Sacramento Temple

I forgot I took these pictures at the beginning of the month. It was the day Rachel went to the temple to baptism for the dead for the first time. Rich went in the temple to help with the ordinances and I hung out with Ava and Nathan.

3, 2, 1...Lift Off

For Easter we got Ava a bubble rocket launcher. It was probably more for us than her, but Ava did enjoy all the cool bubbles.

Springtime Cutie

Enjoying the Weather

We have been enjoying the sunshine and mild temperatures. We have been spending more time in our backyard exploring. Ava enjoys watching our tortoise Mo eat, throwing the ball to Luca, and smelling flowers. She also likes to hunt down all the fluffy dandelions that have turned to seed. When we find one I blow on it and that makes her laugh.

Blowing on a dandelion
Smelling a miniature rose

"He loves me. He loves me not."

Ava destroying the rose.

Ava trying to feed Mo.

Always cute, but not always sweet

I LOVE this picture!

Ava knows what she wants and isn't afraid to let you know. Recently, she wants whatever I'm eating and will throw fits when I don't give it to her. She has also mastered arching her back and playing limp girl.

Reading Books and Kicking Balls

Right now two of Ava's favorite things are "reading" books and kicking balls. We don't really read books because she likes to flip through the pages so fast, but she spends a good portion of the day on my lap looking at different books over and over. We have about 6 books that she focuses on and loves to pull as many books as she can off the shelves. Needless to say I spend a lot of time picking up books.

Ava is rapidly improving her walking skills. She has figured out if she walks she can carry two objects at a time and that has encouraged her to walk more. One of her favorite walking activities is kicking a ball around the house. I am amazed at her balance and skill. I think we might have a soccer player in training.

Whole house fan

After 3 trips to Home Depot and about 7 hours of work I put in a whole house fan yesterday. Well I.. is an exaggeration. I had a lot of help. My friend Craig did >90% of the work. My friend Bill made an emergency trip to Home Depot for me when I realized that the board I cut out of my attic was a 2x8 and not a 2x6. He also helped hand stuff to us that we forgot down below. Lisa helped flip off the breakers and then did all the clean up. It was hard work but it will be worth it when things heat up this Summer. Thank you to all my helpers. Craig is featured in the second photo. You will see his foot dangling from the ceiling. Bill is featured in the first photo. You just get a look at the top of his head. Lisa preferred not to be in any pictures yesterday.

Ava's 1st Drawing

Splish Splash Ava's Not In The Bath

This week Ava figured out how to get water out of her sippy cup. While I was getting lunch ready Ava was playing and experimenting with her water. Before I realized it she had a giant puddle of water (thank goodness it wasn't sticky juice) all over her tray and was having a great time splashing. This caught me by surprise, but it made me laugh. I especially like her expression in the last picture. It is her "I'm so funny" face.

I can't sing, but Ava doesn't mind

I want to share this story, so in the future when Ava tells me to be quiet or to stop singing I can remind her that once she was entertained by me.

Yesterday while I was baking in the kitchen Ava was watching and eating in her highchair. Since we all love music in our home we had the radio on and I was singing and dancing around. Instead of Ava covering her ears she was smiling and enjoying the show. This made me happy and love her even more. You see, I love to sing, but I know I can't carry a tune to save my life. Fortunately, I am married to a sweet (and possibly tone deaf) husband that tolerates my singing. Now, I am also blessed to have a daughter that loves me despite my terrible voice.


*Sidenote- Sometimes I wish life was like a musical and we could just burst out in song during everyday life. I know that is corny, but it's true.

WE'RE APPROVED!!

We found out today we our approved to adopt again through LDS Family Services...YEAH!! We are excited, nervous, and scared. We don't know what the future holds for our family, but we look forward to the journey. Ava has been the greatest blessing in our lives and we hope to experience that joy again.

Thank you to all our family and friends for you love, support, and continued prayers. If you want to check out our adoption profile click the link in the sidebar on the right ("OUR Adoption Profile").

