Well, Well, Well...I'm Baaaaack!

Hi there! Did you miss us? I don't know what happened, but I completely fell off the face of blogger for the past month & a half! Actually, I do know what happened...it's called Christmas bustle and 1st trimester exhaustion. :o)

I feel like this is going to end up being one big catch up post including all things December and I might even throw in a belly picture...since I am 13 weeks now and there has been a belly down here since about week 8. Number 2 is definitely a little different than I remember Number 1 being!

First, let me get in an Ava update. Christmas was a stinking blast with her this year!! Two has been the best yet! Terrible two's? Barely. I mean we have our moments with her, but overall she's talking clearer and communicating what she wants and needs, which helps with the frustrating moments. I hear the 'terrible two's' really don't hit full on til they're 3 sometimes, so we've still got time! ;o) She's very concerned about her happiness right now. And our happiness. She likes to make sure we have happy faces on at all times. She'll get upset about something (usually its when I won't let her watch any more Dora epidsodes) and throw her bottom lip out and through these huge crocodile tears she'll say, "noooo, me wanna watch doorrrraaa". The push-over in me then usually says, "ok, ONE more and that's it...then we have to play with blocks or play doh," to which she flashes me the biggest smile ever and says through the tears still sitting on her cheeks, "me happy mommy, me happy!!!" At this point, if daddy is around, she'll go to him and ask him to wipe her tears away, "git me tears daddy" and he takes the bottom of his shirt and wipes them away, then she'll come snuggle up on the couch and cuddle under her blanket and watch Dora without moving a muscle for the following 20 minutes. It's unbelievably bitter-sweet. Bitter because she throws a fit about not getting her way...sweet because we absolutely cannot resist her. Sometimes I'll ask her if she's ready for bed, and she'll reply, "nope." Then I'll ask her if she needs to go potty, to which she replies, "nope...me happy mommy." She's just a happy girl...and that's her favorite way to be. :o) Bless her little heart.

Her emotions are definitely blossoming these days. Along with sharing how happy she is all the time, we've also seen her show fear of things lately. She's kind of acting afraid of the dark, so she's been sleeping with a little flashlight that came on one of her books she got for christmas. Being the christmas season, there was plenty of "the Grinch" airing on TV. One evening we sat down to watch the cartoon version and not 2 minutes into it she was running to me saying, "me cared mommy." I'd ask her what she's scared of and she'd say, "da gween ginch!" Soooo, we turned that off and will attempt it another time...like next year. Here's a funny story....The other night we went out to eat for dinner. We sat down at a booth and Ava sat on my side, like usual, but didn't stay there long, like usual. She prefers to crawl under the table over to daddy's side and stay there for a few minutes and then decide she wants to come back over to my side, and this continues pretty much the entire meal. We've given up fighting it...hey, at least she's not running in the aisles tripping the waitresses. Anyway, I had a pair of winter boots on that have fur around the top. Lots of fur...brownish colored. Ava had been back and forth under the table a couple times already, but the next time she slid under the table I felt her brush up against my leg and then she started screaming bloody murder, climbing back up onto the booth fighting for her life. This was a fearful scream...not a painful scream...you mom's know what I mean, you can definitely tell the difference! I scooped her up into my arms and she was shaking and screaming and sweating!! I calmed her down a little and said, "Ava what happened honey, what's wrong?" She's clinging to me for her dear life at this point. She said, "me caaaared." "What are you scared of Ava?" "unner da table...a chicken." Eric and I looked at each other. Did she just say she's scared of a chicken under the table? And she obviously believed it because she was a hot mess!  I asked her, "you're scared of a chicken under the table?" Her whole body still shaking, "....yea." What!?!?!? I couldn't help it...I was busting my guts laughing at this point. I showed her my boots and said, "No honey its just mommy's boots, there's no chicken under the table." She replied, "nooo mommy, chicken boot!" We actually had to remove her from the table...she could not relax and we were pretty much done eating anyway so Eric took her to the car, I paid, and we went home. The girl obviously has a thing against chickens. She never likes them at my mom's either. They really freak her out. Oh and to top it off, after her bath tonight I was getting her jammies on her in her room when Portia's tail knocked against the wall downstairs and made a noise. Ava said, "me heard dat mommy." I said, "yea, I heard it too..what was that?" She got very quiet and still, put her finger up to her mouth and whispered, "a chicken mommy." I said, "what! there's no chickens in this house Ava!" She started to freak out again, but everything was okay when she said, "me shut da door! chickens out dare!" So she shut the supposed chickens out of her room and all was good. My gosh...what an imagination...one that gets a little outta control it seems!! :o) She's a blast! Gotta watch those chickens... hey, I don't blame her...I'm scared to death of roosters. They are mean little devils.

