Last blog of 2011- an Ava update

For those of you that follow me on Facebook you might have noticed what a rough week we've had.
Christmas night Ava began her off set schedule of not sleeping. Coughing, skin rashes, and nights on end of watching Disney and DreamWorks DVD"s. What a week.
Ava had this week off school due to winter break.
I had so many plans. We were going to go out and take pictures, go for a small hike, go to Sacramento and go to the zoo and do some fun things, go to the Discovery Museum etc. Instead we spent a mass majority of our time on the couch. Like bad parents, watching TV. Every other day or so she would get a couple of hours of energy running around the house doing her usual cute things.
The times she felt terrible she would sit. She wouldn't eat, drink or even speak to us. Other times she was just outright cranky. But for a vast majority she was a good girl. She was a real trooper. Sitting around not complaining.

Now that the weekend is here. Today is the last day in 2011. We spent most of the day at home. Except for a delivery of Christmas presents to the other Wozniak's, we stayed home, away from the crazies.
Ava felt a little better. Still wiped out. Still a little more white than normal, not up to her standard of eating and pedisure intake. But she was sure a ham this afternoon after she got a good nap in this morning.

Tomorrow is Sunday. The beginning of the new year. Welcome 2012.
Ava will surely be feeling much better. And hopefully we can spend the last two days of her vacation doing something fun other than sitting on the couch watching more brainless TV.

Ava sure says some funny stuff.
While my resolution is not really to make any resolutions for 2012 other than take it one day at a time.
I do hope to take more pictures, continue with my blogs and updates for the little miss, continue adding to her school book of progress reports and hopefully we can do more fun things this year.

I'm looking forward to 2012! I'm looking forward to watching Ava grow, continue to amaze us with her amazing vocabulary and spit back what she has learned from all of us. We love Ava more than anything. And she truly has been the light in the tunnel for 2011. We've had such a rough year. Ava has really helped heal our hearts, mend our souls and gave us a reason to truck on and want to make a better life not just for ourselves but to look out for her better interest. She is amazing. We are so lucky and so blessed. Words can't describe the love that we feel for our little Ava (even when she makes us want to pull our hair out and scream at the top of our lungs). We love her with all of our hearts.

2012 will be a great year. Phil, Ava and I will venture into 2012 and make this journey, whatever it may be, a good one.
Take one day at a time. Thats our motto this year.

The end of the year

As we come to the end of the year.
I want to jump, kick and scream my way into the new year.
A new beginning. A new outlook. Continuing with my Masters. Attempting to learn new computer software and crossing my fingers that I can make a go of the photography business I've dreamed of starting for several years.

Looking back on 2011
I'd actually really rather not.
I had such great hopes. I thought my mom would get better. By January she was already in the hospital for a week. By February 2nd she had passed away. That is one night that will live with me forever. In my dreams at night my mom visits me. She is happy and content. And I know that my dad and I did the right thing when they asked us if we wanted her to wake from surgery and after a short discussion we opted out. We both knew deep in our hearts, we looked at each other and knew, that if she woke up from surgery she would have literally gotten out of bed and kicked out asses.
The night before she passed. For some reason I went over and visited my parents. Really out of the norm since my parents at that point were not taking care of Ava anymore and it was a work night. When my dad left the room, my mom leaned close to me and told me when I left that she was going to take her life. I knew at that very moment, it was serious. She asked for an ambulance ride to the hospital. My dad was skeptical but I called and arranged for an ambulance to come and pick up my mom. She went down the street with flying colors. Lights on, an ambulance and fire trucks came to her rescue. I'm actually very glad they did. Because although my mom only weighed slightly over 100 lbs my dad and I could not lift her into the car to get her to the hospital.
I talked with her briefly on the phone the next day. But I am thankful I said everything I really wanted and needed to say in the weeks ahead of her untimely death.
She was my very best friend in the whole world. When she left us behind, there are no words to explain how I felt. My mom lived 2-3 miles down the street. For the first year of Ava's life she she and my dad took care of Ava, I saw them at least 5 days a week. Even when she was watching Ava, I called my mom at least 5 times a day, just to talk, give updates on stupid stuff at work and ask how Ava was doing.
The day my mom died. My heart broke into a million pieces. I don't think I have ever been so sad in my entire life. Although I didn't cry when we scattered her ashes in a field just west of Lake Tahoe, or when the school that she worked at and retired from held a beautiful ceremony that captured everything my mom was about, I still did not shed a tear.
It finally hit me at Christmas. I threw a fit, one fit for Ava's age then cried for several hours.

