This face says it best

This is how we feel about being tricked by the warm sunny days making us think spring was here. But it was just kidding us as today it was soo cold again. We can't wait for more sunshine days to come and stay! We are excited for picnics in the park, sandles on our feet, walks with Rory and lot of other fun to have in the sun!

10 Months

10 months! in two words: fun and tiring. I am finding each stage of new development some things are easier and always new challenges. but overall 10 months is a lot of fun. I can really tell this month that she is understanding so much of her world around her. Here's a few highlights at 10 months:

• Whoever thought Growling could be so cute. I am not sure how we discovered this but Ava mimics us when we growl and she does it with the sweetest half smile too.
• She loves to point now, she has figured out pointing gets our attention and she loves to "point" things out. (We've already had a few embarrassing social encounters when she points at people we don't know, like an older ladies Cane at church and other things she thinks we didn't notice but she wants to make sure we do).
• She loves to explore everything, opening cabinets, drawers, and anything she is probably not suppose to be in.
• She is starting to show some preference in food, blueberry yogurt is still her fav but she's started figuring out some vegetables aren't as yummy as the fruits and nothing is as yummy as yogurt.
• She can cruise around the room and crawl at a high rate of speed, she is starting to let go and try to stand on her own but so far falls down almost right away.
• She has conversations with herself and has really started to "play", talking to her doll and hugging on her stuffed animals, I love just sitting back and watching her at "play" it so captivating to watch. I wonder what her little mind is processing as she is playing.
• We conquered our first cold and cough, it lasted only a week and I am thankful she's been so healthy for the most part this year.

Still those precious big brown eyes!

Love's her daddy & her daddy is quite smitten with her too, they went this month for there first daddy/daughter day to the park, where I hear a fun time was had by all.


Her favorite cabinet to get into is Rory's cabinet, Rory doesn't mind because once and a while she gets something out of it:

Birthday

Well the birthday week started off not so great. Ava got her first cold and cough which she shared with me. Poor little thing did not feel good at all, so it was a long first part of the week but by the weekend we were feeling much better...





I got a new digital camera from Ryan, which was a wonderful surprise earlier in the week. Saturday started off with the birthday fun when I went to get Ava from her morning nap and found this:

We then met my family for lunch at Charlestons. After lunch we headed to the mall, where Ava tried her first chocolate chip cookie:

We also made time to head to the park since it was such a lovely day, I had hoped to get some 10 month old shots but she was not giving up the smiles easy, here's the closest I got to a grin:

That night we headed to Bellini's to have dinner with friends...

Ryan got me this wonderful Ribbon cake from Raspberries and Cream Bakery, it is one of my favorites and was soo good!

So it was a good day spent with those I love and have loved me for all or part of my now 30 years!

Snow cute!

More snow! I love when snow comes at night, you get to wake up to that shimmery blanket of fresh snow that magically appears while you were snoozing warm in your bed. Here's some pics of our snow bunnies checking out the morning magic:

Surviving the Snow...

A story best told in pictures.....

The gold fish pond out front. (When Rory was playing in the snow she totally didn't see or remember the pond was here and accidentally jumped right in it).

Our snow bunny was mostly unimpressed by the snow itself.

She did however love playing all day with mom and dad both home from work for a couple days:

and last but certainly not least, the most essential blizzard supply for surviving the snow, Marshmallow lovers hot chocolate:

Being snowed in leaves time to reflect

10 things I loved about 2010. I realize we are well into 2011 but I always love a good numbered list, especially when it inspires any type of reflection, so here it goes...

1. Of course meeting our baby girl! 2010 will forever be in my heart as one of the best year of my life for that very reason.

2. Moving to part time at work. I love my job and I love it even more being part time.

3. Finding out Matt and Lori are moving to Dallas. Finally in all their travels they are moving to this part of the country. I am really excited we will get to see them more.

4. Celebrating 6 years of marriage! The expereinces and challenges of this year have brought Ryan and I closer than ever. He bore the brunt of my sleep deprived irritabilities and was amazingly patient with me. Being bonded through first smiles, sleepless nights, stomach bugs and everything else that came with this first year of parenthood has truely grown our love to something even deeper.

5. I love that two of my dear friends also had baby girls in 2010!

6. cooking! Maybe its the theme of maternalness of this past year but I really got more into cooking. I especially love that I found several great recipes that work well as freezer meals which of course was key for us this year when I went back to work. I acutally enojoy cooking when I have time. I can even now do a couple of things from scratch!

7. I am giving maternity leave its own number. I loved taking that time with Ava where that was my only "job". I loved lazy mornings in our PJs, meeting friends for lunch, forgeting what day it was and all the other special things that remind me of that time.

8. Ava and I's first road trips, one to Houston and one to suprise my grandparents in New Mexico.

9. Starting new traditions, First Fridays, homemade cinnamon rolls for the holidays, just to name a few.

10. Ryan passing the CPA exams!!!

One of our favorite things....

Who doesn't love packages in the mail? Each month of Ava's life so far our dear friends Daicia and her little sweetie Quinn send us a monthly birthday package, usually with home made goodies that are developmentally on target for each month. We got our 9 month package the other day and have loved all the fun things! We also got a valentine package from grandma Askew with a valentine and a 'my first valentines day' outfit. Its fun now that Ava can help me open the packages and gets excited about what we find. (Thanks so much!)