This Explains A Lot...

For those of you who are not sure what we are talking about notice the white pokey tooth coming in. That's right Ava is getting a molar. We were surprised to find this tooth coming in last night as we brushed her teeth.

Ava has not been feeling great and a little crabby, but we weren't exactly sure why. She also has woken up a few times at night screaming like she is in pain, but we couldn't pin point the problem. It never occurred to us that she would be getting a molar. This teething experience has been so different than I expected. I thought they would come in, in order and not take so long to do it. Ava currently has her front 2 bottom teeth, 3 top front teeth (the 4th getting ready to pop out), and now a molar. Papa Bruce and Bob, Is this normal??

Getting Longer

The other day I was able to pull Ava's hair back into a ponytail. It is amazing how much hair she has now. I thought she looked pretty cute, but of course she pulled it out within a few minutes. I can't wait for the day she lets me do her hair and will leave it alone....at least I hope that day will come.

Oooey, Gooey, Cadbury Egg

Easter Sunday

On Easter we stayed at home and my family came over. We enjoyed spending the afternoon with my parents and brother, Eric. We enjoyed food, the Wii, and some board games. For dinner we made a roast in a ragu sauce, rotisserie chicken, mashed potatoes, and bread rolls. My mom made a chocolate cake that looked like an Oreo cookie for dessert. We enjoyed the food and have been enjoying it all week long.

The Easter bunny visited Ava and she also got presents from our family. The Easter bunny brought Ava a Dove chocolate bunny and a small See's chocolate bunny. She also found the DVD, "Alla Ricerca Di Nemo" ("Finding Nemo" in Italian) in her basket. From family she got clothes, a book, toys, a lawn chair, gardening tools, and animal shaped eggs in a bucket. Ava is a lucky girl to be loved and spoiled by so many people.

Papa Harry watching Uncle Eric play the Wii with Ava.

Easter Feast

Rich, Papa Harry, Nona Carole, Ava, & Uncle Eric (with a joker smile)

Ava with some of her Easter presents.

Ava is excited about her Italian DVD. Thanks to the Easter bunny for going all the way to Italy to get this special gift.

Ava with all of her Easter goodies...what a lucky girl!

Hunting Eggs in Gridley

On Saturday we headed to Gridley for the annual Bowling Easter Egg hunt. Last year Ava hunted eggs in the Baby Bjorn, but this year she was able to walk with assistance. She enjoyed the hunt more and a found some eggs on her own.

Ava Easter 2009

Dying Easter Eggs

The Friday before Easter we dyed eggs. We put Ava in her highchair and she was amazed at the transformation of the eggs. I was worried about her making a big mess, but I really should of been worried about Rich. He knocked over cups twice and made a big mess. Ava didn't have too much trouble with my help and only had a blue thumb when we were done.

On the Move

This past week Ava has shown more interest in walking. She has been furniture walking more and enjoying walking while holding someone's hand. On Wednesday (while Rich was home teaching) she took 3 steps to me. Then if she wasn't thinking about it she would take a step or two. All week it has been a couple steps here and a couple steps there.

On Saturday while in Gridley Ava started making more of an effort to walk on her own. She stood up all by herself a couple times and moved her feet. One time she took 5 steps from the train table toward the sliding glass door (Rich was at Priesthood Meeting). On Sunday she made a few more attempts.

Today Ava has been trying to walk all over the house...it is crazy. Usually she crawls to get toys, books, or one of us, but a few times she stood up and started walking. It was exciting, but weird all at the same time. Ava has pretty good balance and is learning to steady herself quickly. She will often walk and then pause for a second to regain her balance instead of falling. She also can walk, squat to pick up a toy, and stand up to walk a little farther. At one point I think she was feeling pretty confident and she looked like she was trying to run. That ended up with her falling on top of a toy...OOUCH! I think within the next week Ava will be covered with bumps and bruises and running around the house getting into a whole lot of trouble.

*I'll try to get some video of Ava walking posted soon.