Cheap Entertainment !

Here is Ava's new favorite game (and Belle's too)....

Mommy pull me in a laundry basket

Can't forget my favorite toy

Hair bows no More :*(

It has finally happened! Ava has discovered her hair bow and realized she wants no part of it. I guess I have been lucky that its been almost a year of headbands, bows, tights, whatever I wanted to dress her up in, with no fuss. Now, as soon as I put it in her hair she yanks it out. I'm persistent though and just keep putting it in. Maybe she'll learn to like them again one day.

Poor thing has a bruise on her cheek from falling into the side of her bookcase. Shes so tough she barley even cried!

And here are some pics of our last trip to our park before we moved.....

Growing Pains

Not just an awesome show from the 80's. We are in a transition right now, and are all "growing".

Bryan is growing to become the Doctor that he has always dreamed of. He loves his boss, new office, and office staff. He comes home at night so excited, beaming with happiness, and full of stories to share with me.

I am growing in motherhood and learning that being a mother to a toddler is completely different than mothering a baby. Some things have become easier but other areas have become challenging. Just when I think I have motherhood down, something new happens and I realize it is ever changing. For example she will not sleep in her crib anymore. I put her down at 9:00, wakes crying at 10:30pm, soothe her and get her back to sleep, wakes up at 12:45, soothe her and put her back in crib, wakes up at 5:00am and I am tired give up and bring her into my bed. She has won :)

Ava is growing into a toddler. She is full of personality now and I love the interaction I now have with her. She is constantly babbling and has a full conversation that only she can understand, haha. Her favorite game is to go around the house and open every drawer, cabinet, door and take clothes etc. out and walk around with it. Her favorite toy is the dog leash! How does this happen? She has a ton of toys and when she wakes up in the morning she instantly goes to get the dog leash and won't let it out of her sight for the rest of the day. I cant believe my baby is turning 1 in 2 weeks!

We are growing as a family and learning to lean on each other in this new place. It has brought us even closer and we cant wait to see what is in store for us here!! Even though growing as people can sometimes seem difficult it is worth it for the end result!

I haven't been taking many pictures lately. Bad mommy - I need to get back in picture mode. But here are a few.

Our New Beach

A Little Princess

Thanks for Setting up My New Room

Our big move!!

Yes, that is where I have been and what has consumed my life for the past 2 weeks. Hubby just accepted his first chiropractic job offer!!!! I am so unbelievably proud of him and excited and not to mention, scared out of my mind, about this new time of our life. Since Bryan graduated in December we have gone back and forth from our decision to open up our own practice or for Bryan to work as an associate doc for another Chiropractor. Well the right offer finally came along and this is a wonderful opportunity. The only problem is we had to move again :( I guess that's part of life and everything happens for a reason. So now we are here in South Florida (West Palm Beach area), all moved in and trying to make a "home" here. This happened so fast my head is just now grasping what all happened in 2 short weeks. Bryan interviewed on Thursday July 8th, accepted the job on July 9th. I worked on the 9th, 10th, and 11th and also packed because we had to move on July 13th! All I have to say is Thank God for a wonderful husband and family because we could not have made this move in such a short amount of time without a lot of help. So we loaded up the moving truck on Tuesday July 13th and headed off for our new adventure. Those first few days of living here were a blur. I was an emotional wreck and had a few good cries. Port Orange, FL (just outside of Daytona Beach) had been my home for the last 4 years, while Bryan was in school. I had made some great friends and my hospital was my second family. Telling them was so hard. I had to put in my 2 weeks notice and I do not have a new job as of now. I have applied to many hospitals in the area but nothing yet. So we will see what happens. Now that I have had some time to adjust, unpack, and organize, things are looking bright. Hubby started yesterday and loves it!! This area is beautiful and we are like 3 minutes from the beach. Plus I have already made a new mommy friend that has an 11 month old girl. There is a huge mall just 5 minutes down the street with a Janie and Jack in it and Pottery Barn Baby / Kids and any other baby store you could dream of. It was a hard decision to make but in my heart I know we made the right one. This is a stepping stone to our future success and sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and trust that God is going to take of you. I will be posting some pics as soon as I can find my camera cord. Oh and I just got Internet service yesterday! I can't believe we lived a week without Internet and cable!!

Birthday Party and 4th of July

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July Weekend!! This weekend was busy and lots of fun for the Schmied Family. Friday I spent all day making cupcake pops (from Bakerella) and a giant cupcake cake. This was my trial run day for Ava's birthday party. The cupcake pops turned out perfect. Yummy and looked just like the picture. The cake on the other hand was a disaster. Burnt on the outside, gooey on the inside and the icing decorating was a mess. I tried to do it the home-made way but I think I'm gonna have to turn to a professional for this one! Then on Saturday we went to a 1 year old b-day party and my Mom came into town, so we had a cook-out that night. Sunday was of course 4th of July!! I remember this time last year when I was soooo pregnant and dreamed of what Ava's first 4th would be like. Would she be walking yet? Would she like the fireworks? Would she gobble up some watermelon? The answers are yes, yes, and yes. It was a rainy day :(, so no day at the beach, grilling at the pool, or picnic. However, it cleared up last night and we did get to go to the beach for the big firework show! Ava was mesmerized by the fireworks - would not take her eyes off of them. We had a great time and hubby looked over at me and said, these are the moments that seem fun right now but when we are old we will look back on as the best days of our life. He is so right and I try to soak in every moment of Ava and cherish every day of her life. :)