Christmas 2008

We had a wonderful Carolina Christmas this year. The weather was nice (65 and sunny) and we really enjoyed our last big hurrah as a family of three. We kept Ava home most of the week which was fun. On Wednesday we went to Christmas Eve service at our church, then came home and opened one gift each. Ava got a baby doll crib and a newborn to go with it (prepping her for upcoming events.)

Christmas morning Ava was very excited to open all of her gifts, and boy did she get a lot of gifts! I'll admit we bought her too much, but it was really all the nice gifts from friends and family that blew us away. Everyone got her things she just loves!

We spent the day hanging out together, going to the dog park, and settling in to watch "Cars" after a yummy Christmas dinner at our friends' house. It was a wonderful day, and we couldn't feel more blessed.

Pics and video are posted on our family website. Enjoy! Happy New Year!

Here Comes Santa Claus...

So this morning was our neighborhood's annual kiddy Christmas party. Ava got to do arts and crafts (decorating a paper tree) before meeting the big man herself. I thought she'd totally freak out, cry, and not want to sit on his lap, but she proved me wrong! All I had to tell her was that Santa had a present for her if she sat on his lap. She knew that it was candy, and you can see from the picture she was more interested in getting her candy cane than really talking to Santa :)



Ava also got a new book from the Hopes for Christmas. It's a lift-the-flap Little People Christmas book and she loves it. Her favorite thing to find is the snowman. Too bad it's 68 here in Charlotte today. Poor, deprived child of ours.

Go Panthers!

What a weekend! We did a lot, but it was all worth it. Friday night I took Michelle with me to the Neil Diamond concert uptown. I got box seats through work, so I said "why not?" I was more excited to see my good friend Nathan's parents than Neil. I got to see his sweet Mom during the show (she came to our box), but unfortunately the tour cancelled the aftershow so I didn't get to see his Dad. They had to board a plane quickly and get on to the next gig. It was really cool to see him play onstage though (he's the drummer.) Michelle and I felt like we were in the twilight zone. Most of the fans were old enough to be our parents and were having such a ball. It was great people watching to say the least.

Saturday we got our Christmas tree. In the spirit of efficiency, we skipped the NC mountain trip and just went to Home Depot. She was fully decorated and ready to go by 3pm which was cool. I bought Ava her first annual ornament, which this year was a Hallmark Keepsake of Cinderella, who has quickly become one of her favorite princesses. She loves it!

Saturday night we had our friends the Cains over for dinner. Ava's obsessed with Baby Drew, their 6 month old son. I took a few pictures of them together on the couch. So cute. Maybe they can go to Purdue together, fall in love, and get married :)

Sunday was a big day as well. Jim acquired really good seats to the Panthers vs. Broncos game. We were on the 40 just ten rows up. It was nice and cold for once, and we had a really good time being there. See how close we were! Go Panthers!

In other news, Ava had her 2 1/2 year checkup last week. When we went at two years the doc was concerned she was too skinny (even though she eats anything and everything we put in front of her.) She was in the 8% for weight and 75% for height back in June. This time around she was 30% for both! She is a whopping 27 pounds and is 36" tall. I feel like she's tall for her age, but then I look at her friends at daycare and they're all about the same. Anyway, she is doing really well. She's really blossomed these last six months, is really talkative, and is pretty smart if I do say so myself. She can count to ten on her own and everything!

Tonight we had a good laugh. It's amazing what a baby monitor will do for entertainment. We put her to bed at 7:30 after reading two stories and saying our prayers. About five minutes later, she proceeds to crawl out of bed and, in the dark, go sit by her bookcase and pull about 20 of them off the shelf. We then listened to her read books to herself (she knows her favorites by heart) for the next 30 minutes. (I think she got this from me because when I was a kid I'd have a flashlight with me and go under the covers to read until my parents busted me and threatened to take away the flashlight.) Finally at 8pm Jim snuck up there and busted her. She looked at him and said 'bed, Daddy' and he put her back in bed. She went right to sleep. So sweet.

BTW, I'm hosting my lifegroup's Christmas social tomorrow night, so I'll try to take pics of the house before we mess it up again so you all can see them. We're loving living here!

All Moved In

So we're finally settled into the new house. What a whirlwind the last few weeks have been. We would have never made it to completion without the help of our parents. Mine packed the entire time we were in Italy, then Jim's came and packed the week of Thanksgiving right down to the wire.