After all that, I just want to cut to some pictures...so here they are...enjoy!

Silly girl...

Check out that hair!!! I like to call her Albert Einstein on days like this! :o)

Back in late november...picking out a christmas tree at Cackler Family Farms.

We (I mean, Eric) cut it down this year instead of picking one of the pre-cut.

Haul it away daddy!

Helping daddy water the tree...

Back when I wore jeans...I've worn probably one pair in the last month. Straight up uncomfortable.

And here's why jeans are so uncomfortable! This is my 11 week belly. This was taken on a particularly 'bigger' day. It's always a little more out there in the evening. Just at an awkward stage right now...too small for maternity jeans...too big for regular jeans (unless I leave them unbuttoned or loop a hairtie through the hole...and that's just too much work). So it's been yoga pants and jogging suits for me....everyday!

Christmas at mom's.

Aunt Tammy ever-so-graciously got Ava a drum set...complete with a tamborine, christmas bells, and noisy shaker eggs. Thank you so much sister. :) :) :)

Funny story...my sister and I both got mom a rooster calendar...the exact same one! We knew before she ever opened them that we both got her calendars...our 1st "dohh!" moment...but didn't know what the other one's design was. And we made her open them at the same time, only to discover that they are exactly the same!! "Dohh!" #2! We do that too often...same dishwasher, same stove/oven...we should know better. :o)

Ava got a toy box made by papaw for christmas! She likes to crawl in it... :)

Ava with her cousins in their christmas jammies...Mahala, Torie, & Brianna.

She got blocks for christmas and loves building "kye krapers" (skyscrapers), "castles," and "choo choos."

"Kye kraper" in progress...go Ava!

Her idea, not mine. I tried removing the basket before setting her on the toilet, but she insisted that I leave it there, "nooo mommy, my hat!" Okay girl, whatever! :)

Portia was pampered this christmas. We took her to the groomer where she got an oatmeal bath, nails trimmed, and ears cleaned. She, however, didn't enjoy any of it except the oatmeal scrub I'm sure. :o) Ava was happy to have her home!

Opening gifts at home on Christmas Eve. We shouldn't have given her this present first...it was her favorite by far and she didn't want to open anything else! It's a LeapFrog Laptop...or a "puter" as Ava calls it. :)

Daddy got a finger-print gun safe! We had a very bad scare a couple weeks ago at our house when someone tried to get in our house, through the front door, around 4:30am. A man was outside the house jiggling the door knob, knocking, and ringing the doorbell. Eric's mom was staying with us for the weekend and it woke her up. Not knowing what time it was, she came downstairs and went to the door thinking that Eric had locked himself out of the house or something. When she thought to ask, "who is it?" and got no reply, she looked out the front window and saw a man, definitely NOT Eric, standing at the door still jiggling the door knob. She said her stomach dropped to her knees and she ran upstairs to wake Eric, who promptly flew out of bed, threw on a robe, grabbed his hand-gun, and ran down the stairs. I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911, somehow, its amazing how slippery your fingers are when you're panicked and trying to dial three simple numbers. I told them some man was trying to get into our house through the front door. She kept me on the phone, and in the meantime Eric was yelling at the man through the door that this was not his house and he needed to leave. He peeked out the window through the curtain and tapped on the window, when the guy looked up at Eric he shoo'd him away and told him to leave again. Aaand the weirdo went right back to trying to turn the door knob and put his key in the doorknob. So, Eric tapped on the window again, this time with his gun, which apparently sobered the guy up enough to realize this wasn't his house and he turned away and quickly walked off down the street. Well, my husband was not about to let him out of sight! So he went out and hopped in his car and slowly followed the guy down the street for what seemed like seconds before the police cruiser pulled up and put the sloppy drunk in hand cuffs. When the officers came to check in on us they said the guy was 'toasted' and they would give him a wake up call. We haven't heard anything about it since then. It was just really scary having a creep outside our house who was relentless on trying to get in our front door. I still get a little uneasy at night...especially if I'm home alone. Creeps me out just sitting here typing about it!! Anyway, it's over and Eric has been asking for a fingerprint gun safe for awhile so I thought that would be a great christmas present...I guess...even though guns freak me out! After this incident however, with Eric frequently going out of town, I will know how to use his gun. Don't make me bust a cap in your ass! ... ok sorry, but talking tough supposedly helps make it possible to do that if ever needed right? ugh...don't even want to take my mind there. Ok, now onto more pleasant things!!

