24 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:


How Far Along: 24 Weeks


Size of baby: Baby is as big as an ear of corn ( I dont get how some fruits and veggies are bigger or smaller then the week before obviously its just an estimate)


Average size: 8.5 inches 1.5 pounds


Total Weight Gain/Loss: 2lbs


Maternity Clothes: Still in regular clothes


Gender: Girl!


Movement: Daily


Sleep: I havent been having to nap which is great, But my night time sleep is chopped up.. between figuring out where to put the belly (Im a stomach sleeper) and Being to hot I get up every 3 hours or so


What I miss: Nothing in particular


Cravings: French Fries :D


Symptoms: I have a big belly and boobs and face :(


Best Moment this week: My belly must have came out in full force because Tony said Ooooh your belly looks bigger today (yesterday) and it does... YA!  Healthy Baby!

Ava is 17 months!

And we officially had our first melt down in public.
I kid you not, FULL ON, SCREAMING, KICKING, ROLLING ON THE FLOOR melt down. We were in Menards and she wanted to get out of the cart, I have NO IDEA, how we/why we've been letting her out of the cart. But either way its been happening. She doesn't run and she stays near by, but shes not a hand holder, and likes to push on the bottom rung of the cart where the wheels are. AGAIN I have NO idea when or how this happened it just kind of did. I'm sure it started out cute either with me or Tony and now its a problem.  The cart was all salty and dirty and a bit rusty... She didn't like no and that's how it all started.. basically we were THOSE parents. The one with the screaming child in the middle of a friggin store. Oh well. I always thought it was best to just let it all happen and not give it any thought or attention but I think Tony was doing the opposite of me so we were kind of working against each other. ANYWAYS I think she was overly tired which was part of it but it doesn't mean that its ok to not listen.

So Ava, you are 17 months today.
You are a bundle of energy. You love getting in to Mommys bathroom drawers and bringing things out.
Your new favorite is finger nail polish (not opened) I even painted your nail the other day you thought it was SO pretty but you wouldn't let me do any more.You love to play with your Snow White baby. You drag her and your blanket around the house.
You have Mommy and Daddy swaddle your baby and you put her in your stroller and bring her for rides.You like to share your drinks and snacks with your baby (Which is sometimes messy but cute)
You are finally ok with the "dirtiness" that is finger painting.

You've really picked up the vocabulary in the last month. I hear you saying ME a lot more. If you want to do something. More is more often said and signed at the same time now rather then just the sign. You love the word cheese.. and you love cheese in its self. Water,Milk, Doggy, Ball, Fish, Hip Hip Hooray, Oh No, Cow, Bird, Baby ;there are alot more that I am forgetting. But you've really started to carry on conversations with us. Dad and I find ourselves laughing at the conversations alot lately.

Its hard to believe its just going to be the three of us for just a few more short months. I find myself trying to make the most of each day while its just us.

You really enjoy dancing and singing. I would say dancing more then anything. Ive been looking at a tumbling class for you to get your groove on in ;) You love doing head, shoulders, knees and toes... now that you know its not just mommy acting crazy and that your friends do it too.

Weekend (or two) Painting Extravaganza!

We finally decided what Murphy 2.0s room would be painted as.
And since we had done a "few" stripes in Avas room we figured   we would be fine.

I should add Tony does ALL of the measurements and the line tape work. I usually do the tape work on wood and rolling the paint out.
It works well for us we both get a break from it and then we get to play with Ava.

So this is our Inspiration picture.

Courtesy of the latest Pottery Barn Kids Magazine
Did you know they list their paint choices- FABULOUS!  It made it so much easier in choosing the colors.
However Hiersfields was the only place that carried it so I had to go get the paint chips from them and then we had Home Depot mix the paint for us.

We switched it up a little bit.. I thought too many stripes might be too much for the room.. so from chair rail height down is the dark pink, and everything above that is the alternating stripes!
Last weekend we got done all 4 walls with the two different color pinks and one wall of stripes.
This next weekend will just be a quick striping and then it will be done for painting. We are also adding a chair rail.
I wont lie I looked at it at first and I wanted to throw up. . . PINK is everywhere. We are so NOT pink people; But I think once we start bringing in some teal and green and the furniture it will tone its self down.
Ava calls it "Sisters Room"  It was so sweet I had tears in my eyes.