While I have only talked about the passing of my mom.
My wonderful Grandmother 3 weeks later, exactly to the day, passed away after my mom.
My dad, Phil, Ava and I were fortunate enough to make a trip down there just days before she passed.
My Grandmother was the glue that held our family so tightly together.
With her loss, I'm scared that the connection we have will fizzle and be lost.
Although in the past several years I have not made as much of an effort as I could have to go and visit our family in southern Cali, it seems more important now than ever to hold that bond.
My grandmother did a great job, holding family gatherings at her house. Now that the house is gone. The family is further away, it seems hard to figure out how to get everyone together with all of our busy schedules. Maybe I'm just reading into it too much.

Its just hard leaving 2011 knowing that EVERYTHING that I once knew, is so very different.

Not to have a total pity party but the same day that we lost our beloved Grandmother, we made the decision to put our family cat to sleep.

In May Phil lost one of his really good friends was shot while walking downtown Reno.

And in November my best friend lost her father in law.

So many people, not just myself have lost ones that they love and have had a year harder than even I could imagine.

In addition to everything else in 2011 Phil was in the hospital twice for renal failure. He had nose surgery and finally is undergoing long term treatment for all his medical issues.

We are done with 2011.
While we have loved watching Ava grow, become independent, caring, loving and of course two. She has been the light that has lit the pathway to the end of 2011.
Without her, I am not sure how we would have made it through this year. Ava is a blessing. We love her with every ounce of our beings. She is the most amazing little girl we have ever known. She is smart. She has had her troubles this year, but she is still here. She is the love of our lives.

As I look back on 2011. It was a dark and gloomy year. While I was able to quit my job and return to school to get my masters. I get more time at home with my husband and daughter. I do count the blessings that we have had.
They have found solutions for Phil. Even when his doctors thought his treatment would fail, his last appointment he was given the thumbs up, he is one of the only patients to go through this treatment program and actually have pretty good success with it.
We have been able to keep our house, which is actually been a miracle after Phil got sick.
We have family that loves us. We love each other. We have amazing friends, which unfortunately we have not seen enough of this year. This year I hope we can get back on track and get on with our lives, get back out in the world and visit with people and make more trips and reconnect with our friends that we once were so close with. We've sort of just lived a shell of a life for the past year. Not really living, just going along the best that we can and trying to figure out who we are and what we are doing after so much has changed in our lives.

I have a really really good feeling about 2012. Not sure what. But something good is going to happen.
I wish everyone health and happiness in 2012.

Christmas

Ava's 3rd Christmas turned out better than I hoped.
I kind of lost all ambition the last couple of days before the big day.
But the bike that Santa got Ava was a big hit! She loves all the presents that she was given. She plays with all of them.
I feel bad we didn't get more toys for Ava. We focused more on being a big girl. Big girl bedding, big girl clothes, big girl bike. But she got really cool toys from others so I think it made up for it! :)

Christmas turned out to be ok after all. After my meltdown on Saturday things went a little better. I guess this holiday turned out to be harder than I expected. I really missed my mom. We didn't really do the same things here in Nevada that we did in San Diego (meaning, we didn't put the tree together, we didn't put out decorations together, we didn't go through all the ornaments) but I guess I wanted our Christmas to be special for our family like it was with mine when I was a little kid. I guess when we get older we just have to make new traditions. Things aren't always the same and we just have to move on.

