these days

mama's working

2011-11-04T19:11:00.001-07:00

so about 8 weeks ago I started working monday thru friday from about 315 to 730 at the RACE swim team. A competitive club team here in Rockwall. This has changed our family life for the better..... daddy is up earlier and to work earlier and home earlier, the kids are spending more time with people other than mommy and in the small doses it benefits everyone's attitudes, our days have to be productive in the first part of the day. It does make the days a little crazy and the organization of house and dinner a science but it is really fun and I am happy to have some sort of identity other than mommy. so there is a bit about lack of posts but i plan to weekly load up at least with updates.
xoxoxo

halloween 2011

2011-11-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

2011-08-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

hello

2011-08-04T18:26:00.000-07:00

so its been crazy here... i know excuses excuses and i will kick myself when i want to look back about maddox at 10 months but i am here again. Swim team has come and gone, well summer league at Chandlers, and we won firt place at divisionals. This is huge and so exciting and wonderful to be a part of. I am hoping something turns into a part time year round thing but have yet to hear.
Maddox is standing and has taken two steps but only when totally distracted and not knowing what he is doing actually. We are re financing the house but I am ready to move. Shenaniganz is going really well right now, its hot as anything, ava is potty trained, rufus needs a walk, we head to nc via dc a week from today, maddox is huge, like off the charts huge - well I don't really know that cause i skipped the 9 month apt because I was working and there were no shots and it seemed like a waste but he is almost in 2t clothes. I do not even know where else to try and catch up on so I will add some lately pictures... okay they are maybe even two months old but its something and i will re dedicate myself to the blog.

ava turns three, how can this be?

2011-05-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

xoxoxo

birthday brother

new swing chair

polka dot house

bowls of polka dots (cake balls) for the guests

new big bike from gigi and pop pops

pinata time

when i asked her what type of brunch she wanted... princess, dinasour, fairy, pink... she responded polka dot so we went from there. She was amazing and so excited. Sorry the spacing is strange i tried to fix it. After her party... the high light was blowing candles out .... Keegan's parents took Maddox and the three of us jumped in the car and drove to great wolf lodge for the night. It was magic to have just a night with her and she thought it was so so so fun and loved the water slides. She was so sweet and polite and fearless.... at the bottom of each slide she would just say " lets go again"

mothers day

2011-05-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ava and Maddox have brought so much joy to my life. They have made our life complete. I feel so fortunate to be their mommy and listen and watch their laughter, relentlessness, little fingers and feet, curiosity, growth and own discovery of love. The two precious souls have brought more meaning to my days than anything else I have experienced. I am trying to cherish the moments because they are growning so fast. I love you so much A.K.R and M.V.P.R, Thank you for being such incredible children.

love having amelia in town

2011-05-09T19:30:00.000-07:00

Gavin (Keegan's youngest brother, the one K looks the most like) and his wife Amanda and their daughter Amelia have been living here with the parents while he finished up he rotations for Podiatry School. Its been such a lovely treat to have them here, nearby. We have been lucky enough to see them almost everyday. Weather for a exercise walk( think 5- 8 miles pushing jogging strollers with baskets full of toys for babies entertainment), play dates, lunch, park, transporting pee(well they saw the pee... long story but thanks Amanda), toy stores, or hanging around. It will be awful when they move for real to Seattle. Ava and Maddox will be crushed. Friday night we had the privilege to have "meals" (Ava calls Amelia) as "our baby" (this was how Ava interpreted the situation) and watch her so Gav and Amanda could go to the play off Mavs game and in return they kept both of our kids on Sunday so we could do the same (Sweep it Baby) here are a few pics from our wonderful night

fridge work

2011-05-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

ava

ava and soy milk

Maddox: screw soy milk I want the parmasian

ummm everything must be at the right height and therefore extremly fun but man talk about deja vu.

easter week

2011-04-26T17:17:00.000-07:00

... been sick for a long time and still passing things around and not back to ourselves, mama going kinda nuts and poor sweet ava girl she has been such a trooper. So dont have much to write but have some pic to document
m cooking up some noodle soup for sick sista

sick on easter morning

sick... the beginning..... high fever for 5 days

first manicure/pedicure... pre - viruses

easter morn mess

m and rufus pre other dog biting him while on a walk

easter bunny at arboretum.... wonderful day with Caleb

2011-04-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

a little photo catch up

2011-04-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

admiring shenaniganz tattoos.... i have one as well

munchin on keys watchin sister do cartwheels at soccer instead of play soccer

i love love love this picture... ava is playing in the tub where sometimes she does not want to get in but will often play in there for hours. Here she is in her imaginary world putting all her princess figurines to bed

laughing

watching avas show on the window ledge

cooking of course

bottle holding jammie love muffin

brother pulls himself up for the first real time all by himself, he officially became a crawler last week

ava at soccer... number 10, little kickers

asleep on daddy..... makes daddy so so so happy and melts mommy to look at her handsome boys

Guster concert

bike rider

aquarium for amelias bday

chill time

and today

2011-04-09T19:11:00.001-07:00

i have a mohawk, crawl, try to stand and walk, swing, and melt hearts along the way with my baby blues

memory lane

2011-04-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

so k and i went to house of blues on a date last night, saw Guster, great, but i left my phone at home and happened upon some pictures that i had never seen before of my baby boy. Needless to say I was tired but already getting very emotional that he is 7, yes 7 months old and pulling himself up and wanting to walk and into everything and well no longer my little baby... and then i found these in the same day. how has this happened so so fast? i have even been enjoying it so much more this time around, i am way less anxious to see what comes next but looking at these pictures i got all teary. We love you Maddox Victor Peter Ripp tremendously.

2011-04-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

okay okay okay

2011-04-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

i am here.... we are alive and doing well. maddox is crawling everywhere, so curious and just so so so sweet. He is a doll. Ava is growing up so fast we are so proud of the little person she has become. I am sorry I dissapeared from the whole blogging scene but I really intend to be back for real. Sometimes when you dont do it for so long you dont know where to begin when you start again so then you continue putting it off. However, I hope to get much more regular since Maddox does not even have a baby book. Nursing... done, left both my babies to go to NC and see my family - my wonderful, crazy, honest, smart, and dear grandmother (dad's mom) passed away, but never been away from both of them for more then a couple hours, Hazel (k's mom), Tom (k's dad)and Keegan did great... not a tear was shed casue mom was not around, ava started soccer and loves it, shenaniganz is killing it right now (always have to be careful cause tomorrow it could be dead but to date its rocking and we are hoping to start a second one, keegan is working a lot but trying to find a balance and include gym, kid time, golf (very occasionally), us time, and time to pursue second shenaniganz options, i am really happy to be done nursing and am getting excited to do swim team agian this summer ( i cant believe we are getting to that time again) and life is moving by fast. yeah holy shit i will be 29 next week. anyway i will post pictures soon. xoxoxo glad to be back

6 month stats

2011-03-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

20.05 pounds - 90th percentile
28.5 inches long - 100 percentile
things look good....happy and smiley despite the raw cheeks and the ear infection that we did not know about.
on another note... things are changing around here.... for the first time in almost three years there are no kids/ babies in our bed... Maddox is in his room in his bed (this happened when nursing ended..... ava was still in bed in middle of the night when Maddox was born) it has been better for everyone. life changing. He has pretty much forgotten about breast feeding and hooked to the bottle and experimentying with baby food... he made it so very easy on us and despite getting mastitis yesterday and being pretty drugged up, I am thrilled to not be nursing any more. He really is the mellowest, happy smiley, sweet baby in the world. ..... never even complained about his bad ear infection.

