Let's Go Outside

Just a few fun photos from playing around outside.

Ava trying out her new helmet/elbow pads on her trike.

Getting ready to plant some seeds. Not sure what kind of flower these are but Ava kept calling them Marigolds. She really wanted to plant something and see them grow...we'll see if they actually do anything since these are old.

Darren helping Ava plant her seeds.

Salon Kitty

This is what I found when I walked into Ava's room tonight to get her ready for bed.

I also have a nice shot of her drying her armpits with her blow dryer from minutes later. This just makes me laugh.

Kitty Coloring

I have so many photos from the Eggstravaganza and I can't post them all but had to post one more of Ava & her friend Sienna. Both got their faces painted like kitty cats and after spending a lot of time at the park, we & the Gonczeruks headed over to Iguana Grill for some drinks & appetizers. I just wonder what everyone thought when they looked over at our table and saw 2 girls looking like cats. Funny!

Lakeway Eggstravaganza

One of the great things about living out by Lakeway is the fact that any time there is a holiday, they seem to have some sort of crazy fun & free celebration at the City Park (see here). This time was the BIG Easter egg hunt and it was a lot of fun. We met up with some friends, the Gonczeruks after the hunt & Ava and her friend Sienna had their own little hunt and had fun checking out the bunnies, hoppin houses & more.

Ava & Daddy waiting for the hunt to start!

Ava & Me after she got her face painted as a "kitty with a bow."

The hunt! Check out the crazy amount of people & eggs...and this is just the 3-4 year old division!

Ava showing off her eggs.

Ava meeting Mr. (or Ms.) Easter Bunny.

Swim Lessons

Today was Ava's 1st swim lesson. Of course, I forgot to ask if the teacher would be male or female and of course he ended up being a male. Which kind of freaks Ava out. I was proud of her though as she did get in the water but she refused to let him hold her. Here's hoping this situation gets better or it will be like last year all over again and we will have to cancel.

Ava & her friend Sydnee (who looks a year older due to being so tall!)

Ava, Sydnee & Dara being silly at Boat House Grill...love this photo..it makes me laugh!

Happy Birthday Sweet Ava!

Today was the big day...Ava's 3rd birthday. She went to school and since we had the big party the other day, we waited to give Ava our presents until today. Here she is opening a few gifts.

You'll notice that she has really gotten good at thanking us lately. To the point where she will randomly thank you throughout the day for things that you have given her/done for her that day or even weeks ago. She also thanks me for each individual thing I buy her at the grocery store. ex. You got me Teddy Grahams? Thank you Mommy! And waffles? Thank you for the waffles, etc.

And here is Ava getting a phone call from Granny & Pops...notice her face when they are singing...too cute!

Hoppin' House Bday Party

Today was Ava's big birthday party at Hoppin' House. She had about 17 friends come and it was a blast! School friends, cousins, dance friends, and others all gathered to celebrate Ava turning 3.
Ava loved when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her (she had been talking about that part for weeks in advance). Darren & I both agreed that she made a cute face while we sang. And she loved her Sleeping Beauty cake!

I didn't get too many action photos since I saw Ava for maybe 10 minutes (she was having WAY too much fun), but I did get her playing in the foam pit before everyone arrived.

After the party, we let Ava open all her gifts. It was like Christmas at our house! She got a lot of great stuff from all her/our wonderful friends...think she loved everything! Here she is modeling her new princess costume and jewelry.

Rodeo Time!

We headed to the Rodeo today with Sienna, Jen & Trey for a little fun.

Ava & Sienna were excited to ride together for the 45 minute trek over to the Expo center.

The girls got to go in the petting zoo and pet all the goats, deer and other animals. They were most interested in the little animals that were laying around...can't say I blame as the bigger animals almost seemed to want to run you over!

Both Sienna & Ava got their face painted...Sienna's 1st time so she got a star. Ava of course wanted something pink and decided on a unicorn/pony thing.

This year, Ava decided to brave the pony rides. Maybe because we were with Sienna who absolutely loves to ride horses...not sure. But Ava had a blast. I was kind of surprised she did not ask to ride again when it was over, but was happy since it cost $5 a trip.

Finally, we headed over to the carnival to go on rides and play the games. Sienna loved all the kiddie rides...Ava wanted to go but at the last minute would decide it was not for her. As she told me later, "Maybe next time Mommy." Instead, Ava insisted on playing the carnival games (a plate smashing one and a fishing one) and was quite happy to go home with a few new toys. All in all, a great way to spend a day!!

Early Birthday

Granny & Pops threw a little party for Ava's birthday since they & the Friends would not be able to come to Ava's birthday party. Ava, of course, was excited to start celebrating her birthday and she loved her mini cake & all the gifts. Thanks!

You've Got Mail

Surprise!

So we headed to Conroe this weekend for what Rudy & Jeanie thought was just a family photo session. Donna, Mike, Darren & I gifted this session to them for their upcoming 40th wedding anniversary (on April 4th). What they did not know was that 80 or so of their family & friends were headed over to their house afterwards for a surprise party/BBQ lunch to celebrate the big day.

Shockingly they had no clue that anything fishy was going on. And even when we told them that Ava, Ian & Emily wanted to throw a little party for them to celebrate (a clever rouse so that we could get some stuff ready for the actual party), they still did not think anything of it. They even made jokes about what the lunch menu would be (chicken nuggets? mac & cheese? ha ha).

I took MANY photos but can't post them all so just going to post a few.

This is the "Who invited Fred & Tito & Ronnie & Heather & family to our house" shot. Those were the 1st people to arrive and had it not been for Ronnie, Heather & family, they might not have been so confused.

{Jeanie looks like she is saying "Rudy, do you know what's going on?"}
A shot of the cupcakes & cupcake toppers we made for the party. Old wedding photo of R&J, 40, current photo of R&J, Happy Anniversary & one that says Rudy & Jeanie, April 4, 1970. Everything is red themed as this is the Ruby Anniversary.

The happy couple, posing by the cake. I think they were a bit overwhelmed.

Ashley and Ava fishing. Special thanks to Ashley and her sister Avery (not to mention all the other family that helped out that day) for watching the kiddos so we could properly host the party. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Ava loves these girls!

And the final shot of the family at the end of a long exhausting and VERY FUN day!

Like I said I could have posted a bunch of photos but I, myself, am a bit overwhelmed. With 80 guests, its hard to know what to post & highlight from the day.

On the Way to Conroe

Day at the Park

We've been having such nice weather here lately that we make it a point to go to the park every time it is nice out. So a few days ago, we took Ava & her new soccer ball out the park to play.

Kick! Jump & kick!

Ava & Darren on the airplane.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

Ava doing the "Bumblebee Dance" that she learned in her ballet/tap class:

Ava & her friends (in costumes) doing the same routine:

More Funny Ava Stories

Normally I wait to accumlate a lot of these stories before sharing but Ava has said some hilarious things in the past week so I had to share a few more of these.

1. Gesturing toward big screen TV in the living room, “Daddy can you move the TV into my room?”
Daddy: "I think it's too big to fit in your room."
Ava: "I want to lay in bed and watch my shows."

2. Ava: “Where is Granny & Pops’ house?”
Me: “They live in Montgomery or Conroe.”
Ava: “Gumery. I love Gumery. It’s my favorite treat.”

3. While eating mac & cheese: “You must give me the recipe.” (This one really had Darren & I laughing...could not figure out where she heard that until I remembered an episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse that she has watched like 50x in the car...think we let her watch too much TV? Between this and her 1st comment about the TV, maybe we are)

4. While eating a popsicle. “Mmmm. Best popsicle I’ve ever seen!”