Thats exactly what we did. I cooked Christmas dinner. Mostly from bags and boxes. :) Store bought mashed potatoes (which were awesome), frozen veggies, dinner rolls, ribs, little wienies. It turned out pretty good.
We just had a few family members over. We watched the Grinch, played video games and then everyone went home. It was a pretty easy going day.

Ava seemed to enjoy her day. She wasn't feeling so well. But she had a really fun day. Christmas night....we didn't go to bed. We were up until 2am Monday morning.
I think her daycare sicknesses are starting to settle in. They always say the first year of school is the hardest. We are finally figuring that out. She is still a little under the weather but you can't tell unless she sniffs her nose or coughs. She's a pretty good sport when she's sick. She must truly be a Wozniak. She just waits it out and rolls with the punches. She doesn't let anything get her down.

We made it through Christmas.
My first Christmas with out mom. First Christmas without Grandmother and first Christmas without our cat Fizz.

One of my favorite things that my parents and I did when I was growing up, we would usually set up for Christmas Thanksgiving weekend. We would bring in the tree and put it together. we would string the lights on the tree while listening to Christmas music on one of the local radio stations, we would put hooks on the ornaments, then get out Santa Brother (since I didn't have any siblings I would carry around this Santa doll when I was really young), we would set out the Christmas town, my dad would hang lights. At night we would sit and light the fire in fire place, drink hot chocolate and either that same weekend or one of the weekends closer to Christmas we would make petty coat tails. Those were my mom's signature cookies. She would make tons of other cookies as well. I would take them to school, she would take them to work and my dad would share them at his school as well. My mom went all out at Christmas. We always had tons of presents under the tree.

I think maybe I feel bad because I don't know what to get people for gifts. Maybe I feel bad because we didn't get to hang lights this year, or bring out all of the Christmas decorations like I wanted (part of me is nervous because Ava is so young and I'm just scared she might break something). I am not a cook so I don't really bake cookies or make baked good for people like my mom did.

But we got through the holidays. We are so much closer to 2012. I have a wonderful feeling that 2012 will be an amazing year. Not sure why, or what but I'm positive 2012 will be a great year!

Ava's 3rd Christmas

Boy Ava has a had a month!
First the foot, then she whacked her nose at school and had black eyes for several days, then she got strep throat and was out of school for 4 days (sat on the couch for 4 days straight and we must have watched Monsters Inc, Cars, and Shrek II at least 7 times each).

At Ava's last doctors appointment she was up to 22.5 lbs she is now wearing mostly 24 month shirts, 18 month pants and she can now fit in the circo brand 24 month pants. She also is up to a size 6 shoe. She is getting longer and taller. Her hair is so long I can't believe it.
She went back to school on Tuesday this week. Must have been just enough time, Ava started talking to her teachers again (she stopped talking to them after her foot incident, and Ava had a melt down, or two or three ever morning before school). Ava didn't have melt downs before school this week. She started saying more sentences, she started eating a little more this week. Everyday we got her from school she was in a good mood. She has been hitting less, getting along with us better.
Ava says some of the cutest things!
Here are a couple of quotes from this week.
"Is daddy sleeping? Awww he's so cute"
"I sat in Santa lap. Mommy, I see Santa!"
"Are you OK? Awe, are you OK?"
"I want to go whee whee whee (fly in the air) mama"

Phil: " Are you a Diva?"
Ava: "No. I'm Ava"

Tonight she wanted me to read "Ho Ho Ho Tucker". I didn't even know we had that book, but sure enough she found it and read it along with me tonight.


This year I got ready for Christmas early. Ava likes the tree decorations but hasn't touched the presents that are under the tree.
Very thankful for that! As Christmas approaches I grow more depressed. I think this year without my mom and my grandmother and the usual Christmas traditions it has been harder than I imagined. I'm really thankful I did everything early because as of today, I don't feel like doing anything until the holiday is over.

