Ava's 2nd Birthday!

SATURDAY: It was HOT. We played in the driveway at 9am, and look how hot we already were.

We started off our relaxing family weekend by attending the Culver Club of Charlotte's summer event which was a get-together at an alumnus' home on Lake Norman. It was 102 Saturday, but luckily there was a really nice breeze the entire day on the lake. Ava LOVED the water and wanted to be in it at all times.

At first we started off just wading on the shore. Then we moved to the lifejackets and went in the deep parts. Ava and I swam all around past the docks, and she couldn't have had a better time. We also took her on a short boat ride where she was smiles the entire time. We got a really nice family picture at the cookout later in the day, so I was happy for that. We can't wait until next year's party.



SUNDAY: This is our family tradition started last year. On Ava's birthday at exactly 8:39am, we take her picture with the same clock. Big change from last year!

Sunday was Ava's 2nd birthday. We spent the afternoon at a neighbor's pool, then came in for some celebration. I made pizza for dinner, and Michelle made an ice cream cake for dessert. Ava had a "2" candle that she kept digging into the ice cream then licking off. Too funny!


We are simply awestruck that our little baby is already two years old. The time has gone by soooo quickly!

We opened gifts afterwards. This girl got some great loot! She got her very first baby doll (from Grammy and PopPop) and a baby Maclaren stroller from us.

Auntie got her a Jo-Jo's Circus doll and matching pajamas (Ava's #1 favorite TV show is Jo-Jo's Circus.) She got tons of cute clothes from Grandma & Grandpa Putsey, her godparents Jenny & Steve, and our good friends the Dennisons and Hopes. She got some matching hair bows with her outfit from the Dennison's and HAD to have them put in her hair immediately (she is 100% girl!) She also got a ton of books from the Hopes (she LOVES books), a Purdue Pete book from the Dennisons, a really nice kiddie tea set and picnic basket from our cousins the Grafs, and some arts+crafts projects as well.

Memorial Day Weekend

New pics added on 5/28! (scroll down). The entire album is on our family website, so please visit it! Email me or leave a comment if you need the address :)

We spent Memorial Day weekend in the mountains of PA at Seven Springs. Jim's parents and sister's family all came as well. The weather was nice and cool (high 60's) so we enjoyed that. All three of us were still getting over our colds most of the weekend, but other than that we had a really fun time!



Ava loved playing with her cousins Ian and Logan, who are three and one. Their favorite activity was playing in a cardboard box as if it were a car to be pushed in. Talk about Driving Miss Daisy! Ava loved going hiking, playing at the playground, and eating all the food at the buffet.



We big kids got to play golf and go to a comedy show one night which featured Colin Quinn (SNL) and Kathleen Madigan (Last Comic Standing.) They were rip roaring funny and we had a great time hanging out with everyone.

On Saturday Jim and I took Ava on a hike up at "Lake Tahoe". This is the top of the mountain that all the slopes are on. It was a gorgeous day! Jim carried Ava in the kelty backpack, and she loved being outside. I didn't alter any of these photos - this is really what the camera took! It almost looks fake it's so pretty!

This is a pond where we used to picnic when we came to Seven Springs in college over fall break. It's really peaceful up here, as you can imagine.

Jim got a good workout with our little girl!

When we got back to the Jeep we hung out at the top of one of the lifts for a while. Ava enjoyed kicking all the rocks.

Mama and Ava on top of the mountain.

Happy Mother's Day!

Wow - we had a whirlwind weekend. It was wonderful though. Friday night was relatively quiet, which was a good thing because Saturday was crazy. We were a part of three parties: baby shower, baby shower, going-away party. There is one picture here of Ava and little Sienna Rose playing together on the bed. They're certain to be good buddies down the road. It was really fun, and we enjoyed watching Ava play all day. (Again, see pictures of her on the slide, in the car... and just running around enjoying herself.)

Sunday, of course, was Mother's Day, which is always wonderful. I woke up to a beautiful bouquet of flowers, cards from my wonderful husband and daughter, and a beautiful Tiffany ring I've been eyeing for a few years now. We went to church then went out to breakfast at the "Big Dog Cafe" in Waxhaw (see picture). It was a great hole in the wall place that served up an awesome breakfast. We'll definitely go back! The afternoon was spent at home playing with Ava, then we made a quick trip to SouthPark before returning and ordering pizza for dinner (Mom's not cooking.) All in all, it was the perfect day!