Sunday was the day we moved out. I was sad to leave our first house in West Lafayette and this house was no different. After dinner Sunday Jim and I went back to pack up final items and clean. We finished up around 9pm and did a walk through... wow, was that emotional. It was really sad and I didn't expect that. I think it was because that was Ava's first home and we have so many wonderful memories from the past 2.5 years from the first day we brought our little 5 pound peanut home to her learning how to walk, to her swinging in the back yard... it's amazing all that can happen in just 30 months.

The good news is that now we're in the new house and the excitement and joy of it has replaced the sadness we felt leaving the old. Ava absolutely loves her new room and her pink big girl bed. Jim and I are really enjoying the openness and all of the nice details throughout the house. We definitely plan on being here for a long, long time and look forward to all the new memories we will create with both Ava and her little sibling.

As soon as we're done unpacking this weekend I'll try to post some pictures (that will be AFTER we get a Christmas tree trimmed!) Merry Christmas!

Italy Recap

So we're back from Italy. Ok, we've been back for ten days, but life's busy trying to pack and move! Italy was great. We enjoyed the quaintness of Florence before moving on to Rome for the rest of the week. The wedding in Florence went off without a hitch, and the castle was beautiful! We stayed at the Hotel Duomo which is clearly located right next to the famous Duomo. We also trekked to see Michaelangelo's David (way bigger than you'd think) and Ponte Vecchio bridge which we learned was the only bridge in Florence the Germans left standing in one of the world wars.

On Monday we made the only train from Florence to Rome, as every Monday the train people strike (um, no one told us that until late Sunday night). Upon arriving in Rome we dropped off our luggage at our hotel then head out for a nightwalk from the Spanish Steps to Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. Tuesday we did the whole Colosseum and Parthenon tour. Wednesday we hit up the Vatican Museum, got to see the Sistine Chapel (which Mary was a little disappointed with), went over to St. Peters where the Pope was giving his weekly sermon, then trekked all the way up to the top of the dome. It was 387 steps up in a tiny two-foot wide staircase that is old and crooked. Mary didn't like being up that high, but Jim didn't seem to mind.

Thursday we just bummed around the city and picked up a few souvenirs. It rained most of the day so we were thankful we'd gotten all of our "must sees" out of the way prior. All in all we enjoyed our trip and are glad we went. Neither of us are big 'Europe' people and don't have any desire to return anytime soon, but we're glad we had the chance to go this time. The entire album of pics (sans wedding) are posted on our family website if you want to look.

Returning after 15 hours of flying was the best of all. Ava missed us a lot and was really excited to see us (as we were her.) Another huge milestone was met the weekend we returned, as Ava decided to start using the potty! All it took was us buying her some Disney Princess underwear (pull ups, as she calls them) and she's been hooked ever since. She only had accidents the first 3 days and is now pretty much 100% trained! She still wears diapers at night, but we'll get there.

We're moving this week, so we probably won't post again for several weeks once we're all settled in to the new house. Happy Thanksgiving to all! Here are some pics to enjoy.

Famous symbol of Christianity next to the Colosseum.

Jim with the Pope in the background. St. Peter's Square

The tiny steps going to the top of St. Peters.

Us at the top of St. Peter's

Inside St. Peter's - Saw John Paul's grave and (supposed) St. Peter's

View in Florence from Ponte Vecchio

Trevi Fountain in Rome

Ava proudly going on her potty!

Halloween, Moving Sales, and Drywall

What do those three things have in common? Our weekend in a nutshell... Friday Ava had a Halloween parade and party at her daycare which her Daddy was able to attend, so that was fun. Friday night we did the whole trick-or-treat thing. Our cul de sac has a tradition of everyone meeting at the end with lawn chairs, bringing all our bowls of candy, and hanging out there for the night. Everyone in the neighborhood knows to just come on down to the smorgasboard at the end. One of our neighbors produces Krispy Kremes and hot cider for all guests and parents who come by, so that is fun. Before our kids run off to trick or treat, we also take an annual photo of everyone from our block. Ava had no idea what was going, then all the big kids took off down the street to go trick or treating and she really didn't get why she was all alone. So then I took her in her wagon and we went trick or treating. She kept saying "fast Mama. Big kids." She wanted to catch up with the big kids. Anyway, she was a huge hit as Jo Jo the Clown and we were surprised how many people knew who she was! She loved it.

Saturday we had a moving sale to get rid of all the stuff we just don't use or want anymore. That went well, but was tiring. We took Ava to the park in the afternoon after running a few errands. We were pooped by nightfall!

Sunday was going to be a relaxing restful day (finally) except Jim had a Griswald moment around 8:30am. He was up in the attic laying down some fresh insulation per our inspection report's request, when he took a wrong step and put his leg right through our hallway ceiling. Ava and I weren't far away and heard some new words come out of Daddy's mouth shortly after he did it. Jim wasn't hurt at all, but spent the entire rest of the day cutting drywall, patching, and filling in the damage. Now he just needs to sand it and paint it. Ahhh, the joys of moving.

