Happy Birthday to Our Little Turkey

8 months

Does this face look like trouble our what?!

At 8 months old Dexter decided to take a stand...by pulling to stand.

and guess what folks...it's opened up a whole new world.

All of a sudden he's into EVERYTHING!

On top of standing, he got quick.

He can crawl his way to trouble faster than we can keep up with him.

This is a whole new ball game for us in this house...baby proofing, What's that?

Guess we ought to be figuring it out pretty darn quick!

Is it wrong to put an 8 month old in time-out?

The End of an Era

Just prior to Ava's third birthday she moved on from the amazing Infant Toddler Program she has been a part of since she was 10 months old. We have been given so many amazing opportunities through this program. One of our favorite though was Tumble Time. Ava went once a week and learned to do amazing things with her little body. When we first started Ava wasn't even walking and it typically took at least two adults to make her body do the things that were being asked of her. She would be exhausted by the end of the hour and would rarely make it through without a meltdown.

Now she can do the majority of the exercises all by herself including the balance beam where she just needs a little support for balance. She loves the bars, jumping on the trampolines, doing somersaults, playing with her friends, and getting stamps.

We were so sad to have to say goodbye to all her friends, especially her friend Arthur who she took an extra special liking to. They had so much fun together and Ava was so excited to see him every week. This also meant the end of seeing Amy, Ava's OT who has been an angel in our lives, on a weekly basis.

Luckily we still get to see Miss Shaina every week because we decided to continue to do Tumble Time. Now Ava goes to a class all by herself and I get to sit out and just watch. She has grown so much and we just love it.

Ava turning three also meant saying good bye to Ava's sweet speech therapist, Marsha who came to our house once a week to work with Ava.

We feel very blessed to have had these women in our lives.

We have also been enjoying the nice break from a schedule this summer and are excited for Ava to attend the developmental preschool at our neighborhood elementary school beginning in a week.

Fwee yeaws old

It was nearly an entire week of celebration!

We had to head down to St. George for a wedding and it worked out perfectly that we were able to celebrate with all of those who love Miss Ava so much.

Ava woke up to a ribbon covered door, balloons everywhere, presents, and a breakfast of delish elmo cupcakes made by Aunt Kelcie. Ava was in heaven and the birthday celebrating was barely beginning.

She got all decked out in her birthday duds.

We all hopped in our new MINIVAN and headed down to Las Vegas for the day.
We had an amazing lunch at an amazing restaurant.

Followed by loads of fun visiting M&M World, the Bellagio gardens, Rainforest Cafe, the Lions at MGM Grande, and not so much fun visiting the Bellagio fountain show (think Ava's reaction to the fireworks on the 4th).

It was a totally exhausting day!

The next day Ava was able to celebrate her birthday with my Aunt Julie at a family bbq.

We also celebrated at lunch with Grandma Bobbie, Uncle Jason, Aunt Callie, and cousin Xander but I was fighting some sort of stomach bug and wasn't exactly thinking pictures.

When we returned back to Boise we threw a little party together to celebrate with a few of Ava's favorite friends, but I am not going to embarrass myself by posting pictures of the thrown together party. Suffice it to say it was a fun end to a busy and fun week. We are so glad Ava Mae is three and growing to be a beatiful and strong little girl.

I Pledge Allegiance...

...to the flag...

...of the Unnnmmmmnnnmmmm.

Here's the rundown...

Boise 4th of July Parade...Lame

Ava freaking out over the site of even the tiniest firework (including poppers)...Lamer

Our friends, the Cromar's ditching out on their yearly 4th of July extravaganza...Lamest

Spending an extra long weekend with my three favorite peeps celebrating my favorite holiday

PRICELESS!

It ended up being a great weekend. We enjoyed a neighborhood block party and talent show, a 4th of July baby's first birthday party, an amazing block of church meetings, a lame parade, some okay donuts, way way way too much food, lots of fireworks, lots of screaming due to fireworks, and a lot of holiday festiveness. So I guess we didn't need the Cromar's after all...so take that!

Seven Months

This sweet little guy developed some MAJOR personality this month.

Sometimes the emotions tend to be a little extreme, but we have come to embrace it and love our little diva.

Six months

HELLO HANDSOME!

He's starting to sit up...

and He's starting to crawl!
He scoots his booty up and then he throws himself forward.


