Just a few more things...

So I know that my blog entries have been few and far between. So this post is just a filler of all of the little things I haven't really been adding. Our little family has been doing great. Life is still keeping us so busy. Ava is just as sweet as ever. Here are my new favorite things she is saying now- "Mamma you so pretty!" (You'd think I pay my kid to give me compliments, but she just says it on her own. It is so cute. It also means she has an amazing Dad who teaches her ways to be sweet to Mommy) Whenever I get home from work, the grocery store, or even just the bathroom, Ava will run up to me and say "I miss you Mommy!" I love it. It is enough to make any mother's heart smile. She is also speaking in full sentences now. It's so cute. She loves to say, "Look at me, Mommy" and "What happened?" I think the funniest is when she sees me and Chad kissing, she'll say "Whatchya doing?" She's even started asking "Why?" over and over and over again...I didn't think that started so early. So I guess the point I'm trying to make is that she talks NON-STOP and I love every little word that comes out of her mouth. I'm relieved that Fall is coming because it is my FAVORITE season and it's been a really hot summer. But we have had a blast this summer! Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to- camping with our favorites Kevin and Corinne, hiking, and more zoo.

July 2009!

This month has been crazy. My friends keep politely reminding me that I am such a slacker on my blog...Sorry girls! But here is a little overview of this past month. It has flown by and I can't even believe that it's already August. July began with a little road trip to St. George. My sister Jill who lives in Vegas drove up and met us there. My mom and dad drove and Chad and Ava and I hitched a ride with them. Jill and my mom and I went to the temple and did a session together while the boys took the kids swimming at the hotel. (Thanks Leslie!!) We took the kids swimming and had a blast down there. Tylee and Ava are best friends. They held hands everywhere they went and they cried whenever they weren't together. It was so good to see Jill and her kids. The rest of the month was full of another trip to the zoo, more baseball games, swimming and lots of walks to the park, BBQ's at Becky's and movies and shopping. Jill came up again last week and it was fun to have her here again. Then this past week I was able to go to Girls Camp!!! I'm in the YW presidency in our ward and our girls are amazing. I loved every minute of it! But by the end of the week I was so ready to come home and take a shower. Bless the girls for hanging out with me when I looked like I did... I love them all!

Summertime at the Talbots

Summertime means barbecues, baseball games, swimming and late nights visiting on the porch with family. Our sweet Ava is loving the summer. She is already more tan than I am. She is dressing herself everyday (mostly in dresses...). She usually doesn't match, but we love her all the same. We just embrace her own little sense of fashion. Here are some cute pictures of a rainy summer here at our house. Note- Ava really does pick out her own clothes- literally!

FLORIDA!!

Chad and I had one crazy month this June! Every week was just PACKED with so much going on. We LOVE the summer time and are definitely taking advantage of this warm weather. Along with swimming, hiking and playing at the park, Chad and I were able to take a little vacation to Orlando. Chad's really good friend Matt was married in Florida a few weeks ago, so we went to support Matt and Mallary. Of course, the perks of going to Florida were well worth the trip! We had a BLAST! It was an amazing getaway for me and Chad. We started in Orlando and went up the coast. We stopped in Cocoa Beach, Daytona Beach and Jacksonville. Chad and I traveled pretty chill. We just took it a day at a time and booked our hotels along the way wherever we wanted to stop for a night. Most of our hotels were right on the beach, so we lucked out! We were so happy with everywhere we ended up. We were feeling pretty spontaneous and crazy by our lack of planning but we loved every minute of it.It just added to the excitement! There was plenty of night swimming (the hotel pools were all open 24 hours a day) and amazing sunsets.Florida is beautiful. It was so green and the trees were so dense. We loved it there. Along with all of the beaches and relaxing, the wedding was beautiful and the reception was so much fun! It went way too fast. But we went without Ava, so it was very nice to come home to our baby. We missed her so much! We are grateful for Lisa (Chad's mom) who took really good care of her while we were gone. So here are some pics of our little trip.

A Blog-Worthy Note

So Ava, being a brand new 2 year old, has to grow out of the baby stage. I think that this was a harder thing for me than for Ava, but we have finally weened her off of her binky. This was a very hard task for me. It was almost hard for me to admit that she isn't a baby anymore. I love that she is growing up and I'm embracing her toddler stage, but she is such a big girl now. I'm learning at a very early age that our babies grow up faster than I'm able to keep up with. I just love her and I'm very proud that she has now been without her binky for one week! Way to go Ava!

