Pumpkin patch

There was a pumpkin patch at Ava's school last Monday. The children were allowed to wear whatever clothes they wanted, called "free dress" day. Ava picked a black skirt and a kitty shirt and her new leopard coat. She was so proud of her coat. The children played all kinds of games and got to pick their own little pumpkin. Mom went and got to spend some time with Ava at school.

Sunday best

On Sunday Ava wore one of her new outfits to Church. She was dressed up so nicely and looked like the sweetest little girl. Ava loves all of the clothes that Mimi and Grandma and Auntie Tara send her. She is very good at matching the outfits and she always pays attention to the sizes.

Halloween preview!!!

Here is Ava in her Hello Kitty Halloween costume. Mimi sewed the hat so that it fit Ava's head. Ava also has a Hello Kitty shirt and white stretchy pants. Maybe on Halloween we will paint some whiskers on her face too! Sarah is even wearing a kitty hat and leopard pants. Ava can't wait for Trick-or-treats!!!

Chuck E. Cheese!

Sunday was another rainy day. Mom, Dad, Sarah, and Ava went to Chuck E. Cheese with Ava's friend Jake and his mother. Ava had pizza, Hi-C juice, and an ice cream push-up. She played lots of games. Her favorite games were the roller coaster "rides". The rides had a monitor that showed the roller coaster tracks and the seat moved around like an actual ride.

Fall kickoff!

Last Saturday was the Fall Kickoff at Ava's school. Here is a picture of Ava with one of her good friends Amelia and their teacher Miss Orta. Ava absolutely adores Miss Orta!

The Fall Kickoff started with a potluck lunch that had lots of good food. It was the only meal that Dad ate all day and he had so much that he almost made himself sick! Ava enjoyed some of the food and especially the deserts and Dad even let her have a few sips of Coke and Orange soda.

There were also lots of fun things for the children to do such as giant bouncy slides and even a ball that they could crawl around in and roll. It was kind of like being a hamster, even Dad tried it.

Jumping rope

Ava's latest interest is jumping rope. Dad gave her a princess jump rope from the Dollar Store and Ava was thrilled. Every day after work this week Ava and Dad go out in the backyard and practice jumping rope. Dad has his own jump rope too. Ava can do one jump at a time and she is getting pretty good at it. Then Dad and Ava usually play on the swingset until Mom makes us come in for dinner!

Good morning Sarah!

Every morning Ava gets out of bed at 7am sharp. She has been told that she can't get out of bed until 7am, so if she wakes up early (and she usually does, sometimes as early as 6:20am) she will lay in bed and wait. When you ask Ava what she was doing in bed she will say "watching the clock". The first thing that she does when she gets out of bed is come into Mommy's room and check on Mom and baby Sarah. The other morning Sarah was crying early in the morning and Ava started yelling from her bed "what is all of that racket?"... "why is she crying? it is the middle of the night" and Ava was actually kind of upset about it all! Too funny!

Rainy day!

First day of rain for the season! On Sunday it rained a little pretty much all day long. This was the first rain that we had since the spring, probably April. Ava was excited to see the rain and she grabbed her rainboots and umbrella and danced around singing.

Stop and smell the roses!

Every year Mom and Dad have taken a picture of Ava with a rose. This year we had some really big roses in our backyard. Someday we will be able to put all of the years together.

Not so sure that Sarah was all that into the idea!

Parsley hair!??!

The latest trip to the grocery store ended with Ava having "parsley hair". It was funny but ended up all over the car and garage and house... until the parsley finally made its way into the kitchen where it was used for dinner! Dad prefers Ava's blonde hair instead of the parsley green, but maybe this is a good idea for Halloween.... Dress up as a food!

The Big Game

Last Saturday was the UM v. MSU football game. Dad and Papa watched it together, though not sure that Dad enjoyed it so much... UM lost 34-17. Ava made hats for Dad and Papa that said "Go Blue" and "Go Green". Mom, Mimi, Ava, and Sarah went shopping and Mimi bought a bunch of beautiful outfits for Ava. Think that Ava enjoyed that much more than the game!

Granddaughters

Today was the last day of Mimi and Papa's visit. We took some pictures of the grandparents and their granddaughters. Ava did a good job smiling and posing but Sarah was a little fussy. It made Dad remember how much Uncle Trent didn't like posing for family pictures!

Mimi with Sleeping Beauty

Mimi and Papa have done a wonderful job of holding little Sarah and comforting her until she falls asleep. Mimi has changed some diapers too! Sarah is a good little baby and sleeps a lot. Only a few times has she had some crying fits that only Mom can fix.

Ice Cream with Mimi and Papa

After a long day of college football watching and swimming Papa took everybody out for ice cream. Ava had her usual Cotton Candy and Gummi Bears. Sarah slept soundly in her car seat through all of it.

Grandma and Ava's garden

Sunday Grandma and Ava planted a "garden" in the backyard. They went to the store and picked out some flowers and dirt and fertilizer. Ava helped Grandma dig the holes, plant the flowers and water them. Ava likes dirt and dirt likes Ava. She had a great time planting and watering and spending time with Grandma! The "garden" looks beautiful!