Hanging in the Backyard

Last weekend while it was so beautiful, Ava and I took some time to hang out in the backyard. Bradley was gone to help with some work with his dad and Uncle Timmy, so Ava and I had a girls' day. We joined Stacy for a trip to the Annual FFA Pancake Breakfast and Plant Sale, and then enjoyed a little bit of yard sales. It was so beautiful outside that after Stacy left, we got out a blanket, I got a book, and we just laid outside. We even enjoyed a picnic lunch. I dusted off the camera because, let's face it, I just haven't been feeling like getting it out and taking any pictures. Ava played model a little bit and we just had a fun girls' day in the backyard. The only thing Ava didn't like: the sheer number of ants that kept attacking our blanket and trying to steal our food!

Our little area of the backyard

Just wondering...

why I found my child sleeping with socks on her hands. Was she feeling a little chilled? I would think not by the amount of sweat in her hair. Was she making sock puppets? Restraining her fingers? Any ideas?

Some More of Disney - Our Resort

Here are a few more pictures from our Disney trip. These were taken at our resort, Port Orleans Riverside. This is where Bradley and I had stayed in 2003 and we liked it so much we decided to stay there again. One afternoon Bradley used a coupon we had got to rent a boat. Ava went with him and even though she didn't want to go at first, she loved it and had a terrific time!

Easter Recap (Lots of Photos)

I was hoping to have some Easter pictures up before now, but so be it. I will get them posted now! First off, thanks to all for the kind comments and words of encouragement. They are all so very much appreciated.

Now on to Easter! Our Easter celebrations began two weekends ago with a visit from my Mom, my Nanny, and Trayton. They came down so we could visit and take Ava and Trayton to the local egg hunt. Ava and Trayton had a fun time and collected several eggs and then after lunch we paid a little visit to the Easter Bunny. Trayton was a little hesitant about him, but Ava was like an old pro after all the characters at Disney. She hopped right up and started doing her "fake" smile.

Then on Saturday (the day before Easter) we had an egg hunt at our church. Ava got 17 eggs filled with candy and goodies! She had fun and enjoyed some yummy cupcakes. Then we came home to prepare our annual Easter dinner. This year the number of guests was slim because Joe and Anne were both home sick, so we enjoyed dinner with Aunt Bethany. After dinner we made "bird's nest" and dyed eggs. We also watched our Disney video once again. Ava gets excited each time we see it. It is so funny to see her relive the experience.

Now here is the part of Easter weekend that I am ashamed of; we didn't even make it to church! I woke up early anticipating Ava getting up early because we had talked about the Easter Bunny. So I showered, watched some TV, and then started to feel really nauseous, so I went back to bed to lay down. I saw Ava was waking up and rolling around so I figured within a few minutes she would be up and ready. Nope, she actually slept until 10:30. I passed back out myself and didn't wake up until 10:00. Now you guys know how long it takes my family to get ready, so there was no way we would make it to church. I was very disappointed in myself, but I guess we needed the rest in a really bad way!

Aunt Bethany came over and we hid eggs for Ava in our backyard. She was so hilarious because she would put her finger on her face and say, "Where could that little egg be?" It was priceless! Then for the rest of the afternoon we napped. For hours! We were so exhausted!

So now Easter is over. I didn't get to do near what I had hoped to do with Ava because of being so sick to my stomach. Guess I will just stockpile those ideas up for next year and try to actually follow through! Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Trayton and Grammy checking his eggs

Ava and Mommy Coloring

Ava at the church hunt

Enjoying the Easter cupcakes at church
With her new magnifying glass (one of the many treats Aunt Bethany brought)

Posing with our Easter Dinner

Coloring Eggs

Our Bird's Nests

Playing with her Disney princess microphone

"Where could that little egg be?"

My Excuse for the lack of posting

Dear Readers,

I am so sorry for the lack of posting lately. After vacation we have just been hit so hard with sickness, dr visits, and just feeling plain yucky, that I have completely been putting the blog (and the state of my house) on the back burner. But I am pleased to say that Ava and I have pulled through our colds and yuckies, and Bradley is finally making his way out of his. But I have just been too tired at night and just still not feeling 100%. So now I will tell you why. We found out while on the trip that we are having another baby! After the last pregnancy I just wasn't ready to share this one with everybody until we were further along and things were progressing. But since the last pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, my doctor wanted me to have an early ultrasound to confirm dates and put my mind at ease. So on Thursday Bradley and I went in for an ultrasound and sure enough, there was our little jelly bean's heartbeat! The dates were a little off than what we had figured, and we are due on November 28, 2009. Seeing the heartbeat is such a good sign at this point and since morning sickness has been kicking my butt this time, my doctor feels very confident that things will go fine for this pregnancy. I am nauseated pretty much all the time and have a prescription for that. With Ava I felt a little sick in the evenings, and with the miscarriage I had no pregnancy symptoms except for tiredness, so while I hate the sick feeling, I know it is a good sign. So just continue to remember us in your prayers and pray for this little one and me that the pregnancy continues to thrive and in the fall we have an addition to our family!

Day 6 - 1900 Park Fare

On the 6th day of our Disney trip we took it easy during the day and then went to the Grand Floridian resort for dinner at 1900 Park Fare. The Grand Floridian is a gorgeous resort that modeled after the Victorian period. Everything about it is gorgeous (except how far away we had to park!). Out of all the character meals we attended, this one was the loudest and I thought the most hectic. Ava enjoyed it though and loved seeing Cinderella again and the stepsisters. The characters all stayed in character with the stepmother making snarky comments at Cinderella and the little girls dressed as Cinderella. The stepsisters did a lot of fighting and Cinderella and the Prince danced a few times. I got a kick out of the stepmother and the food was pretty good too.