Future Mormon Tabernacle Choir Director??

Ava enjoys leading music in church and at home. When ever she hears the hymns she raises her hand and starts to lead. It is really cute and makes many people smile on Sunday at church. On Mondays for Family Home Evening (FHE) music is a big part of our activity. We always start with an opening song, which Ava likes to lead, and then she proceeds to ask (sign) for more music. Sometimes our entire FHE is singing and leading music.

Ava also enjoys clapping. She often claps along with music. This morning I greeted Ava with the song, "Good Morning" and clapped as I sang. As she laid on her side in her crib she gave me a big smile and then started clapping along. It made me smile, laugh, and love my sweet little girl even more.

Since Ava was a baby she has enjoyed "Music and the Spoken Word" with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. When she has a rough sleepless night that is what we watch to soothe her. We always have at least 2 recordings of this program on our DVR. Since Ava enjoyed it so much I decided to record some "In Performance" shows on the BYU channel to see what she thought. Just watch the next clip and wait to see her reaction at the end.

Click on the topics below to learn more about them:

• "In Performance"
• BYU Television
• "Music and the Spoken Work"
• Family Home Evening (FHE)

Our Fairy Princess

Bubble Wand Magic

Up, Up, & Away

This is what Ava thinks of swinging...

Visit with Papa & Nona Kurz

This past Thursday through Saturday Ava and I spent in Livermore with my parents. Rich was off with the Youth Trek (post to come), so we decided to have some fun of our own. Ava loves to spend time with her Papa and Nona. She is pretty attached to my mom and sometimes prefers her to me. Ava also enjoyed playing with new toys and chasing my parents dog Jake.

While we were visiting I (with a lot of help from my mom) made 2 dresses for Ava. I'm not a sewer, but every once in a while I feel creative. I found some cute Panda and Monkey material and thought they would make cute dresses. It took us one whole day to make the dresses, but we finished them and they are so cute. I am pretty proud of myself and appreciate my mom's assistance. I also have to thank Lynn (family friend) for making button holes for us since my mom's good machine was in the shop.

After a fun, but long few days we headed home to meet up with Rich. Ava was sad to leave her Papa and Nona, but fell asleep within minutes of getting on the road...YEAH!! As we turned onto our road I saw Rich unpacking his car and got excited. Ava, Luca, and I were so happy to see him. We had a good few days, but we definitely missed Rich.

Nona Carole, Ava, and the 2 dresses we made

Papa Harry and Ava

Ava watching Nona Carole sew. I really did sew almost all the dresses myself.

Ava's favorite toy was a top I played with as a child. She was so happy when she figured out how it worked.

Ava enjoyed riding this horse around the pool table.

Ava eating fresh strawberries from Nona's garden. She loved them and kept wanting more and more.

Summer Showers

Ava loves to get wet and play in water. Now that our garden is in and growing we have to water it everyday. This is one of Ava's favorite parts of the day. She loves to follow the water and run through it. She will chase who ever has the hose and follow the stream of water coming from it. Sometimes Ava likes to help water the plants too, but she mostly just likes to get drenched.

Ava signing water

I finally found time to water proof my water garden pots. They have been leaking since we got them 2 years ago. I love to grow a water garden. I have water lilies, a mini horse tail, and a water hibiscus. I also have a small curly willow in my small Koi pond. My small pond can only handle two Koi, but someday I hope to have a bigger pond with a waterfall and more fish.

Water Lily about to bloom

Dragonfly Nemph Rich found in the pond

Father's Day

I celebrated my second Father's Day. We had a nice day together. We went to visit Nona Alicia and Papa Bruce (my parents). Ava also got to see her great-grandpa Bowling which made the day even better.

Lisa made some nice brownie cupcakes that were BBQ inspired. They had Hot Tamales as hot dogs and chopped up Swedish Fish as kabobs.

Our New Neighbors

This spring we've had 2 new neighbors move in. They are both very close and one even made her home on our garage. We have enjoyed our bird neighbors and hope there will be babies. On the ground under the tree nest Rich found a small blue egg. We don't know if a baby hatched or if a cat or another bird got it first. We hope it hatched and the baby bird is safe.

To 2 Awesome Dads...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Rich's Dad

Rich's Grandpa (who he is named after)

Lisa's Dad

The Elusive Backward Walking Ava

Last week Ava started walking backwards. We were surprised and impressed. We never know when she will do it and haven't figured out a way to encourage it. It is pretty amazing to see, but so far we have not been able to capture it on video.

Two New Favorites

The first new favorite are bubbles. She gets excited when we go outside and immediately searches out her bubbles. She especially likes her bubble rockets. It is hard for her to make them launch, so Rich usually does it. Ava likes to watch them launch and will try to reload for Rich. She also tries to copy her dad and blow bubbles from the bottom of the rockets. She puts the wand up to her face, but she hasn't mastered blowing yet.

