In the Kitchen

I'm sure you have realized I haven't updated my recipe blog for several months now. I had good intentions, but with Ava somethings have to give and that would be one of them. I'm sure most of you are not too disappointed and I really did it to motivate myself in the kitchen. I still enjoy being in the kitchen and trying new recipes. Here are some of the things we have done in the past couple months:

Corn Chowder

Ava & I making a fritta.
Banana Muffins
Ava loves muffins, so we made these mini muffins for her.

Ava stood on the chair so she could help me & then enjoyed licking the spoon.

Pizza Dough Doughnuts

I saw Giadia De Laureniis make these and they sounded good, but they weren't. I don't know if it was me or the recipe, but I'm not going to make them again to find out.

Roasted Cornish Game Hen with Rosemary Cream Biscuits

Big Balls

Whenever we go to Target Ava gets excited to see the big red "balls" outside. She says "ball, ball, ball" and signs it at the same time. On this trip we thought it would be fun to take some pictures. The last two photos are our tribute to the greatest summer TV show, "Wipeout".

Fake Flowers & A Chocolate Chip Cookie

Last Wednesday I had to run some errands for the mutual activity and of course Ava came with me. On this day she was extra sleepy and became impatient. Ava was not shy about her displeasure at being out and not being free to run all around. She began to yell and throw a little fit. Since I needed to get some things for the activity I tried my best to distract her. I was not entertaining enough and she quickly lost interest. Fortunately I found 2 things that grabbed her interest and kept her happy until we could return home.

The first things she discovered were some fake blue flowers at Michaels. I decided to buy them to turn into hair barrettes and it turned out to be a great decision. Ava played with them while we were in the store and had even more fun with them in the car.

The second thing she discovered was given to her at Safeway. While getting bread sliced in the bakery the employee noticed Ava's frustration and offered her a cookie. It really was a blessing because I needed to get the shopping done and the cookie pacified her until we were done.

On the way home Ava was much happier. She had flowers to play with and a cookie in her belly. She even had some chocolate chip on her cheek for later.

Safety First

I don't know if Ava is safety conscious, trying to start a new fashion trend, or preparing for extreme sports because she loves to wear her bike helmet. If we leave it out she will find it and make me put it on her. The other day she wore it for the majority of the day because I kept forgetting to put it away. Ava wore it for any and all activities and probably would of worn it for her nap if I let her.

Bike helmet for lunch...

while running around...

while watching "First Signs"...
and while looking at books.

Ava also tried to help Luca be safe and fashionable. He didn't like the idea and didn't cooperate.

Funny Story

Tonight while shopping in Target Ava gave Rich and I a good laugh. We were in the kids section and walking toward the lingerie when Ava pointed at the bras and said, "ha, ha", which means "hat". She started walking toward them and almost tried one on, but Rich got to her in time. It made me think of the movie "Weird Science" and now I almost wish I would of let her try the funny shaped hat on. It probably would of made the experience even funnier and made for a good photo opp.

Animal Sounds

Recently Ava has started to make animal sounds. The first animal sound she made was a dog. Within the last two weeks she started making monkey and elephant sounds. It is really cute and fun to watch her make the animals talk, eat, or walk around.

Wet-n-Wild

"Bu-Bu"

Ava loves bubbles and calls them "bu-bu". She has big and small bubble wands and a bubble rocket. Ava prefers the bubble wands because sometimes the bubble rocket scares her. She knows she has to put her backyard sandals on to play with the bubbles, so she will find them and give them to me to put on.

Ava being Ava

Blowing kisses

Ava likes to give kisses to her Dadas (yes, plural because that is what she calls both of us). She also blows kisses to family and friends. Ava always gives me a kiss before bed, but as Rich carries her down the hall she will turn and blow kisses too.

Ava likes to smell flowers. She thinks it is funny when we lean her close so she can get a good smell. I love when she scrunches up her nose to smell flowers...so cute!

Ava likes to feed people, animals, and even toys. She often shares her food with us and loves to give Luca treats. In this picture she decided her duplo elephant needed some peas.

Ava loves to put on shoes. She doesn't even care if they are her daddy's and way too big.

Daddy took too long

Ava enjoyed walking naked and free after her bath...

She stopped to play hide-n-seek behind the pocket door...
Oh No!! Daddy should of put the diaper on sooner!

We hope he learned his lesson!

Bath Time

Ava enjoys her bath time. Each night as Rich gets the bath ready I will help Ava get ready. I help her get undressed and tell her to get her towel. As Ava signs bath she will get her towel and walk down the hall to Rich.

Until We Meet Again

Thank you to all those who have and are currently serving our country in the armed forces. We appreciate your service and dedication to keeping our country safe and free.

To those who have lost loved ones we offer prayers of peace and hope you feel the love of our Savior Jesus Christ. May the resurrection give you comfort to know this life is not the end and families can be together forever.

I Finished!

This week I finally finished reading, "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell. I have been reading it since we had Ava. My free reading time is at night when everyone else is asleep and I'm usually pretty tired myself and end up not reading. I have been slowing working my way through it and have foolishly stayed up past midnight a few times because I was so into it. I really enjoyed the story and have now started "North and South" which is also by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Now that I have finished the book I am going to treat myself to watching the mini-series on Netflix. That is how I was originally introduced to the story. Netflix recommended the mini-series and after watching it I found out it was a book. I liked the series so much I bought the book on ebay and the rest is history. I decided to finish the book before I watched the series again. Tomorrow I am actually looking forward to folding laundry and ironing during Ava's nap, so I can enjoy the BBC version of "Wives and Daughter".

While Mommy is away Daddy and Ava will play...

While Lisa was off shooting guns we had some fun of our own. The local library had some exotic animals come through. Ava and I (along with a room packed full of people) saw them. There was a Brown Lemur, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, Desert Tortoise, and an Alligator. We enjoyed looking at the animals, but with all the people we didn't get up close.

Big Guns

Yesterday I went with the youth of our ward on a shooting activity. That's right, I shot guns, big guns. I started out with an AK-47, then a smaller 22 riffle, and finally a single barrel shot gun. I hit a couple targets, but didn't even come close to the clay pigeons with the shotgun. It was a lot of fun and I have a bruised shoulder to prove it.

The smaller 22 riffle.

Me trying to hit a clay pigeon with a shotgun.

Me shooting the AK-47. I was pretty nervous because of the kickback, but I think I did okay.

A Day in the Park

On Tuesday Ava and I met my friend April and her two boys, Tommy (2 yrs.) & Corbin (3 mos.), at Hagan Park. This was Ava's first time playing at a park. She loved the slide and probably could of played on it all day. I tried to swing with her and she did not like it. This wasn't a surprise because so far she hasn't enjoyed her tree swing at home and didn't like baby swings. I'm hoping as she gets older she will come to appreciate swinging.

Ava & Tommy playing hide and seek...sort of.

Ava's Secret Hiding Place

Ava loves to hide things in our DVD cupboard. On this day it was her Cabbage Patch Kid (that use to be mine).

Bucket Head

This post is for Ava's dad, Aunt, and Uncles that are Primus fans.

Sea Turtles Video

Monterey: Now & Then

NOW

THEN

(I guess I must really like that shirt.)
NOW

THEN

(I guess Rich really likes his octopus shirt too. I promise we had no idea until this moment that we wore the same outfits for both trips. What a bunch of weirdos.)