Pumpkin Patch

This weekend the weather was gorgeous! Court and I took our little punkins to the pumpkin patch to enjoy the weather and let them get some energy out. I had a hair appointment first so Ava stayed with Courtney and Trevor. Trent was supposed to be going down for a nap, but when I left Ava got upset and started crying. Trent heard her and stood up in his crib with his little ear turned toward the door so he could hear more. Then he got so excited that Ava was there he decided he wasn't napping just yet. So Trevor brought him downstairs to play with Ava, but she was so upset she wouldn't give him the time of day. Of course he's so laid back he just looked at her like "whatcha cryin for, I got toys"

So she finally calmed down after she realized they had fun toys and Court actually got Ava and Trent down for a nap at the same time! What a pro!

After that we went to lunch and then headed to the pumpkin patch. I couldn't get Ava to sit still for any pictures. She wanted to run wild all over the pumpkin patch. Trent is just dying to get up and run with her. I give it a few weeks and he'll be running along with her.

Here we are on the way to the pumpkin patch

I picked my pumpkin mommy!

Our little punkins

!

So the first week of daycare didn't go very smooth. Ava cried every single day at drop off and pick up. They said she does stop crying and plays with the other kids but gets upset every now and then when she realizes we aren't there. Her teacher said she's happy if they are outside or if they are in one room with no visitors. Anytime the door opens and someone comes in she gets upset and tries to make a break for it. Today was even worse. She cried the minute I took her out of the car and then when I walked in the door she grabbed the door and held on for dear life. Miss Laura took her from me and Ava just clung to me and screamed. It broke my heart. I was having major mommy guilt today at work and almost left early to get her and cuddle her.

The good news is that she eats all of her food and she naps GREAT! Friday I went to pick her up after work and she was completely conked out. They said she lays right down on her mat and sleeps for 2 hours. So I came back at 2 and she was still sleeping! The weirdest part that I haven't figured out is that at night she has always fought bed time. Not anymore! From day one of daycare she went right in her crib wide awake, laid down and cuddled her bunny without a fuss and went to sleep. Didn't make a peep. It's been like that every night since. Last night she even pulled herself off of my shoulder toward her crib like "okay mommy put me in my bed now, I'm tired"

The first night she did it I thought she was sick and went in and checked on her every few minutes, but nope...she was just fine!

First Day of School

Here she is before she knows what's coming

Before the meltdown

okay who is that lady and what is about to happen

Ava's first day didn't go as smoothly as we'd hoped. As soon as I dropped her off and started to leave she started screaming. I called her teacher when I got to work and she was still screaming. The teacher said she cried off and on all day, but was happiest when they were outside. No big surprise there. She didn't drink any of her milk or eat much of her food, and she only took a 45 minute nap. When Steve got there to pick her up she was outside on the playground and ran toward him and started crying :( He said when he went inside to get her things she freaked out thinking he was going to leave her inside. Poor thig. I am not looking forward to the drop off tomorrow, as she'll know where she is and what's about to happen. I pray that she has a better day tomorrow. My poor sweet thing.

All ready for school!

So at school all the kiddos get nap mats, you know the usual plastic foamy mats all daycares have. I thought about getting her a custom nap mat that I've seen around, but none of the others had it and it looked like it might take up too much space. Most of the kids had pillow cases that they brought from home on their mats and the teacher suggested we bring one for Ava's mat. Well Grandmother called the teacher and got the measurements and made Ava her very own nap mat covers! I'm so excited and they all turned out so cute. She also got her a little pillow and made matching pillow cases. Nothing but the best for my little sweetie!

Of course we had to have one with her favorite snack on it

THANKS GRANDMOTHER!!!!!

my little sweetie

We have decided to start preparing our house to put on the market, so we had a contractor come out and do some work on the house. Ava took to him immediately and followed him everywhere. She would peek around the corner and give him a big grin, she let him carry her, and she watched closely as he worked. She really liked him for some reason. Here she is helping with the wood filler.

