Happy 4th of JULY! (a little late!!)

We had a great 4th of July weekend with lots of family and friends time!
Us at my friend Annie and Steve's on the 4th.



Ava in the bird area at our local zoo. I just thought this was the cutest pic of her so I did some fun editing on picnik.


Me and my munchkin at my friend Brooke's cookout. It took about 20 shots to get a decent one, LOL! and my smile is still goofy!


Cooling off at the splash area the day we went to the zoo! It was HOT!!!


Doesn't she look ornery???? =)

Today is THE DAY!

Well, that is what I told myself 3 days ago!! I have finally started working out again. This has been my goal since the beginning of summer and here it is after July 4th! Soooooooo---after much indulgence over the holiday weekend (and really the whole summer so far!), I am trying to get back into a good workout and eating routine. Unfortunately, I am either "ALL IN" or "ALL OUT!" I am not one that has the discipline to really watch what I eat (hence the reason I want to work out!!). I hate not being able to eat what I want!!! However, if I would just watch what I eat, then I wouldn't have to work out so much. UGH! HAHA! Truth is, though, I do love working out...once I get in my groove. It is ADDICTING...for me, anyway! And, I of course, LOVE the results!!! It is fun to see what I can do that might have been hard at first.

Before Miss Ava, I was working out like 2 hours a day. I would go to the gym right after school and eventually was running 3 miles (without stopping!), doing pilates, spinning, and some strength training. I even did the 3 miles of running and then went to spinning on several occasions. CRAZY, I tell ya! My goal was to get into shape before getting pregnant and I accomplished that. I did think I would continue to work out after having her. I knew it would be hard, but I didn't quite know how hard it would be!!!

I am also unfortunately NOT.A.MORNING.PERSON!!!! Never have been and don't think I ever will be. haha! I know I could probably make it 'habit' to get up early and workout...but ICK. I love my sleep!! For now, I am trying to work out during her nap time OR after she goes to bed. We also go on walks and then if I get in some weights, I feel pretty good. I am also sprinkling in some P90X (a few of the one I like!) and the P90X Ab Ribber..."I hate it.......but I LOVE IT!" LOL

I am also trying to be more conscious of what I am putting into my mouth. I was getting into the habit of having an evening snack (= ICE CREAM) every night!!! WHY? Cuz I can, I guess! And I also love me some wine in the evening. I haven't been drinking enough water and too much Diet Coke so those are things I'm working on. AND NEWS FLASH...I have even GIVEN UP COFFEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Since Ava was born, I think I've literally had a cup of coffee every single morning. I do love it, but it is not the coffee that is bad, it's the YUMMY, DELICIOUS hazelnut creamer that I pile in the cup. 3 tsp = 50 calories so I know that right off the bat, I've consumed 50 (and probably more...) unnecessary calories. Now, I'm not saying I'm giving it up forever...just maybe I don't HAVE to have it EVERY DAY. Jeesh! And I would never think of drinking coffee black. Ewwwww! =)

But...I am not loving the GUT I am developing. I am thankful for clothes that can cover it yet I am tired of not being able to wear half of my clothes and feel comfortable. And not to mention the flabby arms I have. EWWWWW! hahaha!

So. Today is the day!!! =)

Here's to hoping I can keep up the routine. Especially once school starts up again. I know it will be hard, but hoping if I kind of go extreme NOW while I have time, then I can do mild workouts during the school year and just maintain.

Little Diva - ReAdY for SuMMeR!!!

Well, we made it through the entire church service this past Sunday without having to go RESCUE Ava! YAY! She did cry the moment we walked in and I stayed with her for a few minutes but then she did great!! Whew...PRogReSS!

I am thoroughly enjoying my summer with her! It is going to go by WAY TOO FAST, as always...though I do believe I am a better mommy because I get to go to a job I love and it gives us a little separation time, too. And as I talked with some of my teacher friends recently, we've decided that we really don't think being a stay at home mom in the dreaded WINTER would be much fun!

She is at an age where she is really taking everything in, learning new things and retaining so much. She will say things and I'm like, "WOW, how does she know that!" It is so fun!!! She is a very perceptive and observant little thing. She notices the TINIEST things, for example the cow on her yogurt container that is literally the size of her pinky nail! The other day we were in the basement and she noticed that the little area of the basement floor where the paint had chipped and said "Puppy right there." Do you see it????



She was eating chips this day and said, "Boot?" I guess she might take after me a little bit and have an artistic eye! :)


She loves to sing and I'll be excited to get her back into Kindermusik in the fall. She can sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" It usually goes like this...
Twinkle, Twinkle (or Crinkle, Crinkle, sometimes)...Star How I wonder...Are Like a Diamond in the Sky

I think she knows it's cute and she usually sings it
repetitively at bedtime when we are snuggling. haha!

