last week, on the 23rd to be exact, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday! i hope when i am 60 i live my life with as much joy as you do.
me and dad in jamaica on my wedding day...i love this pic!
love you dad and hope you had a wonderful birthday!...p.s. ava's wondering if there is any more green icing left???!!! every day i read one of the most fabulous blogs i have found: http://www.kellyskornerblog.com
if you get a chance and have not read it, you really should stop in and check it out it makes me thankful, it makes me laugh, it makes me cry, it makes me pray.
(she is on a bit of a break right now for a few days, but will be back soon) even on her break, she has posted a few times and this morning i woke up to this:
i am so grateful for all that i have and know what a miracle it is. i have had several friends struggle with trying to have a baby and every day i pray for them, that they will have the family they desire and every day i thank God for the family i have been so blessed to have.
i saw these super cute pea pod necklaces on etsy and then at an arts festival i went to last weekend. i sooooo wanted to get one, but really thought i could make them or something similar myself. i have a few friends that make jewelry and i just knew that one of them would help me figure it out! i thought these pea pods would make perfect mother's day presents for all the mama's we celebrate! sooooo, ava spent part of the day with her nonna (bo's mom) and i thought that would be the perfect opportunity to go to the bead shop and get all the materials i would need to create these little cuties. of course, not knowing anything about making jewelry, i took a picture and asked one of the ladies working if she could help me find the materials i might need. well, she thougth the little pods were adorable (she hadn't seen them before) and helped me find all the wire and things i needed. then she sat down with me and walked me through how to make one. first she showed me (i watched her) and then we made one together (both of us working one, me following her lead). she probobly spent a good 45 minutes with me and i am so grateful! she was so kind and patient and i will not forget that. if you live in the fort worth area and need any jewelry making/beading supplies, definitly go to the artful bead, off Trail Lake Drive. there is even a "play table" where people come in and sit and just work on projects. the atmosphere is so positive...i left feeling so good! i came home and made several pea pods and am so excited to give them for mother's day gifts!!!! here are just a few of the sweet pea pods i made :) i am loving them!!!
such a handsome boy!
ava got to spend a day with daddy today while i went out and spent the day with a friend (more on that later). when i got home she was parading around in his work boots...how this girl can even walk in those heavy things, i have no idea! she is a bit under the weather, but that doesn't seem to slow her down much! 
just five things that made me smile today:
1. peach tea at olive garden...yummy!
2. some quality time spent with my mom and ava
3. ava kissing herself in the mirror
ava: "awwwwww, aba, *smooch*"...this girl cracks me up!
4. my husband making me feel beautiful...even in my "fluffier" state (this is going to be a long pregnancy...already feeling shamu-esque)
5. feeling little mister moving around....such an amazing feeling!
**think we have a frontronner in the name category "hollis ryan". we both love it...always thought if we had a boy, he would be "bo ryan" after his daddy, but for some reason, hollis just feels right....we'll see....things may change in the next 4-5 months!
anyway, hope you all had lots of smiles today, too :)
so this is the baby belly at 20 weeks (and after a butterfinger blizzard from DQ...thanks vickie, such a treat!) i totally regret not taking any bare belly pics when i was pregnant with ava, and decided that this time, even though they may not be all that pretty, i'm going to do it. i decided to start at 20 weeks (probobly should have started at the beginning to show the growing, oh well).
we had a wonderful easter! we actually started it last night with a visit to my dad and maryann's house. he made his wonderful chicken and wild rice soup...and let me say, it was delicious! we had a great time visiting and hanging out with them! enjoyed a little rainstorm...ava liked to watch the rain hit the skylight.
this morning started with a surprise...daddy stopped on his way home from work last night and bought ava a bubble lawn mower and some white tulips for me (my favorite!) always fun to wake up to a surprise...i don't care how old you are! ava got some books, bubbles, and sidewalk chalk in her easter basket....such a sweet easter bunny! we went over to nonna's house around 12 and had lunch with everyone. bo had to go to work at 2, so he headed to work and we headed out to rick and joanne's for some easter family fun. ava always has fun with her cousins and there is always a huge egg hunt out there, which she enjoyed! i want to know how she knew to shake the eggs when she picked them up...she would pick it up, shake it, then put it in the bag!? so funny!
after all that fun, we headed out to my mom's and felix's for even more fun & more food! grams had hidden eggs all over the house for ava to find while we were there and she enjoyed that. we had yummy food and of course ava had to play out side, & feed macho and sam. felix gave her a ride in the wagon. i think that's her favorite part! the kiddo fell asleep on the way home...no nap and lots of play makes ava a very sleepy girl! we got home around 9 and i am so exhausted. it was such a great day, but it wore me out! i hope you all had a wonderful easter full of family and friends!
xoxo
these eyes slay me...
i love this one...watching the "aplanes"
another one... 
okay...have to explain the leggings...i wanted to make sure ava would sit down in the flowers and know from experience that there can be bugs and the grass can be itchy, so i threw on her little leggins not intending for them to be in any picures...however, they made it in quite a few...and actually, i love it! 
