Long Overdue

I know I am WAY past due on a blog but it has been a crazy month and everytime I sit down to post something happens that prevents me from doing it. Like right now Ella is SCREAMING herself to sleep. I have been up there to give her her binky 50 times and I have held her but nothing seems to be soothing her right now so as much as I hate hearing her cry I don't really know what else to do for her... And it is 10:30pm - She should have been asleep long ago. I just put her binky back in so we will see how long that lasts... hmm not long apparently. Poor little girl she is making her momma crazy.

This month has been pretty crazy! We spent a good chunk of time in Texas with my family (we even went to the Houston zoo and saw the adorable baby elephants you can see above) and then came back to AZ to be with Dave right before he took his big board exams. SOOO glad to have those done.

When did this little girl grow up??!? Seriously I can't believe how big she is to me. She is talking nonstop (well she has always done that but now I can understand her :)). When we were in TX I had to take Ava to the ER for a little dislocated elbow incident and the person helping us there said she sounded like she just inhaled a bunch of helium... I wasn't sure if that was a very nice comment but she is definitely nonstop and talks to everybody. It is crazy how much she picks up too - she is just a little sponge right now.
Some of my favorite things about Ava are:

1. She is a great snuggler - It took 2 years but she really likes to be close and be held especially when she is watching her favorite movie Toy Story.
2. She is slightly obsessive compulsive. She kind of always has been. This is a little girl that on her first day of life SCREAMED because she wanted milk and would refuse to nurse until it came. That was a rough few days... It took 3 people to get her to eat. Ever since she has been able to hold things she has. You rarely ever see that girl without something in her hands. A few months ago she went through a phase where she would get SO upset that she couldn't fit more things in her hands when she already had them filled. She still carries around as much as she can hold. I think it is pretty funny.
3. She loves to play. Her favorite game is when she yells, "I'm gonna get you!" and then runs away for you to chase her.
4. She is sweet (When she wants to be :)) She worries about people and always asks if they are ok. Sometimes she asks if you are ok so that you will ask if she is ok. She loves her sister too and when she isn't sitting on her and poking her eyes she pats her head and gives her kisses and even puts her binky in when she is sad and gets her a blanket.
5. She loves "more" of everything. I think that is her favorite word. If you do something funny or give her kisses or anything really she always wants more. She also comes up and asks for "one more treat" with her little finger showing me one. Unfortunately that one is not really one it is pretty indefinite.
6. She loves stories. We read a book called "llama, llama red pajama" every night at bed and afterwards she will "read" it to me. It is pretty cute.
This little girl is such a sweetheart! She loves her daddy and she loves smiling at everyone. She is typically a very happy little girl - disregard what I wrote about at the beginning of this entry :) That is not her typical self. Some of my favorite things I love about Ella are:

1. Like I already said she is always happy and smiling. When she gets upset most of the time if she just has someone to smile at she is fine. She has the sweetest little laugh too.
2. She currently has a love/hate relationship with things she can put in her mouth (aka toys, wipes case, blankets, etc.) she wants to hold everything she sees and gets so mad if she can't reach it or if she can't fit the whole object in her mouth. Once she is mobile I am going to have to keep a close eye on her.
3. She loves holding hands. It is so sweet.
4. She is so curious. She likes to see what is going on and especially likes knowing where her sister is (probably for protection although she thinks Ava is pretty hilarious)
5. She loves having her head rubbed. She has to have a blanket or pillow at the top of her head to sleep and she smothers her face in it. It scared me the first time but she can breath :)
6. She loves spitting, sucking her fingers (or toes - whichever she finds first) and smacking her lips. She produces so much slobber that her little outfits get soaking wet... Maybe that is how she cools herself off in this AZ heat.
I love them both so much and I am so grateful to have them! Someday we will get rid of that binky!! Curse you binky for ruining this adorable picture! She is pretty much obsessed with it although she has gotten much better at just using it at naptime and bedtime (and I take it to the store and to church because sometimes I love that little thing too).

I took some pictures of the girls the other week. This is our typical Ella. Oh how I love that smile!!

Stinkin' binky. Maybe someday I will get a shot without it. She wouldn't let me take a picture without it. I even tried bribing her with treats :) it didn't work...

We went and swam at the aquatic center close to our home and had a fun time. We spent most of the time in the lazy river. Ava got a little nervous in the kid area - I think it was a little too old for her and the kids in there were pretty wild. It was a lot of fun though.

Ava didn't care too much for the life jacket though.

This is how Ella spent her time there. What a sweetie!

She really liked it when daddy took her out and played with her too. We had a great time!

For the 4th we headed to Texas and enjoyed the awesome parade my home town put on. As you can see Ava had to hold as much stuff as she possibly could.

She was really worried about all that candy on the ground and felt like somebody needed to clean it up so she took that duty upon herself while she sang, "Clean up, clean up, everbody clean up." It was pretty hilarious.

So patriotic - she loved that little flag and waving it.

And she loved pointing out all the fun floats.

And snuggling Grandma and Uncle Paul

What is more American than a BBQ and swim party?!

We took Ella swimming for the first time out there too. She enjoyed it. We didn't have a suit for her so we had to make do. She loves her bath time so this was like a giant tub to her.

Ava loved playing with grandpa and feeding him pretend food. It reminded me of a time when my sister and I were playing with my dad in the pool and we made "pizza" with mildewed rocks and gave it to my dad to pretend to eat it and he really put it in his mouth :) Crazy dad!

The main reason we went out to TX though was to celebrate my dad's retirement. He worked 33 years at ExxonMobil and I am so grateful for him and for all that he did to provide for me and bless my life through his great service. I love you dad! Congratulatons again!

My whole family except one brother and his family came out to the big (and I mean Texas big :)) retirement dinner at The Taste of Texas restaurant. With a name like that the food has to be big right?!

There was a great turnout to celebrate! Some great praises were given to such a wonderful man!

Ava did pretty good too. It was a 3 hour event! Sometimes I love that stinkin' binky!

Like I said... "Texas Big" Mmmm delicious. We had an amazing steak too and more food than any person should consume in one sitting but hey it was a celebration right!?! Thanks Exxon for letting us gorge ourselves on your dollar.

We took some family pictures while we were out there too. I miss those trees... not so much the humidity.

What cuties!

Too bad Ava never smiled for any of our family shots. Oh well what do you do...

Ella loves that camera though!

What a cute little family we are :)

When we got back in town we took Ava to a fun park about 20 minutes north of us. We had a yummy snow cone there which I don't see any snow cone stands ever in AZ -this was my first time. In Texas my dad took us around trying to find the best snow cone stand... We tried 3 in one day (the day we left or we would have tried more). I love snow cones (shaved ice NOT crunchy!)

Poor Ella spends too much time in that little carseat. Good thing she is such a happy little girl!

Ava loves swinging on the bars!

Her shirt is a little small...I finally went through her drawers the other day to get rid of the 18 month size and yes I know she is almost 2 1/2...

We have been so busy lately and have been having so much fun... Until rotations started for Dave and I became a single mom... Not as much fun! But Dave is loving it and we are excited for this next phase of life in this crazy adventure of becoming a doctor.

Cute little cousins!