Our summer is pretty low-key.....which I LOVE!!!!!! I don't have her signed up for anything but we enjoy the Fun Run every Friday evening, going to the pool on Tues and Thurs with friends and Friday playdates. We also are signed up for both BLM and Normal Summer Reading programs and we usually go exchange our books on a rainy day - which has been a LOT lately. (BOO!). We also hit up garage sales on Thursday evenings, Friday mornings or Saturday mornings...and I do have to do go the chiropractor 3 times a week (and 2 times a week soon) and they are very kid-friendly. The girls there help keep her occupied or she can go into each area with me, as well. The only thing that really scares her is the adjustment bed which moves. She cries most days about that but there have been a few where she has been ok. The day I stopped for Starbucks and got her a cake pop - there were no tears!!! LOL
Dr. Steve does not scare her though, which is good and he is a tall guy! She will say hi to him and want to show him her snacks, etc. She even says "Dr. Steve?" when she plays with her little Dr. kit!



Ava's friends at the Fun Run...The Cunningham boys, Hobson boys, Corinne (who Ava will go to daycare with in August!) and some little boy I don't know. I am assuming he knows Holden or Colin, ha!




Ava LOVES her new water table! It is technically a sand and water table and we bought sand but haven't put it in yet. I like having it on the front porch and I don't want sand dumped out all over the porch =)

Miss Ava

Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.

{Dr. Seuss}

We have been so blessed with such a good girl...not to mention funny, goofy, silly, haha...She continues to crack us up every day. She does get her share of Time-Outs, though!!


Why, you say????? =)

This was me attempting to get her 2 year chair pics.


This was on her actual birthday. Per tradition (and until she can request the restaurant!), we took her to Chili's. They even have a FREE birthday Sundae...SCORE!! I think she liked it.

My little munchkin just chilling on the steps with her drink (probably "lemon-dade" if you ask her), a chip and her cool shades.

We went to friend Izzy's 2nd birthday party the first weekend in June and it.was.hot. We had lots of fun, though and I threw Ava's hair up in a ponytail and THIS is how it turned out. I hope her hair stays this adorable forever!!! People out and about everywhere ask me (DAILY!) if her hair is natural. It cracks me up because what I want to say is "No, I curl it every day." LOL. Am I mean????? =) ha. Just kiddin. They are just giving her a compliment, I know!


Yes, we enrolled her in etiquette classes early. 2 isn't that young!


Other randoms...
It is amazing how much difference just a few weeks (days!?) makes in Ava's vocabulary. Our pediatrician did say (or maybe I read it somewhere) that we would be amazed with the language she will gain from age 2 to 3. She is apparently listening even when we don't really think she is. For example, today we got out of the van and she said, "It's chilly outside." I just had to laugh. She has also started saying things like "didn't he" and "isn't it." I have a few Precious Moments figurines that I have on her dresser in her room and she loooooves the bunny one I have and likes to give it kisses at night and in the morning. Last night she said, "Bunnies, cute, aren't they?" Everything is "My do it." Her new thing in the last few days is "bring it wissss us?" (with us) when she wants to bring a toy with us in the van. She also is becoming more aware of her surroundings and says things like "kitchen, basement, living room, upstairs, back door, etc." She also says "my bringing it" and today even said "pretend" when she was putting her baby's bottle in her mouth and I told her we just pretend (and then I demonstrated). It was really cute. Oh and she has even upgraded "Stop that" to "YOU stop that!" hahahaha!
Not all words come out perfectly, of course.

I have been going to the chiropractor and the office is very kid-friendly and when I asked, they said to bring her with me so that is nice. I have been telling her we are going to the dr. to make mommy's back feel better. Now anytime I (or Travis) moan or groan about something or even yawn, she asks..."Dr.?? Feel better??"

I am hoping that our little excursions this summer will help with her shyness/timidness. She has done great at the chiro! The only thing that freaks her out is when the adjustment bed moves. One of the office staff ladies took her to her desk today to color. :)
Our most recent nursery visit also went a lot better and she ran around Trav's office today not afraid of ANYONE! She was giggling and showing off the whole time. HOWEVER, immediately after we went to lunch and she was fine and being social to others around (turning her head and saying "Hiiiiiiiiiiiii" to one of the waiters and THEN...she saw some regular guy sitting at a table about 15 feet away and FREAKED OUT! She cried and cried and wouldn't eat. I did get her out but only after telling her she had to stop crying (which she attempted to do) but you can see real tears and that she is really scared of something (not just whining!). So anyway, I get her out and she just sat on my lap and then when the guy and his buddy left, she said "all gone." I am not sure what to do about this! But for now we are just trying to Keep Calm and Carry On!

