Ava 10 Months Old

Ava turned 10 Months Old on the 13th. We still sit and look at her every day and wonder where the time has gone! She is such a blessing to our family. She has been a little under the weather off and on for the past two months but she seems to be finally on the mend after two ear infections, resulting in 3 different prescriptions for antibiotics and breathing treatments. We also took her back to have her iron re tested since he had been low and that number finally increased! She is about 19 lbs now and all over the place! I think Chris and I both forgot just how mobile they are at this age. We had to get out the baby gates and we have things set up so we can keep her somewhat confined to the living room while we are in there. Every once in a while she escapes and she can normally be found in the laundry room. I am not sure why she loves it in there so much but, I hope that continues so she can help me with laundry someday!

We are in the process, well I am in the process of planning her Birthday party. I also scheduled her 1 year photo shoot for the end of March. I can't wait to have her pictures taken in her tutu and special Birthday hat! She also has a special Birthday Dress that her Grandma and Aunts picked out for her so she will have her pictures taken in that as well! I She finally has enough hair that I can get a little bow to stay on her head without a headband! I can't wait until we can start making pony tails! I have been holding myself back when I go shopping now since all the summer clothes are coming out and they are all so darn cute! I can't wait to take the kids to the pool this summer and get them outside. Spring can't come soon enough!

This is a picture of Ava watching her favorite show "Super Why?" This a PBS show that Aiden enjoys watching and she is obsessed with it! As soon as she hears the song she starts smiling and dancing or she runs up to the TV as she just can't seem to get close enough to see it!

Will U B My V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E ?

Ava celebrated her first Valentine's Day on Feb 14th! She recieved several cards from her Grandparents, Mommy and Daddy and some cookies and treats from her God Mother as well. Aiden also got tons of cards from school, daycare and his Grandparents. He also got a star wars box of candy and shirt from Mom and Dad! I ordered him a heart shaped pizza for dinner and we had some delicious cupcakes for dessert!

Tooth Fairy

Aiden lost his very first tooth on Sunday, Feb 7th. He and Chris were down in the basement wrestling and he ran upstairs and told me his tooth was loose. He was so excited he kept saying " the tooth fairy is coming!" I explained that it may take a few days for it to actually fall out so he didn't think that she was actually coming that night. Well, two minutes later (if that) he ran up agian and it was out. Apparenlty, he pulled it out. Most children are deathly afraid of pulling a tooth out. Atleast I can remember being afraid of that when I was young. But, not Aiden! He simply has no fear!

The tooth fairy did come to visit that night! He recieved $5.00. She will not be as generous next time around.

(Note from the tooth fairy: Having to pull the tooth out from under his sleeping head, praying he doesn't wake up to catch you, and sliding the money in it's place was much harder than she expected!)

Mad River Mountain

This past weekend, Chris, Aiden and I went to have some fun in the snow at Mad River Mountain. It's a ski resort just a short drive north of us. This was on our list of things to do for a long time and since last year, tubing for me was out of the question, we decided to go ahead and go this year! Here are some pictures from our trip! We had an amazing time!

http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?token=529108213803:1296641808

Jump Rope for the Heart

I picked Aiden up from school yesterday and he was frantic saying we have to get the paper back by tomorrow for Jump Rope for the Heart. I wasn't even aware his school was holding this event until yesterday afternoon. (I may have read it in one of the previous packets of papers he brought home from school but, since then I heard nothing about it so I was news to me!) Once we got home and I saw the paperwork, I created a little website so he could get donations for this event. I love that he was so enthueastic about participating and so far he has reached his goal and gotten over $100.00 in donations for this wonderful cause!

Here is his link:
http://honor.americanheart.org/site/TR/JumpforHeart/JRFH-GRA?px=1982247&pg=personal&fr_id=1281&s_src=FacebookConnect&s_subsrc=PC2&ref=nf

Snow Videos

Here is video of Ava's first time out in the snow. She wasn't sure what to think but at least she didn't cry! I can't wait until she is a little older and she can join us sled riding! I am sure that time will come sooner than I can imagine.

This is a video I shot when Aiden and I went sled riding on Sunday afternoon. I didn't notice until I was actually watching this that he almost took the poor girl out while going down the hill! LOL! We had a great time! It's not easy finding a hill here in Columbus, however I think I found a great spot and we will certainly be going back for more snow fun!

Never a dull moment........

Friday it started snowing and snowing and snowing...so I left work a tad early to go pick up the essentials, pizza (just incase our normal place wasn't delivering) beer, wine, and chocolate! I headed to Aiden's school to get him out instead of him taking hte bus to daycare. We got home early and ordered our pizza and Aiden and headed out into the snow to shovel (round #1). Then, we just laid around as the snow continued to fall at about an inch each hour and watched Monsters Inc. It was a perfect evening! Saturday morning was also wonderful! Chris got up with both kids so I slept until about 9:30. After I finally got up and moving, we took the kids outside to play! This was Ava's first time in the snow! I think she liked it but of course she couldn't tell me so I am not 100% sure, I just know there were no tears. After she and I had enough cold we went inside and left the boys outside. She ended up going down for a nice long nap and I got a ton of things done around the house! I felt so productive! I need a Saturday like that once a month!



