Happenings

December 24, 2014 – So hard to believe she turned three a few days ago! She is the best Christmas gift I ever got.

iPhoneography…

Halloween 2014

My little doll dressed up as a lion. She loved trick or treating this year and really got into the whole spirit of things, which made it so much fun for us too!

Apple Picking – October 2014

This year we chose a different orchard to pick apples and got a wonderful surprise. Plums!

No one was more excited than my daughter. She loved picking the plums. So much so that we had to coerce her into leaving the plum section so we could pick apples.

She finally warmed up to the idea of apples.

It may have had something to do with her realizing she could eat the apples.

Guess what she did for the rest of the day?

Yup.

Apparently she tired herself out eating what she picked. A moment of rest. A second of rest, more accurately.

We lucked out with perfect weather. It was so nice that we stopped at a local beach to play in the sand before heading back home.

iPhonography…

Looking at the camera (phone) and smiling. A miracle.

Playground shenanigans.

Just picking up a few last minute things.

July, 2014
My girl. Stylin at the beach.

Her cousins have a small, portable pool in their backyard. She loved going down the slide, she had a blast! Can’t say I blame her, it looks fun and is a great way to keep cool on a hot day. Ahhhh, to be a kid again.

The wonder of bubbles…

A few favorites of me and my girl on Mother’s Day.

Easter, 2014

April 11, 2014 – The Egg Hunt

Last year she was a bit too young to ‘get’ the whole Easter egg hunt thing, but this year was much more fun. This year she is obsessed with eggs. The plastic kind, not real ones.

The organizer gathered up all the younger kids to run out first, so they can try to actually get some eggs. And they were off!

She loved the idea of collecting the eggs and putting them in her basket. She didn’t quite get the ‘hurry up’ part of it though. Good thing they let the little ones out first.

The Easter bunny was at the hunt. She wanted absolutely no part of him. See the bunny in the background? Right, well whenever he was in sight, this is what Ava was doing. Running in the opposite direction.

She much preferred collecting the eggs and investigating what was inside them.

Look at the loot in her basket! It was a good day at the hunt.

She’s too cool. And she knows it.

iPhonography…

April 2014

Dreamy eyes.

March 6, 2014

My phone is not my own anymore. It’s really hers and she lets me use it occasionally. I downloaded a few learning apps for her and I swear, after only using it about two times, she has full command of navigating the pages of my iPhone to find her apps, open her apps and play them. Smarty pants.

Valentine’s Day, 2014. Blowing kisses.

iPhoneography…

Hard at work

Braids

Purple

Reading to her babies

Passing time indoors during the blizzards of 2014

January 22, 2014

The terrible two’s. They sure can be terrible.

This one can throw an epic tantrum.

But the two’s can also be terrific. Really terrific. She’s got such a cute little personality. I love when she acts all silly, just for me.

Doing her little silly dance, while sitting.

Twisting and turning. Waiting for me to laugh at her and encourage her to do more. And who wouldn’t want to encourage more cuteness?

Until, of course, an airplane flies overhead. What’s that sound? Where is it?

And when is she going to stop drooling?

iPhonography…

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Mini Picasso

Brrrrrrr

iPhonography…

Keeping a safe distance.

Christmas 2013

December 24, 2013 – Happy Holidays! I wish everyone good health and happiness in the new year. For those of you not on my Christmas card list, this is the photo I used for this year’s card.

December 20, 2013

Today my baby girl turns TWO! Where did the time go? For a music video slideshow of her 2nd year click on the link…

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d7237756kP169594789o2/avas-2nd-year

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Blind obsession. All she wants to do is play with the blinds.

iPhonography…

Halloween 2013. My little pumpkin.

My baby’s latest food obsession is blueberries. She absolutely loves them and as a result eats a ton of them. We went blueberry picking on our trip out West and I believe it was my baby’s best day ever.

She caught on quickly that you pick them right off the bushes.

And pop them into your mouth.

I believe she ate 528 of them. Or something like that. A lot.

She was in blueberry heaven.

iPhonography…

Rockstar

Blueberry PIcking

Baby Sandwich

It was a hot summer.

Sandpits. Are. Messy.

My love.

This hotel has some great books!

Oh, just rummaging through daddy’s wallet…

iPhonography…

Start yer engines!

Petting Zoo + Bouncy House = F U N

Aaarrgh…I can’t believe there is only ONE pony!

