Christmas

We were able to spend Christmas with Justin's family in Farmington, UT this year! It was so good to see all of the family!

Christmas morning.


I love her "ooos" and "ahhs" in this video.

With all of her gifts.
Singing her doll a song. So cute!

We had a white elephant gift exchange at the family Christmas party. Ava was lucky enough to get this cute tea set!

Christmas night. It was so good to spend it with family!
The best gift of all? Well in my opinion, it was the wedding band Justin gave me! Just Chillin'!

Ava loved spending time with her cousins. Here she is doing "Happy Feet" with Ethan.



My mother-in-law hosted a baby shower for me while we were out there. I am so grateful for all of the baby boy clothes!

Below are all of the adorable blankets and burp cloths she made me! She is so talented!

Also, the car seat I have is pink... or should I say was...After my mother-in-law was finished with it! Yay!

New York Days 4 & 5

Day 4: It rained a lot on day 4. So Mommy decided to take me to the Museum of Natural History so we could stay inside the whole day.

We rode the subway there. (We rode it almost every day.) I was really good on the subway and played peek-a-boo with a lot of people. I made them smile. Every time the doors opened I would say, “I ready!” … can we get off yet?

Me on the subway.

The Museum was really big. Mommy and I had a lot of fun looking at all of the animals, Indians, rocks and dinosaurs.
I found this really neat Teddy Bear and wanted Mommy to take a picture while I gave it a hug.
Whoa, that thing has a lot of teeth!
I was so tired when we got home from the museum. I did a lot of walking!

Day 5: It was the coldest day, but no rain! Mommy and I went to Central Park!
Mommy told me to not pick my nose in the picture, so I stuck both fingers in there! Haha! I’m so funny.
Mommy and I went to the Central Park Zoo. It was pretty small. Then we walked around and I feel asleep. Mommy saw the ice rink while I was sleeping. Mommy said she liked the park. Like an oasis in the busy city.
When I woke up from my nap, we met Daddy at FAO Schwartz. I was very good and would give the toys a hug and kiss, and then put them back on the shelf without crying!
Mommy put a bunch of silly hats on my head and took pictures.
Here is Jack Sparrow made out of Legos!
Daddy took me to play on The Big Piano!
What a day! And what a week! I liked New York!

Mommy’s Notes:
At first, the thought of taking on New York as a pregnant mother with a 2 year old worried me a bit. But Ava did great and we had a blast!

One thing we loved was our great room service. We could call for take-out at several restaurants, and they would deliver it to our hotel room door. Here’s a pizza we ate. Do you get sick just looking at it!?

Saying “Good Bye” to New York on our last night.
One more picture of the Statue of Liberty.
I bet you’ve seen a sunset on a beach, but have you seen one from the clouds?

My Big Week in New York!! Days 1-3

Daddy had to go to New York City for work, so Mommy and I decided
to join him. We had so much fun!

Day 1: We visited the 9/11 Memorial. There are huge waterfall type fountains where each of the buildings used to stand. We could see this from our hotel window!
In front of the Freedom Tower.Day 2: Mommy and I took a ferry to Liberty and Ellis Islands. The ride was COLD! But I had fun.Inside the immigration building on Ellis Island.

When Daddy got off work, we walked down Wall Street and saw: The Bull, The New York Stock Exchange and The Trump Building.

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Day 3: Mommy and I walked down 5th Avenue and saw all the stores and their pretty window displays. We also saw the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building. Then Mommy got lost and walked 5 blocks in the wrong direction. It was cold and rainy! I wasn’t too happy about it.

Then Mom got me an umbrella! Mommy took me to a really old library. The building was neat, but all of the pictures turned out blurry. I liked playing in the children’s section of the library while Mommy took a break.

When Daddy got off work, he met us at a cool candy store. Then we walked to Times Square! I took a nap and let Mommy and Daddy enjoy a nice dinner.

My favorite store at Times Square? Toys R Us of course!!

Daddy and I rode in the pink Barbie car on the HUGE ferris wheel inside the store. It was cool!

Then we walked to Rockefeller Plaza. We saw lots of pretty lights and Christmas decorations on the way.The Rockefeller Plaza Tree.

Mommy and Daddy would tickle me to get me to smile for the camera. Days 4 & 5 to come!

Thanksgiving Stats

We were able to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Boulder City, Nevada this year! It was wonderful to see everyone. There were a TON of people, and of course, a TON of food! :)

The Stats:

35 People

38 Pies!

PIE!! My family tradition is to have a ridiculous amount of pie! This is just a sampling below. :) Yes, we eat pie all weekend long.

192 Sodas. They even have their own spiffy cooler. Justin was happy. :)

Our Thankful Turkey. I am so thankful that I got to spend time with almost all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, siblings and Grandma Graff!

Grandma and Aunt Heather took Ava to the park. She was so spoiled with her Aunt, Grandma, Great Grandma, and lots of wonderful older second cousins to play with! I was grateful for the break. ;)

This is Ava's "cheese" face. We'll have to work on getting that smile to go up!

Grandpa and Grandma took Ava to feed the fish, ducks... and the greedy seagulls.

The Little Things

It's the little things in life brighten my day.

Ava is in a big girl bed now (because she was dangerously launching herself over the side of her crib!) She's done pretty well at staying there after we say goodnight. Maybe it's because she doesn't want to disturb her friends. :)

Ava is lucky enough to get one Christmas present early (because Dad was too excited about it and couldn't wait.) ;)

This is Ava with her friend Mollee. They play so well together! One day, when they were running around giggling, I said, "You girls are silly friends." Mollee then said, "Silly BEST Friends!" Awe!

Miss Mommy. Love the morning hair. ;)

I thought it was so cute when Ava sat all her toys up and gave them books to read!

Speaking of "little" things... guess how little I paid for these things!?

Tax was $0.57 and my total was $0.74!! This makes me happy. :)

We are off to visit family for Thanksgiving. I can't wait!!