Long Time No Speak....

Wow I can't believe it's really been almost 5 months since I posted anything. I guess mommyhood has me busy or something, lol! So alot has happened in those months, all of which I cannot blog about in one post, so I'll have to hit some highlights!

Little miss Ava is growing... A LOT! She started crawling on April Fools Day, which was funny to call Chris and tell him. That was just shy of her 8 month birthday. She was slow at first but now can crawl across a room in no time flat. She currently has 4 teeth, the 2nd of which to come in was a bear! She was up one night every 20 minutes, that was one rough night, and 2 tired parents the next morning. Otherwise, teething hasn't been that bad--the first tooth came in without any major notice, and the 3rd anf 4th tooth, you couldn't even tell she had teeth coming in except for a lot of drool. The funniest part is that she got her 2 bottom teeth then she got her right "fang" so she looks kinda like a little vampire. Her fourth tooth has just recently broke the surface and is her right front tooth. She is also cruising and will walk holding onto one hand. I'm convinced that she will be walking very soon, she just needs to perfect that balance a little more! Her hair has also grown in quite a bit and I can get one little twig of a ponytail on the top of her head now! She is a very sweet baby and happy the overwhelming majority of the time! We have been so blessed by her joining our family!!

In the past few months we have traveled quite a bit. We went to Colorado to vist our friends Mike and Kate and their 2 little ones, Charlotte and Cameron. We had a blast and Ava loved playing with them! Of course, I love Colorado and it was very hard to leave. Chris always teases me that the first half of the trip home, I talk about how we can eventually move back there. This trip was no different, we weren't out of Denver 10 minutes before I started.

We also went home to Nashville for the 4th of July. That was so much fun! Ava got in the lake for the first time, met her cousins, and got loved on by Mimi, Papa, Paw Paw, and Uncle Mark! She loved the water and we learned a valuable lesson about swim diapers vs. regular diapers. Apparently if you forget the swim diaper, a regular diaper will just not do--it explodes and gel substance erupts from it! Mom and Dad also got some fun time in on the jet skiis with a free babysitter, Mimi, loving on Ava!

Our most recent trip was to St.Louis for a THOGL reunion. Several of the families in the surrounding states/area met up at a park for some great fellowship and then back to the hotel to hang out. We got to meet many of the families we've only corresponded with via Facebook or Skype and it was just so wonderful to finally meet them in person! The kiddos were so fun to see run around together and play! It truly was beautiful site to see everyone united in their families, and to see all the kiddos so happy and growing! Several of the THOGL workers were also there and got to see how much the little ones had grown since they last loved on them in the orphanage, they are all such a blessing to us!

Lastly, Ava is turning 1 in a week from today! I just can't believe our little girl is going to be 1! She is hardly a baby anymore, and getting so independent! She loves to giggle, be close to Mom and Dad, play, and kiss Linus! She is eating solid foods and would eat blueberries until she exploded! We're planning a ladybug themed party and I can't wait to see her dive into that cake!