Temple Lights

Beautiful.

You can tell by the picture that Ava was more than thrilled to be there. She couldn't wait to put on all her winter gear and see the lights. It's not often that we get the mittens, hats and coats out.

Props to all the people who put up all of the lights this year. We especially liked how they even made sure to add lights to the planters.

Here's Reid checking out the lights. All snug with his cozy blanket.

I don't want to distract from the cuteness of my family in this pic (because they sure are cute!), but seriously, which thing doesn't belong 1) people wearing winter gear 2) Christmas lights or 3) blooming flowers.

I doubt I'll have anytime to post before Christmas, so hope you all have a very merry Christmas!

Santa's Watching

I was a little worried about if Josh was going to be on the good list this year, so I went straight to the big guy. He's the nicest guy. He even sent a message just for Josh...if you can believe it. Check it out.

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/23abe596938f2d91383e849f03c21322

I also did one for Ava. I must admit, she was pretty shocked by the whole thing. Especially when he said her name.

The big day

Lets take a stroll back through Ava's past history with St. Nick. Here's Ava's first visit.

The next year wasn't any better. She sat on his lap for a mere millisecond...if that.

Wanting Ava to have a better experience this year, I went into prep mode a week before the visit. We read The Night Before Christmas every night, we acted out possible scenarios that could happen, practiced what she would ask for, and we watched Dora's Christmas Special (where she visits Santa) over and over and over. This is how Ava's encounter with Santa went.

I'm so proud of my little girl! Even though she felt like crying, she held it together. She sat on his lap...leaps and bounds above last year. And by the end of the visit she was even able to squeak out what she wanted. I wish I got a pic of Ava afterwards. She was smiling from ear to ear and would show her bag of candy that Santa gave her to anyone who would ask if she saw Santa.

Reid didn't know what the big deal was. He doesn't care who is holding him, just as long as he's being held.

Here's one lap that both kiddos don't mind sitting on.

This year I decided to start a advent calendar for Ava. Each day leading up to Christmas we do a different activity. Today's activity was writing a letter to Santa. I found this cute print-out that was perfect. Ava loved getting to color it just for Santa.

Just to clarify, the reason why Ava wants a camera that works is because the battery in the old camera we gave Ava, won't hold a charge anymore. So she doesn't just want a camera, she wants one that will actually take pictures.

I know it's not Thanksgiving anymore, but I just had to post this little activity we did last week. Everyday for the month of Nov, we would all write one thing we were thankful for on a piece of paper. Then we would add that strip to a paper chain. I saw this activity and knew it would be a perfect way to record Ava's thankfuls.

My favorite was "loud noises that wake-up Reid". Lets just say that wasn't on my thankful list.

Thanksgiving 2009

Why does Thanksgiving only happen once a year? I wish there were more opportunities to get together with our family. Well, as long as I'm not the one having to cook the big feast! My stomach gets all tingly inside just picturing myself having to do it.

This year Joe and Ashley hosted the holiday down at their place. Thanks guys for putting up with the whole gang for 5 whole days. We really had a blast, especially Ava. She still can't stop talking about how Maddie is her cousin...and her friend. So cute! By the way, I think we should have Thanksgiving in a warm place every year. Anyone agree? Enjoy the pics. I copped out and did a slideshow. As always, I seem to have a hard time paring down the pics to just a few.

A Little Picture to Munch On

Tonights the night. I'm finally going to sit down and edit my Thanksgiving pics. Meanwhile, enjoy this little morsel while you wait. Geez, those kiddos are so scrumptious!

A Little Thanksgiving Nibble

I couldn't go one more day without posting this adorable video of Ava and my niece taken during Thanksgiving.

For Thanksgiving this year we were able to spend it with Josh's side of the fam. Ava got over her fear of Uncle Joe, Reid showed everyone how he's the cutest baby boy ever, and we were even able to convince John and Shelby to watch all 3 kiddos so we could go on a double date. We all had a lovely time. Especially the tutu wearing girlie who asked to go play at Maddie's house today. More pics to come, but I'm too tired to post anything else. So I guess the pics of our day at the beach will just have to wait. Sorry, I guess I should be more sensitive to those who had temperatures below 70 degrees during Thanksgiving :)

Feeling Pretty Dang Good

Today should go down in the record books as the day I finally fit back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. Just to clarify, they are pre-pre-pregnancy jeans. Yep. OnesI wore before I had Ava. I'm feeling pretty dang good right now.

