Busy, Busy, Busy!!! The Last 9 Days...

We have been  fortunate enough to have been able to spend every weekend in August at home, this has not happened in the longest time!  We have tried to take advantage of this by planning activities every weekend so we are not cooped up in our teenie tiny rental for too long.

Not only did we have to plan activities for last weekend, but Ava's school was also closed last week as well so we have been on the go all week.  Here is a recap of our fun!

Last Saturday- Daddy has been enjoying playing golf every weekend and he got in 18 holes last Saturday so he was away most of the day.  Ava and I  went to the park and played and played.  We recently started going to Sevier Park in 12th South and on weekends we go twice a day and during the week we go after supper.  Saturday evening I enjoyed a girls night with my high school friends at Burger Up.

Last Sunday- We started the day at Church followed by naps (including me) and then the afternoon we spent at Cheekwood.  They kept a tree house from last years exhibit that Ava loves to play in and they also have a great outdoor train set that Ava can watch for hours and hours.

Monday- I stayed home with Ava in the morning and went to the park.  At nap time Daddy came home and stayed with her the rest of the day.  I had  a company dinner that evening so I did not get home until sweet baby girl was asleep.  I asked how the day had gone and Travis said they spent 2 1/2 hours in the park that  afternoon.  Ava did well until she saw a women walking a dog and a stroller that looked like me and she started saying, "Mommy"  "Hi, Mommy!"  When the women did not respond Ava took off running after her and when she still did not acknowledge Ava, Ava broke down crying and sobbing. 

Tuesday- Ava spent the day with Nana so needless to say this was a great day for Ava!  Nana and Papa's house is a little fun house for Ava with their lego table, choo choo table and kitchen set, Ava always has a blast at their home.  Also Katie is an added bonus and Ava loves getting kisses from her.

Wednesday- Travis stayed home with her in the morning at took Ava to the Donut Den for the first time.  While we have never given Ava a doughnut before, as soon as Ava walked in she knew exactly what they were and was excited to eat a doughnut.  That afternoon I took Ava to the Zoo and it was so hot, so she got another treat and had her first ice cream cone so it was a great day for Ava in the sweet department! We ended the evening with dinner at Edley's BBQ with Aunt Alissa which Ava also loved!

Thursday- Again Daddy stayed home with her in the morning and they ran errands and took the recycling and went to the park.  After Ava's nap I drove her out to Bellvue to the YMCA.  I had been told that they had a great pool for children and we were not disappointed when they arrived.  It was such a fun pool.  The pool had a gradual slope to it so children could walk in and out of it and they had stationary water guns, a slide in the shape of a whale, a coconut tree that released water, and several water features that shot out of the pool.  Thursday evening we went to an Open House at Ava's school for us to go and meet her new teachers.  This year they have two, 2 year old classrooms and  we were sad to learn that Ava was being split apart from her two BFF's Emily and Vivi because of how Ava's Birthday fell.  Ava will still get to see them on the playground and I am sure she will make new BFF's in her new classroom.

Friday- The day started off with us leaving for the park and as I was getting in my SUV, I noticed a chunk of my tire missing from the front.  Instead of driving to the park, we went to Bass Tire and was sad to learn that my tire was ruined beyond repair and since my SUV is All Wheel Drive, all of the tires have to be replaced at the same time so we spent an hour and a half getting four new tires.  Daddy came home in the afternoon and watched Ava and that evening we treated ourselves to some Mexican food where Ava devoured the chips and queso! 

Saturday- We went back to the park Saturday morning and Ava was happy to see one of her old classmates, Hudson, at the park.  She loves Hudson who she calls Huseeeen, and they spent an hour chasing each other around and laughing.  After a nap and some errands we went back to the park before bedtime to find that they were doing a Summer Concert series and the park was packed!  We enjoyed listening to some music while Ava played with the other children.

Sunday- Today started with Daddy and Ava going to the Donut Den, again, and then to the grocery store so Mommy could sleep in.  Daddy is off playing golf right now and Ava is taking her nap.  This afternoon we will probably go to the park, surprise surprise, and have two houses lined up to look at.  After house hunting for 6 months we are getting tired of this and really really want a home to call our own...fingers crossed and prayers that we find one soon!

Today's Afternoon Nap

In the last couple of weeks Ava has learned to escape from her sleep sack during her afternoon naps.  She still needs a sleep sack I feel because she rolls around so much in her sleep she would not stay covered.  Our sleep sacks have snaps at the top and she is strong enough to unsnap them and crawl out.  

