FUN IN THE SUN!

When it's hot out, and even when it's not, Ava likes to eat these mini-ice cubes that we make. probably not good for her little kid teeth, but good for her happiness and helps keep her cool in the summer so we do it anyway.

Dear 4 years ago:

How the heck did you fly by so fast?! 

4 years ago today I became Mrs. Sam Lane. 

4 years ago I married my very best friend. 

And 4 years ago I can honestly say was the best day of my life. 

(and now I know you might be thinking - but Jami, what about when ava was born?  and any mom's out there can tell you that birthing a child in-and-of-itself makes it not the best day.  best addition to your family - yes.  best day - no.  the thing is, I used to actually think that - that the day my kids were born would tie with my wedding day as my best day.  but back then, I had no idea what birthing a child actually meant.  boy was I an idiot.) 

Happy anniversary baby.  I love you.

And now, four beautiful, messy years later:

and just for fun every year I wear my fancy wedding earrings no matter where we go.  this year we went to Cafe Verona. 

maybe last year too come to think of it...

Mainly I do it because they're my favorite and they're one of those things that makes you feel pretty simply by wearing them.  sounds dumb and superficial, I know.  but I'm just being real.

PIANO MOVING 101:

1. purchase piano

2. bribe strong men with food

3. done

we are happy girls in our home!!!  I've been waiting since Friday to post this post!  thanks to a strong and willing husband (who goes along with my crazy ideas!) and strong familiy/friends, and tacos!: 

thanks SO much to my husband (Sam), my dad (Jim), my brother-in-law (Nathan), my cousin (Erv), and two good friends Chris and Kevin.  THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MOVING MY PIANO!  We apprecaite it so much, really!!

Ava's 1st piano!

Ava and her grandma playing the piano

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She's warming up to the ivories!

 

I started taking piano when I was 5-ish and played until at least 18.  Ava hasn't quite turned two yet, but I figure it's never too soon, right?  AND - it was $50.  Yep.  $50.  Craigslist baby.  And other than those crazy craigslist killers out there, craigslist is a beautiful thing!

next project: paint the piano bench and ask my mom to refinish the top cause this thing doesn't match at all!

Ava is a working girl.  she works and works.  she has many work stations.  this one is mobile, it's just a yellow chair and she will stand next to me while I work at the computer.

this is a little kid-sized desk, as I'm sure you could tell by the picture.  this is where she writes with her pencil, and sometimes colors with crayons.  except when she got in trouble for coloring on the trash can...but that could've been much worse.

and here at home is where she gets serious about her crayons. she has a Pooh coloring book and conveniently plenty of pooh animals to look at so we get our colors right.  AND a great one-of-a-kind piece of pottery from my uncle in TX.  it's perfect for her colors!

   

   

   

this is somewhat of a back-dated post...ava was lucky to spend a little time with her two boy cousins sam & joel this past weekend.  we went to a little store called bass pro, maybe you've heard of it?  GREAT outdoor park and trail for kids and dogs alike.

 

and...comletely unrelated: here is the product of our latest project - we stained our deck!  it's was my husband's motivation that led to it, and my dad's power-washer that made it possible.  it feels good to have done it ourselves. 

just another day in paradise

If I were a "tweeter", I would tweet this: my daughter has been taking a nap since 8:30am.  It's 4:00pm.  that's a 7.5 hour nap.  I've checked on her twice to make sure she's okay and each time she's been in a new sleeping position.  maybe she is growing. 

as a general rule, she is awake for 2-3 hours and then goes to sleep.  It's like she's reverting to her infant days. 

...maybe I should ask my dr. brother if I should be worried...but I really think she is okay, she's not lethargic or anything during the day.  she plays and plays, she eats and eats, and is a super happy kiddo. 

ah-ha -- it's like she knew I was talking about her...there she is now crying her little wake-up cry.  I love her.