Halloween costume preview

Ava decided she wanted to be Tinker Bell for Halloween this year so I have been on the hunt to find an affordable costume. We found this one at a resale shop yesterday for $9! I have a feeling she will be wearing it everyday until Halloween. When she looked at herself in the mirror you could tell she thought she looked so pretty. I would agree!



And just so you know she has told me from day one that she wants me to be a bee and wants daddy to be either Captain Feathersword (from the Wiggles) or Diego. We'll let you know how that goes!

2 1/2 years old

My sweet Ava Marie, you are 2 1/2 years old and I just can't believe you are getting so big! Here are a few things I want to remember about your 2 1/2 year old self.

*You are already very caring and compassionate towards others. If someone is ever hurt or sad I can instantly see the concern on your face and your loving actions towards them melts my heart. Whether it's giving them a band aid (because you think this is the cure all for everything) or giving them one of your favorite toys to hold, or saying a prayer for them to feel better....you already try in whatever way you can to help ease their pain. It's so sweet when either I or daddy leave to go somewhere and you tell us "to be very very careful" and if a car is approaching our car or close by you say "watch out for the car momma". I love seeing these special qualities that God has given you.


*You are sweet about 95% of the time but you do have your moments where the terrible two's like to peak through. You are very independent and know what you want. If you are frustrated with something you are trying to do or something isn't given to you that you want you tend to get upset and cry. We are learning how to stop, take a deep breath, and use your big girl voice to tell me things that you want or need (not all of which is given to you). You do a good job at calming down when I ask you to and watching you take a deep breath makes me smile. :)

*You are obsessed with princesses and princess castles, all thanks to the movie Tangled which I think we have seen about 100 times by now. You like to walk around the house in my heels and put princess crowns on you, me, daddy, and Macy. If we take off the crown you get very upset with us. You think all steeples on churches and sky skyscrapers are "princess castles" so anytime we are in the car we are on a princess castle hunt. :)

*While you love princesses and like to wear dresses you also still love to play in the dirt, talk about bugs, growl on occasion (??), and I even caught you a time or two making your little family figurines ram into each other like they are fighting. I guess I can say you are well rounded and have lots of interests???

*You love going to school and learning new things. One of my favorite parts of Tuesdays and Thursdays is when I pick you up and you have a big smile on your face and you give me a huge hug. I am so glad you like school and that you feel comfortable enough for me to leave you for a few hours so you can be with your new friends and soak up new things and experiences.

*A cute little quark about you is that you like for all bedroom and bathroom doors in the house to be closed. Even if you have a handfull of toys, if you notice a door is open you will put everything down and close it. Same is true for your closet door in your bedroom. Before naptime and bedtime you like for everything to be picked up off your floor and put in it's proper place. Wish you did the same in other areas of the house! You are getting much better at picking up your toys before moving on to another toy but you aren't as concerned about making messes in other rooms as much as your room.

*You are still a good eater for the most part. You have your days where you don't want to eat much but it doesnt last long and then you are back to eating full meals and asking for more. Your favorite thing to eat for breakfast are pancakes and waffles and rasberries. You ask for this almost every day! Other things you like to eat are carrots and cucumber with ranch dip, pretzels, raisins, any fruit except for grapes, yogurt, fruit snacks, pb & j sandwiches, chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese.

*You are sleeping in a toddler bed and are doing so well at staying in your bed. Most days you take between a 2-3 hour nap but getting you to your room to nap is always a challenge. You would much rather play than sleep.

*On occasion you like to pick out what you wear and you almost always request a "pink dress and jellies". Like mother like daughter! (Mommy loved jellies too).You are more picky about what shoes you wear so often times rather than fight that battle I either let you wear what you want or I pack other shoes in my purse and we change them later in the car when you are distracted.

*You are fascinated with all animals and anytime we look through books with animals you inevitably ask us "Mommy/Daddy like _____?" about each.and.every.animal. It's cute though and we play along.

*When we are outside you like to play with sidewalk chalk or help us pick weeds. You also like to dig in the dirt and chase Macy.

*You like to identify people as either a boy or girl and anytime we are talking about someone you will often times remind me that he or she is a boy/girl.

*You can get in and out of your carseat and booster seat by yourself.

