10 on Tuesday...Summer Edition

Playing with Little People

We are out of school for summer (thank the Lord!) and I have 2 days of inservice this week and one next week and then I should be good until July 23rd. Man is that going to be here before I know it. So here are some summer tidbits that I want to remember and some plans that I have before school starts back.

1. If you read my twittering at the top of the page, then you know that we are working on potty training with Ava. While she likes the idea of big girl panties, she really doesn't want to slow down long enough to use the potty. So far we have had 7 successes in the potty (she gets a sticker and a lollipop or Popsicle for each one). To encourage the idea of no more diapers, a Diaper Fairy came to our house and took Ava's diapers and left a few big girl things to help encourage the potty. I am determined to potty train this summer! I guess I want it too bad though!




2. Yesterday as I was sitting on the couch, Ava was standing with one foot on the floor and one foot in the dog bed and I swear it sounded like a woman's water breaking. Nope, it was just my kid peeing in the dog bed!




3. Ultrasound on the 29th to see the baby and hopefully determine if it is a boy or a girl!





4. Last night Ava and I convinced Bradley to take us to Sonic for ice cream (I think they should give frequent members cards!) and then we ran through the sprinklers. Ava loves the sprinklers, but when we were finished she just kept saying, "I'm did Momma, I'm did!"









5. We are starting to work on Ava's big girl room. I have purchased her bedding which should be here this week. Soon we will begin painting and organizing her new big girl room.









6. At the end of this month we are heading up to Indiana on our annual trip to visit Bo and Mike and Nanny. We have some different photo ops planned for this little trip.





7. Last week we bought Ava a new plastic pool for this summer. Last year's had developed some holes and was just in bad shape. I had asked her what color she wanted and originally she said purple, but eventually started saying yellow. When we brought home her yellow pool she gasped and said, "That's just the one I was wanting!" Now if it would get warm enough where we could actually fill it and she could enjoy it a little.



8. Our garden out back is planted and growing, but last week I noticed a little surprise by the front porch. We have a pumpkin plant growing where last year's pumpkin had rotted beside the porch. I guess laziness paid off when we never threw that thing away!





9. I have planned a few different photo shoots for Ava for this summer. I have a lot of ideas, but we will see of she cooperates.

These are what I typically get from her.

10. Anyway want to volunteer to paint my stairwell? It has been a year and I have concluded that my husband is never going to finish that project and I am nowhere near tall enough...

Memorial Day...better late than never

I know it seems like a million years ago, but here are some pictures of our Memorial Day get-together with Stacy, Jonathan, and JonThomas. This year instead of doing our usual cookout, we decided to do BBQ and baked potatoes with homemade ice cream. It was delicious. Unfortunately the weather was kind of yucky. It was very humid and alternated between pouring rain and sunny and humid. We were able to spend a little bit of time outside where Bradley and JonThomas played ball with Ava and then the rest of the day indoors playing American Idol and Guitar Hero on the Wii. Let's just say that I completely suck at Guitar Hero! I don't know why I can't work my hands at the same time. We also played Stacy's favorite game (yeah right) Trivial Pursuit.




This is the 3rd year in a row that we have had Memorial Day together and I hope it is a tradition that continues year after year.
Does this face look evil or what?

Pretty Toenails and Tonka Trucks

Last weekend when we tilled our garden Ava got a chance to give her Tonka Trucks a whirl. Her Gramps, my Dad, had given her a dump truck and another piece of equipment to play with. Even though she hates having sticky, messy hands, she loves to play in the dirt. So after Bradley tilled up the garden, Ava got a chance to take these new toys for a spin. I just thought it was funny that this little girly girl with the painted toenails was so into playing in the dirt and absolutely did not want to stop when it was time. She enjoyed helping plant, but is bummed that now she can't play in the dirt.

10 on Tuesday...Ava Funnies

10 on Tuesday ... Ava Funnies Edition...

*FYI* Our computer is in the shop so I am posting from my school laptop. My pics won't be as big and I pray that the movies show up!

1. The other day we were outside and Ava kept saying she wanted some "Engle Lines." Bradley and I were so confused and had no idea what she was talking about. When I said, show me, she went out into the yard and picked a "Dandelion."



2. Ava and I have been crafting in my scrapbooking room. She has a little basket of craft stuff like paper, crayons, and stickers that she gets out and decorates. Yesterday I had went upstairs and she was downstairs with Daddy (or supposed to be). I knew it was awfully quiet and when she heard me coming downstairs she ran from the craft room and said, "It's okay Momma, it's just glue!" WHAT!?!?!?!? She had gotten into my stuff and proceeded to decorate her own scrapbook picture with glue and buttons! What a crafter!



