Joy in the Journey: September 2012

Thursday, September 27, 2012

It's a.....!

Look at our beautiful new baby! After I saw this profile I thought "Oh my goodness, this baby's profile looks just like Ava's at 22 weeks!" Of course I've been dreaming and wondering about what this little one would look like. So many of my friend's children look so different from each other, but I just can't imagine this little one not looking like our A-train! Ava looks just like her daddy, so will this one look like me? Or will this new little one be another great mix of both of us? During our ultrasound the tech called our baby "cooperative," which of all the words used to describe Ava, cooperative is NOT one of them! Maybe this little one will be completely different...

So after finding out that this little one is looking perfectly healthy (so thankful and blessed!), the tech was off to look for the gender. I had a dream a few weeks before that we had a baby boy, but Ava had been telling us from the beginning "baby sister." My parents thought that it was a boy, but my mother-in-law thought girl. So we were excited to see who was right!

So here it is....

The very first photo of Ava and her precious new baby SISTER!

That's right, two beautiful girls - sisters! I never imagined that I would ever be the mom of more than one girl, but the thought is so very exciting! We can not wait for this new addition to join us, and to see all the similarities and differences from Ava. Now we're off to try to pick out a name...
(And to buy coordinating sister outfits!)

(Many, many thanks to my friend Kendra for taking the beautiful photo above. She is so talented and does excellent work, so if you are looking for a photographer check her out at http://www.kjanedesigns.com or on her facebook page!)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Football Season is HERE

We are already a month into Josh's football season. Already! Time flies when your husband is working 15+ hours a day. We love football season in the Dalton house, but it is definitely an exhausting time, too. Josh is super busy coaching, and Ava and I are busy enjoying these beautiful autumn days.

Her new shirt, just for football season.

Ava and I have made it to 3 out of the 4 games (the first one was pouring rain), and we have been blessed to have nice, cool weather so far. Can I tell you how much Ava loves her daddy's football games? Oh my goodness, her excitement is contagious! If I tell her in the morning that we are going to daddy's football game that night, she will ask to "go bye-bye to football game" all day long. At the first game we attended, her eyes became HUGE when she saw the field and all the players in their uniforms. She kept yelling "football" and pointing to the field with a huge grin on her face. Once she settled down, each time a play set up she would stand up and yell "go football," then sit down and fold her arms across her chest and get her serious face on. And once the play was over she would ask, "What happened mama?"

So serious...

Last week she yelled "tackle" and "defense" every few minutes. With some of the bigger plays she jumped up and down clapping her hands and yelling "go! go!", and now she's started to say "push 'em back" (and I have no idea where she got that one). The people sitting next to use couldn't stop chuckling at her and the pure excitement that came with her every cheer.

I thought for sure she would be mesmerized by the cheerleaders, but she has paid them very little attention every time. I would try to point them out to her when they were stunting or tumbling, but she completely ignored them until last week. At this last game she finally seemed interested in cheering with the girls, but was still uninterested in the stunts.

Ava LOVES her new sweatshirt. She says "Daddy's shirt!"

Josh coaches from the box above the stands, and she usually spends a few moments in the first quarter looking for her daddy up there. After that, she points him out every so often and proudly says "MY daddy!"

Looking for daddy....

Found him!!

After the game we typically meet dad down on the field. She is SO excited to see him, and I think that he is really just as excited. Last week her eyes grew huge seeing those big football players face to face.

After a huge win against last year's state champions.


Loves her daddy....

Friday, September 21, 2012

Ava's 2nd Birthday Party!

As I started to think about a theme for Ava's second birthday, I knew that we'd have to do Elmo. I mean, let's be honest, the girl has been yelling "Elmo!" since she was 15 months old. She loves Elmo. But who wants a typical Elmo party with cheesey decorations? I knew that a primary-colored Elmo party just wouldn't fit Ava's girly personality. So I made it girlie-glam, of course, thanks to a little Pinspiration!

The moment that she walked in to see the house all decorated in black and white damask with the red Elmo decor, her eyes got so big. She put her hands in the air and yelled "my party!" and "there's Elmo!" Her reaction was absolutely priceless.

Cake table - Happy Birthday Ava!

Elmo's Monster cookies and Dorothy's goldfish crackers, with some other yummies.

Party Favors.

The "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to" photo. She wanted to go outside with her daddy.

Let the party begin....

Ava finally got outside to play, and it was a simply GORGEOUS day. Perfect weather, we could not have asked for a more beautiful day. What a blessing!

And for the kiddos, I made our deck into Elmo's World. I painted a couple of large boxes (thanks Indellicate family) white and decorated them with big crayons in true Elmo's World decor. The second that she set eyes on the "houses!" she couldn't be more excited.