adorable things

adorable things that happen when you're the daddy of a little girl...falling asleep with your "pretties" on!

things like this make me fall more and more in love with both of them!

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the calm

so it's been a very quiet week around here...just a few appointments here and there, a bunch of rainy weather, a rowdy two year old cooped up in the house, and a pregnant mama not feeling like doing much of anything. it's been calm with a lot of time spent around the house, which ava is not quite used to. she likes to go, go, go. several times she has put on her backpack or grabbed her "person" (avish for "purse") and headed to the door...the look she gives me when i bring her back to reality, that we are in fact not going anywhere is quite pethetic and breaks my heart...but not enough to "go" anywhere...especially in rainy, yucky weather. one nice thing about the break from the heat (and i use the term "break" very lightly...it's still in the 90's people) is that my ankles have returned to their normal size! yes! i will enjoy this until the kankles return with the heat, i'm sure!
baby update:
i had a dr. appointment monday. only gained one pound..woohoo! so my total weight gain to date is 32lbs...yeah, i tried to keep it under 30...watcha gonna do?! anyway, the nurse said that baby was in a "happy" mood according to his heart rate...and he was doing a lot of dancing in my belly, so i would have to agree with her assessment. my blood pressure was good. they did the very pleasant "check to see if i am dialated" exam....nothing, nothing, nothing...not a thing! i think this child will hang out in his current digs until 40 weeks if it's up to him! so, it was a good visit, everythings going smoothly so far (knock on wood). hopefully things will continue to be uneventful...i learned after my pregnancy with ava that usually means things are good.
i will be getting another ultrasound in a few weeks to check the babies size...they may induce a few weeks early depending on the results...is it so sad that i am kinda crossing my fingers that he is huge so we can get him out of there?! i start my weekly visits, so that just means the end is getting near...he could really be here in 3-4 weeks....oh my goodness...that seems like forever, but then i think of all we still need to get done and i kind of get a little bit panicky....why isn't babies r us open 24-7...i would go right now!!!!

ava had her very first dentis appointment today with a fabulous dentist, dr. strole. his office is strictly pediatric dentistry and everyone in there is sooooo incredibly nice. it's almost like a totally different world, everything is all kid friendly, the people are all smiling...at any moment i feel they could stop working & break out into song together with a coreographed dance...probobly the closest thing to disney world we will ever get to (just kidding...i have promised myself i will take my kids to disney...i never have been, my parents never took us...throw in a little guilt there!) anyway, it was kind of a visit just to get ava comfortable in the environment. she loved it, she loved the people. she cried when she had to be held down by daddy and show the dentist her teeth. but dr. strole is a total pro and checked things out super quick and the crying ended and she was back up to her adorable toddler antics, stealing the hearts of the staff...she really can be very adorable! the dr. said her teeth looked fantastic, which i was so glad to hear. we brush them twice a day and sometimes more... ava loves to brush her teeth. so we're gonna keep it up and hopefully 6 months from now she'll still have gorgeous pearly whites...and more pearly whites...she still only has 6 teeth on the bottom (but is working on getting another one pushed through).

yeah, other than that...just a lot of housework, relaxing, coloring, playing going on....not even a picture to post with this...that is how lazy i have been....

~a

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welcome to the world jack westen brummer

yay! my gorgeous nephew made his entrance into the world this afternoon and i just had to share this beautiful boy with you! he is just perfect! sounds like everything went really smoothly and mama and baby are both doing well (daddy is pretty proud, too!) big sister will get to meet him tomorrow...i can not even tell you how much i wish i was there to experience this special time with my brother and his family. it is so hard to live so far away all the time, but especially during these very special moments. i love ya'll so much and am so happy for you! he is gorgeous and with a name like jack westen he will definitly be a skydiving spy! ha! (d, that's for you!)

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bubble bath maternity set

some of ya'll may recognize the bathroom in this series...it's not ours (sigh), it's my dad and maryann's. i have love, love, loved this bathroom (especially the tub) since they bought, designed, and remodeled their house. i remember when i first saw it i knew if i was lucky enough to get pregnant again i would HAVE to do some maternity shots in that tub. it is definitly my dream bathroom, i think it is so beautiful (what can i say, my dad and step mom have great taste!). so today was the day! maryann said she would get some shots of me in the tub and then a few of bo and i together. these are just a few of my favorites so far, i haven't had a chance to go through them all yet. i did not have any maternity pictures with ava and have really regretted it, so i vowed to not have that same regret this time around, especially since it will most likely be my last pregnancy. even with body issues and insecurity, i had to have these pictures and they are already so special to me and i will treasure them forever. thank you so much maryann for helping me get these special shots! (and seriously...gotta love tan lines!)

