Ava Chat...

When Ava woke up this morning before school she was playing and playing HARD. She was lining up all her dolls and animals in front of her bed ready for a big ole...somethin' I reminded her (several) times that we had school and she was going to have to stop soon and get ready.

Bammy said right when she picked her up she couldn't wait to come home for the "birthday party" she told all her friends about it too. So when they got home, Ava rushed to her bedroom and told Bammy she couldn't come in yet, she had to "get ready."

Once she was ready she invited Bammy in the room:

Ava: "Ok Bammy! Come on in, the party's ready" Bammy came in & looked around.

Ava: "Now...Bammy...don't run and act appropriately"

Mom nearly fell over but said she held it together as best she could without totally cracking up.

Once I got home mom asked "So Ava, how did I do? Did I act appropriately?" Ava looked at her "No. You didn't Bammy. Sorry"

Damn. She's tough.

Slumber Party....continued

Oh.....our sweet Lili. My older sis. Ava's Lili. So quiet, so calm, so wonderful. We had a BLAST while she took a little vaca to see Little Bit and I and we were VERY sad to see her go. Hopefully she'll be back soon and bring her three fellas so we can show them some Austin fun! I think she had a good time hangin' with the Austin hippies downtown! We walked everywhere, she got to drop Ava off at school and pick her up, did tons of swimmin' and lots of good 'ole girl time bonding!

*Little downer...the morning Lisa was leaving her car got TOWED! Yes, can't believe it. Sort of my fault, I thought visitor parking was in an area that was obviously NOT but there are no signs, numbered spots, nada! She took it in stride and $200 later and one very scary drive to a not-so-safe part of town, she was headed back to H-town.

Sorry Lili! :o(

l.o.v.e., LOVE, adore this pic of Ava & my mom!!!!

Working on learning to float

Jumpin' to mommy! She basically falls in my arms, so cute!

Ava is GREAT at getting out of the pool, I BARELY have to help. Lili taught her a few months ago "elbow, elbow, knee, knee!" She says it as she's getting out every time.

Is this a typical mischevious Ava face or what?!

Fancy Nancy dress up (thanks to Paigers, Matty & Jags!)

*We had so much fun Lili, we love you. Come back soon!!!!!!

Slumber Party...no boys allowed!

We are SOOOO excited! This week we have Bammy & Lili (my sis) in town to play! First order of business...SWIMMING! (Cousin's Carter & Cole stayed in Houston with Daddy and Grandma for a few days so sis could soak up some Ava one-on-one time) and I am lovin' the all girl slumber party! :o) Ava is doing so good in the pool. Right after these pics we took off the arm floaties and the kid went wild! Lisa showed her how to float in a way I was never able to (go figure)...and hold her breath! The rest of the time she was jumping up then plunging in the water and holding it for a long time! We were all three floored. Like all parent's, the pool is fun but of course scary until you KNOW they are able to swim. So tonight made me feel really good. We'll for sure be back tomorrow.

More pics of our all girl week coming soon, stay tuned!

(SIDENOTE: With my new fun job they wanted me to get a different phone, I got an iPhone and am in.love. Yes, it's the little things. It's white and so pretty. These pics are from the phone too! After my digital camera broke in Feb I haven't been able to replace it so for now, this will work for sure!)

Hasta la...WHAT?!?!

As most/some of you know, little Miss A and I have settled in (almost) to our fun new digs in awesome downtown Austin. We are L.O.V.I.IN. every minute of it. TONS of fun things to do. Well, last night my angel insisted on going swimming. It was getting late but hey...why not?! We headed to the pool and being 7PM on a Saturday night it was dead. As we walk in I hear a bunch of male voices. There's about 5 dudes sitting at a table near the small pool havin' a beer hanging out. I was laughing because it was VERY obvious they were in a band (funky clothes, long hair, tight/skinny jeans etc...) but NICE, NICE guys, all said hi to both of us then went on with their business. We played in the small and big pool (yeah, you heard me TWO really cool pools) and then they got up to leave. Ava stands up, points and in her NOT so subtle, NOT so quiet voice:
Ava: "MAMA! Where do they think they're going?"

I (very quietly hoping she'll emulate) say "Well, I guess they're leaving"

Ava: "But Why? Hey! Hey guys, where you goin'?!"

They all turn and smile, one says "Well little lady we're leaving to go get dinner"

Ava: "But WHY?" (In her world what could possibly be better than the pool?!) they just laugh and start to leave again...

Ava: "Bye! Bye guys! Hasta la Lisa!!!"

