Getting ready for Christmas!

Our little Ava is 15 months!  We can't believe how big she is getting.  She is one active little girl!!  She crawls at lightening fast speed and loves playing toys, dancing, and eating fruit.  She is not walking completely on her own, but walks well with one hand from Mom or Dad.  She loves to watch "the fresh beat band" and dance to her favorite songs.  Ava is still enjoying her school and has lots of new friends.  She is quite the "book worm" and loves to read books on Mom and Dad's lap.
We are looking forward to a family trip to Disney World next week.  We are meeting her Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Connie, Uncle Joe, and her cousins Lauren and Alex in Florida. We will be spending a week in Florida and then get back to St. Louis just in time to celebrate Christmas with the Alderman Family and the McDonald family.  It is such a fun time of year and we are really excited to celebrate Ava's first Christmas with us.

Happy Halloween!

Ava was the prettiest little flower for Halloween!  Mom and Dad were so proud!! We were lucky to have great weather for Ava's first Halloween night.  She loved getting out and seeing the other kids in the neighborhood all dressed up in their costumes.  By next year, I am sure she will have her joke ready to go! 

Fall is here!

The season is changing!  St. Louis is having such a beautiful fall season with awesome fall colors!  We decided to enjoy the day at Eckert's Farm in Milstadt, Illinois.  Ava had a great time riding on the swings with Dad, feeding the pretty birds, petting the goats and camels, and even watching a pig race!
We are looking forward to trick or treating tomorrow night.
Ava is growing up so fast.  Everyday she amazes us with something new.  She loves to pretend she is a monster and growl with Mom and Dad.  She is still the happiest little girl and her smiles and laughs fill up our days. 

Ava's One Year Photos!

It is hard to believe that our baby girl is one year old already (actually 13 months now)!!  She is growing up so fast.  Mom and Dad are constantly amazed at how beautiful and smart their little girl is!!
Ava is doing so many new things.  She is eating all big girl food now and is doing a great job trying new foods.  She loves strawberries and bananas.  Ava is also starting to try walking with the help of Mom or Dad. 
Two weeks ago, Ava started attending the Clayton Infant and Toddler Center during the week when Mom and Dad are at work.  She loves going to school and is really enjoying being around other children.  She is learning all sorts of new "tricks" from her teachers and classmates and seems to be having a great time.

First birthday updates! (Mom is way behind!!)

Mom is really embarrassed that she is just now adding Ava's birthday photos, but, better late than never, right?
Ava had a great first birthday and had several days of celebration.  On her birthday, Mom and Dad took the day off from work and took Ava to the Magic House.  She had a great time playing in the balls, looking in the crazy mirrors, and exploring.  Then, on Saturday, Ava had a first birthday party at Gymboree in Webster Groves.  Ava had a great time playing with her cousins and friends.  She really enjoyed her birthday cake, birthday presents, and spending time with her friends and family.

Happy First Birthday Ava Luisa!!!

Today was our baby girl's first birthday!!  Mommy and Daddy took the day off from work and we had a great day celebrating!  Ava was really excited to see her balloons and gifts this morning (I think Mommy and Daddy were excited too!).  She even had a taste of birthday cake for breakfast!
We spent the morning having Ava's birthday pictures taken and then finished the afternoon at the Magic House.  We have another celebration planned this weekend with her family and friends so more photos are on the way!!
Happy Birthday to our sweet baby girl!!!  Mommy and Daddy love you so much!

Mommy and Daddy's 5th Anniversary weekend in Chicago

Daddy and Mommy celebrated their 5th wedding Anniversay with Ava in Chicago last weekend.  Ava loved visiting Shedd's Aquarium and seeing all of the beautiful marine life.  Our favorite was a fish named "Grandpa" that has been in the aquarium since 1933! 
We also went to The American Girl store and found a cute little doll for miss Ava and then did some swimming at our hotel.  Even just walking around the city was great.  The weather was much cooler than St. Louis's weather has been and we took advantage of the pleasant temps and spent lots of time enjoying the sites.  Daddy was thrilled to get to eat at Gino's East and Portillos and even brought left over Pizza home on the plane.  We had a great weekend celebrating with our baby girl! 

Swimming lessons!

Ava just had her 4th week of swimming lessons and she is really enjoying herself.  Mommy is convinced she is a natural!  Ava even kicks her feet and moves her arms in a baby breaststroke fashion as she swims to go get a ball!  She is loves her time in the water and is full of smiles. Daddy is learning all of the nursury rhyme songs and is a great swimming partner. 

Ava says "Hi"

Ava is growing up so fast!  Two weeks ago she was trying to get a toy out of her toy box and she pulled herself up and stood on her own two feet!  She also recently started waving.  Mommy was lectoring at mass and Ava waved to her the whole time.  She really made Mommy's day. 
Ava also started swimming lessons 2 weeks ago.  She absolutely loves playing in the water and she smiles so brightly all thoughout the class.  She even kicks her feet like a natural swimmer.
Daddy was thrilled yesterday when Ava finally said "Dadda".  She has been saying "Momma" for the past 2 months and Daddy was feeling a little left out.  When he finally heard her say Dadda, he was so happy I thought he was going to burst!  It is hard to believe that soon our little Ava will be 1 year old.  We are cherishing every moment.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!  We had a great weekend with Ava and our family.  We drove with our niece Elena to Mommy's home town in Freeport, Illionois.  We spent Saturday morning at the park and had a great time playing on the merry-go-round and swings.  Then Aunt Connie and Uncle Joe had a party for Ava to meet the rest of our family.  Little Ava had such a great time meeting everyone and really loved the little pool and pretty fireworks.  She had a great time playing with her cousins and can't wait to see them again.

Growing up!

Ava is growing up so fast!  She stlll wakes up happy each day and is really enjoying the summer.  She loves going for walks with Mom and Dad and Phoebe and Ariel. She just sits back and enjoys the stroller ride.  We are really excited for her swimming lessons to begin next week.  She loves the pool and seems to have some natural swimming ability.  She loves to kick and splash and have a great time! 

Ava's 9 months photos!