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busy bees

vickie sent me this pic she took last time we got together...yes, that's ava covered in bert's bee's lip gloss playing with my ipod touch...the things you do to keep a toddler entertained so you can have some adult conversation! ha!

nothing exciting to write about...we've been super busy, mostly trying to get things ready for the baby...i have been trying to get things together for the nursery. hopefully i'll be able to start getting things put in there tomorrow...we still have a few things from the office to get out so it will be totally clear. unfortunatly, finding space for things in this house is getting harder and harder i've been parting with a lot..not sure how much more i can say goodbye to.

went to ikea today with vickie (ava spent the day with nonna). had such a great time and found so many wonderful things! can't wait to go back...there were some frames i was thinking about getting for the living room...wanted to think on it a bit, i know it's not something i will be doing anytime soon.

grams is in colorado with dathan, amber and kaitlin...jack is going to be born on wednesday so she went up for that big event! i wish i was there...would love to spend some time with the niece i miss so much and would sooooooo love to hold that baby boy when he gets here (and take some pictures, of course!) told grams she has to take a million to bring home of both those kiddos!

i am so tired tonight and my feet are so swollen...even my toes, they look so weird...i think i'm going to bed...definitly feeling pregnant today!

~a

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growing belly...

so i have gotten a bit behind taking belly pictures and was actually not planning on posting anymore, due to the general feeling of grossness and hugeness discussed in earlier posts...buuuuutttttt, i have had some requests. so these are for you lovely people that live far away and are just DYING to see how big i am getting! ha! i wanted to have bo take a few of me during his time off, but we were so busy doing other things, so today while ava was napping i set up the old tripod and ran around like a crazy person using the timer on my camera trying to get a few decent shots to share...anyway, here are a few of the hollis belly at 34 weeks...(fyi...i do not intentionally chop off my head in all the shots, our house is just so small that when i use the tripod, i just can't seem to squeeze it into the right angles like if a person was shooting them...so that's why i am usually headless...if you want the belly say goodbye to the head!)

next week i'm getting together with maryann and we are going to try to get some good maternity shots, maybe even with bo and the munchkin...our little threesome! i'll be sure to post some of those for ya'll, too.

yep...that belly is growing!

xoxo,

a

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blog love & nursery frustation...

okay...so i am totally smitten, head over heels, swept off my feet by this blog here. i mean seriously, the couple is awesome...the kind of people you want to be friends with, the family is adorable, the writing is wonderful and refereshing to read, photos...a favorite...yep...what's not to absolutly fall in love with! anyway, he did a post this morning about their new daughters nursery...it's gorgeous...you must go see! this post really sang to me because i had just returned from a trip to babies"r"us looking at bedding, decorations, etc. for hollis' room-to-be. i found absolutly nothing i was excited about and everything was waaaayyyy to expensive. i am trying to come up with any ideas for little man's room without getting too crazy with the checkbook & too cluttery (i have been working so hard the past few months to go through and get rid of all the things we don't need that are taking up our space and driving me nuts we live in such a tiny house and i really want it to be less cluttery....stop laughing mom...it is possible!). so far he has a black dresser bought off craigs list (love it!), ava's old white crib, and a denim rocking chair...so i have no idea what to do with this room and have found very little inspiration in the stores. calling all of you wonderful friends and family that i know check in on us here every once in a while, if you have any wonderful ideas or if you have seen anything amazing, you have to let us know! we have 4-6 weeks to get something together for this special little guy joining our family...thinking i should've have started this a long time ago.

leaving you with some nursery pics from ava's nursery (june 2007..right before she arrived)

my friend vickie made ava that gorgeous picture frame & it now holds one of my favorite pictures of ava and her daddy (still one of my favorite things in her room) and the seagull is from my cousin alex's childhood bedroom...my aunt sent it down. thanks toon-toon.

roxie and max making an appearance before their world was rocked by the arrival of missy ava.

