Pampered Chef

This past weekend I hosted a Pampered Chef party. I am not one to usually have these parties but when I attended my cousin's in February it was a lot of fun, so I invited her to come and share some of her products at my house. Our pampered chef consultant Jennifer was awesome. She came and baked a bacon cheeseburger rollup with a cholocate trifle for dessert. Everything smelled and looked amazing.

My guests were awesome and seemed to really enjoy themselves. They listened to Jennifer and asked questions and she tried to answer all of them as best as she could. They ate, talked, and ordered. Its awesome when we do have these parties because 99% of the people are related to ya and there really isnt any of those weird silent moments or times when you're wondering about that person because you know them. Guests included cousins, my aunts, mother in law and sister inlaw and great friends.

Ava had a ball until about 8 pm when she is usually in bed and people were still at our house. Then she started getting a little cranky and rubbing her eyes. I'm happy it was a success and once everyone went home Ava got to sleep, which made her happy.

Memorial Day

We had an awesome Memorial Day weekend. It started Friday as Kenny and I both got off of work a little early and spent the evening at home. Kenny's four day started right then and he would be home with us all weekend. It has been a long time since he has had nothing to do like class or work on the weekend.

Saturday we cleaned house and did laundry then ran some errands. I had started Ava at the beginning of the week not giving her a bottle to go to bed, so I had decided since I would be home all weekend, we would go without any bottle also and see how she does. When we woke up on Saturday, I fed her some fruit and milk and she played for a while. When we went into target I took formula and a bottle just incase her belly would start to rumble but she did great. She loved it in target, looking around at everyone and playing with the stuff in the cart. She napped on the way home.

Our plans for the evening busted because our friends daughter ended up with pink eye. I did not even want to try to have to deal with that with my 8 month old. So we ordered pizza and watched tv and laughed at Ava, she was in rare form Saturday night, giggling and laughing and throwing herself around the living room.

Sunday ended up being a great day at my grandmothers and visits with my cousins. Ava and Emily got to spend some time together and the little ones played in the water with my dad.

Monday we had a cookout with Kennys family and my dad. Kenny grilled and everyone brought something to contribute. It was a good day. Except for the heat! Ava got to play with her Uncle Keith who she doesnt see that often. The house was full but it was a good time.

After our cookout, we laid down and took a nap, a wonderful way to end such a busy weekend with the family.

Ava did wonderful, she did not look for her bottle or seem to want her bottle. She drank milk from her sippy and helped me eat my food plus her baby food. She tried PICKLES. The kid didnt even give me a funny face, she ate a whole pickle by herself and LOVED it. I dont know if it was because I was eating one or if it was just that good. She isnt being slowed down by not having any teeth. She also had plenty of homemade ice cream.

All Over the Place

Personality!

Ava is really coming into her personality. I thought at 3 and 4 months WOW this kid has got a personality all of her own. At 8 months that personality is more shown than I could have ever imagined. She argues. Yes my 8 month will argue. She can't say a word yet but we know when she disagrees. We can smack her fingers and tell her no and we get the frowns down and a big 'ugh' from her. It is so funny even though I try to keep a straight face. She has started to throw temper tantrums. I know I thought this was a little early myself but apparently she is right on track with other mobile children. I will move her from an object she shouldn't be around and she will kick her feet and move her arms and yell a little bit. She will learn, one day, I figure not to touch what she isnt supposed to touch.

She is just a happy baby, most of the time. She smiles at you all the time. It really melts your heart. She enjoys life, she is really getting the full of it right now, not letting anything stop her. She has started pulling herself up and walking along the couches. Which amazes me everytime I see it. She also has started throwing her arms in the air and letting go to stand on her own for a bit. Kenny and I have watched over the past week how much longer it has gotten, from a little second for a few seconds. A few seconds might not seem like a long time but when you are that small that is a big thing. We always tell her 'good job' or 'yay' and clap our hands. She is getting the hang of balancing herself while holding on to a piece of clothing or the couch.

She absolutely lets us know one way or another how she is feeling. It is so great to watch her grow and the development of her understanding of things is awesome because I can work with her through something as small as a toy is under the couch and she cant reach it.

Her schedule is about the same as last time I posted, she is staying awake until around 8:30 but that gives us more time with her, she usually goes to relax in bed around 7:30 regardless just to give her time to calm down and prepare for bed. She is LOVING the tub. Now bathtime is a little more frequent with her being mobile, she gets dirty so easily now. I am still giving her a bath in her baby tub because our tub is huge and I think it'd be awkward to give her bath in it. But she loves her tub, I sit it on the counter in the half bath and she can watch herself in our mirror and she takes her washrag and fligs it everywhere, getting water everywhere and all over me. She's starting to get a little upset when I get her out of the bath because she is old enough now to want to play.

It's just been an exciting time. Her skills and mobility is getting better everyday.

Sounds of Ava

My 1st Mothers Day

My first mothers day was awesome. It started great with Ava sleeping in until 8am. Do you know how long it's been since I have been given the chance to sleep in? Oh I'd say about 8 months. Kenny came home from work that morning with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We went to church and Ava was in a good mood the entire time. On the way home, which is about a 2 mile drive, she fell asleep and slept for about 2 hours. After her nap, Kenny made us lunch: steaks and baked potatoes. One of my favorite meals. He is such a good cook, he likes to grill and I am thankful for it because I dont like to cook so much. He presented me with my 1st Mothers day card from Ava, I thought it was soooo thoughtful that he actually got a card from her instead of a card from him. Then I got my gift, which I wasnt expecting anything to be honest. I had told him I just wanted lunch and to spend the day at home. He gave me a gift card to Sernity Day Spa for a massage. Oh how wonderful of a gift. I loved it! Erika and I had went there last year for her bridal shower gift from me and it felt so good, I didnt want to get off the table. So now we are planning a girls day out with lunch and massages. We ended the day with Dairy Queen and then my schedule went back to normal. Ava got a bath, fed, then bed.

Stand Up!

Soooo this whole crawling thing as now lead into a standing up thing. She would rather climb up and stand sometimes loosing her balance than crawl sometimes. It is so exciting to see her stills improving everyday. She is so strong! She just grabs your pants leg and next thing you know she is up and smiling.

She has gotten good at knowing that she needs a hand every once in a while. She will throw her hand in the air and grunt at you to hold her balance while she gets up. Her bouncier that she absolutely loved for 3 months is now obsolete, its now pushed back in a corner until we can move it downstairs out of the way. She would rather climb on it than be in it. It's just a part of our daily lives now, Ava being everywhere. It is so much fun. She's always on the go and curious about everything. As strong and quick as she is getting I know it wont be long before she is walking on her own and wabbling all over my house.