SNOW

Ava never really got to enjoy the snow last year because she was still pretty young. This year however, she is really excited about the snow and tells us about how white and fun it is.
Today she decided she wanted to help her dad shovel the driveway, and had a blast outside.





She wanted to make sure there was no snow on her slide, so she had her dad help her clean the swing set.

We are glad that she is starting to enjoy winter more, because her parents love the snow and cannot wait to teach her how to downhill ski.

A Very Cute Good Witch

We had a pretty eventful Halloween season this year.

I started going to a Mommy and Me play group in our development a few weeks ago, and Ava and I love it. I love spending time with the moms and Ava enjoys all her new friends, so it is a win/win. The week before Halloween the play group had a Halloween party and all the kids dressed up. I wish they would have let us take a group photo, but it is hard to get toddlers to cooperate for a photo. They all looked adorable though.

Ava is totally into coloring right now, and when she saw the art table she threw off her witch hat and began drawing a picture. That was the last of her hat that day... she refused to wear it for the party.

The girls frosted and decorated sugar cookies.

And they all had a blast playing in this little Halloween fort. She had a great time!!

Then a few days later I took her to my mom's school for Ava to trick-or-treat her grandma. Ava loves going to my mom's classroom.



We also hit up a church Halloween carnival the weekend before Halloween night. Ava had fun running around with her cousin Gage ("The Viking").

(These two kids are so cute together.)

They ran around the numbers of the cupcake walk even if the music stopped.

(Thanks to her grandma Anderson for making a witch costume to match her hot pink hat.)

We could not ask for a cuter witch. We love this kid to death.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Playing with Cousins

Ava got to spend time with her cousins Maveric and Simon this weekend. Jenny and I took the kids to the park to play while Joel and my brothers went to the Eastern football game. Ava loves the park and is more than happy to go play there any time that she is able. It was even more fun this time because she had her two cousins to chase around. We had a great few days with them and wish we lived closer so the kids could spend more time together.

Ava and Simon looking out the windows of the tree fort.

Ava would probably swing almost the whole day if we would let her. My sister-in-law Jenny took this picture. I love how it shows the joy and excitement Ava has on the swing.

These last two pictures make Ava look so big. I feel like my baby is such a little girl now. I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. Watching her grow and develop has been so much fun. I just wish it would slow down a tad bit.

Carving Pumpkins

We decided to have a family date night last night and carved our pumpkins. Ava loved cleaning the seeds off of the newspaper until she realized that her hands were dirty which caused her to scream "clean me". (She hates to be dirty...wonder where she got that from.)

But her favorite part was when we lit the pumpkins. Ava loves to watch candles burn, and it was even more neat to see them burn inside of a pumpkin.

I am grateful for nights like this spent together.

Pickin' Apples

The weather was perfect yesterday, so we decided to head up to greenbluff (Walter's - one of our favorite farms) and pick some apples. We took Ava to greenbluff last September too, but this year it was so much more fun. Ava was able to pick apples, play in the corn pit (like a sandbox with corn kernels instead of sand), and run through the orchard. I love watching her explore new places and have fun.

Ava loved getting apples, but carrying the box was hard work.

Apples are one of Ava's favorite things to eat at the moment, so of course she had to sample them while we were picking.

She wanted her mom to sample them too. And of course I said yes - and they were Delicious!!

After a hard days work picking apples, Ava and her dad decided to play in the corn pit. Ava loved it and did not want to leave, and Joel had no complaints...he said it was like getting a foot massage.

We love greenbluff. I could not think of a better way to spend our Saturday.