Cinderella!

What can I say, but we run a tight ship here.

It doesn't matter if you decide to dress up like a princess. So don't even try flashing me a cute smile.

Okay, I'll give you a 15 minute break. (We actually found Ava doing this after dinner. She was so excited to get a magazine in the mail that was just for her. Cuteness)

Now back to work! Hmmm...I can't really tell, but I think Ava is actually adding more fingerprints to the glass than she is taking off.

She sure does make a cute Cinderella. That's for sure.

I did it!

Don't hate me, but the Christmas tree is up. Here's proof.

Luckily I had already bought both of the kiddos Christmas ornaments while my mom and I were living it up in SF. I just couldn't resist searching through the 30+ Christmas trees filled to brink with ornaments at Macy's. I seriously felt bad for whoever had to decorate all of those trees.

Reid got an airplane.

Ava got a bicycle. She can't wait till she's "bigger and bigger" so she can have one of her very own. Poor little squirt. But the rule is that her feet have to actually touch the ground before we'll get her one. I wish I got a video of her actually trying to ride it. Thank goodness we convinced her that that wasn't a good idea before she actually sat on it!

Where's Reidy? Seriously, he's in the picture. Look closely at Josh's hands. He's actually holding Reidster. I guess Ava won't let anything or anyone get in the way of giving her daddy a hug.

That's better. What a cute little family I have.

In other news, Reid is able to get up on his knees now. Rocking back and forth is he new favorite past time.

Ava is looking more and more grown up everyday and acting like it too!

Tis the Season

It might be a tad bit early, but we're playing Christmas music and we're putting up the Christmas decorations. I think we'll decorate the tree tonight for FHE. I know you all want to!

What a fun trip it was

Here is the last post dealing with my mom's visit. Whew. Going through 250 pictures is sure a time suck. Sorry for the amount of pictures ahead of time. But just be glad I didn't post more, because I so could have!

I guess Reid is just paying Ava back for all of the kisses she's given him.

Ava's a really good sport. She never hits Reid and just says, "No Reidy, don't pull my hair." She might have to add, "Don't eat me" to her response.

Reid sure loved having the extra attention from Grandma.

She even got Reid some cars to play with.

Finally some boy toys for the little guy. He loves taking a car in each hand and then slamming them together. Ava never did that. Gotta love little boys!

Shoes, check. Sunglasses, check. Backpack filled with nothing, check. Now we're ready for our walk.

Grandma's little helper.

Ava really does like animals. Just not in person.

Reid's now able to sit upright in a big kid stroller. He loves the new view.

Since the closest Jamba is 4 hours away from my mom's house, she makes sure we make a stop whenever she is in town. Ava sure doesn't mind one bit.

After getting our Jambas we headed over to the park. Since it was Halloween day, no one was there. No waiting for toys, free reign of everything, and not having to worry about just how long we've been on the swing. This must be what it feels like to have a backyard :)

For some weird reason, the first thing Ava wanted to do when we arrived at the park was push me on the swing.

Ha. I don't think she expected me to come back.

Reid observing all of the park fun.

Hey bud, I have an idea. Do you want to go on the swing?

I think that's a yes!

Wow. How did he grow up so fast?

What a handsome little guy. Makes me want to go upstairs and give him a big squeeze. But I'll restrain myself until the morning.

Grandma knows the way to Ava's favorite people list...stickers.

You can faintly notice a purpler marker mustache. Luckily it came off before Halloween.

Grandma sure knows how to make a little girl feel special. They enjoyed some one on one play dough time.

Ava even got to help Grandma make rice crispie treats.

They were delicious. Especially when you happened upon a whole marshmallow in your piece. I guess Ava decided that there just were not enough marshmallows in them and threw in a handful last minute (Notice the white blobs below).

We went downtown to find Reid some new shoes, but came up empty handed. But we sure had fun while we were there.

Ava always loves the fountains. Grandma even gave her a coin to make a wish. She wished that everyone would feel better. We were all fighting a cold while Grandma was here. She's such a sweetie.

Here she is trying to fish her coin out. Okay, not really. She just likes to touch the water.

I just realized a lot of the pictures had to deal with food. I promise we did more than just eat food!

Thanks for coming Mom. Ava still randomly will state, "I miss Grandma."

Hope you enjoyed the pics. We have quite the aspiring photographer at our household. I might just have to do a post with pics taken by Ava.