Lake Lure 2010

A Fall Day at the Neighborhood Park

Summertime and the Living is Easy

Ava covered in chocolate ice cream and who knows what else at a friend's pool party. I love the look of pure joy on her face. She is kind of a ham for the camera. (Photos by Amber Tindall: http://www.amberoceanphotographic.com/)

  

The party was a make-your-own ice cream sundae affair, and Ava went all out. This kid loves her ice cream (wonder where she got that from?)

Tessa is beginning to show her personality little by little. So far, she seems very easy-going and possibly a little shy? Obviously it's way too soon to know if she will truly be shy, but she has this cute little habit of burying her head in my shoulder or Ben's shoulder when either of us carries her, and we call it her being shy. Her big news is that she is starting to sit up unsupported and she is eating real food. She really digs carrots, sweet potatoes and rice cereal.

About a year ago, on a whim I took Ava to the pool at our Y. As we got dressed in our bathing suits and drove down there, she was really excited about the idea. Her excitement continued when she saw the pool, and I thought we were in for a fun afternoon of swimming. Well, about five minutes after we got in, she started screaming to get out. I tried everything I could think of to entice her to stay, and nothing worked. She was starting to cause a scene and I didn't want to be that mom with the screaming kid, so we just went home.

Fast forward to this summer, and Ava has really gotten into swimming. It all started with a trip to a friend's neighborhood pool (pictured above) in which she really took to the water and didn't want to leave. On our recent family vacation to Lake Lure, she loved swimming in the lake and pool. Pics to come from that trip.

Tessa talks all the time. Her sounds range from cute little coos and laughs to full-on baby growls. Speaking of laughing, I must post the video of her laughing it up. This girl can laugh, I tell you. And she is ticklish, too.

Ava's First Year of Preschool

Ava's first day of preschool, 20 months old. She ran right in the classroom without so much as a glance back at me, and she loved every minute of her first year there.

Ava's last day of preschool, almost 2 1/2. She did not want her picture taken. I can't believe how much she grew in the space of nine months.

There's Nothing Like a Baby Smile

Before I had kids, I heard a friend describe how as a new mom she spent hours, days even, trying to get her baby to smile. Like a lot of things, I had no idea what this felt like until I had kids. Tessa was about four weeks old when I saw her smile for the first time. It was probably just gas, but it didn't matter. She smiled. It was such a sweet moment. I have found myself trying to get her to go back to sleep in the middle of the night after a feeding, so tired from sleep deprivation that I cannot wait for her to go back to sleep, but when she starts smiling at me, that's it, I just smile back, not even caring if she gets more stimulated, forgetting everything else but her smile.

Sisters

I secretly hoped that Tessa would be a girl. Having two sisters, I wanted Ava to have a sister. Of course, I would have been thrilled either way. You can't go wrong as long as your baby is healthy, and a little boy would have been really fun. But I pictured two little girls playing with dolls, having tea parties, doing each other's hair -- all the things I remember doing with my sisters. And I think, generally speaking, same-sex siblings are usually closer. Again, that's just a generalization, and I know there are plenty of exceptions to that. I also think that I just understand the world of little girls better and my temperment is more suited to girls. So, there. I said it -- I wanted a girl, both times.

The day we brought Tessa home from the hospital, Ava was thrilled to meet her.

But it took no time before Ava realized that Tessa, the baby we had talked about in the abstract for months, was really here and not going anywhere. Suddenly our attention was divided and her world was a little rocked. For the first couple days she pitched a fit or two over not being able to hold Tessa the minute she wanted to, or the fact that Tessa was using the stroller that Ava had long since stopped using. She was excited about Tessa but not about having to share us or her things.

However, now that Tessa has been with us for a month, Ava is starting to grow into her role as big sister. She can't wait for Tessa to wake up so they can sit next to each other and Ava can "hold" her. It is so sweet to watch them begin to interact.

Tessa Elise Is Here!

Tessa Elise entered the world on Feb 8th at 6:37 pm. She weighed 9 lbs, 7 oz and was 20 inches long, exactly the same as Ava. We are thrilled to have her join our family and can't wait to see what her personality will be like.

I'm Not Tired, I'm So Happy

It is incredible to watch Ava grow and learn new things every day. She's in a very inquisitive stage and talks a lot. She's very interested in her little sister (who is still on the way, more on this later), and she talks about "baby Tessa" all the time. She loves to go through Tessa's baby clothes and try to put them on, and she often talks about all the things in the house that belong to Tessa, such as her crib, changing table, car seat, etc. It's impossible to keep her out of Tessa's stuff, which can be a little frustrating from an organizational standpoint, but at the same time, we're so glad that she's interested in her sister and recognizes her as part of the family (well, as much as she can before they actually meet). I can't wait to see them interact; I think Ava will be a great big sister.