Chasing bunnies.

Let’s throw crayons in the radiator!

In early June, my baby had an obsession with broccoli. You probably think I am exaggerating, but I am not.

She HAD to have it for lunch and dinner and snacks. Every day. For 2 weeks straight.

She would get so excited while eating the little spears, she would chatter away.

When I started running low (or running out!) I would get nervous. I needed a supply of steamed broccoli on hand at all times. And how could I possibly disappoint this little face?

iPhonography…

Fearless

Sweet

Ava’s afternoon…

Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013. This is the second year I get to celebrate being a mom to this insanely adorable little person. How did I get so lucky?

iPhonography…

Glamour baby

Pacifier lips

Family

I didn’t do it. I swear.

March 31, 2013 – The beautiful Easter basket my mother made for her did not go over so well. In fact, she hated it.

Did not want it anywhere near her.

Message received, loud and clear. But isn’t her tutu adorable?!

Love. Her.

Reading one of her favorite books, Goodnight New York City…

The face of frustration…

iPhonography…

My monkey walking her monkey

Wheeeeee

My little baby is turning into a little girl. Gah!

iPhonography…

Lash envy

Bliss

My favorite little Valentine.

The playground is one of her favorite places to be now. She used to really love the swings…

but now that she can walk she prefers to roam around. I think that is what she is trying to tell me here…

Mom, I’m not sure why you put me in here…

Please lift me out…

And let me go over there…on the slide…

So off to the slide we go. Much happier.

After a few runs down the slide off she goes…

Oh. And she runs now.

This winter was a relatively mild one. Thankfully we got some snow, enough that we were able to take Ava on her first ride in her little red sled. She absolutely loved it!

iPhonography

January 20, 2013, one year and one month later, Ava had her 1st birthday party. Planning a party for a few days before Christmas proved to be way too overwhelming. Even though it was one month late, it was still a lovely party.

Filled with family, homemade cupcakes and balloons. And lots of champagne.

I displayed a photo banner of her, one photo from each month over her entire first year so everyone could see how she grew and changed.

We are very happy and proud parents, overwhelmed daily by her cuteness.

She seemed a bit confused about this cupcake and remained very lady-like, she only got her fingers dirty. That whole cake on the face thing just didn’t happen. Apparently, she is not thrilled with sugary snacks. For now.

Thanks for coming everyone…see you soon!

Christmas Eve, 2012

Christmas morning, 2012

iPhonography…

Amazingly enough, she didn’t really care much that we had a huge tree in our living room. It wasn’t until the last few days of having it that she got interested.

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On December 20th my little baby girl turned one. ONE! I can hardly believe it…where did the time go? Although this past year is mostly a blurr of colic and diapers and tears I did manage to learn alot from this tiny human being…like the true meaning of exhaustion. She taught me that I am stronger than I realized and I have more patience than I ever thought possible. She taught me that motherhood is a serious job (no thanks to that egg allergy!) and that there really is never any time off. Washing and blow drying my hair has become a luxury I didn’t get much of this past year. But I look at her tiny little face and her gorgeous eyes and I just melt. I realize it is all worth it and I can hardly believe how lucky I am to be with her every day. She brings me such intense joy. Happy Birthday cutie pie.

iPhonography…

I made a solid attempt to have a ‘Christmas photo shoot’ of her wearing something Christmas-y for our holiday card. It was a major bust. She just wasn’t having it. Luckily I had taken her to the park in a red hoodie one day to take some pictures ‘just in case’. Good thing for just in case. This is the photo I ended up using. At least she was wearing something red!

On November 1st Ava started taking her first steps with her toy walker. After just a few days she was a pro at it!

Memories of warmer days…

iPhonography…

Ava at 11 months old…

I am the luckiest mommy in the world.

This photo, this child, is utterly delicious. I simply cannot get enough of her.

Our little bug was a ladybug for Halloween…

Ava at 10 months old…

We were sure to get in some apple picking while at the pumpkin farm.

Little munchkin loved sucking on the inside of the apple. A familiar flavor, I suppose she recognized it from the apple purees I make her.

Pumpkin picking in October…

She had alot of fun, can’t you tell?

Ava at 9 months.

Eating is getting a little more interesting and alot more messy.

Ava at 8 months.

The swings. This was probably her 3rd time on them and each time this was her demeanor. Rather serious.

