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!