Graduation

Jon and Ava took a trip to Nebraska to celebrate Jemmas High School Graduation!

 

Congrats Jemma!!

 

 

Mowing

Just some cute pics of Ava helping Jon out in the yard. She's so cute in her heels! She can walk really well in them, even run and jump.

Memorial Day

We had plans of playing outside, BBQs, and going to the pool for Memorial Day. But, it rained most of the weekend and Ava ended up with a cold. So we spent some cuddly time inside. I was excited we were able to squeeze in the flags again this year.

Cell Phone Photo Dump

Someones ready for a big girl bike!

Ive been working on my hair skills

This picture makes me laugh.  Ava's trying to eat the bubbles.

Swinging high

"Mom!!  DON'T touch me!"  (as Im trying to spot her)

Happy Hour!

Enchanted Forest

Ava and I went to visit the Enchanted Forest at the Nature Center. She had so much fun!

Here are all the fairies.  The Woodland Fairy, Mother Nature, Violet, Artsy Fairy, and the Queen.

Ava hanging out with Miss Mother Nature.

Mother Nature then read the kids a story and introduced them to her toad, salamander, and turtle.

Ava was a little "iffy" about the toad.

Scoping out the salamander.

She wanted a front row seat, lol.

The kids then went to make a fairy wand and the Queen presented them with fairy dust and a magic fairy rock.

Enjoying a fairy snack.

Hiking out into the woods to the tea party.

Crossing the wishing tree.

The tea party was lots of fun. They had a variety of food you find in nature (seeds, vegetables, fruits). 

She LOVED meeting the bunny



33 Months

Another 3 months have passed. I can't believe in 3 short months you will be 3!!

 

Ava has been becoming so independent!  She is learning skills like washing and drying her own hands,  taking her coat off when she gets home and hanging it up, and throwing away trash.  She can brush her teeth really good and wipe her nose.  She can put her shoes on (not always on the right foot though).  She can put pants on (but sometimes both legs end up in the same pant leg).  She can put on her hat and gloves.    She is about 65% potty trained.   Some other milestones are hopping on one foot, catching a ball, and riding a tricycle. 

 

 

Right now Ava is a blend of girly girl and tom boy.  She likes to run outside, play with balls, and ride her bike. She loves watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Kung Fu Panda with Jon!  In fact, she's been playing with her Minnie Mouse dolls and having them "fight" (like ninjas).   She also likes to dress up with necklaces, play with make-up, and twirl in dresses.  She still likes Paw Patrol, Kai-lan, Bubble Guppies, and Doc McStuffins.  She’s also getting a little more into long cartoons.  Right now she is addicted to Finding Nemo and Kung Fu Panda.  She loves the tablet. 

 

We’ve done some  fun things recently.  We’ve been to Chuck E Cheese, Wonderscope, a Kids Concert, The Great Wolf Lodge, an enchanted forest, and attended the MS Walk.  She also had fun playing in the snow, playing at the park, playdates,  doing crafts, and indoor swimming.   She loves to go shopping with me.  Now that her behavior is getting a little more predictable we are much more comfortable taking her shopping and out to eat.  Our favorite place to eat is Panera Bread, we always split the PB&J kids meal + a bag of chips.

Ava's communication seems to expand daily!  I think it’s so cute when she asks me questions.  “Do you see a train mom?” while we are driving.  Or in the house, “Where did Dad go?”  Her new phrase that just cracks me up is, "OHH MAN...come ON!"  The tantrums are far and few between but she loves to pout!  Sulking shoulders, sad face, and even the hands on the hips!!  She also always wants us to play with her.  "Come on mom, lets dance!"  Or, "Come on Dad, I need you to play with me."

She is so sweet natured, silly, and funny.  She loves to give us hugs and kisses out of the blue.  I beam every morning when I tell her to have fun at school and she says, "You tooo, Love you!!"  We are so excited to see what the future brings.  We love having Ava in our lives and she makes us smile and laugh all the time. 

Great Wolf Lodge

My mom, sister, and I took the kids to The Great Wolf Lodge. They had a special to benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters, so we only bought tickets to swim and didn't have to stay the night.

It took the kids a little bit to warm up because it's soo loud in there!

But once they got use to it they had a blast.  It was a quiet evening and we felt like we had the place almost to ourselves.

Splash!

 

Gavin thought it was HILARIOUS to dump the water on his moms head.  Too funny.

 

Cousins

Towards the end, Gavin got brave enough to go down the slide.  Ava not so much, I think because there was a waterfall at the top of the slide.

We hit up the arcade afterwards and KJ hit the jackpot!  Over 1,000 tickets!

Here's another scene from the arcade.  Ava dancing on this game.  She's feeling the beat, lol!!