Ava's 3rd Birthday

She looks too grown up with her dress up heals on!

I had to document the injury :)

Michael, Jesse, and I kept our distance... those balls are hard!



Ava turned 3 on the 22nd! We had a small "piggy party" for her the day before at our house. (For those who don't know- Ava has a piggy stuffed animal that she considers her best friend. ) So, that is where the idea came from.
It was really fun and Ava enjoyed herself thoroughly. Unfortunately she took a nasty fall about 15 minutes into her party and got a big welt on her face. Poor girl...she was tough though. I think tons of attention, presents, and sugar helped her cheer up :)

The next day for her "real birthday" she was treated to donuts for breakfast and dinner of her choice....she chose hot dogs :) She decided that she wanted donuts and leftover cupcakes for her birthday desert. I think she had a lot of candy throughout the day, too, so she was super hyped on sugar. When your kid is wired already, what better place to take them than to Chuckee Cheese's :)
She had so much fun and really got into the games, which is always exciting for Michael. She was scaring me a little in Ski- ball when she was throwing the balls overhand. She also threw the basketball across the room instead of at the basket several times....I actually think that she was aiming for the hoop. Maybe she will have my stellar athletics skills?
I'm sure they are used to this at Chuckee Cheese's though... Can you imagine working there?

We ended the night by giving her a "Sit and spin" and she loved it.

I can't believe that our little girl is already three. I am so thankful for her and the joy that she has brought to our lives.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/AvaS3rdBDay?authkey=XKcxdt5S81Q#

Kerri's Baby Shower

I was so excited to be able to be a part of Kerri's baby shower. Her mom did most of the work (thanks Joan!) I planned Kerri's bridal shower with her mom last year and we got to collaborate again this year.
I made my first attempt at a diaper cake, too... It was quite lop-sided, but it was made with love. :)

Kerri and I stayed up way too late talking...we also watched a video that we made 10 years ago-freshman year in college, and laughed at how annoying we were at the age of 18. Wow, I can't believe that Michael really wanted to date me then.... I was so whiney and immature. He must've seen my potential. ha!

Our good friend from college Steph(who also made many appearances in the notorious video) , came to the shower, too, and it was great to see her and her cute little daughter.

Kerri's looking unbelievably good, especially considering that she is just a few weeks from her due date. We can't wait to meet you Baby D!

Back from Orlando

Hey! We spent August 30- September 6 on vacation in Orlando and it was really fun! To be honest, when people ask us how is was, we usually say, "REALLY FUN and sorta hard!" It added an interesting dynamic to the trip having an 8 month old. We took Ava to Virginia beach for a long weekend when she was about the same age, and no doubt its a lot more difficult with 2, then 1. But, overall- Jesse seriously is a such a good baby, he's just really active! And Ava was such a good girl, it was so fun to watch her enjoy herself so much. And Michael and I loved getting to see my whole family for 7 full days- how cool! I had a lot of help with the little guy, too, which is always nice.
We drove through the night Friday night with my mom and dad to get there. It was a rough drive since none of us could fall asleep during our off driving duty times. And the kids woke up each time we had to refuel. (I think Ava was also up from 3-5 am for no apparent reason, too. ) I hope she isn't up during those hours every night! Long story short- We made it. We drove straight to Cocoa Beach (where Michael and I went on our honeymoon and 1 year anniversary.) Jesse immediately decided that sand was his new favorite food :)
From there we drove to the condo where all 16 of us would stay and we had plenty of room, which was nice. (Thanks Uncle Rick for letting us rent your condo!) And props to my big bro who so generously paid for the whole family to stay!! That was so sweet.
Days were spent swimming at the pool, cousins playing, adults hanging out- catching up, and going on some outings. We went to the gulf one day to St. Pete beach and had lots of fun and lots of family pictures. I will admit that trying to rinse sand out of the butt cracks of 2 kids was sorta stressful since they were both crying and I felt like crying myself for a moment. :) Thankfully Michael always helps me to calm down when I feel stressed!
Tuesday we spent the whole day at Disney World. Thanks mom and dad for buying the whole family's tickets to get in! Again, so generous! Ava LOVED it and had the time of her life. Jesse did surprisingly well even though I know he had no idea what was going on. He loved "It's a small world" and it was so sweet to see the look on his face during that ride. We rode lots of rides and we even stood in line to meet Mickey and Minnie. Ava had been looking forward to meeting them for months. I think Ava and her cousin Hannah were in shock to meet "the real Minnie Mouse" They are both big fans! Michael and I had both never been before and it was really cool- We definitely want to go back when Jesse is a little older.

This was our Christmas/ B-day presents to each other for a year. My family decided that for a full year we wouldn't buy gifts and save the money that we would've spent to be able to do this vacation- Good idea Dave!

To see lots more pictures click here
or
http://picasaweb.google.com/maryjohnson98/DisneyVacation08?authkey=HBOwnXM8ZIQ#