Christmas and Courtship

We enjoyed Ava's preschool Christmas program on December 14th - the kids did a really great job with their 5 songs and then we all stayed for treats and fellowship in the church hall afterwards. Ava was Angel #5. The day before, Ava told us that she proposed to Logan at school. He said yes. We got to meet him at the program and then shared the big news with his mom. She looked at Ava and asked, "Are you Ava W.?" Logan's mom then explained that Logan talks about Ava W. at home all.the.time. Here is the happy couple. This December has gone on record as Minnesota's biggest snowfall to date with somewhere around 33 inches. A substantial portion of this accumulation fell on Saturday, December 11th. Scot had been in Yuma, AZ on a Guard trip since the previous Sunday and was supposed to return on Friday - the day before the snow fell. However, a mechanical problem with their plane delayed them one day which then caused them to be "stuck" in Arizona another day because they couldn't fly into MSP due to the weather. Sigh. After a week of playing single mom (and the previous 2 weeks were mostly single too), I was not thrilled. We were supposed to have breakfast with Santa that Saturday morning and 2 birthday parties but everything was cancelled. And I snow-blowed and snow-blowed and snow-blowed. Thank goodness for the snowblower, but it was still a chore. This was the special picture I texted Scot to show just how happy I was...
Bundling up 2 kids in winter gear each time and trying to make sure they were also safe and OK while I cleared the driveway took another toll. The last time I went out (to tackle the literally 3 foot by 3 foot wall at the end of the driveway), I gave up and left them inside, turned on cartoons and told Ava to watch Reese. Yes, a 5 year old watching a 2 year old. By some miracle, they were still OK when I came in 45 minutes later. Anyway, Scot made it home safely on Sunday around 4 pm., well after all of the snow was done falling of course...

Anyway...all of this snow has made Ava a very happy girl! She loves to be outside and the snowpile that has accumulated in the middle of the culdesac is really icing on the cake. This is what it looked like last weekend and we've had another 5 or so inches since then...Reese isn't nearly as much of a winter fan like Ava is. She often stands in the garage while the rest of us play or work.



We've been busy with other Christmas preparations too...last Sunday we went to downtown Minneapolis to see the Macy's display and pay a visit to Santa. We all really enjoyed the display and the girls sort of enjoyed seeing Santa. Reese didn't want anything to do with sitting on his lap and Ava was really hesitant at first too, but she eventually warmed up and told him she wanted a dolphin pillow pet.

We also got on the ice rink for the first time and made dozens of spritz cookies. Fun and yum!




We've had our tree up for 3 weeks and it still looks great, despite getting knocked over once by Ava. And the other decorations have been up, the stockings have been hung, the list was made...we were definitely ready for Santa's visit.

Merry Christmas! A look back...

I started tinkering around with digital scrapbooking while I was pregnant with Ava - I haven't done much with it, but I have made Christmas cards and birthday invitations for our family and for friends over the past several years. Here's a look at our family's cards since 2005. How things have changed...

This is the first year I haven't made the card myself, mostly due to general fatigue from being a single mom for most of 3 weeks in late November and into December. So I got some help from Snapfish.












Without scanning it in, I'm not sure how to copy and post our 2010 card here...but here is the family picture that I used from our trip to Florida. Merry Christmas! More posts to come from the busy days of December...

Florida • Friends • Family • FUN

This post is LONG overdue...so here we go.

We hit Clearwater Beach, FL the last week of October with our great friends Jess & Jared and their two daughters Keira (3) and Anna (6 mo).

We rented a house with its own pool that was also just a few blocks away from the beach. We had our own 3 season porch, pool, backyard, kitchen, etc...so we made a lot of meals at home and spent A LOT of time in the pool. It was a great setup for our needs (well, and for our wants too!) We didn't try to pack too much in and really did a lot of relaxing. Well, as much relaxing as you can do with 4 kids age 4and under ;-)

Jess and I took Keira and Ava to Magic Kingdom one of the days - and while it was hot (like 90 degrees and not a cloud in the sky), it was fantastic! We all had a great time and it was surprisingly not busy at all. We were able to get on most of the rides in under a 5 minute wait. And we made seeing the princesses (Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle) our first order of business - another short wait and 2 VERY happy little girls!

On another day we all went to the Tampa Zoo - and had a similar experience to Disney. Hot weather, but very few people. Jared and Scot took the big girls on a dolphin boat ride too one afternoon. We all ventured out to dinner one night and then we swapped babysitting a couple of other nights so we could each have a date night dinner - it was great.

The backyard pool was probably everyone's favorite attraction. Ava and Keira were both able to swim independently with the help of floatation devices. And the last couple of days, Ava bravely tried swimming without her water wings and did a great job! Reese LOVED the water. The first time that Jess and I had the girls out by the pool, Reese literally walked right in. Thank God I was within a few feet of her! She jumped into the pool over and over and over again and got the hang of floating around pretty quickly. The adults liked the pool just as well, especially during naptime :-) Jess and I did a lot of sunning and reading...while Jared and Scot tried to prove their manhood with various stunts into the pool. If anything, they were good for a lot of laughs.

Awesome time all around...though we agreed that in a few more years it would be a lot more relaxing!

Just a sampling of the 500+ pictures from the week...

Quote of the day

"What does speechless mean?" Ava, 5.

They Do

The wedding of the year occurred on October 16, 2010. Let's see, so this post is only a little over a month overdue. Huge congrats to Julie and Todd - we couldn't be happier about them hitching up ;-)

The wedding week was a busy one...beginning with "wedding practice" as Ava called it on Wednesday, October 14th. Because the venue - the Como Park Conservatory - is a public attraction, the rehearsal times were limited. But look how beautiful it is...