*KEEP SCROLLING!!!!!!! Don't Miss Ava's 2nd Birthday Party Blog Post!!!

C...is for Cookies!

I had sooooooooooooooooo much fun planning Ava's 2nd Birthday party! I chose the theme "Milk & Cookies" after browsing online for some cute/unique ideas. And WHO DOESN'T LOVE MILK & COOKIES!? I would say that 99% of my ideas came from the internet, so thank you fellow bloggers for some ADORABLE ideas!!!

The Milk & Cookies table

The table included a variety of cookies - almost all homemade! Chocolate chip by my mom, Snickerdoodles by my sis, No Bake by Ava's Daddy, Peanut Butter with Reeses Pieces by me (AKA, Ava's mommy!), Individually wrapped Sugar cookies with a "2" made again by me! (my tradition! And then we purchased 2 types of Oreos and "Raspberry filled Pillow Cookies" from our local Fresh Market (= YUM!!!).

We had paper sacks for guests to fill up with cookies to take home!

Oh and don't forget the varieties of flavored MILK!! My mom even found these cool flavored milk straws which we placed in old Starbucks Frappucino bottles and Snapple Tea bottles!









The Birthday girl in her birthday shirt painted by ME!! Ready to party!!





My Grandma has been making cakes since I was 2 (ha!) and graciously agreed to make Ava's 2nd birthday cake. I really didn't care what she did (they always taste yummy too!). We loved her "wafer" cookie cake!

She also made these cute cake pops!! THEY WERE AWESOME! :)



Happy Birthday Ava!!!

You can see more from my friend Katie's blog here. :) She got some great shots, and frankly, I wish you could upload more photos at a time so I'm being lazy!!

There were a few more things I would have liked to do for the party, but I told myself that whatever we got done, we would be happy with. The end of the school year is just CrAzY soooooo I think we did pretty well. :) And the weather could not have been more perfect especially with the chance for RAIN.

I made this sign and had people stick their heads in the holes. If nothing else, it was fun (funny!)

Happy 2nd Birthday Ava!

Dear Ava,
You are 2!!!!! It is hard to believe...
I want to capture every.single.moment with you right now as you are blossoming into your own little person so I'm writing you this letter. You are hilarious, expressive, shy, smart, dramatic at times, a good eater, and sweet. Right now you are into giving *hugs* and *kisses* especially when we leave in the morning. You have so many little expressions and are talking a mile a minute. There is really no way to keep track of what you say and you are talking in little sentences.

It is hard to figure you out sometimes. You are so social and love to say "HI" to everyone while we are out and about, for example, yet you get very shy around certain people and even CRY hysterically around some men. ?? You say "oooooowwwwwwww" a lot (especially when you get your hair combed) and will say "Kiss It" when you get hurt - no matter where/what it is that hurts. You love to be outside!! Your eyes are very sensitive to bright lights and the sun so we have little sunglasses for you that you actually keep on pretty well!

You can be a bit dramatic at times (LOL) and definitely test mommy and daddy often. You have to sit in "time-out" for hitting, throwing toys, saying "NO!!!!!!!" and crying for no reason but you are a really good girl. You don't have a mean bone in your body and are so sweet but You. Are. 2! :)
You are a happy little thing. You wake up in the morning as cheerful as can be and will play in your crib for quite a while. Usually we hear you in there giggling at yourself, saying "Mommmmmmmmyyyyyy, where are you??" or "Commmmeeeerrrre (come here)."

You are still a great sleeper but you often cry when mommy or daddy walk out of the room. It usually only lasts a few minutes or LESS. You have been waking up earlier than you used to (7am!!!!!!!! used to be more like 8 or 8:30) but it is still a little random.

One of my favorite times of the day is our "snuggle time." Our nighttime routine is dinner, play, bath, jammies, books, prayers and then snuggling. We usually rock for about 5 minutes or so. At this time, you looooove to be tickled and always say "more more." I just started giving you butterfly kisses and you just GIGGLE AND GIGGLE! We also sing. Your favorite right now is "Crinkle, Crinkle." (Twinkle, twinkle). We also sing "Jesus Loves Me, Hush Little Baby, and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." We always ask who you want to snuggle with and lately it's been all mommy. You love your daddy for sure but you are definitely a momma's girl.

You love Kindermusik. You always request the CD to be on in the car. Soooooo, mommy and daddy know ALL the lyrics to every K musik song. :) We even listen to them in them in the car when you are not in the car before we realize we CAN change the channel.

