this is off-topic of ava. I know, bear with me. but it is so good I had to share. I check this mom's blog a couple times a week (SHE'S BRILLIANT WITH HER BAKING!) and got some really good ideas for ava's birthday cake(s)/cupcakes that I'm planning to bake myself (once we fix our oven). anyway, check this out: CINNAMON STEAMERS http://www.tongue-n-cheeky.com/2009/09/cinnamon-spice-and-apples-are-nice.html

it's SO simple and delicious. here is the excerpt on the Cinnamon Steamers that I'm referring to, tried first hand tonight and can almost TASTE winter and christmas and all the goodness that comes with that time of year (my FAVORITE time of year)!

Cinnamon Steamers
Drizzly days notoriously invite a warm book and a hot read.
Spice up your regular rainy-day routine with this simple, succulent beverage.
4 cups milk
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon extract
Dash of cinnamon
In a medium saucepan, mix all ingredients and heat just until steaming. Do not allow to boil. Serve in mugs topped with whipped cream or a sprinkling of cinnamon.

*I threw in there some white chocolate chips while I was heating the milk so they melted in and that was devine. not called for in the above, but certainly an added bonus*

**important to note: it's imperative that you use cinnamon extract, not only cinnamon spice. makes all the difference in the world**

and no, mine did not turn out that pretty. so rather than trying to come up with a competitive picture, I'll just borrow hers.

reminiscing...

do YOU remember what you were doing on 12/1/08 for 13 straight hours? I do. and I got to thinking today more about when we want to have baby #2. NOT anytime soon...no worries. But I was just thinking of our family and our future and what that might look like.

and then, it hit me. baby #1 weighed 10lb 2oz. usually babies get bigger as they go. and I was 3 days early! good gosh what's going to happen to me when it's time to deliver baby #2?! what if we happen to have 3? or 4? (just kidding.) but SERIOUSLY! what the HECK am I gonna do? I love our baby girl, and I definitely want her to have sibling(s), but I'm pretty much scared to death to deliver another baby! especially when, yes, TECHNICALLY I had an epidural but when it still literally feels like you can feel EVERYTHING, back labor included, and rolling over to stand on your knees and elbows doesn't relieve the pressure nor is it any fun at all while having contractions, and all you can think about is getting thru the next 45 seconds, I'm not super excited about pushing another 10lb+ (albeit bundle of joy) weight out. then again, I wouldn't vote for a c-section either. SO. that's where I'm at. thankfully I'm not pregnant again (yet) so that it's not like the count-down has begun or anything.

just voicing my thoughts and insecurities and HUGE FEARS. I mean, yes, we did set the record @ st. lukes east for the biggest V birth thus far at their hospital. so that's saying something. but I definitely don't feel the need to break that record now either.

regardless, I wouldn't change a dang thing.

I feel like she's saying "what? you DON'T eat like this? what's wrong with you?"

here, she is content in knowing she already successfully has her daddy wrapped around her finger. and the next 16 years of her life are going to be a breeze because of it.

and here? well we just read tonight about Joseph and his beautiful colored coat that his father gave to him. we read that his brothers hated him and he still continued to love them and forgive them even after they tried to have him killed. we learned that God has bigger plans than us all, and God follows thru. we wondered aloud what God's plans are for ava. and here, well she might just be wandering the same thing, too.

2009 apple picking that could have been...had there been any apples.
but that never stops anyone from having fun as long as you can take PICTURES!!

fun times included: sam, me & aves; b, k, c & j schultz; matt, jodi & john turnbough

WE LOVE FALL!!!

I don't write nearly enough about the rest of our family. they play very intricate and key roles, though thru-out the mundane-ness of life we just brush them aside. they bring us much joy and laughter, frustration and worry, and mostly smiles.

rexy is our almost 3-year old yellow lab-mix-runt, and jaxon is our 5 year old (russian blue maybe?) cat.