Celebrating Ava's second birthday was a lot of fun. We invited a small group of friends over and fortunately, the weather in early January was warm enough for the kids to play outside a little. When we sang happy birthday to her, she got this huge grin on her face and sort of swayed back and forth. She was thrilled with the attention. We could kick ourselves for not getting it on video.

After several hours of partying, once everyone had left, when it was well past her naptime, we asked Ava if she was tired. She responded, "No, I'm not tired, I'm so happy" with this big grin on her face. It was a sweet moment.

Some pics from the party:

I Love You, I Love You, I Love You...

A short video of Ava and I hanging out with the camera while Emily was out shopping...Ava watches herself on the camera monitor...

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ava!

It is hard to believe that Ava joined us two years ago today. In some ways, those two years have gone by so fast. Yet, at times it is hard to remember what life was like before her.

We had a fun party with a small group of friends last weekend and a little family celebration tonight. Pics to follow when I'm not as exhausted. :)

Happy birthday, Ava!

Ava building upon her incredible dancing skills....

This is video footage of Ava making herself dizzy to the tunes of The Beastie Boys while brushing her teeth!

The girl is multi-talented!!!!!!!

Halloween: It's Not Just October 31st Anymore

We had a lot of fun on Halloween. It felt like the dress-up celebrations lasted like a week; gone are the days of my childhood when Halloween was literally just October 31st. Ava was a fairy. She usually referred to the wings as butterfly wings, so we called her the butterfly fairy. I'm glad I didn't get her one of those heavy fleece costumes, because it was in the 80s that day.

We went to a special event at the aquarium with some friends, Sarah and Gabe. Ava loved seeing all the fishes and other animals, the kids in costumes, and of course, getting candy. Well, let me qualify that by explaining that she still didn't get what was happening when people actually handed out the candy, but when she realized that she had some in her bag, she was thrilled.

We also went to a Halloween party for my mom's group at my friend Alexis' house. It was really fun. I'd say Ava's favorite parts were dancing to the music, eating candy and going to see the horses across the street.

They had a really cute photo booth set up at the party, and these pics were taken by Lauren Wolf.

Baby, Preschool and Other News

I don't think this will come as a surprise to anyone reading this blog, but I don't think I've actually mentioned on here yet that we are having a baby. I'm due on Feb 1st, so I'm about halfway along now. This pregnancy has been really different than the first. I think being preoccupied with a toddler running around has made it go by a lot faster. Ava seems to have taken to the idea of the baby. She often kisses my belly and talks about the baby. When we ask her whether it will be a brother or a sister, she always answers "sister." However, when we ask if she thinks it will be a boy or a girl, she answers differently depending on the day.

Ava started preschool this year. She goes two days a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. We decided to start her a little earlier than we'd originally planned. It would help with my work schedule (I recently started teaching two classes), and she is very social and seems to enjoy playing with other kids.

We did a trial run with her backpack the weekend before school started.

Leaving for school on the first day, Ava insisted on carrying my purse.

On the first day of school, while we waited in line to drop her off at her room, a lot of kids were crying and holding on to their parents. When it was her turn, Ava ran right in the room toward the toys without looking back. I was a little sad to watch my baby run off independently, but I was also proud, and it felt like it validated our decision to go ahead and send her to preschool.

Ava Turns 18 Months, Plus What We've Been Up To

This summer is flying by so fast. I think I always feel that way every year; perhaps it is psychological from being a kid and feeling like summer breaks were never long enough. One thing is for sure -- it has been HOT here. We have had countless days when we didn't even want to leave the house between the hours of 10 am and 6 pm.

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to the mountains to visit family. We had a great time visiting with my parents, both sisters, bros-in-law and all the kids. Ava always seems like she is in her element when she is around her cousins. Here are some pics of Ava with her Nonni, Ava and Lucy, and Olive and Elijah.

In other news, we are trying to get our house ready to put on the market. It's been almost three years since we bought it, and the time has come to find something bigger. We're in the process of renovating and repairing it. With Ben off for the summer, he has time to put his DIY skills to work. :) The goal is to have it on the market by sometime in August.

When our schedules permit, we're trying to take advantage of Ben's time off to do things together. We recently visited Lewis Farm to pick blackberries.

We are getting ready for the annual Gorman family vacation to Lake Lure. We can't wait to see everyone, watch the cousins play, and enjoy some relaxation by the lake and pool. We'll post pics and an update when we get back.