A Stroll in the Park

This is the last post, I promise! I had a lot of catching up to do! The day after Christmas we decided to take Ava to a nearby park so she could get out and get some fresh air. She was getting a little bored being cooped up in the house. Even though it was chilly, we still had fun playing on the playground. We all got coffee and hot chocolate and made it a family event! Here are some pictures from our trip to the park.

Swinging with her daddy
Crawling through the fish tunnel

Grandaddy "Longlegs"

Aunt Smo

Good Friends, Good Times

While in KY, me and my girlfriends from high school got together for a small Christmas celebration. Some of the other girls have kids too, so we brought them all along...I have to say the girls are dominating...my friend Kristen is the only one with a little boy. Here are just a few pictures from the get together. I wish I could have gotten more, but it was a little crazy with all the kiddos running around. Ava got to see my best friend, Kendra, and it was so much fun getting to catch up. Kendra and I have been friends since I was in 8th grade (1997)! I wish she lived closer so we could hang out together more often, but it's always a good time when we get together. Miss you, Kenny!

Me, Ava, and Kendra

Me, Ava, Laura and Avery (Ava and Avery are about 2 weeks apart)

Christmas Part 2

We drove back from KY on Christmas day to go spend the rest of it with Grandaddy, Nana, and Aunt Alyssa. We loved being able to spend Christmas day with both sides of grandparents. We had so much fun hanging out, opening gifts, and relaxing with you guys after a long drive home. You guys helped make Ava's first Christmas so great and we were able to capture so many pictures of her first Christmas that we will be able to share with her years down the road.

Grandaddy, Nana, Alyssa, and Ashley-thanks for all you do, it really means a lot to Gabe and me. We are so happy to have such a loving family in our lives and I love seeing the smile on Ava's face because she knows how loved she is by all of you!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas....

And that's just what we got! For Ava's first Christmas, we had snow, I couldn't believe it! I don't remember the last time I have seen it snow on Christmas. It will be something to remember for years and years to come.

Ava got so many nice toys and clothes for Christmas, we had a car load coming back from KY and then went right back around to Jerry and Dianna's and filled up another car load. Ava loves all her toys and plays with them every night. Here are some pictures from our Christmas in KY with Grandpa and Grammy Guthrie and Aunt Brittany.

To Grandpa, Grammy, and Brittany-what a wonderful Christmas it was with lots of memories, thank you for everything, we love you more than you will ever know! Thanks for helping make Ava's first Christmas to amazing!

Ava playing with her new toy
Trying out her sippy cup
Bath time is always a hit!

Hanging with Grandpa

Sitting pretty in her elf outfit (thanks Pops and Gigi)

Ready to open presents

Looking out at all the white snow

Taking a break from unwrapping all her gifts

Family pic

Family Pic # 2 in the snow

All the girls

Kelly and Kaytryn come to visit

We were so happy to see Kelly and Kaytryn for Christmas. We were unable to get up to Louisville for the holidays this year so Kelly and Kaytryn came down to visit for a couple of days and we had so much fun. Ava loves visitors and these two are always so much fun to be around. They got to watch Ava all day on the Wednesday before Christmas. They ate lunch at the Silver Caboose in Collierville and Ava loved eating her mashed potatoes with gravy! Here are some pictures of their visit.

Kelly and Kaytryn-thanks so much for coming to Collierville, you guys always bring so many great laughs. You are both so very sweet and we wish we could see you guys more often!

Kaytryn, Kelly, and Ava

Loves to laugh :)

Kaytryn, Kelly, and Gabe

Kelly feeding Kaytryn her bottle

Reindeer Games

Well, this month has been very busy with work, Christmas shopping, traveling, and the holidays, but it has been a wonderful month with lots of fun family time. Ava's great grandparents, Pops and Gigi came to visit us in Memphis the week before Christmas, so Ava got to spend some quality time with them. Here are a few funny pictures of Ava trying to grab a reindeer hat off of Charlie's head. She couldn't decide if she wanted his glasses or his hat more, but it was so funny how determined she was to get at least one of them in her possession. Pops and Gigi-Thanks for visiting and thanks for all the wonderful Christmas gifts, we had so much fun and we love everything! We are so blessed to have you both in our lives!

Playing with her toys

Grabbing for the reindeer hat...
Almost got it...
Mission...Accomplished!
Ava hanging out with her Great Grandpa

BATH TIME!

Ava is now able to sit up in the bath tub and enjoy her bath toys. I still have to hold her arm so she doesn't slip and fall over. One thing is for sure, this girl loves her bath time! When she is not in the bath tub, she wants to stand up 95% of the time. But, when she is in the bath tub and I try to stand her up, she will not do it.

Thanksgiving 2010

We had a busy Thanksgiving this year! We traveled to Russellville to visit my family for a couple days then went on to Louisville to see Gabe's extended family. We had a great time seeing everyone and ate lots of great food! Ava did so good on the road, I was actually surprised. She is starting to do better with the carseat and doesn't cry as much as she used to when she has to ride in it.

While in Russellville, we ate a big meal on Thanksgiving and then went to Bowling Green on Friday to shop a little and eat a nice lunch with my family before we drove up to Louisville. We were going to try and visit Santa at the local mall, but Ava was passed out by the time we got there and there was no way she was going to wake up!

Once we got to Louisville, Kelly, Mark, and Kaytryn and Mike, Susie and the boys stopped by on Friday night to hang out with Ava and play some games. On Saturday, we had a nice dinner with Mark, Brenda, and the gang before we had to hit the road. Here are a few pictures from Ava's 1st Thanksgiving.

One of Ava's many faces...

Already shopping the sale papers :)

Ava and her aunt Brittany

Ava loves her Grandpa

Family Pic

Ava's New Toy (thanks to her great grandparents!)

Kaytryn, Ava, and Kelly

Jane, Ava, and Charlie

Ava is already learning how to play the piano

My happy girl!

Standing Tall