34 Week Picture

Greta is about 18" long and about 5 lbs! We can't wait to meet this baby girl!!

Re-Date Night

Yesterday, we packed a cinch sack full of Ava's snacks, diapers, wipes, and toys, and headed back to Birmingham to visit the Botanical Gardens. We also ate at PF Changs...again. We didn't do it on purpose, but we replicated our exact date from two weeks ago. We just woke up in the mood to go somewhere pretty and to eat something different. 

I have been without the use of my camera for a full two weeks because my memory chip was full. I really need to go through all those pictures and back them up, but that takes time that I really don't have right now. It was easier to just buy a new chip.

I was so excited for Ava to have a pretty place to run around and have fun. She doesn't care about the prettiness, she just wants to run. I do, though! We play in our very small backyard every day and I needed a change of pace. I was surprised that Jeremy actually suggested it. My plan was to visit the quad on campus! We will probably do that too sometime soon :) 

Anyway, I got lots of pretty pictures of the roses in bloom. Two weeks ago, there were buds everywhere but no roses. I was so excited to see all the beautiful colors. Jeremy was so good to let me walk around and take pictures while he chased Ava all around the paths. It was like a gigantic maze to her!!! She had so much fun and even managed to pop in on some prom pictures. Everyone was thrilled about that!!! I tried to take pictures of her, but she was in full rebellion mode when she saw my camera. I guess it's because she knows she has to be somewhat still when it comes out. I can't wait to have a really nice camera with a faster shutter. I need one to capture anything that she does. She is so fast!!!

Okay...enough with my rambling. I treat this blog as a one sided conversation sometimes! I tried to fiddle with the editing options on my photos. I have done it before for little things like cropping. But today I really sat down and tried to figure out a few things. I think I like the finished product, but I would like to continue learning. I am also learning that my lens is not clear enough. I have been comparing my photos to professional photos and realize how much better their lens is. One day... :)

Here are the photos:

This WAS a beautiful white rose. The absolute very first thing Ava did when we took her out of her stroller was hit the petals of this rose to the ground.  We had to have a little talk with her about "patting" the roses. She knows what "pat" means, so she actually did do better after that. No more roses were harmed during the making of this blog post! :)

 Poor, poor petals :(

Flora:

Ava:

April 27, 2011

I am sure that everyone can remember exactly what they were doing a year ago when the tornado hit. It is one of those things like September 11 or Pearl Harbor. It is etched into your mind whether you want to remember or not.

Well, Ava was just a little over 4 months old when the tornado hit. There is no way that she will remember anything about that day. I am so glad. But, I do want her to know what our day was like a year ago...

We had a pretty decent day. It was stormy all day, but Northport seemed to get passed by anything major. I remember calling my friend Maggie (who lives in Samantha) and telling her that she could come to our house when the bad stuff was supposed to start hitting. She brought Avery over and told Nathan to drop by our house on his way home from the University (where he is employed) We let the girls play for a little while (it was mostly Ava laying in her swing watching Avery walk back and forth) :) Nathan made it to our house after work and immediately got on our computer to watch James Spann. We watched the tornado move from Mississippi to Alabama. It never stopped. We then watched it move past Skyland Blvd. Everyone but Nathan got into the closet and put our babies to our chests. We never heard anything or felt the house shake, so we knew we had been passed.

We had no idea what had just happened in Tuscaloosa. Jeremy and Nathan went to China Bob (our favorite fast food Chinese) to get take out. They came back home with horrified looks on their faces. They had just found out that most of 15th street was demolished.

It wasn't until the next day that we realized the full scale of what had happened to our town. I am still sad for the families who lost loved ones. I am so thankful, though, that we were spared. In the past year, Maggie and Nathan have added Eli to their family. In another month or so, we will add Greta to ours. Life does go on for us. I realize that it isn't the same for so many others.

I want to post a few pictures of the damage and destruction that we saw two days later when we were allowed on 15th street. 

 Avery put the teething ring on Ava's head :)

 Enjoying some China Bob

 What was left of the Central Church of Christ building

 Hargrove Rd.

