EGGS, NINE, TEN, ELEBIN.....

Ava has started to count....my favorite is when she counts past seven and yells "eggs, nine, ten, elebin!" She is talking up a storm & is learning new words everyday! Last week...the last week in May...it snowed!!! I went to the kitchen window and said "Holy Crap!!!" (We had just planted our garden a few days before) Ava ran to the back door..opened the shutters and yelled "Holy CAT!!!" I could not stop smiling, but asked what was wrong...she yelled "it noing Mom!!" I laughed all day & now say "holy cat" all the time!

Ava loves to sing! Her all time favorite is "Tomorrow" from the musical Annie. She sings it loud & proud...surprisingly she knows all the words & corrects us if we sing it wrong. I love the part when she yells "stick your chin.... a grin.... a say!!!!! I realize Annie is a funny choice of a movie for a 2 year old..but she loves it!! She also sings (on key..I might add): row-row-row your boat, freight train, say-say ole playmate, B-I-N-G-O and baby bubble-bee! Speaking of bees...many of you know Paul has a mortal fear of bees..he thinks it is allergic! Now Ava runs around yelling "a Bee, a Bee, a Bee!" Its does not matter if it is a fly...she thinks it is a bee & wants us to kill it!


Ava is always asking us "what are you doing?" We tell her & then ask her "what are you doing Ava?" She says.."GOOD!" I love it! If she is upset or did something wrong she puts her hand to her forehead, shakes her head & yells "Oh man!"

Ava is very in-tune with her body...she tells us when she is hungry, tired, thirsty or has a wound. She asks for specific snacks (crackers, cheese, hot dogs), drinks (milk, water, juice pop) and lately she will hold her leg/knee/foot and say "sssssseee, ssssssseee, oh my knee." Man she is funny! Her dad always complains about his wounds like that...like father...like daughter!!

Ava loves to draw..she calls any writing instrument (pen, crayon, marker etc) a "B. I. G." Not really sure how she came to use this phrase but it makes me smile every time! She is proficient at drawing faces...two big eyes, a nose (right in the middle of the eyes) and a mouth! She may have her aunt Anna's artistic skills!

Everyday Ava asks: "we go wimming now?" She is a water baby for sure...she brings out every swimming suits she owns and has to deliberate over which is the best for the outing. We take her to the city in-door pool & they have a kid slide, "pickles the duck." Ava loves it!! Her all-time record of going down the slide...in a row......27! I am not kidding...she loves that guy!

Ava already loves her baby sister! She hugs my belly all the time and tries to give her toys & drinks via my belly button! She thinks there is a baby in her tummy & when we touch her belly she arches it out and yells "she kick you!" Very funny!

We think the new baby's name is "Stella!" (Of course everyone know the movie "Street Car named Desire" and the famous scene when Brando yells "STELLA" and raises his hands to the sky.) Last week, my mom , Ava and I went to Heber to decorate graves for Memorial day. My mom asked Ava; "what is your baby sister's name?" Ava raised her hand to the sky & yelled "TELLA!" I laughed so hard...my mom assumed we had taught her that...oh no! She obviously has seen us do that..but she repeated it on her own!!


Although the baby is due July 11th...we are having a repeat C/S on July 7th.....in the morning. This time..I will be.... well rested, not puffy, hair done, make-up on, and ready to take pictures! Her nursery is almost done...thanks to Paul & my Dad! We will keep everybody informed & let you know when "STELLA!" has arrived!

Have a great day! Find something to "holy cat" about...it will make you smile all day!!!
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Here's Ava at the indoor swimming pool with her friend pickles the duck.
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Hot tubin' in the back is awesome!!!
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Ava, like most girls likes princesses.
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CHEESE!!!
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Ava in her ballerina dress with her Lego friend.
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You want some of what I'm cookin'?
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I love this picture..she looks like her mom for sure. See ya next time.
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It's a GIRL!!!!!