Ava Turns Two

So our little girl turned 2 last week. Wow. Seriously- Two years old?!? We can't believe our little baby is so big now. Here are just a few of her accomplishments she has mastered by age 2 and her favorite things:

*She can say a full prayer all by herself
*She can sing several songs (word for word!!) Her favorites are "I love to see the temple" "Twinkle twinkle little star" "ABC's" every single song from Enchanted, etc.
*She can count to 14 all by herself
*Her favorite food is Macaroni and Cheese (preferably Spongebob shaped)
*Her favorite show to watch is Dora the Explorer
*She loves to hug and kiss
*She LOVES animals
*She loves swimming and being outside
*Her mommy and daddy are wrapped around her finger

For her birthday we went to the zoo and had a little pool party with a few of her friends. Here are some pictures!
Happy Birthday Ava. We love you more than you'll ever know. You make our hearts so happy and we'd be lost without you.

Tulips!

Jake and Amanda invited us to go with them to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point with them today. I've never been, but I have always wanted to go. Since I've been down here for a good three and half years now, I decided it was time to go check it out. It was well worth the trip. The landscaping and the flowers were amazing! It was so much fun to just go walk around and enjoy the amazing scenery. Ava of course loved being outside and smelling all of the flowers. My favorite part was this "secret garden" area that was so much fun. You had to go through a vine tunnel and through this rustic door into a little secluded garden area. I loved it! The only down-side to the secret garden was that there was a beautiful fountain right in the middle. Ava assumed it was a bath tub and started stripping down begging to get in the tubby....She had her shoes kicked off and her jacket off before Chad and I even realized what she was doing. There was a small scene trying to get her dressed again and out of the secret garden, but it was fun anyway. Here are a few pictures of our little day out!
P.S. Notice Ava's Dora shoes. You will probably not see another picture of her without them. She will not take them off. They are part of the family. When she was looking at these pictures, she pointed out Daddy, Mommy, Ava, Dora and Boots....one happy family. All 5 of us!

Triathlons, Dora and the Croup

Ok so with this post I'm not even sure where to start. The past week and a half have been completely consumed at our house with a sick little girl, training for a triathlon, and accepting Dora the Explorer into our home. As you can see from the picture posted, Chad competed in his first triathlon!!! I was so proud of him. My dad kind of roped him into doing the Orem City Tri with him so he wouldn't have to do it alone. Chad is pretty athletic, so he rose to the occasion. Although he is naturally active, he has not really worked out or exercised much in the past few years. Needless to say, he had a lot of catching up to do. He was such a trooper. Chad would go running or biking every morning and then go to the gym every night to swim. He did awesome! For having started training just a few weeks before the triathlon even took place, he came in 15th out of 28 in his age group and 107th out of over 300 over all. I was just impressed he finished at all. And not only that, but he beat my dad and his dad (who also decided to join in the exercise fun)! So I'm happy and excited for Chad to get into this. Not only is it a super healthy thing for him to be doing, but he absolutely loved doing it. He's already looking forward to his next tri in June! p.s. I take awful action photos. Sorry Chad!






Ava has had croup for almost two weeks. It has truly been an awful 10 days. I don't mean to complain or sound negative, but I just can't sugar-coat this one. It's been terrible. Ava didn't sleep at all, which means Chad and I didn't sleep at all. Her fever was seldom below 103 degrees and on top of all that, she has been very very fussy. I don't blame her- I know it's not her fault, but it gets very hard to handle for that long. On top of everything, with Chad's busy work schedule and training, we didn't see much of him last week which was hard for me to help Ava by myself. I think I get a little needy when I worry about Ava so much. Anyway, I'm HAPPY to report that she is doing much better. After a few doctor visits and a shot in the back side, Ava is doing well.


My last note really quick is that I completely caved this week. I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep or I just felt bad for Ava, but she loves Dora the Explorer. LOVES her. I don't really mind her on TV, but I vowed I would never be one of those moms who dressed their kids in SpongeBob or Minnie Mouse or Winnie the Pooh. (No offense to you moms that do, I get it now! And I'm sorry!) I have just always felt that it totally and completely lacks any sense of style or fashion. Needless to say, I get it now. Ava found these pink and purple croc-style shoes with Dora and Boots on top of them. She saw them at Target and wouldn't let them go. She took off her own shoes and put on the Dora shoes. I couldn't get them away from her. So I did what any exhausted, worn out, tired and loving mother would do- I bought her the Dora shoes (which were on clearance for $4). She wears them everywhere- church, around the house and even to bed. I'm just glad it makes her happy!