Saturday, November 21, 2009

A Little Bit About Baby Bug...Stuff I Want to Remember


My little Ava Bug is growing up so fast. She seems to be learning something new everyday! She is talking in full sentences now and is more than willing to give her opinion on things! She absolutely adores her big sister and is completely lost when she's not around. She loves Elmo and Curious George. She'll fall asleep wherever she lands (as you can see!) and is the absolute cutest and sweetest little girl. She still loves nap time (most days) and willingly crawls into her bed and pulls the covers over her head. She loves to cuddle and adores snuggling with fluffy blankets. She's also the most dangerous and clumsy little thing. She has no fear, except of automated toys (stuffed animals are not supposed to move). She eats everything, EVERYTHING! Her favorite food is broccoli. Yes, broccoli. She can't get enough of it! She is the messiest creature I have ever met in my life. She can make messes out of things you would never dream could be messy. It's a true talent. She loves to sing and dance. She can count to six with no problem, say some of her ABCs, but refuses to learn her colors (except pink). Anything small and furry is "cute". She adores animals, especially squirrels, because they are the thing she sees most around our house. She wants desperately to catch one so she can pet it. She says, "I wub ou." and it is the sweetest three little words. She loves being touched, whether it is tickles, hugs, back rubs, or just sitting right next to you, she wants to have contact all the time. She desperately wants to be just like her big sister and thinks she is about 10 years older than she really is. She loves feeding her baby dolls and playing momma. She wants to drive the car. She will climb up into the driver seat and say, "I drive, Momma." as though it is the most normal thing in the world for a not even two-year-old to be driving a car. She got a great little sense of humor and I cannot wait to see the little person she grows up to be!

Fishing for Success Family Fishing Day





Sunday, November 15, 2009

10 Things.

1. Wonderful cool weather!

2. Sweetness and cuddles from little girls in my bed this morning.

3. Lily having a good attitude the last few days!

4. Six months until we are DONE here in G-ville!!!

5. Getting to shop for Christmas!

6. Ava's little chatter.

7. Homemade bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits.

8. A great husband who cooks for me :)

9. All my MOPS girls.

10. Fuzzy blankets.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Ava, Ava, Ava...

Check out the double stacking of the PB &J. That's my girl! I had to laugh because I am putting together our annual calendar and almost every month has a pic of Ava eating something. Think we've got the one for November!

A Little More Sweetness...

I don't know how many of you have heard of Operation Christmas Child. It is a program sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. People donate shoe boxes full of goodies which Samaritan's Purse then ships to children all over the world who live in under-privileged areas. It is something we have participated in for the past few years through our MOPS group. This year, Lily was finally old enough to kind of understand why we were buying stuff to stick in a shoe box. I told her we were going to pick some presents for a little girl about her age who live far away and doesn't get very many presents. I was worried she would not want to give up the things she picked out, but she was so excited to be buying presents for "the little girl." She asked me when we were going to her house and was very upset when I told her we would probably not ever be able to meet the little girl. She has also insisted that we pray for the girl every night. We pray that God blesses "the little girl" and that the gifts we sent her make her happy. It amazes me that my girl, who at times can be a bit rotten, has found so much love for this child she will never know. She desperately wants "the little girl" to be her friend, but is happy with simply being able to pray for her every night. It is amazing to see her think of someone outside herself, something that is so rare in the egocentric world of a toddler. Her excitement over this experience gives me a little glimpses into at the generous heart that I pray she will someday have.

Sweet Girl

I am not much of a napper. It rarely happens, even when I desperately want it to. Well, we had kind of a rough morning this morning and during nap time, I decided I would lay down on the couch, close my eyes and at least try to sleep. A few minutes after I had semi-dozed, I heard the pitter-patter of Lily feet come into the living room. I kept still and kept my eyes closed because I was curious what she would do if she thought I was sleeping. Much to my surprise, she walked over to me, kissed my forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, Momma." Then, she turned off the TV and went back to my room for her rest time. What a sweetheart!

Conversations with Lily

While watching a movie where the lead kid (reindeer, technically, but whatever) was dealing with the consequences of not listening to his parents: "I always listen to you, Momma. Sometimes."

While talking about what we should get Daddy for Christmas: "Let's get him a robot! Boys love robots!"

Where does she get this stuff???

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Some Yumminess


It's been awhile since I posted any recipes. There just hasn't been anything any good worth putting up. Until, we tried some yummy pumpkin cookies. They were delish. The perfect fall treat! **So, I just realized how much the picture of my cookies makes them look like a certain part of the female anatomy. In real life, they are much more orange...**

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups self rising flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp salt
Pumpkin Spice Hersey's Kisses

Instructions
1 - preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease a cookie sheet
2 - in a large bowl, mix sugar, egg, shortening, and vanilla. cream together.
3 - in another bowl, sift together flour, salt, and cinnamon. stir into the creamed mixture.
4 - stir in pumpkin.
5 - spoon dough onto greased cookie sheet
6 - bake for 12 minutes (more or less, depending on size of cookies), place one unwrapped kiss on each cookie, then cool

We also made these. Yum.

Sweet Friends

We got the chance to enjoy the cooler weather (which has mysteriously disappeared again, thanks, Ida) last week with our great friends, Madison and Kim. The girls always have so much fun together (although, they do seem to manage to drive each other a bit crazy, too). Anyhow, it was fun to see our buddies. It made me realize how much we will miss them when they move. The park was beautiful and it was so nice to be out in the cooler weather!



Monday, November 2, 2009

Alligator Farm

Sunday, we headed to the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine with my dad. Lily loved seeing all the animals and getting to explore the park. Although, i think her favorite part was the playground! Ava's favorite, by far, were the turtles! She loved all the different turtles and tortoises.
















Halloween

For Halloween, we headed to St. Auggie for some trick-or-treating. Lily went as an "orange princess" and Ava went as a ladybug. The girls had so much fun!



Ian, Lauren, and Lily



Lily, Ava, and Uncle Elijah

CANDY!!!!

Oh, and I had to put up a pic of this little guy. On our way home after trick-or-treating, we found this little fellow on our speedometer. No clue how he got in there, but he just chilled there until we got to mu in-laws house.

Pirate Costume

Just had to post a quick pic of the pirate costume I made for my SIL.