(Since Paul is very busy with school and our lives are changing so fast....I thought I would give blogging a re-try! Here goes.)

Since our last post we found out we are having another girl....I am so excited for Ava to have a sister! Not just for the super cute "hand-me-downs" and hair bows...but to have someone to confide in, fight with , and be friends with! When I told Ava we are going to have a baby girl she said...."baby girl YEAH!!" (with her tiny fist pumped in the air...pretty sure she does not know the baby will be staying with us...forever!) I asked her what we should name the baby & she said "HUMMMMM....LOLA!" All of Ava's dolls are named Lola! I think that is the same way my mom got her name...my aunt Sherrol's doll was named Susan.

Richard my father-in-law...guess that Ava was a girl with red hair...pretty right if you ask me! This time he said a boy with blond hair...maybe the blond hair but it is definitely a GIRL! The crazy thing about this girl is she will be one of five great-granddaughters for my Grandma Ruth...all to be born within 5 months of each other....please keep in mind out of 26 grandchildren only 9 were girl...now we will have 16!!!! We are making a come back...watch out boys!!

Crazy Ava Lolabelle turned 2 and it funny as ever!!! She talk in full sentences...starting with "I" want.....usually candy! She loves to ride her bike, color, play outside, wash her hands (800 times day..she might be OCD??) and loves spending time with her family!

My Dad is recently retired and now the official family baby sitter for during the week...for daytime events! I love it because Ava is getting to know her grandpa so well and he loves it because...well who wouldn't!!! Every time we pull up to his house she yells....Grandpa B & his cookies...very funny! One day I came in & they were giving her barbie a "bubble bath" per Ava's request. I said what did you & Grandpa do today? She said "Grandpa boomed me" my Dad said... "I did boom her we tripped over the swing and we went boom!" Ava...big tattle-tale!!! She has lots of fun at Grandpa B's house!

We just bought Ava a "big girl" bed...I am sad and a little afraid to use it! She is getting so big!


Sorry no pics today...just a quick update!

Love, Kristin

Post Something Already!!!!

Hello again family and friends. I'm sorry that it has been three months since I posted last. The holidays were SOOO much fun for us this year. We enjoyed our little daughter and the way she learned for the first time what it is to trick or treat, and what to ask Santa for Christmas. KK has been working very hard and I pulled off a 3.7 GPA on my most challenging semester to date. We are also please to announce that we are expecting another baby due on July 11!!!! We are so exited to have another child and AVA is already somewhat aware of the little one that is growing inside of KK as you read this. I ask, "Ava, where's Mommy's baby?" She answers by pointing to KK's stomach. Next I ask, "Where's Ava's baby?" She answers by pointing to her own stomach. Finally I ask, "Where's Daddy's Baby?" She answers by pointing to KK's belly again. She's too smart for a 22 month old.

























Here Ava's sporting a Halloween sweater from Aunt Stormy. She's signing for candy in the second picture so.........................

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I gave her a chocolate pretzel stick that KK made.
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Here is our costumes. In the first picture I like how Ava's look says, "I don't know these people."
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Ava has spent alot of quality time with her cousins and loves all of them. Here she is crawling with Jake whom she has a major connection with.
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This is Ava with her cousin Calvin. They finally signed the peace treaty and decided they can be friends.
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Here she is with her cousin Dayton. They were watching Little Mermaid and Ava is a snuggle bum.
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We think that Ava is going to be a great big sister.
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It might take a while for her to get use to sharing the spotlight though.
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Here is Ava and G-ma Susie going down a slide.
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Here is Ava's reaction to going down the slide with G-ma Susie.
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Here is a picture of what Ava can do if you get too close to her teeth. Just one of the many joys of parenting right?
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We have alot of pictures of her during the Christmas season. So keep an eye out cause I'll see you soon.

SUMMER VACATION!!!!!!

