17 months!

Due to change of seasons colds around here this post is late. But better late than never, right?. Ava is now 17 months old! Here's some of her highlights this month...

• Everyday it seems like she is saying a new word! She is starting to put some words together. "Hi Rory" "Bye Baby".
• She finally graduated from her infant carrier to a toddler/convertible car seat. 
• She still takes two naps and enjoys her paci, probably should start limiting its use to bed and car but I don't really care too much just yet. Maybe next month.
• She loves to play outside, its hard to say now when she says outside and then starts signing please to say no. Luckily the weather's been great!
• She still wears 12 month clothes mostly.
• She went on her first fair trip as you saw in the previous post.
• Her hair is long enough for pig tails which we've worn quite a bit.

This box has been a big hit around here this month.

Also this month I won my first ever blog giveaway, why both bloggers that teamed up for this giveaway are good friends of mine I can assure you it was a randomize drawing, thanks Life to her years and Urban Owl Knittery for our lovely owl hat, we love it! Here's Ava when we just got it out of the mail!

 

First Fair!

Ava enjoyed her first fair trip with her buddy Isabella on Friday. It was rainy and cold but we did not let that hinder this momentous occasion. Izzy is a pretty special friend, she spends Mondays with us at our house and Wednesdays with her at her house. Izzy is so special to us she has made into some Ava's very first words, The names she knows and says consistently now are momma, daddy, Rory, (aunt) Amy and now Izzy! 

"Where did these people come from..."

Ava got to see and pet baby chicks

**Also her cute hair flower is by Shannon, I have her blog linked on my blog list below if you want to check out her amazing knitted creations!**

She enjoyed the best food the fair had to offer, she and I shared:

a corn dog

an amazing chocolate chip cookie

and last but certainly not least, Wisconsin fried cheese!

She loved the horses, kept pointing and telling us about them...

I may or may not have saved our fair ticket stub for her baby book...

Our labor day!

We celebrated Sunday night with a cookout with friends! Ava loves sweet potatoe fries and we've found a great recipe for making these at home. It involves olive oil, paprika, cinnamon, and salt, coated by shaking them up in a baggie then bake in the oven...

Ava had her very first Oreo of the mint Oreo variety! She loved them:

The morning of labor day we went to play and jog at the lake, it was a gorgeous day perfect for some down time outside with the family, I am running again, on week 5 of couch to 5-k and enjoying the cooler weather: 

In the evening we meet up with Chloe and Allie and family to celebrate Chloe's 12th birthday! She choose Buffalo Wild Wings and then we went next door to marble slab for dessert.

This pic wasn't on Labor Day but it was too sweet to not post, I just can't get enough of watching her love on her babies. 

Our Last Summer Saturday

We celebrated the last Summer Saturday with a busy family day together! 

After our pancake breakfast we knocked out some chores. Ava helping daddy with her laundry:

After we went and looked at some flooring for the living room we then headed down town for some fun! We picked up some Hoagies and took them up to Ryan's office where we ate in style and enjoyed the panoramic city views.

You can see as far as the top of the capital:

Then we took Ava down to the fountain in brick town to splash around:

We wrapped up our downtown fun with a trip The Candy Co. for some Gelatto:

The rest of the day was the just right Saturday combination of relaxing and getting some things accomplished a great last summer Saturday!

Some back story on the day: I went to this great training at work on Friday on a new therapy model we will be using. I loved the part of the model about helping clients be truly present in each moment. Most of the time we are consumed with the past or stuck in what will happen next thinking. It's actually really hard to sit for any amount of time in the current moment. (Try it for a few minutes and just observe around you, you can't go long till you start planning something or thinking about something that already happened.) We let so many hurts in our past or worries about the future ruin what is now. This theory also teaches us that a therapist cannot truly impart the skills of this model without living them themselves. So I was very "mindful" (one of key components of this model) of staying present in each moment today. I was so much more aware today of times I was tempted to not stay present in the moment, for example instead of giving myself fully to the joyful experience of watching Ava play in the fountain, I started to think about the hot walk to the Gelatto shop were going to next and how close nap time was coming and wondering would she get cranky. I think this is such a spiritual struggle we all have. But today I was so aware of what I was doing and shut that thinking down to return myself to being fully present with that moment. It really made a great day even sweeter, fuller and richer.

Super easy pasta...

I love when others share meal ideas so I decided to highlight one of our favorite meals at our house that's super easy and  yummy. We have this at least once most weeks in the summer time...

Ingredients: Bell Peppers, ravioli, olive oil, spinach, minced garlic, Italian seasoning

Start by sauteing your peppers in a bit of olive oil and minced garlic. (I keep a jar of minced garlic in the fridge, its easy to just get a spoonful out when you need it.) Then boil your pasta to al dente instructions on the package, Then add your drained pasta into the pan you sauteed your peppers in add spinach if you like & some Italian seasoning, mix all together on pretty low heat for another few minutes. Then its ready to go! We usually eat this on Wednesdays because its easy and fast to cook up before evening church. 

A morning you never regret...

 This morning Ava and I decided to trade this view, our messy house and long to do list from a busy and intense work week...

for this view...

We went for a jog on the trail by the lake and stopped at the light house for a rest, we enjoyed the perfect temperature as we sat on a bench and watched the water gently ripple from the light breeze and turtles appearing and disappearing into the blue water. It was that kind of moment of contentment that only quiet stillness in His creation can provide. The kind of morning I never regret, where the to do list is still there but was totally worth putting off to be filled up and renewed again by just finding that moment to be still,  reflect and center yourself once again.

16 Months!

Ava turned 16 months this weekend! here's the new developments this month:

• She seems to be adding words every day. Notable new words include, Rory, help, please, all done, Ava and her new favorite is "babies".
• She still uses her signs a lot and is starting to put the words with her signs.
• She got 3 new molars this month. She didn't complain too much and then I just noticed them one day, all the way through and everything! 
• She still takes two naps a day! 
• She has a new dance that cracks us up, we call it 'drivin the bus'. 
• She figured out somehow that when you spin in circles it makes you dizzy, so she does that randomly throughout the day with this funny smile on her face. 
• The Nursery staff at church told me she's the little mama of the group, she brings the younger kids toys, and gives them sweet pats and kisses. 
• She's such a cuddler, she will randomly come and give us hugs and kisses throughout the day. I love that! 
• She's discovered blue berry whole grain waffles which de-throned yogurt for favorite breakfast food. She gets real excited to watch it pop up in the toaster.

Strawberries and Nutella snack/finger painting: