Life's a Beach....and we're ON IT!

**UPDATE*** So I randomly grabbed this pic of the Internet before we left for the trip and this is actually the beach we ended up going to the whole weekend!***Catch ya on the flip side!!!!!

***BREAKING NEWS***

I had to share our exciting news this morning...Bryan went to get Ava out of bed this morning at 7:30AM and she said "Daddy, I need to Tee Tee" he was surprised since she never says this first thing so he took her straight to her potty and took off her diaper which was DRY yes people, she went to bed at 8:15PM and woke at 7:30AM and had a DRY diaper!!! She immediately tee-tee'd in the potty! We were soooo excited for her and I think she was a bit confused why we were dancing around the kitchen. Isn't that great? We're working on potty training right now and she's been doing great so this was a huge accomplishment.

Goooo Ava Hope! Mommy & Daddy are so proud of you! Keep it up Little Miss! :o)

Cat, Eric and Baby to be makes Three!!!

***UPDATE*** Cat & Eric are having a Baby GIRL! We are so excited for them to enjoy their new world of PINK! It rocks!

Our good friends Catherine & Eric were in town this weekend from San Diego. We got to meet up with them for lunch at one of our favorite spots, Nutty Brown Cafe. Catherine and I met when we were both working for Marriott here in Austin years ago. We were instantly very good friends and like two peas in a pod in sooo many ways. Her husband Eric got a job in San Diego where they have been the last several years but have family in San Antonio so we see them usually a few times a year or have been able to go out there to visit. They haven't seen Ava since she was 5 MONTHS so she had changed just a bit since then :o) And we haven't seen Catherine since she announced she's PREGGERS! She's almost 20 weeks and looks amazing! Right when I saw her the waterworks started. I am just so happy for them and I know they've wanted a little one for a long time. They look very, very happy and we cannot wait to hear the sex (which they find out THIS Friday). I'm thinking girl... I'll keep you updated.

Cat & I...oh I miss my friend and wish she lived closer!!!

The proud parents-to-be

We tried about 4 and this was the best. Honest. I have no idea what Miss Ava is looking at.

Central Market with Baby Kate

Ava and I had a great time with my good friend Nicole and her Baby Kate (almost 3 months) at Central Market. Ava LOVES babies and of course C Mkt is so fun for all of us to have coffee, muffins and let the little one's play. Kate is getting soooo cute and chunky and absolutely adorable. Nicole looks amazing for just having had her too! We look forward to another Muffin and Coffee playdate soon ladies!

Let us know you're here!!!

Hi friends of Life With Ava! We know there are many of you checkin' out our little girl's blog and what our family is up to & we would love to hear from you!!!! Please drop us a line where it says "comments" at the end of each blog post & let us know your thoughts or just say hi. One day I am going to print this for Ava in a hard bound book so she can have to show her own kids one day, and I want her to be able to see all the friends and family that are keeping up with her busy little world. If you don't have a blogger or google log in that's no problem, you can still leave a note. Send us a Shout Out!

LET US KNOW YOU'RE HERE!

Happy Birthday Papa Rossi!

Happy Birthday Papa Rossi!!!! We love you very much and hope you have a fantastic day and are feeling better (Papa was a bit under the weather earlier)...hopefully we can see you soon! We decided to take a walk down memory lane for Papa's Birthday. Here's to you Papa!
At Papa's dance in Shiner playing for Miss Ava

Keeping a watchful eye at Aunt Gina's house

(Grand) Father's 2008 in Austin

Papa's gift from Ava

In Houston at Cole's 5th birthday party 10/07

These pics are after my grandmother's funeral (my dad's mom). I had Ava in this dress the day of the service as a surprise to my dad & Aunt Carol. My Grandmother Rossi was an amazing seamstress, this was a dress she made for me when I was a little girl. (I remember taking a pic in it with my twin sister's in our living room when I was 3 or 4!) It was of course too big on Ava but so neat to see my dad and aunt's reaction and so special to have her great grand-daughter wearing it in love for her Granny.