Ava's second new favorite are Duplos. She has been playing with them almost exclusively this past week. Ava got a circus set and a small zoo set for Christmas. She loves the animals and will make them walk and make sounds. She has a hard time building, but with mom's help it all works out. Ava also loves to climb in and out of the storage box. Today we joked that we could probably put all of her other toys away and she wouldn't even notice.

Ava Doolittle

Ava loves animals. She loves dogs, cats, tortoises...you name it she loves it. Where ever we go she waves to the animals we see along the way. She even waves to birds and squirrels in our backyard. It is funny and pretty gosh darn cute.

Fortunately, Luca is a very patient dog. Ava loves to chase him around and hug him.

Ava waving and saying "Hi" to Mo our tortoise.

On the Mend

After a rough few days I am starting to feel a little better. Yesterday we decided I should stop taking the antibiotic after I suffered several rare side effects. The worse side effect was severe insomnia. I didn't sleep for 2 nights in a row and only managed to nap for a couple hours during the day. During the sleepless nights I also felt anxiety, hypersensitivity, disorientation, and a numb right arm. It was horrible and much worse than just being sick. Fortunately, last night I was able to sleep through the night which has made a big difference in how I feel today.

Retraction

Yesterday I reported I was feeling good, my fever was gone, and I didn't need antibiotics. Well that all changed around 9:30pm. After Rich encouraging me to take antibiotics and me resisting I finally had to give in when my fever returned. It started at 102.5, but throughout the night it dropped to 99.

That was the only good part of the night. Unfortunately, a side effect to the antibiotic is insomnia. I basically never feel asleep. My mind raced, I felt anxious, and I was hypersensitive to every sound. It was maddening and I really felt like I was going crazy.

Ava also didn't sleep through the night. I got up with her at least 4 times. One time I changed a wet diaper and another I changed a poopy diaper. She finally stayed asleep around 4am after watching a concert on BYU TV by the Chinese Galaxy Children's Choir (they are good and relaxing).

I did managed to fall asleep for a couple hours around 5am. However I felt TERRIBLE the rest of the day. I was grateful my mom drove up to take care of Ava and me. I don't think I could of survived the day with an energetic and healthy 17 month old. My mom not only took care of Ava but also made me a cake because I really wanted one. I am one lucky lady!!

P.S.- I have to apologize to my loving, kind, and medically educated husband. He knew I should be on antibiotics and suggested it several times but I was silly and did not listen to him. I hope I have learned my lesson and will allow him to do his job next time. He really is a smart guy!!

Sick Girls

This week has been a long one. If you haven't read Ava came down with Hand foot and mouth disease. I was worried when I saw her fever over 104. She is a pretty tough little thing. She was still playing and mostly happy.

When Ava started feeling better Lisa came down with a 103 degree fever. I was worried about her. She is usually very healthy. I was convinced that it was some pretty bad infections until I ruled them out. I think Lisa was tired of me telling her I think she needs antibiotics. So far she is doing well and has been able to avoid them.

Today has been fun playing with Ava. It has been difficult keeping her entertained and letting mommy rest. Its days like this that I get a taste of what mom goes through every day.

Good News, Bad News, & Good Again

Good News: Ava is doing much better. Her fever is gone, her appetite is back, and the rash is slowly disappearing.

Bad News: Yesterday I got sick. It was weird. The temperature was in the high 80's but I was wearing jeans, a sweater, and was still freezing. As Rich & I were running errands (my parents watched Ava) I had goosebumps all over my body and couldn't get warm. In the evening we went to a ward activity and I started to get a severe headache. By the time the activity was over I had chills, was shaking, had a headache, and was burning up. We came home and I took my temperature. I was shocked when the thermometer read 103.5. In disbelief I asked Rich to bring me a different thermometer to try again. This time it read 103.8. This freaked me out and I think Rich too. I took some Tylenol, got under a bunch of blankets, and Rich called a friend to help give me a Priesthood Blessing. By the time I got my blessing I was not cold, but roasting hot and sweating. The rest of the night I went back and forth between freezing cold and unbearable hot. My fever dropped, but stayed around 101.

This morning my fever was lower, but Rich was still concerned. This is when being married to an awesome guy that happens to be a P.A. comes in handy. He went down to his office and got some urine test strips. He was worried that I had a kidney infection and wanted to confirm or rule it out.

Good News: I DON'T have a kidney infection. After peeing in a cup 3 times to get a good sample Rich felt comfortable ruling it out. The only problem is he is still not sure what is wrong with me, but it is not as serious as we first thought.

The other good news is by this afternoon my fever is gone and I feel much better. I don't feel 100%, but I'm happy with the improvement. The main problem now is my lack of energy. I'm sure with a good nights sleep and another day or two of taking it easy I will be back to normal.

My guess is I got Hand-Foot-Mouth from Ava. It is rare for adults to catch, but our Pediatrician commented that her husband got it from their child. If that is what I have I should be better soon because adults are suppose to recover quickly.

This is how Ava likes to sleep...

...on her belly with her head in the corner.