Ava's Favorite Game

Lately Ava loves to dance around our home. She loves to have music playing and will make us dance around with her. Since she loves to dance her favorite game is Dance Central for the Xbox. Everyday she asks to play "the dance game". Her favorite songs to dance to are by Lady Gaga. Ava tries to follow the moves and does pretty well for a 2 1/2 year old. Sometimes she likes us to dance with her and sometimes she likes to dance by herself. When she is tired of dancing she makes us dance, so she can watch. This game has been great for family time. It provides tons of entertainment (especially when Rich dances) and is a great workout.

Rich and Ava dancing to Lady Gaga. Rich is such a good sport and daddy. He is willing to play whatever Ava wants and is not embarrassed to wear her pink hat if she wants him to.

Do you need a good laugh? Then this one is for you....

For a good laugh check out the pictures below.
Disclaimer: It was late and we were tired.

The reason for the pictures is I need a haircut. My hair is getting longer and it has probably been at least six months since my last hair cut. As my hair gets longer I find it more and more annoying. It is also heavy. When my hair starts to get this length I have the impulse to cut it really really short. I've cut it short a few times, but never boy short or a pixie cut which is what I've always wanted to do. Since I'm feeling the impulse again I thought I would use my feeble photoshop skills to get an idea of what I'd look like. The following pictures were part of my experiment.

This was the first picture. I added the short hair and busted out laughing before I could get around to airbrushing out the long hair back.
What do you think? Should I go for the mullet?

Then I found another hairdo I kind of liked, but it was blonde. I definitely won't go blonde. I don't think the two-toned mullet looks too hot though either, but it did crack us up.

This last picture is a rough idea of what I'd look like with super short hair. I'm not loving it either. I probably will stay my boring old self and just cut it to my shoulders.

Learning More Than Teaching

I am so grateful to be Ava's mom. I love her more than I can begin to express. She has been a true blessing and I have learned a lot from her. Becoming a mom I thought I would be the teacher, the leader, and the example. A lot of the time I am, but Ava has also been my teacher, leader, and example.

The past several weeks Ava has helped me to humble myself and improve my prayers. We say prayers together as a family just before Ava goes to bed. First we sing the Primary song, I Pray in Faith, because it teaches the right way to pray. The first line in the song is, "I kneel to pray everyday". As we sing this song Ava usually tells us to kneel down which we all do to show love and respect for Heavenly Father. It is important to Ava that we kneel down to say our family prayers and that makes me happy. I feel like Rich and I are doing something right and Ava is learning to show reverence and love to Heavenly Father through prayer.

During our family prayers and through singing the Primary song I have learned more than I've taught. I say my prayers daily, individually and as a family. I am reverent and try to show gratitude and love through my conversation (prayer) with Heavenly Father. But I'm embarrassed to admit I do not always kneel when I pray. There are times of course when it is not necessary to kneel (at the dinner table), but I had gotten lazy during my individual prayers. At night I would often get snugly in my bed and then say my individual prayers. Sometimes I even fell asleep while praying. As we started teaching Ava about prayer through song and example something changed inside me. I recognized I was teaching something to Ava, but not doing it myself. I felted ashamed and realized I needed to change. The past week I have made an effort to say my individual prayers while kneeling and it feels great. I feel good because I know I am being a better example to Ava and I know I am showing greater love and reverence to Heavenly Father.

I am thankful for this lesson. I am thankful for the wonderful music in the Children's Songbook. The songs are wonderfully simple and teach the gospel principles. I am thankful for Ava's example to me and encouraging me to kneel each time we pray. She is a sweet little angel.

New Testament- Matthew 18:1-4

1 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,

3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.

4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I Pray in Faith

1. I kneel to pray ev’ry day.
I speak to Heav’nly Father.
He hears and answers me
When I pray in faith.

2. I begin by saying “Dear Heavenly Father”;
I thank him for blessings he sends;
Then humbly I ask him for things that I need,
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

"Make My Tummy Happy"

Today on the way to get donuts Ava said...

"I'm so hungry. I need a donut. A donut will make my tummy happy."
She was right it did make her tummy happy and ours too.

So Sweet!

Last night when I peeked in Ava's room I found her curled up in her blanket. She look so sweet I just had to take some pictures.

The pink hue is from her flower light on the wall.

Something I Never Thought I Would Do

Recently, I have been listening to the Ensign articles and General Conference talks on my iPod touch in the mornings while I shower. It is a great time for me to listen to uplifting messages because I am alone and can reflect on what is being shared. It is funny how this small little change has made a huge impact on my days. Hearing the inspiring messages has given me strength, hope, and peace. I'm a little embarrassed to say it, but I am often moved by one or more of the talks I hear that I end up crying in the shower. It is a little silly, but it is a great way to start the day.

One day as I was listening to some of the Ensign articles the narrator said something about sharing your own gospel in action stories. I didn't think much about it at first, but then the next article came on. As the narrator continued my mind started turning. I started thinking about a personal story and how a trial in my life and the things I experienced changed me for the better. At this moment I felt I needed to write my story and share it.

A few days later I still felt I needed to share my story, so I sat down and started to write. I spent a couple days working on it and then decided to submit it to the Ensign. One week ago I was brave enough to actually send it in. I submitted it over the internet and have no idea what will happen. I am not expecting much since I'm not a writer, but it felt good just to write my story. If nothing comes of it I am just happy I accepted the challenge and was brave enough to go through with it.

