Fall is in the Air

With daytime temperatures <100 degrees, it is officially fall in Arizona. While it means that it is too cold to go swimming, on the plus side we we have plenty of outdoor time now. Ava loves going for rides in her wagon, or playing on the playground, or just sitting in the grass.
Some mornings are still a bit chilly when we take the dog for a walk, but Ava seems happy with her hoodie on…

Although she would rather walk than ride in the stroller….
Fall also means football season. Our gym does Monday Night Football happy hours with some appetizers and drinks. Ava loves going to these to see other kids and to be social. Last time we took advantage of an open squash court to let Ava do some roaming.
Here’s Ava, managing to snack and play at the same time…

Coming for the camera man….
Back towards the gym….
Uh-oh, we’re low on snacks!
Ava also had her 15 month checkup today. She got another round of vaccinations (she only cried a little bit) and is doing great!
We’re all looking forward to Halloween this weekend – a birthday party and a Halloween party, and Ava gets to go trick-or-treating for the first time!

Long (Beach) Weekend

While it wasn’t a long weekend (unfortunately), we did head to Long Beach for the weekend. Mo and our neighbors Mike and Sarah ran the Long Beach 1/2 Marathon on Sunday. We did a quick trip, leaving on Saturday morning and getting back Sunday evening. Driving. With 2 little girls. Let’s just say that won’t be happening too often.

Here are the girls happy at the start of the adventure.

Ava was all about partaking in the carbo loading dinner the night before. 

Mo, Mike, and Sarah the morning of the race.

Ava and Sophie were happy to hang out with me at the hotel for a while. Ava is into a “hugging” phase. Here she is with a little dolly.

And with a bigger (live) dolly aka Sophie.

After the run we met up with Mo’s aunt and uncle, Loma and Simon.  Ava had fun running around the patio.

Always ready to entertain, Ava decided to be the nun for the day.

And of course after seeing the photos, Chase wanted to get in on it as well.

The kids were great travelers –  it was a lot of fun, just packed into a short time period. Next time we’ll enjoy California a bit more…

Fall is in the Air

Its (finally) starting to feel like autumn here in Arizona – or at least less like summer. With cool(er) evenings we can eat outside again and keep the windows open at night.

When Ava and Mo were in Minnesota last month they managed to take some photos with pumpkins. Without any further ado, here’s the cutie showing off…

 

Ava also managed to find a new friend with a little kitten….although she definitely likes dogs better!

 

Ava still loves her popsicles. She’s been getting a few more lately to help with her teething (she’s cutting her first molars now). Clearly she’s not the most adept at keeping all of it in her mouth … in fact she seems to relish in getting it around her whole face.

And if anyone asks if she’s a “good eater” all we have to do is show this – she is licking melted part off of her tray…

Ava is anxiously counting down the days until she can wear her Halloween costume….until then, we’ll try to get a few more swims in while the weather is warm….

Dad’s Little Helper

We decided to get our floors redone – replacing the laminate (aka Pergo) with some tile. The night before the work was to start, we had to get all of the furniture off the floor. Of course Ava was there every step of the way ready to help out.

Ava was perfect at helping to disassemble the furniture – although the tools ended up a bit “drooly” after she handled them.

When it came to moving furniture, Ava was equally helpful. Below is a video of her helping to push some furniture into the other room….

From AvaHighlights

She’s a perfect supervisor for the workers too – she loves watching them put the tile down.

Let’s hope she is equally helpful when we put everything back!

Fall in Minnesota

Ava and I decided to take advantage of some frequent flier mileage to see Pops and Neenee for a long weekend in Minnesota. Ava’s mobility, and the new puppy, have made it fun to keep up with all of the activity. Although trying to get a decent photo of a quick 14 month old and a 4 month old puppy is nearly impossible…
Ava loves the railing to help her cruise around the upstairs…. although from some perspectives it looks like she is in “baby jail”.  Check out the “baby proofing boards along the balcony.

Here’s Ava on center stage in the kitchen, relieving a little teething soreness…

Ava also loves Pops’ sheepskin rug – soft and fuzzy, what’s not to love?
Perfect for rolling around in…
With the cooler temperatures, Ava loves being able to play outside on the deck. She’s even learning how to do “yard work”. Here she is practicing with the lawnmower…

And of course she did have to show some home team spirit for the football game.

Cutest Viking fan ever!?!?

Mo’s Birthday Surprise

Mo reminded me that I forgot a post about her birthday. This is the big one – you know, the big 4-0.  She started to expect a surprise, so that made it even harder to pull off. I enlisted the help of some of our friends to pull it off.
We planned a night out (without the kids) for our friend Mike’s birthday (which happens to really be a week before Mo’s). When we got to the sushi restaurant, we had to entice Mo out back, where she was surprised by about 10 of our friends. Let’s just say that Mo didn’t think I could pull of a surprise – but that she was happy that we managed to!
Here’s the crew all lined up…

Mo with her “fab at 40” gear.

With Renee.
With fellow planner, Sarah.
Chilling with sushi.
Happy birthday Mo!

Having a Ball on Labor Day Weekend

When she’s not busy walking or jabbering away, Ava is filling her day with having fun. She loves to sit on the office chairs and spin around…with a ball of course…

Here she is in the play room (the room formerly known as the living room) pulling all her books off the shelf.

 

She loves the farm animals and always asks to hear more of the “Old MacDonald” song.

She loves playing with her house – especially now that she is taller and more is at her eye level.

And when she starts to get tired, she climbs into her little green chair to take a rest.

All that playing works up an appetite. Luckily we had some homemade yogurt popsicles for her. Which she loves!

Last night we went to John and Renee’s for a Labor Day BBQ. Ava loved showing off her walking and her new dress… 

For the last day of the long weekend, we took Ava to the nearby aquatic center. She loved the lazy river, but was too small for the water slide. We managed to get these photos of her on the splash pad…

  

 

Next year she’ll have even more fun at the aquatic center when she can splash even more!