I know you have all been wanting to know...

We are so excited for Ava to have a little sister! The drama, baby dolls and lots of girly things sure makes having girls worth it!

Parties, Parties and More Parties!

A few weeks ago I went to my best friend's mom's retirement party and Ava was able to see Karlee, and Preslee whom she loves to see! Ava and Preslee are only 2 months apart and people think that they could even be sisters since they look a lot alike. I tried to have them look at the camera, but it wasn't working for me.
We had a great thanksgiving! We spent some time at David's parents and then went over to my Aunts house. The day went pretty quick, but was it was good to see family.
We also got our tree on thursday and Ava is in love with it. She goes up to the ornaments and picks them off and then tells us 'put it back' like we were the guilty ones. Silly little girl!
We hope that everyone is having a fabulous holiday season and we find out in 2 days what the baby is...we will keep you posted!

The Future...

it has finally started to kick in that we will be having another little one in the next 6 months. One of my best friend's had her baby a few days ago 5 weeks early and she is absolutely adorable! I just can't believe Evie is already here and now they have two little ones. I am getting nervous to have two little ones to take care of when one feels stressful sometimes. I have decided that Ava might have her moments, but I think she is going to be a great big sister. She is almost always carrying around at least 1 or 2 of her baby dolls. She has also started to become quite the miss Boss around her. Just as I am writing this she looks at me with both dolls in her arms and says, "come on, babe." She wants to go watch cartoons in our bed while Daddy is at Saturday school. I'm sure everything will work out just great, but the nerves are starting to kick in! Have a great day everyone!

(Sorry the quality isn't too great, but she sure loves taking care of her babies.)

Ward Trick or Treat Party 2009

This year our ward combined with Columbia ward to do the Halloween Party. It turned out great! It was so much fun having all the people there and we really enjoyed ourselves. I had a great time bringing my friend Becky and her son Liam. Ava and Liam love to play together and they were so cute as a monkey and cheerleader.

Fall 2009

David, Ava and I made it to the Pumpkin Patch yesterday. We had a great time, but Ava was still pretty apprehensive when she saw all the people there and the mass amounts of orange pumpkins! She finally warmed up to them and even though she wouldn't look at the camera it did look like she was having a bit of fun. We also had Ava's cousin Eli's B-day party yesterday. We had a fun time doing the little carnival activities and I know that Ava had a fabulous time being dressed up. She said that "I pretty." (Meaning herself)
We are excited that all is going well right now. David is still going crazy trying to juggle work and school, I am getting so tired of working and being away from Ava, but I know its just till we can get David out of school and with a career so hopefully not too many more years! Ava is growing like a week and talking up a storm. She can repeat almost any word now and her new phrase is "oh gosh." Everything she falls, she throws her doll or if she is just jumping around that is the words that she says. The new little one is also growing well. The doctor is still thinking May 10Th and we are glad that the baby looks healthy. I am feeling better these days and can actually eat without it wanting to come back out. We hope life is treating all of you well!

Ava is practicing

I found Ava on the couch this morning with her baby doll right next to her. She was talking to her and trying to take care of the baby. I think she is just practicing for when she is a big sister next spring!

Our 3rd Anniversary Celebration!

This past weekend David and I went on a trip just the two of us (ooh la la)! It was so wonderful to get away and to not think about any cares in the world. We went to the beach and went camping at Nehalem Bay. A few activities that we did was go to the Seaside Aquarium, went to see G.I. Joe, went to an awesome Arcade, had seafood, walked on the beach and even got some sun. We saw a whale in the ocean and david found a crab! It was a blast being able to be alone with my best friend and just to enjoy quality time together doing whatever we felt like and sleeping in was sure the best thing ever!

Baby Gracie and my little Doll

So Ava and my friend Jill's daughter Gracie are exactly 17 months apart. When little gracie was born I took Ava up to see her and Ava was very jealous, but it was still fun for her! This was from May 27th.
This is from Heathers's graduation, I thought I'd throw it in!

