Just look at the form on this kid!!

Ava started crawling last week and is now very difficult to keep up with. She is a girl on the go! Her goal most of the time is the catfood bowl....as luck (and diligence) would have it, she has yet to reach it!

Look who's crawling now!

Well, it took her almost 8 months, but she finally got it down! She has been "on the verge" of crawling for a long time. We thought she just might skip it and go straight to walking, but now is crawling up a storm! She tortures the poor kitties, who are constantly on alert now. They are actually quite patient with her and all of her energy. Just look at that form!!! HAHAHA! She is also pulling up on just about everything she can find.
God bless her! She was so cute in her little outfit, that I ran out back and took a few photos in the yard.

She almost looks like she is trying to wave! She is also shaking her head "no" now and it is precious! We will have to get it on video. It obviously doesn't show up in a photo.


Mommy's little democrat!! We are sending another photo into http://www.sendbarackyourbaby.com/ . She was the second baby on the site, but she was only 2 months old in the photo. She has a new shirt on the way and we will send another one of her in it to the site, so be on the lookout for her!
She wouldn't take her eyes off of her Daddy mowing the yard!
I could just eat her up!!!

Crashed out with the stuffed poisonous dart frog she got at the zoo.

She LOVES to give raspberries!!
She literally bounced until she dropped the other day. Brad and I were looking at something on the computer and noticed that she was suddenly quiet. When we looked over at her, she was OUT! And as any good parents who know NOT to wake a sleeping baby....we left her there to sleep! She was only out for about 30 minutes and woke up with a smile.

Here is Ava with her cousin Ashby at their Great-Grandmother's house. They really seemed to get along well and we hope they will be close.

Ava's Dedication, Cousins' Visit and the Zoo....

Ava had her dedication at the church in May and we are just getting the pictures up, so that is why she looks a bit younger in these photos. I have to say, I really do think she was the prettiest baby there!

Her Daddy was so proud of her!

Our Family

My Mom took this shot of the screen up above us. I didn't even know there was one above our heads until I saw the pictures!

Ava's Uncle Chris and Aunt Keri came in from Indianapolis with her 4 cousins. Together with her big sis and her Uncle Tracy and Aunt Kimi and her other 4 cousins from Conway and her MeeMaw and Papa this week was fun-filled!! They took the kids to Willow Spings water park and to eat at many restaurants (table for 18?), a Travelers Game at the new Ballpark and much more! Here are some of the pictures from the week. MeeMaw and Papa will have MANY more!

Ava with her Aunt Keri at the baseball game.

Here are 9 of the 10 Grandkids at MeeMaws house. We are missing Bryce, who is 2. How cute are these kids?!?!

Ava's new favorite place to sit! She has quite the grip on Daddy's rapidly greying hair!

Ava and Kinley swimming at Willow Springs! We had just put Ava in the water and she LOVED it!




Here are the boys and Kinley playing tetherball. Brad put sunscreen on the kids and then went to play tetherball with them. With one child on his head and another holding his arm, he hit the ball openhanded and proceeded to lose his wedding band! We searched the sand for 2 hours and Papa even went home to get a magnet to try to find it (his ring is tungsten steel), but no luck!
Another view of the park.


God bless her heart!


Brad and I had last week off together and spent a lot of time working on the landscaping. Ava sat on her blanket out front and entertained for as long as she could in the heat. She wants to stand up so badly!




Ava's first trip to the zoo and the thing she was the most excited about were the coyfish swimming in the duck pond. They were frenzied when you fed them and she was almost close enough to touch them. That must have made the difference. Most of the other animals were far away and didn't move much!

I had to go in for a case early one Saturday morning and Brad was away on a golf trip, so I had to take the girls with me. We stayed up late the night before and got up early to get everyone ready to go.....these are pictures of the ride home.....at 0930am! Wimps.

Kinley, fresh from work, in one of my scrubcaps. You can't see her booties. She was precious!

Kicking off the summer!

We had a cookout last weekend to kick off the summer with family and friends and had a wonderful time! The kids really seemed to enjoy themselves. I wish I had taken more pictures of them! Ava was styling and profiling!!

Ava with her Nana in her new swimsuit cover up that Papa gaveher.

Ava hanging out with her Papito.

Chilling in the "baby" pool with her good friend John!

Best buds!!


Uncle Steve giving her a hand standing up!
Having burgers and dogs on the swing

The "big kids" slide. They went wild!

It looked like a recipe for disaster, but a good time was had by all.

Ava discovered watermelon and loved it. I think because it was cold and wet it felt good on her teething gums. She gummed it for quite a while.

Watermelon Face!

The party winding down after most of the guests had gone. It was a very nice day! We really enjoyed having everyone over!