5 months old!

Yep, you guessed it...time is still flying! Our sweet, happy, smiley Ava is 5 months old today. I remember this being a really fun age with Tyler. Their personality starts to come out a bit, and they are more interactive, but still aren't too mobile! That won't be the case for much longer. Mobility is on the horizon!

In the past month, Ava has experienced quite a change in her routine. She has begun spending 4 days per week with her Grandma Claire. On any given day, she also sees her cousins Hailey and Lacy or Sydney and Braden, and of course, her super-duper big brother. This all means that her days are much more exciting! She has the constant entertainment of watching the other kids play around her. Apparently, she really enjoys this excitement! Grandma says she is doing really well, but I'm not surprised. She is such an easy baby. Nothing really upsets her too much! She is just happy. There isn't really any other word to describe her---she's just so happy!

Ava is getting very good at rolling over from her back to her tummy. She doesn't really mind being on her tummy, but doesn't want to be there for too long. This poses a bit of a problem since she can't go from her tummy to her back quite yet. I don't think it will be long though. She is getting much stronger when she's on her tummy, and can push her upper body up a little better. She loves to be upright, and is getting less and less interested in being in her swing or bouncy chair. She scootches and scootches until her lower half is hanging off the chair! I know, I know...those things have straps for a reason. Fortunately, we just got the jumper back, and she seems to enjoy that very much.

I continue to get plenty of sleep at night, which I am so grateful for! The thing I'm a little concerned about now is how I'm going to wean her from the Miracle Blanket. I've tried a few times to put her down without it, and it's inevitable that she wakes up 5 times as much as when she's swaddled. I know that one of these weekends I'm just going to have to put up with the numerous trips to her room to give her pacifier back and put the Miracle Blanket away. I wish they made them bigger! I'd wrap her up until she's 17 if I could, although that might be for different reasons! Thank you, Miracle Blanket. You have been a good friend! PS...if you know anyone who wants to buy one, or if you know any new moms, click on the button to the right for the Miracle Blanket. I'll get 10% of the profits of any sales generated from my blog. It's a must have for any new mom!

Ava seems to really enjoy being outside. Fortunately for all of us, it seems to be cooling off around here. It's still in the triple digits in September, but at least the mornings and evenings cool off. When we get home in the evening, we've been putting a blanket out in the backyard and we all lay on the grass until the sun goes down. Ava is just like her big brother, and loves to be outside! Luckily for us, we live in Arizona and are heading into the beautiful winter months--the reason we live here!

This has been a fun month with our little Ava. She has started giggling more, and her sweet little personality is starting to show. I love her smiles, especially the ones she gives me in the middle of the night while I'm feed her. Who is that smiley at 5:30 am? Well, our sweet Ava, that's who! She really gets a kick out of her silly big brother, and he loves to make her smile. Daddy has gotten a little more time with Ava now that he gets the kids up and ready in the morning. She doles out the smiles to us all, and we are so very happy to have this precious little girl in our life.

Happy 5 month birthday, my pretty princess! We love your smiles, your giggles, your chubby little baby legs, your sweetness. We love you, Ava!

A fun pool adventure!

How fun does this place look?!It's called Mesquite Grove Aquatic Complex and is about 15 miles south of our house. There is all kinds of fun things to do...waterslides, lazy river, a huge bucket that dumps water ever 30 seconds or so....It's open year around too! Tyler had a blast, and even though the water was a bit chilly for Ava (or so I thought), she seemed to love it too! I think we may have another little water bug on our hands!

See what I mean?

Tyler and Daddy spent quite a bit of time on the lazy river. After awhile, Ty said to Daddy, "I want to go in the number 8." Dave realized that he meant the double tube...which is, in fact, shaped like a number 8! What a genius!

That was fun! I guess this is one nice thing about 104 degrees at the end of September...although, I'm ready to be done with that.

Ava in her jumper!

