This is a nice interim week in which not much is planned (on purpose). I was busy last week with a few projects around the house. I will try to get some pictures on here; but our camera broke, so that makes it a little harder. I was getting the itch to do something different in our decorating and we had no space, so we had a garage sale. We made a little money and rearranged and found some good deals, and now it looks different. There's still more I could do, but with the money I had, I do really like it. I really enjoy those little projects, so it's fun and invigorating for me while it drains Matt of all energy. He does enjoy painting, so I will take him up on that this week maybe while we paint the bathroom. I'm thinking blue.

Saturday is the softball tournament, and then we are gearing up for the state fair next week! So this is our calm week.

Say AAHH!

So Jack had his first dentist appointment yesterday. Matt did me a favor and woke up early to take him. I get kind of nervous about those things. But he did great and came home with some "sloff" (floss) and a badge from a police officer that they ran into. So he was very excited and told me all about the chair and the water they squirted in his mouth. I think he might like to go back! And I'm happy that he has good teeth. I always think of the old movie "Cheaper by the Dozen". Frank says, "You children have been given good health, and by jingo it's your job to keep it." So no getting sick or cavities or ER visits allowed!

Ava went to bed at 6 pm last night and although I can hear her in there, she's just content. AAHH!

I have had a fun week or two. I'm just enjoying being at home, and that means I'm organizing something or rearranging furniture or redecorating. And it's been all of the above. I will have to put some pictures up of some of my projects when I'm done. I'm undertaking painting a desk this week. I've been wanting something blue, so here goes!

Odds and Ends

About 4 years ago we put a post on this blog about Jack finding the toilet paper dispenser and using it as a toy. He was about 10 months old at the time. Ava's a little behind Jack in this section of her life but, alas, she has found it! Now comes the work of keeping her away from it!



One of our favorite times of summer is coming: Fair Time! We love going to fairs since they feel like a little mini vacation. We finally got to one this past weekend when we went to the Anoka County Fair. It was hot, but it was fun! We didn't eat too much, but we got to see all the animals and Jack got to ride some rides and play a game. It was a good warm-up for the State Fair!





Jack found this 4-wheeler at the fair and said that I should get that for him for Christmas. He's got an expensive taste! I told him I didn't have $700 laying around for that.


Ava continues to get more mobile. She still hasn't taken any steps, but she can stand on her own for a little while and she can walk with help. Here is a video of her playing with her new toy she got for her birthday and doing some walking.

A couple of Jack things....

Jack was very excited about getting to have some "somersault" tonight at supper....applesauce.

He still says, "Please you may get me a drink?" instead of "Please may I have a drink?"

He gets up before me usually and goes in Ava's room, and they play together until I get up. I know I have it good! When I finally have to get up, he says to me, "Mommy, are you going to stay up all night and fix me some supper?" Me: Jack, you mean stay up all day and fix you some breakfast. We call it breakfast in the morning. Jack: I call it supper. Me: Okay

He's asking questions about God and Heaven lately since Grandma's funeral and maybe even a little before then. I love those talks. I hope and pray he sees God in me and wants Him for himself.

He wanted to play Mario Kart tonight and called it "Mama Mia". I guess they say that in the game. I just laugh at how he makes up names for things.

He still is a great big brother, much nicer to Ava than she is to him. HA She gets kind of annoyed when he gets in her way. So here we go with that whole phase. Each phase has pros and cons, I guess. I still remember the doctor telling me about Jack around this age. "The older he gets and the more his brain develops, the more annoying he will be." I thought that was pretty good....and true!

Jack is very nervous about thunderstorms because of a scary one last year in which we went to the basement. He said the other day, "Did you hear that kachowing?" I guess that means thunder.

We are working on a few things with Ava. Taking the bottle with formula and the pacifier away. It's going okay overall. I can't tell if she's more whiny because of that or if it's for another reason. But I know she's okay, so we're just working on it little by little. It's been nice to be home the last couple of days to work on things like that.

Ava's 1st Birthday Party

We had a full house for Ava's birthday! We were blessed to have Chris and his family here from Colorado. There were a total of 19 people in our house sitting around the table. Of course, we had to bring in an extra table from church and a bunch of chairs. Ava loved her party (at least we think she did). She definitely loved her cake and we have the pictures to prove it! She got some great outfits and some great toys to play with.

The birthday girl is ready for her party


The birthday crew


Here was the yummy cupcake pull-apart cupcake cake (try to say that three times fast!)


Someone is ready for that cake!


Forget about the cake! I want the frosting!!


The mess begins


Add a little bit more


And some more


She's finally done and is as happy as a clam and as messy as a pig


Eating the cake is so much more fun than the clean up


Having fun on one of her new toys


After the party, we had cousin Connor stay overnight so he and Jack could have a sleepover. They wanted to get dressed up in their superhero costumes and I just had to include this picture because of the face that Jack decided to make when I asked him to smile.

Family Time, Heat & a Big Birthday!

I want to start out by wishing our daughter a Happy 1st Birthday! We cannot believe that it has been a year since she was born! She is growing up so fast and reaching a lot of milestones and it is a lot of fun to have her around and watching her grow up. We won't actually have her birthday party until Friday, but we were able to get a free cake from Byerly's yesterday (her birthday) and share it with some family. One good thing is that we have more family around right now. The sad part about it is that Shannon's grandma passed away last week. She was 98 years old and had a wonderful life with a wonderful family. She was a faithful Christian servant and she will be missed. Shannon's brother, Chris, and his family traveled all the way from Colorado. He preached at the funeral and did a wonderful job. Shannon and her sisters and a couple of her cousins sang a couple songs and it was beautiful.

It is great to have the extra family around, but I feel bad for them coming in from out of town when it is so miserable here in Minnesota. We are going through a terrible heat wave. I walked out of the house on Sunday to walk to church and just about passed out! I thought at the time that this was about the worst humidity that I had ever felt and, sure enough, I found out later that the dew point for that day was tied for the worst in the Twin Cities' history. Of course we had to do a little better than that; so yesterday, the day of the funeral and Ava's birthday, we broke the record for the worst dew point in TC's history! I checked my phone at one point during the day and saw that the heat index was 122 degrees! And today is supposed to be about the same if not worse!! I told some relatives from Florida that they better fly back quickly to escape this Minnesota heat.

Ava with her cousin Caleb


Jack with his cousin Connor. These two are inseparable when they are together!


Ava having a fun time with her Byerly's cake

Ava's Uh-Oh

So far, this is the best video we have of Ava saying uh-oh.