Gone Creek 2009

This last weekend David, Ava and I were able to go up to Mount Hood and go camping with some good friends. The weekend was absolutely beauitful and the campsite was just wonderful. We sure enjoyed it! Ava did pretty well besides the night. The first night she wouldnt sleep unless we had the lantern on. The second night though was much better. She slept much longer being cuddled up with mommy and daddy in the air mattress. David was also able to go fishing with Mark. With much persistence they caught some fish! It was awesome. I was so proud of david even if it was a little fish stick (hehe). We are so excited to begin our fun camping adventures this summer with our little family!

This is for you little sis!

Hello all,

I have been needing to post more pictures of Ava, my sister has been pestering me for about a month now to see pictures of her little niece! Ava is doing well. She is talking a lot now. She says, Elmo, thank you, kiss, doggie, momma, daddy, grandpa, papa, Heather, Jakie(the dog), bubble, and a few more. My favorite is that she does sign language. "Sorry" is the new one here especially since she is throwing her big fits. I really think she has hit her terrible twos early, but I still love my baby girl to pieces!

Just a little update!

Well i haven't posted for a little while now and decided to let you know that we are doing well! Nothing really too exciting around here except that Ava keeps getting more and more teeth and is definitely getting a stronger personality. She visits "rest time" a few times a day now! She is learning quickly how to press everyones buttons. Her new thing is that she has to carry around a purse on each arm, and have her baby doll by her side at all times. She sure is a girly girl (I love it!)
David and I are just keeping busy with work and school. It's nice to think that David is about done at MHCC and can move onto PSU in the fall! Phewww~ long roads ahead, but we are ready for the challenge! We hope all is well with everyone! Here is a few new pics of little Ava

Grandpa was so blessed!

Well last night my grandpa was driving in Oregon City and accidently drove on the train tracks and was hit from behind. He is up at OHSU for observation and is talking and everything. It was such a scary experience for our family. I'm etremely close with my grandpa and so I have had such a rough day. It's hard to accept that he is getting older and with such a freak accident as this, I'm still in shock. The news said that he was ejected from the car, but he wasn't. He is doing pretty well right now and we are just keeping him in our prayers. Thank you to everyone who is doing the same. We appreciate it so much.

A little late

I have been so busy with life, and with Ava's hospital visit that I neglected to put up some pictures from her first birthday. We had a nice celebration with some family and friends. We had it at the church because our place is too tiny to hold everybody! It went well, except for the fact that that was when Ava was starting to get sick so she was a little grumpy. Here is a few pictures from the party!
Also a few new things about all of us-
*Feb 2nd we noticed that Ava is finally getting a third tooth!
*She is saying All done, up, done, and still dogs is her favorite word for any moving animal. She is probably getting close to 20 pounds now and is sure a cute little thing.
*David is still working as hard as ever in school and working.
*I'm working full-time as a preschool teacher and because of the economy everyones hours are getting cut, so I have been going to a different center to get the much needed money!
That is pretty much what is going on here in good 'ol Troutdale!
Have a great day everyone!



Ava loved the cake that Grandma Waddell made her!
It took her a minute then she started to dig right it.
Isn't this a cute little cake? I thought it was beautiful.
Our little family 12-27-08

Bath Time Buddies

Tonight David and I went over to my good friends, Becky and Mark's, to have dinner and we decided to get the kids in the tub! Ava is a little scared of the water still and Liam kept splashing her, but it was quite hilarious watching the two scream at each other and throw toys! What a pair, and being only 9 months apart they sure had a good time.

Ava's trip to the hospital

Well little Ava was throwing up this past weekend starting with at Church. She got it all over the floor and then decided to dress daddy up with it too. It continued through the weekend and I felt that she needed to go into the doctors today. I had my mom take her in and they diagnosed her with Gastroenteritis. Its an inflammation of the intestines. They told us that if she didn't have a wet diaper by 3 that she needed to go into the hospital.

As 3 o'clock rolled on through there was still no sign of urine and so we made our way to the hospital. We got right in and they took her back and tried to get an IV going but her veins were too small to find them. They concluded that she was a moderate severity of dehydration and just gave her oral hydration, but David and I have to get her up every 2 hours and give her enfalyte. She is already doing much better, but it was very hard watching them pin her down to a hospital bed and take blood from her little body.