its time

2011-02-21T18:14:00.000-08:00

So I write this post with many many emotions... and can not really even begin to write many of the thoughts. But tonight I will nurse Maddox for the last time. Quite possibly nurse for the last time ever in my life. However, its time. I need to stop and be done. I want to stop, I really don't like it for many reasons but I also get nostalgic towards the end... and this time around the end is so much sooner then it was with Ava. But Maddox is huge and eats so much and likes the bottle and formula. I know breast is best... I do I do and I did it for 2 days shy of six months and I pray that Maddox stays healthy and continuing to thrive, however I think I can be a better mama if i put the boobs away. so we will see how it goes. And well then its time to reclaim my body as of the morning.

ava rides Sandy

2011-02-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

been a while

2011-02-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

I know I have kind of jumped ship when it comes to this blog.... and well it was one of my new years resolutions to get a little better about it... and well you know, recycle more, drink less diet coke, loose the baby weight, keep up better with laundry etc and well some how two kids really gives me very very little time to sit down at the computer and if I get half a min its usually to pay bills. It seems the longer I go without posting the harder it is to get up the energy to post, as its kind of like where do I begin, same thing with some very special frinds of mine that I rarely talk to and then it seems like too much of a daunting task, and what do I say, i chaged a lot of shitty diapers today. But things are moving right along here. We have had two fabulous visitors first Aunt ali followed by my mum/ Gannie last week. Unfortunatly when ali was here i did not take nearly enough photos but here are a few from when my mom was here.

4 month stats

2011-01-14T19:24:00.000-08:00

Maddox at 4 months is.......
18.4 lbs (95%tile)
27.5 inches long (100 + %tile)
and well i cant remember head but it was 75%tile....
and he rolled over for the first time at 4months and one day... Christmas afternoon.

4 month old babies

2011-01-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

ava kai
maddox victor peter

Christmas morning

2011-01-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

ava wanted to photograph her princess lineup

tinkerbell from daddy
tinkerbell taking pictures
picture i made for k
opening presents
ava and maddox's new play house

I know I am behind in the blog posts.... but Christmas morning began to be magic in our house...... Ava sort of knew to be excited Christmas eve and in the middle of the night she even woke up and saw some more presents under the tree and got excited... as a tradition I always had when I was little ... you could take the one usually stuffed animal thing out of the top of your stocking and go back to bed... so Ava grabbed her Woody doll that Santa put on the top of her stocking and headed back to bed. In the morning we woke her up and she was so excited... she wanted to play with each toy as she unwrapped it and Keegan kept being like okay you got to keep going cause she had a big stocking. Maddox took it all in too. The way our house is set up, She did not see the playroom when she woke up. So after stockings and gigi, popops, caitlin and justin showed up at 745 we all got to see her discover her house. Keegan was video taping.... and well the whole video is of his feet....so well i cant post that. But it was a great day... we then went to K's parents and had more presents and lots of playing.

christmas card out takes

2010-12-13T05:25:00.000-08:00

well maddox might be embarrassed
so we do not promote incest i swear...... this is actually a STEAMROLLER
i love you maddox.... sort of
now daddy is grabbing his crotch and has a tutu on his leg.... yeah wont work
why is she grabbing her crotch?
maddox is horrified
yeah... ditched him lets bounce
how hard is too hard to squeeze?

okay so we were trying to get a cute pic for our Christmas card. This is easier said then done... we still do not have one but we have some funny ones that are better memories then a real card picture.

2010-12-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

oh gannie
maddox and baby audrey..... she is 6 weeks older then maddox and Ryan is one day younger then ava
hopefully they will be friends for the rest of their lives... like their mamas

at airport headed home to daddy (you can get a fake boarding pass and have help to the gate)
santa train at museum of life and science

so i am so over due for blog updates ... but the day after thanksgiving Ava,Maddox and I headed to NC. Yes i flew by myself with both the kids and it was cake. I am so very proud of all of us. We got to see my dad (no pics this time) , my brother, sister, Peg and then Felice, Laura, Grant, Carter (again no pics:(), my Mom (Gannie), Gandbug (her husband), Caroline, Alexandra, Wawa, Gita, kathleen, Ryan, Audrey, and Rupert. It was wonderful to be home and see everyone. We had a great great trip and the kids were fabulous. I was ready for Keegan to come join us not leave it all.

north carolina

2010-12-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

anna.. good shot dad... way to cut maddox out totally
a very bad and funny pic of my brother will (16)
i get a little teary just writing this post.... so wish things were a little different and we saw more of each other but Maddox got to meet his aunt and uncle and ava got to see them for the first time since she could walk. It was heaven and wonderful to all be together.

the rest of thanks

2010-11-25T04:39:00.000-08:00

18. Mommy (daddy did this one with her:))
19. pirate booty
20. sprinkles
21. football
22. doll baby
23. Goofy
24. doctor
25. love

croupe....

2010-11-24T05:29:00.000-08:00

oh no.... Maddox has croup and I have to say it is so scary to wake up to your little 12 week old baby wheezing and coughing. If he was the first child I know we would have been to the ER but instead we hung out in the shower and outside and nursed him back to sleep but it was quite scary. I think we will go see pop pops today to get things checked and check Ava's horrible cold before I venture on a plane by myself with the kids.

dancing with daddy

2010-11-24T05:24:00.000-08:00

when Keegan gets home from work before Ava is in bed (which is rare) Ava really wants to dance with daddy. So here are pictures of both the kids in pjs dancing (not great pics... my camera is being not so great) but you get the idea and you can see Maddox's awesome hair line or lack of hair as we call it... the sweat band.... ava had it the exact same way. poor baby hair.

smile

2010-11-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

maddox is the biggest sweetest baby......

2010-11-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

In an effort to teach Ava how to appreciate and give thanks we decided to say one thing we are thankful for for the 25 days leading up to thanksgiving. This is not a great picture at all but this is how we have been keeping track. Sometimes I have to suggest things for Ava to choose from but overall she gives me an answer although no idea if she gets it at all and often the nswers are very Ava and quite funny or telling of what we did that day. As we will be busy this next few weeks with getting ready for Thanksgiving and also then I am taking the kids by myself (Keegan has to work:( ) to North Carolina to see my family. I thought I would post the list to date:
1. Daddy
2. Dog piles (yea when you go and jump on someone and scream dog pile.... we all get dog piled rufus and maddox included all the time)
3.new car toy
4.Rufus
5.boogers
6. chalk
7.my jumper
8. poo poo on the potty
9.brother
10. fishing
11. health
12. puddles
13. baths
14. chapstick microphones
15. playgrounds
16. picnics
17. bowling
the rest to follow

wreath bitches

2010-11-14T15:22:00.001-08:00

yes i write wreath bitches..... for two reasons. one is to admit that i have not been blogging often and have such little time but have been making wreaths ... well blogging and wreath in the same sentence makes me clam up ... i used to be cool really i did well it sounds cooler if you add bitches anyway. and well the other reason is that our lovely daughter says peace bitches all the time when leaving... yes my fabulous husband taught her this. it is cute and funny indeed but not appropriate. o well. any ways i was inspired by a dear friend to make wreaths and play with burlap (thanks laura) and well here are some of the results.

