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...

Ava Grace - ism

We were stopped at a light today and Ava Grace said "mommy, look at that truck it has HONK A HORN on it! Is this how Uncle Bubba does Honk A Horn???"

It all came together for me when she flashed me her horns symbol that my brother and his kids taught her. I didn't have the heart to tell her it was "Hook'em Horns."

Not that it matters. She won't ever need to know that anyway!!! Love ya, B!

Am I Cute?

We have been working on consistency in disciplining Ava Grace. That includes holding to a promise made for punishment. So, that brings me to today's blog.

Before Church this morning, my darling angel was throwing a bit of a fit in the parking lot. She was whining and stomping her feet to get Neno to pick her up. I politely grabbed her by the arm and walked her between two cars in the parking lot. As I tried to talk to her about how she should be acting, she continued with the attitude to which I then promised a spanking when we got home.

I am going to credit the great message that we heard this morning and the celebration of Father's day with my memory loss of that spanking. Hours later, Neno remembered and asked me and Ava Grace about it.

When I asked her about that spanking and whether or not she remembered why she was to receive one, she responded with her stock answer of "I don't know." That was quickly followed with I don't need a spanking because "I AM CUTE!"

As Neno and I laughed, it continued. "Mommy am I cute?" "Daddy am I cute?"

I guess our discussions now will be to reassure her that she is awfully cute, but that does not get her out of punishment.

I love the innocence and logic of my almost 4 year old.

Back In Business

After buying my mother-in-laws camera Easter weekend, it decided not to work in auto mode, a month later. Now, another month later, I have made my first really big purchase. Yes, I broke down and bought a new camera. But, I couldn't go back to any old camera. I had to get a GOOD one. After having a Canon Rebel, I couldn't settle for anything less. I promise to be blogging again with fabulous pictures taken with my new XSi!!!! And after my class in July, I will be a pro - or so we hope!

Two weeks, really???

It has been two weeks since I last posted anything and even today, I am wondering what to write...

In the past two weeks, I helped host a baby shower, Ava Grace started camp at TEGA, we took at trip to Granna's and have been recovering from the trip to Granna's. Sadly, of all of these things, I have one picture to show for it. My camera had a part break Memorial day weekend so I don't just pull it out for everything. I have to manually focus and that is no fun!!!

Anyway, here are a few details from all of the items listed above.

• My friend Alysia had a baby at the first of May and we had a "Sip and See" shower for her and her beautiful addition - Piper!! It was fun to get out and get around some other girls. Piper was 9 pounds, but she looked tiny compared to Annabelle. It is amazing how fast a child can grow in almost 8 months. I can hardly imagine her having been that little. Ahh, tear...

• I decided a few months ago that I wanted to put AG in swimming lessons this summer and looking into it, I found TEGA. They offer swim lessons, but they also have Kid's Day Out or "Camp." I could chose how many days a week she attended and which days. During that time, she would get swim lessons, arts and craft time, gymnastics and rest time. So, I enrolled her and on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I drop her off at 8:15 and pick her up at 3:15. She LOVES it!! In fact, on the first day she took off and didn't even say good-bye to me. I should have been ecstatic but I was in shock all day. When I picked her up I told her hello and that I had missed her. Her response, "Mommy, I love camp!!" She had gotten nothing less than perfect reports from her teachers and has continued to love it. Her last day will be Thursday the 18th. I might have to get really creative with our activities after that. She is going to want to go back!

• We set off last Wednesday for Granna's for some family time and Neno's 10 year reunion. Beth and I loaded up with the girls after AG got out of camp and were on our way to get some good pool-side girl time. The guys would join us on Friday night. We swam everyday, got good tans and got lots of good family time. Though, it never seems to be long enough. I did leave the crew on Friday for a Advisor Training for AXO, but joined Neno and Ava Grace at his reunion on Saturday afternoon. Annabelle got to stay at Granna and Grand Pappy's to nap. It was a fun event and I got to meet a lot of people that really think a lot of my husband - I loved it. I loved hearing all about him in his "Glory Days" - Mr. HHS, Mr. Touchdown and according to one of his friends, he still holds just about every record in football and track at Howe High School. That is right ladies, he is taken!!!

• Now, about that recovery. I have mentioned in other post that it seems to take days for us to get on track after being gone or having family in town and this one is no exception. Annabelle and I have been fighting sinus infections and now that we have arrived back home, AG has one, too. YUCK! Lots of snot and crusty noses - MY FAVORITE!! It doesn't help the girls that I am that mother that cannot stand a crusty nose and I want to clean it constantly. AB has really learned to fight me off. AG on the other hand has decided that she doesn't like it either and runs for a Kleenex every time there is sign of a runny nose - GOOD GIRL!!

As for the rest of the week for us, AG will be back at camp tomorrow and I am off to talk to a friend about building a website for mine and my mom's new business venture. As I know more, I will post more, but please pray for us. I am very nervous to be putting it out there - finally. For those of you that don't know, my mom and I have started creating baby items since I became a mom and now we want to share them. I am the eyes and creator of most projects, but she is the one that has the know-how to put it together. Together, we make a great team. She has made the most amazing stuff and now you could get your hands on some of it too.

What Goes Around Comes Around...

All of my life, my mother has said, "what goes around comes around" or "paybacks are hell." I have known that those sayings are oh so true, but I experienced it first hand last week!!

We traveled to Austin for my niece Marlee's 5th birthday and some family time at the lake. Marlee's party was on Wednesday and we stayed in Austin with my brother, sister-in-law and their three kiddos. Thursday was reserved for the girls to play together, but it started off with a little "payback."


When I was about six years old, my brothers were supposed to be watching me while my parents were at work. Needless to say, they were not!! So, I proceded to lock myself in my mom and dad's room and cut my bangs. I had watched mom do it before and was sure that I could too. NOT PRETTY!!! My mother was FURIOUS at me!!! I have heard the story numerous times over the past 24 years. So here it is "coming around"...


We, as in me, Molly, Emma Beth, Ava Grace and Marlee, were talking about how long AG's hair had gotten as the girls were sitting down to breakfast. I think I was feeding Annabelle when the next thing I heard was "Ava Grace, I don't think you should do that" come out of Emma Beth's mouth. I told AG to sit down for breakfast and as she re-entered the room, she was holding a handful of hair. She smiled at the girls and said that she changed her mind and wanted short hair. Yes, folks, she cut it herself - PAYBACK!!


She picked it up and whacked it!! I now have a baggy with her hair and we are not talking first haircut - inch. We are talking INCHES!!!


We did go today to try to have it fixed. Kacy tried to blend it by cutting some layers and feathering it so that it wasn't so obvious, but it is the first thing I see. It did look cute when we left the salon but after a nap, this is what we get...