Zoo Trip!

Last Tuesday, the sun was shining and temps hit the low 70's, so we packed up and spent the day at the Milwaukee Zoo. It was so beautiful out and we had a really nice time. Ava's favorites were by far the monkeys, with the dairy cows in a close second. In Wisconsin, there are cows at the zoo.
Ava really liked watching them.

The little play ground was super duper crowded. We weren't the only ones with the bright idea of going to the zoo on that nice day.

Ava faced this bridge with much trepidation, but she was determined.

Look at that concentration!

Here's my attempt to take a picture of us together!

Ava's First Self Portrait

Friday Flashback, and Forward

This is one of Ava's favorite books. My mom gave it to her when she was born. It's a very loved copy, as you can see.

She's always liked it, even as a newborn apparently. But throughout her second year of life, she liked it a LOT. It was the book she requested every time. I would read it to her using different "barking" voices. A fellow mommy friend once told me that her favorite page was the one that read "six quiet dogs." ha.
Well, the doggy book eventually phased out and disappeared for about 8 months. Last month it resurfaced. Ava brought it to me, and I opened it up to the first page. Pointing to the one dog on the page, I read, "Woof." I expected Ava's normal response, which consists of her laughing and repeating the "woof." Instead, she looked at me and said, "What's that dog barking for?"
It's amazing to watch her grow.

Owen

So much for giving an update on Owen the next day! How about 2 weeks later? Time flies when you're having fun with babies! But I'm finally adding some updates about master Owen. He is doing so great these days! First of all, he looks huge.

The guy is a little tank. He has the cutest big cheeks that I just looove to smooch as often as possible. He's got nice little rolls on his arms and legs, too. He's also still super snugly, which is so fun for me. I love holding that big love bug!
In other news, the sleep training has been a great success. Thank you, Lord. He sleeps through the night almost every time, and takes great naps during the day. He likes to do this with his knees tucked up under him and his hind end up in the air. So cute! And thanks to his better sleep habits, we all have a new lease on life at our house! Steve's even getting to play soccer! We are emerging from the newborn hibernation period! yippee!
It seems the only remaining sleep troubles that happen are connected to Owen's reflux symptoms. If I eat anything I shouldn't, he lets us know about it in the middle of the night. Poor little guy. Wakes up crying, and persists until receiving some Mylanta. Mmmm...yummy. When this happens I switch him over to formula for the next day. It's such a relief that he will take a bottle. Ava did not accept a bottle until she was 10 months old. But back to O-boy.
Here's a list of some of his favorite activities in no particular order.
He loves to make eye contact with anything that has eyes and then proceed to flirt, smile, talk, coo, and blow raspberries.

He enjoys laughing at his own image in the mirror.

He's a pro at hanging out in the play seat while laughing at his sister.

He is also committed to putting every object in his sphere of influence into his mouth. In fact the little toys hanging from the bar over his bouncy seat are no match for his strength and endurance. He rips them right off the toy bar and devours them.

The guy LOVES eating his toes. It's like his little legs are spring-loaded. As soon as you lay him down on his back, his feet shoot straight up in the air so he can grab onto them and chow down.

He even managed to do this while in his high chair tonight in a 5-point harness! Chased his rice cereal with his feet!

Other favorites include looking at books, rolling over, sleeping, eating his toes and fingers, and smiling. He's always got a big smile on his cute chubby face.

Owen is also totally in love with his daddy. When Coop enters the room, Owen lights up and starts kicking his legs like crazy and saying "ooh, goo, goo, sbbbt." That's baby talk for "I can't wait to learn how to walk and participate in old-man sports with my dad!"

We love you, sweet little Owen!!

Ava updates

Ava had her first ever hair cut a couple of weeks ago. This is the "after" picture. We turned the whole experience into a mommy-daughter date. Plus, I had to be out of the house for 2 hours before Owen went to bed as a part of his sleep training. We started by both getting hair cuts,

then the hair dresser painted Ava's finger nails. She got a big kick out of that. It was her first manicure. ha. To wrap up our date we went to starbucks to share some banana bread and milk. This pic is her enjoying our date and her milk in a box. Milk in a box is very exciting! Notice the pink fingernails!

Ava just gets more fun every day. She does so many things that I think are funny or cute or sweet or crazy, and I wish I could stop and write them all down as they happen! I'm sure by the time I sit down and update this blog I forget half of them. sigh. I'll make an attempt to recall some highlights.
These days she is very into the following: dancing like a ballerina, reading books, spinning on her sit 'n spin, using my cell phone to call grandma, going potty on the big potty, going to Bible study, playing with Owen, singing songs, and going to Tumble Buddies. She also likes to do whatever her daddy is doing. Like scooping dog poop. She gets very excited when it's time to go out and scoop dog poop with Steve.
She had a busy day today. First, a big breakfast. That kid can pack it away in the morning. She had two pieces of french toast, a bowl of cereal, yogurt, and half a flintstones vitamin. After filling up she went to Tumble Buddies with Steve, then the whole family went to have a famiy photo done. That took a couple of hours, but it was an enjoyable experience. We had them taken by a gal who works out of a studio in her house, and she know how to get stuff done while keeping kids happy. I'm excited to see the proofs next week! Anyway, back to Ava's day. We all came home after picking up lunch at Qdoba, which is another thing Ava likes, spicy food. She had a big lunch, took a 2 1/2 hour nap, did yard work with Steve, and had some dinner. She doesn't usually eat as much at dinner--still full from breakfast. ha. Tonight she played "so big" with Owen, had a dance session, put on her pajamas all by herself (with a little bit of help), and snuggled in at bedtime with us for two books, bedtime prayers, and some songs. I love tucking her in at night. It's such a sweet time.
Our days stay busy, and she is super curious and interested in so many things. She likes reclining on the landing of our stairs and thumbing through books and cards. It seems like such a big-girl thing to do.

And I really love it when she really gets tickeled by something and cracks up. Her eyes twinkle, she opens her mouth really big, throws back her head, and laughs. It is so fun to watch.
Yesterday during lunch she reached out and held my hand. I just about melted into the floor. She smiled at me, said "I like you," and continued to eat her sandwich with her other hand. We held hands the whole time we were eating. My goodness I wish she would keep up the snuggling, hand holding and ballerina dance sessions forever, but I know she'll keep changing and growing.
We love you, sweet Ava! We are excited to watch you grow and honored to be your parents!

Owen is also deserving of some updates, so more tomorrow about our little snuggler! Plus I have so much to post about our 10-day trip back to St.Louis last week! We had a great time staying with Grandpa Cooper and Moots!

Friday Flashback

Here's a pic of coxswain plus 8 from the TU rowing team just after a race...somewhere. I'm not sure where the photo was taken because this pic has been in a little frame for years and years instead of in chronological order in a photo album. I think it was taken my sophomore year of college based on the people in the shot (and the presence of the golden nip uni...) But anyway, I love this photo. It reminds me of the friendships and sense of community we had on the team together. The sheer volume of hours spent together created a close-knit group. Combine that with the 5 am wake-up calls, the hard work required for rowing, and a lot of travel...It was a very unique season of life, to say the least. I'm grateful to have been able to be a part of the team and many of those girls made a lasting impact on my life.

Houston

We have a problem. Some technical difficulties. The links to the right side of our blog no longer show up unless you're on my desk-top computer at my house. I'm sure I messed up a setting somewhere, but not sure how to fix it. Any insight, anyone? Could you email me the answer?