Ava is full of surprises. It seems that if we conquer one thing (like getting over her fear of going to school) she is back to wetting the bed.
I guess its time to buckle down and get down to potty training. We've tried this before, but this time we need to make better effort with consistency, sticker charts, cookies for going potty and maybe even turning her crib into a big girl toddler bed, complete with big girl bedding (which Santa is bringing her for Christmas)

What a month

It has been almost a month since I've updated on Ava.
I don't even know where to begin!

I guess I'll start out with the new phrases Ava says.
Ava says all kinds of funny things. She has become quite her own!
One of my favorites is that she thinks bigger birds (Seagulls, Geese etc) are Turkey's.
Ava says "Hi Turkey!!!" or she will say "Turkey" and start screaming (giddy scream).
Her favorite movie is "Donkey" aka Shrek.
Her favorite is Shrek II. She asks "Baby crying?" when Shrek and Fiona arrive in Far Far Away.
My most favorite is she will cup her hand near her ear and says "Hear it?" "A doggy, hear it?" "Water, hear it?"

She has also gotten into a pattern of two year old behavior. Copying what others say to her.
If I ask her a question (I am not her favorite person right now) she will say "Stop it. Be quiet" or
"Don't touch! Its mine". "Don't say that. I don't like it".

She communicates very very very well.

Two days before Thanksgiving I get a frantic call from Ava's school saying a kid pushed her and she hurt her foot. Thinking maybe she just landed on it wrong we waited it out overnight. When she still said "Ouchy" in the morning and wouldn't walk on it I took her to ER. They did x-rays and while they didn't actually find anything (her bones are super small and still forming) they declared it fractured. Since this was the day before Thanksgiving we had to wait until Monday to get a cast.
By Thursday (Thanksgiving) we declared Ava needed a bath took off the temporary cast and she refused to put it back on. By Friday she was limping around. Monday's doctors appointment went well. She didn't need a cast.

Last week we went on a mini, much needed vacation. We headed to San Diego early for my Mom's memorial/dedication.
While nothing went according to plan. We had a ton of time bonding as a family. We got along better than we have in months. We bonded. We needed the trip and didn't even know it.
Unfortunately we didn't get to do near the amount of stuff we wanted to! We wanted to visit people, go places, see things. But between Ava's off schedule and Phil (actually doing pretty good for the most part) we ended up spending a lot of time at the condo we rented for a week. Fine by me. We walked 2 blocks down to the beach. We went to the beach almost everyday. Didn't get in the water but we got to look at it. Ava and Phil fell in the water fully clothed, the first day in San Diego. Traveling for us with a toddler might not happen again, at least for a while.

The memorial came and went. The school did a fantastic job with the dedication. My mom's old library was turned into a reading center. Her picture and a plaque were hung on the wall. She would be so proud and honored.

She was a fantastic woman and a super mom. I hope I'm half the mom she was! She was amazing. She lived, loved and breathed books and she did almost anything for me! She was a great mom. The school did a fantastic job capturing my mom's personality in that room that used to be her office. They did a great job.

Our last night in San Diego Ava fell off the king size bed (how does a toddler not even 3 feet tall) fall off a king size bed?! So I didn't sleep after that. She kicked me out of bed several times (with me pushing her back over to the middle). Phil was smart and didn't even attempt to share with the two of us. Smart of him because I didn't sleep a wink after the little missy took a dive for the carpet.


We got up at 3:45 and left by 4:15am. We returned our rental car, and got first class service with a ride in our rental car to the air port. I totally recommend Hertz to anyone who travels! Their fairs are reasonable and they did an amazing job with our drop off.