Also Tony did my shelves for the kitchen.  I am SUPER happy with those. We were working with a blank LARGE wall.. I'm not one for a lot of "art work" hanging. But I do like pictures of the family and some random stuff... So this wall will end up being a little spot of everything. The top shelf currently has Ava's Valentines day art work she made at Cyndi's when I was at work. I love it its so cute. And fits nice. I cant wait to figure out what will really go on all the shelves.


Excuse the cell phone picture.. but it didn't turn out too bad so I didn't think it was necessary to bring out the Nikon.Also, that black box thing on the bottom. My Christmas present. One of those digital picture frames. We are still waiting for the company to send us the digital card thing. It was supposed to come with it but Tonys work forgot! Oops!




23 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:


Brrrrr its -19 here today!  Its a no frills day so I chopped of my head HA!
How Far Along: 23 Weeks


Size of baby: Baby is as big as a Papaya


Average size: 8 inches 1.2 pounds


Total Weight Gain/Loss: 2lbs


Maternity Clothes: Still in regular clothes


Gender: Girl!


Movement: More consistant


Sleep: Cant get enough of it :D  Even naps... I think Im still settleing back in from work though


What I miss: Nothing in particular

Cravings: None this week.

Symptoms: My boobs are huge and I just LOVE it when people tell me that, Like I don't already know


Best Moment this week: Tony felt 2.0 doing some ninja style kicks!

Work weekend

The week leading up to my last work weekend was a bad one. Well not bad. Just I was ready to get the heck outta dodge. Ava had a cold, Tony was sick, and Ava was also getting 4 teeth. I was READY.

Usually by the time I get to NY some kind of disaster has happened. Flights delayed, Weather, Commuting disaster SOMETHING. But No, not this time. I had just missed the crippling Nor Eastern that came through. Got to sleep until 6 am on the commuting day, that never happens, before hopping on Delta, FIRST CLASS none the less, and making it to the apartment with 4 hours to spare.

I do have to say I worked with some real PEACHES this weekend. One is always a snooty brat, but I tried to be nice but that didn't work. The other 3 flights I had friends that I usually always fly with which is great. Everything goes smoothly no hiccups. Lots of laughter. Just the way I like it. Only one throw up issue. Yep a sleeping adult in 3F. He didn't even wake up from sleeping when he did it. BLECK! I couldn't linger long I almost tossed my cookies on top of his rack of lamb. Yes, he told the other flight attendant what he ate. REALLY? Just gross.

I ended up becoming homeless in the D gate of Las Vegas Sunday night until Monday morning. Dragging around a stroller I got a sweet deal on!  I have never seen people stare so much hahah I think its because I had my luggage in the front seat and my coat and tote bag in the back seat. They were probably looking where the kids were.

Ava was at CyndiCare :)  this was the first time we left her some where that wasn't one of us or the Grandmas. Tony was working days and dropped her off at 6am!  She usually doesn't get up till 7am so I was nervous. Not for Ava, but for Cyndi. She watched her 2 kids that day and our peanut shell. The girls were good. Cyndi said they played nice and Matthew slept all morning.  I was mad that I wasn't home at 6am ish as planned but Ava being at Cyndis made me more at ease. Even though I probably texted her I AM SOOOO SORRRY at least half a dozen times.

Girls watching George EARLY in the Morning

Dress up!  Ava LOOOOVES beads

Reading books together
PS I stole all these pictures from Cyndi!

I am pretty lucky that 1. I found someone I trust with Ava and loves her almost as much as we do. 2. That is fun to hang out with in just MOMMY world ;) and 3. Lives up the street!

Tony has been working Days this week.. we are LOVING it. I wish my Monday commute didn't ruin the beginning of the week. I like that we actually get to eat dinner together and that Tony is here to help with Ava during the harder part of the day. We totally get him for 3.5-4 hours during day shift where as during 2nd shift we only get him for an hour or 2 and most of that might be Ava napping or him just waking up. And we definitely don't get him for Lunches or Dinners.

This weekend we are starting to paint Murphy 2.0s room. I'm really excited but I hope we aren't being to over ambitious. Pictures to follow this weekend I'm sure! :D  We most likely wont move the crib back up for a bit. Although I don't think Ava would have a reverse effect at all. Toddler bed transition went really well especially after she wasn't sick any more! So maybe the crib WILL be setup!?!?!?

22 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

HELLLO from New York, No picture this week since Im late on this anyways ;)

How Far Along: 22 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is as big as a Spaghetti Squash

Average size: 1 pound

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 2lbs

Maternity Clothes: Still in regular clothes

Gender: Girl!