11 months old, she looks so little!

Makin' cupcakes with Papa at the farm (her favorite!)

Sunday at the links

Yup, the Kennedy's decided to enjoy the fantastic, breezy weather today and get some outdoor exercise at one of our favorite spots...the golf course! *QUICK SIDE NOTE: We felt a little strange this weekend...while we woke up Saturday and enjoyed coffee on the patio in the gorgeous weather, we had very close friends and family enduring Ike's rage. I had my friend Paige texting me from a closet while the storm was whipping overhead!!! Luckily, they all weathered the storm & mainly have a ton of debris to clean up but no major damage (that I know of)...some even have electricity back (not all...sorry Paige and Sarah!) It's amazing that Mother Nature can have such force happening 2 hours away while we have clear blue skies. We love all of our Houston, Conroe and Cypress family and wish you a speedy clean-up, no further drama...and ELECTRICITY!

Ok, back to golfing...Daddy is thrilled his girl likes golf so much and it really is pretty funny. She knows the etiquette & is AWESOME out there. Bryan's brought A out with him since she was a BABY not even walking so she's really comfortable with the carts and rules. The best is when us three can zip through the course so we usually go at off times or later in the day/early evening. Nine holes she rocks and sometimes we get a few more in. She seriously sits perfectly still, sooo quiet when I say "Ok , Daddy's hitting" & today a man and his daughter asked if we wanted to play with them (the little girl was 8 and has been playing since she was 3 yrs old!) Ava would watch in total silence as Bryan or the girl hit their shots. Then on the green we would get out and she would putt around until they were done then go hit her ball in the hole (her FAVORITE) part. Bryan is BEYOND loving this! He always said he hoped his kids loved golf like he does but vowed to never push it on them and always make it fun so if they want to take it more seriously when they are old enough, they will enjoy it. So far, he's on the track with Ava being the next Annika! Hee hee!

Checking the shoes, making sure we're all ready to go

Yup, we're ready! Let's do it!

Watching our golf partner take her turn and checking out daddy's next shot, she stood so patiently and just waited. I honestly think Ava loves the outdoors so much that no matter what we're doing she's going to enjoy it!

Getting back in the cart!

Miss A does L.O.V.E. the bunkers..she hits it in, let's it roll down, climbs down and gets it, then comes back up to do it all again. Don't worry though, we always rack the sand before moving on to the next hole :o)

"Alright, done with this puppy! Rack it up mama, time to move on!"

...That is until the next one....oof! Great thing, she's SILENT while doing this so the actual people PLAYING golf can concentrate on the game

Sooo we got a bit off track (while they were taking too long on a hole) so we ventured to a fence and played with a Lab. This was shot after our friend walked off & Little Miss was wondering why?!?

Bryan and I always laugh because when Ava wears a baseball cap she sits it really low over her eyes. Then she loves to turn it around and be our little tomboy (hee hee!)

FLORIDA MEMORIES

Finally I have gotten caught up and am able to post our TONS of pics from our recent trip to Florida. WARNING...THERE ARE A LOT of pics! I deleted a ton but I can't take any more out, they're all too fun. Yes folks, I was a mad, picture takin' fool so get comfy...I won't write a novel so you can start looking, just want to send a huge THANK YOU to Jen, Jim, Delanie (aka "D-Bug, Lady Bug") Brayden & Ansley for hosting our crew at your amazing home. We had such a great time and can't wait to see you guys again soon. xoxoxoxo

Ava was soooo excited to go up in the plane and was a perfect angel there and back

Thank you Lili for the "Fruit Loop necklace" idea you gave us many months ago for our first plane trip. Ava was so excited when I pulled it out. All three of us enjoyed the snack and it kept little Miss occupied for quite a while. I noticed she was slowing down and finally she looked at me and said "Mama, Ava take a nap. Ava go night night" then....O.U.T. with the necklace still in her mouth, mid-bite. She slept like that for almost an hour.

