It's the Ava Marie Clubhouse

Yesterday we spent most of the day at the house so that I could unpack from our trip to San Antonio (post coming soon) and do laundry. It was the perfect day for a tent in the kitchen, or clubhouse as Ava called it, so that my little munchkin would be entertained.

She brought way too many toys in her clubhouse (whoa there Barbie!) and she even gathered all the picture frames she could find to decorate her space. :)

There was still plenty of room for Macy though. I love my sweet girls! I could just kiss their faces all day!

Gigi and Bpop sent a special package last week filled with new boxes of bandaids so I thought this was a good day to let her play with them. Our legs were covered in them!

Kay Kay and Bri also sent her this pretty dress from their trip to Florida. I think you can tell from the picture how much she liked it!

Sometimes lazy days like these are some of our most fun!

A Walk Down Memory Lane- Summer 2010

I was looking back at videos of Ava this time last year and couldn't help but repost a couple of videos of her. I could watch these videos for hours.

This one is proof that she has loved coloring from such an early age. Click here for the Video

Here is one with some of her first words

And this final one is from a few weeks ago on one of our walks just for comparison of how much she has grown in the past year.

Please Pray

I am numb and just heartbroken for this sweet family who lost their precious baby yesterday to brain cancer. I have been praying for him along with Callie, Amy's friend's daughter who also has brain cancer, for weeks now. I have no words to describe my emotions. My friend Jennie wrote a beautiful post about this precious baby and his family that is more than I can write at this moment. I dont know this family but I know how bad they must be hurting....losing your child is something that I cannot even bare to think about and I am absolutely grief stricken for them.

Please pray for the Sikes Family. That our Heavenly Father would comfort them and surround them with His love during this difficult time and that their story will minister to the hearts of others and draw them closer to our God.

Please also pray for 2 year old Callie who is also battling brain cancer. Pray that God would heal her tiny body and free her from cancer and that He would bring comfort and peace to her parents. Please perform your miracle oh Lord!


I feel absolutely helpless for these families but I know the one thing that I (we) can do is pray. Will you join me?

Stickers

Anytime we take Ava to church or to the YMCA they always put her name tag sticker on her back. No surprise there however lately she thinks that all stickers, which also include address labels, belong on our back and hers (and Macy). It is really funny until you get stopped in the store because you have address labels stuck to your back and sometimes your butt. Thanks Ava!

And I swear she doesnt run around every day without pants on! For some reason recently all of our pictures of her at home have been of her pantless.

Big Day for Our Big Girl

Yesterday was a big day for Miss Ava! She got her new school backpack and lunchbox in the mail and couldn't wait to put it on {and fill it with all sorts of playfood from her kitchen beforehand}. She walked around so proudly and looked like such a big girl. {tear...}

She definitely looks like she is going to school but we were just going to run an errand and she insisted on wearing it to the car.

And yes it's a little big....but I ordered the size up from the typical preschool backpack because the preschool size is so tiny and I wanted her to be able to use this one for awhile. Plus it holds her matching lunchbox and any papers she may have from school perfectly. I love it when Pottery Barn has sales!

The biggest excitement though was last night when she FINALLY went tee tee in the potty!!! Woohoo!

I have been asking her for months now if she wants to try and go on the potty and she has not been the least bit interested....until I finally bribed her with candy! Why didnt I try this sooner? She sat on her potty several times after I told her I would give her candy if she went but still no luck. It was better than not trying though so I was pleased. Right before bathtime I asked her if she wanted to try now that daddy was home and she said yes and actually went!!! It was very exciting and she was very proud of herself!

{You may have been asking yourself why her potty is in the kitchen??!! Not your typical place to go potty but I wanted to have it nearby us during the day so that if she felt the urge to go then it would be close by. We will not be keeping it here for the record. Talk about unsanitary!}

Getting her candy, smarties to be exact. I was surprised that she didnt throw a fit and want more after only eating 4 but she knew she would get more next time she went potty. We are by no means ready for full potty training just yet but I am so proud of her for making this first step. I want her to become a little more comfortable and familiar with going on the potty before we really get serious about it.

Congrats my sweet BIG girl!! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

Our Little Nurse

I have mentioned before Ava's obssession with bandaids. The other day she found some boo boo's on mommy and daddy that she thought needed some attention. Click here to watch. (youtube was being difficult so I had to include the link rather than actual video)

July 4, 2011

We had a wonderful 4th of July! This was the first year that I felt like Ava was really able to enjoy it. We had a jam packed day full for friends and fun!

In the morning we met up with Carter family for University Park's 4th of July parade.

Posing for a few pictures before the parade

Trying to hold up four fingers

The Carters had their wagon decked out for the 4th and the kids happily let Ava ride in it as we walked to the parade.

Watching the parade with Daddy

Ava, Kevin, Chris, and Mikey

She waved to all the people and cars that went by.

Still waving

The Carter Family

The Seamans Family

After a good long nap we dressed Ava in her swimsuit and went to The Wolters' house for a 4th of July supper club edition.

Luke and Ava played outside in the kiddie pool and slip-n-slide while we grilled burgers and hot dogs.

We had ice cream cones for dessert!

After ice cream we changed the kids back into their red, white, and blue and took them to the Castle Hills town square for fireworks. Little did we know they weren't going to start till 930 so we didnt end up staying. We watched them from The Wolters' front steps instead and to say Ava loved them is an understatement. She kept saying "oohhh, pretty" and just talked about them the whole time. Before leaving the town square though we took a few cutie patootie pictures of the lovebirds!

This one just makes me smile! Young love, so sweet!!

My beautiful little firecracker!

Thanks Carter, Wolters, and Haile family for such a memorable 4th of July!!!

And en extra bonus picture from our visit with Granny Jeanne this week :)