After Ava's long nap, we noticed she was starting to get her redness in her face again, her nose was running more and more. She just finished her second antibiotic, Omniceft (SP) on Wednesday and here she was coming down with somthing again...she has been coughing but it's gotten worse. So we kept an eye on her the rest of the night. We went to roosters for dinner which was so yummy and I was totally BAD and had cheese fries! But, it was soo worth every bite! We came home and I think I was in bed at 9 PM, so pathetic! Then, Sunday morning, we decided Ava needed to go back to the Doctors, so Chris took her in at 10 AM- I LOVE that our peditrician's office has on call hours on Sat and Sun, we have used that more that the regular office hours! I didn't want Aiden to have to go so I told Chris to take the baby and I would take Aiden down to road to do some sledding. We drive past this great hill (there are not many in our area) where we see kids sledding all the time and it looks like a BLAST! So away he and I went on a little Mommy and me date to the big hill and it was in fact a BLAST! Aiden did great, he was so excited and very careful, we just had a great time together! Then we headed to Mcdonalds for some lunch and to get Ava's Rx's. She was given a third antibiotic for her second ear infection. She is also on breathing treatments three times a day. Hopefully this will make her all better. I am so sad because she just isn't getting well, yet, she keeps that little smile on her face. She is just such a precious angel!

Sunday afternoon, we had even more excitement when Aiden and Chris were wrestling downstairs and he ran up to tell me his tooth was loose! So I checked it out and it was certainly wiggling! He was all excited because the tooth fairy was coming as he said "tonight!" I told him it might take a few days for it to fall out. Well, not two minutes later he comes running back upstairs and said it's out! He apparently pulled it out! So, the tooth fairy did make an appearance at our house last night. She left $5.00 under his pillow in exchange for his tooth. (which he did not want to give up) I think normal rate will be $1.00, it was his first tooth so he got a little extra this time around!

Sunday was also Super Bowl Sunday so we headed to the neighbors for their annual party. I didn't really get to see any of the game since I was chasing Ava around most of the time I was there. I did get to chat and eat some yummy food. Ava and I called it an early evening with her not feeling well and were home by 8. We got ready for bed and I folded clothes as she unfolded them. That is the new system at my house! One of these days I will learn to wait until she goes to bed to fold the clothes!

Today, we had parent teacher conference this morning with Aiden's teacher. He is doing wonderfully in school. She said he is one of the top 5 readers in her class and he is very smart. That made me feel really good! She also said he is doing great at math! We have had a few minor behavioral issues the past few weeks but she said he has been doing great since then and she is going to keep us posted so we can continue to monitor his behavior. I am so proud of him!

We are expecting to get more snow tonight through Wed...so here we go again! Tomorrow is Aiden's 6 year check up at the doctor, we are going to get our own parking spot pretty soon we are there so much! Ava is heading back on Fri afternoon for a re check of her iron and chest. I just pray she gets well soon! Until next time, stay warm and safe!

XO

The Party Circuit

Well, another weekend has come and gone! I am happy to be starting a NEW month!!January wasn't so good to us, Chris was out of town a week, Ava and I were sick (twice), we lost Grandma Argie and my Great Aunt, and my Son decided to start being a Holy Terror all of a sudden as he turned 6!

I was able to go grab a few beers with some girl friends this past Friday night and it was only a few hours out of the house but it was a GREAT time! This group always makes me laugh! My Son on the other hand, has more of a social life than either of his parents! He had a Birthday party on Saturday at Galaxy Games and Golf and another on Sunday at Chuck E Cheese to attend! It's funny how you see all the same parents attending all the same parties with their kids! Normally, I would not enjoy having two parties in a row, however, it's nice this time of year for him to get out and blow off some of that energy! I think that might be part of his problem lately, he needs to "release" sometimes! I am very much looking forward to spring, per the groundhog in PA there are 6 more weeks of winter per Buckeye Chuck (I guess he is also a ground hog?) we are getting an early spring! Let's hope Chuck is right this time!

Ava attended the party on Saturday and I figured since she is currently on antibiotics now was a great time to take her in to play with the balls! If she catches something hopefully those will take care of it. She loved it so much! She was in awe watching all the kids run around the huge jungle gym, I am sure next year at this time she will be trying to run right along with them!

Speaking of that, I am on a mission to find a cake for Ava's 1st Birthday Party. All her decorations and invites arrived from the place I ordered them from and they are so cute. I am not ready for her to be "1" yet, but I am having a blast planning her party!

I am also on a mission for Aiden's class, as the room parent I am creating a basket to be raffled at his winter family fun fair at the end of Feburary. So I contacted the two local indoor water parks along with an aquatic center to see if they would donate a pass or gift card I could include in the basket. I am going to fill a beach tote bag with a beach towel or two, goggles and pool toys! I figure the kids will LOVE it! I sure hope it's a hit!

So, That's about all that is going on here incase it's not enough! I am also in the second week of my diet and I must say I am pretty proud of myself! Now if I could only find the extra time to get in some exercise!