She's 9 Months Old

For Her Daddy

On Father's Day we celebrated one of the greatest men I know: my Husband! And just to show how much I love him, I bought an entire case of Code Red just for him. I did it willingly too.
And then we made sure we remembered to honor our fathers...

Man of mine, whatever I call you, you are the best.
Hubs
Honey
Hunk
Darling

I must be honest.
Sometimes I call you weird,
strange,
funny,
goofball,
ornery.

But you wouldn't be the man I love if you were without quirks.

And Ava wouldn't have the fun daddy she does if you were perfect, serious, boring, and always stoic.

I'm glad for your funny side.
I'm also glad for the side of you that reads Scripture, that prays, that seeks the Lord.
You are setting an example for your family that is irreplaceable by any other person.
Thank you.

Thank you not only for being a wonderful daddy, but a wonderful husband.
I don't know what I would do without you.
Forever and Always, Darling.


P.S. I think when Ava wakes up with bedhead she looks more like you than ever.

Thank you for being such a wonderful daddy to our little girl.

Moving....

It was a lot of work, but we still had fun.

So many friends and family members that came over the course of 3 days to help us move out of our apartment into our fabulous house.

"I tried to be good, but I got bored". Yes, brother dear, that is probably true.

It was a lot of fun.

It was a lot of hard work too.
Moving the piano proved funny, even though these guys were breaking their backs over it. Between the piano and our hide-a-bed, I'm glad they still consider us friends.

They even managed to have fun while moving that heavy piano!

They filled the Living Room,
and the kitchen (although I had a lot of kitchen things put away in fairly short order),

and the Family Room,

and the Sun Room,

and the Guest Room,

and the Master Bedroom.

Even the upstairs bathroom got stuff put in it.
And, well, the basement was full too.
How did that all fit in our apartment? Maybe that's why it always felt so cramped.

And somewhere in the midst of it all, they found time to play with the baby!

P.S. That bathroom has been undergoing changes....
I'll keep you posted.

Thank you to my sister for taking all these photos for me. I never would have gotten such great shots, and I appreciate you taking the time!

Ava--8 1/2 months

She tells really big stories.

Her hair is pretty much awesome. (And I can't get enough of those big baby blues!)

Some days she is miserable with these teeth trying to come in.

She loves her tongue.

She also loves to use her hands.

I took Ava's "8 Month Official Photo" this evening. Yes, she is almost 9 months old. And no, she was not thrilled about my photo taking decision.
In fact, she was downright upset about it.

Then I got a tentative smile. Yes, she has drool all over her face. Cute, I know. :)

After that first smile, it was an "Oooohh, camera!" moment. A very long, very silly moment.

Like the tongue? It's her newest trick. I think it's pretty hilarious.

Master Bedroom

Did you know Walmart will re-sell their mistinted paint? Granted, it's still $7 a pop, but for some gorgeous tan to freshen up the master bedroom, it's totally worth it.

Then today I went garage saling, and at the first of 6 sales I picked these up. The label cracked me up. I thought, "Okay, so they want 1 for $3 or both for $6. That would make more sense if they wanted both for $5."
As it was, the lady took $4 for both of them. Score!
Gorgeous metal, black with light bronze highlights.
The shades are not so nice.

A trip to Menard's yielded these shades for $8.99 each:

Grab some CFL bulbs from the stash out of our apartment, and VOILA! Gorgeous bedside lamps for roughly $11 apiece. Thank you, Lord, for providing this little want in such a generous way!

I'm being very honest about what our bed looks like. Hey, at least it's clean laundry!

The next step is to paint that wall around the window, and see where the paint goes from there.

Darling Girl...

You have the coolest hair ever! I love how you let me comb it, and play with it. It's getting long, and almost in your eyes, but it is so fine that it doesn't want to stay clipped back. Maybe your daddy and Aunt Lori have hit on the solution: spiking it!

You love helping daddy with projects! You are very good at telling him how to put things together. And he loves your company.

Baby girl, your smile lights up my day! I love playing with you, and being your mommy!

Thank you for letting me cuddle you when your teething hurts.
I love how you say mama!
You have the funniest voices...how do you come up with those??
Your growls will make Grampa K. proud.
How do you need 12 month shirts and yet your waist still fits 3 month pants? Your long legs make it hard to find bottoms that fit you.
You are timid about crawling. It's kind of funny when you walk forward on your hands and then get stuck.
Baby, when you cry and say "mama" in the saddest voice my heart just melts and all I want to do is hold you.
Your laugh is the best!
I love how I can put applesauce with just about anything and you'll eat it, but not plain.
Does chicken with sweet potatoes really taste good? You love it, but I haven't had the stomach to try it.
Thank you for being my shopping buddy. It's nice that daddy has you to talk to and doesn't have to look at clothes and makeup too.
Be patient, and believe me that just because mommy and daddy have it doesn't mean you have to.
I love how you enjoy pulling things out of your toy basket. Now, let's learn how to put them back in, okay?

"I'll love you forever, and like you for always."