Thursday, December 17, 2009

Eating birthday cake!

yum! yum!

Ava Claire turns ONE!!


"Daddy's little girl....mommy's whole world" AKA Ava Claire

Our little Ava Claire is no longer a baby....she is ONE today! It seems like just yesterday she was being born! We are so lucky to be her parents and we feel so blessed to have her. She truly has made our lives so much more meaningful and she means the world to us! Despite her quirks....she is perfect to us! It's been a great year and we look forward to many more! Happy Birthday Sweet Ava Claire!



















Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

We hope you have a wonderful birthday!
We love you!
Love,
Ava Claire and Mommy

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Feeling Better!

Just wanted to let you guys know that sweet Ava Claire is feeling better! She did not run a temp today and has been playing...still a little whiny, but wayyyyy better than yesterday! You can tell she feels better!

I think in addition to her "infection" she was having some pain from her teeth! She has 2 new ones that are about to pop in any minute.....the skin is broken, but no tooth yet. The two teeth popping thru are her top front ones....she's going to look so much older with teeth! Mommy's sweet baby is getting so big so fast! We are loving every minute of her!

Thanks for your sweet emails checking on AC...it really means a lot to us to know that you guys care! We'll see you guys soon!

Monday, December 14, 2009

Are you serious???!

Poor baby....as many of you know, Ava Claire is not feeling well. She went to the doctor and she has an "infection" and is on an antibiotic. She has been pitiful...just moping around and looking helpless. She has been sitting on our lap a lot....but just sitting there like she doesn't feel well. Anyway, so it was a rough day today. Daddy kept her the first half of day while I worked, then I kept her the afternoon half. We survived...barely....after many meltdowns. So we finally get her medicated and to sleep around 7:30ish....so at this point, we are thinking "good! She's down for the night!"
Well, upon my opening her door to sneak some laundry into her chair....I am greeted with a smell that almost made me throw up! I immediately think "there's no way!"....so I proceed to her bed to "check" for some goodies in her diaper....when o ya.....tons of surprises for mommy! o my...the smell! So now I'm thinking "what do I do??!" I hate admitting that I was even thinking about leaving that on that sweet baby....but o my she was FINALLY asleep. So I decide...we HAVE to get it off...we can't leave it on there alllll night long. So, long story short, we get her out of bed! change her diaper! and she actually barely woke up! She is already back to sleep! (Daddy did a good job picking her up without waking her!) So even when she's sick....she's sweet (most of the time!)
Just keep Ava Claire in your prayers that she will feel better and her "infection" will go away quickly. Poor baby might be sick on her birthday!

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Bass Pro Shop Fun


Ava Claire had a blast at the Bass Pro Shop! She saw a bear, squirrel, and fish! We just had to share this picture of her and all of her "animals" piled in the shopping cart with her! She was laughing so hard! It was priceless!

She opened a gift early...


we couldn't wait!! We let her open her birthday gift from Mamaw early....we just couldn't wait! She LOVED it---of course! Daddy put it together and sat it down in front of her...she took right off down the hall! She just giggled and pushed her stroller! She played with it for like 30 minutes...which is a long time for her! Then she got tired of Amanda (the baby doll) being in it and she took her out and started rolling over her! Then she would pick the baby doll up and hand it to me....like do something mommy! (The whole time she was rolling over baby Amanda....the baby was crying because she is a talking doll). Here are a few pics!


Saturday, December 5, 2009

SEC Championship Game Day!

Game day sure has changed this year....

but they sure are worth it!!!


She had to get her own bottle out cause mommy was watching the game! ha

Kindermusik Pajama NIght!


Ava Claire had so much fun wearing pajamas to Kindermusik! She really enjoys going to class each week! I really think it is helping her become even more of a genius! We signed her up for next semester too! Yay!

AC and her Kindermusik teacher (Mrs. Becky)


Cute PJ's!


AC and Hayes with egg shakers!


Having a blast!

New things!

Just want to update you a little bit...she will be 1 soooo soon! It does not seem possible. She is just changing every day and such a fun little girl. Yes, she really is starting to look like a little girl...not a baby! It's the craziest thing! She's been sleeping late the last few days so we think she is having a growth spurt! Sweet girl!
Her new favorite things are "little people", her pink scarf from Aunt Sherry, and her "A" pink purse from Aunt Connie. She is so funny. She will pick that purse up and put it in her arm and just keep it there! Today we were at the store and she saw another purse on a rack...she just most politely picked it up and put it on her arm. Watch out daddy....two girls who LOVE Coach purses....that could be bad!
She's jabbering all of the time...if only we knew exactly what she was saying! She has many "words" and is willing to copy us do anything! She's like a little parrot. Hopefully we will teach her good things! Can't wait to see y'all!!!!