You love to be outside!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You love the slide, going to the park and going for stroller rides. I am so excited I just got you a little slide at a garage sale for $5. :)

Funny things you've been saying/doing lately...

• 
  
  Stop it, or Stop that!



• Last night you put your bath toys (penguin, ducks) in time out on the edge of the tub. I was playing along and got in their faces and said, "Oh, why did you do that? You need to listen." You then said, "Why...do dat!?" Oh so cute!
  


• I do it!
  


• Where are you?
  


• What's that??? What's that??? What's that??? (x a million, LOL)
  


• Who's that?
  


• I eat it all
  


• awwww. Sweet. (about babies, birds, etc.)
  


• I hear it
  


• Luz you (love you)
  


• You mix up a few letters and I LOVE it. You say "sunny" for funny and "crinkle crinkle" for Twinkle, Twinkle. You also say "grink" for drink. WE LOVE IT!
  


• OH MY GOODNESS!
  


• Nothin' in there
  

Favorite foods:

• You still love cottage cheese. I swear, you could eat the whole container
  


• Regular cheese
  


• Yogurt
  


• Craisins
  


• Spaghetti
  


• Cereal
  


• Cookies!!!!!!!!
  


• Hamburgers with ketchup (lots...just like daddy).
  


• You will try just about anything. You don't like lettuce. :)
  

Favorite Books:

• Ten Little Babies. You call it "Sticky Babies" because on one page there are "8 sticky babies, in marmalade heaven."
  


• Pooh book from Aunt Bridgett. It was cousin Isabelle's favorite too!!! Pooh gets stuck in the door from eating too much honey. On the page where you see Pooh's "behind," you say "butt!" OOPS!
  


• Prayer Book
  

Your Friends:

• Kids at Tammy's, the sitter: Emersyn, Ethan, Lucas, Zachary, Annah and Seth (Sitter's kids)


• Holden and Hunter


• Izzy and Tyler


• Lauren and Luke


• Caroline who we see at Kindermusik, too


• Colin, Cade and Chase


• Your cousins, Belle and Livy and Jackson (we miss them tons!)


• Cousin Ella in MN who we also miss


• Cousin Redd:)
  


• I am excited for a summer of fun. We already have play dates and pool dates set up weekly. WHOHOO!

And as I said on facebook this morning, "2 years ago our lives changed (for the better obviously!). Sometimes I wish time would stand still, but I am loving watching you grow up. We love you more than anything in the world." Happy 2nd Birthday Ava!!!!! Love, Mommy and Daddy



ps. I apologize for all of the SPPPPPPAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCEEEEEEESSSSSSSSS in my blog text. It automatically enters it anytime I upload a photo, save a draft and then go back to edit it. ANNOYING!

Mother's Day

Happy MoThER's Day 2011

Me and my munchkin after church. She wasn't really into our photo session. :) I had to tickle her to get her to smile and avoid her wanting down! ha!




She reeeeeeeeeeally wanted to sit in her own chair! Ok...fine :)







My sis, mom, me









The Bettis MOMS!

Cunningham Fam

We had a nice Mother's Day. Got up early so we could make the 9:00 church service. I have been wanting to get to church so TODAY was the day! =) We attempted the nursery, but one of the ladies had to come get me. Apparently Ava didn't seem to notice too much that we were gone until "some big burly guy" dropped off his son. Oh and she said he stuck around to wipe noses, etc. LOL! I calmed her down, which took several minutes and snuck out again...but only to hear her crying before I got out of the cafeteria next to the nursery. I couldn't take it and I just took her back into the service with us. She sat quietly with her baby, bottle and blankie for the rest of the service. Just relaxing. She even shared her baby with the nice older man sitting next to me. Oh that girl! =) The ladies in the nursery had some great suggestions for the upcoming times so hopefully since we'll be making it a priority it will get better with time. I'll eventually have to let her cry I suppose...

Then we dropped by home to pick up our cheesy potatoes, change clothes, etc. and head to my aunts to have lunch with my mom's side of the family. It was great to see everyone. The weather was beautiful and I got to see my sister and nieces and nephew Jackson, too, WHO I MISS TONS! Of course, I got to see my mom, too, but I see her more often, I guess. =) It was fun.

*Ava even fell asleep on the way home! YAY! We were beginning to get worried as the last 2 times traveling have equaled NO NAP for her! She fought it, but finally fell asleep.*

Cutest Baby Boy in the WOrLd!

We ended the evening by playing outside, walking to Gene's for ice "tream" as Ava would say. Travis and I watched Due Date and had popcorn after putting her to bed.

I have an appointment tomorrow so no school for me! Can't say I'm too upset about it! It's MONDAY, ya know!!!!!!!!!!