Long overdue blog post....our December

December has been a busy month, but a good one at that! Ava experienced her first time seeing Santa, her first Christmas (will make another post for that), and lots of fun with family and friends.

Here are some pictures from the past month. Oh and I almost forgot....she is 11 months old and way too close to turning one! (There will be a separate post with her 11 month photos and up to date stats)

We had professional pictures taken in November. Here is one of them I was able to download off of facebook. 

Ava helping me clean out the cabinets.....more like dumping the flour all over the floor and then climbing into the cabinet. 

Loves Gymboree

Playing the drums with Asher and "Books and Cookies"

Loves the big girl bath!

Our Christmas card. <3 Most of you have already seen it since I actually sent them out and on time!! Wohoo....I was very proud of myself. But on the other hand I did not order nearly enough, so if you didn't get one just know that it is because of that and next year I will know to order enough for all of our friends and family.

So our trip to see santa didn't go that great. At first she was ok with it, but as soon as I tried to put her on his lap she lost it and then you can see the only pic we did get I was holding her as she clung to me with a death grip!

Picking out our tree. No this is not the one we got, but thought this was a pretty one to take pictures in front of. :) I am so glad we decided to go with a small tree this year because Ava was very scared of it. I tried to get her to help put an ornament on and again she leaped into my lap and clung onto me. Maybe next year??

She is ok right now because she is distracted by a present, but as you see below when I tried to get her to help decorate she flipped. 

Not happy. 

Every Friday when I get home from work I take Ava to the open gym time at Gymboree. I love watching her climb around and interact with the other babies. I feel like its a nice "end of the week" activity for Ava and I. With basketball season being in full swing right now Steve has had games on Friday nights which means it's just Ava and I. A few weeks ago Grandma and Grampy Scifres joined us for some Gymboree fun and Grampy took some wonderful pictures of Ava.

How Big is Ava????

First Thanksgiving, Christening, and first ear infection all in one week!

 This past week was an eventful one for Ava! We traveled back to Chicago early last week for Ava's baptism, thanksgiving, and a week of family time. At the end of the week Ava came down with a fever , so we took her to urgent care to make sure nothing serious was going on before we headed back to LA the next day. Sure enough she had an ear infection, which explained all of her odd behavior that day. We quickly got antibiotics going and lots of Motrin to prepare for our flight (2 flights to be exact) the next day. Lets just say that the people on our plane that day will not be forgetting Ava for a long time.....she made her discomfort known to everyone! It was not her best performance on an airplane, but I have a feeling it won't be her worst either! The older she gets the more traveling with her gets more and more exhausting. She doesn't want to sit on a plane, she wants to move!!

Here are some pictures from our wonderful week in Chicago. 

Packing is not as easy as it used to be! All she wanted to do was climb in the suitcase and take things out of it. 

Ava and her G-Pa

Playing around with G-Ma 

Ava thought Papa was so funny! 

Snuggles with Grammy before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner. 

Saying Prayer before dinner. 

Goofing around with Auntie Beth after a very delicious  Thanksgiving meal

Ava's baptism was such a special day. <3

She is not sure what is going on right now, but she is enjoying being center of attention. 

Bless this child in the name of the father, son, and holy spirit!

Ava is one lucky little girl to of had both her great grandparents attend her baptism. 

With the godmother! 

Ava's gown is the same one that I wore when I was baptized as well as my sister. 

Ava and daddy <3

10 months old........Please Please can time slow down??

It's going to fast.....I want to slow it down.......I am trying to soak up every minute with her, but I feel like this is just speeding along too fast for me. Ava is almost 1? I say it, I talk about it with others, but I don't actually believe it! I have to start planning her birthday party because I know it will be here before I know it.

Here is what she is up to at 10 months old.....

- Crawling EVERYWHERE!!

