It's a Miracle

That last post was written by Dave if you couldn't tell. I think he got sick of everyone in the world telling me I needed to post. Ha Ha! So here it is the post you've all been waiting for :). It's a miracle I'm finally posting. I think I have had a pretty good excuse though. We've had a pretty eventful summer and the last thing on my mind has been the blog. Dave has been out of school the whole summer (reviewing his first year of school) and I have LOVED having him around. I am not looking forward to school starting up again in a week and a half but I know he is excited and ready to get back into it. To start off the summer though Ava started really walking which quickly turned into running and I can't even keep up anymore. She is so fun though and her little personality has just exploded the last few months (as Dave posted about previously). We headed out to Texas right after school got out in June and spent a few weeks there visiting my family and some of our wonderful friends out there that we miss so much! It was so fun being out there going to the beach, the lake and eating at delicious Mexican restaurants. Mmmmm. We love Texas! After a fun and eventful few weeks out there we drove back to AZ with my mom who so kindly watched little Ava so that Dave and I could enjoy a week in beautiful Hawaii!! We missed Ava so much but loved going on a late honeymoon together. Hawaii was amazing and couldn't have been more perfect. We basically ran from place to place just so we could fit everything in that we wanted to do. We went snorkeling, kayaking, mopeding (I was so nervous riding that thing all by myself :)), boogie boarding, and to Pearl Harbor and the PCC and so much more I can't remember. It was a blast! Thank you so much Mom for watching Ava so we could do that!! We love you! Right before we left for Hawaii we found out some good news though... We are pregnant! Due in February. We know Ava is excited because babies and puppies are probably the 2 things that bring her the most joy in life right now. She is always pointing them out where ever we go or harassing them :)! We are excited too and seem to think it is a little boy but we could be wrong so who knows. We'll let you know in a few weeks when we find out. This is probably the biggest reason I haven't posted because I have spent most days feeling pretty crummy and so exhausted that I don't want to do anything but thankfully I think I am getting past it. With Ava I was sick all 9 months!! It was pretty miserable but with this one it might actually just be the first trimester! I am keeping my fingers crossed but I have been feeling pretty good the last 11 days (yes I am counting and you would too if you spent most of the last few months throwing up :)) So things are looking good and we are now 15/16 weeks along! The rest of the summer has been spent with yard work and house work which Dave has done such a great job on. Our backyard is actually playable now which will be nice once it cools down a bit and all of our boxes are now officially unpacked and sorted through (and yes we have lived here a year!) A few weekends ago we also had an Ashby family reunion which was so fun out in Heber. It was so nice getting out of the heat and enjoying time with family. This summer has been wonderful and we are so sad it is coming to an end because I am pretty sure it is the last one we'll have like this till retirement.. But it's been so fun enyoying time with our wonderful family and friends and I guess reality has to start back up again.

Summer 2010

This has been quite an eventful summer for the Ashby family. Ava continues to get sweeter and sweeter. We love hearing her soft sweet voice say "Puppy" "Mommy" "Ducky" "Nana" and then she can get really serious and intense and say "No!." When she says "No!" she will put both of her hands out in front of her, hold her breath as she tenses her muscles until she shakes, her face will then get bright red, and then she says "No!" followed by a smile and laugh because we all can't help but laugh. Those of you who have seen this know exactly what we mean. There has been a couple times where she has had all of us laughing so hard that our stomachs and cheeks hurt. She also loves to give kisses and hugs on demand and isn't afraid to cuddle up with a complete stranger at the doctor's office :) We love waking up to her every morning as she is standing in her crib and gives us the biggest smile. She went through a little phase where she would immediately point to her necklace after she woke up in the morning or from a nap in the afternoon. Just like her mommy when she was younger :) She is also learning things really quickly now. We have taught her how to sign a few words in ASL and we love to see her sign "more" "please" and "thank you." Sometimes when she is really hungry or wanting something mom and dad are eating she will come up and sign "please" as she rubs her belly with both hands and then "more" and she'll go back and forth between the two until mom and dad get her what she wants. Ava has also started to walk starting at the beginning of May. It was so fun to see her get her confidence up and go from pushing a little toy around with wheels to getting the courage to start walking all over the home. Ava continues to love to tickle herself or others. She will put her hands up to someone or to her self and scrunch her hands up and open them back and forth as she says "giggle, giggle, giggle." We love to hear it and she always does it while she is smiling. Ava also loves little babies and puppies. Anytime she sees a baby in a carseat she loves to go right up to it and start smiling and giggling. We are happy to see she loves them so much because she is going to be such a great big sister :) We found out she is going to get a little brother or sister in the beginning or middle part of February and we are so excited!! Danielle has been such a trooper these first 11 weeks. There has been some pretty bad days, but she is always so patient with them when they come. We are very grateful though, because by this time with Ava we had been to the hospital two times, because she wasn't able to keep any food or fluids down. We are figuring this pregnancy out day by day though and doing those things that give her the best chance of feeling well throughout the day. Overall, the pregnancy has been much better to Danielle than the first and we are so excited to have another little one in our home in February. We are pretty positive that it is a boy :) We will have him in volleyball camp by the age of 2 working on his vertical so don't worry. We'll leave a bunch of pictures here with some videos as well of our little girl.

My Wonderful Husband!

