Ava at 3 years old

There are so many things that I want to remember about Ava at this age. She does and says so many cute things and is turning into a little lady right before our eyes!

*Very into princesses and dress up right now!
*Wears her tinkerbell pj's and princess slippers almost every night
*Loves to dance and pretend to be a ballerina or princess at the ball
*Loves to "do crafts" at her table
*Likes to create displays or "deshorate" the window sills with the most random objects
*Also likes to carry around said random objects in purses
*Favorite shows are The Wiggles, Strawberry Shortcake, Doc McStuffins
*Has quiet time every day and likes to play/nap on a pallett in her room.
*Has been in gymnastics class the last two months and loves it.
*Has turned into a daddy's girl since Connor has been born. :( (fitting since Connor is a momma's  boy and demands a lot of my attention right now. I am hoping the roles will be reversed and she will be a mommy's girl again soon)
*Calls daddy "Handy Manny" because he is good at fixing things and putting batteries in toys
*Fights going to sleep and can be pretty defiant during bedtime.
*Likes to dress herself and tells me exactly how she wants her hair fixed each day
*Likes to put on mommy's makeup
*Asks a lot of questions (especially when we are in the car)

*Ava quotes....

"Someday when I get bigger I can _______" (says this about 5 times a day)
"Can I want to have ____please?"
"Someday when Connor gets big like me we can hug each other. " :)
"When I get bigger, I can wear your white dress and Lukie will be my prince."

Modeling her favorite nightgown and slippers (in front of the basket of crafts that Gramielle won for her at a silent auction. Heaven for Ava!)

One of her displays with her  junk , I mean "deshorations" that are thoughtfully layed out. Too funny! I can't keep her toys organized for the life of me!

Very proud!

Had to start calling nap time "quiet time" so that napping would be more on her terms rather than something she felt she had to do (which was creating resistance). She plays with her toys for about 45 minutes and then falls asleep on a pallett on the floor.

Sweet Sounds

Meant to include this with his 3 month post. 

I love my boy!

And for a walk down memory lane...oh this cracks me up! 

3 months old

Happy 3 months old to our little man! 

Sweetest boy, you are now 3 months old! You have changed a lot in the last month and most importantly we have said so long to your colic!! You are a much happier baby and I love seeing those precious smiles which you do so often now. Strangers just think you are the cutest thing when they talk to you and you smile back.

You have been "talking" so much more this month too. I wish I knew what was going through that brain of yours when you talk to us.

Now that you are over your colic I can put you down in  your bouncy seat or on your playmat for a little longer. You are still very much the momma's boy and prefer for me to be near you or holding you the majority of the time.

You are sleeping through the night now! Thank you son! I lay you down around 9 and you sleep till about 7 or 7:30 (sometimes 8 if I lay you down a little later in the evening). I want to push up your bed time but I am afraid if I do then you will start to wake up in the middle of the night for a feeding. I have definitely been spoiled with good sleep this month and I don't want that to change.

You are starting to develop more consistent naps throughout the day. You nap about 4 times a day (usually the last one being a catnap in my arms or on the couch before your last feeding)

You have to be bounced to sleep so thanks to the advice from Rebekah I now hold you and bounce while sitting on the yoga ball we had stored in the attic. It makes mommy's back feel so much better and it works like a charm to get you to sleep.

You still like to be swaddled but you don't stay in the swaddle for long. Hoping we can make it work for a little while longer since it helps you go to sleep.

Have I mentioned you are a BIG boy?! You are wearing size 2 diapers, I think I could even go to a size 3 soon, and you are wearing mostly size 6 months clothes. I am anxious to see how much you weigh next month at your 4 month checkup. You have to weigh at least 15 lbs. by now!
I love you so much Connor James! I could kiss your cheeks and give you snuggles all day long! You bring me so much joy.

                                                                 xoxo,
                                                                 Mommy

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a jam packed Memorial Day weekend! 

First up was Brinley's 3rd birthday party!

After the party we hit the road for Beaumont to visit Gigi and Bpop

Ava made Gigi a special apron for her birthday

It came in handy when they made cake pops together. Ava  has been seeing commercials for cake pops and when Gigi heard that she wanted to make them she bought all the equipment and ingredients and was ready to try them out with Ava. 

Ava loves to help in the kitchen now so this was right up her alley of fun!

It was a messy process but they turned out cute and tasted yummy!

Gigi's neighbor brought over this scooter for Ava to ride and she couldn't get enough of it. She was doing all sorts of one legged tricks and making her mommy nervous. Fearless since she could walk!

Gigi knows how to spoil her little Ava. She made her a Minnie Mouse pancake for breakfast before we hit the beach (Crystal Beach near Galveston)

Emily kitty and Ava had fun playing together

I wanted to take their picture and out of know where she strikes this pose! Seriously don't know where she has seen that! But....she is pretty darn cute doing it!

Ava has telling us she wants to go to the beach so while we were in Beaumont we decided to take a short day trip to a beach about an hour away. Too bad the entire beach was covered in nasty seaweed. I guess that is what you can expect with a Texas beach. 

She still had fun finding seashells and seashell pieces. 

We brought this little beach tent for some shade and the boys enjoyed a nice nap.

C enjoyed it a little too much and slept the entire time we were there. Being outside, a little warm, and having the sound of the ocean right in his ear made for the perfect baby nap!

Ava and Daddy also enjoyed some pool time at Gigi's.

Throwing water toys at Daddy was a fun game

Connor preferred the company of his momma the entire time so we didn't get in the pool this time. In fact, he didn't allow me to do a whole lot at all while we were there. Good thing I love that big guy!

3rd stop on our Memorial Day weekend was to see the Burkharts in Houston! They are moving in less than a month so we wanted to say goodbye and introduce them to Connor. 

The girls picked up right where they left off and immediately put on princess clothes. 

Sweet Benjamin was a good sport!

Matching outfits for our boys!

Swinging in the backyard before we left for  home. And no I am not nursing in the picture! Just holding a sleeping baby.

I had to get a picture with this precious little boy (don't mind the awkwardness of me bending over with baby legs off to the side-wish I took a better one with him)

We love you Burkharts and are going to miss you so much!!!

We had a blast spending time with the ones we love this Memorial day weekend! Wish they all lived in Dallas (or weren't moving away)