- Standing on everything. She prefers to try and stand without using anything for support, but she can't get all the way up so it looks more like a 4 legged walk and a downward dog. (I think she learned some yoga moves from all those classes I took with pregnant with her)

- Talking, talking, talking up a storm! mama, dada, baba, wawa, rara, yaya, and lots of "yeas" and "hi" (At least that is what it sounds like)

- Still LOVES music!!

- Loves being silly with her daddy.

- Tortures the dog often which does not make him very happy (we have had a few mishaps because of it)


- Will do anything to find and eat paper. (Is this normal?)

- Plays peek-a-boo

- Loves to be in the kitchen with me and "cook" (she has a drawer full of plastic containers and wooden spoons she plays with in the kitchen)

"I will get you pink bunny!" 

"Mom, why did you move me away from the bunny?" 

"This will not stop me!"

"You are mine!"

"Ha, I got you!" (This child is determined!)

And that was the end of the 10 month sticker

I thought maybe I would be more successful attempting this in the crib. 

Nope! All she wants to do is stand up. 

Dancing machine

This child LOVES music and can't sit still when she hears it. Right now her favorite song is one of the most annoying songs out there. She loves that "Gangham Style" song. Sandra, I blame you for introducing her to this song! :)

I usually can't get her dancing on camera because as soon as she notices that I am filming she gets distracted by the phone and no longer will dance, but I did manage to get a little of it.

I apologize if this video is boring to others......Steve and I find it hilarious!

October/November

Besides all of the halloween fun Ava had this past month we have been busy with play dates, visitors, gymboree class, football games, and chasing Ava around the house. (crawling, not walking!)

Watching all the crazy people in the water on this very cold day. 

My good friend Kearston and her boyfriend Ryan came to visit for the weekend. We had a ton of fun and Ava loved having them around. She was so excited about it she barely slept all weekend because she didn't want to miss a thing!

Spending the afternoon by the beach. 

She is so quick these days we can't even change her clothes or diaper without her getting away. I couldn't resist getting a couple pictures of this adorable naked baby. 

Playing with her buddy Marc at Gymboree class. 

First tailgate and football game. ASU vs USC. She lasted until about half time, which is longer than I usually last at football games. Poor Steve has 2 girls to hear complain at sporting events. 

Teaching Ava the ASU symbol....even though we have already decided she is not allowed to go there! 

What to do when your child refuses to nap? Take her to gymboree and pray that it tires her out!

Practicing standing in the donut. I do have a video of this I will post, but I warn you I may be the only one who finds the video exciting. I just love watching her do new things! :) 

Ava's first Halloween....long overdue!

October was a BUSY month for us, so I have been a little neglectful with the blog, but we have a ton of pictures and updates to share. First off, Ava celebrated her first halloween! We learned that she is not a fan of dressing up (just like her mom) and is also not to fond of pumpkin patches.

We took her to the pumpkin patch (twice) and the first time was not a good experience for anyone. Ava did not like the crowds, Steve did not like the fact that we were in West Hollywood (an area he despises), and I was bummed that I didn't see any celebrities. They all go to Mr Bones' pumpkin patch and one of the only reasons I wanted to go there was to see some celeb tots, but no such luck. We went back a second time with my friends and their babies. Luckily, Ava was a lot happier and allowed us to get some very cute pictures.

On Halloween I dressed her up in her ladybug costume (that she hated) and took her to a baby event at the mall. Ava lasted about 5 minutes in her costume, but at least I was able to get a few pictures. It was about 90 degrees out that day, so I don't blame her for hating her costume.

Ava was NOT a fan of her costume! I wish I would've gotten my act together sooner....I thought of some great costumes I could of made, but by the time I thought of it halloween here. 

"Mom, what are these orange things surrounding me??"

Family picture at Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch!! 

Second trip to the pumpkin patch was WAY more successful with her friends.

Ava with her buddies. :)

Carving pumpkins 

Grammy came for a visit the weekend before halloween. Out doing some shopping!

Walking both of her grandkids!

Not sure yet if she is happy or mad

Threw herself on the floor.....she's mad!

Costume is off, now we are happy again!