Maddox

2010-11-04T18:05:00.001-07:00

he is huge. he is chubby and round and adorable. He is out growing 3 to 6 month stuff and he is only two months old. I cant bare it. But really he is such a sweet mellow little baby. He smiles so easily and is a joy to be around, rarely complaining, he wakes up still in the night to eat but goes right back to sleep (yes he is in our bed,.... i swore i would never do it again but it works... sleeping right next to me and loves to snuggle), he loves to lie and kick his feet, nap, gurgle and talk to you, smile, have his diaper changed, when his sister sings to him, when she bounces him in his chair or pushes him crazy in the swing, ava kisses, baths and clearly eat and grow.... he hates having his finger nails clipped - weird and and shots (they really made him a wreck, throwing up and screaming uncontrollably (totally never seen him that upset ever)) and when ava hits him in the head or with the mop or punches him... (fair enough... yes she got in trouble big time but she is generally so loving and sweet and never forgets him... getting him socks or a hat before we leave the house)
Ava was a very sweet baby but I have to say Maddox is more even tempered and so far... and with babies every stage brings new things but he is so chill and snuggily and overall a really calm easy baby.

doo dad comes to town

2010-11-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

re she would not leave him alone. He surprised us showing up with a super troopers mustache we all thought was amazing. Ava would not do the whole picture thing unfortunately but she was so enthralled with doo dad the entire time he was here. We went for long walks, played hard, lunched at Shenaniganz, went to pink berry, Halloween partied and relaxed. It was such a fun long weekend. Maddox enjoyed new hands to hold him and someone new to make him smile.

my dad came to meet maddox and play with ava. Ava was so so so excited the whole time and was talking about it for weeks before he came and when he was he

halloween

2010-11-02T13:58:00.000-07:00

ava loved loved loved Halloween. she was so excited the doorbell rang and ran each time to see the kids and kept saying more more and when she saw them coming from the next house she would squeal with excitement. Then I took her trick or treating one block and Keegan took her a second block (in shifts with maddox and passing out candy) and she was over the moon, sating trick or treat, thank you, and oink at every house. She speaks in sentences but here she did not know even what to say first. Then when she came back home she started passing out all her own candy to the trick or treaters. It was extra special as my dad, aka doo dad was here to celebrate.

2 month stats

2010-11-02T13:39:00.000-07:00

14 pounds 8 oz .... 95th percentile (at two months ava was 11 pounds 2 oz and 21 inches long)
24 inches long 90th percentile
Maddox is growing growing growing... cant believe we have had him for two months. He is a gem... really the sweetest most mellow baby, except the afternoon of his shots... boy was he sick as a dog but bounced back quickly (scaring mommy tho) in time for doo dad to arrive the next day

the basics

2010-10-05T19:11:00.000-07:00

i have been bad at blogging, its hard to get to computer let alone write and upload photos but here are just some daily pics.

shadow

2010-10-05T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ava has become fascinated with her shadow. She chases it, tries to get it, wonders where it is, makes sure its with her, traces it with chalk, kisses it.... it has been so fun to watch this discovery.

ava

2010-10-05T18:58:00.001-07:00

ava is pumping milk for her cat using a part of my breast pump on her belly button

maddox

2010-10-05T18:55:00.001-07:00

gannie comes to visit

2010-10-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

she liked making cookies with gannie
okay... what you dont know is that this came to halt when i cute her neck... she is still going around with very un even hair becasue she says no no mommy and runs

so into playing with gannie

yea she is a pumpkin thrower

I do not even know where to start.... we had one of the very best visits with my mom this past week..... not that any are not great but this one was especially fun, helpful and special. The plan was to have her come when Maddox was two weeks old and Keegan had gone back to work but when Maddox came early she already had a ticket for the end of September. It actually turned out to be perfect besides the feeling of being a bit older when they met for the first time, it was great for this mama here. When Ava was born my mom came shortly after Keegan went back to work and when she left I was petrified, it was real, me and baby and I had to really figure this mom thing out. This time when I took her to the airport I wondered how I managaed with the two kids and Keegan working so much but I had done it for two weeks already so I was confident I would find some sort of rythem or make shift system.
We had the best time.... Ava is so in love with her gannie its crazy. I was totally chopped meet as was Keegan and well Ava did everything my mom did and followed her everywhere. I know my mom went home exausted. Maddox and gannie also became quite smitten. We did things I had wanted to do but was much easier with help, we cuddled, we relaxed, played hard and got caught up ... well sort of. shopped, decorated for halloween, went to the arboredum, cleaned, cooked, gymed, pedicures, naps, etc.

2010-09-13T17:50:00.000-07:00

today i was taking the kids to a friends house and ava was super excited. she asked if little brother was going to come and i said yes indeed, she smiled. I continued to get organized to go and got Maddox in car with car started and came inside to speed up ava. " Ava we gotta go don't you want to go?" I called, I heard her say "yes but socky shoes" confused and tired i said "come on babe" and Ava comes running out of Maddox's room with a pair of socks for him. I am pretty sure she has figured he does not wear shoes but she herself does not like to not have shoes when we go places so sh got Maddox his kind of shoes. what a thoughtful gesture.

fabulous big sister

2010-09-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

So I was so worried what Ava would feel like after Maddox was born, I mean all of a sudden there is someone else that needs so much but I could not have been more lucky. Ava is in love... I think she is ready for Maddox to be able to play a bit more but really every morning when she wakes up her first words are where is baby brother and then wants to see him and says good morning brother. She is very understanding of everything and so so so sweet and adoring to him. It melts my heart. She always wants to know where he is and if he has what he needs. She loves loves loves to have him hold her finger and she is excited to show him all the things she knows.

what we have been doing this past week....

2010-09-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

shower with daddy
aunt amanda, cousin amelia, and gavin who ava adores was here... such a treat. Ava was sweet and wanted Amelia to be a princess also so she brought her a tutu and ruby slippers to wear

play dough with daddy

first bath

2010-09-13T05:20:00.000-07:00

he loves the water

all clean

about a week or two ago Maddox could take a bath... we were waiting on one thing to fall off and then he was good to get wet.... Ava loved helping and still does. If she sees her old blue bath tub come out she goes and gets her "stairs" and tells me to put it right here mommy.

home sweet home

2010-08-31T05:18:00.001-07:00

dance baby
night brother.... (first night home bed time)
i want to hold him
when we first got home... ava was exhausted but so curious and loving to her "baby brother"

