Ava's #4 Birthday Surprise!

Ava went to bed last night anticipating her Birthday surprise!
...Scott's "surprise" was that this took 3 hours to assemble...

...Waking up as a 4 year old...

...Yep, she's four...

Ava was asked to take her shopping cart and follow the food trail...

...the very l-o-n-g food trail...

...almost to the end...

...ta-dah...a new kitchen...

This was a fun surprise for our 4 year old Ava! She has had a blast cooking up a storm all day! We love you, sweet girl, and are so thankful God made us a family of 3 with your arrival four years ago today!

8 Months

My baby turned 8 months yesterday (sniff sniff)! In one month, she has gained 2 bottom teeth! She is eating and sleeping wonderfully! We love our little Janie Bird!

Jane has discovered that she has a tongue and it is hilarious! She sticks it out most of the time! Ava thinks she needs "discipline" when she does it...motherhood can be quite tricky at times.. Fun, but tricky!

Brunch with Bitty Baby

Ava's 4th Birthday is just around the corner. Since Sissy is about to have a baby, she decided it would be fun to treat Ava to a day at the American Girl Store. Ava put Holly in her little stroller and off we went for a beautiful brunch. This place is absolutely amazing. They even have high chairs especially made for Bitty Babies and American Girls.
Ava peeking at her menu to see what she wanted....

...Fresh strawberry muffins with whipped butter for a starter...

Ava chose fluffy heart pancakes with bacon and orange juice...

...all the girls...

After brunch, we headed down the big escalator and browsed through the very fun American Girl Store...Holy Moly...this place was every girl's dream!

Holly(and Ava) scored some fancy onesies and a pair of shoes. I scored a very yummy chocolate bar! Ava was so giddy the whole time...she loved it!

Here is Ava with her shopping bag and birthday sticker. It's hard to believe she'a almost 4! This is definitely a place worth visiting again..and again and again! Thank You, Sissy for the special day! We'll never forget our #4 brunch! We love you!

William is 8!

William turned 8 today! We celebrated with a chili dog dinner! Yesterday was his party at the local water park. It was a treat to be here for the fun!
...cheers...
...my 8 year old nephew is almost as tall as me...

red velvet cake...notice K's super cute belly to your left

Since baby boy is on his way, Sissy has a special plan up her sleeve to celebrate Ava turning 4 a few weeks early...we are most excited! Pictures to come!

Retreat at Mum and Papa's House

Ava had a blast with Mum and Papa. She stayed alone in Texas for 3 nights and says she only missed Jane....so much for Mommy and Daddy! Barnes and Noble was at the top of the list of things to do...reading and sticker book buying!
She went to her first movie with William and Mum!

Mum treated her to a pedicure & manicure at a fun salon that caters to kids...zebra toes...too cute!

Ava also got to go to Sissy's first baby shower! Here she is holding the frame she painted for sweet baby!

Thanks to Mum and Papa for a fun filled few days! It was super fun! I love you!

Silver Dollar City

We headed to Branson with Grammy & Pappy and went to Silver Dollar City. Ava L.O.V.E.D. it! She saw a Veggie Tales show and was quite excited to meet some veggies! The kid's section of SDC was so perfect for Ava...she had a ball! The hotel pool came in as a close second of her favorite things about this trip!
elephant ride....Ava's favorite! hippity hoppity frogs and bugs!

We had a great time! Next up for the summer is a trip to Texas for Ava only! She is going to have some time with Mum, Papa, Sissy, Craig, William! I'll join her later in the week for Sissy's shower and William's Birthday! We can hardly wait!

Swimming with the Dads

Cousin Pics from the 4th

Jane and Nicolas just sat around and looked cute all weekend.
They'll be up and running this time next year!

Ava and Isabella are such sweet friends. We are thankful they love each other so much!

...silly faces...

Their very own table on the deck....with fancy glasses!

Ava's 2nd Cake Walk

There were lots of 4th of July festivities at the lake this year! Ava and Isabella participated in the annual Cake Walk. They won a cake in a round-a-bout way(without a winning number) and were so excited and proud!

Fun on the Pontoon Boat

We spent the 4th of July at the lake. Grammy and Pappy got a pontoon boat for the afternoon and we all had a great time riding and tubing. The weather was perfect!
...Isabella, Lorena, and Jeff...

...Grammy and Pappy with the girls...

fun fun fun...but oh so sore!

Pappy and his co-pilot