When Tyler was 5 months old, we got this jumpy chair from Aunt Kathy. He loved it! He would jump and jump and jump... sometimes until he fell asleep! I wish I still had some video of him jumping. Oh well, we'll have to settle for this picture. And here is Ava at the exact same age! This has been a good toy--it's lasted through several of the grandkids. It's a little sun bleached this time around, but still works just fine.

Doesn't she look so happy to be in this fun new toy?! She is less interested in lying down in either her swing or bouncer. She much rather be upright and able to look around. I think she'll have a blast with this. I can't wait till she figures out the jumping part!

And here is a little video of Ava trying out her jumper for the first time.

Feelin' better

It seems like everyone is starting to feel better. Ty and Ava went back to Grandma's yesterday, and she said they were good all day. There was a little time when Ava seemed like she wasn't feeling well, but was ok most of the day. Ty still has a yucky cough that is hanging around, but both kids slept better last night. I still feel good, so hopefully I dodged the proverbial bullet.

It's Friday, so I'm not at work. I'm really enjoying my 3 day weekends! The kids and I went to the library this morning. After we got home, Aunt Jen stopped by with Braden, Hailey, and Lacy. The kids had lunch and played for awhile. The cousins don't get to our house very often, so they had fun checking out all of Ty's toys.

Hopefully everyone is feeling well this weekend and we can go do something fun!

Colds, colds, go away!

Remember this scene? Remember me writing "He's not usually allowed in her crib, and in hindsight, especially shouldn't have been allowed in when he has a cold." See these boogers? Lovely, right? Well, guess who else has them?

You got it....Ava has her first cold. Look at this poor baby girl. She is too young to get a cold! Her eyes are all watery and red, her nose is runny, and she's just uncomfortable.

Grandma called me at work yesterday and said she thought Ava was getting sick. We had a pretty rough night last night. Tyler is really stuffed up and has a cough. He is also wheezing when he breathes. They both woke up several times throughout the night, so I went from one room to the other, and didn't sleep much. Normally Dave would get up and help (and he did a bit), but unfortunately, he has this cold too! I'm hoping my immune-system-of-steel will hold up and I won't catch this bug.

I went to work this morning, expecting that I'd probably be leaving early to come home and help Dave with the kids, and so he could rest a little. When I got home, he showed me this little video of how his morning had been. Good think I came home! I hate to see them both so uncomfortable!

So when I got home, the kids and I went out into the backyard and layed on a blanket in the shade. It is finally starting to cool off around here, and I even said to Dave how it was so nice to be able to be outside at noon and not be hot! Here are the sad little faces I came home to cuddle. Don't you just want to take all the sick away and make them all better? I sure do.

This will probably be the first of many times our two kids are sick together. Fortunately it's just a cold, and they'll feel better soon. Hopefully they will always be together to get each other through it...with the help of Mom and Dad's cuddles, hugs, and kisses, of course!

Funny brother--Ava's giggles

Tyler is starting to come into his role of big brother. Ava just loves to watch him and she always has big smiles for him. She hasn't done too much giggling, but is always full of smiles. Tonight she thought Tyler was a pretty funny guy. Here are a few short clips of him making her laugh and smile. Over the weekend, he was letting Ava "play with" his Elmo doll. She seemed to like it so he said "Ava can have Elmo." He said he was done with it, so she could play with it now. I hope he is always so generous and kind to her! She seems to like that furry little red monster!

He's not usually allowed in her crib, and in hindsight, especially shouldn't have been allowed in when he has a cold. Oops. Oh well, all we can do now is enjoy the video and hope Ava doesn't get sick! In the first one, he was singing to her. Ava, Ava, Bo-bava....

She was very much enjoying the company in her crib. I was trying to take a regular picture of them together, but she wouldn't turn away from her brother. She just layed on her side and watched him, smiling and giggling!

