Ava's 7th Birthday

Niki and Paris?

No, it is just Ava and her cousin, Reina.  However, I am still worried what the future holds.

Another Milestone

Ava is on a roll. 
1^st Day of School 
Learning to ride a two wheeler 
Losing her 1^st tooth!

Look Mom!

While I was away in Romania. Ava learned to ride a two wheeler. She was very proud to show off when I got home. Ryan had been taking the kids to the playground a couple of nights a week and working on bike riding with Ava. It is fantastic to have an elementary school right behind our house. Starting is still a bit of an issue for her, but overall she's got it down pat.

Ava's 5th Birthday

Ava said she wanted a surprise party this year for her birthday. She didn't want anyone to tell her when it was her birthday. Ava has a general concept of months and days of the week, but she doesn't understand dates yet, so surprising her on her birthday wasn't too difficult. No one talked about her birthday the week prior, and we didn't wish her happy birthday day when she woke up the day of her birthday. We just sent the kids off to daycare as usual while we worked. Ryan made a crown cake this year and decorated it with berries and candy for our little princess. She secretly wishes that she could have been born into nobility.

When I picked the kids up in the afternoon, I sent the others inside and asked Ava to help me with the garbage cans. Then we came in and when she walked up the stairs everyone one yelled surprise. She was surprised and very happy. We just had a small family celebration, and Ava was quite content with cake and some presents. Little things can make her so happy.

Who am I?

If you guessed Ava, you would be wrong. However, I can't fault you because she looks strikingly similar to my paternal grandmother, Eva.

Wet and Wild Wedding Weekend

This past weekend, Ava and I had the honor of attending the wedding of one of my oldest and dearest friends. Siusan and Lee got married on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. I had never been to those islands before, but I love NC beaches. This one did not disappoint. Since it is off season, it reminded me of our own quiet beach of North Topsail Island, about 200 miles south. Siusan rented a 10 bedroom beach house for friends and family to stay. It was great to have everyone at the same place and allowed for a continuous stream of festivities. Starting with dinner the night before the wedding and then rolling into small ceremony on the beach bright and early in the morning followed a pancake breakfast and BBQ lunch. The weather was great for November, and the bride and groom ended up with a day that was 65 degrees, sunny, and no wind.

Siusan and Lee were the only ones crazy enough to actually go in the water (which was about the same temperature as the air), as they did a "trash the dress" photo shoot later on their wedding day. I am sure there will be some awesome photos. Ava had a blast over the weekend, and I enjoyed her company. She thought it was pretty special to take a trip with just mom. Elizabeth got to do a business/leisure trip with me about 18 months ago, so Ava was excited that it was her turn. Plus, she had been asking about going to the beach since the beginning of summer.

As I mentioned before, it was a bit cool to go in the water but that didn't stop her from making her own fun on the beach. There were a couple of other little girls in her age group for her to play with, and I really didn't see her all weekend other than when she wanted another cupcake.

Note the devilish grin, this girl peppered me with questions non stop while we were traveling. I never knew she had so much to say, but she managed to question me to death through 8 hours of travel time on each end of the trip.

Ava's 4th Birthday

What better way to enjoy 100 degree weather than at the Splash Pad. Ava and about 20 of her friends from school, baseball, church, and the neighborhood came out to celebrate her 4th birthday.

The umbrella was a birthday gift that made all the kids jealous.

Ava is absolutely amazing and we are so thankful that she made a full recovery from her accident last year. Life wouldn't be the same without Captain Destructo!

The good news is that we didn't have to worry about the pizza getting cold, but the icing on the cake was melting, and Casey kept stealing candies off of it.

It was a great day to be a kid!

Season wrap ups

Before leaving for reserve duty, I had the pleasure of seeing the girls wrap up two of their activities for the season. The 1st being dance/gymnastics, and the second being T-ball. In their dance/gymnastics show, Ava put on a great routine. This was her best participation effort to date. Perhaps, an ice cream reward was a good motivator. She was showed off her basket hang and skills at tap dancing.

This was Elizabeth's 5th season of T-ball and Ava's 3rd season. I think they have worn just about every color in the rainbow. This go around it was the blue Poison Dart Frogs. Lizzy's eye hand coordination has gotten really good. Ryan enjoys being able to throw a ball around with her now. It was fun coaching a lot of the same kids from the previous fall and winter seasons, but we are all ready for a break. We learned last summer that June/July/Aug outdoor sports are not a smart idea in San Antonio. Swimming lessons, here we come!

Just for Laughs

It is a bleak and rain day here, but this cheered me up.

Elizabeth must have gotten those moves from her father. The girls are getting more use out of their tap shoes at home then they ever did at dance class.

Action Shots

Lots of action shots of the girls playing Fall T-Ball. Elizabeth

Ava

Go Dinosaurs!