Yes, I know, I have been a blog slacker this week. There just doesn't seem to be much to say. But, here are a few things we have been up to. Becca was her over the weekend. It was so great to spend time with her. Ava and I went to Logan on Friday night and stayed over until Saturday afternoon. I got my hair done. I haven't had it done since October so it was quite a treat. It makes all the difference to have a good cut and color. My cousin Mandy does it for me and she does a great job. Plus it is always so fun to see her an catch up! My dad and Becca watched Ava while I was at the salon. One of Ava's newest words is grandpa. She will actually let my Dad hold her lately and Monday while we were at Costco she bumped into and elderly man and then looked up and said "hi Grandpa". We all had a pretty good laugh. My Dad also took us to Juniper take out for lunch. MMMM my favorite place in all of Logan. After lunch we went to my Grandma's house. I love her so much and wish that I could spend more time with her. She is such an amazing woman! She had a great time playing with Ava. It is so wonderful to see how cute they are. I remember my Grandma playing with me the same way. She is getting up there in years and I know she doesn't feel well a lot of the time, but she is always so happy and upbeat. I really look up to her and admire her love of life.
Cooper turned two on Monday. Wow! I can't believe it has been two years. I wasn't able to be present for his birth, but I waited all day by the phone for updates and finally the wonderful news that our boy had made is arrival. He is such a wonderful part of our family. He is the Man in my life right now and is one of my favorite parts of the day. He is my greeter when I walk in the door at Katie's. He always runs in yelling "dewy" "Aya" it puts an instant smile on my face! He and Ava are such cute cousins and I am so glad that they get to grow up together and be good friends. I hope that they will always be close and that they will help each other through the tough times in life.
I have really been enjoying the beautiful weather these past few days. I am ready for summer! It has been fun to watch Ava play outside. She just walks around like she owns the world. She loves to carry around the baseballs and bat, dig in the dirt's and slide. I am so glad that Katie has a such a fun yard with all the toys a kid could wish for. I can't wait until it is warm enough for a trip to Cherry Hill! I am sure we will spend a ton of time there this summer, I can't wait to see if Ava loves the water as much as I do.

Tough stuff

I think that often times we don't talk about the things in life that we struggle with because it makes us vulnerable, but I think that acknowkledging our struggles sometimes makes them easier to deal with. As a parent you truly learn the meaning of unconditional love. In the final weeks before Ava was born I remember being terrified to have her come into my world. I knew that an undescribable change was going to take place in my life and in my heart. I knew that I loved her then, but I knew that once we actually met, face to face, that I would really love her. I knew that loving something that much would be wonderful but that it would bring with it pain, as all love does. We raise our kids to leave the nest and become successful adults. But I think that everytime we send our children out into the world our hearts break just a little. We want to protect them and nurture them forever. We don't want them to feel sadness or pain. If only we could keep them safe and all to ourselve forever. My turn to send my girl out into the world started when she was four months old. While I wasn't sending her to completely fend for herself, she was leaving me. Last Thursday I took Ava to the airport to visit her Dad. While I know that she is very loved there I still worry about her every second. Did she eat? How long was her nap? Is she happy today or grumpy? Did she go to sleep all right? Did she get enough hugs and kissed today? All the things that we worry about when it comes to the ones we love. Most of all I miss my companion. I miss our "pillow talk" in the morning and the way she puts her hand on my face in the night just to make sure she isn't alone in the bed. I miss hearing her say Mom and her cute little giggle. My world is just kinda empty. I knew that this would be one of the conditions of being her Mother, but that doesn't make it any easier. And even a year later it isn't any easier, and I don't think that it will ever be easy. If you are wondering if enjoy any of my down time, the answer is yes. It is nice to just be able to do whatever I want. But a day is nice, not week. I miss my baby :)

Little Slugger

The last few days we have spent a ton of time outside. The weather has just been perfect! Ava loves Coopers T-Ball set. She is always carring around one of the balls. Last night she was setting the ball on top and then, using all her concentration, she would ever so lightly tap the ball off the top. We would all cheer and she would smile so big. It was so cute!!! These are the small things that make being a parent the GREATEST!

Early Easter

We celebrated Easter a week early this year. Ava will be spending the holiday in California with her Cardoso family so we had to do it early this year. She had fun dying easter eggs and kept trying to "taste" the dye with the spoons that were in the cups. Her hands and arms were yellow and blue when we were done. The first thing she wanted out of her easter basket were her new binkis. Why on earth she would pick that over candy and a doll is beyond me especially because she already had one in her mouth. After unwrapping the new binkis she had to put all her candy in her new stroller and pushed it around all morning. She does the funniest things! After church and naps we went to Katies for an easter egg hunt. She actually got it and had fun putting the eggs in her basket. Cooper kept taking them out and putting them in his. She would get so mad but just stand there and cry not getting them back. She wasn't up for any pictures and cried in all of them. Kids definiely can't hide the way they feel. The best part of the day was dinner with hot rolls decked out with butter, honey and cool wip. Me and Katies favorite sunday treat.

My mother once told me that the best days of her life were when Katie and I were little girls. I can't help but wonder if the same will be true for me. The moments I spend with Ava are or so precious. I can't believe how quickly she is growing. She learns something new everyday and is becoming quite the little talker. My favorite new thing that she does is put her hands up and shrug saying "all gone". It is so cute, and you can tell she was just so proud of herself when she did it. I can't remember ever being happier in my life than I am right now. Yes, there are long days when I don't think I could possibly go on, but without these days I wouldn't appreciate those moments that are pure joy. Today, the cutest five year old girl came in to work with her mother. She was just so cute and full of questions for me. It made me realize how excited I am for the rest of my life. Every day brings some new laugh and realization. I am so grateful to be where I am and be doing what I am. I have posted some pictures that were taken about a year ago, but I just think they are so adorable and wanted everyone to get a good laugh. Ava is definitely a Jamba baby.