Happy 4th Birthday, Ava Grace!

Here is your story....

You were born at 2:06 p.m. on Saturday, July 30th, 2005
You weighed 7 lbs. 1 oz and were 20 inches long

On Satureday, July 30th labor began at 3:15 a.m. It wasn’t until 6:45 a.m. that we went to Covenant Medical Center to for you to be born. I was observed for an hour or so with contractions 2-4 minutes apart and dilated 2 centimeters & Doctor Broslow started to send us home. The nurse checked my blood pressure as we were about to leave and it was high. The doctor decided it was best for me and you to get labor started right away. The doctor broke my water at 9:15 and petocin was started at 9:20 to speed things along. Finally, at 11:20 I gave in and wanted the Epidural. It was all down hill after that!

Your daddy was told to let me rest—to go home or get lunch—that it would still be several hours. WRONG! At 1:40 p.m. I was told to get him back to the hospital—you were ready to be born. So I called him to tell him and he was in the shower at home. When he entered the room, the nurses were all there and ready to go. Dr. Broslow was right behind daddy and you were born at 2:06 after about three really good pushes! You were perfect from the moment that you arrived. You were placed on my belly while daddy cut the umbilical cord. I will never forget that moment.

You were gorgeous then and you are gorgeous now. I cannot believe you are four. I am so blessed to be your mommy and to have watched you grow and make me smile and laugh. You are such a joy and I cannot wait to see what the years bring and what you will throw at us.

Happy Birthday, Ava Grace!! Daddy & I love you very much!!!!

Here you are at 2 weeks - posing for your announcements

Now, you are 4 and fabulous!!

Getting All Caught Up!

Struck by Lightning -

This gave us the scare of our life. Last Saturday, Neno and I were watching TV after the girls had gone to bed and it began to rain. Neno went outside to listen to it under the covered patio and lightning hit so close and so hard that it send him running back inside. After settling in to watch a show that Neno and I both enjoy, it happened again, but this time it felt like it hit the house. No joke, we didn't just have a power surge, we had everything going nuts. The TV spazzed and then went off and our alarm that hasn't been tripped in 4 years starting going crazy. We had no idea how to turn it off and were sure that it was going to wake the girls, but they slept right through. We were sure that it hit the house so Neno set out with a flash light to make sure that nothing was on fire or smoking that was attached to the house. Once he made his rounds and with no TV to watch, we headed off to bed. Then, the doorbell rings - not a regular occurrence at 10 p.m. so we answered it to find our neighbors. They had come down to tell us that they saw the lightning strike close by and when the went to find out where, the bark from our oak tree was in the street. That lead them to our tree and the spot of the strike. Here are a few pics of the damage...

You can see the entrance and exit of the lightning!

Annabelle is 9 months -

AB turned 9 months on Saturday and I know I have said it before but I do not know where time goes. She is so much fun and I just love when she gets excited. Like Ava Grace, she has some great expressions. I have decided that she will probably not crawl like most babies. She could care less to get up on all fours and take off. The army crawl works for her and it gets her anywhere in the house that she wants to go. She has also started standing up in her bed occasionally. So, we had to drop it down so that we wouldn't find her on the floor one day. She is so proud when she gets all of the way up in the bed. She starts to get excited and bounces which puts her right back where she started from on her rear. She is getting too big!

She broke the mobile pretty much as soon as she grabbed it. Gorilla glue to the rescue!!

AG Swim Lessons-

On July 13th, Ava Grace started swimming lessons at Tech's new leisure pool (It is fabulous). I would have to say that our short stint at TEGA earlier in the summer got us off to a great start. She had no hesitations about getting in the water and taking off. She keeps telling her teacher, "I can do it by myself." And though we aren't quite there yet, she is getting really close. She wants to go under and get diving toys, she wants her teacher to back-up when she jumps and she is not afraid of holding her breath and staying under water for a while. I love it!! She is a little fish! I have also had the chance to play with my camera some when we have been out there and I captured a few good pics...

4th of July-

Over the 4th we ventured to Lake Buchanan (Nana & PawPaw's) to have some family time with my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews. We also had some special visitors as my friend Kristen, her husband Brian and precious daughter Presleigh joined us for a day. We hiked down to the "Big River" as there isn't any water behind my mom and dad's house right now. It is so sad, but the hike was worth it. The kids loved picking up shells and swimming in the "big river" as Ava Grace would say.

The girls and I stayed behind for a few extra days so that we could play and mom and I could talk business. I even got to soak up a little sun while the girls were napping. That was fabulous. We met Molly, Emma Beth, Marlee, Janie, Pepper and Jackson at Chick Fil A in Austin one day for just a little extra cousin time and it was so fun to see all of them together. I am not going to rush it but I cannot wait to see all of them growing up together.

And Now, We Are All Caught Up...