Ava Claire's First Time Playing in the Snow


We woke up to a dusting of snow this morning....so of course, we bundled up and headed out for the girl to experience what snow felt like! She liked it and just laughed! The amazing part was....she didn't get mad as we dressed her in her hat, scarve, and boots (which she will never leave on!). It was crazy...I think maybe it helped that Matt and I both had on tobagons too....who knows! She cooperated and it was fun! By them time we ate breakfast...the snow was gone! It was fun while it lasted.



Santa Claus Visit


We took Ava Claire to see Santa and I think it's safe to say...she wasn't too impressed with him! She screamed and it was pitiful...I felt awful! She finally calmed down after about 2 minutes. She wore her reindeer hat for a long time afterwards....then she ripped it into pieces in the car. She didn't hold a grudge too long afterwards! She sure did look cute though!



Recent pics





She's Walking!!

I think we can officially call this walking.... what do you think??!!

Monday, November 30, 2009

Thanksgiving with Mamaw and Papaw

AC's first Thanksgiving was so much fun! Mamaw and Papaw came down and their visit was great. Ava Claire mastered saying "papaw".....and Papaw loved it. However, Mamaw waited patiently for Mamaw and this little turkey never said it. So now...everytime we say Mamaw----she says "papaw" and laughs!! She is a turkey!
We will be practicing Mamaw for sure.

She ate a good Thanksgiving meal. She LOVED the sweet potatoes and peas (of course). She is still a good eater...so we thought she would enjoy a big meal!

She is starting to get so much more personality and she is trying to say so many words. Ac's new words are "baw baw" aka bottle and bubble. She really studies our mouths and tries to copy what we do. It is so precious...it's like you can see her mind working.

We went and saw Santa....and like we predicted, AC was scared! Mamaw handed her to him and almost instantly she started screaming. She was like "what in the world??!" It took her a little while to calm down, but she finally did. However, she was a little mad at Mamaw afterwards. But she got over it rather quickly. I'll upload some pics tomorrow....I left them at school.

Just wanted to give y'all a quick update of Ava Claire's First Thanksgiving!!! She's growing too fast! Can you believe she's going to be 1 in about 3 weeks???! That is just too crazy!

Monday, November 16, 2009

11 month update

Can you believe it's been 11 months? We are so amazed at how fast this little angel is growing! I cannot believe she's going to be 1 soon! I made her 1 year old birthday appt today (the day after her birthday--Happy Birthday AC with a few shots and a finger prick!) and just couldn't believe it was almost here!
Just wanted to update you on what she is doing now...she has officially taken her "first steps"....a few of us got in a debate today on what it means to be 'walking' or 'taking steps',etc. Well, AC's steps are about 3 in a row and very controlled movements (most of the time). Other times she just tries to take off and lunges waaaaay too forward and crashes quickly! We are wondering if she will be walking by her 1st birthday!?? I'm just happy because I wanted her to be standing by Christmas for her photos....so I'm thinking she can do that (and hopefully not knock the tree over! ha) We shall see.
She is saying lots of words too! The cutest one right now is baby and baba (bottle). I can ask her if she wants a bottle and she just starts going "mmmmm baba mmm bab baba". It's really funny! And she is ALL about her DADDY right now!!! It's daddy this, daddy that, daddy baby, etc. She hasn't said moma much here lately....but that's ok....cause daddy is LOVING it!
She is by far the most precious thing we could ever ask for in our lives. It's kind of crazy how much she means to us! If only you could just go to wal-mart and pick some more out just like her...we'd have a house full!
We hope to see y'all soon! Come visit us anytime!!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ava Claire or a seal??!


Check out those moves! Future soccer player??!

GrandDad and GrandMom came to see me!


Ava Claire had such a fun time with her GrandDad and GrandMom this weekend. They got her a pony!!! (well not a real one yet...but I'm sure that will be soon! ha) They got her a Radio Flyer horse....it is soooo cute! Ava Claire just laughed at it and loves messing with its ears (they krinkle and make noise!) and she's all about some noise! Check out her and her horse!! too cute!


Picking weeds and taking them to GrandMom....I take that after my GrandDad Raines!!


Having fun in the park!!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Happy BIrthday Uncle B!!

We hope you had a great birthday Uncle B!
We'll see you soon!
We love you!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Happy Birthday MaMaw!!!


We hope you had a great birthday Mamaw!!
We love you!
We wish we could be there with you!
Love, Ava Claire

Ava Claire 11 months old!!!


Can you believe she is 11 months old???! That's just crazy!!

Ready for the Rain!! (hurricane Ida)

Eating mac-n-cheese and making a mess!

Going shopping!!

Little JailBird!!!