her room has changed so much in the past two years, and now she's got that fancy big girl bed in there...time goes so fast.

xoxo,

a

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"wimmin"

went to gram's to "wim"...ava had a blast with all of us. daddy is off work all week (we have gotten absolutly nothing accomplished that we have planned to...baby's room, etc...but at least ava is getting lots of love from all directions...not sure what we will do when his vaca is over...could get ugly)
this girl is crazy in the pool, especially now that we have discovered the amazing water wings...she is soooo free and has worked out so many new things. it's amazing to watch her figure out how to work her body in the water to get to where she wants to go. and she is so good about grabbing on the side of the pool and going to the steps for a break! so cute! and no worries, we are never more than an arms distance away from her, so she's always safe! but seriously, i think she's part toddler, part fishy! & we totally adore her...could you tell?!

xoxo,

a

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the princess in the princess bed...

ava had another super night in her "princess" bed! i am so happy this transition is going so smoothly for us! it's wonderful! she loves her bed! crossing my fingers nap time goes a bit better today, but if i had to choose between naptime and night time...i'd definitly choose night time!!! anyway, here are a few snaps i got of her playing on her bed this morning!

xoxo,

a

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big girl bed

last night was ava's first night in her big girl bed! i was a little bit nervous about this transition...this child loves & i mean LOVES her crib! her new bed is way too adorable & we call it her princess bed...crossing our fingers this will make it even more appealing to sleep in! she did so good! she only got up a few times before she fell asleep! yay! she slept all night, no rolling out of her bed onto the floor, no sneaking in bed with us...she woke up a bit early, but i was so glad she did so well!
nap time...totally different story...she wants to play with all the toys in her room instead of sleep...we will be working on this for the next several weeks to try to get in a good naptime routine...i know i will need it when this little guy arrives!
tonight she only got out of bed once and it was to get a stuffed animal...yes, another stuffed animal to sleep with. she was asleep within 10 minutes (of course, this could be due to the no nap afternoon...) crossing my fingers she does as well tonight!
you would think she had been up all night last night...i have been so sleepy today. i didn't sleep good at all last night worrying she might get up in the middle of the night and "explore" around the house....
hopefully tomorrow i can get a pic of this princess bed to share with you all....i was too tired today!

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the 4th

hope everyone had a fun and safe 4th of july! we sure did! we headed out to the lake in the morning to spend the day with the family. ava was so excited and it was such a great time with lots of good food and fun in the sun!

ava & grammy

ava hiding from grandaddy
ava and grammy sitting in front of the cabin

miss maddy...she is so pretty!

ava playing with her cars

ava and sydney swimming

ava, maddy, & sydney

the onstott men sittin' on the dock

maddy in the water

daddy & ava

ricky & rick on the dock

daddy & ava

we headed home for a bit in the afternoon to give ava break from the heat and try to get her to nap...no such luck. headed back out for fireworks! she loved them! it's the first year she has caught them...she fell asleep last year. she thought they were pretty and loved how they went "boom"! so cute to see her experience new things. then she chatted about them all the way home. the girl slept until almost 10 this morning...i think she wore herself out a bit yesterday and it was definitly a fun day for all of us!

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happy birthday auntie toon-toon...hope you had a special day full of fun and surprises! yes, i know, every day is a birthday post...july is just full of celebrations for us!!!

we had another busy day today. this is how it began...ava and zack snuggled up on the couch. we are watching my dad and maryann's puppies while they are on vaca. zoe was still pouting about being left behind, but zack is all about snuggles on the couch...don't worry, though, zoe finally emerged later this afternoon and had some snuggles and playtime!

ava got a super special birthday package in the mail today from landon, heather, and david! when we were visiting with them last week, ava fell in love with these little wooden cars and ramp that landon had. such a sweet surprise to get her very own in the mail! ya'll made her day, she played with them all afternoon...on the ramp, on the couch, pushed the cars in her stroller...she absolutly LOVES them! thank you so much for thinking of her, you are so thoughtful! (we still have one pink nail from our trip to see nonna at the salon...she may have to fix this when she keeps ava on monday!)
told ya...on the couch
she wouldn't let them go...

we spent some time with grams and popo this afternoon swimming and going to lunch. ava is such a summertime girl! she just loves to swim! i think she is just the absolute cutest thing i have ever seen! oh how i adore baby legs!

