A Human, a Vampire, and a Werewolf . . . . . . . . . .

Two things: First of all, yes, I too, am obsessed with Twilight. Second of all, I never win anything. Well, I got an email yesterday saying that I could win one of 5 books if I just posted a message on the Today's Mama website. Well, I thought, why not? So I posted. There was no way I would win. A ton of people had posted. Short story shorter - I WON! Wahoo! I should be receiving my free copy in a few days. Now the waiting . . . . . . . . . . .

Time Out Baby!

Ava has had dolls pretty much since she was born. She's played on and off with one doll (which is obvious from the pictures - this doll has been very loved), but besides that hasn't had much interest; until a couple of weeks ago. She has recently become obsessed with her "baby." She plays with it constantly and I've been able to get a few pictures for your viewing pleasure. :)

The other day I was in the kitchen and I heard her say "No No Baby!" I looked over and she was placing the doll in the corner. A few seconds later she said, "Good Girl?", then proceeded to pick her up, give her a kiss and a hug, and the two were on their merry way. Hmmmm . . . . Wonder where she got that idea? Here she is with her baby in timeout.


Here are a couple of pictures of Ava teaching her baby how to rock on the rockin' horse. Eventually she decided it would be easier if they both got on and rocked together.



In this pic Ava is teaching the baby how to thread the shoelace through the little button. What's amazing is that my 2 year old can do this. What would be more amazing is if her baby was able to pick up on it! I'll post pictures when that happens. :)


And hear she is snoozing with her ragamuffin baby. She fell asleep with the sucker in her mouth. Can't be good for the teeth, but it makes a great picture!


By the way - I was going to add that my child usually does wear pants, but after looking at the pictures, I've come to realize that maybe she doesn't! :)

Camping . . . . . . . . .

We are hard core campers . . . . . as of this week. We went camping for the first time as a little family all by ourselves. We packed up the tent and cooler, headed to Fish Lake, and had a wonderful time. Here are some pictures. It was so much fun, yet long enough for me. I was so worried about how Ava would sleep, but she slept from 9:00 pm to 8:00 am. I, on the other hand, woke up 55 times throughout the night. If Ava's gonna sleep that good, I might as well take a Tylenol PM to get me through the night. LOL.


Ava and Mommy.

Strutting her beautiful stuff.

Juice Box and Camp Chair. Complete Relaxation.

On the way home from camping. She is one satisfied camper.

Me and My Love.

Ava and her best friend, Dakota. Koda was SOOO sick of Miss Ava by then end of the camping trip.

Ava's first Smore. She LOVED it!

Breakfast in the mountains.

Daddy cooking delicious sausage and eggs. Why does it always taste so good in the mountains?

Ava and her daddy. They're best buds.

Who knew throwing rocks in the lake could be so fun!

Beautiful Fish Lake.

Does it get any better than this?

Helping daddy get some firewood.

Yes - My 2 year old does seem to be wearing a wife beater with a tattoo on her arm . . . . . . . .

She LOVED the tent. We couldn't keep her out of it . . . try as we might.

Walking in the freezing cold water. I was trying to keep her shoes dry by taking them off, but the second I put them back on, she walked straight into the water.

Eating a gumball.

"Walking" Dakota. She is so proud of herself.

Hard Labor. . . . . . . . . .

I know that typically, 2 year olds make most jobs a bit tougher. Whether it's showering, reading a book, or trying to update your blog. :) BUT, I have found a job that Ava LOVES. Today I decided that instead of us going to a car wash, we would just clean the car outside. We vacuumed the inside (which, by the way, 2 year olds do make more difficult), and then washed the outside. Ava had a BLAST! You would have thought we were in Disneyland. When we were done washing the car, I tried to get her to understand the concept of drying the car rather than washing it, but she wanted nothing to do with it. So, I'll take this opportunity to apologize to any neighbors that may have heard my sweet 2 year old's LOUD tantrum in the driveway. I'd also like to apologize for completely ignoring it. I've realized that sometimes that works better than anything else. :) So, moral of the story, 2 year olds CAN be very helpful, they just need to help with the right things. :)

Summer Time Fun . . . . . . . . . . .

We have the cutest little neighbor kids. Ava LOVES them! These are some pictures I took of Ava, Zane, and Kalel (probably didn't spell that right), enjoying an afternoon at the pool! Yes - I do realize that this is the world's tiniest swimming pool, but honestly, we could give Ava 2 inches of water and she would be happy. Seriously, is there anything more fun than relaxing in a (tiny) pool on a hot July day with an orange popsicle? Didn't think so. :)