Pleasant things like iPads!!! The Mr. went waaaay overboard this year and I was completely shocked that he got me an iPad. The lil sucker. ;o) This thing is amazing though. I absolutely love it. Get one for yourself soon!

Oakley ski goggles! I made him promise he wouldn't mud them up by wearing them 4-wheeling like he has the last 3 pairs of ski goggles he's owned.

Boo bear loves this minnie mouse camera. It flashes and the viewfinder changes pictures when you take a picture.

Pretty in pink! She's my girl...

Mooching off daddy for some of his cereal. She woke up and her pj's were turned completely around...just one of the many things she does in her bed before she falls asleep at night. :o)

Daddy snuggles and cartoons...two of her favorite things. She'll tell us, "me daddy's girl" when she's with daddy, and "me mommy's girl" when she's with me. She's just the sweetest babe ever.

Hope that works as an update for now! I'll try to keep up now for awhile. Hopefully my energy comes back soon and I won't require daily naps while Ava naps. ;o)

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and Happy Upcoming New Year!!

Coming Soon...

Most of you already know by way of facebook... but I thought I would officially share our most exciting news of late. Ava is going to be a BIG SISTER!!!!! I'm due the beginning of July (which seems light years away today) which makes me right around 6 weeks right now. Eric & I are thrilled, as you can imagine!! We didn't follow through with any of the creative ways we imagined telling our friends and family about expecting a second baby... cookie announcements... Ava's "Big Sister" shirt... coming up with cute riddles... but, oh well... here's the news!

So how am I feeling so far? Well... I am feelin' fantastic! These beginning weeks always play mind games with me... I feel so good, so is it really true? Am I really pregnant? The 3, well 4, pregnancy tests all agree with the signals my body is giving me in more ways than one that I must be pregnant, but overall I feel so great! I took yet another test a couple days ago... you know, just to be sure... :) It's a wonderful thing knowing that we'll have another sweet little baby to love on next summer. I remember with Ava (I have a feeling I will be referring to my last pregnancy A LOT from here on out) that I always felt pretty good in the beginning as well. Mild queasiness that was mostly cured by sipping some ginger ale and heartburn that began really early were just about my only complaints.  I think so anyway... it's amazing how much you forget in a short 2 years. I'll try not to complain too much about something I asked for though... until my 3rd trimester that is, and at that point I can make no promises. ;)  I will say that afternoon naps have become the norm in the past couple weeks. I have had an interesting attraction to vinegar, of all things. I'm slightly obsessed with it actually. I clean everything with it, put it on my food, could drink it, and I might even go so far as bathing in it by the end of this pregnancy! So crazy!!! Just talking about it has my mouth watering! Overall, I'm feeling joyfully pregnant. Ask me again next week. ;o)

Your next question is probably regarding the baby's gender and whether or not we will find out what we're having. ;) The answer there is yes, we will most likely find out what we're having...I am not completely sold on finding out the baby's gender yet, but Eric totally is. I kind of think a surprise would be wonderful, since there are so few true surprises in life as it is, but my anal side tells me that I'll want to have the nursery decorated with a specific boy or girl theme. It's probably no surprise that Eric is rooting for a boy... but I will be satisfied either way. I can see Ava growing up with a little sister... but a little brother would be special as well. I'm just praying for a pregnancy and baby that's happy & healthy!

Ava-cakes is 2!!

In case you haven't heard, Ava turned T-W-O last friday!! The fastest two years of my life by far.  I know I say it everyday, but she is the love of our life! It's amazing the kind of person that can develop in two short years. I can't even begin to remember all the funny & cool things she's been doing lately. I'll try to hit the highlights, though! First off, she's been talking up a storm. The first thing she says in the morning when she gets up is, "mommy, where portia?" then she says, "kitty owside (outside)?" and finally it's, "where daddy?" Faithfully, every morning she asks these three questions before I get her out of bed. She usually barely has one eye open before she starts asking her questions. ;)

She's become quite a show-off as well. She'll do things like jump off the couch (!) and say "ta-daaaaa!!" when she lands. She still loves dancing to any kind of music. She comes into our computer room while I'm on the internet and will say, "me dance mommy!" and I'll turn on Pandora for her and she shakes her booty! She is obsessed with Dora the Explorer!!!!! I'm not even sure when that started because she hardly watched it in the beginning when she first got attached to the show. But she's in love with it... and thank goodness we have a DVR. She would honestly sit and watch Dora for hours if we let her. Usually, it's an episode in the morning and one in the evening before bed... but sometimes she pulls out the super sweet 2 year old card and I'll turn it on for her at other times, too. She'll say "me watch doo-dora?! peeeeeese?" I cannot resist her sweetness! :) I'll brag on her for a minute and say that she has excellent manners. :) Always says peese (please), tank ou (thank you), and when anybody sneezes she is quick to say "besh ou! (bless you)" I'm loving her words and short sentences. She's says a million different cute things now that just don't seem to be coming to mind right now. What's funny is that I've become quite fluent in toddler language, lately. :) Me and her... we understand each other. When most people look at her blankly after she talks to them I translate what she really means. ;o) I think that's a gift of all us moms.