His Stats:
Weight 21.5 lbs (97th percentile)
Height 27 inches (70th percentile)
Head....let's just say, IT'S BIG, just like the rest of him.
Oh Dex, it's ok...mama loves every hair on that big head!

5 Months

It's currently his favorite place to be.

He just started playing with all the toys on it.

It's so much fun to watch.

I love the bottom three pics.

In the first one I like to imagine him saying, " You messin' with me?"

and then he puts him in his place.

In the second picture I like to think he is thinking, " Oh, I never imagined it would taste so good!"

Funny little guy.

and do you wanna know what it's looking like down below?...

Oh yeah! Juicy Delicious Goodness!

2Cool 2Be 4Gotten

Need I say more?!

great day.

great messages.

great family.

great life.

but what little bunny was it...

The Easter baskets were a hit.

and so were our little bunnies.

Hoppy Easter!

Leading Up to the Big Day

We love attending the Grantham Family's Easter Egg Hunt every year.

This year was even better because Ava was on her own with no help from mom or dad and she loved it.

We were so glad they had it a couple of weeks early because the weather was great and it gave us a chance to participate in the

Easter Eggstravaganza at Zoo Boise...

I think everyone who lives in Boise was there, but we had a great time.

She was a pro Easter egg hunter

loved the carousel ride

and made lots of new friends.

Ava was excited to pet the (dead) bobcat until Josh purposely scared her and then she was really unsure but pulled through and loved it so much that as we were walking away she said to the bobcat, "thank you, buh bye!"

I love getting the most out of a holiday and starting off early and this year we succeeded.

4 months

He just keeps on growing!

9oth percentile for weight

50th for height

90th for head...surprise surprise.

Off the charts for cuteness...

Dr. gave us a go for starting solids considering we can't keep up with him on the bottle.

Should be fun!

He is officially rolling over.

Favorite past time (other than eating) is playing in the exersaucer and keeping an eye on whatever Ava is doing.

Leprechaun Spotting

We caught our little leprechaun this year.

She's a wild one.

Craziest part is...

She's hired a sidekick...

Happy St. Patty's Day.

She's breaking my heart!

Wanna know why?

Check here and here

and now look below...

Where'd my little baby go?

Wahhhhhhhh!

3 months Old

Most mom's:

"Already? Really? Where has the time gone? My baby's growing up too fast!"



Lindsie:

"It's about freakin' time!"



I'm not a huge fan of the newborn. Sure he was sweet and new and precious. But he wasn't sleeping well, eating well, or pooping well. I like it once they are a little more adjusted and the stress of ruining them for life let's up a little.


He now sleeps through the night, 10 p.m. to 7 or 8 a.m. most nights. He eats. He loves food like a fat boy loves cake...or a fat baby loves formula. As for the pooping, it's coming out regularly...a blessing and a curse.


He just took his first road trip down to St. George to visit family and friends and did so great! We even left him and Ava with my parents and sister for a couple days while Josh and I headed down to Vegas to celebrate Josh turning 30. They did great and we loved the short break.

We're loving this little guy. He's starting to get really fun. He loves to smile and coo and we all sit around like a bunch of crazies trying to get him to talk to us.


I guess we'll keep him.

SIX WEEKS

I never took 1 month pictures, it just snuck by.

I remembered at six weeks when I put him in the same outfit he wore when he was

one week old.

It was practically too small and made me realize how quickly he is growing.

He's well over ten pounds now!

Dang he's cute.

She Likes Her Some Fashion

Ava's caught the fashion bug...

I guess that's what happens when Santa brings you a pair of skinny jeans

when your just two years old.

Who said girls with chunky thighs can't wear skinny jeans...

She's rockin' them.

Makes Me Smile...

Do let me explain...

Josh is wearing a bandanna because it has Vicks vapor rub on it and he had a sore throat,

not because he is trying to be sexy even though it is really sexy.

Ava is wearing Elmo pajamas because somewhere along the way I renegotiated my "no character clothing" stance to allow clothing that never leaves the house (i.e. pajamas).

That is until this week when I broke down and bought her an Elmo t-shirt, but it was on clearance at Old Navy for next to nothing and actually kind of cute. Plus, I was missing her because she went on a trip with Josh for a couple of days and I was excited to surprise her with it.

Dexter, well, he's naked because he likes to spit up A LOT so he hasn't earned the right to wear clothing. Tough Love, that'll teach him. :)

I love my little family, even on days like this.