Ava Kate Turns One....a while ago!

Ava Kate's party was a family event full of fun! I have never had so much fun at a birthday party, especially one where the birthday girl had no clue what was going on! James' sister Alison flew in from Alabama to share the day with us, and even though being hugely prego in the heat of Summer was miserable I love having her birthday near Labor Day because it's a whole long weekend of fun! The decorations were the creative child of Brett's wife Annika, I wish I could take credit for those cute cute flowers, but alas, she's the crafter.
All of those presents on the fireplace are hers! Van said he wants as many presents as Ava-Kate got for his birthday. She received clothes and clothes galore from both grandmas and grandpas and aunts. A piano and quiet book from mom and dad. A backpack from U. Van. a TuTu and wand from A. Annika and U. Brett. And a cute plush bowling pin and ball set from Nana K.


Once AK figured out "opening presents" she was all for it, especially when the applause came at the end. Which the picture above is her giving herself a clap. Ava Kate also gave us a beautiful piano concert...enjoy!

Ava Kate Turns One... Tomorrow!

I haven't been great at keeping our out-of-town grandma's, grandpa's, aunts, uncles, etc. updated in what Ava-Kate is really like. First and probably craziest is she walks! EVERYWHERE! She loves just walking down the street, yep that's right, the street, she will not stay on the sidewalk. I'm afraid I have a shopper in the making. When we go to stores she will walk up to the displays, or racks, or shelves and touch whatever is at her level, but she touches it very gently, and will kind of squat and look at it, smile, then move on to the next display. It is hilarious! I should really get that on video. She LOVES dancing and singing. She'll dance to any music no matter where she is, so if you ever see us at the grocery store, when I think nobody is looking I'll dance right along with her. Her singing is really cute too, it's mostly to the radio when we're in the car she'll kind of just ooh and aah musically, it's hard to describe, but I know it's singing. Ava-Kate is already trying to talk and mimic everything we say. So far her words are gog=dog; top=stop; maaam= I'm hungry/thirsty/more; pop=pop (as in: goes the weasel); bah= boo!; uh-oo= uh-oh. She loves banging and making all the noise she can possibly get out of anything and everything. She is really testing out her independence, but only if I'm close by for a little bit of safety. It's impossible to get anything done around the house because she either wants to be held (while making dinner, doing the dishes, or laundry, or I have to be sitting by her so that she'll play with her toys. We're weaning her off "the bottle" which is quite the journey but she loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, string cheese, bananas, yogurt, oatmeal, and whole milk. oh! and beets! What!?! That's right, she LOVES canned beets! Random story as to how that was discovered, but it's one of her faves. Finally, she loves herself! Here's a video of her in the car, and then of her watching her video of her in the car. enjoy!

Pioneer Day

Pioneer Day is my most favorite holiday. Unfortunately if we ever move outside of Utah, July 24th is just another summer day. I LOVE the parade! Which is kind of odd, because we never went to it, or even watched it on TV when I was younger, but for the last 4 years I've gone every year; even at 8.5 months prego. This year was Ava Kate's first, and she was so great! (she was so tired though, the second we put her back into the stroller she was out like a light; literally the very second!)

We saw President Uchtdorf, horses, floats, and our favorite- mustache motorcycle cops. We were about 95% prepared to go parade-ing with a baby, we just forgot a hat.

Later that night we got to watch our friend Natalie sing the national anthem at the Real Soccer

game. We saw Real tie to Chivas USA 1-1, and a FANTASTIC fireworks show. Ava Kate was fantastic the entire game! She loved the clapping and cheers at the game. (I think she thought it was for her). She stayed up until 11 pm, and then we all slept in 'til 9:30 the next morning! Woo-hoo for a day with my family to celebrate the pioneer spirit!

It's been a while

Ava Kate got her first hair cut! So big!

We Went to

This is the Place with our friends the Hortons on Free Day to celebrate Pioneer Day and Utah's Heritage.

Lauren Froderman & Dominic Sandoval - "If I Were a Boy"

Obsessed!

miStakE!

I have made a terrible, terrible, very difficult-to-undo mistake! Don't ever, ever train your child to fall asleep with a bottle. This picture, though cute, haunts me day and NIGHT!

Afternoon Off!

James has been so busy, that even when he has work off, he's ALWAYS doing homework. Well, he decided to take some time off and hang with his girls for the afternoon. And what an adventure we had! It started with a delightful lunch at Litza's Pizza, where, as it turns out, we discovered Ava-Kate likes beets. After our bellies were full, it was off to the Fort Douglas Army Museum. Ever since "The Guardian" came out, I've had this love affair with the Coast Guard. Our other favorite were the different displays of helicopters, tanks, and cannons outside. But our most favorite was, it was all FREE! So if you ever have an afternoon off, I suggest you check out the museum, Ava-Kate liked it so much she was out like a light before we even pulled out of the parking lot.