She has also become a little sassy with her words in her old age. The other day I told her to finish her pbj sandwich and she replied, "no mom...me watch bt (tv)" And she has recently started to say, "go way." I don't remember ever using that phrase with her... possibly picked that one up from the kiddo's at her babysitter's. It's especially nice to hear when she puts it together like, "go way, mommy!" Not cool. I'm sure there is worse I will hear, but I still correct her when she says it.

Oh, and then there's her imagination. When I'm reading a book to her, she hysterically tries to "grab" the items out of the book. We were reading a book with pictures of ice cream cones in it the other day and she was trying to grab the ice cream out of the book... and then she started licking the page and saying, "me ice ceem! mine!" Hilarious!! Sometimes she will try to be like the cows in the book who are eating grass and pretend she is chomping on the grass as well. It entertains me for sure! She love, love, loves playing mommy to her babies. Sometimes one will fall off the couch and get "hurt" and she turns into this loving, mature, nurturing little mommy. She'll bring baby over to me, snuggling it up to her chest and say, "aww mommy, baby cying (crying), baby boo-boo, me kees (kiss) boo-boo." It's the cutest thing ever. And of course anytime she gets a boo-b00 it requires immediate kissing in order to feel better. I love kissing boo-boos. :)

She's still in her crib... thank goodness. I plan on keeping her there until she's 8, unless she learns how to crawl out sooner. ;o) Okay... 8 might be pushing it... but I'm not ready for a toddler bed anytime soon. She is the sweetest kid at night. Usually, we read 3 or 4 books in her rocker before bed, and for the past, oh, maybe 3 or so months she has been wanting me to rock her before bed. I probably encouraged that when she first started asking to be rocked. I love snuggling my big girl. She began waking up at night again a few months ago when this all started. So I would go in her room, pick her up, and rock her back to sleep. So then the habit of rocking before bed started. I honestly love rocking her before bed... I don't like making bedtime an hour long ordeal though. We have gotten to the point now where we will read books and then I'll rock her for a little bit while she asks me her nightly questions like, "mommy, portia ni-night?" to which I reply, "yes, portia is going night-night" and she runs down the list of asking if kitty, daddy, and mommy are all going night-night. Then, I lay her in her crib and usually she asks for a back rub, "mommy, back?" and I of course rub her back a few minutes and leave the room and she falls asleep. :) She's growing up so fast....

And last but not least... another milestone worth mentioning... potty training has started! I think. Sorta. Well, let me start by saying that I was thinking by her 2nd birthday, if she was showing interest in it, I would start the potty training... but not push it, just see if she'd sit on the potty long enough to do anything. Last week, we put her in her Dora big girl panties (she has had a habit latley of taking off her diaper and streaking around the house:) to see what she would do... if anything. Let me also say that this kid finds much enjoyment in watching me go to the bathroom. She follows me in there, grabs me the toilet paper, and HAS to flush for me when I'm done. Maybe weird...but she loves it. So anyway, shortly after we put panties on her she yells out, "mommy me pee!" and runs into the bathroom, slams the door, and sits there for a few minutes. I thought she was just acting it out...not really going to pee in the potty. However, when she excitedly yelled from the bathroom, "mommy, mommy me peeeeee!" and sure enough the girl had peed in her potty. One proud mama right here!! So then I thought it might be just a fluke... surely she wouldn't do it again for awhile, right? Nope, she has peed on the potty several times since last week!! And the kicker? She has even pooped on the potty 3 times since her birthday party on Sunday!!!! Unbelievable!! Now, don't get me wrong... she has also peed on the couch, the carpet, the kitchen floor, the kitchen stool, and pooped on the floor as well since then. So, I'm not sure whether to consider this successful or not... but we're trying!! I'm hoping to avoid potty burn out for her and don't keep after her all day long with pottying... especially because she feels bad when she pees anywhere except in the potty. Slowly but surely we will get there someday!

