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!

Update

So it's been like a month since my last blog and I could blame it on One Goal as I have been very busy or on the season but to be honest I have done an awful job taking pictures. We are all doing well here. We spent Thanksgiving here with my family and Brandon's family came in the following weekend. We had a great time and even got up early Friday morning to do some shopping. Ava tagged along and was a trooper. We saw Santa at Phipps Plaza on November 16. It was so funny. Ava wasn't quite sure what to think. She would turn around and stare at him when he would talk and then she'd look at me and cry. It was great! We have it all on DVD too but it won't let me upload it to the site. I think they did something to it so you can't put it on your computer. I can't imagine why they would do that! J/K. We are working on our second ear infection in a month and she was extrememly miserable all day today. I felt so bad for her. We also have two new teeth coming through and as a special treat on Thanksgiving night she said mama for the first time! Wow, I guess a lot has happened in a month. Here are some pictures of some random events and then a cute video. She loves to play in the mirror and this time was too funny so I had to get the video camera. Hope your all doing well. I promise to take some more pictures and try to post next week.

This is the mood we usually wake up! And we always have a red nose!

Just had a bath and getting very sleepy

Halloween

So after our long weekend Ava slept a good bit today and then tonight we went trick-or-treating with all of our friends. We walked around with Kylie and Kim and Andy. I felt bad getting candy since Ava can't eat it yet. After we finished we put Ava to bed and hung out with all of our friends at the fire pit in the driveway. We roasted Smores and drank hot chocolate. We have such great friends and neighbors. Oh yeah and Emory also convinced Courtney to take her first motorcycle ride. Pretty funny!
Ready for a fun evening out
Brandon with Aidan, Mina and Ava-How cute are they?
The girls in their cute costumes
Check out Courtney on the Harley

NYC Part 3 and 4

On Monday we went drove to Brooklyn and ate at Grimaldi's Pizza at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. When we finished we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. It was really neat but it was so cold and windy. After that we went back and shopped on Fifth Avenue. That evening we went into Times Square and did some more shopping. On Tuesday we had breakfast and then had to head to the airport. Ava decided not to sleep on the flight back and was pretty fussy. We were delayed b/c a circuit breaker blew right before take off so we sat on the plane for about 45 minutes before we ever left. Anyway, needless to say she was exhausted and so were we. It was a great trip and we loved spending time with family and friends.
Feeling like a need I walk after lunch at Grimaldi's



A gorgeous view of Manhattan
Ezra James and Ava ready for our walk
Starting out across the bridge
A view of the Statue of Liberty from the bridge
The halfway point on our walk across the bridge
Headed back after our walk
The Empire State Building
The Rink at Rockefeller Center
This is a horrible picture but it definitely expresses how I felt by the time we got home. Tired!

NYC Part 2

On Sunday we went to church with Carmen, Aaron and Ezra James and Ellis, Ginger, Lauren and Caleb. The service was great and Aaron did a great job. It was very cold with the morning temps in the 30's and a high of about 40 something so we had to bundle up. We had lunch and went to see Carmen and Aaron's new apartment which was very cool. They completely gutted it and turned it into a 2 bedroom place and it looks great. Then after a much needed nap for my child we went to a really cool restaurant called Ellen's Stardust Diner. It is in Times Square and all of the wait staff are aspiring Broadway stars. They sing and dance during your meal. It was really cool and Ava loved it. All the people who have ever worked at this diner have ended up on Broadway so who knows maybe our waiter will end up in the next big Broadway hit. He definitely had the pipes.

This is a cute video of Ava watching the singers at the Diner
This was Ava's first cold weather experience and I don't think she liked it.
Ava peeking out from under her hat
It was so cold!!
A view of Times Square with an ad for my favorite musical ever Wicked
The Kids enjoying the singing

NYC Part 1

So I think I am going to be making up for lost time. I have a lot to post. We just got back from our New York trip last night. We had a great time but I do have to say that travelling with a baby is much different. Ava was definitely a trooper though and we ran her until she just couldn't go anymore. We flew into LaGuardia on Saturday morning and Ava did really well with her first plane ride sleeping for a good portion of the flight. When we got there we went to our friends Ellis and Ginger's apartment. They moved to NYC in August where they are doing some training in preparation to plant a church in Baltimore. We were so glad to get to spend time with them and their kids Lauren and Caleb who are growing up way to fast. We miss them so much! That night they offered to keep the kids and we got to go to a movie. We went and saw Dan in Real Life. It was really cute. Then we came home and crashed!

