Diving in....

Aye. I am be-HIND! Well, the birds have left the nest. The End.

Okay...there are more stories.

You know, as things happen throughout my days I make mental notes here and there. I think I have run out of mental sticky notes because everything sorta just blurs together. A month goes by and BAM! Now I have a Blog-buster to create (and the crowd breaks out in uncontrollable laughter...get it? Blogbuster...Blockbuster....Blog instead of Bl...yeah, you know it's funny).

Let's go in reverse since the most recent occasions are fresh on my mind. Or, I guess to segue into my first subject, I can say that my most recent occasion I can feel fresh on my gluts. Yesterday I participated in Stroller Strides for the first time. Holy, holy, holy...it was boot camp for stroller pushers. I think I left my rear end back at that park. It was fantASTic! I wish it wasn't so expensive or I would try it every day. Nothing like sweat dripping in your eyes as you are on your 3rd round of wall squats while singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." Ava thought is was great! I'm sure she was thinking, "Ha! Pay back time Momma! All those things you told me no about!" Anyway, it sure did beat running on the treadmill for an hour staring at the TV.

Keith and I just celebrated 5 years. FIVE YEARS, folks! I can't believe it. We have squeezed in so much into those 5 years. It has been glorious. For a long time we were trying to think of something really special for our 5 year anniversary. We love to travel so we really wanted to go somewhere. As you may remember, we were going to go on a Pacific Coast drive from San Diego all the way up to Napa (with a stop in L.A. so I could dazzle everyone on the Price is Right.) Yeah, well that Price was Wrong. It was going to cost us a brain to go. So then we shortened it down to a few days just in L.A. Yeah, we still had to GET there so it really didn't make it much cheaper. Then we thought Vegas. Well, then we might as well go to L.A. Then we thought San Antonio. Been there a ka-zillion times. We thought a cruise. Done that a ka-zillion times. Finally, we decided. Are you ready? Brace yourselves, brace yourselves. We went to Houston! As in the city we are both from. But I need to tell you something very profound. I FEEL like I went on a Pacific Coast Drive from San Diego to Napa with a stop at the Price is Right. Ava stayed with my parents (mind you, I have never been away from her for more than a couple of hours) and we spent 24 hours away. Now, although I felt like I was missing my right arm without her, I enjoyed every single second. Get this...we like ate when we like wanted to. We actually got coffee at the Galleria and walked around....EVERY FLOOR! We *gasp* went to a movie! And we stayed in an awesome hotel! Now it goes unsaid. I love my baby girl more than my life itself. BUT. I love my quiet time with my Hubby-of-five-years, too. And you better believe it -- Ava ate it up for all it was worth being with her Gigi and Poppy. She was an angel, of course. She went shopping and visited Gigi's work to say hi to her friends, ate an entire Sonic cheeseburger, and played on the playground...oh! It was heaven for her! And there was nothing better than coming home and having this precious child, dressed up in her new digs including, of course, ruffled socks, come running up to me screaming "Mommy!" *sigh* My family is just so precious to me.

Before I add pictures, here's an update of my little chatterbox's vocab...I cannot WAIT until she really starts talking (insert your "oh, just wait until"....here). She is going to be so crack-me-up funny.

Ava's new fave: "No." But it's more like a question...noooo? She hates getting her diaper changed so if I ask her if she has poo pooed, she will say...yeah. But then she realizes that she has just confessed meaning she will need to experience the horrible act of getting changed. So she catches herself. "Ava, did you poo poo?" "Yeah! Noooooo?" So yes and no are here everyday. Along those same lines...(*warning: more poo poo talk) to get her to agree to getting a new diaper, I now let her say bye to the contents of her diaper as they are flushed down the potty. She thinks that is GREAT! So, now, she says "Bye Bye Poo Poo..." Sweet, I know.

Ava "sings" her ABCs. She has the melody down almost perfectly. Almost all of the letters sound the same but she will get the ends of the phrases. So if you sang it with her, she will, with gusto, sing G, P, T, maybe Y, Z, and Me at the end. She is so proud of herself, too.

My vocabulary, on the other hand, has shrunken down a bit to "No, Ma'am," "You're so silly," "Give it to Mommy," and, of course, "Did you poo poo?"

And there you have it. A Bachelor and a Master's degree later...but I wouldn't trade this for anything.

Ava still loves her "Quack-quacks." Granna and Papa (formally "Granddaddy" and renamed by Ava, herself) took us to feed the ducks by their house. They were little monsters (the ducks, that is, not Granna and Papa)! Ava is crazy about her animals though! She fed them right into their mouths (until I got so nervous -- who me? -- that I showed her the park across the lake.)

Someone from my mom's group hostessed a playdate. Ava rode her very first horse, Jett. Yeah! I'm big time, folks! She did so well.

Aaaaaaaand then I found her 30 minutes later trying to talk to her new friend, Jett. I'm telling you...when she has her mind on something she does NOT forget.

Bathing Beauty.

Pudding Princess.
And now friends, notice the delicate use of the spoon. Notice the nice, tall posture. She is focused on eating as a mature and dignified 20 month old young lady. That's my girl. Perfect putting put-awayer.

It's okay Ava. I know you like to be clean. A little chocolate on the mouth is just fine. Keep your calm and enjoy your snack.

Aw geez.

Okay....gettin' a little creative now....

Touch Down!
That's my girl!

I just have to say that I am surprised these shots aren't blurry. I was laughing so hard I could barely see out of my one non-squinted camera eye. Her nose dive was complete with snorting and slurping. It was something special.

Five Years! Happy Anniversary, Keith! Thank you for this incredible adventure.

Thanks for reading.

Now...go nose dive into some chocolate pudding. It'll make you feel like a kid again.