Acting out...

Last Friday we added to our family... okay not "we" specifically.  Kristi, Nathan's older sister married Shaun Reed in Morgantown.  It was a simple and small ceremony only attended by a few people.  And that is exactly how they wanted it.  No big wedding for these two, no elaborate reception.  Just a ceremony with the Justice of the Peace (or judge... not sure, we weren't there!) and a family dinner at Sargrasso with a few friends thrown in. 

 the newlyweds

on our way into Sargrasso

(Nathan will HATE this picture)

We did drive down for dinner on Saturday, and it was nice to see everyone.  Ava though, was a handful.  She's been a handful recently, more so than normal.  It's quite possible that her acting out is a symptom or an effect of our new routine.  Or it could just be a bad case of the "Terrible Twos."

Two weeks ago we changed things up.  Sarah recently took a staff position with our church, Discovery, and so Ava is now attending daycare.  We had been wanting to send her to daycare for a little bit each week, so when this job opportunity came about, we jumped on it.  So far things have gone well and Ava seems to like it.  She of course did get a cold the first week, which was expected.  What wasn't expected was that she'd also get a fever and Sarah would have to take a day off work to stay home.  Fortunately, Ava's fever broke quickly and she is feeling better.  Actually, she was bouncing off the walls at the restaurant on Saturday night. 

We know it's going to take some time for all of us to get used to our new routine, but we'll get there.  And we know this is going to be better for us in the long run, no matter what people say - it was a God thing.  (We've had a number of people tell us -in their own way- that Sarah shouldn't go back to work.)  We may not get to post as much, but we'll do our very best to keep you updated on everything going on in the Berry Ann household.  Honestly, there isn't too much going on, we're quite busy with school, a new job, and daycare.  But as Spring rolls around (there is actually a blizzard outside at the moment!), we'll be getting into some more stuff and we'll share it with you.  And Miss Ava will be starting pre-school in the fall, so that will bring more fun as well.

Here are a few pictures from our "family" dinner on Saturday night.

Ava & Daddy in a somewhat calm moment 

 Kristi & Shaun

Ava & Uncle Todd... she LOVES her Uncle Todd!

Little time...

I've had very little time to blog lately, and most of the things that have come to mind have been things I want to put on my personal blog and not here.  So again, here are some more pictures from the past few weeks.

We have no clue how she even knew where her Halloween costume was, but one Saturday a while back, Ava took Nathan upstairs and when they came back down, she was a lion.  It didn't last too long, but for a good 45 minutes or so she played and cuddled with her Daddy on the couch... as a lion.

Have we mentioned our hideous green couch?  Usually it's covered with a nice chocolate colored cover, but when it's being washed or when we aren't having company we deal with the ugliness that is green.  It wouldn't be a bad looking couch if our cats hadn't ruined it and it hadn't been beaten up in all our moves.  So thats the "thing" you see in all our pictures... you'll never see it in person, it WILL be covered. 

Anyway, Ava has started this thing where she likes to stand behind you while you are sitting on the couch.  Not quite sure why, but she enjoys it, and does it with everyone, Daddy...

 and PawPaw too. 

Ava and her cool light up toy that she got for Christmas... and of course the "green ugliness."  Oh, and she likes to pull the cushions off.  Again, not sure why.

Another Christmas present, Ava loves her little table.  She tries to eat most meals here, against our wishes of course. 

movie time with her babies, which oddly, she could care less about.  Give this girl a matchbox car and she is in heaven.

in other dress up news (other than the previous lion)...  we aren't huge fans of princess stuff.  I think we've mentioned this before.  But Ava was given some princess dress up stuff for Christmas.  One evening Ava wanted to watch one of her "repeat" shows, one of the ones she watches over and over and over, and we just couldn't handle it, so we bribed her.  If she'd watch "Princess & the Frog" she could dress up like a princess.  That did the trick, even though she doesn't know what a princess is, she got to have fun in yet another costume.  (Have you seen the movie?  It's really cute, and the music is awesome... that is if you like jazz)

Look at that ponytail!  Ava's hair is getting so long, I just had to include a picture... our little girl is growing up.

And finally, a little play time.  Before you all freak out, she did not shut herself in there, I was standing right there when she climbed in and I wanted to see what she'd do.  The camera was on the table beside me and I was able to get this picture.  I never once took my eyes off of her... I'm not crazy!

In other news, we may be facing some changes at the Berry Ann household soon.  We're still going over things and trying to figure it all out.  As soon as we know something we'll let you know... but keep us in your prayers as we make some hard decisions.  And it's not bad, it's good... and different. 

*And NO, we aren't adding to our family... at least not any time in the next couple of years!  (I know some of you will think it's that)