They all stopped and cracked up laughing...Tattoos, tight jeans and all at my 3 year old with Dora floaties and pig tails.



A&B in the City....

KUDOS!

A big fat KUDOS, thank you...YOU ROCK to my BFF Paige! How do ya like the new look of Avahope.com?! Yes, while I've been sweatin' in this lovely Texas heat moving all weekend, Miss P was sweet enough to surprise me with this adorable, fancy new layout. I know, I know, enough about her and post some pics already. Well, I do have a lot but I am STILL unpacking many boxes, trying to stay caught up on life (aren't we all) and getting ready for a big week ahead. I will get some old posts up soon (yes, several months old but I want them on here to look back one day) and then need to figure out how to get the pics from my cell phone. My camera bit the dust in Florida the week we moved to the farm so all memories were mostly captured on my cell. NOT GOOD QUALITY. I have some my sis, Paige and others have taken so when life slows down a tad...or when I realize that may not ever happen and I take a whole day and get caught up...I will for sure get you guys some pics of my little lady!

*BRIEF UPDATE of A&B in the city: We LOVE, love, L.O.V.E. our new digs and the area couldn't be more fun. We literally walk everywhere (ice cream shops, kiddie stores, boutiques, bars/restaurants, farmers market....) so cool! I took Ava to her soon-to-be new school today. She instantly loved it. Within 5 minutes she was playing with the kids and laughing, running around and having a ball. She didn't want to leave! Needless to say, that eased a ton of anxiety I've had about switching schools. It's only a few blocks from our new house and a short commute for me to work. More to come on all of these fun things and yes, I have to invest in a digital camera to capture our world on film. Will add that to the list fo sho!

xo,

A&B

A & B in the City Coming soon!

Life on the farm has been amazing, fun, tiresome, relaxing, ice cold, blistering hot and best of all...FAMILY TIME. These last four months with Bammy & Papa will for sure be something the four of us look back on with many fond memories. I for one, got to live in a cabin, wake at all hours of the night to birds, growling/barking dogs, meowing cats, dancing donkey's, horses inches from my face in the window, bellowing cows, ANNOYING ginny hens, wasps dive bombing me, scorpions, spiders, ants, frogs, rabbits, coyotes, snakes, opossums (did I spell that right?), armadillos....the list goes on and on my friends. I endured my dad's loud snoring (love you dad!) but mostly enjoyed our visits and bonding, long walks and beers by the pond. I loved to watch dad's face when EVERY SINGLE TIME he got home from work Ava ran, full speed to greet him and welcome him home. She never let him leave without "one hug & one kiss" and he ate it up! Through it all there was Peace. It was a time of quiet a time of reflection (once the above items calmed down of course), it was an escape and it was perfect.

Ava got to spend endless hours with one of her #1 fans, her Bammy. As we all know as parent's our children's grandparent's have a very special, different bond than any other relative. Ava living at the farm has been a unique time for her and my parent's to see the ins and outs of Ava-world first hand. Of course there have been ups and downs (mostly all ups) and through it all they have thoroughly enjoyed watching her grow every day. Ava wakes up and runs to feed all the animals (including the catfish, yes I promise) she then waters "her" garden, and grabs handfuls of fresh herbs straight off the vine and shoves it in her mouth like it's candy! She plays and plays in the mud, dirt, sand, water with rocks, sticks..anything and everything. She's afraid of nothing and everything is hers to explore.

Yes, it's been a neat time and we will miss our morning coffee on the porch with Bammy & Papa, watching the sunrise and the birds come out of the trees. MOMMY will miss all the help she gets in the morning's (Bammy makes lunch, we ALL THREE dress little A, brush teeth, load the car and get Bridget & Ava on the road by 7:45AM sharp!) Team work rocks! I feel so blessed to have parent's that so unconditionally love their daughter and grand daughter as much as they love the two of us. I will forever be grateful to them for...more than they will ever know.

Now it is time to get these two farm girls (age 3 & 33) to head back to the City! Hope we remember what it's like back in civilization. What will I do not having a 1.5 hour commute to and from work every day? How will I make it without filling up with gas EVERY day? Will my car ever be able to be clean as the dust is so ingrained on those tires, I'm not sure if the best detail shop in Austin can get them clean!? How will I remember that I have to lock my car doors and car since I haven't for 4 months? Are PJ's outside allowed in the city...at 10AM or 5PM? At the farm that's a standing order.

Ohhh we will be just fine and are excited to see all of our buddies we've been missing. Off to pack for now but stay close, we'll be back for more!

...stay tuned!