Movement: I have been feeling her Daily since about week 13. I used to REALLY feel her when I was flying.  And this work week I SWEAR I have only felt her one kick on the plane. But when I get back to the apartment theres a party in there :D

Sleep: Fine :D

What I miss: Sushi specifically a restaurant called I Love Sushi in Las Vegas. I woke up literally tasting it yesterday.

Cravings: None this week. Some reason when I work I just eat what is available

Symptoms: My boobs are huge and I just LOVE it when people tell me that, Like I don't already know

Best Moment this week: I saw a girl with the City Mini Double stroller in the airport in JFK. I now THINK that will be my next stroller purchase. HA Im sure that will change when I am back to looking at the black BOB Duallie 12 AW.
I also think I figured out what I want to do in her room I have to run it by Tony though... I was on the plane when I saw a picture of it.

Chickens, Lizards & Little Girls! OH MY!

On Tuesday Ava and I headed out to Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis.
Awhile ago I had purchased a HEAVILY discounted Children's Museum pass on Savvy source, and through that I got some referrals. I ended up with quite a few referral dollars but nothing ever really catches my eyes. So when I saw a book store that wasn't TOO far away. I figured ok that's fine. The deal was 5 dollars for a 10 dollar credit. It allowed me to purchase 5 Max. So I got the max and called it a day. Well most of these offers have expiration dates.. of course I used it THE DAY before it expired. None the less, Ava got some pretty cool books.


I had heard about this bookstore its SO cute! The main door is a large wood door and built in there is a small teal children's door. We used it on the way out not the way in :D
They have TONS of animals roaming the store. I honestly figured it was just a gimmick and when we got there it would be the day they weren't there, or something silly like that. Nope we walked in and were greeted by a HUGE lizard which Ava screeched and ran at with her hands up, 3 Cats which Ava later would attack and Meow at, birds chirping in the background and 3 CHICKENS. Yes, that's right CHICKENS! I thought she would be afraid, like she always is, but today she surprised me, she walked right up to them.  I often had to remind her to be gentle or slow down, it was such a great experience, Id like to try a storytime there in the spring.

Ava checking out the chickens

Its pretty hard to get a good photo of babies and chickens that constantly run places



The black chicken had "FANCY PANTS" on, or so we decided




Oooh you must be wondering about the little GIRLS part?  Well if you aren't you can stop reading.

Today was our Anatomy ultrasound. Tony comes to this appointment. We look at the baby for quite awhile. Koha goes over all the main parts. The heart, to make sure it has 4 chambers. The kidneys. The bladder. The head circumference. Neck folds .. tons of other stuff. People really like this ultrasound because this is where they usually find out what gender the baby is.  Baby is healthy, on track and CUUUUTE.

I was totally team green from the beginning. I wont lie Ive always wanted a girl. I got her, and now at this point its just a bonus.  I wanted a boy in the early part of the pregnancy, because I really thought Tony would enjoy that. I was surprised when he said he wanted another girl.   I honestly thought it was a boy up until about Christmas time. Right before Christmas I changed from wanting a boy to wanting a girl... then I ended up just, it is what it is and its fine and dandy. We went in not wanting to know but honestly I had been thinking about it for awhile and I DID want to know. Tony has ALWAYS wanted to know. So we had the technician write it down and put it in the envelope. That didn't last long.. I kid you not, about 12 min and Tony was in the envelope. Its stupid if one of us knows and the other doesn't so I wanted to know too!

Baby GIRL!!!!

That cute little one is a girl!  I was excited but kinda knew in my gut she was a girl.

We discussed prior if we would keep the gender a surprise.. Honestly ,we aren't that pretentious.

If we know you know. I highly doubt you were wondering EVERY night of the last 22 weeks if we were having a boy or a girl. That being said the same goes for her name. We have no clue as of yet. But I am sure something AMAZING will come to us :D And when it does we will let you know.