*Your favorite things to do around the house are color, play dress-up, play with your button collection, play with your doll and pet dress up magnets, play in your kitchen, play in the bathroom sink, and watch tv.

*I can already tell that you are beginning to love Jesus. You love to look through your bible and have mommy or daddy read stories about Him. We pray daily for Jesus to help those in need and you know that Jesus is always there to protect you and keep you safe, like Mommy and Daddy. I pray that your love for Him will continue to grow and that He will be your everything.

Ava, you amaze us each and every day with your beautiful heart and adorable personality. You always have us smiling and we love you more than you will ever ever know. You are our precious gift and being your parents is our greatest honor and blessing. I love you sweet girl.

xoxo, Momma

Beaumont

On Labor Day weekend we drove to Beaumont to visit Gigi and Bpop. We had big plans to go to the beach and play in Gigi's pool but it decided to rain all weekend so we were stuck indoors. It didn't matter though because we all had a great time playing inside, especially Ava.

We got in late Friday night and it was straight to bed for Ava but as soon as she woke up in the morning she discovered lots of little goodies Gigi and Bpop had bought for her. It was like Christmas!

Before no time she was in her cardboard house playing. Seriously the best $10 Gigi ever spent was on this house that she bought for her back in December.

Her and Emily the kitty became aquainted again

She didn't want to play alone in her house for too long so she invited Gigi in

Rain, Rain, Go, Away, Ava Marie wants to play

As always she consumed large amounts of sugar while at Gigi's (and mommy too!)

We went to the Yogurt Spot for frozen yogurt one rainy afternoon

Bpop bought Ava her favorite breakfast treat, donut with pink icing and sprinkles!

She gave Gigi lots of lovin'...and bandaids

But saved some hugs for her daddy

Gigi didn't have any princess crowns for us to wear but when Ava saw this sticker she thought Daddy deserved to wear it :)

Uncle Jim stopped by for a quick visit and was a great sport to go in Ava's house with her. I think Ava is starting to bring out his softer side. (She clearly looks annoyed but I promise she loved it!)

A little couch time with the boys

Thanks Gigi and Bpop for a wonderful weekend. Rain or shine we always love to come play!

Green Day with Brinley

A few weeks ago, when we were at the heart of our Terrible Two phase, we went over to Amy and Brinley's house for a playdate. Amy has been having color themed days with Brinley so they invited us over for Green Day! She is super creative and the Kindergarten teacher in her totally came out.

The girls first played in the water table filled with green colored water and green toys

The princesses sat at their green throne for a picture

Then we came inside to make green frog puppets

Cute huh?

The other activity that Ava wasn't participating in because she was too busy having a meltdown over a toy was cutting out green things from a magazine and gluing them on paper.

Once she cooled off, she was able to enjoy her green muffin tin lunch with her friend Brinley. (Her and I both wore all green to celebrate the day)

I told you Amy was creative! The girls did so well eating all thier green food!

Thanks Amy and Brinley for hosting Green Day and inviting us over!

1st day of school

Today was Ava's first day of Preschool! She did just as great as I expected and had a wonderful day! Momma had a great day too! ;) It felt so weird not having her with me as I ran all my errands but I have to say I enjoyed every minute of it! I knew she was having a fun and in great hands.

I made her a special lunch with all her favorite things

And when I went to put it in her lunchbox I saw this sweet note from daddy

I asked if she could give me a thumbs up and this is what she did. We'll have to work on that (especially for Gig'em Aggie purposes) but for now we'll just say she was holding up the #1 for the 1st day of school!

Ava and one of her teachers Miss Karen

As soon as she got her picture taken with Miss Karen she was off. I had to go in and ask her for a hug and kiss goodbye! I knew my little Miss Independent would not have a problem saying goodbye. No tears from her or momma! I thought I would be a little more emotional about leaving her but the fact that she instantly felt comfortable being there and didn't look back made me realize that we made the right decision to put her in school. She is going to love it and I will too!

On a side note about her nap. She didn't nap at school, no surprise whatsoever, but her teacher said she did stay on her nap mat the entire time. Once we got home she wanted a snack and needed to take care of some business and then I layed her down in her bed to see if she would sleep. The girl was crazy exhausted (tired sillies we call them in our house). I am happy to report she fell asleep! Not happy to have her away from me again but happy that she is getting the rest that she needs after a very exhausting day.

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!

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

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!