More Christmas Fun

A couple of weekends ago I made a solo trip back to San Antonio for my friend Cathy's baby shower. I had a great time seeing my dad and Shirley again and getting to visit with my friends without having to worry about Ava. I didnt get any pictures unfortunately because I left the camera with Mikey. Gigi came to visit while I was gone and Ava, daddy, and Gigi had a fun filled weekend as well.

Gigi and Ava taking pictures on her iphone. Ava now holds up any phone and turns it around and says "Cheee" like she is taking a picture of herself. It's hilarious.

The three of them went downtown for a Christmas parade!

Not saying "chee" hear but Gigi did a good job!

and look who they saw....the always fun Aunt Alli! She actually told Mikey about the parade because she was there with my uncle and cousin.

Uncle Kent (back to the camera), Cousin Devon and her little girl Aubrey, and Alli

Must have been lots for Ava to look at!

Gigi gave Ava some stickers

and when I came home I had this desk with coloring books and crayons to give Ava. An early Christmas gift from Papa and Shirley.

Gigi and Ava were also busy while I was gone making me a special ornament :)

When I got home Sunday afternoon we bundled up and went outside to help daddy put up the lights and Santa that Gigi bought for Ava.

I love these two!

Pretty lights

Going outside to see daddy's creation

Another family photo on timer on top of Tahoe. Nice.

Ava has loved saying hi and bye bye to our santa and every other santa in the neighborhood. Last night we drove around and looked at Christmas lights and it was the happiest I think I have ever seen Ava. She had the biggest smile on her face and kept saying "lights" and "ohhhh" and "pretty". It was the cutest thing! Whenever we came to a street where almost every house was decorated with lights she would start clapping. I think I want to take her to look at lights every night. :)

Oh Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

I love Christmas! Celebrating Christmas with Ava has been even more fun this year since she is more aware of what is going on and can be involved in all the traditions. Early last week we decorated our house and tree{in our christmas pjs!}. As expected Ava thought all the ornaments were toys and as she helped us unwrap each one she would say "oooohhh" and quickly snatch it up in her hands. She did this with about as many ornaments as she could hold in her hands and then we had to show her that although it may seem silly we actually hang these toy looking things on the tree and we can't play with them. Talk about a huge tease for a 20 month old. She has done so well though and has only taken a few off when I wasn't looking.

hanging the first ornament. see last year's pic

{side note, we didn't have the camera on the right setting to capture the prettiness of the tree lit up. it looks like it is bright as day but it was actually pretty dark in the room.}

unwrapping all the ornaments.

our tree is a collection of ornaments that were either given to us from friends and family before we got married at our "ornament shower" or are ones that have been in the family for many years. needless to say our tree is very eclectic but very special. it makes unwrapping the ornaments and remembering who they were from and the story behind them so much more fun.

these two gingerbread from the Burbachs were a favorite

but the most favorite thing of all was the bubble wrap

family pic with timer. come on macy! ;)

I also put another small christmas tree I already had on the bookshelf in Ava's room. We put lights and a few of her ornaments on there as well. Turning the lights on is always the first thing we must do after she wakes up.

And this is a random pick from last week that I think is cute. She loves standing on the stool in the bathroom, washing her hands, and looking at her self in the mirror. :)

Thanksgiving 2010

Alrighty, I think things have finally slowed down around here {for a little bit at least} for me to post Thanksgiving pics! We traveled 7 1/2 hours all the way to Corpus Christi for the big day and then drove to my dad's near San Antonio the day after Thanksgiving. It was a lot of car time but seeing my precious family made it all worth it. And Ava was an awesome traveler considering she was strapped in for so many hours and mommy and daddy did not want to stop!

More details of our Thanksgiving soon but first I have to post a few pictures from when our good friends The Price's stayed with us the night before we left. They flew in from Virginia for Thanksgiving and I was so glad that we were able to catch them before we left town. It had been almost an entire year since I had seen them AND I had never met Austin, their soon to be 1 year old! That has been really hard considering these friends are so special to us. I am so glad we were able to spend some quality time catching up and watching the kids play together.

Ava and Evey (3) chatting on their cells

Sweet sweet Austin who is almost walking! Isn't he the cutest?! And talk about a mellow happy go lucky baby!

Bathtime

Of course I wish we could have spent even more time with The Price's but we hope to take a little family vacation to see them sometime in the Spring. :)

On to Thanksgiving. We arrived at my Mimi and Big Bob's house Thursday evening and got to see Kay Kay and Bri, my aunt Lisa and cousins Ryan, Reagan, and Rachel. Ava was being your usual shy self most of the time which was a lot different when we were there close to this time last year. I wish she would have allowed the family to love on her more since they dont get to see her that often but everyone was so good about giving her her space and letting her slowly warm up to them.

I have said it before but being in Corpus at Mimi and Big Bob's is like being home for me. The yummy smells coming from Mimi's kitchen, Big Bob watching his tv in the garage :), the traffic of people all through the house, watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade, sitting around the table with my family eating and laughing.....those are memories that I will always cherish and why I love Thanksgiving so much!

