Birthday Weekend!!

Well Saturday was Hubby's Birthday and we had a great day! That morning my sister Rach and her husband Nick drove over from Tampa. I had breakfast waiting for them and Bryan. I made an Asiago, Mushroom, and Sausage Strata and Cinnamon Rolls. The Strata was pretty scrumptious (Southern Living Recipe). Ava was so shy at first and kept clinging onto my legs but once she warmed up to them she gave them so much love. She was hilarious and in such a playful mood. After coffee we decided to give them a tour of our town. We showed them our beach and took them to see the lighthouse. After the sight-seeing tour, we went to City Place in West Palm Beach for lunch. We had some Panera Bread and Ava dug into some Broccoli Cheddar Soup. Yum Yum. Then we went for ice cream at Sloan's. This place is a kiddie heaven and was awesome. While we ate our ice cream outside, all Ava wanted to do was chase the pigeons around! I showed them where my new hospital is that I'll be working at and then we went home to relax and get ready for dinner. Ava caught a second wind after sleeping in the truck and was running around the house in her diaper. She decided to then take her diaper off and run around naked. We were dying laughing and then all of the sudden Bryan said, "I think she's gonna pee," and at that time she squatted and peed right there. Then the laughter increased and Uncle Nick was almost in tears. She thought she was so funny. I think we are going to get a Potty Chair just to see what she does. I know she is too young to really start potty training but since she has started taking her diaper off and trying to pee for the last week, I figure we'll just see what she thinks about a Potty Chair. Anyway we went to dinner at the coolest place. It was on the inter coastal waterway and people would just dock there boats and come up for dinner. It was the most amazing atmosphere and the food was delicious. We had fried conch fritters, crap dip, and blackened Cobia. Ava had chicken tenders but tried our fish and loved it. I can't tell you how much fun we had and Bryan said he had such a wonderful 27th Birthday! Ava was pooped at the end of the day and actually slept in her crib all night long. Best birthday present ever and she slept in...BONUS!! As promised her are the pictures......

Ava playing with the Balloon she got when we picked up the cake.

Cuddling with Uncle Nick

Getting Ready to Eat some Panera Bread

The Coolest Ice Cream Parlor

Hanging with Aunt Rach

Holding on tight to her Dora Purse

Dinner on the Water

The Birthday Boy!!

I love my Fam

Blowing Kisses

Decided to leave you with some pics of Ava brushing her teeth :)

TGIF

Tomorrow is Hubby's 27th birthday! I can't believe when we first got together he was only 17 years old! It is amazing to me that I have been blessed to share his life from the time he was a teenager to now, my husband and the father of our child! I am honestly so happy we found each other so early in life and have already shared so many years of memories and experiences and can't wait to celebrate many more birthdays and times to come!
Our birthdays are only 2 1/2 months apart and he likes to think he is so much younger than me and that I robbed the cradle or something. When we are talking about one of our friends and I'll ask how old are they, Hubby will say "Oh there my age". Hello we are the same age. He just loves those few months of being younger than me :) My sister and my bro-in-law are also coming to visit us tomorrow and see where we live now!! It should be a great weekend. We aren't doing birthday presents this year but we are going out to eat at a seafood restaurant on the water. Also I got him the cutest card from "Ava". His heart is going to melt. I'll post the pictures on Monday. Everyone have a great weekend :)

Summer Lovin :)

The Summer is flying by and we are having fun enjoying the sun, beach, pool, and playing outside. Hope everyone else is enjoying the last bit of summer.....

We are at the inlet here, can you see the lighthouse in the background. There is like this lazy river that flows out into the ocean. It's shallow and great for little ones. If you can't tell it poured down rain not to long after these pictures.

Ava has discovered the love of cheese puffs, just like her Daddy

12 months old

Here is Ava's 12 month photo shoot......