We're moving!

Our house finally sold! With only 12 days left in the contract, someone came along and surprised us. We'd really written it off and were thinking we'd be painting the new nursery over Thanksgiving, but that's not the case!

Soooo... we were able to negotiate a contract on our new house just down the road which we're really excited about. It's contingent on our current house closing, but we're not worried about that since we have buyers with good credit putting 20% down. We're really excited about our new neighborhood. The house is awesome and has a lot of features we were missing here like a screened in porch, front porch, bigger garage, etc. We're really moving for the amenities of the neighborhood though. They have a huge pool, club house, playground, and 9 acres of parks/walking paths. It is also a very active community with lots of social clubs (books, knitting, cooking, etc.) and a lot of kid friendly traditions (4th of July bike parade, Halloween party, Santa at Christmas, etc.) We just know our girls will love growing up here.

I'll try to post more pictures later. We're in a flurry of packing, hosting a moving sale (or two), preparing for our trip to Italy in 2 weeks (yikes!) and getting through our house inspection Monday and whatever might follow that! Wish us luck!

Here's the kitchen. You can't see it in the picture but there's a very large butler's pantry that connects to the formal dining room. I love it!

This is the master bedroom which is on the main floor. I love the beadboard on the ceiling! This continues throughout the master bath and on our screened in porch. Who would have thought to put beadboard on a ceiling?

This is the master bath. I look forward to the nice big shower!

Formal dining room. Why do they even make these anymore?

7 Springs

This weekend we took our annual trip to 7 Springs with Jim's family for Autumnfest. It is my favorite time of year to go up there. All the leaves are almost at peak color, the air is crisp and cool, and the festival is in full swing! It's a weekend of food, music, craft shows, and fun activities for the kiddies. Jim and I managed to sneak some golf in which is always fun.

Ava had so much fun with all her cousins. She loved playing with all of them non-stop. She fell in love with cousin Kayla's Disney princess dolls and had to bring at least two of them to bed every night and for every nap. Now both I and Maryann are on the hunt trying to find a set for her. She also had her first experience in a big girl bed which she loved. We loved it too because she slept until 7:30 every morning! We can't wait to move her to her own permanent big girl bed here at home.

This is the impossible shot - trying to get all five kids smiling at once. LOL


This is just a pretty picture from our hike on Saturday morning at the top of the mountain. To see all the landscape images, visit our family website. They're all posted there.


Ava's favorite part of the trip was her horse ride. For an entire day she thought she rode a cow, but now she knows it was a horse. She also loved getting her face painted; she chose the pink flower two days in a row.




Running up the ski slope chasing her cousins. So cute!


Ava and cousin Kayla who is almost 4.


The family.


All the grandkids at the condo. So cute!


I'm already looking forward to next year. I just love 7 Springs anytime of the year, but fall is by far my favorite!

When we returned home auntie had some new presents for Ava, one of which included a ballerina tutu. She put it on immediately and now wants to wear it every day. She calls it her "choo choo train" insted of "tutu". Oh well, she loves it; that's all that matters. Look at how proud she is in the pictures :)

Princess Ava & Pet Palooza

Saturday was the annual Pet Palooza event to benefit the Humane Society of Charlotte. Jim is a member of one of the bank's teams and personally raised over $1200 this year! His team raised just over $9,000 and came in first place of all the teams at Pet Palooza. We are happy to help out all the doggies and kitties waiting for good homes!

It rained all morning, but stopped in time for the celebration. Ava loved seeing all the dogs, and our own dogs enjoyed sniffing all of their species rear ends to say "hello". We all walked a lap around Independence Park together before calling it a morning and heading home.

This weekend was also the last kids consignment sale of the season (I hit up three this month). I went Friday night to the preview sale and finished off Ava's winter wardrobe, but there was so much good stuff I want back for the 1/2 price sale on Saturday afternoon. Michelle convinced me to shell out $10 for a blue princess/fairy costume for Ava. Sure enough, it was money well spent! She put it on immediately and now wants to wear it every day saying "mama, blue dress" every time we go in her room! She's not a fan of the fairy wings or tiara it came with, but loves the magic wand. So much for me keeping her a tomboy...

Baby Vaca is now past the halfway mark at 21 weeks. I got to see her again on Friday and she looks healthy and strong. I picked up a few clothes and decor items for her at the consignment sale this weekend as well. My big find was a super cute Pottery Barn Kids crib bumper for a whopping six dollars! Woo hoo!