We got to the airport right at 5am. Perfect timing. We got through the line fast. The TSA check in was kind of crazy with all of our bags, the car seat, the stroller and birth certificates and boarding passes etc. UGH. But we got there with about an hour to spare. Ava did pretty good waiting. We got on the flight. Ava got a little nervous with the take off and landing but did ok for the most part on the flight. Straight shot. Only an hour and 10 minute flight. not too bad.

We kept Ava home yesterday. She slept a little over three hours. I think it will take some time to get her schedule back in place. Her schedule was so crazy during our trip. She didn't eat much and didn't drink the pedisure like she does at home.
She still didn't eat much, even at home.

Almost a month!

Almost a month has gone by and I have not updated Ava's blog! ACK!

Well we figured out a new way to put Ava to sleep. We put on a diaper, underwear (sometimes two) then a onesie and pants. This has been working wonders for weeks!!! Hardly any problems! We run into a minor problem once in a while but nothing major.

Ava is singing songs.
She repeats phrases that were said to her all day at school on the way home each evening in the car.
"No. Stop it."
"I don't like it Bam"
"No more crying"
"No screaming"
She's a funny little thing.

On the way home tonight she said
Ava: "Donut"
Me: "Did you mean appointment?"
Ava:"No. DONUT. Yummmm"
She cracks me up!

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Ava has been doing really well entertaining herself on the weekends. We have a good time running amok at night! Typical chase around the couch, tickle monster, and catch me if you can!
This is going to be a short update. I'm pretty tired. I hope next time I will update with more pictures.

My child is the next Houdini

I believe I gave birth to the next Houdini.

About two nights ago I put Ava's diaper on, duct tape, then proceeded with a onesie and pants. Put her to bed and said goodnight.
The next morning the pants were off, the diaper (with poop) was outside the crib on the floor, and her onesie was still in tact! Amazing, right?! How on earth did my child get her diaper off without getting the onesie unbuttoned?! I know...we are still in shock.

So we learned. We listened. And we are excited to tell you, she now is so super excited to wear mini mouse underwear over her diaper. We still duct tape and we still secure her with a onesie. For the past two nights, I haven't had to clean the bed!

This week has been a busy week for the little miss. This week started out with picture day! Ava had her school pictures done at school. So cute! She has a crush on a boy at school. She calls him "BAM". She has also been doing ok with potty training.

I guess if you get one thing, you don't really get other things. Maybe Ava is a little excited about potty training or maybe she is too busy running around, but she doesn't seem to be eating as much as she was before. Its ok. I know its a phase. I just hope she starts to eat again soon.

Ava is really fun. She runs around the house like a crazy person, attacks our legs and latches on like we are never leaving. Then she will run to the other parent and do the same. She loves her mini doll which she named "Baby Senado" .

Ava says full on sentences minus some parts that make them grammatically correct. :)
"I want milk"
"My baby Senado"
"I want go outside"
"I play with BAM"
"I color"
"My movie"
"My book"
"Where my stroller?"
"I want apple"
"I want yogurt"
"I want milk"
"I want juice"

We play games

Like Ni-Night
We lay out a blanket and get a pillow then we take turns going "Ni-Night"
And we play coffee house
Phil and I sit on the couch and Ava brings us "tea" or "cappuccino"

We also play chase and work on puzzles. She likes to help me cook when I let her.
Lately I've been fustrated because I don't believe I've been giving her anything with food allergies but she comes home once in a while with some allergy bumps. Tonight it was really bad.

Ava talks so much.
She loves her princess skirts. She promptly removed the cow costume I got her for Halloween and wanted a princess outfit. Luckily I still had the tutu I made a year and a half ago she was able to wear that for the Halloween/Birthday party we went to over the weekend.
She has her own opinions and thoughts. That's for sure. I'm just glad we got the diaper thing under control for a little while. Its nice not having to wash sheets twice a day!

What a crazy week....

This has been one of the longest weeks!