since my child refuses to look at me when i am behind the camera, i put it down for a second and tried to play peek-a-boo with her...just snapped this one without looking...so glad i did! wish i would have gotten more of her body, but so glad i got that cute little face! 
i have been loving my online forum of ladies from evolve and explore (the online workshops i participated in last year) but have been searching for local opportunities to meet with or work with other photographers in the area. anyway, one late night while doing some online surfing, i discovered a bunch of local meet up groups and one of them was a photography meet up group. i decided to fill out the application and see if i would be accepted. a few weeks later, i got an e-mail saying i had been accepted and last night i attended my first meet up. the topic was "external flashes". i really am very much into natural light photography, but thought that sometimes you get into a situation and a little flash can really save you if you know how to use it correctly. so grams watched the munchkin and i drove out to euless...calling her when i got there to let her know it was legit (i know, paranoid, but you never know). there were about 10 people there and it was at one of the participants home studio. everyone was so nice and there are all different experience levels, so that's nice. i really did learn so much and actually have a little itch to get an external flash to play with...
at the end of the session, the man that did the presentation, an experienced photographer asked if anyone would be interested in coming along on a shoot to see the flashes in action and help. of course, i jumped on that. i have actually contacted a few local photographers in the area seeking out this type of experience and have never gotten any sort of response...that really surprised me...i mean, who doesn't want a free set of hands. i'm not sure, maybe it is more trouble than i am aware of, but was dissapointed anyway. so when ray asked it really just made me so happy to know there are people out there that are willing to share their knoweldge with others or even just offer the opportunity to be a fly on the wall and learn something. i am so excited about this new group and am hoping to learn so much and make some new friends. it really is a wonderful experience to be in a group of people that share the same passion. i love photography. right now it is a hobby...i don't know if it will ever be more than that, but i know i love it and want to learn as much as i can!
last year i had brandi from b4 photography take ava's easter pics and i absolutly loved them. so this year i waited and waited for her announcement of the day and was on the phone as quick as i could. i really want to keep this a tradition for her ava and i also really wanted to get a family shot of the three of us before the new baby gets here in august. here are a few favorites...
isn't my man handsome?!...i'm just sayin'...
ava loved those bunnies...she cried and cried when we had to go...i have been trying to talk bo into getting one for her. he then he reminds me we already have two dogs and a little munchkin on the way...reality...soooooo, no bunnies this easter!just two of ava's bunny pics...i'll post more later...they are loading so slow and i'm ready for some sleep!! anyway, brandi at b4 photography took them and they are wonderful, as usual! more to come...
so last night was supposed to be full of fun and crafting for me. ava was going to spend the night with her grams and i was going to have a very much needed craft night with the girls. so much fun. anyway, everything was packed up and ready to go when ava woke up from her nap screaming...and i mean SCREAMING!!!!!! i went and got her and she wouldn't open her left eye. she could open it, but it was all red and she kept rubbing it and wouldn't open it. this went on for about 30 minutes and i decided i needed to go get her checked out, so not normal for her. this is actually the first emergency trip i have ever made with her...almost two years...pretty good, i think. i loaded her up in the car and drove to the nearest care now (of course this would happen on a saturday when her pediatrician's office is closed). thank goodness the wait was pretty short (keep in mind the crying is continuing). first off the dr. checked her ears...yep, double ear infection to start with, lovely. then onto her eye. in order to see if it was scratched, they had to put this dye in her eye and then look at it under this gigantic magnifying glass. so with the help of a very sweet nurse, we pinned her down to they could do this. yep, she is screaming again. and yep, a huge scratch right there on her eyeball. scary. so with two percriptions in hand we went to get them filled. while we waited in the car (thank goodness for drive through pharmacies), ava fell asleep, i'm sure all the trauma at the dr. office really wore her out. so i parked the car in the shade and waited the 30 minutes so sweetness could get a nap. then we came home and snuggled on the couch and watched bolt, ava's new favorite. i was expecting a rough night, but everything actually seemed to go pretty smooth. she doesn't like the eye drops (but who does), and i think the antibiotics for her ears kicked in around 8:30ish...she got a major second wind. so she was up a bit later than normal, but about 10:30 she was out like a light and slept all night long...surprised the hell out of me...i thought for sure i was going to be up with her several times throughout the night. usually when she gets ear infections, she doesn't sleep well at all. i couldn't believe she hadn't given me any signs of the ear infection, no poking or pulling at her ears, she has been sleeping great, i felt so bad. so instead of a night of fun and crafting, i spent a night taking care of my baby, and that is right where i needed to be.
sorry...no pics for this post...my camera hasn't come out much these past few days...
so we had a sonogram this morning and everything looked great! such a blessing for us! i am always such a worrier, so it was quite a relief. anyway, we also found out that we are going to be having a little boy :) we are very excited! wanted to share a few pics of our little mister man:
and this is his sweet profile!
oh we love him so much already! can't wait to meet you little mister!
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