 Crescent Ridge Rd. in Holt

 15th Street

 The facade of Hobby Lobby

I think this used to be Milo's

A Story About Your Dad

I was sitting at the dining table at breakfast this morning with Ava. She had several blueberries that she was able to feed herself but still needed help with her applesauce. In between feeding her bites of applesauce, she would point to the three rooster oil paintings hanging on the wall to her left. I don't know why this silly repetition has stuck, but it has. Whenever Ava points to the roosters, Jeremy and I both take advantage of this "teachable moment." We will point to the first painting and say, "rooster number one; cock-a-doodle-doo!" We will then point to the second painting and say, "rooster number two; cock-a-doodle-doo!" Then we will point to the third rooster painting and say, "rooster number three; cock-a-doodle-doo!" Ava gets a kick out of this silly breakfast tradition. :) Go ahead and laugh at us! I know you want too! But, I bet every family has a silly thing that they say or do!

Anyway, it made me think of the time that Jeremy and I went into Pier 1 Imports to shop. We had been married less than a year and went on one of our frequent "dates" to Towne East Mall in Mesquite, TX. After we left the mall, we went to Pier 1 per my request. Jeremy was bored to death because he would rather be shopping in a used cd store. He decided to make my shopping trip a really bad experience. He wasn't doing it to be selfish, he was really doing it more to keep himself occupied and to amuse the other clientele. 

As soon as we walked into the store, he found a very large plaster rooster. It was not an attractive rooster. It was a whimsical one that is supposed to sit on the edge of a shelf with its legs dangling off. I think it even had on wire rimmed eye glasses. Jeremy took the rooster off the shelf and started singing very loudly, "YEAH, HERE COMES THE ROOSTER!!! OH YEAH!!! OH, HE AIN'T GONNA DIE!" If you are a fan of Alice In Chains, then you know that this is one of their songs. My eyes got as round as saucers and I walked in the opposite direction to hide my embarrassment. I thought that if I ignored him, he would stop. Not only did he not stop, he followed me around the store holding the rooster like a puppet and continued to sing loud enough for customers to take notice and giggle in response. That was just the ammunition he needed to continue, only louder. I am not lying when I say that my chest started getting tight. I finally turned around and asked him if we could just go home. He put the rooster down and said, "sure." We walked out of that store as quickly as possible and I think I even used my hair to shield my face.

There is no point or moral to this story. It is just a silly memory that I want Ava and Greta to know about. Hopefully, their daddy will not embarrass my two sweet girls the way he embarrassed me that day! Over the past 7 years, I have really tried to "teach" him how to act in public! Every time I look at our oil painting roosters, I remember this and grin.

Lads To Leaders/Leaderettes Convention in Memphis, TN

Two weekends ago, we attended the L2L/L Convention in Memphis. This was our fourth year to go. L2L/L is a program to help develop church leaders for the future. Children are encouraged to participate in Speech, Song Leading, Bible Bowl, Oral Bible Reading, Good Samaritan (volunteer work), and Puppet Theater. There are other competitive non-leadership events like Scrapbook, Art, and Banner. I was one of the advisors for Scrapbook and Banner and Jeremy was the advisor for Art. I was really proud of my team of girls who placed 3rd in Scrapbook :) 

Here are some pictures of our weekend:

 A view from our hotel room

 Ava loved the floor to ceiling windows!

 Jeremy and Ava playing on the bed

 In the lobby

 On the trolley

 Walking down Beale Street in the rain

 The Hard Rock Cafe

 Our silly group after our meal

 Enjoying the walk back to the hotel

 It was time to splash her feet in the fountain!

 Pretty flowers in the lobby

 Sidney Ellis lost her very first tooth at Westy's.

Outside Westy's. If you ever go, I would highly recommend the fried catfish. It is the best I have ever had!

 Waiting patiently in her umbrella stroller

 Molly Jane, Katelyn, and Sarah Taylor at the Premier Awards ceremony

 The Parade of Banners at the opening of the ceremony

Back at home on Sunday afternoon! Whew! What a quick trip!

Here is what Ava looked like last year at L2L/L:

How fast time flies!! Our little girl sure has grown!!