Talk about a massive photo upload! We have been so busy lately and we have the pictures to prove it. I think there are 85 pictures below... although some may be deleted before I publish this post.
As promised, pictures from my cousin's wedding that Ava was in. I wish that I could share with you some of the pictures that the photographer took, she caught so many priceless moments that I couldn't. Not to mention our camera died (had to buy a whole new battery) and so we were limited to our cell phone cameras.
Funny story about the wedding. Ava was so stinkin' excited, and she did a great job. But out little angel embarrassed me to death! Granted, everyone else thought it was adorable, at the moment, I couldn't believe what was happening before my eyes. As Ava walked down the isle, I was trying my hardest to get as many pictures as I could. Unfortunately we weren't seated in the correct place with the rest of our family so I couldn't see too much. But as Ava got to the end of the isle, so stood on the steps with everyone else and then we watched as she bent down, dumped her basket of flowers (cute, I know!) and then started to march back up the isle. At this moment, we're starting to panic (where is she going?), and my cousin Erin and Uncle Ort start down the isle. Ava meets them in the middle, says "Hi" and they split apart just enough to let her though. She proceeds the rest of the way up the isle to the back hall where she tells my cousin Jamie and Aunt Judy, "I need more flowers!"
On our way, Ava had her own earphones so she could listen to her movie and we wouldn't have to.
A breakfast smile for Daddy (he had to stay behind, but came on Saturday just in time for pictures)
Playing with her flowergirl present... PONIES!
all ready to swim in the pool
sleepy girl before the wedding
getting ready
little girls in curlers, too cute.
pre-wedding entertainment
the beautiful bride, my cousin Erin
cousins
(from L to R : Jamie, Morgan, Sarah, Erin, Amanda, Chelsea, & Shelley)
the only possible way to get a picture, she was too busy playing games
the last and only picture I got before she became the "runaway flower girl"
having a snack with Grampa Fred
after a bitter fight with one of the other flower girls, she cried herself to sleep... it was a much needed nap.
The Family
Ava had to sit with her Grampa Fred & Amy
On Memorial Day we "bit the bullet" and headed to the zoo. We knew it would be crowded and hot (90 that day), but we didn't have much choice. Vacation is very limited this year and neither of us could afford to take an extra day off.
our caged animal
the baby sea lion, he was sleeping, but very cute
Ava had more fun on the slides than anywhere else.
Then at the beginning of June, Ava got to attend her first KidQuest. KidQuest is a three day summer camp (if you will) for the community that we put on each year. We hold Lil' KQ in June for 3yr olds - entering Kindergarten, and (big) KQ in August for kids entering 1st - 6th grades. It's a ton of fun, and I'm so glad she got to experience it this year. The biggest problem we faced was the fact that I was there and since Ava knew that she thought she could do whatever she wanted. Or, if she wanted something, she just ran to me to get it. Getting her to stay with her group was trying at times, and when I was on stage during the music time, she insisted on giving me hugs and trying to talk to me.
She made her own name tag
(even though I had them made up for all the kids... she is writing her name very well these days.)
There are tons more pictures, I just didn't get a lot, because I was "working"
A few weeks ago, Ava was invited to a birthday party at the movie theater. We knew it would be an adventure, but hoped it would be fun at the same time. Daddy stayed at home to get some work done, and after the time he had, I'm sure he was glad he did. The movie was Madagascar 3, and honestly I can't tell you much about it. We went to the potty 6 times, and missed 2/3 of the movie. Ava had one screaming episode when the little girl sitting next to her told Ava that the birthday girl was gone. Allison had just gone to the bathroom but Ava thought the world was ending. Hopefully our next movie experience will be better.
And below are some random pictures... most of them from the swimming pool out back.
Ava's first 100 piece puzzle.
keeping ourselves entertained with hopscotch
looks silly, I know. It was chilly that day, but Ava wanted to swim so
Daddy thought some hot water might help. It didn't.
getting Ava to smile on command is incredibly hard.
But she'll smile for her Mimi. So this is "Ava smile for Mimi!"
Check out the height difference here! The top is Ava the first day of preschool, the bottom is the last day. (tried to do left & right... didn't work) The zoom is different on the pictures (my bad!) but she is standing in roughly the same spot, and you can see the difference if you look at her head in comparison to the light switch. Crazy right?
As most of you are probably aware, we don't go out much. We like to have our date nights "in" and watch movies. It's easier when you don't have family or babysitters around to watch kids, and it's cheaper too. But a year ago, we found out Lady Antebellum was coming to Pittsburgh. So right then an there, we planned for a date night. So on the 2nd of June, we headed to the First Niagara Pavilion to see Lady A, Darius Rucker, and Thompson Square.
