids to the fire station and had a Valentines Party at one of Ava's friends houses. The kids had a BLAST! Ava, of course, was scared to death of the dressed up fireman and kept saying, "Let's get out mom, let's get out!" It took a while, but I did talk her into getting in the fire truck so I could take a picture, but she wouldn't go near the fireman. They kept telling the kids to not be afraid if they see someone dressed like the fireman because he's there to help and they shouldn't run and hide. That got me thinking that if our house WAS on fire and Ava saw a fireman, she would most certainly run and hide. Hmmmm . . . . . . I'm going to have to fix her thought process on that one. After, we went to Ava's friends house for a Valentines party and Ava had so much fun. They made cute little Valentines bags, frosted cookies, and played and played! The moms had a great time too because we all got to sit and talk. (Well, except the hostess, she was too busy feeding us! Thanks Jill!) Anyway, we had a great time with great friends!

My little firefighter!

Doesn't it look like Brooklyn is having so much fun? :)




This is Ava's "smile" while she's eating a cookie. I get the feeling she's just humoring me.

We Love Sundays!

Sunday Afternoons are the BEST at our house. We eat, then relax and hang out as a family the rest of the day. Any other day of the week I get pretty antsy if we aren't doing something or I'm at least accomplishing something. Sundays are a different story. I can chill all day and love every minute of it. Last year, our ward was at 2:30. I swear there is nothing worse. This year, we got moved to 10:30. Is there anything better? I think not. Anyway, I just had to post this picture because it shows a typical Sunday at our house: Daddy "resting" and Ava playing her little heart out. Apparently, she doesn't care if her playmate is conscious, just as long as she has one.

Chuck E. Cheese . . .

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and I'll tell you one thing: It hasn't changed since I was last there about 20 years ago! Well, it did seem a bit smaller, but to be fair, I am bigger than I was back then. :) Anyway, talk about a good time had by all. Ava and her friends had so much fun, and thanks to my neighbor's coupon, we got a steal of a deal. Besides the terror that is Chuck E. Cheese himself, I don't think Ava would complain one bit. When Chuck himself came out in all of his glory, I kid you not, my child started crying, made a beeline for the door, and literally took down the rope specifically put there to keep kids IN! If I wouldn't have caught her she would have been running like a mad woman through the parking lot. After she calmed down, we went about our business as usual but with me strategically placing Ava in areas far away from the mouse. Anyway, here are some fun pictures. Thanks so much for the invite!

Ava and her "monies" to get the games working :)

Different rides throughout the day:



My personal favorite: Skee Ball


Last but not least, a picture of Ava in the corner and under the slide when I messed up and let her accidentally see Chuck E. Cheese.

RAAAARRRHHHHH . . . . . . . .

That, according to Ava, is the sound that dinosaurs make. (And Lions, Bears, and many other animals, but I digress). We went to the dinosaur museum last week with our good friends Rachelle and Jamyn. Ava had a BLAST and was such a little mother to Jamyn the entire time. To be honest, Rachelle and I had more fun putting together the puzzle dinosaur than the kids did, but who says moms can't have fun at a museum too? Here are some pictures of our fun day out.

Hapy Birthday Dad!

I am posting this a few days late, but I just wanted to give a shout out to the best dad and grandpa in the entire world! As part of our birthday present to him, we taught Ava to say "Twenty Nine" when we asked her how old Papa was. :) As another part of our present, I decided to post this picture on my blog because I know how much my dad liked it. :) Happy Birthday Dad! We love you so much!