Birthday Fun!

Ava and Mia had a blast at our neighbors' birthday party at Pump it Up. Mia was getting in there just like one of the big girls - so fearless it's a little scary! She especially enjoyed the princess cupcake!

Snow Day January 2011

Happy New Year and Happy Snow Day! TX weather takes us on a roller coaster ride again. Yesterday was sunny in the 60's and today we get 4-5 inches of snow! Crazy! The girls had fun playing out front. Some neighbors had the same idea, so they got to play with them as well. This was Mia's first real snow experience - she was only 3 months old last year when we got snow. She loved it! Especially the snow eating part. It's wrapping up out there now, but maybe no school/work tomorrow? We'll see ...

Family Photo Shoot

I wanted to do some family photos this year as my Christmas present. Doug was a little resistant, as you all know he LOVES getting his picture taken, but he managed through it and the end result was fantastic! We used downtown McKinney as our back drop, that had some wonderful old brick walls, bright painted colors and cool old doorways. We did it first thing in the morning when all were rested and in good moods and the light was just right. It was freezing though and we had to warm up the girls between shots to keep their lips from getting blue! We shared the session with some of our neighbors, so that helped the girls hang on by playing with their friends during breaks.

Ava's Christmas party at School

Ava had her Christmas party at school the other day and we all got to attend. They received and gave gifts, consumed A LOT of sugar, and wore the cutest hats that they made. Here's Ava unable to contain her excitement about a gift one of the teachers got her. Oh my ...

Dicken's Christmas

Amy and Nick were here for Thanksgiving and we spent a day in downtown McKinney at the Dicken's Christmas event. They had such a nice set-up for the kids - merry go round, petting zoo, train rides and even fake snow! Gotta love how they do it down here in TX! The kids had a blast and were even patient enough for us grown-ups to grab a pint at the pub. Check out Mia during her first petting zoo experience. She has a love for animals and was shrieking with delight! I think she even scared a few of them with her zealousness!

Ava at Disney on Ice

I took Ava to her first "show" this Thanksgiving to see Disney Princesses on Ice at the new Allen Event Center. She was so excited and had a blast! She dressed up in her Sleeping Beauty dress up clothes, complete with a tiara so she could be just like one of the Princesses. She sat next to another little girl and they both hooted and hollered for the characters throughout the show - so cute! She loved it all ... except for the big scary dragon that breathed fire. I thought it was cool, but for weeks she is still talking about how she didn't like that scary dragon. At least it was at the end of the show so it didn't ruin it for her. Had to dodge all the vendors selling all the Princess gear to the kids. She wanted everything - and it wasn't cheap! We got away with our $7 small box of popcorn and a $15 Ariel necklace. Not too bad! Ava is getting so big now. It's fun to be able to do things like this. Daddy is taking her to see her first movie in the theater later this week to see Tangled. I'm sure she'll love that too.

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.