Ava started a new class on Monday. She moved up to the Squirrel classroom. She sits in toddler chairs, they learn to potty train, they have sinks their size in their classroom and its big for them to run around in.
She was in class Monday and Tuesday.
(Tuesday I had a mid term...which I'm pretty sure I failed).
Wednesday we were supposed to go to San Diego. Tuesday night I freaked out. Ava had a runny nose, it was supposed to rain, I was so nervous about driving in San Diego (because I haven't done it since 2004), I was worried about leaving Phil because he hadn't been out of bed for 2 weeks.
Wednesday came, I only slept 2 hours. It was pouring rain. We all got ready. We loaded up the truck and took off for the airport. We couldn't even see the lines in the road. It was crazy. I kept telling myself it would be ok. We got to the airport and we turned around and went home.
While I'm really sad I didn't make it to San Diego. I think maybe I jumped in head first without really thinking. I didn't plan my trip very well. I wanted to see my cousin and her family. I wanted to see my neighbors and old friends. I really miss my California family.
I'm really glad I stayed home. While Phil still couldn't get out of bed. We had a fun time hanging out at the house. Phil got to see Ava and all her glory.
On Wednesday we started potty training. Ava did really well in the morning! Nap time she took off her diaper. In the afternoon, I got a little lazy, from lack of sleep, and we didn't work on it so much. Thursday same thing. While its still hit and miss with the potty (good thing for Pull Ups!) she is still working on it.
Ava asked to use the potty. We only really started working on it because we need to get Ava trained not to take off her diaper at night. Almost every morning and every nap we've had to change the bed because she decides she has to pee and won't in her diaper. Duct tape isn't working anymore. She can still wiggle her way loose.
Wednesday it snowed in the mountains.
Thursday it snowed some more. And in the morning we got a few flakes at our house.
Friday Ava and I took Grandpa to lunch.

Saturday we stayed home until I couldn't stand it anymore. We then went to check out a farm. It was pretty awesome.
Ava got to feed the goats. She loved the goats and chickens best. We saw Yak's and Cows, Llama's, and Pigs. It was pretty fun. Ava even got to see some "Courses" (aka Horses).
Today (Sunday) we got up, both Ava and I didn't feel so awesome so we were planning to go and cheer on the JDRF team.
We got there, there were so many people. Our team ended up being in the back of the line so we walked REALLY slow. I figured Ava loved being in her stroller and it wasn't a long walk last year so we went. Well...they changed the course. Instead of 1 mile, it was 3! Wow!

After the big walk, JDRF served lunch. We stayed for lunch. It was nice. I liked visiting with everyone. Ava got to meet a pirate. And all afternoon she was saying "YAARRRR". LOL

I hope this help find a cure for diabetes!

Ava had fun too. She got a little tired of sitting in the stroller for so long. But she had fun hanging out.

On a side note. After two weeks of calling Phil's Doctors office, we finally got a call back on Friday! After three weeks in bed, we have an emergency appointment on Monday with his GI. We also got an appointment with his Ears, Nose and Throat doctor for Thursday because after his allergic reaction to the only medicine that would make him better, his nasal polyps are so enlarged he can't breath through his nose at all. After using the medicine for his nose, he can no longer hear out of one of his ears. Its been a fun week for us all. Oh, did I mention that if he stands up longer than 20 minutes he turns white? Yeah...its been a fun week.
But we've enjoyed hanging out with him because he really doesn't complain much. I feel bad because I'm doing all that I know how to do, which is make appointments.

26 months and stuff

Today Ava is officially 26 months old!
Such a big girl!
She has learned yet another new technique. The technique of STALLING.
When we put her to bed, she learned to STALL. She begins to ask for all sorts of things, "Teeth" (to be brushed), "Book" (to be read),
"Cereal" (to eat), "Hug"....you get the idea.
Of course, who can say no to another hug?! I'm having to learn to say no. :( Its hard. I love Ava hugs!

