Go, Go, Goers!

Now that summer's here, it seems like the days are flying by. I went back to work on Wednesday, and before I knew it, it was Friday! Apparently, Ava had a long week, though...she fell asleep as I was feeding her on Thursday night. Her eyes kept rolling back, and finally, I let her nap for 20 minutes. All that fresh air at daycare must be wearing her out! On Friday night, Scott, Ava and I went to the South St Paul Kaposia Days parade. Scott's mom and Whitey live right on the parade route, so it's nice that we have front row seats. Last year, Ava was only a week old at the parade, so she didn't really get to experience it. She did great this year...she watched everyone and everything so carefully. But the most exciting thing was the candy bucket...it doubles as a hat! The people giving out candy would put pieces right in her bucket, which I would very quickly remove. I did give her the tiniest piece of Laffy Taffy, but she spit it out right away. I was eating a piece of

What a whirlwind week we've had...I was trying to get everything wrapped up at work so I could take my 5-day "furlough" from last Wednesday, through tomorrow. Wednesday was my first day at home, so Ava and I had a ton of "fun" getting everything ready for the upcoming activities. I did have a wonderful massage, so that started my vacation off very well... Gramma Karen and Grampa Doug drove in from KC on Wednesday afternoon. We had a great evening catching up, and enjoying the nice weather (until the downpour that happened right as they were leaving our house!) On Thursday, Scott, Dad, Mom, and I drove down to Cannon Falls and Rochester to check out the areas for potential future homes/land for us. At some point, we'd like to move south of the Cities. Ava was a very good little girl, especially considering that she was stuck in a car for most of her FIRST BIRTHDAY!!! We went to Applebee's for lunch, and the wait staff came out singing to someone else...I

Ava's becoming a real handful in the bathtub...Scott and I were remembering how easy she used to be when she just sat there. Now, she's standing, running, fall, laying on her belly, growing bubble beards from drinking the bathwater, and doing anything she can to make us laugh. We do giggle a lot during bath time , so even though it is more work to get her clean, it's a lot more fun. Scott decided to give her a fun 'do the other day. Ava's finally getting some hair - and normally, it stands up all over, like chicken fuzz. The only time it lays flat is when it's wet...but not this night! Scott eventually called her a windblown troll...and you know, what? He's right! Just 4 more days until our little sweet pea is ONE! We are looking forward to my parents coming up for a visit on Wednesday, as well as the family party on Sunday. My parents are celebrating their 60 th birthdays this summer, so we'll be taking them out to party, as well! One of my co-workers

With the beautiful weather lately (not today), we had a very busy week. We tried to spend as much time outdoors as we could. Also, Ava's last swimming lesson was on Monday - can't wait to get that pool from Great-Grandma for Ava's birthday! Yesterday we decided to back off on the baby food and start giving Ava more of our food. So, Scott cooked up a piece of chicken for her, we cooked some carrots, and she had part of a pear for dessert. I'm thinking we need to invest in those plates that have the suction cup on the bottom - I took one step away from her and the plate went flying. Good thing we have three dogs to clean up! Now that she knows how to drink from a straw and a regular cup, we decided giving her a sippy cup wouldn't hurt. She guards that thing with her life!!! In less than 2 weeks, she's going to be a year old...! We bought some whole milk yesterday to start introducing that into her diet - I am so excited for that! But the biggest thing will be tur