Well, that's about it for this Ava update! Hope you've enjoyed reading about the wonderful life of a 2 year old!

Playing in the corn box at the pumpkin farm!

Ava's cousins Alexandria and Halee came over to play last Saturday! She calls them "sissy"... sissy halee & sissy alex... ;)

My sweet little Minnie Mouse is ready for Boo at the Zoo! She didn't keep the ears on the whole time... only short periods of time. I was kind of disappointed when I pulled Minnie's ears out of the bag to see that they were the size of nickels! I expected big pancake sized ears....

Minnie & the Dragon

Cutie pies! Despite coming home with only 7 pieces of candy, we had fun with the Seeds! It was pretty cool seeing the zoo animals at night... they were all so active!! Kinda creepy! :)

Straw maze... who doesn't love a straw maze. ;o)

A little chilly out!

Ava's birthday cake... courtesy of my mom! She did an awesome job on this cake... and it was delicious!



Two peas in a pod... they are destined to get married someday... in fact, pre-arranged marriages are on the up and up. ;o) hehe.

Playing in leaves at her birthday party! The weather was awesome, the company was fantastic, and the two year old couldn't have been happier. Successful day in my book!

New Dora tent! One more big piece of kid furniture to clutter up the basement! Yessss! ;o)

Mom's gotta test these things out ya know... make sure they're safe and all. ;o)

Dads do too! Big dad's can only get their heads in though.... ;o)

Last but not least... painting our pumpkins for halloween! You know things did not stay this neat... Ava got bored painting the pumpkin and discovered that she could paint her arms "aww, mommy me paint arm!" and at some point that morning the neat freak in me surrendered. I said, "ohhh Ava, that looks nice on your arm...how 'bout your other arm? And don't forget your belly!" I unfortunately don't have that picture to show you... my hands were too covered in paint as well. ;o)

Update coming soon!

Hey! This weekend was super busy! I will have a fancy 2 year update on little munchkin soon--hopefully tomorrow. Stay tuned! For a quick preview, check out our friend Jess' blog to see our family pics taken this weekend!

Quick Update

BEAUTIFUL October has arrived!! My favorite month of the year, by far, and not just because my birthday falls smack dab in the middle of October. I won't lie though, as a little girl my birthday was always the best part of this month! ;o) Now, I look forward to doing what most people also love about this time of year--apple picking, pumpkin farms, raking leaves (into a pile in the middle of my yard for Ava to play in...shoot, I don't bag those things up! ;), pumpkin baking, crispy football games, scary movies, trick or treating, and best of all, my lovebug's birthday! Speaking of that little ornery one, she is rocking our world lately! The days keep getting better with her around, I feel like she learns something new everyday. It's crazy...it's awesome...and I want time to freeze so she can stay this cute and little forever! She has been cracking us up lately with her words and short sentences. I have a TON of updates that I'll put together in a post later this month closer to her birthday.

For now, I will leave you with some pictures... Life is good, folks. ;o)

{ the willi's }

I couldn't resist this outfit! I didn't think she would wear the hat, but I convinced her that if she wanted to go outside where it's "cold" then she had to wear it... HEHE! Notice her purse? She's a doll... ;)

We went to the Loudonville street fair last week and she rode a pony! She very much enjoyed it. :o)

I had my camera out and Ava said, "mommy, me picture with portia?" Of course child!! Anything you want with that sweet voice of yours!

She will forgive me someday for taking this picture, right?

Hangin' with E man!  Ava (& mommy!) can't wait to meet Eli's new baby brother or sister! Anyday now... ;o)

These two are awesome together...

Lately, I've been Indulging in Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte's, Researching swim & gymnastics classes for Ava for the coming winter, Rounding out Ava's fall/winter wardrobe needs, Planning a birthday party, and Catching up on a few good reads-- Creating Your Best Life, The Ultimate Life List Guide by Caroline Adams Miller has inspired me to start my 'bucket list' while I'm young, When did I get like this? by Amy Wilson has left me chuckling my buns off in the first 60 pages, and The Best Life Diet by Bob Greene is waiting in the wings for my attention. Happy Fall everyone! And Gooooo Buckeyes!!!

S'more stuff...

Just some random pics from lately... enjoy ;)

Looks like her daddy here for sure! :)

Uh-oh, Ava's taking off in the shaggin' wagon! You won't get very far my dear! :)

Play doh time... one of her favorite things to do.

Look at that girl looking at her daddy ;o)

Yea, Brutus!!!

TBDBITL, right? :)

Play doh snake!!

Oh, that face just screams ornery!!!!