Here is my little sweetie on Saturday morning in her warm footy pajamas

Hamming it up for the camera

Mommy's first attempt at pig tails

Ava's going to school

Well the time has come for Ava to start school! We are very fortunate that Grandmother was able to keep her here at home into the 1st year of her life, but the time has come for Ava to interact with other children. I prefer not to call it daycare, as she will actually be engaged and learning all kinds of fun things like sign language, new words, colors, shapes and foods.

Today we went to complete all of her paperwork and tour her classroom. We were nervous and excited to see how she would react in the classroom. Well as soon as we got in the door she wanted down. We got there just after lunch and they had music playing, so while we were talking to the teachers Ava was on the floor dancing to the music just as happy as she could be. It was really cute because they already had her name on the floor where her assigned spot was, and her name on the chair at her group table. We got to meet all the little kids in her class, and in her group. Meanwhile, she's found toys and is running around playing with other class members. Wouldn't have even noticed if we were there or not. It made us happy that she was so content there. Just before we left all of the children laid down on their mats for naptime. It made me wonder if Ava will ever be that good about just laying on her mat and going down. I hope it doesn't take her long to just follow the crowd and take her nap.

I think she is going to have a great time at school. She starts on Monday morning.

First Family Road Trip

The day Steve has been talking about since the day Ava was born finally came! We took our first family road trip out to the deer lease with daddy. We rented a trailer and a spot at an RV park near the lease. Ava had a blast in the trailer and was just as happy as she could be. We were so nervous about the ride there since she hates the car, but we got a DVD player and put on Strawberry Shortcake and Elmo and she was good to go! She did have one meltdown on the way there, but quickly fell asleep and took a long nap.

When Steve was not hunting we went to Fredricksburg and did some eating and shopping. There was a cute little toy store and as soon as Ava saw Elmo she went nuts over it. Naturally we bought it for her and she toddled around with it all weekend. If we took her outside to explore, she wanted to go back in and get her "melmo" to go with her. I still think Elmo is baby crack.

She was so excited about the new place and the new trailer that she didn't want to sleep (big surprise). We finally just gave in and let her stay up. We were on vacation after all. I would finally get her to bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow Steve's alarm was going off for him to go hunting. Then as soon as I was back to sleep after that, she was up. Mama is tired!

Anytime an animal makes a peep, Ava says they are "Bad, Bad, Bad" A bird would chirp outside and she'd say "bad bad bad" dogs can't bark, cats can't meow and now birds can't chirp.

The Clampits are all packed up and ready to go

Our snazzy trailer

Ava sharing a beer with daddy

looking precious in my cozy pajamas

Enjoying her morning baba

Helping daddy hook the trailer back up

Ava that fashionista

I love getting Ava halloween pajamas, for some reason October and Halloween just get me all excited about the fall. So this is Ava in her pajamas with her clod hopper tennis shoes that she always insists on wearing. This picture turned out so funny because she looks like she is modeling her oh so stylish outfit. Move over Rachel Zoe, Ava's got her own style!

At each meal I give Ava the spoon and try to teach her how to scoop and feed herself. Now anytime I break out the yogurt or anything that I need to feed her, she insists on having the spoon for herself and then she has the best time trying to feed herself. She dips the spoon in the container and then brings it to her mouth, then she claps for herself. ha! She gets way more food on her bib and in her lap then she actually gets in her mouth, but I'm so proud of her for wanting to do it herself. She's still crazy about fruit with one of her new favorites being raspberries. Oh and Ava has 3 new teeth! Her two top teeth came in within the last two weeks, and then this weekend one of her molars arrived.



My sister came in town this weekend and finally got to meet her little Ava. We've been skyping for a while now so she's been able to talk to her and see her. Ava was so fussy all day and Aunt Brenda got to see what we deal with in the car. Of course my more experienced sister instantly knew Ava was teething and sure enough the next day I saw a new tooth!

This morning she had me chuckling again. Casper isn't allowed in her room, but he slipped in and went right to the corner between the crib and the wall. Ava ran after him saying "baa baa baa" (bad, bad, bad). Then he ran behind the chair and she ran after him again, baa baa baa.