Halloween!

After some costume issues last night, I got up this morning and fixed Ava's dress.  She struggled to get in and out of it due to the lining so I ripped that out and changed the bottom bubble so that the dress was a little longer.  Ended up being just as cute and now she can get in and out with no problems.

The church trunk or treat we were going to go to, got cancelled so instead we headed down the street to a neighbor's house who invited all the kiddos to go trick or treating.  Here's Ava striking a happy pose.

The start of trick or treating.  I promise we were excited and having fun but for some reason Ava & I look confused.  Had to include the photo though as we don't have too many photos of us together.  Btw, the shirt barely lets you know I am pregnant...good job hiding although I am much smaller this time thanks to starting off 10 lbs lighter.

We followed a big group of older kids around the neighborhood which was nice b/c they ran so fast that we never went to a house that did not have candy/answer the door.  They easily let us know which houses were Halloween ready. 

 And apparently we did not get the memo from the neighborhood that all kids were going to dress in dark colors and wear scary costumes.  Ava's Strawberry costume stood out and it was fun to see her little figure standing amongst all the big kids as she waited for candy.

 Pure joy!  Look at that face!

 After doing just one block (it took awhile and Ava got a ridiculous amount of candy), we headed home so Ava could hand out candy...she loves it!  I think she likes it almost as much as trick or treating herself.

 It got really dark and we had a lot more visitors this year than last year.  I ended up going in the house earlier than Darren & Ava b/c I thought no one else would come but they knew to wait a little longer b/c even more people showed up!

Galleria Trick or Treating

The Hill Country Galleria had a Trick or Treating event tonight so we decided to take Ava so she could get the maximum amount of Halloween fun this year (especially since we missed Me-Mommy's Fall festival this year. :( ).

Here she is modeling the complete Strawberry Shortcake outfit...we even sprayed her hair!  And of course she had to pose on her new picnic table.

 At the Galleria, heading from shop to shop to get candy.  This was a great event but would have been better if more stores participated (there were a lot but on the way back, either the stores ran out of candy or did not choose to participate).  It was a great way to do some safe trick or treating and it was great people watching!

Picnic Tables & Pumpkins

So about 6 months ago or so, as we were pulling out of the garage, Ava saw Darren's tools and told me she wanted to build something with "Daddy's tools."  When asked what she wanted to build she told me a picnic table.  Since then, she mentions from time to time that she wants to build a picnic table.

Well guess what?  Mr. Handy himself, Rudy aka Pops & his lovely wife Jeanie aka Granny, found a plan online to build a child size picnic table.  Pops then bought all the wood, prepped it, and brought it down this weekend to assemble.

Ava getting her work gear on (apron with screws in the pockets, measuring tape and hammer hanging on the loop).

 Heping Pops measure where the screw needs to go.

 Picnic table in progress.

 The finished product! (I feel like Ava is saying a lot with this half hug -- "I love it Pops"). She was super excited to help and loves her new table.  As you can see, she insisted on a picnic with "her friends" right when it was done.  Thanks Pops & Granny for making Ava's wish come true!

 Oh and what was I doing while the boys were building (Granny was sick so she was inside in bed -- poor Granny!)? Besides taking photos, I spent a few hours carving my pumpkin...longest time I have ever spent on a pumpkin BUT I did a real patter this year based on what Ava told me to do....a Foofa pumpkin (from Yo Gabba Gabba!). Turned out cute if I say so myself but WAY too much work!

Scary!

A classmate of Ava's gave everybody Halloween goodie bags and these scary glasses and teeth were in there...I'm surprised Ava actually put the teeth in her mouth!

Dance Class Videos

Dance Class Dress Up

At dance class today, we parents got to go in the classroom and see the class in action.  Also, since it is the week of Halloween, children were told to wear a costume if they wanted.  Ava decided to wear her fairy costume (no wings) to the class.

Doing her plies with her "happy feet."

Ava & Sienna posing outside of class.

 The whole class.  Note: Ava's teacher, Miss Leslie dressed up as Fancy Nancy.  Ava was thrilled as she has a thing for her lately.

Storytime

When we got back to the Friends' house, Ava wanted to have a storytime with Emily and asked her to come and sit on her lap. Then she showed her an Olivia book.  I think she is going to be a great big sister.

The girls posing for the camera.

Ian's Bday Party

For Ian's 5th birthday (where did the time go?!), they had a party at a place called Goin' Bonkers up in Lewisville.  It was an awesome place with these crazy 4 level playscape things that had slides, bridges, bouncy things etc.  Ava never wanted to go to far up in them b/c there so many people there but it was really awesome.  There was also an arcade there which of course Ava loved b/c she loves winning tickets.

Practicing her balancing skills:

Emily getting a great seat on Uncle Mike during the cake cutting:

The birthday boy blowing out the candles on his amazing Yoda cake:

 Ava on one of the bouncy things in the playscape:

Riding the teacups:

And playing her favorite thing (air hockey) with Darren:

Dallas

Today we headed up to Dallas (Lewisville to be exact) to visit the Friends and go to Ian's birthday party on Saturday.  Ava was so excited to see her cousins and from the moment we got there, things got a bit crazy.  Here is Ian, Emily & Ava all rolling around on her air mattress...apparently this is one great toy!

Play Time!

Today we took Ava to go see a stage production of "Click Clack Moo!"  It was based on the children's book and was really well done.  Ava thought it was awesome and there was even a little adult humor in there for me & Darren.  We took her to see 'Max & Ruby" last year at the same theater and will be taking her in Jan to see "Berenstain Bears."  I highly recommend it!

Ava on the stage before the play:

 Then after naptime, we decided to play outside in the front yard since the weather was so nice.  Here is Ava giving me a "stink-eye" of sorts while preparing to hit the ball.

 You can see how much fun Ava is having by the look on her face.  She really enjoyed playing softball once we set up bases and Darren tried to tag her.

A fun little Saturday was had by all!

Baby Photos

So here are some of the first photos of the baby.  These were taken yesterday at my 12 week check up and everything is looking good! Was really nervous after last year but things are moving along like they should so I feel it is okay to tell people about it and talk about it on here. Official due date is April 20th...man that seems like a long time away!!!

Baby's profile...looks just like me & Darren right? Ha!  I have to tell you that this baby is crazy active...moved the whole sonogram and most of the time looked like it was waving. Don't really remember Ava being that way but then again that was 4 years ago.

In other news, I am finally feeling better after being sick, literally, every day for more than a month.  That is not to say I never feel ill but for the most part I feel good! Yeah!  Glad that is behind me.  Not sure whether Darren or I ever want to go through that again.

School Photos

Ava was practicing for her school photos today and here is how she said she was going to pose. Will be interesting to see if she really did this for the photgrapher. LOL.

PS. Excuse the mess in the background...really need to hang that laundry up!

Yoakum

We headed to Yoakum for a little overnight trip to go to one of Darren's cousins weddings.  Ava of course was excited about the "dance party" and about staying in the "hotel house."  When we pulled up to the hotel, D's Uncle Gene & Rudy (aka Pops) were sitting outside in the desk chairs.  Ava had to hop on over there and show Uncle Gene her goody bag (from Chuck-e-Cheese).

 Ava wanted to get in this picture with some more of our family...these are Darren's 2nd cousins which make them 3rd cousins to Ava?  Not sure how that works.  Anyways Ava wanted to be one of the big girls.

Kristen, Alexa, Emily & Ava

I did not get many good photos from the actual reception but as usual Ava befriended the other little kids and had a blast running around/dancing for 5 hours straight.