Nursemaid Elbow

Our little girl had an accident at the park and hurt her arm. It is daunting as a parent to see your child hurt - especially when they can't tell you what's wrong. Ava wouldn't let go of her arm and we immediately feared she could have broken a bone or dislocated it, etc. We rushed her to Dell Children's Hospital where we spent the rest of the afternoon. The x-rays didn't show anything was broken but they put a fiberglass splint on her arm to immobilize it and referred her to a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist. We'll know in the next 24 hours if we need to cast it or best case scenario...that she just really bruised it and needs to be really careful while it heals. She's a trooper, though! It is amazing how little people adapt. She just carries her arm in the sling like she's been doing it her entire life...slept through the night and hasn't really complained much at all. Mostly, she gets frustrated that she can't play with her toys using both hands and needs help! Prayers and well wishes for our little angel to have a speedy recovery!

Daddy-mommy for NINE days and nights!

Okay, Chris has always said that he would LOVE to stay home with Ava. I am sure that she would absolutely love it, too! They go on adventures with each other to places I have never even thought about taking her! Recently, they spent nine days together while I worked on this year's A Christmas Affair - that's nine full days of clothing changes, meal preparation, hair do's, baths and approximately 216 hours of entertainment! I never worry about the two of them and look forward to learning about the places they have been and the things they have done with each other. The photos are a thrill to receive on my mobile. I love to see what she is wearing, the status of her hair situation, the places she is exploring and the things that she loves about visting with her daddy. Ahhhhh, how did I ever become so fortunate to have such a great husband who loves his little girl and loves to share the world with her!

Halloween 2010

We had a fun Halloween weekend. I have to admit that I was nervous about whether or not Ava would wear her costume. Last year, she was a champ and loved being a pink poodle. The year before, she was not even two months old and wanted nothing to do with it...and this year...well...we have a 2 year old. I have found myself bribing her to get her to do things for me lately. Right or wrong, it seems to work and helps me get done what I need to make happen with allot less drama. For instance...candy was an easy sell to get the costume on her. As we walked through the neighborhood we explained that she had to walk up to the front door to get a treat. No problem – she walked straight up every time and would hold out her black cat bucket for a treat – and would say “thank you” with a mouth full of candy. She ate the entire time and although we worried a little that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, just the opposite happened. She lunged for her bed when Chris went to lay her down for the night. Okay…with all of that said, my goal is to worry LESS and to not sweat the small stuff. Everything is going to work out for the best and it’s allot better than worrying about the “what if’s”. Life is just too short and precious.

First day of pre-school

Ava started attending Grace Garden pre-school three half days a week at St. John's Methodist Church. She is one of 8 two year olds in the Rockin Robins class. It is absolutely precious to see her excitement when we get to school...on our way there, etc. She knows the drill...remove paci from mouth and leave in car seat, leave blanket and monkey behind as well - they will all be waiting for you when you return. She is still my baby even though she is talking up a storm and doing so many new things. She loves her teachers Ms. Sasha and Ms. Suzanna and she attends chapel, music, art, play time outside and lots of other exciting things with her new friends and classmates.

Emily's Birthday Tea Party

One of the greatest things is that a couple of Ava's little cousins live only an hour away. This year, Ava was invited to her cousin Emily's 6th Birthday Tea Party. It was the most adorable setting I have ever seen for a party. All of the girls had a place set just for them along with a cloth napkin, tea cup and saucer, glass plate, silver fork and white gloves. I couldn't believe it when Ava let me place the gloves on her little hands. She proceeded to eat her entire lunch with them on and never thought twice about it. She sipped her "tea" (pink lemonade), dinned on chocolate covered strawberries, heart shaped sandwiches made of pb&j on wheat bread and cream cheese with thinly sliced cucumber on white bread, cheese and crackers, hummus, fruit and petifores. She was such a little lady! We adore our cousin Emily and it was such a pleasure to be able to share such a special day with her and her friends.

