Fall Fun at the Pumpkin Patch

There is a pumpkin patch practically in our back yard at Story Book Ranch this year. They have a great kids' play area complete with pony rides, a petting zoo, a bouncy slide and a hay stack maze. I took Ava over one evening and she had a blast! Check her out ...

Mia at Gymboree

We've been so busy, I haven't posted anything in months! I'm forcing myself to do it now. I signed Mia up for the Gymboree Play and Music classes now that she has turned one. I did all this stuff with Ava, so now it's Mia's turn. She is loving this class so far. They opened up a new facility close to our house on 75 and Stacy Road, so it's really convenient. This is our special time together on Saturday afternoons!

Mia's On the Move!

Mia will be 9 months old next week and is growing up so fast. She crawls around everywhere, is pulling up and cruising and is even starting to wave! She's eating everything we give her and even what we don't. She tries to grab food off of our plates and is even eating table food like tortillas, chicken and experienced her first french fry today (love at first bite!). She loves the dogs and shrieks with glee whenever they're around. She always wants to be in the action and is extremely busy, busy, busy.

Ava's Third Birthday

Ava was sooooo excited about her birthday this year. Instead of her birthDAY, it was more like her birthMONTH. She talked about it for weeks before and after and is still telling us today that her "birthday is all done", because we have to keep telling her that. She had several celebrations, so it really did make it all a very big deal. My parents came over for her actual birthday and brought her a big girl Tinkerbell bike. It only took a couple of days before she was peddling well down the street! She also had a birthday celebration at day care with her classmates. I brought some cupcakes in for her to share and Mia even got to partake in the fun. The big celebration was her party at the Little Gym, where the Tinkerbell theme continued. She had a blast running and jumping around - climbing on equipment, singing and playing with bubbles. Boy, were we so glad the craziness and wildness of it all wasn't at our house. I can completely now understand why having someone else host your kid's party is the way to go if you can swing it! Our gift to Ava was a little wooden play house in the back yard. It took Doug and a couple of neighbors hours and hours of blood sweat and tears to put it together. Ava sure does love it though. I don't think we'll be able to top birthday #3 anytime again in the near future.

Laughing Out Loud

Mia finds her big sister very amusing. Lots of belly laughs!

Mia's Biter Biscuits

Mia loves to eat solid food. She scarfs down baby food and cereal 3 times a day and even eats a snack of her biter biscuits. She's a little piggy! There isn't a food she hasn't liked yet. She doesn't seem too picky, unlike her older sister!

Mia's Sitting Up All By Herself!

A week before Mia's 7 month birthday, she started sitting up all by herself. Within one week, she's become a pro! So glad, because she's much happier now that she can sit and play with her toys and be in the action with everyone.

The Dallas Children's Museum

This week is Doug's Spring Break. I took a few days off too to spend it with the family and enjoy some of this warmer Spring weather. Today we went to the Dallas Children's Museum with Amy and her two little ones. Zach just turned two and Cameron is almost exactly one month older than Mia. Ava and Zach had so much fun digging for dinosaur bones, riding a fire truck and playing in the water. We got there early which was a good thing because it was so crowded when we left. Mia hung in there and didn't want to miss a beat - I was hoping she would nap in the stroller, but she wanted to see everything. She zonked out as soon as we got in the car.

Ava's Dance Class

Ava's been taking ballet/jazz for a few months now and is really starting to enjoy it. She does the dances around the house and wants me to do them with her. She's starting to get the moves better and has a blast making friends with some of the other little girls. Here's the latest!

Big girl peddling on her bicycle!

Ava is starting to peddle on her bike all by herself! She's so determined. She doesn't want us to push her at all. I think we need to invest in a new bike that's easier for her to peddle. This one was great for when she was little since we could push her with the handle, but it's hard for her to peddle and steer right now as she's learning. Anyone have a good recommendation for a tricycle that's easy for the little ones? With Spring just around the corner, I'm sure we'll be putting a lot of miles on it soon!