Ava continues to be amazing.
Next week we will be traveling the distance to San Diego! I'm so excited to return to my home town and see people I haven't seen for years, but I can't tell you how nervous I am to travel with a toddler by myself and to rent a car! All of which I have never done before! So nervous! I know Ava will love the plane ride. She loves planes, and she loved the last plane we went on. Thankfully, the trip is less than 2 hours. I've started packing, trying to get everything in ONE suit case, my purse plus Ava's princess tote for the plane. Trying to figure out the umbrella stroller AND carseat deal. But it will all work out, I'm sure.

I'm sad that Phil will not be going with us, having extra hands for traveling is always a plus, and having him out of the experience of San Diego is such a bummer. But we got our plane tickets for the week and he needs to be home to run the business.

I'm excited to show Ava the beach, and she will meet new people, and pets! I'm sure she is going to be very excited to meet my cousin's new dog! I can't wait.


Ava and I went to the American Heart Walk on Sunday. And we met Billie and Juno and walked with them and then went out for coffee afterwards. Ava and Juno were so cute together copying each other and playing well. What fun! :)


I am a huge facebook fan. Sometimes there are posts that just ring home.
I wanted to put this one on my blog because it rings true for both Phil and it did for my Mom as well.
It's hard to explain to someone who has no clue. It's a daily struggle being in pain or feeling sick on the inside while you look fine on the outside. Please put this as your status for at least 1 hour if you or someone you know has an invisible illness (PTSD, Anxiety, Bipolar, Depression, Diabetes, LUPUS, Fibromyalgia, MS, ME, Arthritis, Cancer, Heart Disease,Crohn's, Epilepsy, Autism,M.D. etc.) " Never judge what you don't understand I know which of my real friends will copy ♥

Over the weekend Phil had a very horrible allergic reaction to the antibiotics he was given to clear up his intestinal track. His face was completely swollen. He couldn't see out of his eyes, he couldn't breath. When he slept, it sounded like he would stop breathing all together. His nasal polyps grew so large it blurred his vision, he couldn't hear, and his nose...we'll you get the idea. Poor Phil.
He looks 90% better than he did over the weekend. Unfortunately he had to stop taking the medicine that was making him better so now he's back to the pain.

So many words...so little time

So much to say!
My little missy is talking up a storm!

We have now entered into a new phase. Everything is "My".
Yesterday when Ava came home our conversation went a little something like this.
Ava "I want cake"
So I give her mini cinn. buns from costco
Ava "Happy Birthday! My Happy Birthday!"

Today when I asked her to say Goodbye to her Dad, she said " Bye Bye my daddy. Bye bye my kitty".

This weekend was a pretty good one. Phil was sick, and in bed most of the weekend, which is unfortunate. I don't understand a lot of what is going on. Every time he goes to the doctor (on average, once or twice a week) they give him new medicine. He is now on up to 10 different pills each day. Thats just the different types of pills, no including how many doses are in a day or how many he has take per day. Poor Phil. I hope this passes soon.


Ava came home on Friday and we had just enough time to play with some bubbles outside. My neighbor came by and told us about the Air Races crash. Ava played a little longer outside with the water and bubbles. While I was giving Ava a bath Phil looked up the Crash and called his Dad to make sure he was ok and not at the Air Races that day.
What a crazy accident. A plane crash into the box seats killing the pilot and injuring many others. Over 50 people were taken to the hospital, care flight and ambulance.




We had a fun weekend full of bubbles, and friends!

We went to a picnic, and met some friends at the park, went to a baby shower and then had a great visit with my sister in law and the kids!
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Juno, Luka and Ava played really well together. Watching Ava and Juno play together had to be one of the highlights of my weekend. Both are at the "My" stage. "My Ava" "My Juno". It was cute to watch them together.
It was a fantastic weekend.

Ava also had fun playing with Addison at the baby shower!