lets blow this joint

2010-08-31T05:11:00.001-07:00

take me home

hospital stay

2010-08-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

delivery room

2010-08-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

Birthday

2010-08-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

Maddox Victor Peter Ripp joined our special family this Tuesday August 24th at 2:07 am. Weighing 6lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches long. He is lovely and we are all so so in love.
Monday night Keegan had to work late (Mondays are always late nights) and Ava and I had a busyish day. We got up and went to the gym then she had to go get her two year old check up and shots (yes i had put that off but needed it so better late then never and so glad we took care of that just in the nik of time) then we lunch and played with Sarah and Caleb, who was adjusting to both his sisters starting back at school and being the only kid in the house. I had a few contractions but nothing that had not been going on the past week. Ava and I then went home and she took a bath as I did some things and then Elise, Stephanie and baby Beck came over to play for the afternoon. I was feeling quite pregnant and a bit extra uncomfortable but I had been for several days now. When they went home, Ava and I had a picnic on our bed and she danced and watched the wiggles. We played a bit more and then it was close to her bed time. Threw her in stroller like normal, got Rufus and went for a walk. I started having some contractions but still thought there was no way this was it. I walked an extra lap cause Ava would not go to sleep and I was ready to call it a day and wanted to avoid the bed time struggles we sometimes have. She still did not fall asleep and I had extra mommy mushy feelings toward her all of a sudden and wanted to hold her... despite pushing stroller and walking the dog and 100 degrees. Once home I lied down with her until she fell asleep, contracting but instead thinking of all the things I needed to do before baby arrived and Ali and Bryan came Wednesday.
Ava finally fell asleep and I got up and cleaned the whole house... this time I starting having regular contractions and thinking hummm this could be it. I still did not want to call Keegan until it was sure and I had stuff I wanted to do. Finally I called Keegan and said just keep your phone with you. I don't think he thought much of it but did as he was told. I was putting clean sheets on the bed for ali and bryan and they were coming and hurting I would kind of fold over when each one came but kept on my mission to get house ready. Finally I decided to do what they had told me at the hospital the week before, take a bath and see if they still come despite relaxing. I never ever take baths but hopped in tub and tried to relax but I was so distracted. I had contractions but I had no idea how frequently they were coming as my watch broke and I lost concept of time sitting in tub doing nothing.... it seemed like ages in between each contraction. I hoped out and got in shower to wash my hair just in case this was labor, still in total denial. I was hurting... the contractions were getting really intense and when i popped my head out of the shower to time them they were coming 3 mins apart. Strange I thought... yea i was very much in disbelief. I called Keegans brother, Zack who is an OB to ask could this be it if they are coming so close together and there was no real build up starting from 10 mins and was this not too fast, he did not answer. so I called Keegan, "I think its time" as another contraction hit. By the time Keegan got home I was lying in my underwear on the ottoman in the living room crying. Keegan started timing them and then started rushing me to get out the door, as soon as his parents arrived he was ready to go. I wanted to lie and snuggle Ava a bit and Rufus but he cut that short and pulled me out of the bed. By the time we got to the hospital which is very close I was really hurting..... It was 1130. I was 5 cm dialated. by 11:50 I was dialated to an 8. They had called the anethesiologist to come in for the epidural but were concerned things were moving to quickly. It hurt. The anesthesiologist made it just in time... and had trouble giving me the epidural because the contractions were so close together and he could not get the needles in. Maddox was high up but ready to come out so they had me push for a while before the dr came to get him down lower. Except when it started to work I had this overwelming desire to push... they tell you about this but with Ava it was not the case. The dr came in and a few more chunks of pushing and he was right there... and in one final push Maddox came out all at once. It felt amazing. It happened so fast 4 hours of labor and he was here. Keegan and I were in shock that it happened so fast and trying to take it all in.
He was beautiful and it was magic. He had swallowed a lot of fluid on his way out and so they had a lot of suctioning to do, Keegan stood right there as they finished with me, trying to hold him but they still had to clear his lungs. Then the nurse past him Maddox and we both sat there crying. I nursed right away and he latched on immediatly. It was magic.

sprinkle for baby and soon to be big sister celebration

2010-08-21T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today we had a small sprinkle at my sister in laws, Alicia's house. Ava thought she had died and gone to heaven with some of her very most favorite friends to play with and get excited about Maddox's immanent arrival (although the whole brother thing went straight over her head). It was airplane themed right down to the paper airplanes on the ribbons of the flowers. Here is the adorable cake.

happy birthday to doodad

2010-08-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

So happy birthday dad, doodad, Peter.
We so wish we were there to celebrate it with you... this is a big one... like you need reminding. We love you so very much and well Ava has been singing you happy birthday all day and blowing out candles (there are a lot to blow out) . true story. xoxox

play date with E

2010-08-20T18:49:00.001-07:00

a showing e the ropes
e liking the idea

painting each other
how it all ended.

so one of Ava's very best friends.. and one of my very best mommy friends is Stephanie and Elise. There is also baby Beck, Elise brother who is like 61/2 months old and elis Ava loves "leesie" and we often play together during the week. This past week they came over to our house... The girls wanted to paint... and well Ava showed her the way we paint in this house... Elise who is very clean and sweet and gentle quickly fell in love with ava style painting and I am afraid we have started something.

puddle jumper

2010-08-20T18:37:00.000-07:00

been a very dry summer here... but for the little rain we got the other day ava was pumped to hit the puddles

Gannie

2010-08-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

Well this post is certainly over due but our Internet went out for a week and yes I do have an iphone but it could not get a wireless signal in our house... now I totally don't understand technology as it can get one driving down the interstate (when k is driving of course;)) but not really sure how life worked before Internet. Anyway. My mom ... aka "Gannie" came last weekend and it was so fabulous. She arrived late on Thursday night so Ava woke up to Gannie being here.... in her bed, as our house is small, Ava's room doubles as guest room and Ava was sleeping in our room. Ava was beyond excited and really could not stand to let her out of her sight the entire weekend. Keegan was off Friday so we swam and relaxed all day together, Ava showing off her swimming skills. Saturday my mom and I went and got pedicures before K went to work and we all played and watched movies. Sunday Keegan had to work so Ava and Gannie played hard core.... I came home from gym and they were both worn out from a playing chase/ hide and seek the entire time I was gone. Then we went to Ikea and Ava had a ball playing in all the set up rooms and she scored a Stuart little mouse. We have been on a quest for a little white mouse to play with and well good ole IKEA had one and Ava was tickled to bring Stuart home. She was nervous how Rufus would respond to the new family member and kept talking about Stuvarrt as she calls it and Rufus. Rufus actually does like to press Ava's buttons and steels him and walks around with him hanging out of his mouth but its more to tick Ava off I think but its funny. After IKEA I got a fabulous massage (thanks Mum) that felt amazing... I mean they would always feel good I think but being so pregnant it was awesome. MOnday when we took Gannie to airport Ava had a freak out. I mean she was seriously bummed, as was I. But when we got in the car to go I think she thought we were all going cause she threw a fit at the airport about getting out of the car too when Gannie did. Once home she kept looking for her and anytime the door opened she ran to it screaming "Gannie home" it was pretty adorable. She will be back soon tho so Ava will be please to see her back just not sure how she will feel about sharing her with Maddox.

37 weeks

2010-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

huge and almost ready... sometimes.... uncomfortable to say the least and tired. 1 CM dilated according to dr today. Other than that things look good. cast your vote when you think Maddox will join us.

airplane arrives

2010-08-09T17:51:00.000-07:00

flight maps of rockwall, saint louis, and boston.... special places to k and me
(it is missing one peice that was not included so there is a tail wheel coming)

