Trip to Omaha: The Hotel Pool

The moment she had been begging for...swimsuit ON! Ava loved the elevator

Not so sure this was such a good idea....

Oh, I guess this is pretty fun!

I don't need you Daddy...I can do this myself!

We promised Ava through the 4 hour car ride to Omaha that we would go swimming when we got there. Well, she didn't forget. The minute we were in our hotel she started asking to go swimming in the pool. Once we got next to the pool, her excitement quickly turned to anxiety about the water. Brad finally talked her into getting in and soon she was giggling hysterically. She loved the rides Brad gave her on his back. It took a while for her to trust her float, but she did end up demanding to float by herself and not letting us help her at all. We had to go again the next morning. You have to love hotel pools!

Cousin James's 1st Communion....

Ava getting ready for church Lori & James with his cake

Lori & James at Church

Our Family with James 4-17-10

We headed down to Omaha this last weekend to help James celebrate his first communion. We attended mass and then had a little lunch for him afterwards at the Holiday Inn. James and Ava played very well together.

Thought this turned out very cute even though Ava didn't have a lot of smiles!

Summer Fun

Ava & Daddy racing....amazingly Brad is winning!

Swings were a big hit once again

Big Smiles!

Playing in the laundry basket

Mommy's Sunglasses

With the nice weather has come some great times at the park. Ava really loves the park this year and she is so independent. We really don't have to help her with anything. She is able to get on all the playground equipment by herself and gladlly goes down the biggest slides without a problem. The swings are still a big hit, the higher the better. What a difference a year makes. I remember last year having to stand next to her pretty much the whole time and having to constantly help her. Now, she prefers to do things herself.

The Rail Comes Off...

We decided it was time for Ava to not be "confined" to her crib anymore. While we don't have her "big girl bed" yet, we thought it would be a nice transition to just take the side rail off her crib and put the toddler bed side on it. This way, she can come and go by her herself. The first few days went extremely well after our talk about not getting out of her crib until she woke up. She was very obedient and took good naps and slept normally for those first few days. It was a little hard for us to get used to at first, especially her coming in our room and staring at me in the morning when I was still sleeping. Well, we have had a few rough evenings since then. She has come out at 10 or 10:30pm wide eyed and raring to go. She will gladly go back to her crib when we tell her she has to, but I think she just likes the idea that she can come out and see what we are up to. Her sleeping has gotten to be a little less as she is waking up earlier, but hopefully this goes back to normal once she adjusts. She is growing up!

Ava Learns to Pedal her Tricycle...

While we have been logging hours on the tricycle for nearly a year now, there has been no pedaling until recently. She just discovered how fun and fast she can ride, and she loves the trike! There was a couple frustrating days at first as she'd often get "stuck" as she'd call it and want someone to help her. Now, with just over a week of riding, she has mastered both forwards and backwards pedaling. With the nice weather, we spend lots of time on the driveway!

A Surprise Birthday Party....for me!

The Cake Some Party Guests

More Guests

Brad, Ava, and Aiden Wagner

Brad managed to pull off a rather large surprise birthday party for me. My sister Shelly and I spent the day in Sioux Falls going shopping and getting pedicures while he frantically worked to get everything ready (with Ava no less). My folks and sister helped Brad by preparing food. Everyone from neighbors to relatives to friends came for the party. I was very honored and it was so great to see everyone. Brad even managed most of the clean up. I had a great birthday and thanks to everyone for coming!