Taken for Granted

We had another great play date on Wednesday.  We went to the Whittle Shortline Railroad in Valley Park.  It was a very chilly day and the indoor train store was perfect for a little hour outting that let the kiddos get out a little energy.  I realized after being there and observing other kids just how well behaved Ava is.  I think I take for granted that she can sit in a restaurant for 1 1/2 - 2 hours and entertain herself by coloring or she can play quitely with Caeleigh, Sean and Carter without hitting or taking away their toys.  She is a shy but sweet little girl.  She's not so shy once you know her but she shares really well and doesn't have an aggressive bone in her body.  I love that kid so much and feel so very blessed to have her!

Ballerinas, Fairies, and Mermaids, Oh My!

These adorable little gals and guys were made by a talented lady, Dannielle, here in the St. Louis area.  Aren't they too cute!  You can check out all her little dolls on Etsy at Princess Nimble Thimble.  I adore the craftsmanship and all the little details.  Wouldn't these be cute for a little Valentine's gift or left behind by the tooth fairy for your little fairy or ballerina?  There might be a few of these showing up in our house soon... 

Big Days for Little Guys

January was a big month for a couple little guys.  Sean and Carter both turned one and that meant parties! Sean's was a train party (top 2 pics) and Carter's was a safari (bottom 2 pics).  It's so fun to get all the kiddos together for parties.  Happy birthday guys!!  I can't wait to see all the growing you do in the next year.

Printable Freebie

My mom has given me a subscription to Good Housekeeping for the past few years and I love it. They always have practical and useful information. I have numerous pages dog-eared to come back to later. In the February issue, there was an article on how to organize and keep your books from taking over your house. Very useful read for a book junkie such as myself. The article was helpful and even offered a printable freebie which I love!! They are these adorable bookplates and they even come in 3 styles. I think I'm going to print them out on full sheets of adhesive labels (8 1/2 x 11) and cut them out.

Completing the "H"

The infamous cheese face

Ava has been sick. It's been going on for almost 5 weeks now. We went from a fever to an ear infection to tonsillitis to having an allergic reaction to amoxicillin turning Ava into what we called in our house (very lovingly of course) reptile baby to the common cold and cough that won't let go. There was a small light at the end of the tunnel for about 4 days were I thought she was getting better but then she took a nose dive again. For all you who have little ones or have had them at one time, you know that if your child is sick and can't sleep that means you don't sleep either. For almost 5 weeks, we have been sleeping very irregularly. There have been a couple nights were I end up bringing her in bed with us until she falls into a coma sleep. Steve then very carefully carries her back to her bed. I am not one for having your kid in bed with you...ever!!

The other night she was coughing and coughing and it wasn't letting up. Steve went and got her to come sleep with us for a while. A while ended up turning into the entire night which was a first for us. There is a reason that the wee one doesn't spend the whole night with us other than being fearful of starting a bad habit...she hogs the king sized bed. Morning came and Steve and I were waking up on each edge of the bed and I commented on how she sleeps the wrong way. Steve casually comments, "Oh, she's just completing the "H". That made me laugh so hard that it woke Ava up. Ava started laughing because she saw us laughing but she had no clue why. Once the kid sat up, I was was laughing even harder due to the totally awesome bed head. It's a good thing I love that kid so much because we have been seriously lacking in the sleep department!!

2010 Theme

I'm not one for New Year's resolutions but I have been thinking a lot about my life in general lately. I need to make some changes. I've come up with a theme for 2010, if you will. That theme is balance. I have been solely Ava's mom for the last 18 months of my life and that is about it. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mom but it has really consumed me and other things in my life are falling away or being seriously neglected. I don't think I've been a great wife, friend, church member, exerciser (yeah, not sure if that's a word), and numerous other things that I used to be. As a way to bring balance in my life, other than being a mommy, I started a book club. I emailed a bunch of my girlfriends to see who was interested and I was surprised by everyone who was super excited. Now, I have never been in a book club, so starting one is a bit of a leap but I think we are off to a good start. There are 13 of us reading our first book, The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold. Everyone submitted ideas for books to read and then we voted. This was the winner. It's a small step towards bringing more balance into my life but a fun one. Now I can say that I'm feeding two of my loves which are reading and spending time with my friends (minus our precious kiddos).

On a side note, I think I will post here as we choose new books and after I have finished the book. If any of you are interested in reading with us who are not in the area, I would love for you to read with us and then comment about the books. If you are in the area and want to join in the reading fun let me know! We would love to have you!!