So when we decided to do airplanes (after I had painted the city already... oops, but the airplane is not flying into the city but out to the rest of the world) the plan was to have my dad send one of the airplanes he built and was hanging in my house as a child. They were huge and fantastic and absolutely beautiful and one of my most vivid house memories. Well after much work from my dad in NC it was just too much of a challenge to mail the already put together plane. So we had to go with plan b.... he ordered a piper warrior cub from the hobby shop and Keegan would put it together but it would be "ARF" almost ready to fly so should not be tons to put together... it is amazing and really fun in the room. However, my dad is a pilot and loves planes, Keegan knows little about them except he has traveled a lot and he has never put a model together in his life. He saw this as a challange and so on Thursday when the doorbell rang with the delivery he was pumped. He headed to the hobby store right away buying all sorts of different glues and clips and strings. You see these planes could really fly if an engine was put in - everything works and moves. This began at 11am. Keegan wanted to make it so it all worked despite not putting the motor in it when we hung it up in the room. Well by 3 oclock i hear......okay this is just going to be put together.... it will not be flyable and by 315 he is flicking the thing off... at about 330 he is saying "this is for professionals what the hell is an aileron?" (it is a wing flap but having little aviation knowledge he was confused where parts were going). 340 he had exploded hobby glue (stronger than super glue) all over his hand... comes running in because he had been outside because of the smell to wash it off... dripping all over the floor. I am laughing but a little concerned at this point. I go over to the sink and decide I need to help since I have done jack and this was all my plan and proceed to try and wipe up glue with paper towel and wipe off Keegan... this is where I become covered in glue and paper towel mixture...... Keegan and I are dying laughing... ava wants to know what is going on and comes over to see, stepping in the piles of glue on the ground on her way over to us. And as far as I can tell at this point all thats done is the propeller is on the plane and a million pieces spread out on table and he has turned the clean house into an airplane hanger workshop.
My mom was coming in that night so I went to airport to get her leaving Keegan to put Ava to sleep and finish his project, he had about 4 hours. My moms flight was delayed by 2 hours and at 950 I get a text with a picture of the finished product and a message that I cant understand cause he cant text with all the glue still on his fingers. But it was completed and he was very proud of himself and the plane looked amazing.
Its in the room, Ava is very jealous, and my husband will not build and airplane for a while. Thanks so much doodad, you made the room. If only you had been here to see how it got together.

muwahhhhhh

2010-08-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

Ava got into the dress up drawer today and this is what I came in to find. I think she is trying to become part of the Circus.

greatest show on earth

2010-08-02T10:56:00.000-07:00

Gigi and Pop Pops took us all to the circus (including Keegan.... he was off of work). It was such a fun afternoon and Ava loved it. She was really into the elephants and especially liked when they walked around holding each others tails with their trunks. She came home immediately and ran around after Rufus pulling his tail. She sat the entire time mesmerized and laughed when the clowns were"silly" ... she came home with a treat from Pop pops... a little clown and keeps telling me how "silly" he is... she loves that word. What a special Sunday.

ava loves to swim

2010-07-31T18:55:00.000-07:00

so its crazy. I coach other kids to swim all summer and have taught lessons for years and grew up swimming but really did not know how to begin with ava so I did not. However, after going to a party a month ago where I did not bring a swim suit and she had to be in the shallow part of the pool by herself she lost her fear of water. By the end of the party the dads swimming were literally throwing ava back and forth like a football and she was diving getting rocks off the bottom of the pool. Of course this made Keegan crazy jealous that he was at work and missed it and that other dads were tossing her around. Truthfully I think he was somewhat sceptical as she cries when you wash her hair. So the next day we headed to his parents and she showed her tricks and how she went under happily. Over the last month she has been swimming tons, often with her gigi and pop pops who have told her to move her arms and kick and now she does and this past week I kid you not Keegan got her to dive. A real legitimate dive. We even took her to one of the last swim team practices and she proceeded to dive in off a starting block. I have tons of 5 year olds who cant do this. I can take no credit for this as I have just played with her and a few times wished she would wear floaties as her no fear at all generates quite a lot for me, however, she now lifts her head to breath and can get out of pool completely on her own as long as she gets close to the side. Its crazy to me and the cutest thing in the world. Yesterday she swam for 6 hours straight, eating a Popsicle in the pool but not stopping. Her eyes are still a little blood shot.

Name

2010-07-29T07:03:00.000-07:00

We have a name.... a first and a last name and the middle name(s) is still under question..... hoping to avoid Surtain (this is Nicki writing of course)

Maddox Ripp

I feel so relieved and strange to have a name before he is here... so not the way Ava was. But as I am so busy with Ava and I do not feel as connected to him as maybe I did Jobina because I was not chasing one around already so a name is making him so much more real and his own little guy. We love you Maddox and cant wait to meet you, what a wonderful son and brother you will be. But cook a little longer... you are still a bit small to join the world.
XOXO
Mommy

baby boy update

2010-07-29T06:59:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we all went to the Doctor with mommy. Ava lied on the table lifted up her shirt and wanted her belly to be examined as well. She also really liked listening to the babies "boom boom boom" heart beat. Keegan had not been able to go with me for a while so it was nice to have him there. We are 35 weeks and she said she would induce at 38 weeks because I am really uncomfortable and my back is killing me but both Keegan and I would much rather things happen naturally. Part of the excitement is gouing into labor at home and timing contractions etc. However, my OB's office shares shares call with another one so that is a little nerve racking that it could be someone I have never seen before... and Keegan would love to deliver this baby as he did with Ava but that may have been a Dr. Ribail special treat... so we will see. Things are moving and this little guy will be here so soon. holy shit.

playroom ready for two to play

2010-07-29T06:56:00.000-07:00

trying to introduce the baby idea to ava and rufus..... neither care right now

its amazing all the toys we have accumulated in 2 years..... but I must say Ava plays a lot with her toys and often entertains herself

baby boys room

2010-07-29T06:46:00.000-07:00

well i have been holding off to post pictures of babies room as it is not finished, although I now know if you have diapers and wipes and boobies your set for the first chunk of time, however, I also know that with two kids and fall approaching and many trips to playground there will be little time to do room work let alone laundry around this place. Sadly we are still trying to figure out how to get the fabulous huge airplane of my dads to Texas so that it can hang from ceiling over the room... so we are missing the plane. Hoping my mum can somehow bring it when she comes next week as two checked bags... I mean they will only be like 6 feet each and when my dad tried to mail it, it was like 6 times more expensive to mail then we expected so that is our problem. A few pictures on the wall.... aviation maps will go behind the crib and a plane of some sort some day hopefully soon er than later will fly over the room but not into the city sky line. we are not creating September 11th here... it sort of all just came together like this.

Ava's big girl room and well the guest room when you come

2010-07-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

so far she sleeps well once asleep...... prolly better then in crib once asleep but its getting to asleep that is the problem. Napping is not an every day thing any more and well bed time is either easy cause she has no nap and passes out exhausted, as do I or it is a long process of a lot of me lying there and often falling asleep as well while she pulls out all the tricks to keep herself awake. Including running out of room and if daddy is home giving him lots of kisses cause she knows she will not be in trouble for kissing daddy.

playdough shoes

2010-07-29T06:38:00.000-07:00

2010-07-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Well its over. I have to say I woke up Wednesday morning feeling kind of empty and lost without having to go to swim team and rush to get everything done and everyone taken care of. Last week I did not go to the gym before 830 once.... that felt like such a treat, although when its over by 630 when you go early it makes waking up in your bed at 645 a bummer and wish you already went that is for sure. No but the season was incredible. The kids did so well, we grew by 20 kids this summer from last and had about 20 kids qualify for all stars, that is after placing third overall against two teams bigger and full of year round USA swimmers. So proud. Monday was brutal at all stars for 12 hours in the heat but exciting nun the less and I had a few kids come home with gold and even more with silver. What a season and I think if I do in next summer we would grow to about 75 kids which would be my ideal number. Tuesday night was the banquet, held at shenaniganz ( i have connections) and each kid gets about a minute speech about themselves and their season before their name is said and then they come get their trophy. I was panicked getting speeches written ( i procrastinate all season as its so hard to say all the stuff about some kids and so hard to say something genuine about others) and making sure I got all the thank yous in that I needed too... Ava was less than cooperative that day, I was a wreck and got really frustrated and angry and had several melt downs. Some how I did it and I think the kids had a great time at the dinner, getting awards... and watching a really cute slide show some of the parents put together and then they got to play whole team lazer tag. Ava was exhausted from 3 days with no nap but she was able to come and see some of the kids and then run around with Keegan as he made sure the banquet went smoothly. Keegan also got to see the team and hear how great they did which besides 10 mins of a practice he really has not been able to see anything in action. But he does know all the kids first and last names as he helped me get through the season with the new computer system (which is amazing... HyTEk team manager its called... not user friendly at all but saved me hours and hours of work) and much of the data entry that accompanies this job. Then he brought Ava home to bed as I wrapped things up at Shenaniganz and got her to sleep in her bed by himself, very happy daddy for sure as she has been saying daddy get out every night he is home and will only let me lie with her. Oh the joys of the big girl bed. grrrrrr.

