I'm a Mother to a Teenager?!?!?

Yes, it is true...Kyle turns 13 today and I cannot believe it. It seems like just yesterday I held him in my arms for the first time. After many hours of labor and 3 hours of pushing, it all ended with a c-section and a beautiful baby boy. From that day forward my life would never be the same, but what a blessing it has been. Thank you Kyle for being such an amazing young man. I'm SO very proud of what you have become. Happy 13th Birthday Kyle!

Lots of Love,

Mom

(Sorry for the picture quality...we didn't have digital pictures back then and I had to scan them from his scrapbook.)

Kyle and his Aunt Joni....look how little she was!

Ava's 7 months old....wait a minute, didn't I just post last week that she was 6 months old.

OK, so last month I was more than just a little behind, Ava is really 7 months old and busy as ever. I can't believe where the time has gone. Below are a few of our most recent pictures.

As you can see, she is busy crawling everywhere. She really likes to look at herself in these mirrors in our bedroom. The first time she saw herself she tried to crawl right into the mirror and of course bonked her head. She was so confused as to what was going on, the face she made was hilarious.

This was Ava enjoying a bike ride we took last weekend.

And here she is looking at her favorite puppy, now that she's mobile Ava is constantly trying to go after Maddie.

And last but not least, this is Ava wearing her brothers football helmet. Doesn't she look adorable in it???

Ava's latest accomplishments are mastering crawling, eating more and more solid foods. She likes most fruits, except Apples, and red colored vegetables. She is not a fan of anything green. You can always tell when she is getting full or doesn't like something because she sticks out her tongue and starts to gag or starts blowing bubbles spitting it every where. Kyle and Allicia seem to think this is hilarious and of course that just encourages her to do it more.

She has also started trying to pull herself up on things....she hasn't quite mastered this yet, but it is coming. Nothing is safe in the house anymore.

We have also started Ava on medicine for acid reflux. We took her to the doctor earlier this week and it seems to be helping. She has been sleeping better, for the most part, and is a lot less restless than she was. Allicia had acid reflux as a baby too, so it must be something that runs in our family. Thankfully she out grew it and doesn't seem to have issues anymore. We're hoping Ava does as well.

Other than chasing after a busy baby, we have been busy trying to enjoy the rest of summer. Kyle has started football practice and is eating us out of house and home. He is a bottomless pit now that football has started. Allicia continues to enjoy playing with her friends as much as possible. We signed her up for dance which will start once school begins. Next week we have meet the teacher day for both kids and then we will be off on a family vacation to Vegas! We're super excited to spend some time by the pool, where hopefully it is HOT and plan on seeing the Lion King. There are several of us going from Dave's family so it should be a great time. Look for pictures when we return.

Ava's 6 Months

Ok she is technically a little over 6 months...but we couldn't get her in until now to get her pictures done.

Our little pumpkin is getting very big. She is sitting up, has both of her bottom teeth cutting through, gets up on all fours and trys to crawl forward, but doesn't quite have the hang of it yet, is pushing herself backwards all over the floor, and is starting to like solid foods. Boy has time went by way too fast. I guess we have to soak up and enjoy every second of it.
Enjoy the pictures!

Another busy weekend!

This weekend was full of many fun activities. We started out Friday night going to a Corn feed put on by one of my co-workers. It was a great time. We enjoyed amazing corn and good conversation. It was a very relaxing evening.

Saturday I got up and went to Boot Camp at the Healthy Living Center (which I have been doing for the past 7 weeks now) and then packed the Kyle and Allicia up for a day tubing down the Root River in Lanesburo. We went with another co-worker and her family, Ava stayed home with Grandma Freese and Dave played in a softball tournament in Chatfield. It was a perfect day to be on the river. We had a blast just relaxing and soaking up some sun.

And Sunday we drove over to Plain, WI for the Bauer family reunion on my Dad's side of the family. It was a nice trip and a lot of fun to see some of my cousins and their children. I haven't seen many of them for several years.

ValleyFair

Yesterday we took the kids to Valleyfair along with John and Nancy, my Dad, sister Leslie and brother-in-law Josh. It had been a couple years since we had been there, so it was well overdue. This was Allicia's first time going on all the big rides and roller coasters. She was a bit nervous at first, but ended up loving them. We had a beautiful day. It was a bit warm, but thankfully there was a nice breeze to keep us somewhat cool.

John and Kyle on their first ride of the day...they were drenched.
Steel Venom....this was a favorite by everyone...even Allicia.

Allicia singing and dancing on stage at one of the shows we watched.....that's my girl! I would have joined her but I was too busy trying to take her picture.

Grandpa sharing his ice cream with Ava...she was out like a light shortly after.

Another new trick!

Another new trick...and all in the same day. She's growing up way too fast!

6 Months and getting very busy!

Look at what our little Ava has started doing. She's not actually moving yet, but she sure is getting ready to. Yesterday she started pushing herself up on her hands and feet. Like she was going to do a push-up. Today she started getting on all fours. She's rocking back and forth, so I don't think it will be long until she is off and running. I'm not sure I'm ready for this!