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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Our return to Maui.......

We enjoyed an amazing vacation in Maui last week. It was a nice "end of summer" trip and Ava got to spend some quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Scifres. When we arrived it had been a long morning of traveling and with the 3 hour time difference it was late LA time, but that didn't seem to faze Ava at all. She was under the Hawaiian spell and couldn't stop smiling! She loved the sand, ocean, pool, and pretty much everything else about Maui except sleeping. For some reason she was totally against sleeping the entire week....maybe she was afraid she would miss something?? The lack of sleep didn't slow us down nor stop us from enjoying our time in Maui. Here are some pictures capturing our relaxing and fun week in the sun!

First dip in the ocean was a success! I'm not sure if it was the ocean she liked or the reaction from all of us...but either way no tears were shed!


I took this picture on my morning run along the beach. Maui is such a beautiful place.

Playing with grandma and grandpa while mommy and daddy are off learning how to surf!

Family picture <3

<3


Looking at the fish with grandma. Since Ava couldn't join us when we snorkeled we took her to the aquarium so she could experience the sea life.

Hanging with her grandparents before we head to the airport.



Getting ready to head out to the beach!

Beach baby!!

Loving the ocean!!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Nearing the end of summer, but it's not slowing us down!!

The new school year starts for both Steve and I in just 2 short weeks. :( As summer is coming to an end we have kicked it into overdrive in an attempt to fit in as much as possible. We're just having way too much fun and don't want this summer to end.
Swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Ava has finally discovered Bruce and loves to grab him. So far we haven't had any injuries, but we are trying to figure out how to stop the grabbing before Bruce has had enough!

Ava loved going to the Santa Monica pool. She couldn't take her eyes off the other kids.


2 minutes into the car ride home and she was already sound asleep!

My happy girl. <3

Bananas, yum yum!! Ava has tried peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, and bananas. She loves playing with the spoon a little more than actually eating the food.


This past weekend we were in San Francisco visiting Sandra and Jake. We had so much fun touring around the city with them and Ava loved being with her Aunt and Uncle!! This was her first LONG car ride and she did pretty well considering the trip home took a little longer than expected. Due to summer construction, A 6 hour car ride turned into a 9 hour ride and Ava seemed to do better with it than I did. We all know how I get when I feel that everyone around me is NOT driving the way I think they should!! :)

After a long drive we had to stop at Ruby Hill Winery. :) Ava and Claire's first wine tasting experience.

All bundled up and ready to tour around the city. Thanks Grammy for the booties and hat....they came in handy in the cold San Francisco weather.

Beautiful city, but probably a little too cold for our family.

Ava with her Aunt Sandy and Uncle Jake.

Ava loved shopping with her Auntie!!

Lunch time!! Ava is upset that we had to take a shopping break to have some lunch.

Do you think she has enough toys to keep her happy?? At first I thought I packed too much, but ALL the toys came in handy for the very LONG car ride home.  


Monday, July 23, 2012

Rice cereal...yum yum!!


1/2 Birthday already?????

We celebrated Ava's 1/2 birthday last week! At her 6 month check-up the pediatrician said that she was almost caught up to her actual age and that she believes next time she sees Ava (9 months) that she will be exactly where she should be for her actual age and we can forget about her adjusted age. She weighed 13 pounds 6 ounces at her appointment and is finally on the charts for height, weight, and head circumference. She is 5th percentile for weight, 10th for height, and 50th for head! She can now roll from her tummy to back and back to tummy. She doesn't do it often, but she is capable of it. She still loves her hands and has just discovered playing with her feet. She is talking up a storm and cracks us up with her "pterodactyl" language! I am absolutely loving this age and want her to stay 6 months old forever! She smiles and giggles at everything and it warms my heart every time. The summer has been flying by! Ava and I have been having a blast this past month and a half. I can't believe I have less than a month until school starts and don't want to begin to think about leaving her all day. Luckily, we found an amazing nanny who is going to watch Ava while I am at work.
I have the worst timing with these "monthly" pictures. I decided to attempt the 6 month pictures before a feeding and a nap. Needless to say, I did not catch Ava in the best mood.

Growing like a weed!

"Ok mom enough is enough can I please eat and go to sleep now?"

First time eating rice cereal and she LOVED it!! I don't think it was the actual rice cereal she loved....it was more the spoon she was fascinated with.

Yum Yum!!

Along with celebrating her 1/2 birthday we also had a fun weekend with my good friends Brooke and Kearston who came to visit us from Chicago. Ava had a blast hanging out with the girls and didn't want to nap or sleep at night in fear that she would miss something. :)

Hanging with the girls. Aunt Brooke and Aunt Kearston. Ava is very excited for Aunt Brooke's baby to arrive in late November.

Lunch and Shopping with the girls!!





Trip to Chicago and Wisonsin to see family.....



We were in Chicago and Wisconsin this past week visiting family. Ava was introduced to her great grandparents, great aunts, great uncles, and cousins. She also got to spend a lot of time with her grammy, papa, and Aunt Beth while we were there. Here are some pictures from Ava's first big vacation!!

Playing with papa!!

Ava meets her Great Grandpa Carpenter

Ava and Great Grandma Carpenter

First boat ride in Lake Geneva....she loved it!

First Chicago bar!!

Reading with her Grammy. <3     

Ava with her G-Pa!

And with her GG

GG, G-Pa, and Ava <3
4 generations!!

I stood in front of this same fireplace posing for pictures as a kid. It is very special to be able to do the same with my baby girl.

Keeping G-Pa company as he rests

Aunt Susan putting Ava to sleep.....she had the magic touch!

Hanging with Grammy. :)

Getting ready for the pool

First time in the pool. Not to sure about it....

Starting to like the pool a little bit more....
Meeting Cousin Issac for the first time.

Ava is not to sure about this......


Now she's into it. Holding hands with her cous! :)

Ava and Issac enjoying some play time!