Talk about a lazy Sunday

As of 7:00 last night, my kids were still in their pajamas from the night before. That's ok, right? On Saturday night, I noticed Tyler was sneezing quite a bit, and seemed like he might be getting a cold. Sure enough, that night, he woke up repeatedly throughout the night crying. He had the grossest snotty, sneezy nose all day yesterday, but acted like he felt fine. He was his usual playful, happy self. Because of his snot problem though, we weren't planning on going anywhere, so never felt the need to get him (or Ava) dressed! After dinner, Tyler said he wanted to go to the park. It sounded like a good idea since he had been cooped up all day. We got Ty and Ava dressed (hooray!) and headed out. Tyler was on his scooter a little way in front of us, and we called out to him to remember to stop at the street. He stopped alright, looked both ways, and proceeded to cross the street by himself! Dave and I both hollered out to him to wait for us, but he didn't! Dave met him on the other side of the street and turned him right around and back home we went. So, the moral of the story is that if you're 3 years old, look both ways, AND wait for Mom or Dad before you cross the street. Especially if you haven't been out of the house all day and REALLY want to go to the park. Poor guy--tough lesson to learn. Thank goodness there really were no cars coming.....

Splish, splash!

We went down to the San Tan Mall today so Ty could run around in the splash pad. This kid loves to be wet!

After a few jets of water up his nose, he decided to start plugging it!

Ava got to watch. I think she is patiently waiting until she can be out there running around with her big brother. Speaking of that big brother, there he is getting ready to jump off the ledge.

I guess I'll just sit and be cute...and hot. Is it November yet?

Backyard fun in cooler weather!

Have I mentioned how much I love having Friday's off? We didn't do anything today. Tyler was still in his pajama top at 4:30 when he woke up from his nap. And do you know what? I'm not ashamed. We hung out and played all day! I was here, and not at work (although I was on email quite a bit). I'm so glad it's the weekend. Ridiculously glad.

One of the greatest things about late September is that it finally starts to cool off in the evenings. Ty, Ava and I hung out in the backyard for quite awhile tonight before Daddy got home. I took 275 pictures. Yes, you read that right. 275 pictures in about an hour. Of those, I kept about 30. Gotta love digital! Here are some of the pictures I kept. Check out the Smilebox for more! There's some cute ones! Tyler had fun fishing today. He is so good at casting! Pretty soon, it'll be cool enough during the day that we can take a trip to one of the urban lakes and see if he's patient enough to actually fish this year. He thinks it's much more fun to cast and real it back, cast and real it back. The fish have got to be really fast if they're going to get his bait. Here is is practicing for the real thing.

And of course, the two cutest kids I know. Man, I love these little people! Don't you?

After dinner, we headed to the park for awhile. You can certainly tell that the cooler weather is on its way. There were about 35 people at the park tonight! It was great. It's so funny how this place was a ghost town for the last 4 months, and all of a sudden the people are back and ready to enjoy the outdoors again! Enjoy the pictures.....and your weekend!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Grandpa's Birthday

Yesterday was Grandpa Ed's birthday, so Aunt Jen made dinner and cake for everyone. It's a little tough to get all 7 grandkids to look at the camera at the same time (especially when cake is in the near future), so this is as good as it gets! There was one good picture, but of course, I accidentally deleted that one. Here is Grandpa with his 7 grandkids who live in this country. As always, we missed you Josh and Matt! The best part about birthday cake may very well be the candles. The blowing, picking, and licking of them, that is.....


Happy Birthday, Grandpa Ed!

New building at my college

While I was out for the summer, they completed construction on a new building at the college where I work. It's a great new addition to our already beautiful campus. Check it out if you're interested! I must admit, if I have to be at work during the day instead of with my kids, I have a pretty nice place to be. I really do enjoy what I do and where I work. Enjoy!

