ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Ava has been very very sick. I will spare you of details but Keegan and I have never seen someone so ill. awful. starting late Friday night. Hopefully on the mend and praying Keegan and I can stay healthy although now a cough sounds like an added bonus. However, if there is no more vomit I can handle it. It was the worst thing has ever happened to me as a mom. It was also so very scary. We were close to having to go to ER for dehydration but she managed to keep water down. just a little something i learned.... never run out of laundry detergent... always have a back up.

Christmas tree farm

2 weekends ago we went to the same farm Keegan and his family always chopped their Xmas tree down. we too began our own traditions. my dad was in town so we all went. Ava loved it.

its beginning to feel a lot like Christmas......

thanksgiving weekend pics

dancing with daddy
loving playing in the bath.... ava will run into th ebathroom and climb in the tub head first and turn water on... the part she is missing is taking her clothes off so we have to watch carefully
playground fun

George

So Ava has a deep deep love for Curious George. She went from not liking TV at all to really liking a few things and now for the past three months it is Curious George. She loves him. Keegan and I are pleased with her choice of this little monkey and the DVD we have that is watched for a little (sometimes a longer time depending on just how early she wakes up) every morning is Curious George Goes Green. Its all about Compost, planting Gardens and recycling. She really loves it and often talkes monkey to herself. yes really the ooo uuuuaaaa a monkey makes is often how ava talks to herself. Well this weekend we decided to treat her to Curious George Live the musical. I do not know who was more excited me or her. I just wanted to see what she would do. She went crazy.

ava loves decorations

pumkins, lights, decorations... ava goes nuts. she gets so excited and kicks her feet and points. we go on Halloween walks and drives all the time. it makes holidays so much more fun. excited to see her at Christmas

genuine excitement

this is Keegan's favorite picture of all time possibly. just look how happy she is right there. she had just finished riding on the mini ponies with Keegan walking beside her.

look what a year does to halloween

halloween carnival

this carnival is one of both Keegan and my most distinct memories of baby baby Ava. It is also one of the only things we have now done two times surrounding a holiday. Ava was into it big time and did not even know where to start. We were trying to write bzzzz on her cheek before she left and she was not having it so Keegan drew on both of our faces and from that mon on she new this was a different night. She was very excited during the car ride and once we got there she did not know where to start but she is likeing Halloween so far this year big time.

Ava's perfect pumkin....

Happy Birthday Keegan

Yesterday was Keegan's bday. He had to work all day but we did have some of the fam over after work for apple pie, choc chip cookies and brown sugar and ginger ice cream - (Keegans requests) to celebrate when he got off work. Ava had a ball and Keegan had fun playing with Ava and her cousins.

ha

just got home from an early morning walk with rufus... ava still in her monkey suit..... insists on wearing the ruby slippers that were actually my little sister Annas when she was little and are still about 4 sizes too big and walking around the house very seriously talking on keegans phone.

doughnuts with dad

I really do not know who was more excited for this day. Keegan has been talking about it since i told him the date and to make sure he could be a little late and take ava to school. He has never been to school so this was a big deal to him and also he just loves taking ava places.... Ava had so much fun and had a fit when the teacher held her so Keegan could make his hand print, the art project they were doing with all the kids and dads, i mean she was pissed and screaming. Never seen her like this at school. I think she caught the teachers off guard too.
Keegan also picked Ava up from school at 2pm and then the two of them went and played 9 holes of golf and had the best time... keegan said it was so great. Ava needed a daddy day and well really I have not had a day in well ever since Ava was born. So I needed it too.

afternoon

we do a lot of plat grounds and often have more fun doing something else than sliding although that is not to say that Ava does not climb all the way to the top of a high slide and go down by herself head first but lately, like this week, she is getting the whole running thing down and likes to try that too.

it happens so fast....

Ava went for her 15 month apt last friday and well yes she is 16 months today but regardless she has grown and changed so much. Part of me loves it and she is so fun right now and the other half of me makes me want to cry... she will be off at college before I know it. She weighs 22 pounds which is practically triple her birth weight and 32 inches tall which is a good 12 inches taller then when she was born. Where is my baby? all I see is my little girl.

buds

"okay so lets snack together....." --Rufus
"hmmm.... you go after it differently Rufus ... but mom puts my stuff in these stupid containers that don't let me spill." --- Ava

We wanted them to love each other. The whole time I was really pushing for a dog Keegan just wanted to see the dog with Ava. He wanted them to be best friends. Like in some kids book I was trying to say that we needed a dog that would not bite her and perhaps would be gentle but he was asking a lot.... well the thing is... they are best friends.... I knew he loved her but he is her favorite toy and playmate. Sometimes I think he would be okay to get all the hook ups on the food and snacks but after a full day of being climbed on and Ava grabbing his jewels maybe he could take her or leave her. So today I came home from dropping Ava off at school and he would not leave me alone. Following me every where, then he would run around the house and into Ava's room and the rest of her usual spots. He was starting to get annoying and then began the barking at the back door (the one that leads to the garage) so I figured he need to go pee.... so I let him out and he hurls himself at the car running in circles and then jumps up on the rear driver side window and sniffs and stares and will not get down. Yes this is her window and yes this is a true story.

Ava and school

Rufus trying out the new nap mat.
ava right before we left for the first day of school
oh and well this was the other morning ( I would say 7:30 am) after our walk which did not allow us to playground so we came home and tried the rain boots.... still big but she had fun

Ava had her first day of school today.... okay its a program called Mothers day out.... but I think it is a lame name. I will have you know there is a "curriculum" - Keegan and I both found this quite entertaining. She goes Tuesday and Thursday from 9 till 2. There are 8 kids in her class and 2 teachers. We decided that it would be good for her to do something with other kids. She loves other kids and is always shouting when she hears the neighbors come home so that just maybe... maybe... they would come over (the truth is they often do... they love playing with her or at our house) and she kisses other kids her age and size at the playground. Also if I went back to work soon this would make for hopefully and easier transition to everyday. And the other important reason is I need a little time to me and to work on things I want cause when we are together we play hard. I was nervous to leave her but you have to drop and run.... and so there she was ... with her nap mat, lunch box, and a diaper bag. She was so excited and ran straight to play while many of the other kids clung to the teachers. I watched for a couple mins thru the windows that are mirrored on her side and she was happy, playing and enjoying the new toys. She just did not really get the whole nap thing. It will come. I am hoping it stays being a positive experience and that when we go back she is not like no don't leave me here I know it now but I am thinking it will be okay. The day care at the gym everyday was a great way to be okay with other people in a strange place with other kids.