Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We spent the week at my parent's house & had a blast! Drew enjoyed the 'truck'(a Chuckwagon--you'll see in the slideshow) & spent a lot of time riding around the property. Ava, though sick, still seemed to enjoy all the attention & gifts.

On Christmas Eve, Menaw joined us for dinner & opening of a couple of gifts:

12 month stats

Ava & Drew had their 12 month doctor's appointment today, so we were able to get their height & weight checked. It looks like we have some tall, skinny babies. :)
Drew 22#1oz (45%), 31in (80%)
Ava 21#7oz (65%), 30 7/8in (90%)

The doctor said that Ava is right on track developmentally for a 1 year old, while Drew is a little ahead of the curve(b/c he's walking). It was a very good visit--except for the shots, but the video in the car seemed to make it all better! :)

Winter ONEderland

We had Ava & Drew's birthday party Saturday evening at our house. They seemed to have lots of fun. They didn't really seem to know what to do w/ the gifts...but, they sure have loved playing with them since! And they did enjoy the cakes! :) Here are a few pics from the party:

Ava at 12 months

Pulling up, but not cruising yet
Says momma, dadda & dog(but this can refer to anything ;))
Actually has a temper!--most often directed at mommy.
Has her own little 'games' she plays: throw & chase, roll & chase, 'crawl' the line, hand dancing
Thinks Drew & Daddy are HILARIOUS!!
Still loves to sleep...preferably in 'the big bed'
Favorite foods: ANYthing & EVERYthing...especially cheese & meat
Least favorite foods: hmm, good question! ;)
Miss independent. Likes to play alone & can get cranky if interrupted. :)

Drew at 12 months

Is walking--more or less.
Says/waves 'hi'
LOVES to clap...responds to "clap for___"
Will 'find' Ava, when asked "where is Ava?"
Plays peek-a-boo
Mocks ANYthing you do!
Favorite foods: bread, grapes, bananas, pineapple
Least favorite foods: pretty much everything not listed above
Prefers to feed himself
Thinks the day should start at 5am!

Happy Birthday Ava & Drew!!

1 YEAR OLD!! It's been a wonderful day. And a little exhausting:

1st, we had our birthday breakfast...blueberry pancakes. Mmmm...yummy! :)

Then we opened some presents:

Got our 1 yr pictures taken:

Ava & Drew did NOT enjoy the portrait session....I was VERY surprised that ANY of the pics turned out decent. But, we were actually able to get several good ones. I was pleasantly surprised by the turnout & as we found at 9 mos, the quality is very good. Thank you Picture People!

We turned the carseats around. (yay)

After a birthday dinner at Kerby Lane Cafe, Ava & Drew were ready to play some more(some pics were in the slideshow above), then time to crash in their cribs. Hopefully they will get a great night's sleep & be ready to party tomorrow! ;)

This looks like a good pillow...

Picture with Santa

Well, we did it. I didn't really plan on it, but we decided on Saturday to give it a shot. And we actually only stood in line for about 45 minutes...so it wasn't TOO bad! :)

Ava seemed to be quite comfy w/ Santa. She cozied into his lap & grinned the whole time--unfortunately all the pics show her chewing on her sleeve. Oh well.

Drew didn't really care for it! After trying to throw himself on the floor, we were able to get a couple of decent pics where he doesn't look too upset!

'You really think I'm going to drink that....'

Today was the day...the switch from formula to milk. And the day we get rid of the bottles. YAY!








The tasting of the milk went about as well as expected. Some 'ick' faces & a little spit out.












Pushing it away when we tried again.....

In the end, Ava actually drank about an ounce. She 'accepted' at least 3 more drinks. Drew, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. I couldn't even fool him by going back & forth w/ water! He would look in the cup before taking a drink & promptly shove it away if it was white! ;)

And as far as getting rid of the bottles goes....so far, so good. They usually have one just before the morning nap & didn't even really fuss when it never came! Hopefully, that's the end of that. We'll see how bedtime goes.....

Snack time!

Drew tends to wake up from the afternoon nap quite a bit earlier than Ava most days. And he can't quite make it all the way to dinnertime w/o a snack. I've taken to letting him eat some puffs on the legs of the dining room table(in the corner of the playroom). Probably a bad habit, I know, but I see no sense strapping him into his chair for the 5 mins it takes him to eat! And he seems to love eating under the table! :)

1st Thanksgiving Memories

Ava & Drew had a very nice 1st Thanksgiving. We spend Thursday with Jeremy's family, then had my family over Friday & Saturday.

Ava & Drew w/ Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Amy & Uncle Will:

Ava & Drew with Noni, Dandy & Aunt Jess:

We missed you Uncle Casey! :)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Real quick before we head out to visit family:

We have so much to be thankful for this year.....Ava & Drew being at the TOP of the list! :) Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The comfort blanket

Drew loves blankets. He likes to hide under them, play peek-a-boo with them & just cuddle up on them.

This morning he's been in a TERRIBLE mood...talk about waking up on the wrong side of the crib. Other than while he was eating breakfast(kid loves pancakes;)), he was screaming. After about 45 mins of holding him, walking him & just letting him scream...I had an idea.

I threw 3 blankets on the floor & voila....NO MORE SCREAMING. :) Sometimes it's the small things...

Pretty in pink

I just thought this little outfit was so adorable. The jacket & pants are velour. The shirt has 2 poodles on it & says "mommy & me".

Thanks Noni...

I have to say, my mom is so talented. She's made Ava & Drew 4 smocked outfits each so far & they all look better than anything you can buy in the store. Here are her latest creations:

(And aren't the models adorable!:))

A little playtime video...

Drew in action...

We're walking...

We're walking....
We're walking....

We're....OOH, a toy! :)

11 months!

Ava & Drew are 11 months old today!! They are getting so big & learning so much. It's such fun to be a part of it every day!!

Drew:

Still practicing walking, gives me kisses, eats anything BUT meat!, still loves to be outside, very very good at ignoring the word "NO"! :)

Ava:

Pulling up, says 'mama', 'dada', 'dog'--when she wants to ;), has begun to "ask" to be picked up, still very independent, loves sleeping with mom & dad, doesn't think the word "NO" should ever apply to her! :)

Sometimes we play together....

Sometimes we play apart....

Another milestone for Ava..

Ava is pulling up now!! She did it for the 1st time during 'sick week' & I wasn't able to get any pics. Over the last couple of days, she is pulling up all over the place! :)