Monday I got word that Ava is changing classrooms. This was heartbreaking for me. She is getting older. She is no longer my baby. She is moving up to the Squirrel classroom. It takes about two weeks to transition, her teacher, Ms Alicia said that Ava was the most well behaved kid in the classroom. Ava got to participate in the "station" part of the classroom. Ava listened, and paid attention and actually did the projects that she was asked to do. She didn't color on herself at the coloring station, which I guess it common.

This morning when I was getting her ready, she said "my turn" so she put on her pull up, all by herself. It took a few times but she got it. She put on her pants by herself. She attempted to put on her shirt by herself. She missed on the of arm holes so it looked a little funny but she did it herself. She brushed her teeth by herself. I helped with her socks, and she chose to wear her water shoes to school (which she picked out and put on all by herself).
All this independence is wonderful, but it makes me sad because she is getting bigger and older.



Monday and Tuesdays I have class. I truly miss being home with my daughter, even if its only for 2 hours. I'm thankful that I can pick her up from school early. I'm grateful for her school because she is learning so much. I honestly believe that she is learning to talk so much because of the kids she is around and the lessons she learns at school.
She is truly amazing. Everyday she comes home and says something new and amazing. Everyday I learn to look at the world from a 2 year old's stand point. Its so interesting. I love that she can communicate with us now. She can tell us what she wants for dinner. She tells us what she wants to wear to bed. She can tell us if she wants water, milk or juice.
She can tell us if she has boogies.
The other day I was getting ready to put a diaper on her and she starts telling me "pee pee" "poop" so I run with my naked child and put her on the toilet. And she peed! She said "oopsie!" I said "No no, you did great! Good job baby!" We high fived!
Everyday gets a little more interesting.
I love this stage. I love my baby girl. I love the weekends we have together.

Balloons!

Every year we go to the Balloon Races! It's so much fun!
We wake up around 3:45am and get to the parking garage around 4:30 and watch the balloons dawn patrol around 5am and its all upward bound from there!

This year, Ava is more aware of her surroundings. She knew we were up earlier than normal, she was actually excited about being up early. On our way in the car she was silent and looking outside. As we passed by buildings with lights she would say "Oh wow!" or "Cool!" but "Oh wow" was her favorite phrase of the morning.
We are usually in the house by 6:30pm and don't leave the house before 7am so the dark and the lights were really exciting to her.


I asked Ava if she was excited to see her cousins and she tried to say "cousins" and would then say "Juno" and "Luka". It was cute! She was really excited to see her cousins.

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We walked to the park, and got settled in. Either the crowd was bigger this year or we got there later than normal this year, but there were TONS of people! It could be that we went on 9-11 and they were having a special event so maybe the crowd was a little larger than normal because of the special event. It was crazy trying to find a place to sit on the grass but we got the perfect spot! It was awesome!

It was dark, but not really that cold this year. And when the sun came up, it didn't really get colder or warmer. It was weird. Usually its FREEZING (like mittens, jackets, etc) and then we are so hot walking back to the car we need shorts, and t-shirts. But this year it seemed to stay pretty moderate. Jackets before and after the sun rose, not too hot, not too cold. It was nice, and perfect.

The Balloons did Dawn Patrol, and the "twinkle twinkle" and everything that they usually do. Its amazing to see these huge balloons light up the park.
They usually play the dueling banjo song and have the balloons light up in turn with the song. It's pretty amazing.


They had special moments that went along with 9-11. Naming off the times that each plane hit and when the towers fell. The Gov. spoke. It was pretty amazing.

At sunrise the national anthem was sung, and the balloons carried the flag up in the air, and planes from the Air Races came racing across the sky. It was a pretty spectacular morning.


After all that was done, the balloons started blowing up, and taking off and the crowds started moving back as the balloons needed more space to take off. Ava is in love with Balloons. She LOVED seeing all the balloons, everywhere! It was fun to watch her as she was aware of all the balloons around her this year. It was awesome.


It was fun going with Billie, Luka and Juno. Juno and Luka get a long so well. It was fun to see Juno and Luka. :) Ava enjoyed the time with her cousins.