Jen gave Ava an adorable night outfit and Delanie had a matching set so they wore them TWO nights in a row. Delanie is 14 months older than Ava and quite a bit taller but Miss Ava is definitely..."rounder" than D-bug so they looked really cute. Delanie's 3T hung on her slender body while Ava's 2T was more....fitted :o)

Shannon & Jenny would be so proud of Ava's Downward Dog!

Ohhh yeah baby...we headed to Universal Studios on Friday. Thanks Sherry for the sweet deal!!! We had a blast!

First stop...Sponge Bob! Funny thing, Ava doesn't watch him but after a Jimmy Neutron show he was there for a photo op so we took advantage of it. There were some folks that were a tad bit toooo "into" Sponge Bob (I'm not naming any names...jim)

I had never had Ava's face painted and wasn't sure if she would like it. She sat in my lap and was AWESOME, she did not move a muscle! Look at this serious stare

Look at this pretty butterfly!

Ok, there's A LOT that I cannot put on my child's blog about this pic and the whole Jaws ride. Let's just say, I was the one that suggested we take the kids on it. I had been on the ride several times before (Jen's sis works at Universal so we've gotten in free for years) but I haven't been on this in a LONG time. Once we got on the boat i quickly realized "Jaws" wasn't maybe the most appropriate thing to do with a 2 and 3 yr old...live & learn. Then after, my hubby thought the above would be a great pic...you WON'T be seeing this on our Christmas card this year, that's for sure!

Ava was supposed to be on this water ride with me (Jen assured me you don't get "that" wet, nice.) but she chickened out at the top so Jim brought the girls back down via the stairs and since I was loaded in the boat anyway, I decided to ride down. Yes, it was a kiddie ride :o)

This slide DID NOT slide so we sort of scooted our way down.

How sweet is Jimmy and Baby B?!?!?

I know this is fuzzy but had to post it. The girls LOVED Baby B & A's toys when they weren't in them.

Baby Brayden, looks just like JIM. Yes Paige, like JIM.

I think I saw a crack in the moon tonight!

Uhmmm yeah. This is their BACKYARD! No lie.

Sweet Baby girl Ansley, looks just like Jen. I LOVE the arm rolls. I think I counted 6 total on the arms. Love it!

Not a great pic but look how cool their backyard is! This is right at the house then look beyone the fence, that's the lake and yard. It's like a resort, such a fun place to visit with such great friends

So as we loaded the Pontoon boat to go for a ride Ava was very quiet then leans to me and I hear her say "Shark mama? Shark?" Jaws flashbacks...nice. She said it more of a statement and not really scared but their boat did resemble the one we rode at the park. Ooops!

See, she wasn't afraid! We got on the tube and took off a few minutes later. She loved it. (I know the grandparent's are probably not loving these pics but I PROMISE she was tucked in the tube more than it looks and I was holding on very tight!) We were going really slow but when Jim did speed up or hit waves she cracked up, she is a little dare devil.

Sweet Jen, Jim and the twins

Ava LOVED their outdoor shower. It got nice and warm and she just stood there. *Now she only wants to take showers at home! (Fine by me, it's super quick and easy)

Both girls had some trouble with the suits in these pics

This was our PACKED car on the way to dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge...note the three in the back and the baby on each side of Jen in her "make-shift" seat. That was my spot on the way home!

Dark pic but it's the lobby of the Lodge...it's REALLY amazing

Brayden left, Ansley right. These two are absolultey CUTE with a capital C!

You can walk all over the lodge and there's "look outs" where you can sit and watch the exotic animals.

Hi Jim! this is at one of the look-outs

After dinner we took the kids to a playground to help settle the pounds of food we devourered

Bryan took this pic, how cool is it?! I love how Ava's eyes look, she looks WAY too old though :o(