Happy Mother's Day!

Owen - 6 1/2 months, Ava 3 1/2

Ava & Addie playing in the rock pile

We had a busy Mother's Day weekend. We spent Saturday at my parents house while Brad worked on the electrical in their new house. It was a gorgeous day and we spent the majority of it outside which was so nice. Ava and Addie were inseparable as usual. They managed to get thoroughly covered in dirt, but they had a ball playing all day long. We bathed them at supper time, and Ava fell asleep before she could even have a chance to eat.

Sunday, we had Gary & Joyce over to our house after church for dinner and they stayed and visited most of the afternoon. It was great getting to see both our moms and celebrate Mother's Day.

My Smilers!

Finally - a pic of both of them smiling! A true accomplishment for me.

Owen's bath is something Ava can't ever miss!

A Little Photoshoot of Owen at 6 1/2 Months...

"Mom, Can you please get this monkey off of me?"

I always took Ava's picture in this chair each month when she turned another month older. Of course, with the second child it is never as easy to get these things done. I decided it was time to take some pics in this chair of Owen. I don't know if I'll get it done every month, but I'm trying. He cooperated like a trooper and gave me many great expressions and big cheesy grins. He is such a happy baby!

We had our 6 months well check appointment on April 28. At 6 1/2 months old, Owen's:

Weight: 24 lbs 5 oz (99th percentile)

Height: 27 inches (62nd percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.5" (98th percentile)

Owen had the joy of enduring another 3 shots. He also got to have 2 needle pokes to check his thyroid once again. After 20 minutes of "milking" his foot for blood (with a lot of screaming by him and comforting by mom), his blood hemolized so they weren't able to use it. Needless to say, I was disappointed so we will have to go back in for that this week sometime. I just couldn't put him through that process again on the same day. He was soaked in sweat from crying and so tired, we had to go home. Otherwise, the rest of his visit went fine and he is doing great.

Ava's First Swimming Lesson...

So excited to be finally be at the pool!

The reward for doing something her teacher asked

Practice kicking!

Ava was so excited when I told her she was going to take swimming lessons even though she really had no idea what that involved. She loves swimming, so I am sure she thought it was going to be fun. I opted for private lessons since I didn't know how well she would do in a group having never done it before. After lots of talking about what was going to happen before we went, Ava was an angel for her swimming teacher. She did everything she asked except putting her face in the water. Once her teacher told her that if she did something she asked she could go down the slide, Ava didn't forget that. Each time she would finish kicking or jumping off the side, Ava would ask if it was time to go down the slide yet. Of course, she loved the slide. Owen and I sat on the side of the pool and watched, but Ava could have cared less. Afterwards, her teacher said she did really well for a 3 year old. She said most kids her age sit on the side of the pool and cry. Ava certainly wasn't scared of doing anything. As soon as we got in the car, she asked if she could go again. Lucky for her, we have lots more lessons to go!

The Shrine Circus...

Ava's favorite part of the circus

The Shrine Circus was in Sioux Falls and I thought Ava would probably enjoy going. Brad volunteered to stay home with Owen as opposed to trying to get him to sit in the arena seating for a couple hours at a time which would have been challenging. Ava and I headed to the circus and she was very excited. Our seats were pretty far away, so I think it was hard for Ava to understand what was going on some of the time. She really liked the elephants and the dancers that had pretty dresses on. Otherwise, she was more interested in the snacks and toys. She got a toy that glowed in the dark that she was more than excited about. All in all, a box of popcorn and a new toy would have been just as enjoyable minus the circus, so we will have to try again next year and see how it goes. Perhaps, I will have to splurge for better seats so she can see something! It was fun to do something just the two of us, and I think she enjoyed that too.

Food & Jumper Fun....

Owen loves his jumper!

Now that we have a few weeks of eating food under our belt, I can officially say that Owen loves most all food. We have tried pears, carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, and peaches along with mixing in rice cereal every now and again. He is getting used to the routine and is ready and willing to take some spoonfuls of food when the time of day arrives. We are feeding him a third to a half container of baby food once a day which is plenty for now in my opinion. He certainly doesn't need the additional calories at this point as he is doing just fine in that category.

Dress Up....

Her big cheese smile and her favorite new shoes

My princess!

Daddy's sunglasses...just wait until he gets big enough for Ava to actually dress up!

Easter at Grandpa & Grandma VM's...

Grandpa Glenn reading Ava a story

Owen & Aunt Shelly

Grandpa & Grandma's New House

All the kids playing on the new driveway

We spent Easter Sunday at the farm. Mom made a wonderful meal after church. It wasn't a gorgeous day, but fairly nice for this spring so far. The kids were able to play outside and we all got to check on the progress of Mom & Dad's new house. Ava adored her time with Addie as usual, so we didn't see much of her.

The Easter Bunny Comes....

The Easter Bunny left some Goodies...

Ava looking for eggs....

The "dress up" clothes the Easter Bunny brought...

Owen with his duck the Easter Bunny brought

Ava was pretty excited this year for the Easter Bunny. When she first woke up, we told her what had happened, and she immediately started finding eggs. She loved all the candy in the eggs as well as her new dress up outfit which she has worn every day since Easter. Her favorite part of her new outfit was the shoes. She didn't take much pity on Owen and the fact that he couldn't really do much, and was happy to demolish his Easter basket and eat his candy. We'll see what happens next year....

I did not get one picture of the kids all dressed up for church together since we were late getting out of the house. I guess I should start getting up at 4:00 am!

Owen is Changing....

"Well, Mom I'm all ready for bed, now what?"

Owen is on the look out for what he may run into as he scoots across the floor

Hey Mom!

What's this, a pacifier?

It seems Owen is making all kinds of changes in his development right now. It would certainly be fair to say he on the move. He can scoot across the floor on his back, stopping periodically to look (upside down) at what he is heading for, in record time. He is no longer content sitting on your lap. He wants to be down on the floor where he can be going somewhere. He also recently started taking a pacifier when go goes to sleep sometimes. It seems early to us that he is able to move as Ava didn't really move much at all until around 9 months. I guess he has a big sister to watch and wants to be in on the action.

Fun at Our House....

Ava loves her vitamins!

Owen is loving the exersaucer more every day!

Yes, Ava is "nursing" her stuffed animals. She even had to get the boppy before she could begin feeding! I love 3 year olds!