Ava's 4 month doctor visit

Ava had her 4 month doctors visit today (a little late). She is a healthy girl! She is 26 inches (95th %) and 15 lbs 11.8 oz (75-90th %). Her little head is only 41 cm, which puts her in the 25-50th %. She is doing all the things she should be at this age. The only question I had for my doctor was whether or not it was ok for her to go 4-6 days between poops. She finally had a poopy diaper this morning, but it was the first time since last Wednesday. Doc said there was no reason to be concerned. I guess she's just a little lady! She had to get 2 shots, which she didn't like too much. It must have made her sleepy because she slept from noon till 3, which is not her normal nap time. She goes back in 2 months for another check up and some more shots. She and Tyler will both get their flu shots then too.

Here is a cute little video of Ava making some noises after her bath tonight. She is talking so much more now. I'm trying to get a good 'conversation' on video, but she seems to quit when she sees the camera light. This will have to do for now!

And below you will find Tyler's contribution to this post. While I was feeding Ava and putting her down for the night, I left this blog post open on the computer. Tyler was in the office and when I asked him what he was doing, he said "I'm writing a note." So, here you go. This is Tyler's note to you all.

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Dance Dance

This boy has mad skills. Check out the break dancing towards the end of this first one. You might have to turn up the volume a bit to hear the tunes. He's jamming to the Beatles. The first video is to Obla-di Obla da, and the second is to I Wanna Hold Your Hand. Grandma Jean had been singing it to him over Skype when he and Ava were holding hands, so I let him hear the real version on Itunes. He decided to have a little dance party. Tyler gets a little nutzo before bed and is usually bouncing off the walls...literally....

Enjoy!

And if that wasn't enough, here is a bit more....

And there is still one more, and its an even funnier dance. Some of you may have had it emailed to you already. Tyler has the makings of a future Chippendale in the final video. I'd rather not post it on my public blog though, so email me or post a comment if you want another laugh!

A boy, a girl, and a bear

One of my first favorite pictures was taken by Grandma Claire one day when Tyler first started spending his days with her. I remember her sending it to me at work, and it totally made my day. He is about a month younger than Ava is right now (taken Oct 6, 2006).

Three years later, Ava is spending her days with Grandma Claire, and apparently this little bear is still around too! Here is our pretty Ava (aka Strawberry Shortcake) with the same little bear on the same couch! This picture was emailed to me at work today, and it made my day all over again!

This one made me smile too. How sweet is big brother...playing the saxophone for his baby sister! She looks so fascinated by it! She just loves watching Tyler play. I'm sure she is wishing she could do all the things he's doing. It won't be long, my sweet girl, and you will be running along side your big brother!

Thanks for the pictures, Grandma!

A haircut!

Ty's hair has been getting pretty long. He hadn't gotten it cut since mid June.

Before..... After....

It's amazing how much different a hair cut can make him look! He always looks so much more grown up after a little trim. Aunt Jen always does such a great job too! Thanks, Aunt Jen!

Grandparent's Day!

So Long to Summer Fest

I wish that because we went to an event called "So Long to Summer Fest" that summer would in fact, be over. Unfortunately, we have a few more weeks in the triple digits, then a few weeks in the 90s, and then I will finally rediscover why I live here....blessed winter! I can't wait till we can be outside whenever we want!

Grandma and Grandpa Horihan have an amazing park in their backyard called Freestone. Last night they had a big event with bouncy things, food vendors, and live music. Here are all the kids waiting at the gate before we headed to the park. Tyler with Hailey and Sydney

This is the first thing Tyler wanted to do. See him climbing up the steps in the middle?

He wasn't too sure once he got up there though. He decided the easiest way down was going to be sliding on his belly at a glacial speed.

Ava loved being out at the park. There was so much to see, and she had a blast hanging out (literally) with Mom.

Ty and Daddy taking a break to watch the pony races......

What are pony races, you ask? Well, take a look at this! Talon, Hailey, and Sydney are on the right side.

And here they are with their prizes! They were very proud of themselves....Talon especially.

It was fun to get all the kids together for an evening out. It was a little warm, but not too bad. We'll all be back there again in about 6 weeks for Halloween. Hopefully it'll be a little cooler then!