she loves being tossed up in the air...and believe me, it's definitly a work out for the tosser!

my summertime girl

ava loves to float...when she wants to she refers to this as "princess"...such a silly girl!

so many people made our day so wonderful! we hope everyone has a happy and safe 4th of july!!

xoxo,

a

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happy birthday...

alex!! yep, alex and jen share the same birthday! alex is one of my most favorite cousins...unfortunatly he lives in minnesota and we live in texas, so we don't get to see him as much as we would like. but this past year he made a trip to texas with his wife and one with his dad and brother...then we got to go up and visit them a few times (one for he and kirstin's fabulous wedding)! we got super spoiled getting to see him so much! crossing our fingers we may see them down here after hollis comes?! anyway, hope you had a great day alex! we miss you! ava sends lots of hugs and kisses!

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happy birthday jen!!!!

happy birthday to my bestie! she has been my bestie & more like a sister since the first day of first grade when we bonded over the unfortunate hairstyle of a classmate ( i had to steal that off your blog...i think it's too funny!). i adore her! i moved to texas the summer before the sixth grade...who knew we would be able to stay in touch and stay so close over all that distance and time! we talked on the phone every chance we could, wrote letters, summertime visits, even made silly cassette tapes to send to each other updated each other on what was going on in our lives! i wish i could get my hands on one of those tapes...i'm sure it would be very entertaining! we have been through lots together, whether near or far, i always know jen is there for me. we have been together on some of the most important days of our lives and if we couldn't be there, we talked on the phone all about it! it has been way too long since we have seen each other...hopefully sometime this year we can get together for a visit! she is one of the most beautiful, creative, thoughtful, funny, quirky girls in the world & is also the best auntie my ava could ever ask for! i hope you have a great birthday! & i'll get your pressie in the mail sometime soon....

had to snag this oldie off jen's blog....too funny! looks like i have an unfortunate hairstyle...jen has always had the most gorgeous hair!

on jen's wedding day!
my wedding day

my bachelorette party...soooo fun!
love you girlie, xoxo,
a

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birthday extravaganza....

so it makes for a couple of crazy days when your baby girls birthday is the day before yours! it seems like we have been going nonstop for the past few days and it has been so much fun! had to share just a few snappy pics from the birthdays :)

we bought ava a kitchen set for her birthday complete with a mixer, cookie tray, cookies, and spoons. she loves it and has bee playing with it non stop! maybe she'll be a chef?

she also got the matching refrigerator from her grams and popo. the whole set looks sooooo darn cute!
this girl loves water...playing in it, swimming in it, walking in it, splashing in it...it doesn't matter. we went to dinner over at my mom's house and ava was playing in the sink...i think she is just way too cute for her own good!

my brother was in town for business, so he spent the evening with us! so much fun for ava to have her uncy d with her on her birthday. not sure how often that will happen! it was so much fun to see them together. they are watching star wars here...who knew my girl would like star wars?! it was also a treat watching them play together! dathan is very entertaining and ava had such a great time playing with him! i so wish he and his fam lived closer so she could know him better...he is such an awesome brother and just the best uncle in the world! and how great is it that he actually got snuggles?! i mean, this is a rare occurance...ava is sooooo not a cuddler, but she sat with him several times...i loved that he got this special time with her! i hope he soaked it all up!

here she is blowing out the candles! we had to do this several times...another new favorite!

and now onto my big day! it was pretty mellow. ava decided to wake up early...she must have wanted to celebrate :) we hung out around the house. bo bought me flowers and then told me to go get whatever i wanted for my birthday...not sure i will ever hear those words again...especially after i ran with them...straight to fort worth camera & supply! ha! anyway, i upgraded my camera and got a new lens! this is quite an excellent pair and i am sooooooooooo excited to figure out all the ins and outs of the camera and hopefully get some great shots! he is so good to me! bo had to work, so ava and i headed over to my dad & maryann's for dinner. d met up with us again, yay! i have been totally spoiled with his company...i hate to see him go...but he must return to colorado...that baby boy could be here any day & i'm pretty sure his baby girl is missing him terribly! so we had some more good food, good conversation, ava played monster with uncy d, and then it was time to head home! it has been a great few days.

isn't she gorgeous?! i think i'm in love!

xoxo,

a

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