Shower Time!

Our little house only has a shower so for the longest time we bathed Ava in a little tub on our kitchen counter, but she has long since outgrown that.  We now just sit her down on the shower floor and we spray her down with the shower head.  At first I was nervous that it would freak her out, but from the very first time we bathed her this way she has loved it.  She just giggles and squeals when you spray her.  Drew is usually the one to give her a shower since every time I do it I manage to get water all over the bathroom floor and he never does.  He's got mad skills, and Ava absolutely loves her shower time because Drew is so cute to play with her while he does the job.  Good times!

Ava is 1!

September 20th was Ava's official birthday.  I had some professional pictures taken of her that day and  I was so happy with how they turned out.  I think they show Ava's fun little personality perfectly.  Here are some of my favorites.

On the night of her birthday we had a few more presents for her to open.  She obviously didn't know when her actual birthday was, but she sure did enjoy opening the gifts!

Oh how we love this little Ava girl!  She is so full of personality and is so good-natured.  At her 12 month appointment she weighed 22.8 pounds (75th percentile) and was 30 inches long (80th percentile).  She's a big, healthy girl! Ava has always been chatty, and by the time she turned a year she could already say "dada," "hi," "ba-bye," and "baby."  Drew and I constantly wonder what we did for fun before we had her because she is our constant source of entertainment.  It is so fun to watch her figure out the world around her.  She is like a giant sponge and just soaks everything in.  We love you Ava!

Ava's Birthday Party

We celebrated Ava's birthday on Saturday, September 17th with a few friends.  We had a small lunch at Lake of the Woods and had a great time.  It was an absolutely gorgeous fall day and the setting was perfect.  I decided to do an owl themed party and I was happy with how it turned out

 The night before the party my cute husband helped me make these little owl bean bags.  (Here's a little known fact about Drew - he's actually really good with a sewing machine because he uses one at work to sew straps and things onto braces.)  While I was putting Ava down for bed he took over at the sewing machine and he did a better job than me so I let him finish the rest!

When I saw this owl cupcake cake in an issue of Family Fun Magazine I knew I just had to do an owl party for Ava.  I was pleasantly surprised with how easy it was (which is why I could actually make it!)

Bill and Pam Devlin with Ava (Bill is Drew's co-worker)

Theron Waisath and Riley, Kim and Tenille Bode with our spread of food.  I made Cafe Rio knock-off pork salads with a fruit salad, homemade salsa and tortilla chips.  

Drew, Dan and Dean Stone and Ava

Tate Bode and Scarlett Stone had a blast running around the park with the balloons.  Precious.

Tenille caught a little frog and was quite proud of herself, even if she was a little scared of it!

After lunch Drew helped the kids with the bean bag toss.  

Morgan Waisath had a great time seeing how many bean bags she could hold at once.

The kids had to try and hit one of the three targets Drew had made out of some cute owl fabric I found.

Ava joined in on the action too!

Next was present time and Ava had a ball!  She was all about looking in the bags to see what they held!

All of the kids were so cute and "helped" her open her gifts and try them out.

"Wow!  This whole thing is for me?"

A tower of little owls

Ava dove right in to her cupcake, of course!  No hesitation there! (We took a video of us singing Happy Birthday and her "blowing" out the candles, but it's far too long to post on here).

Oh look, I was there too!

After all the festivities, poor little Dean was all tuckered out.  I love how he is clinging onto his little owl.  Too cute!

All and all, it was such a fun day and a perfect way to celebrate our little Ava.  Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Springfield with Michelle

My sister Michelle got invited to attend a work conference in Springfield September 8th-10th so, OF COURSE, she accepted because that's only a little over an hour away from my house!  We were thrilled!  Ava and I drove out and stayed with her in her swanky Hilton hotel room and got to see some of the sights of Springfield and have fun while she wasn't working.

 Ava really loved playing in the nightstand in the hotel room (until she got stuck, that is)

 Ava and her Auntie

 No trip to Springfield would be complete without a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Library and Museum. It's so awesome!  Here we are with the Lincoln family.  

 We tried twice to take a tour of Lincoln's home, but the first time they were closing for the night and the second time their first available tour was too late, so we only got to see the outside of the house.  

 This is my favorite statue of Lincoln.  

 Just hangin' out with Abe . . . 

Thanks for such a fun weekend Sis!  It was such a treat to have her come and visit, and she didn't even have to pay for it!  Here's to hoping she has a lot more conferences in Illinois (not likely)!

A Visit from the Gardner Family

After we got back from St. Louis Saturday night, the Gardner family came to visit from Columbus.  It was so great to spend a couple of days with such great friends.

 Ava had a blast with Carolyn-Kate.  

 Can you tell this girl loves her swing?

 Best Friends!

 Katie gave Ava this darling ballerina swimsuit so, of course we had to show it off!

 One of my most favorite things in this whole wide world is homemade waffles with whipped cream and berries.  Really, is there anything better in life?  I think not!  So, we whipped up a fun breakfast and enjoyed every morsel!

Thanks for coming our way Garndners!  Let's do it again soon!

A Non-Temple Trip to St. Louis

On Saturday, Sept. 3rd we headed down to St. Louis with our friends, the Stones.  We wanted to spend a day there seeing some of the sights that we never get to see because we usually just go there to go to the temple.  So, naturally we went to the famous Budweiser sights that St. Louis has to offer!  We first went to Grants Farm and then to the Budweiser Factory.  Grants Farm is home to the famous Budweiser Clydesdales and it is also like a mini zoo with lots of animals to see.  It was quite impressive, and the best part, it is free!

 Drew and a Clydesdale

 Dan and Scarlett

 Our little family

 We went to an animal show while we were there that was actually quite entertaining.  This owl was perched right in front of us.

 Bald Eagle

We got to feed these little miniature goats some milk (thanks for sharing Stones!) It was quite the experience! I learned that if you crouch down on their level, they will attack!  The following video is proof!

Becca stepped in at the end and saved my shirt from being devoured by a goat.  That's when I decided that standing up was a much better way to approach this!

After Grants Farm we had a picnic at our cars and then headed over to the Budweiser Factory.  We don't have any pictures of the rest of our day because our camera battery died so you'll just have to use your imagination.  We took a tour of the factory and learned how beer was made (which is actually kind of interesting) and then enjoyed some free soda and pretzels while everyone else enjoyed some free beer.  We then went to dinner at an amazing Italian restaurant that Dan found for us called Anthonio's and then got some awesome ice cream at a the famous Ted Drews.  If any of you are thinking of going to St. Louis, I highly recommend eating at either of these two places.  As Drew would say, "Scrumshulescent!"