Camping

Last week we spent camping at Lake Billy Chinook in central Oregon. We had great weather and tons of fun. It's a yearly trip that my parents, some family friends and about 60 other people from a church in Albany take. This is our 4th year going and 2nd year bringing Andrew. The 1st year didn't go as smoothly (he was only 8 months) so we decided to rent a trailer this year instead of tent camping. GREAT idea! It worked out perfect. It was small but fit our needs. A place to have Andrew nap and escape the heat. It was in the mid to upper 80s the entire time we were there (Tues-Sun). We had been prepping Andrew about camping for several weeks and he was very excited. He was so excited to ride in Papa's truck and the boat. For most of the camping week he was pretty much obsessed with "driving" Papa's truck, great Papa's truck and the boat. We even used it as an incentive to get him to go to bed telling him that if he went to bed he could drive Papa's truck when he woke up. There was late nights to bed and shorter naps making for a little cranky Andrew at times, but all and all it was a great trip. Ava did great and enjoyed getting held all the time. Andrew loved meeting all the new kids. His favorites were definitely Alyssa (Elizabeth) and Brianna (Nana). Funny how he came up with these names. These girls were great! Several years older than Andrew, but came over to play with him often which really helped me out. One day when Alyssa was over he said, "want some coffee?" She, being 12, declined, but I thought it was just too cute of Andrew to ask. He then asked her to play cars and she gladly accepted. He always asked to go visit his friends. He wasn't as interested in the kids that were closer to his age...there were several 1 and young 2 year olds. The 1st night we were there we decided to keep him up late to have a campfire and roast marshmellows. He liked the fire and the roasting of marshmellows but wasn't a fan of the smore. Picky eater! We also tried him out on the tube the 1st day we were there. He rode it with Daddy and didn't cry but told Nate the whole time that he didn't like it. He didn't ride it again. We had such a fun time and it was nice to finally get a little sun and make some great memories as a family!

Ava's 1st life jacket. She didn't like it when we put it on her but then was okay once it was on.

My hubby is quite the wakeboarder!

Andrew on the tube with Daddy.

1st campfire and only campfire that Andrew actually witnessed. We learned our lesson the 1st night when we kept him awake about an hour and a half past his bed time. He was a cranky boy so we decided not to do that again :)

6.25.2010 Ava 6 weeks old

All of us together at beach area

Andrew learning to ride his bike. He would peddle as long as Nate would keep pushing him. As soon as he realized that he was riding on his own, he'd stop peddling and tell Daddy to push him.

Our rented trailer

6.22-6.27.2010

P.S. Ava really found her voice during this last week. She is "talking" a lot more and has started laughing. She especially likes it when we sing to her. She also has become very active. She loves to kick around and move her arms and legs.

7 years

7 years ago I married my best friend and the love of my life. Nate, you have made me the happiest girl in the world and I love our wonderful life that we've created. I love you more than words can express.

June 28, 2003

Daddy's Day

Happy Father's Day to my amazing husband! Our kids love you so much and have tons of fun with you. I love watching Ava light up when she sees you and Andrew say "Daddy's home!" when he hears you come in the house after being at work all day. I love that Andrew wants to call you during the day to say that he loves you. It just shows how amazing of a dad you are! We love you! And to the other dads in our lives- my dad and my father in law...you are amazing fathers...we LOVE you!

Family BBQ

Yesterday we had a family BBQ in Springfield for my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. The weather wasn't great but that didn't stop the kids from playing in my grandparents huge yard! Andrew was the only boy out of the 8 great grandkids but he had tons of fun playing with the older girls. 3 of us just had babies within the last few months so it was fun to see all of the new babies. It was my grandparents 1st time meeting Ava and they had lots of cuddle time with her, especially my grandma who LOVES kids. We also got a chance to see Kayla and Cory's new house while we were down there....beautiful! My sister is so good at decorating! She also got some good quality time with Ava since she hasn't seen her since she was born. It was a fun day seeing all of my family and introducing Ava to them, but we were definitely exhausted by the end of the day. Andrew crashed as soon as he got in the car. Unfortunately he only slept for 45 minutes, but he had so much fun playing with the other kids. We had to drop my sister back at her house when we left my grandparents. I took Andrew in the house to go to the bathroom before we got on the rode. He told me he was tired and wanted to take a nap and then proceeded up the stairs at my sister's house to go take a nap. Too cute. I told him that we were going to nap in the car today. He was exhausted from playing so hard!

