Christmas Extravaganza…..

 Ava's second Christmas was a hit for everyone! Lucky girl got to celebrate Christmas 3 times! We had a fun month of visiting Santa (not the santa part, but everything else was fun), going to Christmas parties, and enjoying lots of shopping! She enjoyed helping me pick out gifts and was always so serious when I would tell her where we were going, who we were buying for, and what we were buying. There is something so magical about having little ones around during Christmas time. 

Waiting to see santa. Still excited about it. 

And this is as close to santa as she would get. After seeing him up close and personal she decided she would rather be outside of his house. 

Enjoying the chocolate mommy brought home from her students. 

Here is the quick version of our Christmas celebrations this year. 

We had our first Christmas at the Scifres' with Ma-ga and Pa-ga. Ava had fun opening gifts and was thrilled to receive a tool set from Pa-ga, magna-tiles from Ma-ga, and her first American Girl Doll Bitty Baby from Auntie Sandy.

After staying in the rest of the weekend to get healthy and prepare for our trip to Chicago we squeezed in our own family Christmas the day before we left for Chicago. Ava had so much fun playing with her toys all day. Luckily they kept her occupied so I could get ready for our trip! We also got in one last trip to the park before leaving for Chicago. Ava is used to being able to go outside and play whenever she wants and I knew that would be a bit of an adjustment for her when we entered the cold weather of Chicago.  

We headed out to Chicago very early on the 24th, luckily had no flight delays and even got there early! We bought Ava kid friendly headphones in hopes that she could be plugged in most of the trip, however, that worked all of 5 minutes! She was still pretty good for most of the flight even though the headphones did not do the trick. Steve ended up using them to watch a movie. 

She loved the mittens! Kept calling them puppets and pretended they were eating each other. As soon as we stepped outside she didn't seem bothered by the cold, but looked at me and said, "Mommy, it's cold!" It was so cute!

"Itsy Bitsy Spider"

I know it may look like I am driving and filming, but don't worry I am safely driving and looking at the road while my sister films.

November has come and gone……….

Is it really December already? We had a wonderful and busy November and look forward for December to be just about the same! After my mom's visit in early November my sister came for a week to see us. We had a blast hanging out and Ava was obsessed with her Auntie Beth and everything that came with her. She loved pretending to put on her shoes, clothes, and makeup. Poor Beth had her suitcase torn apart daily by Miss Ava. 

Here are some pictures from her visit.

Playing at the beach after our run on the boardwalk

So full of spirit. Always keeping me on my toes! 

Enjoying an evening walk with her Auntie

She wanted to do everything just like her Auntie. <3

 This past weekend we enjoyed some extra time home with Ava and a weekend of family time with NO GRAD SCHOOL!!!!! It was so nice having Steve home and having a few extra days to spend as a family. On Thanksgiving morning we ran the first every LA Turkey Trot downtown with our good friends Sara, Mike, and their daughter Claire. Steve ran the 5K along with Ava and Claire who "ran" (were pushed in the stroller) by Sara's parents while Sara, Mike, his brother, and I all ran the 10K. It was such a fun morning and great way to start our Thanksgiving. We spent the rest of the day at Grandma and Grandpa's house enjoying a relaxing afternoon and some very yummy food and great company. Sandra, Jake, and Penny came down from San Francisco and Ava was very happy to spend the day with her Auntie, Uncle, and cousin.  Ava loved running all around Grandma and Grandpa's house and especially enjoyed going up and down their stairs, several times! With all the excitement of Thanksgiving she was too busy to nap at all, the whole day! She actually held it together most of the day and night, but once we got in the car to drive home, she was out cold!

On Friday, we some friends over for dinner. Greg, Megan, and their daughter Hannah were in town from Arizona. Ava and Hannah had a blast playing together, after Ava got over the fact that she had to share her toys and her play space.

Ava and Hannah in the bath. 

Teaching Hannah some new songs. 

Ava wanted to sleep in the pack and play with Hannah. 

Page and I with Hannah. 

Yep, still  not sure I can handle two. One is plenty for now. :) 

Playing an innocent game of tug of war. I actually think Hannah won this one, she's got some muscle on her!

