My Apologies

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. We've been busy at home making improvements, that my computer is down. So I haven't been able to upload pictures. I'll get on it as soon as I can. We're doing pretty well, we went up north this weekend and had a wonderful time with "Unk" and "Grant." Ava was so funny, running around the house saying "unk, unk, unk." (That's short for Uncle, and Grant is great-aunt.) So I'll try for those photos from Halloween and beyond real soon. Happy Birthday to mama. Becky celebrated her 20-blank-th birthday Saturday. All I'll say is the year she was born, the Susan B. Anthony silver dollar was introduced into circulation. That year is also the name of a song by The Smashing Pumpkins. So Happy Birthday honey :)

Take csre to everyone, hope Thanksgiving was happy for everyone. Warmest Aloha.

The Snotty Truth

It's amazing how resilient kids are, and what big bags of pansy adults can be. At least me, anyway. I spent almost the entire weekend either in bed, on my way to bed, or thinking about bed as I battled a cold. Ava on the other hand, has had the cold about 2 days longer than me, and she's kicking my butt all over the house. I'm such a wuss. But we're on the mend finally. I'm back to work today, so I guess I'm okay. The problem with tv news, is that November is one of 3 months during the year we call "book," or "sweeps." In entertainment, all your prime time favorites have their big shows this month. In news, we do special projects we think our viewers (and those we hope to convert to ours) will tune in for, then stay and remember us when it comes time to send out the surveys on who their favorite station is. So November is a "no time off" month. No vacations, and if you can help it, no sick time. There are those who forget that rule, but I've been "blessed" with a pretty strict work ethic. Thanks mom and dad :) So I'm feeling a little better, and back to work. I thought I would take a moment to blog, so here you go. Lucky you. Other than the cold/sickness, we're doing well. We unfortunately had to miss a holiday celebration on my dad's side because of the colds, but I figured 1) better not to get everyone there sick and 2) better to get little Ava better ASAP. Some notes of progress for you: Ava now says her "K's." Milk used to be "milt." Now she says milk. So her vocabulary gets better all the time. Plus her memory is really good. She'll tell me what she did during the day. She also asks about 'Mantha almost every day. Nick and Rachel were out of town this weekend, and Ava said Rach and Mantha a few times each day. She wants to visit, but we've kept her away. And she's developed quite an imagination. She'll go to the door, put on mama's shoes, and say "bye." You ask her where she's going, she'll say "gramma." Very cute. Oh, and she's taken to dropping the "a" from mama, much to Becky's dismay. At only 19 months, mama has become mom. She's too young for that!!!

Well, on with the photos. I think I need to get the most recent uploaded soon. These may be the last of the pics I recently did, which means they're a couple of weeks old. I'll get on it!

"Buddy. Gallop. Fast." Buddy is her horse, she loves to gallop. Fast.
~side note: check out the green leaves behind Ava. They're all gone now, as fall is winding down. :^(


Get that lip!


Uncle Doug and Aunt Crystal went to Mexico for their honeymoon, and brought Ava a flute/recorder and an authentic maraca.


Meet Samantha. Ava's first playbuddy.


She's so excited to meet 'Mantha!

Ava's Hair Fashion

Becky and I were walking through Babies R Us one day, and I was so excited to buy dresses and shoes and pink stuff. I guess that's why having a little girl is so fun, I get to be girly for her! Another plus, all the hairstyles. Mine is just short, and messy for style. With a girl, it's infinite. And we're already starting! Check out these photos, as I've dubbed today's post "Ava's Hair Fashion."

One of my favotires. She's so blasted cute in pig tails.


Though her pony tail is cute, too. Especially when she comes up to you and goes "Pony. Pony."




Then there's the "clip." It's a bobby pin that we started with. It was all Becky had at her disposal the one day.


This is the front shot of the "clip." It shows her hair pulled back, almost looking short again. It's one of my favorite recent photos, with her smile and the way it's a little off center.


Next time: Meet Samantha!

Back to Normal

We had a pretty good Halloween. I'll get to those photos pretty soon. Today I thought I'd take a look at some of the things going on since we've been back to life as normal.

A candid shot to show Ava's ever-growing-up features.


A favorite: Melon! She's good at sharing, so she won't stab you with that fork like I would. Ava loves to feed other people.


Two things going on here. 1) When you tell Ava to smile, this is what you get. A very cute, open-mouth pose. 2) She loves cows right now. This cow is at Binder Park Zoo. We went there with Aunt Kimmy to see the giraffes. Unfortunately it rained...


...But that did mean puddle time!


So I'm a "bad influence" on Aunt Kimmy, but here's proof that I'm getting a payback. Ava's pointing out her tattoo. This was after Kim left. Ava has a good memory.


And we recently watched these two parakeets for a friend. Stella and Chloe. Ava loved playing with the birds, but wasn't real keen on having them on her shoulder.


But she did love it when dada or mama had them.


Coming up next time, Ava's ever changing hair styles! Warmest Aloha.