okay

2010-07-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

so here it is ... the belly at 34 weeks, i got brave and went public. I swear i feel like you can watch it grow these days but you can certainly watch it move. Kids at swim practice yesterday were like wow coach nicki look at your belly it looks like an alien is in there. Nope just a very active baby boy these days. I will catch you up on swim team soon. Its crazy crazy crazy around here until Wednesday and then it is all over. we are doing great tho.

getting ava ready for a brother

2010-07-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

well so this picture happened on her own... Keegan and I were talking about the baby and ava proceeded to go and get "Meow" and then want to give it food and take care of it.... we were both touched. But on the subject of getting her ready.... ava spent the first 24 hours away from me. I think I was way more of a mess then she was. I had to go to work so I left at 8, Keegan took her to his moms where she stayed all day cause I had so much swim team stuff that was due and had to be done in the afternoon Ava's cousins izzy, mak and sophie came over to hazels and they all spent the night at gigi and poppops. Ava had a ball.... skipping nap for the second day in a row and playing with her gigis and then her cousins and popops and aunt caitlin all afternoon and night. Dancing, toys, swimming watching movies, etc. I guess she asked one time about keegan and me right before bed and that was the end of it. Thank you gigi and popops it is so amazing to know we can do it and she will be totally fine and it was so nice to have a little time with my husband. The next morning Ava came home lacking her voice from laughing, singing and screaming so much and took a four hour nap. I think she had the time of her life and to think i was crying in the morning cause I was so worried about her... well and pregnant hormonal

First hair cut

2010-07-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

well at two plus a bit it was time.... her hair was getting so long in the back but it still was a mess.... and well, still is cause I did not want to do bangs, however it is at least even in the back. Keegan was off on Friday so we took a family trip to the kids hair cut place nearby. Ava was into the barbee jeep they had but when it came time to actually cut sitting in my lap was the only option... of course distracted by her ring pop. After it was finished the jeep was cool again. The hair cut was followed by a trip to the park to build sand castles in the sand box and miss the beach and then swinging with daddy very crazily and watching the fish in the creek and a picnic. And then prolly a long drive to get her to fall asleep since switching to the big bed makes going to sleep at nap and bed quite a challenge. ugh....

baby boy ripp

2010-07-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

foot
smooched in there
face

here are a few of today's 3d ultra sounds. Of course he was not cooperating very much. Just like his sister when she had these done it was all about crotch shots. Saw a lot of ball sack but we got a few ones of his face.

4th of july pics

2010-07-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

swim team had a fabulous float in the 4th of July parade and Ava and I walked all the way cheering and singing our Dolphin cheers. All the kids were there for the most part and had a blast not to mention winning best float for the second year in a row. And then it was a day with daddy and cousins and I worked on Championship entries which are due today at 6pm and are still not finished. I have been up since 5 trying to get them ready but still confused by the new computer program. I will be a happy girl when they are turned in and set. No more regular season meets tho... Divisional Champs next Tuesday and then the all stars qualifier Monday the 19th. The banquet on the 20th and DONE. then it kind of means baby time in my head... a little scary and will have some time but that once swim team was over that was a milestone of closeness in my head.

here are a few more Topsail Island pics

2010-07-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

these were when my parents switched and dad/ doodad came:

so it was such a wonderful 6 days..... thank you to my mom and my dad. we had a lovely time. It was scary getting there as our flight left at 5:30 and the doctor was going to call at 5 and tell us if we could go or needed to go to hospital because I was in labor but the swim meet that morning made braxton hicks contractions really painful and every 4 mins apart but they were not the real thing so off off we went. bummed to be home but not getting ready for baby boy to come. Been working on rooms and will put pictures soon.

family vacation

2010-07-01T19:17:00.000-07:00

sadly this was our first one all together as a family but it was amazing aMAZINNG AMAZING. we flew to NC on Monday afternoon after my swim meet arriving at RDU at 12:30 am so actually Tuesday and then my fabulous husband drove his sleeping girls till 3 am to Topsail Island where my mom and Keith were. We spent two wonderful days with them and then the parents switched and my dad came down for two nights. Then we headed back to Durham for the night before catching a flight Sunday morning. We really had the best time ever and ava fell in love with her grandparents even more, sand castles and the beach. her are a few pics: at the point watching keith aka grandbug (my moms husband) fish and the sunset
ava taking it all in... or not at all
chaulk on the screened in porch
every ones belly's

baby boy update

2010-06-18T14:33:00.000-07:00

went to the doctor today..... it was a long day. I had my glucose test cause they keep forgetting to do it but I had to do it after swim team. So from last night till today at 12 (gym at 5am, then swim team for 4 hours) i headed to the doctor with not food or water or drink in my belly. It was really an enjoyable morning. My poor swimmers paid for it by a really hard long workout but hey what does not kill you makes you stronger. Then they were concerned that I was possible going into labor so they did a full check and ran a few tests. Baby is a good 3 pounds and things look good minus two infections that I have and was kind of ignoring pretending were not bothering me. No weight gain this time so that made me pleased as I feel houselike. Getting close though. Time is winding down. Two days ago Keegan and I went to the hospital to pre register and both panicked a bit for different reasons. He could not believe how fast this pregnancy was going by and I was just remembering delivering Ava and having trouble because in my head she is my baby. Either way... lovely baby boy ripp who is a little closer to a name but still nameless will be here in 10 weeks or so. Holly shit.
On a side note... nothing really happening on room front till we are home from beach but rug arrived as did a painting and some blankets. Swim team is nuts and we leave for vacation on Monday assuming the preterm labor test comes back okay Monday morning.
keeping fingers crossed. Have yet to go on family vacation all three of us.

baby boys room

2010-06-10T05:33:00.000-07:00

so i am starting to get a little antsy to work on babies room but don't really have the time to do much and we are kind of holding off until we get back from vacation to the beach (yes all three of us are taking a trip to nc beach in a week and a half... keegan has not had a vacation since our honeymoon) to move furniture around. Ava will get big bed and we will begin that transition before baby is here and hopefully in like two weeks we will be good in the big bed and no crib. Nervous to loose nap time but hoping she actually likes big bed... and then when she comes in our room in the night at least she can come herself instead of having to go get her. ha.

