Go, Go, Goers!

Funny how things can change in an instant.  Last Saturday, we were celebrating life: our friends just had a new little girl about 5 weeks ago.  It's amazing seeing how tiny and new she is...her life is unwritten - it can be whatever she wants it to be! Then last Sunday night, Scott got a call that there was something wrong with his dad, Bruce.  Bruce had been snowblowing (remember, we had a BIG snowstorm on Sunday), and had a massive heart attack.  A random person driving by happened to find him.  But, it just so happens, that the random person was an ambulance driver, and immediately began working on Bruce until the ambulance arrived.  Unfortunately, after 40 minutes of trying, Bruce couldn't be revived.  So, on Sunday night, at the young age of 59, Bruce Goers passed away.  Scott lost his father, Ava lost her grandpa, Sandy lost her husband, and many people lost their uncle, brother, and friend. It's been an incredibly rough week....

Oh, so much love!  Love for Ava, love for Darla, love for food...love, love, love!  We took a brief moment on Valentine's Day to capture some of this love on film... Mommy and Ava Daddy and Ava Ava and just one box of many candies that she got for Valentine's Day... Ava and her deep love affair for odd colored yogurt.  Notice that it's about ready to drip off the spoon... Enjoying a red velvet cupcake from the Valentine's Day party at daycare.  Even better - they sent one home for Mommy, too! You can only guess what happened next to Saint Darla. We were in southern MN this weekend, visiting our friends Darren, Tiffany, Isabel, and their newest addition, Evelyn!  I forgot how cuddly and snuggly new babies are (Evelyn is a little over a month old.)  Tiny little cries, fragile little fingers, and that wonderful baby smell...oh so cute!  I absolutely couldn't believe how much Evelyn looks like Isabel did whe...

Scott was out of town this weekend, so Ava and I had a little mommy-daughter time.  And frankly, we needed it!  I've been so busy at work that I haven't had much time to spend with Ava lately - generally the only time I've been seeing her is in the morning when I'm getting her ready to go to daycare.  And THAT has turned into a huge struggle every day...so it's not always the most fun time we could spend together. So, we had fun yesterday!  We did some baking, some eating, some playing, and some cartoon watching - and it was great!  At one point, while I was cleaning, she decided to set her table for lunch.  What I thought was interesting was the plasticware.  There's something very OCD about the arrangement... And then I went into her bedroom and saw this display of books.  That's my girl!  She may look more like Scott, but she definitely has some of my tendancies! We were eating apple slices for lunch, and she put three of the s...

We had a successful trip to Kids Hair this past weekend...I had been telling Scott how Ava cried and cried every time I took her to get her hair cut.  So, of course, the one time he comes along, she's perfectly fine.  Frankly, whatever it takes works for me!  In fact, Ava was so sedated by Scooby Doo and a sucker, that she even let the hair dresser put two ponytails in her hair!  I know I'm biased, but I think she looks so darn cute!  I'm pretty sure that neither she nor I will be that patient when I attempt this 'do in the future! Ava had a great weekend with Grandma Deb and Grandpa Whitey...they played in the snow, did taste testing for the Superbowl party, and kept each other out of trouble!  In the meantime, Scott and I had a very nice 24 hours to hang out - we went out to dinner, then to the Winter Carnival Vulcan Victory Dance on Saturday night.  On Sunday, we managed to squeeze in a movie before heading over to Deb and Whitey's house f...

This has been a horrible week at work.  Nothing to do with the job itself, just technology related issues that have created chaos.  Therefore, I barely had time to breathe, eat, or relax.  How does this affect you?  It really shouldn't, but it means I have no pics to post this week. However...Ava said some pretty darn funny things this week: We were watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" earlier this week, and I heard a character say "Virtualizing!"  What's the next thing out of Ava's mouth?  "VIRTUALIZNG!"  I know I might be biased, but I think that's a pretty big word for a 2 year old to produce. Same evening, but later, as we were giving her a bath, she looked at me, stuck her finger in her bum, and told me, "I'm taking my temp so I can have medicine!"  There are so many things wrong with that, on so many levels, that all I could respond with was a blank look, and a tiny giggle.  Note: she had been sick earlier ...

Ava's getting more independent in the mornings - she now takes off her pjs, puts them away, picks out her "big girl" underwear, and sometimes her own outfits (which I often have to veto since they usually consist of t-shirts and shorts...and -16F isn't really the best combo with exposed legs!)  She's also figured out how to get the top off of her lip gloss containers, and often, she is looking quite shiny and sparkly by the time I get to her! The other day I walked by her room, and I thought she had one of Scooter's diapers on her head.  After closer inspection, it turned out to be a hat.  I still thought it was pretty cute! And speaking of hats...when she's done with a meal, she is DONE.  The bib comes off, and she wants to get down to play.  The bib often gets stuck on her head, tho...this night it was particularly funny as she reminded me of a little pirate, especially in the last picture of this bunch.  Relaxing on a Sunday...

Oh what a naughty, naughty little girl we have.  You know it's bad when the child tells on herself to you (true story from last week...)  When asked what she did wrong, she listed off her wrongdoings, and then proclaimed that she was naughty.  Putting her in time out doesn't seem to be working anymore, as she talks about going into time out on her own.  We've found that taking Scooter and Blankie away from her sometimes works...and sometimes it doesn't.  It really depends on her mood.  We've just come to accept the fact that we have one sassy litle girl.  Frankly, I'd rather have a kid with an attitude than one without any sort of personality.  I can only imagine what she'll be like in 10 more years... We all had an incredibly busy week - so busy that we didn't even take any pictures!  I started my new job, which means a location move, meeting all new people, trying to learn different applications, and still managing my old job.  Ava w...