It Is Not A Myth

For the past 6 months I have been thinking the "Terrible Twos" was a myth. When Ava turned 2 in January I waited for it to hit. I waited for her to turn into a cute little monster, but it didn't happen. Ava has continued to be a sweet, helpful, and pretty obedient "big girl". Of course she has been becoming more independent and wanting to do more for herself, but it has been a joy to watch the growth. I have loved being her mom and felt pretty lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful little girl.

Last week all of this changed. Ava finally hit the "Terrible Twos" stage with full force. We have already been struggling with bedtime which has been difficult on my sleep, but now our once obedient child is starting to rebel more and more. Ava has started to push buttons to see how far she can go before getting into trouble. She will openly be defiant and then give me a naughty little grin and think it is funny.

The worst has been prayer time. Ava use to love to say prayers and was always been reverent and respectful. This past week she has started being irreverent and even disrespectful at times. It has been very trying for me and this is one of the battles I'm not willing to let go. It is important to me that Ava understands why we pray and that we need to show respect and love to Heavenly Father as we talk to him. For now I'm trying to remain calm (which is hard) and remember to teach by example and love. I won't let Ava be disrespectful, but I know I need to remember she is still learning.

I don't want to end this post on a sour note or let everyone think Ava is always naughty because that is not true. For all the hard times we have had recently we have had just as many good times. With this new stage of life I have seen a lot of growth. Ava is still kind and sweet. She is a lot better at sharing and is concerned for others. Ava also loves to help and often asks if she can help me or Rich. Her knowledge about life and the gospel amaze me and she has a real talent for music. I love to hear her sing and she knows several songs (her favs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star & I'm A Child of God). So, as we continue down this road of the "Terrible Twos" I'm going to try hard to focus on the good and remember how lucky I am to have Ava in my life. She is a blessing and I love her!

To Nap or Not To Nap...

...That is the Question!

Well, that is the question around our house anyway. We have hit the stage where we don't know if Ava should take a nap or not. Somedays she really needs it and others she won't sleep at night if we let her. If we don't let her nap then she often is GRUMPY at night, but if she naps she fights bedtime with a ton of energy. It has been a struggle the past month and we are hoping we work out the solution soon.

This is Ava with no nap at dinner.

This is how I like to eat my vegetables....

Chocolate Zucchini Cake!

Dillon Beach

Last week we went to Dillon Beach with the Jensen's and some of their friends. It was a little chilly, but we had a good time. Ava was excited to build a sandcastle and see the "big pool" (or ocean). To our surprise Luca had the best time of all. He loved chasing the ball and hanging out in the sun tent. The two of them had so much fun in the sand and were covered with it by the time we had to go.

Ava excited to go in the "big pool" until she felt how cold it was.

Luca was a little afraid of the waves, but he loved being at the beach.

We brought the sun shade to keep Ava out of the sun and offer some protection from the wind. Luca thought it was a good idea and took it over. He got it so dirty that only Ava went in it.

Ava building a sandcastle.Rich working on a sandcastle and Ava is throwing the ball to Luca.Ava was happy she could play with her sand toys the way they were meant to be played with.Happy girl covered with sand and strawberry juice.

Ava enjoyed taking breaks with Aunt Sherrie and eating Animal Crackers.

Sherrie and friends talking and trying to stay warm.
Notice Luca in the middle begging for food. He is such a piggy.

Rachel and her friend Sammy digging a giant hole.

Rachel really wanted to be buried. She is sitting in the hole she dug.

Rachel, Nathan, and friends were crazy enough to go in the cold water. Rachel was the craziest and went out pretty far.

Budding Photographer

As many of you know I love photography. I'm still a beginner and have a lot to learn, but I love capturing moments in time on film (digitally now). My main interest is nature photography, but having Ava I have sifted my focus on her. I love capturing her growth, personality, and everyday life with the camera. It has been so much fun to see her change over the past two years and preserve those memories through my pictures.

Even though, my hobby is photography this post really is not about me. I just wanted to give some background to the real point of this post. Since Ava's birth I have taken thousands of pictures. Most of them of her, but also a lot of other subjects with Ava watching. She has grown-up watching me (and Rich too) take pictures and have fun using our cameras. Recently, she has taken an interest in taking pictures too. While at the Sacramento Temple we gave Ava our old canon point & shoot camera to use.

At first Rich tried to help Ava use the camera. Since she is a stubborn, strong-willed 2 1/2 year old she did not want help. Ava told Rich, "do it myself". She was determined, so Rich strapped the camera tight to her wrist, showed her what to do, and let her go. It was fun to watch her try and figure everything out. Of course she didn't know exactly what to do so many of her pictures were blurry or of the ground.

Even though, most of her pictures would not win any awards they are priceless to me. Just seeing her excited about something I love made me happy. I look forward to seeing if Ava will continue to show an interest in photography and what images she will capture next.

Rich trying to help Ava.

Ava trying to get a picture of a bumblebee among the flowers.So happy to be taking pictures all by herself.For some reason Ava loved to take pictures of our car's headlights.

AVA'S FIRST PICTURES
This is one of my favorites. It is a picture of mommy & daddy in front of the temple. If you look closely you can see our feet. Unfortunately the temple did not make it in.

This is another picture of mommy & daddy. This time she held the camera up and did a great job. We were so impressed. Maybe in the future Rich and I will actually have some pictures of us together.

I don't like this one, but it is one of Rich's favorites.

There actually is a bumblebee in this picture. She has been fascinated with bumblebees recently.This is one of several pictures of our car's headlights. We finally had to stop her, so we could go. I think she would of taken a 100 pictures of the headlights if we let her.