Daddy Adventures

Most Saturday mornings Chris and Ava leave the house for "Daddy Adventures". Sometimes, they don't tell me where they are going, where they have been or where they may go in the future! I have have to guess, but never do! I look at Ava's clothes for clues that may give it away (ketchup/mustard stains on her shirt...which could indicate hamburgers, french fries while they watched a world cup match or football game), sand/rocks in the shoes, sweaty head and clothes, etc. But, one thing always remains steady...they return home happy, tired and always with a smile and full of adventures. It's the price I pay to be at home without my little Ava in order to get things done that I usually can't get done during the week while we are at home alone. None the less...this is a photo that Chris snapped of Ava giving me a kiss as she was on her way out the door for a Daddy Adventure! Our baby has never hesitated to take off with her daddy without her mommy...because daddy is so much fun and full of adventures - places and things I have never thought of for our angel - which makes me so stinking happy!

July 4th Neighborhood Parade

I couldn't wait for July 4th. Chris and I both like to celebrate the holidays and I was thrilled to decorate Ava's red wagon for the neighborhood parade. It was so fun! When she saw her wagon she couldn't wait to get in it and ride. It is a joy to watch her enjoy the little things and to watch the anticipation on her face. She pretty much goes with anything we do with her and is just so much fun to walk through life with...she is the love of our lives.

Our little sailfish

Ava is a natural on the sail boat and in the water. She loves both! We haven't been on the boat since Memorial Day 2009 since we were in a drought. I have to say I was a little nervous to take her on the boat as well as in the lake because I wasn't sure how she would react - timid, scared, clingy, etc. I was pleasantly surprised! She climed around the boat as if it were her second home. I even have to admit boats are hard to get around if you aren't use to them - but not for Ava. She got around way too comfortably. She would have climed the mast if we let her! And as for the water...no problem! She floated the lake as if she were a fish in her natual habitat. It is a complete joy to watch her on the water.

Summer Baby

Ava changes so fast these days. Chris and I were looking at photos of her from a month ago and she looked like such a baby. Fast forward just four short weeks and her little face has changed so much. She is full of life and keeps us going - laughing and keeps us young. She explores and loves life. We love and adore her more than anything. She is so much fun to watch play in the sun and she loves to hide from us these days. She is so funny because wherever she is we can see her little feet sticking out and hear her giggle get louder as she anticipates us finding and getting her!

Big Girl Bed

Ava spent the weekend with her Mama Sissy (Aunt Kate), Uncle Brian and her Schroller cousins in San Antonio over the Easter weekend. Chris and I were in Fort Worth for a wedding and it was fabulous...until we returned home with our little girl who developed some tricks over the two days she was away from us. Saturday night Ava crawled out of the port-a-crib - twice! Both Sunday and Monday night (when we returned home) were not normal - as they usually are after we get out of our routine for any reason. She fussed as we put her down to bed when she usually just goes straight down. Monday night, however, was really dramatic! You would have thought something terrible was happening! She yelled and screamed something unreal. Then, all of a sudden I heard, "boom". I knew exactly what it was - Ava had gotten out of her crib! When I opened her bedroom door she was running towards it. We met each other and I cradled her until she settled down. Once I put her back in her bed, she immediately stood up and put her leg over the side rail like she was going to try to get out again. I put her back down and we went through this at least 15 times! She finally became tired - broke into a little sweat and crashed asleep! The next night we put her in her bed and she immediately put her leg over the rail. I put her back down and she went straight to sleep. We didn't want to chance it anymore so we turned her beautiful crib into a precious transitional bed. She LOVES it! She will sit in it - pull her blanket over her lap and play. Adorable! She doesn't get out of it for some reason - go figure! When she is ready to get up she calls for me like she did before Easter weekend. I love my growing little girl!

Snuggle Bunny

We hit a major milestone recently. Ava will actually sit in our bed and watch TV while I shower in the morning. This is HUGE as in the past she would pace the bathroom whining the entire time. I would spend the duration of my shower suggesting things for her to do like, "look at the birds out the window, ...can you find a squirrel in the tree, ...Shhhh, listen, is that Joe (our neighbor), or ...shhhhh, listen, is that an airplane," ...anything to redirect her energy and ultimately get her to stop whining. Well...it doesn't happen everyday, but at least we are making strides. Yea...Ava is actually interested in a little TV and she loves to pull the covers up to her tummy and lay her head back against the pillow. It is just adorable to see her growing up! And, peaceful showers are nice too!

She's not ALL sugar and spice!