Pink Radio Flyer

Big Papa got Ava a pretty pink new tricycle for Christmas. She LOVES it. Here's the problem. She can't quite reach the pedals and that's frustrating for her. Therefore, after she loads up the basket in front with all her favorite friends and climbs on, she looks at us and says more. That means push me in Ava speak. Steve and I are more than happy to push the little bugger around the house a few times but it never seems to be enough for her...sigh. Just a few more inches and she'll be able to tool around our unfinished basement like a pro. Until then it looks like mom and dad will be the power behind the pedals. She does love it though and all the squeals and laughter make all the pushing so worthwhile.

Adorable Addresses

How cute are these?!? I have been trying to find a good reason to buy one of these from Lettergirl for several months now. I am almost out of return address stickers that I have had for years, so I think that is my excuse for getting one of these little guys. I can't decide which one though. They are all just too cute. It's the little things that I love in life that I get so excited about...like a stamp.

Say Cheese

Somewhere around Thanksgiving Ava picked up saying *cheese* whenever a camera appeared. I never taught her to say that so I'm not quite sure where she picked it up. We went from very stoic, serious pictures of Ava to very awkward, mouth half open, all the teeth in her mouth showing, looks likes she's in pain kind of pictures.

The other day the tripod for the camera was in the family room and Ava walked up to it and kept saying cheese even though there was no camera on it. Do you think we've taken enough pictures of this kid??

Skate Party!!!

My beautiful niece turned 8 on the 30th of December and she wanted to have a "real" birthday party. I guess her celebrations with her family weren't real :o) She and 9 of her friends had a skate party at a local skating rink in the area. It happened to be the rink that I went to when I was in elementary school. It was fun to revisit and see that the place hasn't changed one bit. Lexi had a blast skating for hours with her friends and so did her dad, my brother. It was a hoot!

There were several people there who were really good skaters (adults) and a lot of the men were skating arm in arm while doing some fancy footwork. One of the times Drew and Kevin skated around, they were in the lovely pose in the last picture showing us their moves. Too funny!!

My Little Secret

I.Love.Martha. There, I said it...out loud. I have always been a fan of her style, perfectionism, meticulious ways, and her ability to make money. I know her personality leaves a little to be desired but I really do admire her ambition and all she has accomplished. I met her almost a year ago when she was at Macy's for a book signing. I took Ava and was prepared to wait in the unbelievable line for her to sign my book. As as was waiting at the end of the line with hundreds of people in front of me, I started chatting with the ladies around me. All were super nice and helped pass the time until Martha started signing. While we were waiting and the line continued to grow behind us, a woman dressed very sharply came and asked if I wanted to come to the front of the line because I had a small baby with me. She worked for Martha and was instructed to do a sweep of the line to ask anyone with small babies to come to the front. She took Ava and I right up to the front of the line with a handful of other mothers with their babies. Martha arrived shortly and the signing began. We all got our books signed and Martha was so nice. She even said Ava was beautiful. And no I don't think she said that to all the mothers ;o) Needless to say we had a great time meeting Martha and her dogs even if Ava won't ever remember it!!

I wanted to share one of my recent Martha finds that I just printed out to use in our house. I thought it might be helpful to all you mother's out there too. Check out this cute illustrated phone list that will keep all those important digits handy for you and the babysitter. Thanks Martha!

Big Girl Snow

Today was Ava's first big girl snow that she could actually go out and play in. She still has a nasty cough and is taking amoxicillin for her ear infection and tonsillitis so it was a very short romp. She really did like it though. She was super excited about going outside because we have been in the house for so long due to illness. She threw a mini fit when it was time to come in. The girl was loving it even as snot ran down her little face. Hope you all are staying warm!!

A White, Hot Christmas

Sorry for the long neglect of the ol' blog here! We have been super busy with the holidays and the illness running through our house. This year the STL had a white Christmas which I can not remember the last time it actually snowed on Christmas day. It was pretty cool but Ava didn't really quite get it. That had to do with the hot part of our Christmas. Ava came down with a fever on Wednesday the 23rd and had one on and off until Sunday the 27th. Needless to say she was not her chipper self throughout all of our Christmas festivities. We had to cancel a bunch of family plans and ended up having immediate family over to our house on Christmas Eve and Day. We didn't want to expose the extended family to our sickness but you know Grandmas and Grandpas still want to see the little one for the holiday. Steve and I both ended up catching what Ava had but no fever. Steve and I are on the mend but Ava now has tonsillitis and an ear infection. The poor kid just can't catch a break! I hope you all had a very blessed and happy Christmas and New Year with your families.

On a side note, the red and green outfit was a daddy pick...I'm just saying.