Trick or Treat!!!!

The girls had a BLAST on Halloween. Ava was Dorothy, singing "Follow the yellow brick road" and clicking her ruby slippers together and adding "there's no place like home". And Caroline was a hysterical Frankenstein, sticking her arms out straight and saying "raarrr" in a scary voice.

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Ava may LOOK like her daddy, but the insides are definitely mommy. I'm notorious for saying hi to people who I think I know, but when I get closer, it turns out it's not really the person I'm thinking of.... hence, I'm saying hello to perfect strangers.

It's a rainy day, so instead of bringing Ava up to school and waiting outside with her, I walked her to her classroom. On the way in she thought she saw kids from her own class walking in too. She yelled ahead "Hi, Ashlynne!" It wasn't Ashlynne. It was a girl who looked like she was in the 4th grade. I said, "Ava, that's not Ashlynne". "Oh", said Ava. Two seconds later, I hear "Hi, Mitchell, it's me Ava!" Wasn't Mitchell... definitely looked like a 5th grader who was held back 2 years... not a 3 year old. I love her... she's flighty just like me. Now I can't be the only person family makes fun of :)

On a side note, Caroline has started something new - bringing her sippy cup to bed. Daytime naps, nighttime... it doesn't matter. Probably not a good habit to start. But she lays on her pillow (also a new thing in her crib), snuggles up with her nanny (blanket), binky in one hand, and sippy cup of milk in the other. And then she gives a big grin as if to say "ahhhh, this is the life!". So cute :)

Jake the Snake ....

Or "Baby Jake"... whatever you want to call him.

Last night we puppysat Aunt Karlie and Uncle Dom's puppy! Ava couldn't get enough of him and wanted him to come live with us. Caroline thought he was interesting and liked playing with him, but she didn't mind him leaving :)

Back to School!

Ava started her first day of preschool today! Her teacher's name is Miss David and she loved her. She knew two of the kids in class already and is anxious to make new friends too. She woke up wanting to put her backpack on without getting dressed first... silly girl. She was fine getting dropped off ... mom was a different story :(

She colored, sat in circle time learning sounds of letters, shapes and colors, played outside and enjoyed snacktime.

Ava just finished lunch and will definitely take an early nap today :)

Off to Gettysburg for Labor Day weekend and Grammy's birthday

We had a great Labor Day weekend at Grammy and GrandBob's house! Aunt LaLa and Uncle Dave also made the trip out. Gettysburg is so beautiful - not only for its rich history, but also for it's landscape and scenery... and we enjoyed every second of it! We dined out, went to the Catoctin Zoo, relaxed in their backyard, shopped, barbequed, celebrated Grammy's birthday, and watched fireworks over the lake. It was so much fun!

Grammy gave Ava a hoop skirt from her store and some other girly things like a purse and wreath for her hair. Ava had fun at the zoo and decided that her favorite part was watching and feeding the reindeer. She also planted irises with Aunt Lala. She liked the fireworks but "NOT the really loud ones". She especially liked the glowsticks Lala and Uncle Dave gave her.

Caroline was busy fluttering about. She enjoyed the zoo as well and liked seeing the animals up

close during a presentation. She was extremely interested in the rocks Grammy and GrandBob had near their patio... luckily they were too big for her to eat! She took a bath in the kitchen sink and watched fireworks on Mommy's lap. She also tried some gardening with Lala and Ava.

More than anything, we had a blast spending time with our family, just talking and laughing. Hope they had as much fun as we did!

Spinny girl and singing coolies ....

Is it completely weird that Caroline LOVES spinning in circles for a long time to make herself dizzy? And she walks backwards everywhere now too. She is SUCH a nut, constantly make us giggle.

And Ava's new thing is making her butt "talk" like Ace Ventura. Last night, her coolie sung the tune from Peter Pan.

Oh how precious these years are!

Hilton Head, South Carolina

In July, we vacationed in Hilton Head, SC with Nan and Gramps. The girls had a blast! Ava has developed a fear of swimming pools and definitely preferred jumping in the waves and digging in the sand. Caroline loved both - she must have been content in the pool as she fell sleep in her raft one day.... but is a beach bum herself eating sand and loving the waves as they crashed into her. We also took family bike rides, went to the lighthouse and Harbourtown, and stopped at the Ava Gardner museum (Ava had to see who she was named after!) in Smithfield, NC.

Welcome and thanks for looking!

Welcome to our blog! I thought it would be fun to keep a diary and photos of our girls growing up. They are so much fun and time is going by so quickly... it will be nice to have a place to keep all of our memories.