But last night i did some searching and am thinking we might go with this rug. Navy curtains and then hang giant wooden airplane of my dad's from ceiling. Also frame some flight maps and go with airplane theme and hope it is not September 11th as there is NYC painted on wall also but thinking that is what it will look like as you fly by from airplane.I shall keep you updated on what we do... hoping to order a lot of stuff the next few days and go back to dallas this weekend and get the curtains etc.

summer is here

2010-06-10T05:26:00.000-07:00

well its 7:25 am. I have been up since 440. Met sarah at the gym at 515, ran for hour and then home and have been working on swim team stuff since i got home. I will leave for pool in 20 mins and be there till about noon. My two babies fast asleep side by side in our bed right now. Yep that is how this summer is kinda going so far. Ava has been with babysitter, friend, or gigi and pop pops (k's parents) a lot lately because of swim team. Keegan is off wed and thurs this week so at least those days she is with daddy. Its just swim team but honestly I am working a real job it feels like these days... except that it is outside in the heat. We had a meet monday which was 5 hours outside and then an event in the evening Tuesday so both days Ava had double duty of not being with Mommy. The one thing is that this summer I will actually make some good money so its kind of justifiable except when Ava turns up lip and says no mommy no work no work mommy play with me... and clings to me and then we part ways both with tears running down our cheeks. Now practice is in morning because school is out for everyone so hoping that leaving in morning is a little easier knowing we will have the rest of the day when I leave her with Lacy the babysitter.

hello third trimester

2010-05-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

oh this belly. i really have to say there were times i felt so beautiful when i was pregnant with ava. cant say the same this time round. its different and more of a blob but 27 weeks here it is. I know he will be here before long and some days i am so ready and some days its going too fast and i need it to slow down. either way ..... he will be here when he is here and the belly will continue to grow. hopefully not at the rate it did this past month tho.

RUFUS

2010-05-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

So yesterday afternoon I had a big swim team league meeting for all teams in the league in dallas. It was a crazy day already and so when Lacy the babysitter arrived I said poor Rufus has not had a walk, if you go outside let him go with you so that he can pee and sniff. He does this all the time with us... often outside playing with Ava and other kids. Sometimes he decides to go explore for max 5 mins and is waiting on doorstep without fail. The dog rarely leaves my side. Well last night was fail. I get a panicked text in my meeting from Lacy that they were all playing and it thundered and Rufus bolted to the Field behind our house. I was not really worried, I said keep checking doors he is prolly waiting out front. Well after 20 mins Keegan came home and searched but could not find him. Then Keegans sister Caitlin came to relieve Lacy (it was a mama long meeting) and she and Ava set out. By this point I think the whole neighborhood was looking for Rufus. I mean they all love him and know how important he is to our family. I got home around 11 and the neighbors needed to go to bed... but Keegan's dad and brother were still searching and ava and I set out on our quest... hoping that maybe he would come for me. No such luck. Finally I realized after crying so much and being so worried and listening to ava call "doodoo" and ask where he was and say that she wanted him that she had to go to bed... it was going on midnight. So i put her in bed only to hear her continue to call him. so sad. I was devastated and could not really sleep. Keegan got home at 230 and I was praying Rufus would be home with him but no. We sat up fearing the worst and making a game plan of animal shelter at 8:56am as they open at 9 and posters and continuing the search. I woke up every hour sick to my stomach thinking about his sweet soft ears and what a wonderful family member he was. I would get up and check both doors each time keeping fingers crossed. Finally at 555am the sun was up and I got up to check one more time..... not at back door. But... I opened the front door and in walks a very tired and scared rufus. At the time I could not tell how badly he was limping but walking funny. Ava woke up immediately despite being so dog tired and shouted doodoo..... and so he was home. We made him breakfast and snuggled him and then saw he was limping, I got a better look and he had worn off the pads on the bottom of his paws and had barely any toenails. His nails were bleeding. I put my favorite socks on him and waited for vet to open. Ava and I got him in the car and made it to the vet.... having barely gotten dressed and managing teeth brushing. But the vet thoroughly checked him over and said no broken bones or anything.... but the dog had run all night trying to find home...... so what started as thunder sent a disoriented rufus a couple towns over in fear and then confusion. After 12 hours of running he found his way home. Thank you God. He is sleeping now and has pain medicine and we are all so so so so thankful that he is home safely with us. could not have imagine loosing him and will nurse him back to his spunky athletic self.

baby boy update and daily stuff

2010-05-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

Well today we had a regular OB check and everything looks good. The baby felt big to the midwife but in a good way she said. Next week we enter the third trimester so its the home stretch. My belly grew six inches from last time which of course freaked me out and I gained five pounds which scared me even more. That is the most I have gained between appointments ever but since I had not gained the last two times she said it was important. Still totally had me in tears. But many things do these days.
Swim Team has started and the team is huge. We have added about 20 kids this season so I for sure have my hands full. Practice began last week on dry land (lots of running and jumping jacks) and yesterday they hit the water. I am very excited for the season and a bit nervous as to what an undertaking head coaching is, especially with a two year old not to mention that I am going on seven months pregnant. But it will keep my days full. As soon as school is out practice will be from 830 to 1030 in the morning. Lacy, our new babysitter will come in the morning at 8 and stay with Ava through practice and then I will hit the gym for an hour and be home by lunch time. My sweet angel (most of the time) and I will snack and snuggle and then she will hopefully nap and I will work on swim team stuff. You cant begin to imagine how much paper work and computer time is involved with running a team and preparing for meets and championships. Then when Ava wakes up from nap we will get our time and play or run errands and enjoy our last few months just us. Then after bath when it is a bit cooler we will take Rufus for a walk at night. I am worried he will be the one to suffer the most from swim team because it is so hot to walk him except in early mornings or late evening but I will do my best to not miss too many daily walks. And well some where in there Keegan and I will knock off things on the to do list before baby comes and get all the things we will need. and hopefully sneak away for a night just the two of us so Ava's first night away from me is not when we are in the hospital having her brother.

avas birthday .... yes more ... from grannies camera

2010-05-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

she loved loved loved the pinata from celia
daddy and happy pinata whacker
planting
on new wheels
painting
painting flower pots
with gannie
daddy and birthday girl
mommy and birthday girl

I cant really explain quite how much fun ava had on her birthday. I thought she might get a bit overwhelmed but no... she had the time of her life. Friends, family, gannie, painting flower pots, and then hot dog and chicken and corn, followed by cupcake and then planting flowers and playing. To be finished off with breaking her curious george pinata. Pictures are prolly out of order but you get the idea.

Ava turns two

2010-05-17T11:19:00.000-07:00

what she woke up to
playing in presents birthday morning
upon waking up from nap she found balloons for party and would not let go
ava even showered with balloons
yes he stuffed his pants for his daughters second birthday
cupcakes
first cupcake ever... she never wanted it before
ava meeting man in yellow hat for first time
table
desert
eating dinner with her friends
So our dear sweet baby girl turned two on Saturday. The time goes so fast and in other ways i don't really remember being me without her. We love you so much sweet angel. Here are some pics from the big day from my camera although, Gannie (my mum) has much better ones that i will post when she sends them to me.

lately

2010-05-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

rufus has settled in well as you can see. We celebrated adoption day (1 year he has been a family memeber with us) on Mothersday
avas new wheels from doodad
ava and daddy playing there tag game
crazy pregnant nesting/ cleaning/ labeling frenzie in the freezer