Aunt Kayla & Ava

4 generations- Ava, myself, my mom and my grandma

Andrew had fun with the swing

The great grandkids minus the 3 babies

My grandparents with all of their grandkids

6.19.2010- Ava 5 weeks old, Andrew 2.9 years

Date Night

6.17.2010- Ava almost 5 weeks

On Thursday Nate and I had our first date night since Ava was born. I wasn't sure I was ready to leave Ava yet (at almost 5 weeks) but Nate was anxious to have some quality time just the 2 of us. I'm glad he "pushed" me to go out. It was a nice break and we had so much fun together. We went to PF Changs for dinner and then saw Iron Man 2. Such a fun night! The kids had so much fun with Grandpa & Grandma Bailey. Andrew was upset when we were leaving but Grandpa quickly distracted him with his trains and he didn't ask about us again until bedtime! Andrew played trucks and trains with Grandpa and both Grandpa & Grandma got some fun cuddle time with Ava.

1 month

So tired!

6.14.2010- 1 month old

Ava is 1 month old today. This month has gone so fast! I can't believe she is already a month. We are slowly getting the hang of life with 2 kids. Andrew is doing a lot better and completely adores her. He wants to hold her multiple times and day and gives her a million kisses and hugs. He is my little helper and is always getting her pacifier or diaper or burp rag for me. Ava is a sweet little girl. Definitely a little more demanding than Andrew, but so sweet. She is starting to stretch out her legs more and stay awake for longer periods of time during the day. She has been struggling with sleeping at night because she is so gassy, but still only wakes up once to eat. She loves her swing and her boppy and tolerates her bouncer and car seat. Today she had her 1 month pictures and I can't wait to see how they turned out. We did monthly pictures with Andrew for the 1st year and I plan on doing the same with Ava.

Zoo

Yesterday was another one of Ava's many first....her first visit to the zoo! Yes, I realize that she doesn't know that she's at the zoo, but still, it counts as her 1st time there! It was a beautiful day and not many crowds since everyone was at the Rose Festival Parade. We definitely picked a good morning to go. We were only there for an hour or hour and a half, but we saw all that we wanted to see. They have a new dinosaur exhibit that we thought Andrew would like, but once we got close he got scared. The rest of the morning he stayed in his stroller (for the most part). Nate took him to see the elephants while I fed Ava and he didn't want to see them because he could hear the dinosaurs and got scared. Same thing happened when we went to see the bears. So we checked out the lions, giraffes (one of his favorite), tigers, monkeys, and alligators. Ava was a perfect little angel. She stayed awake for most of the time and didn't make a peep which is pretty unusual for her! Such a fun family day.

Hanging out in the stroller.

Checking out the hippos.

Looking for the giraffe.

6.12.2010

Andrew 2.9 years old

Ava 29 days old

Camping Gear

We are getting ready to go camping in a few weeks and bought Andrew some new camping gear- a Cars sleeping bag and a Toy Story chair. He is so excited and wants to lay in his sleeping bag all the time or sit in his chair. He collects some of his cars and then asks me to come and get in his camping bed and play cars. He also loves his campfire chair, that's what he calls it. He loves to sit in it with his sippy cup and just talk.

Reading books with Pama in his campfire chair.

Playing with his trucks in his camping bed.

6.1.10- 2.8 years old

Smile

These pictures were taken over a week ago, but I am just now getting the chance to add them on here. Ava's 1st smiles! 16 days old and so happy! She is now 25 days old and loves to be held all the time, but doesn't like to be moved from person to person. She loves to be swaddled, always wants her mommy, loves to sleep during the day in her boppy or swing, still wears preemie and newborn clothes, and projectile vomits all the time. Loves kisses and cuddles from Andrew, is so much more alert and awake during the day, is super gassy, likes her pacifier but doesn't need it to sleep, is a great eater, and moves her head towards your voice. She still only wakes up once in the night to eat, but sometimes wakes up more if she is gassy....for the most part she is a good night sleeper. I complete adore her!