I couldn’t figure out if she liked the swings or not. So I kept swinging her. Back and forth…back and forth. Still kinda serious.

But then I started to see her eyes getting heavier and heavier. She was actually getting tired!

And slowly she fell asleep. Right on the swings in the playground.

Drool and all.

We introduced Ava to the beach and ocean this summer. Cutie pie loved it all, especially the water! God help me with those little thighs.

After frolicking in the water she relaxed with a little beach reading.

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Hmmmm…what is that funny looking green stuff?

Maybe I better take a closer look…

I think she has mixed feelings about the grass.

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iPhoneography…

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You want to feed me what??

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Can you see her two tiny teeth in there?

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Little girl clothes are super adorable. I have so much fun buying her clothes and dressing her everyday. But every once in awhile…

It’s diapers only! Why don’t I do this more often? I cannot resist those little rolls.

And it’s much easier to wipe up all that drool!

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Blue.

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All summer I have had her legs and feet exposed. Going to miss that once the weather gets colder.

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Beach baby trapper hat. Best hat to protect the brand new skin on her little ears and the back of her neck.

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When the weather is nice on the weekends we head to my parent’s house in the suburbs so Ava can play in the little pool we got her. We first put her in the pool when she was about 6 months old and I don’t think she was quite ready. But at 7 months she really started liking it!

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My parents and I took her to the beach for the first time on July 15th. She loved the beach, especially the sound of the waves. It seemed to relax her.

She had a great time playing with her nonna.

Quiet nonna, I want all the attention!

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7 months old. Her cuteness overwhelms me every day.

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On June 16th we had a Christening for Ava. During the ceremony she wore the very same gown that I was christened in.

She was such a good girl all day!

After the ceremony I changed her into her little party dress, something much more comfortable.

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The trusty iPhone 4S – how did I survive without this thing? I love everything about it, including talking to my new friend Siri. Being able to talk out my emails and texts and they just appear is epic, particularly because I never have my hands free anymore to type. But most of all I love the camera and the quality of the photos. Oh…and instagram…I love instagram. I take tons of photos of Ava with my phone because I always have my phone on me and it’s just so easy. So I have decided I should post some of my favorites from time to time…and I will start now.

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Her little feet and tiny toes amaze me every day.

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Our little ladybug is 6 months old already!

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Baby bubble…

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June 8, 2012

Just catching up on some reading before lunch…

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Ava Grace + Sofie

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Our colicky newborn has turned into a happy, smiley little infant.

And a ticklish one…

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You talkin to me?

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My smiley little cutie pie is 5 months old.

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Summertime!

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This little pink baby seat, The Bumbo, has afforded me some additional freedom throughout the day. I can put her in here, place her on the counter and she will watch me cook. For a few minutes, at least. She really loves this seat…and so do I!

It helps her practice sitting up on her own. I can kick myself for not purchasing it a month earlier.

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Learning how to sit up. Taking a few tumbles.

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Big. Wet. Kisses. One of my most favorite things she does now. Out of nowhere she will zero in…

She was looking for that cheek…

And she got it good…

She’s chomping away with her gums…

Basically, she’s slobbering all over me. And I love it.

Mental note to self: start wearing some makeup again.

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I love this photo on so many levels. First, please look at the size of that little thumb. Tiny little fingers. Second, check out those deltoids! Her arms are perfectly plump. So so cute. Third…the lashes.

You can get a better view of those lashes from this angle…

And lastly I love her sheets. The pattern is so cheerful it makes me smile everyday.

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May 16, 2012….Somebody is rolling over and sleeping on her belly!

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When she gets me up at 4:45 am, it is this adorable face that keeps me going. Irresistible.

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The Ergo – love this thing. I love it. Ava loves it. So comfortable. It is like a tranquilizer for her, 1 minute after putting her in…she’s fast alseep. And she stays asleep. Ahhhhh…

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April 26, 2012

The Bounce About – her new toy. As she gets older she needs more excitement and entertainment, so out came the bounce about. This is her first time in it. She’s feeling it out, a bit undecided on the whole thing. Afterall, she’s used to being in mommy’s arms all day long.

I am happy to report she has taken a liking to this new entertainment center. I am thrilled about this because it means I can actually put her down somewhere safe and she won’t cry right away. This contraption gives me about 15 minutes of hands-free time. Yay!