3. Ava kept talking about this thing she called "The Mask" after we left Disney World. When we were watching our videos she saw the Spectromagic parade (which she can't get enough of) and pointed out the mask to us. The mask is actually Chernobog from the movie Fantasia. The first video shows the footage Bradley filmed of it at the actual parade. It is like a volcano that shoots out smoke and then opens up to reveal this demon type thing. For a while Ava would actually cry about it and act very scared. Now it has become more like a joke and she will actually cloke herself in a blanket and reenact the mask scene, complete with music.





Here she is describing the mask:











4. Here is a nice photo of the cave baby hair. I have just been trying to keep her hair off of her face and out of the sore on the side of it. Needless to say, it is not always an attractive look.

5. The other night Ava was in the craft room and she kept crying for her "Rah Rah." I had no idea what that was until I picked her up and she showed me. It was an old pom-pom that she had gotten at a football game. She loves to play cheerleader with her "Rah Rah."

6. This child eats green peppers like they are apples. She is satisfied to just wash it and eat it whole!

7. Saturday we were going to town to buy plants for the garden. I had put a little barette in Ava's hair to hold it back, but she also wanted her headband. It was an interesting look that prompted Bradley to give her the new nickname of "Baby Jane Fonda."

Well I guess I am all out of funnies, so here are a couple of other tidbits.

8. Ava's Dr called this morning and said her culture came back negative for Staph and Strep. They weren't sure what the blisters were, but keep her on antibiotics and watch for more.

9. We finally got our garden planted and Ava had a time helping. I will be posting some pictures of her playing in the dirt later.

10. 5 and 1/2 more days of school and then several days of inservice! YAY!

Nana's Birthday

Last weekend was Nana's birthday. Her actual birthday was Sunday, but we celebrated on Saturday night. Joe did a cookout and we enjoyed that and then cake. Ava had been talking about it all day because we had taken Bethany to pick up the cake so Ava had been anticipating cake all day long. She didn't even want to eat supper because she wanted cake. I even bribed her into trying squash for the promise of cake. Reluctantly she tried it and then said, "I want some cake now!" You can't come between this girl and her cake. After cake we watched Ava's new favorite movie, Alice in Wonderland. By the time school;s out, I bet Nana will have this movie memorized!

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Heading to the Dr.

Just a quick post to let you all know that Ava is getting ready to head to the doctor. She has a spot that popped up on her face yesterday. This morning it was oozy and even more irritated. She also now has one that is popping up on her arm. Say a quick prayer for her if you get a chance.

Thanks!

*Edited - Dr. is relatively sure that Ava has staph infection in 3 places on her face and arm. They swabbed it to culture it and see, but are treating it like a staph infection. The Dr. said this is very common and that we all carry staph on our skin. She said when conditions are just right and the bacteria enters an open spot, then the staph begins to spread. She will go back to the Dr. on Friday.*

Mother's Day Weekend - Saturday in KY

Last weekend we headed up to KY to spend the day with my mom and grandmothers. We wanted to visit close to Mother's Day and also celebrate my mom's birthday which was in late April. Once we had pegged down the date we were going to visit, I called and made reservations at Patti's so we could have her birthday dinner there. I must say that since the day I made the reservation I had been looking forward to it and ready for some serious grub!

We got into Princeton a little bit after lunch and hung out for a while at my parents house. Once my mom was ready we went and had a little snack break at Sonic and Ava enjoyed an ice cream cone (and so did we). I also discovered a new weakness, the Mango Limeade. Delicious! I could drink one everyday! After Sonic we visited with my Mammaw and Nanny and spent some time visiting before our dinner reservation. Ava enjoyed playing with Mammaw's dog, Poncho, and we had fun brushing out his winter coat. At Nanny's Ava played with Maggie and Spanky and was excited about bringing Maggie back to TN.

Finally what I had been waiting for: a delicious meal at Patti's. The only downside was that Ava had not napped and was getting testy and did not want to sit still while we ate our food. But I got her to spend some time drawing pictures which occupied her for a bit. After desert, complete with singing Happy Birthday to my mom, we walked around the settlement for a bit, saw a little of a wedding, played with Ava on the slide, and did some window shopping. The setting there is just so beautiful that you could spend a while just looking at everything. Unfortunately with a 2 year old, you don't want to be around breakables, and she doesn't have much attention span! But I thought it was a delicious meal and thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Then we headed back to Princeton, picked up Maggie, and headed home. It was a nice visit, quick as usual, but well spent with my family and our new houseguest.

Ava and Mammaw

Ava, Mammaw, and Poncho

Ava and Poncho (these expressions are funny!)

4 generations (and I love Ava looking at Mammaw in this first one)

Ava and Nanny

4 generations of ladies

Ava helping Grammy open her birthday card

My mom thought these wind chimes were funny...?

Ava and Grammy

Ava and Grammy and Gramps