It wasnt long before Ava had a pen and paper in hand. This was her designated pooping spot away from all the people where she could close the door if she wanted to. (Sorry Ava, I know you will hate me one day for sharing such things)

KayKay was surprisingly very good at making various animals out of playdo for Ava. Who knew?!

Taking a break

Mimi has been working countless hours cross stitching Ava's stocking and Ava got to open her very special gift. It is now hanging on the mantle next to mine that Mimi made me years ago.

Bri performed Thanksgiving night at Callalen's pep rally since their team is in the playoffs. I was so glad that I got to see her finally perform with her team! She's a natural!

Ava loved Mimi's cooking too. Especially the sweet potatoes and her special cranberry salad, just like her mommy!

Big Bob and Ava :)

Ava with Mimi and Big Bob

{I just love the way he smiles at her}

and Kay Kay joined in the photo as well

On Friday we drove about 2 hours to my dad's just south of San Antonio for a post Thanksgiving visit. Alli and Granny Jean were already there so I am glad that I got to see them too. My dad's wife Shirley cooked some amazing meals while we were all there. It was nice to sit by the warm fire, visit with family, while Ava was happily entertained by Shirley's granddaughte, Panda. Yes, her name is original but she is as cute as they come!

Panda and Ava got into the hair accessories

Panda was like Ava's big sister and shared all her toys so nicely

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving counting all your many blessings!

20 Months

(You insisted on wearing your wings in your picture. You were sick in this picture but still have that precious smile)

Sweet daughter of mine,

You are 20 months old and I still continue to be in awe at how fast you are growing up and changing month by month. I heard someone recently say that "the days go by slow, but the years go by fast" and I believe that is so true. Sometimes our days can seem so long, especially when you and I are bored at home and getting on each other's nerves, but I still wouldn't trade those long boring days for anything because I know before long you will be in school and I am going to miss these days with you terribly. I still find myself closing my eyes, saying a quick prayer of gratitude, and savoring all the special little moments that you and I have. Your daddy and I look at you all the time and say to each other "Gosh, she is the custest!". We couldn't be more proud to be your mommy and daddy.

Here are some things that you have been up to this month:

*You look so much bigger all of a sudden! You are tall, with long skinny legs, and beautiful long hair. Your features are becoming even more distinct. You were recently weighed when we went to the pediatrician and I about died when they weighed you on the "big" scale standing up and fully clothed! No more naked weight measurements in the baby scale for you. You weigh 26 pounds now by the way. No wonder mommy can't hold you for long!

*You love putting your shoes on by yourself. About 9 times out of 10 they are on the wrong feet and you do not like it if I try and fix them so often times we leave the house with your shoes on backwards. I think it is really cute!

*You still love to go on walks only now you would prefer to walk rather than ride in your stroller or pink car. You are always on the look out for "fowers" on our walks and must pick them so your hands are full.

*Your favorite shows these days are Dora the Explorer and Sid the Science Kid. You say just Dora and Sid for short. :)

*You have become a little parrot and will repeat just about anything we ask you to say. Your vocabulary is growing bigger and bigger although most people besides your mommy and daddy would never know it. You have become very good at saying the word no. As long as it isn't in response to something mommy has told you to do then I am usually ok with it.

*You have started counting things although you normally don't make it past 3.

*Coloring is still one of your all time favorite things to do and you are becoming so good at it! You hold your pencil/crayon perfectly, with no teaching from me I might add, and I am amazed everytime. I couldn't even get my 1st and 2nd graders to hold a pencil correctly and you are 1! You usually will pick something on the page to color and focus just on that rather than just scribbling all over the entire page. Again, amazed! I think you might have inherited the artistic Vaughan genes (although they skip a generation because I sure didn't get them).

* You got your first major sickness(es) this month. You had a stomach bug and then a week later got an Upper Respiratory Infection and Croup. We are still trying to get over the last two but you are still your normal happy self which makes me less worried. You are normally a very healthy little girl but even the healthy ones get sick sometimes too.

*Your shyness/stranger anxiety has become more apparent this month. Often times you won't even look people in the eye if they are looking at you or talking to you. Instead you just bury your head in my shoulder or cling on to my leg and hide. Looks like you inherited your introverted personality from your daddy and I.

*Anytime I leave the room for an extended period of time or if I have left home and then come back you always greet me with the sweetest "hiiiiiiii" and then give me a big hug. It reminds me how much you love me and how special I must be to you. It melts my heart and those are moments I never want to forget!

Well, 4 more months till your 2nd birthday! We have so many fun things to look forward to as a family before then though. Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner and I can't wait to see how much fun you will have. This will be your 2nd Thanksgiving and Christmas, but like Halloween, I think this year will be the first year that you can actually enjoy them!

I love you so much Ava! I can't tell you that enough! I'm sad you are growing up but each month that passes I am getting more and more of a glimpse of the sweet little person that God has created you to be. He has such big plans for you and I am so happy to be right along side of you to love you, encourage you, and pray for you. You make me so proud.

xoxo,

Momma