Here are some 3D pictures of Murphy 2.0 she wouldn't move her hands from in front of her face so they aren't wonderious. Tony says she looks like me. I say she looks like Ava did but a bit rounder. So we will see when she comes out.  You totally get to see more shots when you are in there and of course the technician never gets the ones you want. Oh well

21 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:
(Ill have Tony take a picture tomorrow today was a slum day :)  )

How Far Along: 21 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the length of a Banana

Average size: 10.5 in, 12.7oz

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Ill leave this blank there is NO way its still at -2 and we had to reschedule my drs appointment and ultrasound until early next week :D

Maternity Clothes: Still in regular clothes

Gender: Surprise! I'm back to wanting a 2nd girl and knowing HAHAHAH I guess we will see how that fans out.
Movement: I feel 2.0 at least once a day now

Sleep: Ok to Good... this week I was up checking on Ava it was her first week in her toddler bed.. shes been doing SO well. Sometimes I have a hard time getting comfy with the bump I have going on

What I miss: Sushi specifically a restaurant called I Love Sushi in Las Vegas. I woke up literally tasting it yesterday.

Cravings: Tang

Symptoms: My boobs are huge and I just LOVE it when people tell me that, Like I don't already know

Best Moment this week:
I found a great steal on the Joovy Ergo Caboose and Decided I would be getting a BOB Duallie now that I have the Ergo. We also have our big ultrasound. This is where people usually find out what gender the baby is... Ill be excited to see the chambers of the heart and all the other organs :D
Ava has been saying some pretty clear words.. Of course she wont say them in front of the doctor or other people until she feels comfortable.  And if you say to her... "Aves, Preying Mantis"  she puts her hands up like a preying mantis and makes a hissing sound... Shes done this for awhile now its funny and cute, but shes been saying preying mantis and doing the actions however I didn't know that's what she was saying considering it comes out pmamamis... Hahahah Cute Attack!

Avas new room and bed

We finally painted Ava's room.
When we were moving from the townhouse we didn't think it would be a great idea to do a color theme or anything like that. We wanted it the townhouse to be a nice pallet for the next people to work with, and not be turned off by a color or style we had in her room. It took us getting her toddler bed to get to work!

We kept the builders tan color on top (I really like that tan color) and we knew we didn't want pink. So we went with purple.  I was apprehensive at first. We had painted a bathroom purple and it was too dark and too purple and just yea... It scared me.

This was actually my 3rd color choice. My goal was the color of the believe sign, I think we nailed it. The white line?  I envisioned it in my head.. but after I saw it I was not liking it.

It has since grown on me.

This pillow, I found at Home Goods MANY months ago. Id say about 10 months ago. I was digging through their "treasures" and I found these cute pillows, I was like whats the chance they have Ava? 4 Pillows in.. there it was!  AVA. I had to get it. She snuggles the pillow and loves on it, but doesn't sleep with it yet.

Scoping out the new bed

The toddler bed had been put together for almost 4 maybe 5 days before it was her first night in it. Sunday January 2nd.  I wont lie it was NOT how I pictured it.  We had a long day with only a 30 min nap in the car. A birthday party. Then we had a great dinner visitor :D.  We tried putting her to bed while Mike was here. It didn't work she came out like 7 seconds later.  We gave up till after he left. She must have been tired because she went down fairly easy.  Now come 2 AM, well that's ANOTHER story.

I went in there right when I heard her cry I was so certain she rolled off.. Nope she was just sitting at the foot board holding on. Looking lost. Ill give it to her.. it was dark. There has been A LOT of changes in her room and she was probably scared.  I calmed her down got her back in all was well, or so I thought 2 -4 min later crying again.  I went in and soothed her.. it was fine then I made the mistake of trying to get up. My old rickety knees cracked and she was fussing again. Tony came in to save the day. These two are peas in a pod they are soo stinkin' cute!

So he motioned for me to leave.. so I did. I figured he had it, no problems. I'm not really sure what all went down. All I know is I woke up in bed alone at 7am. No Tony to be found.  I searched the living room first. Headed to the spare bedroom where I noticed

the comforter gone and my last spot.... Ava sleeping in her bed Tony shacked up next to her. Tony and Ava got up at 7:30. Tony was awoken to Ava giving him her blanket!  Hahahah I love it.

She napped in there just fine today. An hour and 20 min.

Bedtime took a bit longer, about an hour of up and down in and out. I do have to say. Its SO cute when she comes out with her arms up, teetering down the hallway cus shes halfway sleeping , and laying her head on my leg. There wasn't much crying more whining. I did notice when I was in there she scoped out her bookcase.. So I know some of it is just getting used to her new surroundings.

I'm sure tomorrow will be even better!

These next 3 pictures are just some cute pictures from Aubrey, Ava's 3rd cousins Birthday!

No way Aubrey, look what you got!

Lisa's husband Chris rubbed the balloon on Ava's head

Just being her "Ava" self