Can't believe she's 2!

We took Ava today to get her 2 year checkup and everything went great! She got her finger pricked and didn't cry! She weighed in at 25 lbs. 7 oz. just under 50% percentile... and just over 50 % for height.

We had cake and ice cream on Saturday and we're planning on having her actual party once we get to Raleigh.

She's doing great on her speech and fine motor skills. She LOVES to sing! "Happy Birthday" is actually her favorite and next is making up songs. ;)

Something New...

About a month ago Thad's mom, Lynn, introduced me to something new: Pillowcase dresses. She has bought a few for the girls off of E-bay, but I thought I'd give my hand a try at it... For the first time, they turned out pretty good. :) I made matching ones for the girls for Thanksgiving. I didn't want them to have something they could only wear once so I made them more versatile. It's so easy you don't even need a pattern! I think now that I have the hang of it I will probably make a few more. :) The girls actually stood still for me to take a couple of pictures of them which is rare!

She's growing too fast!

If you had asked me a month ago if Ellie was going to preschool this year I would have said "No". I really had the dream of keeping her at home and doing activities with her here but it's a little more difficult with a 22 month old wanting to do all of the same things. We really don't have too many friends that have kids Ellie's age so she doesn't have much 3 year old time. :) So, we took the plunge and enrolled her in the preschool program at our church. It's 4 days a week from 9-12.

We're starting off with 2 days and then next week we'll see about the full 4. It really works out well for us for several reasons... She gets to ride to work with Thad (which she loves) and then come home with him for lunch. She will make some new friends and she's able to do lots of fun crafts and field trips! Today they went to the Musuem of Aviation and she had a blast! Who knew there was life past babydolls, purses, and Lightening McQueen! So far she's really enjoyed it! Hopefully tomorrow will go as well as today. :)

Life lately...

Well, the past month has been a whirlwind! We bought our first home, moved, had Ellie's 3rd birthday party and kept up with our regular routine. We love our new house! It's perfect for us. It has 3 beds and 2 baths an extra room that we use for the play/computer room and a HUGE back yard! If you're ever in town and need a place to stay we would love to have you! :)
Here is a slideshow of the past week.
Oh! Ellie's cake... It was my first cake, from scratch, and it was too moist for the icing to stay on! We all had a good laugh about it and I'm sure that plenty of people got pictures of it. Haha! Maybe the next one will go a little better. :)

Meet our Beauty Queens!

All of this can happen in a span of 1.5 minutes! This morning I was on the phone getting some last minute things done for our house and this is what happened. I was on the phone no more than 2 minutes and as soon as I got done this is what I found! I wish you all could have seen their faces when I found them! Ellie was so proud that she had put on some "pretty eyes" and that she got Ava too. She did a pretty good job getting one of her eyes but she didn't even come close with Ava. Both of them still have a little bit of mascara in their hair which we'll get out at bath time. It just cracks me up the things they get in to and how quickly they get into it!

No Title can Explain...

What do you do when you find yourself standing outside of your home with the door locked and your 2 year old standing on the other side of the door laughing at you? I had the "wonderful" opportunity of pondering this question while I was standing outside this morning!
I had walked out to put a trash bag outside and as soon as I walked out Ellie shut the door and locked it! I looked inside and she was standing there laughing hysterically. She thought it was the funniest thing that her mama couldn't come inside and get her. She then ran to another room where I couldn't see her but could still hear her laughing! After about 5 minutes of knocking, Ava finally came over and started knocking back. She tried to open the door for me but she's not tall enough. :( Ellie finally came back over, still laughing, laid on the floor and covered her eyes... Like I couldn't see her or something. She got up and opened the door then ran to her room. The whole time I'm trying to be tough and not laugh but it was nearly impossible. While I was standing there thinking "I need to get back in", I'm also thinking, "I can't believe my child just locked me out and is laughing about it!"
The best part is... I was on the phone with my dad at the time all of this was happening and all he could do was laugh! I called Thad to tell him about it and I got the same response from him! So I figured if they found it so funny you all would as well. Sorry there are no pictures but I'm sure you can imagine little bouncy Ellie doing this.

Still Going...

I can hardly stand how cute these pups are! They opened their eyes about a week ago and couldn't be cuter! We moved them to our front porch so that we can watch them better and because it's a little cooler next to the house. The girls love being able to watch them from the front door and go out and play with them every now and then. Ellie has to pick each one up tell it "hey", give it a kiss on the head then put it back with the others. Ava just giggles, pats them on the head and then procedes to have a conversation with it! We are really enjoying having them around.

The Cuteness Continues!

