Bye Bye Summer

Since I haven't done a slideshow in so long I thought it would be fun to do one of all of Ava's fun activities this summer. Enjoy!

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Toddler Bed and Terrible Twos

Tonight is the 3rd night Ava has been sleeping in her "big girl bed"! She has been ready for a long time. You might even say since Christmas when she first learned how to get out of her crib. Thanks to the trusty sleepsack we prolonged it for quite awhile. Sunday was the big day! We converted her crib to a toddler bed and she has done really well with the transition (with the exception of not napping one day but that was a rough day around these parts. Can we say Terrible Twos!!). We told her that the rule for her big girl bed was that she was not allowed to get out of bed until mommy or daddy came to get her. Surprisingly she has stuck to that rule pretty well. The first night she seemed a little scared or unsure of her bed, despite the fact that is the exact same bed. We went through our normal bedtime routine and layed her down in her "new" bed without her sleepsack. When we tucked her in she had a worried look on her face and kept saying "light on" and "mommy sleep right here" as she pointed to the floor by her bed. I then asked her if she wanted to wear her sleepsack and she quickly said yes. Afterwards she seemed to be a lot more relaxed so we kissed her goodnight and left the room. We watched her monitor closely to see what she would do but after a few minutes of lifting her head up and looking around her dark room she went to sleep and didnt wake up till 8:30 the next morning! I guess she just needed the comfort of her sleepsack that she has been sleeping in for the last 8 months (wow, it's been that long?!). Im happy to say though that after two successful times sleeping in her bed she doesnt ask to wear the sleepsack anymore. I'm so proud of my big girl!

Someone's excited about her new bed!

Testing it out

Nighty night sweet angel

(so the randomness of her bedding stresses me out a little (it's a fault of mine) but I am waiting for her pillowcase to arrive in the mail that matches her cute owl sheets and quilt that Gigi got for her at PB. I grabbed the most comfy (and biggest) blanket of hers that I could find so she would sleep comfortably the first night. We will be matchy matchy soon!

Ahh, I hate to end the post on a bad note, especially looking at that cute face, but I just have to vent! The terrible two's have struck the Seamans' house and they are TERRIBLE! It's like my sweet child has turned into someone I don't know. Ever since we returned from our Wyoming trip our days have been filled with lots of crying fits and sometimes over the most ridiculous things ever (like the sprinklers not coming on when she wants them to! What?!) Anytime she doesn't get her way with something or I ask her to do something she doesn't want to do, whether it is a toy that she drops in the car or me telling her it's time to stop playing because we need to _____, she throws the biggest fit! We almost had to leave our playdate at Amy and Brinley's house twice the other day because of her disobedience and rudeness to her friend. So embarressing! I am trying my best to stick to my guns and not give in to her demands or let her get her way. I know this is something that she just needs to work through and realize that she isn't the one in control but it is draining the energy and patience out of me. I can't help but take it personally somedays. Please tell me that this is normal behavior and that she will grow out of it!!!!! Please!

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

We had an amazing trip to Wyoming! The weather was so beautiful and we enjoyed spending most of our time outdoors. We owe a huge thank you to Papa and Gramielle for inviting us along with them and for all the fun they had planned for us!

We took the earliest flight out of DFW and left at 6:30 am. Waking up at 4 was not enjoyable but we have found that flying early with Ava works best for her and us. We arrived in Jackson around 10:30 or so and had plenty of time to eat lunch and then put Ava down for a nap. We stayed at the Alpine House, a cute little Bed and Breakfast, and if you ever go to Jackson I highly recommend it. After naptime we drove a short distance to Grand Teton National Park and drove around to get a closer look at the Grand Tetons and explore outside.

We stopped at this cute little chapel in the park to walk around and take some pictures.

Then we went to one of the visitor's centers to look around inside. Ava got her picture by the grizzly bear that was "pretend". We use that word often these days so she doesnt get scared by things.

Love this picture with Ava and her Papa and Gramielle

Just beautiful!!

The next morning, Thursday, we took a long boat ride down the Snake River. Our guide, Bernie, was excellent and we enjoyed taking in the scenery and getting the inside scoop of great places to eat and fun things to do while we were there. Part of the river tour was a picnic lunch on the boat. So fun! Unfortunately I didnt bring my camera on the boat because I didn't want it to get wet. Little did I know we would hardly encounter any kind of white water and I dont think any one us got the slightest bit wet.

In the bed and breakfast Ava found this game set with all kinds of chess and checkers pieces, to name a few, and it provided lots of entertainment while we were hanging out.

Gramielle knew of Ava's love for buttons so she collected a few good ones and gave them to her on our trip to also keep her entertained. She also got her some colorful rocks, stickers, and band aids. They were life savers on our long car ride to Yellowstone. More on that later.

After the boat ride, Ava took a nap and Mikey and his dad went fly fishing for the afternoon. When Ava woke up, the girls walked around town for a little bit and got ice cream!

She brought along her bags of rocks and buttons too. I couldn't believe she actually posed for me so I could take her picture!

Won't be the last time you see our picture under the infamous antler arches.


On Friday morning we got an early start to make our trip to Yellowstone. We were in the car for what seemed like forever but it was worth it and Ava did great. I had no idea that Yellowstone was as big as it was, 2.2 million acres, and that driving from one sight to the next could take up to an hour or more. It was so beautiful though and I just couldn't help but think of what an amazing God we have that He could create something so magnificent. It's so humbling to think that although we were surrounded by such God- made beauty he actually created US to be his most special and beautiful creation of all. It made me smile to think about.

