Easter Sunday

Well, it's been a very long time since I posted but my life has been in overdrive getting soccer season underway. We are all doing well and I can't believe that in two short weeks my baby will be 1! A year has flown by and we are so blessed to have the privilege of raising such a sweet girl. We have been on lots of adventures lately starting with a quick getaway to the beach at the end of February. The weather was great and it was hard to come back. Then we went with Gymboree friends to the aquarium. After about 30 minutes all 5 of the kids were asleep of course. Good thing they were free. Finally, we spent Easter here and had lunch at my parent's house after church. The Easter bunny came to visit but I don't think Ava really even knew or cared. Please excuse the fact that she is wearing her Christmas pajamas on Easter morning, just getting my money's worth out of them. Her new thing is to make a huge mess whenever she eats. She likes to smash it on the plate and rub it in her hair which makes me cringe. We always end up going straight to the tub after we eat. She has also started to walk around the house with one of her push toys so I know that walking is only a few short weeks away. We will celebrate her birthday on the 12th since that is the only weekend we don't have One Goal and I'll post more pictures then. Here is a recap of the past few months.

Making a mess at
dinner

Easter lunch

Easter Sunday

Family picture before church

Easter morning

Parker, Jack, Hayden, Ava and Laura Beth at the aquarium

out cold

Trip to Destin

Ready for Spring

I must say that I am ready for Spring. We have had 2 days of snow here over the past 2 weeks and it has been incredibly cold. I have decided that I am over that and want to get back to milder weather. Sorry, to all of our friends and family up North. I don't know how you do it. I am ready for long walks outside and playing in the yard. Ava is just getting over a miserable sinus infection and has passed on her lovely illness to Brandon and I. She is crawling so much and keeps me pretty busy. She is starting to pull up on the furniture and cruise a little bit. I am working on not gasping every time she falls. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the past couple of weeks. Hope your all doing well!

The Rest of Christmas, New Years and the Chick-fil-A bowl

On the 27th we made a trip back to SC for the Bowen family Christmas with all of the extended family. We had a great time and enjoyed spending time with everyone. Then on New Years Eve we attended the House Divided Chick-fil-A bowl. Brandon's mom, dad and Grandmother came for the game so I was outnumbered by Clemson fans until we met up with my family. My mom volunteered to keep Ava so that I could go to the game and I'm glad that I did. War Eagle! We decided to take Marta from Perimeter Mall. Big mistake, at least on the way home. After a close Auburn win, we ended up waiting to get on train until well after midnight. Isn't it romantic, we spent New Years Eve with 30,000 other people in line for Marta. At least we could see the fireworks from Centennial Park. Once we got on Marta it took us about 2 1/2 hours to finally get home. Never again!! From now on I will always drive and park. We had awesome seats on the lower level 10 yard line, Auburn end zone, 1 section away from the band. It made up for not being able to go to any games this season. Now that the holidays are over I am looking forward to a more normal schedule and being able to slow down just a little, though I know it won't last long. Ava started crawling several weeks ago but has really taken off so she is keeping me very busy. I will have to make a new video of her on the go. I hope you are all well and look forward to hearing from you soon!

Ava's First Christmas

We had such a fun Christmas! Ava was much more into it than I thought that she would be. I think she just loved all the commotion so it was great. On Christmas Eve we went to my dad's twin brother's house for a Stanfield family brunch. It was great to see my cousins and their kids. My cousin Jennifer's little boy Grant was so cute. We made him kiss Ava and she kept leaning in for a big old smooch. I know, this is how rumors start but they were so cute together. On Christmas Eve night we went to church with my parents and then went back to their house for dinner and presents. Ava got a baby doll which was quite obviously her favorite gift as she began to squeal and talk to dolly for a good 10 minutes. We were able to get it on video and it's so funny. It's two weeks later and we still get that response when she sees dolly. She also got a musical stage that has a mirror and lights up with music playing. My child has a thing with mirrors so this has also made for hours of endless entertainment. She got tons of clothes, a really cute book and several other toys. Needless to say she was quite spoiled. We spent Christmas Day with my mom's family and then Brandon and I left Ava with Mom and Dad and went to see National Treasure. Right as we were walking in the door Ava threw up everywhere. Poor girl was covered in it as was mom, the floor, the couch and their dog. So we had our first stomach bug on Christmas and it was miserable for her and for me. She was so pitiful and it's hard to see your helpless child be so sick. Anyway, she finally started to feel better by about Thursday so we are definitely on the mend. I hope you all had a great Christmas and a Happy New Year. I have several other things to post and I will try to do so tomorrow.

Merry Christmas

I can't believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. I remember being pregnant last year and wondering what this year would be like with an 8 month old. Well, now I know. It is so much fun!! I love this age. She is discovering something new everyday and she has now learned to shake her head no. The answer to everything is no. It is so funny right now. I'm sure when she's 2 it won't be quite as funny. Anyway, I will have a ton more to post after the next couple of days but here is a cute video of her saying no. Merry Christmas!

Video

Here's the video of Ava and Ezra James. Too cute!

Bowen Family Christmas

This weekend we made a day trip to South Carolina to have Christmas with Brandon's family. Both of his sisters were in town for the weekend so we had Christmas early and enjoyed some time with family. We had a nice dinner and then exchanged gifts. Ava loved all of the excitement of opening the gifts and had fun trying to play with Ezra James and Brandon's cousins little girls Sydney Claire and Whitney. Sydney Claire loved playing Mom and was the spit up police. Every time Ava would spit up she would come running to let me know that Ava had "thrown up". It was too funny. Ava got a walker/push toy and a move and crawl ball that lights up and talks. She loves to chase it because when you touch it it rolls away from you. It has really motivated her to try to crawl. Finally we tried to get a picture of Ezra James and Ava in front of the Christmas tree. I have a funny video but Ezra James had a pretty good choke hold going on. Ava was a good sport but he better watch out because next Christmas she'll be chasing him around the house. Brandon and I wish all of you a Merry Christmas. God has truly blessed us this year and we have so much to be thankful for including our wonderful friends and family. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!
Grandpa entertaining all the kids!

Ava loved her walker. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

Ava and Ezra James with Vaughn.

Ava and the girls...Sydney Claire and Whitney

Getting ready to eat Christmas dinner!