I adopted jaxon back in august of 2004 when he was only 6 weeks old. he was at the Independence Animal Shelter. he was crazy in the cage with his brothers & sisters, literally climbing sideways on the bars of the front door to their seemingly unappealing jail-cell. I was single, living at home, and thought this kitten would make for just the right companion. and so he did. he is still crazy, or spastic might be a better word, but he still loves to snuggle. and his belly is tickelish. my mom got to the shelter before me, and I remember distinctly her saying 'there is one cat that you definitely do NOT want'... :) meet jaxon.

and then there's rexy. T-rex. sexy rexy. REX! (when he's in trouble). sam and I got rexy our first christmas that we were married, december 25, 2006. he was about 8 weeks old. he (& 2 others who were adopted later by a neighbor & a friend) followed my brother's dog home and my mom found them. she called us, we came right over. sam already had his name picked out before we saw any of them. and they've been best friends ever since.

they're both good with ava, but we're also over-protective parents still super cautious with our 9-month-old baby girl so they don't get too many opportunities to knock her over. when she's strong enough to hold her own better then we'll let her give 'em hell. but until then, we mainly stay between the dog & her. don't get me wrong, he loves her (and her cheerios!), he's just a loose cannon when the cat is out too. all sanity goes out the window when this dog's personal chew toy comes running in the room. she loves jaxon though. he's pretty patient with her, for about 2 seconds. then he bounces about 20 feet away until she follows. he's quickly learning that she's picking up speed.

and jaxon's only saving grace right now is that baby gate at the top of the stairs that the dog has to sit behind while ava is practicing her mobile skills. who knows what happens during the day when we're at work and they both have free reign of the house. they somehow must have acclimated to each other when we're gone because usually nothing is broken and neither are dead when we return home at night. but it's like the second I walk in the house the dog feels the need to prove his dominance and the cat's head goes in his mouth. no joke.

but today, they're both alive so all is well :)

TEETHING

I was going thru ava's pictures last night and found several that had something strickingly in common. I think it's safe to say that she's teething...

here are some of the teeth-soothers that she's most fond of~
her paci, her shampoo lid, and her swing tray:

a plastic egg, a purple lid, and the same purple lid again:

people, people and more little people:

her bath tub, a block letter book, and that same purple lid:

more people, a toy bus, and a hard hat:

her bath tub again, another block book, and a green plastic thing:

I hope for her sake these are helping because she's sure working hard at getting these teeth to come in!!

have you noticed on the left side of my blog the "my honey-do's list"? for a while now there has been a 'making ava a quilt' note on there. feat accomplished! no thanks to me though...this is ALL in thanks to my mom. and I love it. and her. this was our project for ava that she successfully put together. THANKS MOM!

the center square is her name, AVA MAE. then in each corner are her nicknames that we toss around all the time. those include: Little. Skinny Minnie. Sugar Plum. & Love Bug. and the colors are nothing that coincide with her room, but I love the girlie-ness of it and the softness. it's perfect for her. the backside of the quilt, though you can't see it, is super-soft white goodness. I might need to ask for a large version of it for myself :) (just kidding mom) but really, it's great.

and as for the rolled-up blue jeans? they're definitely size 18 months. they're too big. but not TOO too big, they have a tightening string thing on the inside, and really I like the cuffs at the bottom, and what drives me CRAZY are highwaters. so much so that I'd obviously rather dress my daughter in too-big-of-pants than the size 9 month that fit her around the waiste with the cute princess crown on the butt because they're already starting to ride up around her ankles. and, that drives me crazy. I hope that doesn't do some kind of negative, reverse psychology on her so that some day all she wears are clothes that are baggie and always too big on her. not that there's anything wrong with that...

yes, her new favorite thing is to get UNDER her farm toy, not play in it. playing IN the toy like it was made for is SO for babies...she's a big girl...

...and yes she is rockin' a leopard-print-fur-vest.

while I'm busy at work, ava stays busy, busy, busy herself. while I'm emailing, faxing, calling, and more emailing, she is discovering, trying, climbing, learning, and practicing at little life. she is looking in the cord hole from the outside of my desk in, so I heard her laughing, I look under my desk (where my knees are) and sure enough she just thought that was the funniest thing. It's such a blessing learning her personality, even if she does end up being a little dorky :)

9 MONTHS OLD!

I still don't see how it's possible. and wouldn't you know, you'd think I would've taken a picture of her today to celebrate this big birthday, but as it turns out, it's 9:05pm, she's asleep, we're in bed, and the camera is in the car. It's just gonna have to stay there tonight.

so in lieu of my laziness...here's a pic of our little love bug before she was 9 months old. before crawling, before 2 teeth (which include knawing on the crib), before eating solid foods, and before pulling up to everything possible. I miss her tiny-ness. (if you consider 10lb 2oz tiny...but it IS tiny compared to 22.5 lb 9 month old.)