Ava and Elise screaming for fun

2010-05-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

doodad

2010-05-05T07:08:00.000-07:00

I cant believe I have no pictures to show from the trip :( but my dad (doodad) cam last Thursday and left Monday. We had a fabulous long weekend. Keegan has been working extra much training an assistant but managed to break away Thursday and Friday. Ava was at school and I went to Dallas to get my dad from the airport. K picked her up and when we got home Ava who has been clingy and often a mommy's girl went straight to my dad. It was so sweet. Then we hung out here and played as a family. Friday we went to Allen to a park with a real train and a bunch of little houses. Ava was in heaven, then we headed to Toys R Us for my dad to get Ava her bday present and lunch. We all went out to dinner that night and Ava was awesome and so into my dad. I would look over at her and she would just be staring at my dad. They were both smitten. Saturday morning she got her present from dad... fully charged and put together, a mini four wheeler to ride all in the house. She saw it and clapped and jumped and said "woohoo" true story and still she drives it with a big smile, crashes into the wall (does not have steering down) and then often stops and gets off and walks around it.. like this is mine... really mine? Keegan worked a lot all weekend so it was the three of us but Ava would not leave my dads side. My dad also built shelves in both closets for the kids which was a lot of work and huge. We will begin the bedroom switch in the next month perhaps but now Ava will have a closet and baskets for her clothes once the changing table goes in little brothers room. Sunday was more building and errand running and Monday we took my dad to the airport. :( When we got back home Ava ran in the guest room and burst into tears.... she got it... he was gone for now. However, we will see him next month in NC. The three of us plus fetus are heading to the NC beach for 6 days. This is huge, K has not been on a vacation since our honeymoon. And ava will have her doodad back. Up next week: Grannie and bday party so she will be distracted and then the following week she gets to meet her new cousin Amelia.

2010-05-05T07:05:00.000-07:00

pigtails and the kitchen sink

"take a picture... cheese"

2010-04-29T05:02:00.000-07:00

ava and meow headed out for a night walk. notice meow has everything ava has.... a seat, buckled, a beebee (blanket), water, and gold fish
well more of a bathroom shot but here is dj jazzy in the belly at almost six months.

2010-04-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

ava waking up from her nap ... she is so snuggly when she wakes up i just love it

the girl likes to drink cheese shreads

might be crazy

2010-04-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

time has gone by so fast, we are back at swim team season and i am coaching again. I am nervous and excited. It was a lot of work last year and tricky with the clubs owners and this year the Lien holders ( yea... lien holders as the club went under) might be tricky again but I have already made a commitment to the kids to coach again and perhaps this year i will actually make a little moola. But I will be 9 months pregnant by the end. It will be hot, very hot and hours on my feet in the hot sun, however it will also be a distraction from the looming birth and new son that will be here before too long.

cravings

2010-04-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

so people ask you when your pregnant... oh do you have any weird cravings and well with ava is was spinach with ketchup and i loved yogurt. this time.... parsley. yes, i have had to stop at the grocery store to buy a head of parsley and by the time i got home it is gone... i munch in line at grocery store and get strange looks and then really go to town driving home. yummmmmmm i might need a snack right now.

birthday

2010-04-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

so ava has been sick for going on a week now. Last Monday she seemed miserable but i spotted 4 teeth coming through and thought that was the problem. She was not eating much at all so we relaxed and watched movies and took it easy. Tuesday she seemed worse so we headed for the doctor and sure enough she had a really really bad ear infection. She is still recovering and not back to herself yet or really eating so it made birthday camping trip not an option. However, as I was turning 28 I felt old and wanted to do a physical challenge. My mom began swimming a mile on her birthday like 20 years ago and she would call and say how proud she was of herself and i thought it was a good tradition to start..... some sort of physical challenge. So I decided this year after being inspired by a friends facebook post about running a 6 min mile that I wanted to try. Now she is new to the running thing and I knew that I could do one so I decided I wanted to do 4. crazy... a little. Now this is not without like 10 mins rest in between but i did it... 6:13, 6:02, 6:22, 6:18. close enough. Considering I was 5 plus months pregnant I felt like a champ and ignored the fact that I kinda peed in my pants.

first baby purchase this time around

2010-04-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

since i first found out i was pregnant with ava i dreamed of a jogging stroller. this is embarrassing to confess, i am a nut but i just pictured it as part of all three of our lives at the time. and it has been a huge part of my daily life, keegan when he is around and well rufus sees ava head that way and waits by the door, unfortunately ava has kind of not into riding these days but it will pass... it must pass. this pregnancy did not change .... except i dreamed of a double jogging stroller. and well as i am in love with the one i had i just needed the version for two. and actually i always wanted the orange one. i know i really do know i obsess about odd things. but this post is honest. so tomorrow is my birthday and REI happened to be having a 20% off sale which is like unheard of for these kinds of strollers and all i asked for from everyone was a stroller and well i am one lucky lucky girl..... ordered it. now just like 3.5 months till it gets used .... but i have it right.... or ava will ride with her doll or something. i can not really picture pushing 2 of my babies while i run. and it will be a while until he can have mile parties with us. mile party you might ask... when ava is particularly grumpy about the stroller we have mile parties and i tell her how many miles we are going before we go.... and how many parties and then after each mile she gets out and does a little dance and gets a treat... a few sprinkles (don't ask)

painting is done

2010-04-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

the second coat went on the city and the hardwoods are in for our little baby boys room. It will remain a guest room with big bed and such until after both my dad (doodad) comes in two weeks and then my mum (grannie) for Ava's birthday. Then we will begin the transition i suppose to Ava in a big bed and switch it to Avas room. But dont worry guys... ava loooooooves and does often to sleep with daddy and mommy so when you come visit she will gladly give her big bed and room up for a cozy spot between mom and dad.

2010-04-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

ava is washing her favorite toy lately... her cow with huge udders. she picked it out after asking randomly (we have never really talked about it before) to go potty one sunday morning and just going.

i got a girly streak one day and well ava loved it she loves to have her toes painted. She points them and looks at them all the time and says "painted"

she is just getting big so fast

2010-04-11T12:03:00.000-07:00

aint no april fools joke here kids

2010-04-01T10:15:00.001-07:00

Its a BOY

trying so hard to get the pedal thing down

2010-03-24T16:43:00.000-07:00

pig tails

2010-03-15T15:43:00.000-07:00

2010-03-10T14:25:00.000-08:00

just found this last night..... she loves that dog ... and thankfully he puts up with her
*** not finished but yesterdays work on the new room

2010-03-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

trains

2010-03-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

and shibleys

So Ava has become very into trains these days. She loves to play with my little brothers train set that my dad brought around Christmas as a hand-me-down and since riding the street car in New Orleans thinks she likes to ride trains. So we went to this mall close by so the kids could ride a model train. Ava was in heaven. The three other adorable kids in the pic are Ava's best friends here. Grace the oldest then Lilly and then Caleb. She calls them "my kids" and really thinks she is part of their family. She plays with them daily at the gym and often again later in the afternoon. In fact when she sees their car she runs into it and wants to go with them. Sarah their mom has become my closest friend here and we work out together 5 or 6 days a week and really enjoy each other as well as watching the kids have so much fun.
Yesterday Keegan, Ava and I went to a good friends yogurt shop grand opening that happened to time with a Thomas the Tank Engine Festival. Unfortunately all the train rides were sold out and slaker mommy here did not know I should have ordered them on line but Ava loved just seeing everything and the petting zoo and glass blowing demo.... okay she did not love the glass blowing demo but Keegan did as I have tried to explain it to him several times and this made it all come together. The yogurt Shop.... Cassie's yogurt was amazing and both Keegan and I were so impressed/ excited for the Uptmore/ Wheat crew but especially Cassie.