On Saturday we took Ava to the Long Beach Aquarium. For Christmas Mimi and Papa got us a yearlong membership so we can go visit the Aquarium anytime we want! Ava loves everything about this place and was a lot more daring this time around. She actually fed the birds, touched a sting ray, and did not shy away from the shark tank.

 To top off a fabulous weekend we went out and got our Christmas tree on Sunday. Once home we got out all of our decorations and started to decorate the tree. Ava loved the ornaments, but unfortunately she didn't want them on the tree. It was a battle to get her to hang them up or to even let me hang them on the tree. She kept taking them off saying, "my ornament, play mommy." As a result the top half of our tree has ornaments. :)

We got out the Christmas books and ornaments that I had tucked away last year (and totally forgot I did that until we got the box of decorations out). I love starting these traditions with her, especially the ones I had as a kid. We always had Christmas bears and books that would only come out at Christmas and I would get so excited to play with them for the month they were out and look forward to it every year. We have read, "Polar Express," every night since Sunday and I foresee that continuing throughout December. <3

It may be tiny but it is still our tree and we love it. 

Every morning she says hi to the stockings and goes through each one. Mommy's stocking, Ava's stocking, Bruce's stocking, and Daddy's stocking. 

It's that time of year again......for the blog to be neglected!

Happy November!! The craziness of October is finally behind us and we can start to get ready for one of my favorite times of the year!!

October has been a busy month in our house! Steve's school is in full force now and he is as busy as ever. With school and a full time job he has also taken on another roll at his school as Dean of Attendance. This will add an additional 20% to his already full time teaching job. This is a great opportunity for him to learn more about the administration side of things firsthand.

Ava and I are keeping busy between school, daycare, running, and still squeezing in some time at the park, play dates, and art class.  Lately we've been taking the jogging stroller down to the beach after I pick her up from daycare and going for a run along the beach. Even though the beach is only about 4 miles down the road, life gets busy and I tend to forget it is there. Ava's new love for the beach has helped remind me how much I love it too! For a tactile sensitive kid, she sure does love the sand!

Here are some pictures from this past month..........

These three are hilarious! They have known each other since birth and have come to be very close as they get older and start to interact with each other more. They love getting into trouble together!  Ava is trying to open up the door (that she is not suppose to open) while Claire and Asher distract the mommies with their cuteness! 

Making a masterpiece with Marc during Art class. 

Art class (more like an  hour of free play with lots of art materials) is Ava's new favorite activity. 

Carving and painting pumpkins! 

Playing on the sand after our afternoon run. 

She couldn't stand up and it was cracking her up. 

Sunglasses are a must at the beach. 

Just being cute!

Daycare sent me this picture of Ava talking to Mimi. She calls her every day at daycare! Thank goodness for facetime so we can not only call her every day, but also see her! 

Halloween at daycare. They paraded  around to all of the high school classrooms  the morning of halloween. I wanted to be there so bad to see it, but we had parent/teacher conferences that day and I was not able to take off.
Maybe next year! 

Heading out to go trick-or-treating. Yes, Steve is the man with the yellow hat, Ava is George, and I am myself.  Halloween is not my thing so I leave the costume wearing to Steve.

She was so excited to eat a banana in her monkey costume. She wouldn't touch her dinner and only wanted to eat bananas all night. 

Trick-or-treating with her friends Marc and Claire. They all caught on quickly that when they look cute, sound cute, and hold our their bags they get candy.

Ava and her best bud Claire. These two are hysterical together! 

First time on the Merry-Go-Round at the Santa Monica Pier. She did a lot better than I did. If that thing was going to keep spinning for any longer I was going to lose my mind!

Helping mommy find a new purse at TJ Maxx. She had a blast carrying around every purse she could get her hands on. 

Babies are still number one at daycare. 

So happy that have Mimi here for the week. 

Watching the sharks at the Long Beach Aquarium

Seal and Sea Lion show. Mimi and I really enjoyed it, but I think Ava was more into her snack than the show. I had no idea that seals did tricks and flips in the water! 

Hanging with the penguins. She loved watching the penguins and continued to waddle like they do after we got home. 

Playing at the park on Mimi's last day. 

Thanks for the new baby doll Mimi!