It was then that the likelihood of Reese being a proficient flower girl was put into question. She wasn't too keen on walking on her own nor was she having anything to do with holding Ava's hand. Cute was only going to get her so far..so plans B, C, and D were discussed. And then we deferred to figuring it out later. Like on Saturday.

Thursday marked the end of one cast era (who knew we'd be revisiting this again so soon) as Reese's was sawed off that morning. Yay, the little girl had her arm back! The loud and foreboding saw was hugely traumatic, many tears were shed, many screams were screamed, but she survived. She used her arm tentatively for a day or two, but then was right back to bouncing, jumping, climbing, you name it.
Before

After

Friday night was the Groom's Dinner at Mufaletta in St. Paul. Todd's parents Dixie and Joe hosted a wonderful evening - great food, drinks, and company! We were lucky too in that my parents stayed home with the girls, so we could really have a relaxing evening :-) Todd gave a very touching speech that night that I will always remember. We are very lucky to have him in our family and I so wish that Di and Gardy were here with all of us, not only to share in that week's celebration but all of the years ahead.


Saturday finally came and the wedding day was perfect. From the beautiful fall weather, to the conservatory, to the ceremony, to the reception...it all fell into place. We made a game time decision to carry Reese down the aisle, while Ava walked on her own. She took her job very seriously and did great. Julie and Todd both looked incredible - it was such a happy time. The party continued at W.A. Frost in St. Paul with drinks and appetizers. Ava fell asleep watching a video on the restaurant floor while Reese hammed it up with the guests. My parents were nice enough to take them home early, while Scot and I enjoyed the rest of the evening with friends and family. Congratulations Julie and Todd!









I'm kicking myself for not getting more pictures of Ava and Reese in their dresses...but it was a busy day!

Here is a glimpse at some of the professional pictures from the day.

Miscellaneous

Good thing we already had a follow up appointment scheduled this morning at the orthopedist.

Ava and I were sitting on the couch Sunday morning when she said, "Hey Mom, watch this - my cast comes off." And then proceeded to...pull off her cast. I watched in horror, my mouth agape. I finally said something like "I think we should put that back on." And so she put it back on.

At the orthopedist office, the PA asked us how things were going and if the cast seemed to loose or anything. I told her that yes, it probably was a little too loose, telling her about yesterday's events. She said that wasn't too unusual - that Ava's wrist and arm were probably a lot more swollen when the cast went on. So, a sawed off pink cast, a few more xrays, and a new (red) cast and we were on our way.

We've had Monica the cast lady 4 times now...in 2 months. Hoping visit #5 is the last for a long, long time.

In other news...Reese has turned into a talking machine. She babbles nonstop and occasionally throws in some real words and 3-4 word phrases. We giggle now when she orders, "Ava, wash your hands!" after eating. Another favorite phrase is "Wash your body!" when she's in the bathtub...she will repeat this about 27 times each session and with much gusto. She definitely has turned into a little parrot. Got to watch what you say...

And this morning, when I got out of the shower, I found a surprise. Reese was walking down the hallway towards me, fully dressed. I looked around, remembered Scot wasn't home, so it could only be one thing.
"Ava, did you get Reese out of bed and get her dressed?"
"Yeah, Mom. I changed her diaper too."

This I could get used to.

Five.

And just like that, my baby girl is five.

Ava Marguerite entered the world at 4:05 pm on November 10, 2005. It's hard to believe that 5 years have passed since I first felt what it was like to hold a baby, MY baby, and know instantly what it was like to be a mom.

5 years later, I've watched my little baby evolve into a little girl. And an amazing little girl she is. At 5, she is really is her own little person and it is so fun to be a part of her life. Ava is very creative - her favorite things to do right now are drawing, coloring and playing with Barbies, Pet Shop Toys, and any other little toys that are nearly impossible to not misplace. And, it goes without saying, that she is still fearless when it comes to outdoor activities. Her broken wrist says it all. She loves to be read to and is just starting to recognize some words. She has been writing her name and our names for quite some time and can easily write other words when we tell her how to spell them. Ava also has a good heart - she is a great big sister and likes to play with Reese more than fight with her, so we're grateful for that. While her strong will can be a continuous challenge in our house, I'm hopeful it will be something she can use to her advantage as she grows older. I have no doubt she will get her way in life most of the time :-) I'm also impressed daily by her outgoing personality, as that is something that has never come naturally for me. Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl.

On Ava's actual birthday, I took the morning off of work and Scot and I took her to Caribou for a special breakfast after dropping off Reese at daycare. After that, I went to preschool with Ava. It was the first time I volunteered in her class and I really enjoyed it. She got to wear a birthday crown and the kids sang a birthday song to her during circle time. She chose 5 kids to be her candles and at the end of the song, she blew them out and they each fell to the ground. It was really cute. For the rest of the morning, I just helped manage the classroom and did different things to help the teachers. It was really fun to see Ava interact with her friends and teachers - she is very well-behaved in the classroom setting (at least we have that going for us!)



In the evening, we let her open the presents from us. Reese got her some new books and Scot and I got her a leotard, a Ken doll, and a huge set of Littlest Pet Shop Toys and buildings that I bought from a coworker. She was happy with all of it :-)

We had a party for her on the 13th - most of our friends and family were able to joing us for the festivities and we had a really nice celebration. She picked out a Barbie cake and had a lot of fun opening her presents and playing with the other 7 little ones there. I think one of her favorite things about her birthday party day was waking up to the 5+ inches of snow we got that night! Crazy!

Playing in the snow in the morning

The 5 year old!




And I'm horribly delinquent on a wedding entry and a vacation entry - one of these days...