Buddies

We got together with our friends for lunch after church this Sunday, and this is what happens when two buddies ages 16 months and 8 months get together.  After chatting across the table, they finally get together for some face time.

Dad is not so sure about this young man coming to say "hello" to his daughter....

Will and Ava say "hi buddy"!

So excited to see each other!

Will goes in for the hug....

Ava comes back with some hair pulling and a poke in the eye...this is how daddy taught her to defend herself from boys!  Even well meaning, loving boys like her friend Will.

Will goes in for the kiss!  Brave little guy with Ava's daddy sitting right there!

Ava is not having it....not at all!

Showered with love....(and presents)

I can't believe that 9 days of vacation are over already - time flies when you are enjoying life!  We enjoyed a week of lunch dates, walks to the park, naps, and lots of playtime.  I had the joy of playing stay-at-home mommy this week, and it was wonderful!  

Ava and mommy playing.

On our way to the park for some swinging.

This weekend we spent quality time with my parents (Grandma and Grandpa Pasek).  Their first order of business?  A trip to Toys R Us to spoil their granddaughter.  

I think Ava is making her Christmas list already....

....and adding the trike too!

Oh boy, you would have thought it was Ava's first birthday, as many toys as she came away with.  And everyone enjoyed playing with the toys all weekend long....

The weekend was pretty rainy and cold, but Ava had a great time playing with Grandma and Grandpa.  The girls even went shopping and Ava got a few new outfits for the summer.

Loved playing "ride the horsey" with Grandpa.

Kisses from Grandma!

We ended our weekend with church and communion.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful family who loves and supports us through everything!

Family

Three generations...

 

Eight Months Old

Ava, Will, and I at the Farmstead.

Checking out the calves.

Since I am on vacation this week (more on that in a later post), we celebrated Ava turning 8 months old today by going to Deanna Rose Farmstead with our friends Liz (Ava's godmother) and Will (my godson).  It was a beautiful day to be outside.  The kiddos enjoyed the baby goats, calves (or as I call them, baby cows), ducks, geese, and other animals.  Ava loved all the noises that they made, and we practiced all of our animal noises just like we do at bath time each night.  The goats were cute like usual, and one rogue goat even got out and was running amok as a poor dad tried to chase him down. 

I think that the highlight of the day for Ava and Will was the swinging.  They both giggled and smiled (and Will cried "weee!") as we pushed them higher and higher.  I think that they both could have stayed there all day.

Next up, the slides.  This was Ava's first trip on the slide...she wasn't impressed. 

Buddies.

 What a wonderful day at the farm!  We'll definitely be doing it again soon.
 

A Day Worth Waiting For

Mother's Day 2011

Holding Will on the day we found out we were pregnant!

My first Mother's Day....and an amazing, blessed day it was.  I was able to reflect on my journey to motherhood today, and thanked the Lord for all of the joy that Ava has brought to my life.  I love being a mommy more than I ever imagined that I would; I knew that I would like it, and I hoped that I would be good at it, but I never knew how completely overjoyed I would be in loving this little one every day.  As happy as I am to be a mommy, I can't help but think about my friends who struggle with infertility.  I think back on all of the Mother's days that I spent longing for a child, waiting for my own little miracle.  Our journey lasted a mere year-and-a-half, but was painful and at times seemed that it was never going to have a happy ending.  I learned a lot about myself and my faith in God through this time, clinging to His promise that He knew the plans that He had for me, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)  I clung to God's love for me, to His promises for abundant life.  And after failing fertility treatments, my husband and I decided to take a break and pray about the next step, which for us was adoption.  Shortly after our prayerful period started, our good friends received their own miracle in being chosen to be parents of a beautiful baby boy (whom we are now the godparent's of).  The day that we met Will for the first time, we also found out that God had blessed us with our own miracle!  I love that God chose His own time, and that He gave us a beautiful story.  Medicine may have failed, but my God prevailed over everything that was against us.  God is so good, He is good ALL the time!

Ava and I with our friends Brooke, Liz (Will's mom), and Will (15 months).

At church on Mother's day.

Flowers from my sweet brother - Ava loves them and squeals every time she sees them!

 
  

Yummm-O!

Ava has started to eat like a champ!  And she is loving the homemade stuff.  I found that the blender seems to do a better job of pureeing food than the food processor.  And anything that she doesn't like at first, I now mix with cereal and milk and she will devour it!

Her favorite foods are still avocados (or guacamole), bananas, and sweet potatoes.  But now she also likes pearsauce, applesauce, carrots, peas, green beans, turkey, and butternut squash as well. This week we are adding mangoes and blueberries too.  We tried tofu but it didn't work out so well.  I think we'll try it again when it will work better as a finger food.

 

 

She's a pro at feeding herself now. 

She has now become an expert at feeding herself.  Right now we are just doing those dissolvable puffs and crunchers, which she just absolutely loves.  I think Ava really likes the independence of feeding herself, as she seems to like it more than the purees. 

This is her "ick" face!

Ava gets super excited when dinner is over - this is her version of signing "all done."

She's so active during dinner time, lots of arm movements!