Pigtails

Ava wore pigtails for the first time today. She was so patient letting me put them in. I couldn't believe it! She's obsessed with barretts and ponytail holders right now, so maybe that's why. She loves feeling her hair when it's "done up". So cute!

Strawberry Picking

Is it Monday morning already? We had a really nice weekend, but it went by way too fast! Jim's parents came into town to help celebrate his 30th birthday which was nice. We spent Friday at the Wachovia tournament which was really enjoyable. We sat on the 7th green and let the players come to us :) Saturday Ava spent the day with her grandparents and Daddy while I was off shooting my first 2008 wedding.

Yesterday was a lazy Sunday. We went to the local strawberry patch to pick fresh strawberries. Unfortunately they were too busy last week and weren't allowing us to pick for a few days, but we were welcome to take pictures. Ava couldn't resist the temptation, however, and ate about 7 strawberries in a row! She loves them.

Ava had her first tastes of both chocolate ice cream and popsicles this weekend. She really likes both and stayed surprisingly clean during the popsicle episode! It was strawberry flavored, so of course she loved it!

80 Degrees, Golf, Horses...

The weather's been pretty nice here in Charlotte. Too nice - Jim and I are both fried from the 80+ degree sun yesterday. Anyway, last weekend Michelle and Ava wanted pictures together, so we snapped a few in the back yard. On Monday I played in a golf tournament for an adoption non-profit that some friends from Forest Hill started. I had a great time. Here's a pic of Jim and Ava with all of our friends and their little girls. So cute!


Saturday officially kicked off our busiest week of the year thus far. Jim and I attended the Queen's Cup Steeplechase with some good friends from church. We went last year and had a blast, so we figured why not do it again this year! All the ladies dress up in sundresses and big hats. It's a real hoot! We have a parking spot on the infield where we basically tailgate all day. Every hour there's a horse race, so we walk the 50 yards or so to the fence and watch the horses go by. Jim and I proudly won 3 of the 5 races, so it was nice to win a little green on the side!

The rest of the week we'll be celebrating Jim's birthday... first with a Buffett concert Tuesday night, then a nice dinner Wednesday (his real 30th), and capping off the week with the Wachovia PGA event on Friday. Woo hoo!

Reviving the Blog!

(Here's a cute picture of me and Ava back in February... I had to include it!) If you want to see the complete family albums, please visit our family's website. If you don't have the URL, email me and I'll be happy to share it!

Hello! So I took a very long siesta on blogging, but was inspired by my friend Kristin to give it new life. Many months have passed since I last wrote, but a lot has gone on! In February we took a family trip to Miami to visit Jim's parents and sister's family. Here's a cute pic of Ava and her cousin Ian on the couch. We can't leave out little Logan either, who is a Texas Longhorns fan about 99% of the time as you can tell :)

In March, Michelle, Ava, and I went home for Easter weekend. We enjoyed the snow and got to hang out with our cousin's family for a day as well! Sweet Alyssa and Ava played together so well! Even though it was cold, we took Ava to our beloved hometown park one day. She loved the swings!

Our April trip was a family vacation (this time a truly relaxing vacation) to Florida. We rented a beach house with really good friends from Purdue. While we were in St. Armand's Key, we spent a lot of time in nearby Siesta Key.

We also took Ava to Disney World for the first time. We went to Magic Kingdom (I've never been) and had a really good time. She didn't know any of the characters except Pooh, who she pointed out repeatedly every time we saw him.

Now we're back home in North Carolina. The grass is nice and green, the trees have all bloomed, and daily highs are in the mid 70's! April's a busy month for us: on the 26th we are attending the Steeplechase Queen's Cup, which is a horse race we go to with our friends every year. Everyone dresses up silly in sundresses and big hats, and the horses race in a natural setting. It's pretty cool! On the 29th we'll be celebrating Jim's big 30th birthday a day early by attending the Jimmy Buffett concert here in Charlotte. Last but not least, we hope to round out that week with tickets to the Wachovia Championship which is always fun to attend. We've gone the past two years and really enjoyed it. Tiger's not playing this year, but it should be a great tournament none the less!