I'm sad to report that we only have 10 puppies now. It happens when you have that many but it's still sad. We were able to get a count yesterday and they're all boys! Here's a funny bit of info for you all... They have not opened their eyes yet so they crawl around hunting for their mama with their mouths open. Sometimes they are unsuccessful at finding Dixie so they latch onto each others "little winkies"! When we saw it we couldn't help but laugh! They should be opening their eyes within the next couple of days and won't have this problem anymore. :)

Both girls are absolutely tickled whenever they see the pups but Ava has been beyond excited. She giggles and dances and starts babbling we can't understand a word she says. The picture only shows about 1/10 of her excitement. It's a little blurry and she looks like her right arm is missing but you get the idea.

Baby Puppies

As of yesterday afternoon we have somewhere around 13 puppies!! Dixie was in labor for nearly 20 hours and the end result a bunch of cute puppies! We aren't positive how many there are but we're pretty sure it's either 12 or 13. All but 2 are black and the other 2 are tan. Ellie is absolutely beside herself about the "Baby Puppies" as she calls them. Ava likes to see them but doesn't want to hold them yet. Dixie has let us a hold a couple of them which has been fun. :) We will update pictures as they get bigger.

Ava's Stuck!

About 3 weeks ago my dad gave us our new entertainment center, which we love! He built it himself and it looks amazing! One of the things I love about it is how much storage space there is in the bottom. Oddly enough Ava loves it too. She can crawl in and look around for the movie she wants but she gets stuck getting out... She tries to go out sitting up and she just doesn't understand why it doesn't work. :0 Yesterday I was in the shower when Ellie came running back saying, "Mama! Ava's stuck. Come look! Ava's stuck!" This is what I came out to...

She fusses like it's the end of the world but as soon as we get her out she's like a new person and couldn't be happier.

Fun Weekend.

This past weekend we took a last minute trip up to Raleigh to visit my family and see my brother off before his next training. We were only there for 3 days but we had a lot of fun and got a lot done! I think we went swimming every day we were there and the girls loved that! ;) Ava finally found some water she didn't whine about getting in!! Hallelujah! Ellie got a hold of the water hose and sprayed everyone in the pool... Ava and Grandaddy picked flowers for me and Thad and of course they chased the cat around the house every chance they got. We always hate to leave my family but at least we get some good and funny pictures to remember the trip by.

Daytona Beach

This past week we took some kids from our youth group to Daytona Beach, Florida to do some disaster relief from hurricane damage. The girls and I tagged along to help out with the cooking and we had a great time! On Tuesday we were able to have some free time so we went to the beach. It was Ellie's 2nd time going and Ava's 1st time. Ellie, of course, loved it but Ava did not care for it in the least. The cooking team went that morning, which was me and 2 other ladies and then everyone went that night. Ellie could not get enough of the beach! She had the time of her life! Hopefully Ava will warm up to it next time we go. ;)

My brother is a MARINE!!!

Well, I am honored to tell you all that Ben made it and we couldn't be more proud! He graduated on June 20th and I was so happy to be there for his moment! Thursday was family day so me and the girls left for Parris Island early that morning and were able to spend a few hours with Ben and my parents. He showed us around the island and it was beautiful. It was surrounded by beaches but was anything but a day at the beach. ;)

The graduation ceremony was Friday morning and it was great! The band was amazing and it was so awesome to see all of those men and women in perfect unison with every move!

I am so proud of you, Ben! Congratulations on finishing and pushing through to the end! We love you and are so honored to call you our brother! OOH-RAH!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words!

... Or it can leave you speechless, make you cramp up from laughing so hard, or just make you seriously afraid for the children! Haha! Last night we decided that it was time for Thad to have his hair cut and who doesn't want to experiment when you're in charge? We decided it would be funny just to see what he would look like with a mohawk and sure enough it was hilarious. Ava just stared in complete confusion and was almost a little afraid! Sadly, I didn't get pictures of their faces but you can imagine. So, like I said before... A picture is worth a thousand words, laughs, or thoughts!

Too Cute!

The girls have always loved putting on hats and Monday we finally got a picture of them! Ellie put hats on herself and Ava and said, "Mama, take a picture!" It was really cute. So here they are with their daddy's hats on. Ava took hers off very quickly and wanted to play with the camera.

Never A Dull Moment

For some strange reason the girls are attracted to the plastic utensils in our pantry. Almost like bugs to a light. Usually I catch them before they make a mess of things, but not today. When I walked up the only thing I saw was forks all over the floor! They were both hiding in the pantry with little devious grins on their faces! They may not share everything but they share the responsibility of dispersing the forks... They take turns at unloading the forks. I'm sure you're thinking "How funny!" -Not so much. I suppose after the 3rd or 4th time the cuteness fails to show itself. Well, here are a couple of pictures for your laughing pleasure.

Crazy Hair

Tonight at bathtime we made Crazy Hair! Ellie kept saying "Look, crazy hair!" They both had fun with it but didn't keep it that way for long. They had to see what it was all about and play with it! At least we got a few pictures out of it. :)

Last of the pictures.