I put her down for her nap today and went to clean up the kitchen and do some work.  I did not take the video monitor with me but  I could hear her playing in her crib.  After 45 minutes of her playing I went in to check on her and was so surprised at what I found.  She had managed to escape from her sleep sack and had thrown it on the floor along with her lovey.  I had taken her clothes off before her nap time so she was only in a diaper cover and her diaper.  She had taken off her diaper cover and her DRY diaper and was standing up NAKED in her crib.  The worst part was she peed while she was standing up so her crib bumper, sheets, and some of her toys were soaked.

Mommy Lessons Learned:

1.  I am buying a new sleep sack that does not snap but instead zips so hopefully she cannot escape from this.

2.  I will have the video monitor on me at all times while she is taking naps.

There is never a dull moment in our house!

Saturday Morning Sillyness!

The last two weekends, Ava has been coming in our room and making a pillow fort.  She likes to hide in it, pretend she is sleeping, or just jump into it.  I love her creativity and imagination!

Zoo Day

We renewed our Zoo membership this month and are trying to take more advantage of using it this year.  Today was suppose to be a rainy day but instead the sun came out so we thought it would be a good time to make a trip to the zoo.

Ava has not yet ridden the choo choo at the Nashville Zoo so this was the main reason for going.  We learned that when we arrived that the Zoo is under construction and we had to go the longest possible way to get to the choo choo.  This took longer because Ava wanted in her wagon, then out of the wagon, and then she insisted on pulling the wagon for 10 minutes.  Once we arrived at the choo choo we rode once to find Ava to run back to the choo choo as soon as we got off.  So we rode a second time around.  After we were finished this time, Ava just refused to get out of her seat which lead to us picking her up and her crying for 10 minutes and making a huge scene.  Needless to say she is a big choo choo fan!

Once we got her calmed down, she enjoyed the flamingo's and petting zoo before we left.

Ava's First Fair

The Williamson County Fair started last weekend  and last Sunday afternoon was a beautiful day to attend  the fair.  I grew up going to the Troy Fair and looked forward to the game, rides, food, and bingo every year.  I was so excited to take Ava to her first fair and she loved it. 

We started with the pony ride and our little girl had no fear at all on the horsey, she Grandpa and Grandma K were so excited to hear this and she will become a great little rider one day!

We then went to the children's area where they had a day in the life of a farmer hands on exhibit.  It was so cute!  Ava had to wear a smock and then she went around collecting eggs and produce as well as feeding the animals.  Everything was fake but they  had great helpers along the way and when they were finished, they were able to chose one Purity item, Ava had a carton of milk.

 We then went into the livestock building where Ava got to pet all sorts of farm animals.  We even got to look at 16 piglets that were born the night before.

Before leaving we had to let Ava ride some kiddy rides.  I was not sure if she would want to ride anything but while Daddy went to get tickets, she saw the flying Nemo and was so excited about it.  She rode the up and down Nemo ride and loved it and from their she also rode the choo choo and the carousel twice, once with Mommy and again with Daddy!  What a great day at the Fair!

July

Rain is the one word to describe how July started out for us.  It started raining on July 3 and rained and rained.  The Collignon's were kind enough to invite us to the lake the for the Holiday weekend.  We did not arrive until July 5th but it had been raining before we arrived and rained the entire weekend.  After being in the house 24 hours, we took a trip out to go bowling and this is the only picture that I have from the weekend.  By the time we left on Sunday, the lake had risen 4 feet.  Despite the rain we enjoyed hanging out, eating, and playing games with our close friends.

The following weekend we drove to Kingsport to celebrate Mimi's Birthday.  Daddy had to stay home because he was starting his BIG trial on Monday so Ava and I made the trip alone.  On Saturday we went to the Natural Tunnel which was less than 30 minutes away.  Having grown up in Kingsport, we had never been and we were surprised to find this beautiful State Park so close to our  home.  To get down to the Tunnel we could have either taken a steep set of stairs or they had a chair lift.  I was so scared because Ava was  with us but Uncle Chace took her down on the chair lift and Uncle Matt brought her back up and she loved it.  Ava also got to see a live choo choo go by while we were at the park so it was a great day for her.  We later celebrated Mimi's Birthday with the biggest birthday cake I have every seen.  It was five full layers and it had to have dowels down the center to support the weight.

I LOVE bath time pictures!

The following weekend was Travis' Birthday and I do not have any pictures from this weekend.  We celebrated Friday night with an amazing steak dinner at Nana and Papa's and then had company in the rest of the weekend.  Aunt Karen, Uncle George and cousins Jen and Paige came in for three nights and we all had a great time visiting and catching up.

The last weekend in July was our 6 year Anniversary.  Nana and Papa were nice to watch Miss Ava so that Mommy and Daddy could enjoy a nice evening out.  We went to Silo and had 6:30 reservations.  We were home a little after 8 and were ready to call it a night.  Our lives have changed so much since we first were married but we would not trade our sleepless, busy lives for anything!