Pops' Craft Time

On Day 3 in Conroe, Pops pulled out the art box that he & Granny have, and decided to make some paper plate masks/glasses with the kiddos.  The funniest part was that although the kids were entertained and liked making the glasses, I think ultimately, Pops may have had the most fun.  And sadly, this is the most amount of cooperation we could get for a photo. 

Balloons

Once again I had a little too much fun making stuff out of balloons.  This time I whipped up some balloon swords for Ava & her cousins and set them loose in the house.  Although it was fun, it got a bit crazy at one point and then I kind of wished I never had made any balloons.  But it was fun at first!

Ava & Ian with their swords!

 The 3 Musketeers!!

 And because I did not want my pregnant self to be injured in the battle, I sent in Donna to fight...along with some magic fairy wings.



Thanksgiving Family Fun

While down in Conroe for Thanksgiving, Ava got a chance to hang out with a lot of family.  She & Emily played in their blanket fort and enjoyed it when we quickly pulled the covers off them (and made their hair stand on end).

 All the kids got a chance to play with Ian's rocket blaster.  They laughed hysterically when it shot up in the air and I personally enjoyed watching Ava jump on the launcher as hard as she could.

 Then for some reason, Ava & Ian asked Darren to tape plates to their hands.  That's right I said tape.  I guess they were playing robots or something, who knows with those two! 

 Ava got to see Pablo too.  Thanks Rudy & Jeanie for inviting him and thanks Dad for bringing the yummy pies. 

 Next up, Granny had the kids help make Monkey Bread which apparently is made of biscuit dough rolled up in cinammon and sugar and put in a pan to bake...they all really loved cooking!

 Finally, Ava had Uncle Mike help her with a puzzle.   Thanks Mike for playing even though your kids were both napping. :)  Did I mention that Ava decided she no longer needs to nap?  Started last week and though a bit bumpy at first, it actually has worked out well since now she goes to bed SO much easier.  Been hard on me only because I am pregnant and tired but I am slowly adjusting.

The Man I Married

This is what happens when you are not at home and your hubby decides it would be fun to shave his facial hair into something funny.  Needless to say, we did all laugh but I think we were thankful that he went and shaved the rest 10 minutes later.  I felt like I was married to someone living in the Wild West or something.

Poll/ More Things Ava Says

So we find out whether we are having a boy or a girl on Thursday December 2nd at 9:30am -- I can't wait!  We are taking Ava with us and I know she will be excited to know whether she is having a brother or a sister...she tells me and other people all the time that she will be a big sister and that "My mommy has a baby in her tummy."


For fun, I thought I would take a poll on the blog to see what everyone else thinks we might be having this time.  I, for one, feel like it will be a girl but we'll see.  So please cast your vote on the sidebar if you have an opinion.


I am feeling good now and finally showing a little bump (which of course turns into a big bump at night--gotta love that)!  I feel the baby moving quite a bit (for the last few weeks) but only started to feel the baby kicking from the outside this weekend.  I told Ava the baby was kicking and let her place her hand on my belly.  When she finally felt it, she looked at me with a big smile and said, "The baby popped!"  I thought that was funny so I sent her to tell Darren and of course, he was wondering what that meant until I told him.
Which leads me to another edition of "Things Ava Says."


1. “Daddy, I’m really sorry I put snot on your forehead.”


2. “I’m going to inspect Smokey (with a magnifying glass, looks into eye and says), "He has the foot-it itis.” Then puts thermometer by his head and says “That’s very interesting. He’s up to 49.”


3.Ava: “There’s a baby in your tummy?”
Me: “Yes.”
Ava: “What’s it’s name?”
Me: “We don’t know if it is a boy or a girl yet so we don’t have a name yet. What would you like the name to be if it’s a girl?
Ava thinks for a moment, “Hearty (like her unicorn).”
Me: “Uh, that’s a great name but I think we might go with something more traditional. What would you like to name the baby if it's a boy?”
Ava: “Lucky.” (This is the name of Darren's uncle's bull that we saw while in Yoakum for a wedding.  The girl definitely has ideas.)


4. Ava: “I’m going to be a big sister.”
Me: “Yes you are. You’ll be a great big sister.”
Ava: “Can I have a sister and a brother and a hamster?”
Me: “I’m pretty sure there is only one baby in my tummy and we won’t know what it is for a little bit longer.  And there is definitely not a hamster in my tummy!”
Ava: “Ok. I want a sister.” 
Sidenote here: Even though she has repeatedly told me that she wants a sister, Ava tells her friends (which I then hear from their moms) that she is having a baby brother.  So I think she will be happy either way.  And she is obsessed with hamsters! 


5. Ava has a great imagination.  Lately (and by lately, I mean every day) we hear stories about her daughter.  That's right her daughter.  It seems like her daughter always is doing something Ava did and most of the time tops Ava.  Example of that: We tell Ava she can have 1 popsicle and then she tells us her daughter gets 5 popsicles.  All time favorite "daughter" story goes like this (this was one of the first) 
Ava:“I have a daughter. She’s going to be 10 on her next birthday.”
Darren “Is that even possible?”
A: “Oh it’s possible.”
PS. She now talks about either her daughter or Jasmine (not the princess from Aladdin, some make believe friend Jasmine.  And she suspiciously is about the same as Ava only she gets more...just like a certain "daughter" I know)

6. Bedtime has become a struggle...we have difficulty getting her to lie down even when she is exhausted and it ends in quite a few tantrums.  The other day was like this and finally we got her to calm down and get in bed (after her saying mean things to me -- when Ava starts being negative, you know she is tired!).
Ava: "I’m sorry for being mean.....(as I think she is apologizing to me she then says) God. I love you Jesus. You are my best friends. Amen.”  Apparently it was not an apology but rather a prayer and apology to God.

Talking Tom/ Giggles Video

Lately, Ava has been playing the "Cat Game" on Darren's iphone.  We discovered this free game (really called "Talking Tom") while playing at Gabe's house.  Basically you talk to the cat on screen and he repeats what you say back.  You can also hit him, pull his tail, pet him so he purrs and give him milk.  Ava finds this game hysterical and we love watching her laugh when she plays.

Oh Galveston! Video

I finally downloaded some videos from my Flip camera and found this little gem...Ava singing the "Oh Galveston" song!  Love that she seems to have a country accent too.  Btw, this is her version of Glen Campbell's song "Galveston."  Of course, she had never heard it, she had only heard Darren singing the chorus.  This was our theme song for our summer trip there and we got many hours of entertainment listening to and singing this song with Ava.