I'm really late on this but we just went to her Pedi appointment this past Friday. So I had to wait till I had all her latest stats. First of all, Ava was such a big girl at this visit. No tears with her shot or when they pricked her finger for blood. I couldnt believe it! We had driven back to Daytona Beach because our health insurance is still active up there. We had to say our goodbyes to everyone at this office and get Ava's records. I also had my yearly appointment and had to say goodbye to my Doctor. I am really sad that I will not have him to deliver my future children :(. He was great, so sweet and such a good bedside manner. When my "exam" was over he asked if I would bring Ava back so he could see her. The whole office oohed and awwed over her. ( Just a little side note, he was John Travolta and Kelly Preston's doctor and delivered their child many years ago). I think that is cool! Anyways, on to Ava's stats.......

• weight ~ 19lbs and 7 ounces ( 25th percentile)




• height ~ 29.5 inches ( 55 percentile)




• head ~ 18 inches ( 75 percentile) - she got some brains :)




• diet - Ava is eating all table food and will not let me feed her anything. She is miss independent feeds herself with her fingers. Sometimes she will attempt to eat with a spoon but we are still working on that. Her FAVORITE foods are cheese, watermelon, chicken nuggets, blueberry waffles, cottage cheese




• Still babbling non-stop, only thing coherent are mamama and dadadda, she points to everything that she wants and then I say the word for her. We're getting there




• Very active - running all around the house from drawers to cabinets to laundry baskets to anything she can get her hands on and transfer to another place. She got so many toys for her birthday and loves to play with them all. Daddy and I take her out on nightly wagon rides after dinner :).




• Favorite cartoons are still Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and her newest is Sesame Street. She loves Abby Cadabby and takes her Sesame Street book with her all around the house.




• She is a big fan of bath time and plays with her floating hippos and squirt toys. She has learned to put her face down in the water and she thinks that is hilarios.




• Not a fan of the beach, she loves the water but Hates the sand. She wont even let me put her feet down in it. She'll start screaming crying. Then she'll stick her hands in it and start crying.




• Takes one long nap usually between 1:30pm - 3:30pm. And she has had a few nights of sleeping in her crib all night long. Most of the time she is still waking up about twice a night.




• Still drinking formula but trying to wean her off completely to milk. She can't stand milk, so right now I'm mixing it with her formula.

So that's my 1 year old...it's so weird to say that..... In other news I got a job here. I will be working at a big hospital pretty close to home, still doing labor and delivery. I will be working part time (24 hours a weeks) 2 - 12 hourse shifts overnight. I start on September 21st. I will miss my girls back in Daytona :( Hopefully I have a new set of great nurses to work with!

Happy 1st Birthday!!

Ava,
You are the Joy of my life. I can't believe a year ago I was laying in a hospital bed anticipating the greatest moment of my life. All my dreams of being a mother and having a precious baby girl couldn't even compare to the reality!! You are your Daddy and I's EVERYTHING! Thank-You for bringing so much more meaning to our life's! You are the sweetest little girl with such a lively spirit! I love you with all of my heart,
Mommy




And now for the birthday party pics. We had the party back in Tampa so that the whole family could come! Ava had such a good time and of course was spoiled by everyone! (Thank-You everybody for coming and helping out with the party :) ) Everything turned out great - I'm a little dissapointed in the lighting that I had for the pictures and I didn't get all the pictures that I would have liked to , but I managed to get a few good ones! ....

We had the party at the Community Center where our home is in Tampa. It turned out being the perfect space for Ava's Party!

The Birthday Girl!! :)

PaPa and Grammy

The Dessert Table

Birthday Banner

The Cupcake Pops

They were so much fun to make

The Party Favors

The Gift Table

The food table: we had Publix sandwich wheels and chicken tenders then we had home-made pasta salad, potato salad, baked beans, and cheese dip..Yum Yum

Besties

Taking a ride in her new Wagon!





Grandma feeding Ava lunch

(That is my highchair from when I was a baby)

She loved her smash cake...very polite and proper at first and then we helped her dig in and there was no stopping her!

Our Family

Sisters

Opening Gifts With Mommy and Daddy

Kissing Her First Baby Doll

The Phillips

The Schmieds

We go for Ava's 1 year checkup on Friday, so I will post her new stats this weekend. I also have a interview on Thursday at the hospital down here, so everyone cross there fingers and say a prayer.