Our first big family vacation was a trip to sunny San Diego!!!! We booked a hotel right in the middle of all the action and invited KK's sister Kellie to join the fun. We purchased 3-in-1 passes that let us have unlimited visits to SeaWorld, San Diego Zoo, and the Zoo's Wild Adventure. Of course we enjoyed Sea World, but Ava's Favorite was of course the Zoo. We were gone six days and took over 500 pictures.
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.Our trip started on an airplane. Ava was a little nervous during take off, shown here, but she was a doll the rest of the time. She even made a couple of new friends.
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Ava LOVED the beach. She started each beach day by dumping a load of sand in her hair. We absorbed a lot of rays, Ava's hair is practically blonde.
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I wish they all could be Californian Girls...
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At Sea World, there is a Sesame Street themed area just for kids. Ava has this new look she uses when she is surprised. The cutest part with this expression is that it is preceded with a fast head twitch, very funny.

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Here Ava and the lion were staring at each other. Probably checking out each others impressive manes of hair.
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The lion's roar on the way out gave us another surprised look.
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CHEESE!!!!
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Ava's favorite animal by far was the hippo. She has a book called "kiss kiss hippopotamus" so of course she needed an up close encounter.
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Our visit to the Zoo's Wild Adventure Park proved to be pretty miserable. It was about 45 minutes inland and about 125 degree's!!! We just took a train tour and found this water park on our way out.
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Another day at the beach, playing in the sand, with her Ariel and ducky.
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Hydration always important when enjoying time in the sun.
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Well, we all had lots of fun and with enough baths, maybe we will get all the sand out of her hair.

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See ya next time.

FIRECRACKER BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!!

This year for the fourth I picked up a firework set from Costco ($50 not $180 like I wanted) and thought that Ava was going to be amazed. After lighting the first fountain, She gripped up to her mom as hard as she can and started crying, but at the same time couldn't look away. After a minute of loud pops, colorful flashes and screaming, she cried to her mom, "Mo Mo, pease." Loosely translated this meant,"Can I please see some more of what ever that was, even though it scared the S&%T out of me." She is a brave little patriot and enjoys her independence as much as we do.
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We have taught Ava how to say flag by pointing them out as we drive by them. She saw this dress in the store and said "WOW FLAG!!"
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We are enjoying the summer sun with plenty of bike rides. Ava's tolerance to her trailer is up to about an hour or so.
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Ava is obsessed with cars and trucks. She calls this her truck and she thinks the door opening action is pretty cool.
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AVA attended her cousin Sophie's Princess Party dressed as a Punk Rock Princess. I thinks she makes a good Dragon too.
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Today is KK's 22nd birthday (wink wink) So HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!!
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Thanks for the visit. See ya next time.
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PICTURE TIME!!!

Finally Ava had her 1 year pictures. She actually is 15 months but always had some bruise or scratch on her face thanks to her almost perfected walking/running/climbing skills. Our little girl is growing so fast and is starting to use words like: up, off, click, truck, tractor, Lola, flag, and WOW. She likes to dance to songs like 'Ring Around the Rosies' and 'If Your Happy and You Know It', spinning around and stomping her feet. Her first sentence was "LOOK AT THAT!!!!" We say that all the time trying to get her to stop crying in the back seat, I guess it's true what they say about their mind being a sponge.
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Her first outfit was a gift from her Aunt Kellie. She hadn't quite warmed up to the situation yet.
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Her second outfit was handmade by my Aunt Gay on my Mom's side. The knitting is amazing and she looks like a doll. No spaghetti or ravioli consumption in this cute outfit.
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This cute outfit is from KK's friend Kelly O. You can tell she's warmed up and in the moment.
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This opened mouth look we get ALL THE TIME!! It's almost like she just cracked a joke and is pausing for the audience to laugh, she gets this from her mom FOR SURE.
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By the end of the shoot she was saying "CHEEEEEESE." You can tell from this picture that she gets her looks from her mom too.

See ya later.