So it is finally finals week for Dave. The last week of his first year of Med school!! Wahoo!! I can't wait until the week is over but more so I am sure Dave can't wait until it's over. 6 tests in 5 days is pretty miserable - just ask Dave. Unfortunately, however I made it even more miserable last night. Around 4pm yesterday I started to get the worst migraine- the kind where you spend a few hours hovering over the toilet wanting to throw up... which I did last night (Sorry too much info). But anyways even during finals week, the most stressful week of the year, my sweet husband came home and took care of Ava and me so I could rest and feel better. I have the most wonderful husband and I am so grateful for him!! So the question on some of your minds might be... Is she pregnant? The answer is no. However last night did make me rethink being pregnant ever again. Being nauseous is the worst feeling ever and feeling that way for 9 months is even worse! Do I ever want to be pregnant again? NO! Do I want more children? YES! So I guess I don't have much of a choice in becoming pregnant again. But after 9 miserable months it really is worth it in the end! But nothing to announce...Just that I have to most wonderful husband ever!.. Which I already knew.

Ava's First Steps

So I came home last night from mutual and Dave told me that Ava had taken her first few steps!! I missed it :(. Of course the one time I am away from her she does it. Oh well I am glad Dave was able to see it especially with his crazy schedule. I was so sad though. I have such a sweet husband though. Here is how the conversation went when I got home:
Dave: I moved Ava's walker away from her and she took a few steps towards it.
Me: What?! Ava took her first steps and I missed it!?!
Dave: No, she just was going for her walker
Me: But she wasn't holding on to anything
Dave: No
Me: So she took her first steps
Dave: No, it was just a few little wobbly ones they didn't count
I love Dave!! He refused to let me think I missed her first steps even though I did. He is so funny. I am so glad he was able to see it and Ava did show off for me today by doing a few more. We will have a little walker before we know it!! I can't believe it and am totally not ready for it. We are so proud of her though. I will post pictures another time so you can see her in action.

Ava's First Birthday

What We've Been Up To...

I love this picture of Ava. You can see how big and blue her eyes are.
I put Ava's hair in pig tails. It is barely long enough but I think it is so cute. I didn't get the camera quick enough for this picture but Ava crawled underneath the baby einstein and pushed the seat out with her head. She was trying to stand up and had her hand through the leg hole and was peeking out. It was so funny but she threw that seat off before I could grab the camera.

Ava's been walking around with her little walker. No real signs of her walking anytime soon but she does pretty good on this when she wants to.

Yes that mess behind her she created... She does that everyday. I have learned not to clean it up until she is in bed for the night because she will just keep pulling them down. She is very good at emptying shelves and drawers!

We went to a baseball game last week with our friend Jessy. It was so fun and perfect weather. Thanks again Jessy for inviting us!!

Ava loves to make friends where ever she goes

This was my project I have been working on.. Our downstairs closet has always been a mess. We have been storing our food storage in there but just on the ground and it has been a nightmare to find anything in there as you can see...

So we finally bought some awesome shelves that work perfectly in there!! I love being organized!!

Ava loves hats!! She loves just about anything she can put on by herself and gets so excited to show off her skills

I don't know how she managed to do this... But somehow she crawled into this basket

Getting out was a little harder :)

She is a little climber. She climbs up anything she can... Climbing the stairs is a pretty regular occurence in our home. She always stands at the bottom and waits for me to see her before she starts. When I try to go after her she starts going full speed. She is so funny!

Things have been great for us though. We are loving the Arizona weather and going to the park often. We even went swimming last week which was fun. We celebrated Ava's first birthday on Sunday which is what I will post about next. We went to the doctor for Ava's check up and she is still very small for her age. She weighs 17.3 lbs (3%) and was 27 1/4 inches (10%) tall. I don't know how it is possible because I am constantly feeding her... but unfortunately that meant more blood work for Ava and this time she did not like it one bit. Our doctor isn't totally worried but we just don't want to miss anything if there is something wrong. I just think she is naturally little and hopefully the blood work shows that. We are a little worried however about her hips. Ava was born with underdeveloped hips and had to wear a brace when she was younger and we thought everything was resolved with that but as Dave and I have observed her sitting and crawling she always does it in a "W" and flails her legs out a bit weird and even with trying to walk it doesn't look completely normal. We have an appt with an orthopedic dr in a few weeks so I guess we will know then but we really hope everything is ok with that and no more hip brace especially now that she's so active... We'll keep you posted...

Spring Break

I know I haven't posted forever so be prepared for a long series of posts starting with this one which happened probably a month ago... Whoops! So about a month ago was Spring Break for Dave. It was so nice to have him home for a whole week and not have to worry about school or studying. So we decided last second to head up to Utah. It was so fun seeing our friends and family that we haven't seen for a while. We miss all of you and it was so fun to see all of you!!
Ava enjoyed seeing snow for the first time

I was so happy to see one of my best friends and her family. We were roommates at BYU and we are determined to have our daughters do the same. It was so fun watching Ava and Afton play.

I miss you Andrea!! Thanks so much again for letting us stay with you and for hanging out with us! We can't wait to see you again hopefully very soon!

Ava loved the park near Andrea's home

Ava did so great on the car ride up to Utah I was a little nervous about the 11 hour trip but she was so great and even with all the driving around town she was happy. She is such a great little girl!

Ava wanted to know what it would be like to wear her daddy's shoes... Good thing babies are born with big heads and not big feet!

Ava loves her cousin Max! They are exactly 4 weeks apart and so cute with each other.

Ava was so excited to go on a vacation she even helped me pack..

We had so much fun in Utah and loved spending time with everyone!

It is good to be home but such a fun get a way! Thank you all of our friends and family out there who took time away from your busy schedules to meet up with us!! We miss you all and it was so fun seeing all of you!!