5.30.2010- 16 days old

Brother/Sister LOVE

I love watching my 2 kids together. It brings me so much joy to see how much they already love each other. I pray that they continue to have a close relationship as they grow older. Andrew is extremely sweet to Ava. He is always concerned if she cries and wants to immediately comfort her with a hug or kiss. He always wants to know where she is and wants to make sure she comes with us if we leave the house. Ava already loves her big brother. She tolerates all of the smothering and loves to cuddle with Andrew. When Andrew goes to bed at night he always wants Ava to come to his room so he can give her a kiss and say goodnight. When he wakes up in the morning he always asks for Ava. I LOVE my kids!

5.15.10- Andrew bringing Ava the doll he got her because she is crying. He kept saying, "it's okay Abba."

5.25.10- Andrew wanted to cuddle with Ava and play cars. So cute!

5.24.10- Kisses....Ava gets a lot of kisses from her big brother.

5.27.10

5.28.10- This is our mornings. Andrew and Ava cuddle and watch cartoons in our bed while I get ready for the day.

5.31.10

2 weeks

Ava had her 2 week doctor appointment yesterday and I can't believe how much she's grown! She's now 7 lbs 11oz (25%), 20 1/4 inches long (40%), and her head is 35 1/2 cm (30%). She's gained almost a pound in 2 weeks...I was shocked! She's a great eater, eating every 3 hours, but pukes a lot. So I thought that she probably wasn't getting a ton of food since she's always throwing up, but that doesn't seem to be the case. She's growing just perfectly. The doctor said that everything looks great and we go back in 6 weeks for her 2 month check up. I can't believe 2 weeks has already passed. We are slowly getting into a routine with 2, but it is a lot harder to get out the door than it used to be. Andrew is still adjusting and has good and bad days. He's still really sweet with Ava just seems to take it out on me the most. Nate went back to work at his office, but is still really flexible and sticks around the house in the morning (as much as he can) to help me out. I'm so blessed to have an amazing husband who is always willing to bring me Starbucks when I'm tired, help me make dinner, play with the kids, go to Gymboree class with us, and many other things. I LOVE my family of 4!

5.30.2010- 16 days old

1st bottle

Ava had another one of her firsts....her first bottle! She did great and latched on right away. Daddy really enjoyed the bonding time with his little girl and Ava kept looking at him like you aren't mommy! She drank her whole bottle 3.5oz and seemed to be satisfied. Andrew had his 1st bottle at only 8 days old, but I didn't get around to giving Ava her's until she was 17 days. Time just seemed to slip away from me!

May 31, 2010- 17 days old

An afternoon at the spa!

Last week my mom called to see if I wanted to go get a pedicure. Of course I wanted to, but I had to work out all the logistics of a babysitter for Andrew, feeding schedule for Ava and I really wasn't ready to leave Ava yet. So my mom called the spa and I was lucky enough to get bring her along! It was her 1st of many spa days! Nathan was able to work from home while Andrew napped, so my mom, Ava and myself took a few hours and went to the spa near my house. It was so nice to be pampered for a bit and sit and relax. Ava slept through the whole thing and was just perfect! Thank you mom for the pedicure! I hope to have many more Mommy/Daughter days at the spa with my sweet little girl.

5.28.2010- 2 weeks old

1st bath at home

Ava had her first bath last Wednesday and she did great. Of course Andrew was very excited to help with the process and kept telling us that his bath was upstairs and showed us Ava's bath which was the little tub they gave us at the hospital. We thought that since she was so small we'd just use that until she gets big enough to use the baby tub. She loved when we put her in the warm water and only cried when we took her out. She definitely likes to be all cuddled up and warm! We let her have her pacifier during bath time which I think helped her from crying.

5.26.2010- 12 days old