Ava's first plane ride

Lauren and Ava hanging out

Ellis feeding Ava some dinner

Lauren, Ava and Caleb

Pumpkin Patch

So we went to the pumpkin patch today. Brandon's parents are here and we thought it would be fun to get some pictures and pick out a pumpkin. We loaded up and headed out to Berry Patch Farms in Woodstock. It was no Burt's but I liked it b/c it was free, you only had to pay for your pumpkin. Ava was such a trooper even when her mean mommy made her put her costume on for pictures. They turned out so cute though!
I have a lot of pictures so enjoy!

A little late...

So I have decided that I am totally a slacker when it comes to blogging, but I also haven't done well taking many pictures lately. Anyway, not much has been going on here. Brandon has been working a lot so we have tried to pass the time during the day by going a lot of different places but our favorite has to be Target. We spend a lot of time there which can get me in trouble if I'm not careful. Anyway, 2 weeks ago our friends Andy, Kim and their baby Kylie came to watch the Clemson game. Even though they lost the girls had fun. Ava was so funny, Kylie would reach for her and Ava would die laughing. We tried to get a video and we did get a little giggle but as soon as the camera was on she wouldn't perform. It's so fun to watch her little personality develop and see her begin to interact with other babies or even the cats. Brandon's parents are coming for a visit this weekend so that should give me some good posting material.

Sorry...

Okay, so I have been pretty slack on updating the blog lately. It could be because Ava has not been sleeping very well and I have been getting up alot at night. She is teething and it has caused a lot of sleepless nights. She has also decided that she doesn't want to be swaddled anymore so we are trying to break that habit as well. We tried to go cold turkey but she cried all night long. Now we are doing one arm out and she often ends up with the other one out by morning but at least she isn't waking up. We have started Gymboree on Wednesday and she loves it as do I b/c I get to interact with other stay at home moms. I will try to take some pics of some things we do there as well. As many of you know Brandon and I have taken back over One Goal and I will be doing the administrative work from home (yes, Brandon is still working at Barnsley as well). We are very excited but it does mean that I will have to do a better job of time management during the day. Please pray that we will make wise decisions and that God will use One Goal to share his love with others in our community. I am posting a cute video of Ava laughing. She thinks most things are funny these days and as most of you parents know you'll do anything to hear your child laugh. It's so cute and I am thouroughly enjoying this stage. Love to all!

Ava's Dedication

This weekend we had Ava's baby dedication at church. It was such a sweet experience. I was really worried that when we walked up there Ava would cry. The little girl in front of us was crying and Ava started to whimper but when we got up there she was great. Our pastor Brian started talking to us and she gave him this big grin. It was so cute! She's really good at getting people with that smile. Anyway, we had a lunch at our house afterwards with our families and a couple close friends. It was such a gorgeous day that we got to eat outside. We had a great time and I'm sure that it will be one of those days we look back on and cherish. Hope everyone is doing well. Love to all!

Road Trip

What a weekend! For those of you who don't know we took a road trip to Hilton Head and Pawleys Island this weekend. We left on Friday morning and just got in tonight. Brandon was in his friend Benji's wedding in Hilton Head. It was a lot of fun and the wedding was gorgeous. We love his new bride Katie and we couldn't be happier for them. After the wedding we jetted out to Pawleys Island to visit Jerry, Kelly, Austin and Blake. They are some of our good friends that were in Atlanta and moved last summer. It was great to get to visit with them and it made us realize how much we miss having them here. We had great weather and spent Sunday and Monday lounging around at the beach and pool. Ava loved the water and would fuss every time we made her get out. She was quite the trooper though as she spent a lot of the last five days in the carseat which she hates. Anyway, here are some pictures from our trip. Hope you enjoy!

Kelly, Jerry and Blake at dinner!

Ava with Daddy after the wedding was over.

Mommy and Ava at the reception.

The happy couple!

Family shot!

Ava in her cute bonnet since the wedding was on the beach.