Great Company

The other night we were able to have dinner with our great friends Mark and Rhonda and their adorable son Henry. We always look forward to our time with them. Great food and always wonderful company.

I have known Rhonda since Middle School, and it is so much fun raising our children together.
We look forward to summer adventures together too.

And for those of you that need an Ava fix... Here are some cute recent pictures.

Ava just loves helping in the kitchen.

Ava moved all the oranges and grapefruit into the potato drawer. I guess she thought where we had placed them was not good enough.

Joel says this last photo makes Ava look like a werewolf.

She tends to look like this after she pulls her pigtails out.

I promise that we do clean her mouth off after eating.

Sleep is Over-Rated

Ava seems to think that sleep is over-rated.

Ava has never been a great sleeper. Let's be honest...she is a horrible sleeper. I have friends that say that their child has been sleeping through the night since they were 6 weeks old...heck some that say they began sleeping through the night at 6 months old. Not our Ava. She is 14 months old and still does not sleep through the night. I have to admit that it is getting a little bit better. This week she has slept until 4 and sometimes 5 AM, but it has not become consistent yet. Until this last week she woke up at 1 AM to eat a bottle every night. Grrrr. I have been ready to have her cry it out for sometime now, but Joel says that if she is hungry she should eat. His argument is that he gets up to eat in the middle of the night if he is hungry (which he really does do), so she should be able to eat if she is hungry too.

Since I do not agree with the whole nightly feeding thing much anymore, Joel has decided that he will get up and feed her if she is hungry. Joel feeding her is nice, but her crying and waking us up every night is not. I hope that this phase is coming to an end soon, because I am getting a little sleep deprived (a little...who are we kidding. I feel like a zombie at times).

All I have to say is.... IT IS A GOOD THING THAT SHE IS SO STINKIN CUTE.

I love her even when I have had less than 4 hours of sleep a night for 5 days straight.

And even when I am exhausted, she still brings the biggest smile to my face each day.

Bed Head

I love going to get Ava out of her crib after a long nap. First, because she is always so excited to see you, and second because she usually has the cutest bed head. This day's bed head was extremely cute...the picture does not do it justice. Ava has the most gorgeous curls, especially right after a bath (or in this case - after she sleeps on one side for a few hours). Hopefully her curls stay with her for a few years.

Reverent Books

One of my jobs at church is called "Activity Day Leader". What that means is that I meet with the girls ages 8 to 12 twice a month to do activities and service projects. Tonight we are making reverent books. I made a sample one to take to the activity tonight, and will give it to Ava in 6 or 7 years.

I covered a 4x6 photo book with fabric and added a ribbon and flower to try to make it look cuter.

Then I printed the content at a photo shop here in town.

The first section contains pages about our church and what we believe. Basic principles mainly.

The the second portion talks about scripture stories.

I think that it turned out pretty cute, and hope that the girls enjoy making them tonight.

My Sweetheart

Dear Jen,
I want to take a few minutes and tell you why I love you. I guess I will start off with the obvious; you're beautiful and smart and kind and funny and thoughtful and sexy and... Well, you get the point. You're everything I could ever ask for. And now the not so obvious:
I love you because you support me and love me through everything. Like the way you pick up the slack around the house when I am busy studying for an exam or when I am flat on my back with the flu for a week.
I love you because you allow me to be myself. I know I am a little immature at times and have a lot of different ideas, but you always listen to what I have to say no matter how much you disagree.
But, what I really love the most is the kind of Mother you are to Ava. The way you take care of her and teach her all day every day, I know what you do with her at home is far more important than what I am doing at work. The truth is, I get a little jealous of you sometimes because of all the time you two spend together without me, but at the same time am so greatful for the way you love her and take care of her. I know you love her more than anything and would do anything for her. I never imagined that I would be so lucky as to have someone like you to spend my life and eternity with. Every day I thank God that he allowed us to meet and fall in love.
I will always love you,
Joel