Our New Little Man

Popping in to share a few pictures of our new little man, Cole Steven.  He was born Wednesday, Feb. 16th at 5:15pm weighing 8lbs. 15 ozs.  

Things are going to be a little slow on the blog for a while until I get into some kind of routine with the new wee one and Ava.  Now to try to catch up on some sleep...

Parents Shouldn't Text

My darling husband sent me a link to www.parentsshouldnttext.com.  Being less than 2 weeks away from giving birth, I should not have browsed this site.  I came very close to peeing my pants...multiple times!  Too, too funny!!!

Warning: some of the messages are a little inappropriate but still really funny.

Imagination at it's Best

Ava's at the point in her playing that is really fun for me to watch and eavesdrop on.  She makes things up and has her animals talk to each other.  Most of the time she uses phrases that I say or Steve says.  Her favorite pretend play right now is using her doctor kit on all her animals.  She refers to herself as Dr. Ava as she diagnoses and fixes up all her furry patients.  She also likes to garden while in the tub.  She has a favorite little watering can that she plays with while taking a bath.  She even sings to her flowers as she waters them.  The things that come out of her mouth just make me smile.   

While she loves pretending, it often leads to this at naptime.  

Not so much napping and a whole lot of playing until eventually she passes out. At least for now she is still taking naps and for that I'm grateful!

Naturally Sweet Valentine's Idea

Images: Twig and Thistle

We go through a lot of fruit around here.  Right now our big kick is anjou pears which have been really, really good in the stores lately.  When Ava wakes from her nap she usually wants a small snack and instead of reaching for Teddy Grahams or pretzels, she wants fruit.  I'm happy to oblige her.  We share with Simon, our bun, too.  He couldn't be happier with that snack option either.  

As I was reading through some blogs, I ran across these stickers which are adorable and a nice departure from the sickeningly sweet candy that most people are forcing in your face around Valentine's Day.  Go check out her blog, Twig and Thistle to download these and several more stickers for a healthier holiday.

Seriously...

He makes me smile.  His check fluff reminds me of our bun, Simon.  Check out all of Veronika's other creations on her Etsy site.  There are so many cute little guys.  The businessman cat has so much personality too.  

Kids Project for Valentine's Day

The snow is here and we've been stuck in the house for 7 days now between Ava being sick and now the weather.  I've pretty much exhausted my ideas of things to do.  I'm hoping that tomorrow we can venture out into the winter wonderland to expend some of her energy.

Today, I got together a few materials for Ava to make her own Valentine's for her friends.  Here's what you'd need to make these too...

*Some festive scrapbook paper shapes.

*A glue stick:  This was the first time that Ava has used a glue stick and now she's obsessed!  She glued these flowers for almost an hour.

*Crayons or markers if the little artist decides to add a splash of color.

*Some photos of the wee one to make them even more personal.

I let Ava do these all by herself.  She picked out everything from the supplies I gave her and she went to town creating.  It's amazing what a little glue, paper and crayons can do for a budding 2 year old artist.  

For another easy Valentine idea, check out this post from last year.  The fingerprint hearts are super easy for little ones under 2 to make their own art.

Winter Storm

elde

We're preparing for a winter storm here in St. Louis.  From the way people act, you would think we are going to be under 6 feet of snow for weeks with no power, heat or food.  What's predicted is ice followed by up to a foot of snow.  Don't get me wrong, that is significant but stores are out of bread and milk because people are so worried.  I, on the other hand, am trying to plan plenty of activities for the next couple of days to keep little Ava busy while keeping my sanity.  We're making Valentine's tomorrow and played with play dough making robots for over an hour today.  

During nap time I was doing a little Etsy browsing and discovered these little lovelies.  Don't they look so warm and snuggly?  Perfect for waiting out a winter storm while having hot tea by the fire.