Our first stop in Yellowstone was Old Faithful. It goes off about every 90 minutes and we got there 30 minutes before it went off. We found a seat amongst the crowd of people and waited patiently.

She stretched her legs and played in these rocks while were waiting.

Next, we stopped by one of the beautiful waterfalls in the "Grand Canyon" section of Yellowstone. It was a short hike down to see them so we put Ava in the backpack.

At the edge of the waterfall. Scary stuff, especially when you see your baby dangling so close to the edge!

I quickly made my way to her and gave her the death grip on her arm.

Ava got to see her first rainbow by the falls

The edge!!!

I'm not gonna lie, the hike back up was a little tiring so we took a breather.

A little further up the road we found a great spot to take a far away look at the falls.

It was a little rainy so Ava and I needed to wear our hoods. :)

We saw some bison...

(these are by another geyser in the park)

We also saw some Elk. Here you see remnants of the fire that burned about 40% of Yellowstone in the 80's. It was sad to see so many trees destroyed by the fire.

Another rainbow!

We were hoping to see a Moose or a bear in Yellowstone but no luck. We did however see two bears on our drive back home outside of Yellostone so that was exciting.

On Saturday, we had the blessing of being able to meet up with three of our best friends, The Burkharts! When we booked the trip and were telling Jenny and Zack about it we were shocked and excited to find out that they were going to be in Jackson with Zack's parents the EXACT same time as us! That is a God thing if you ask me!!! It was so special and a memory I will never forget to be able to meet up with them. It was the icing on the cake! We decided an easy hike between two of the mountains in the Grand Tetons would be the perfect activity to enjoy together while we were there. Jenny, who is 7 months pregnant, did amazing and never complained once! What a trooper!

Our piggy -tailed cuties, Ava and Bekah, were so happy to be reunited!

Our best friends

Our sweet family

I had to include this one...this chipmunk was sitting on this rock just staring at Jenny as she walked by. Hilarious!

The girls and their daddy's checking out the chipmunks.

The Burkarts (with baby Benjamin on the way)

Us :)

Sweet Bekah fell asleep in her backpack towards the end of our hike. We were encroaching on lunch and naptime.

After the hike we had a yummy lunch with The Burkharts before we parted ways. I forgot to mention that Zack's mom, Nora, whom I admire and love to be around was also with us on our hike! I am so glad that we got to share this once in a lifetime opportunity with the Burkharts!

Later that afternoon, we walked around the town one last time and got one more pictures with the entire group under the antler arches.

We flew back the next morning and Ava said "bye bye mountains". It was bittersweet to leave. We had more fun than I imagined but we had one sleep deprived little girl. Papa and Gramielle, we can't thank you enough for such a wonderful trip with the two of you! Love you!

To see way too many pictures from the rest of our trip click on the Shutterfly link on the right of the blog.

Big time slacker

I'm still alive.....just being super lazy about getting all the pics from our Wyoming trip uploaded. It's a daunting task and I just keep putting it off. BUT, I have given myself a deadline of tomorrow to get them uploaded so stay tuned!

Weekend Fun with Papa, Nana, and Friends

Last weekend we drove to San Antonio to spend some time with Papa and Nana and to visit some special friends. It was the perfect weekend and we all enjoyed every minute of it.

There was so much for Ava to do at Papa and Nana's! This girl was in heaven! (Nana has another granddaughter so their house is stocked with fun girl toys)

She played with the giant dollhouse and made a new kitty friend (the newest animal on Papa and Nana's "farm")

She got to pet Dotty the chicken who lets you hold her

She rode a tricycle

These are my dad and Shirley's chickens who just roam around in the yard with the dogs and cats. Hilarious to watch, especially when all the roosters start crowing at one time!

Papa pushed her in the swing

She rode in the coupe car

Did some gardening in the dirt

Of course she had to get some coloring in with her new friend


Saturday night while Papa and Nana watched Ava, Mikey and I met up with some of our good friends to celebrate Kristen and Scott's upcoming wedding. The couples shower was so much fun and it was great to get to catch up with friends without having to worry about our kids. (I didnt bring my camera so unfortunately I dont have any pictures from our night)

On Sunday morning we sadly said goodbye to Papa and Nana and went over to The Reynolds' house to meet their new baby girl, Hannah. She is just as adorable and sweet as I thought she would be!

So happy for my bestie Paige! Isn't Hannah precious with all that hair!?

The Isaacsons and Burkharts also joined us to meet the newest addition to the Reynolds family. I am glad we got to see their faces again and get all of our kids together to play, something that we very rarely get to do. I absolutely hate that we all live in different towns and we dont get to watch each other's kids grow up. It makes me really appreciate mornings like this that we get to spend together watching our kids play together.

We let the kids play outside for as long as we could stand the heat.

Big brother Ray giving me his cute new smile. :)

Bekah, rocking her pink tutu bathing suit, is recently potty trained and went poo poo in the potty while we were there so we celebrated with a group hug! Yay for Bekah! What a big girl!

We couldn't leave without a group shot. I absolutely love each and every one of these kids!

(Alex, Bekah, Ray, Ava, Ellie, Hannah)

Not the most lady like pose from my child but at least she is smiling. I think the rest of them were stunned by Ava's daddy waddling around in front of them like a chicken to get them to smile.

*More pics from our weekend on the Shutterfly site!