Little Ava is learning that she can reach even higher as she grows and continues to explore the things around her. She recently learned to open most drawers and cabinets. We can't baby proof EVERY piece of furniture! Yesterday afternoon I was making myself a sandwich and my sweet, precious, innocent little girl was playing on the kitchen floor three feet away from me. When I turned around, she had reached into a tall cabinet and helped herself to not one, but two pieces of chocolate. She hit the jack-pot! I gave in and let her devour one entire piece. It's official...she can't be trusted to roam free around the house and make good decisions for herself. Mommy is on strict baby watch 24/7!

Snow Day in Austin!

Yep...it snowed in Austin. So fun when that happens...which is a very rare occurrence. We were stuck inside all day until I finally decided to venture out to build a snowman with little Ava. We didn't have allot of snow to build him very big but he was complete with raisin eyes, a carrot nose and a red bell pepper mouth. And, she loved eating the snow! Sweet girl never complains about the cold. She is such a trooper!

Ava's secret Valentine strikes again!

Ava's secret Valentine left her a music toy on the porch last year and to our surprise they returned again and left another present for her. Just as last year, we heard a knock on the door and when we went to greet our guest nobody was to be found! Ava looked out the window like she always does when she hears a knock on the door and immediately saw a huge frog balloon and said, "balloon." We opened the door to find the balloon attached to a sock monkey pop up box. She climbed out the door stoop and checked out the box...and began to wind it up with a little help from her dad. Luckily for us...and capturing the moment on film Ava just happened to have on the sweet tutu that her Aunt Mo bought at the Ronald McDonald charity event a couple of weeks ago ;-) Happy Valentine's Day to our secret admirer...whoever and wherever you are we want you to know we LOVE your gifts and thoughtfulness!

Poor Baby!

Our sweet baby woke up at 3:00 AM last night because she threw up. Yuck! Chris happened to be the one who went into her bedroom to put her back to sleep and discovered the yuck in her bed. We bathed her, changed the linens and her clothes and put her back to bed...only for round two 15 minutes later. Poor baby! She is a good thrower upper, though. She barely fussed and was ready to go right back to bed. She kept saying, "night-night". Ahhhh, angel! The only thing is that her little snuggle friends, Smelly Melly (monkey) and Schulman (piglet) stunk to high heaven! I gave her some other stuffed animals to snuggle with, but she wouldn't have it. Because it was 4AM by now, I gave in and let her sleep with her stinky friends. However, first thing this morning they both received the TLC they needed...a nice hot bath and a long (high heat) tumble in the dryer. Ahhhhhh, finally back to normal...everyone!

New Year...New Baby!

Ava is changing everyday. She is absolutely amazing. She has a vocabulary of about 25 words or more. I am not sure how many she should have at this age because it is just so fun hearing everything that she does know! She is a climber! She can climb on almost anything. It is scary to turn around to see your precious angel on top of the table reaching for the lamp! She is my little monkey. She quit drinking out of her bottle and never fussed about it. Sippy cups is all we use these days. She eats three meals a day and takes one nap in the afternoon. It makes scheduling activities much easier! She throws little fits. She arches her back so far that I have to help her to the ground. They are far and few inbetween but especially when she can't keep up with the neighborhood kids. She wants to do what they do...ride a bike, play in the street, etc. She is the love of our lives.

Happy New Year!

Growing up was especially exciting around the holidays at the Hoge house. Our mother established traditions for almost all of them! New Year's Eve was no exception. We watched the ball drop in Times Square in New York City at midnight then were allowed to run up and down our street banging pots and pans yelling "Happy New Year!" We had sparklers and PG fireworks (smoke bombs, etc). Last but not least we stripped the Christmas tree of all its needles, bagged them and then dumped them the Handon's front porch. They were our long time neighbors who lived across the street from us. I am not really sure how that part of the New Year festivities began, but for some reason it was a big secret who nicely dumped them as I am sure they knew it was the Hoge girls and just followed along. Anyway, I wanted to carry on the tradition of celebrating the New Year with Ava. We had party hats, sparklers, blow horns and lots of yummy food! We celebrated at 5:30 PM in the evening and never saw the ball drop - but we celebrated and kissed each other to ring in the New Year! Here's to 2010! May we be blessed with good health and happiness!