Even More...

Emma and Ava wore their Air Force Princess shirts yesterday. They looked pretty cute all dressed alike. As you can see by most of the pictures, Ava loves to create some special outfits of her own.

Here she is trying on Emma's ballet slippers.

Emma headed to the ballet with her best friend Ella. Thanks to Juliet, Ella's mom, for taking them to see the ballet while I stayed home with Ava. They had a great time!

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Emma mixing her paint to come up with some pretty cool colors. This girl is so creative and loves art of any kind!

Ava looking for one of the many bunnies that live in and around our back yard. She loves putting carrots around the yard in all of the bunny holes.

Having fun on the slide.

The girls with their swim gear on. I took Emma and Ava to the spray park the other day, but the water was FREEZING! We didn't stay very long. I think they will really enjoy it with the water and temperature outside heats up a bit.

What a cute face!

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Emma and Scott's mom, Grams, opening one of Emma's graduation presents. We were so happy that Scott's parents could be here for Emma's ballet recital and her kindergarten graduation. Their help and company were priceless to us while Scott is gone to training.

Scott got to come home on Memorial Day weekend and we celebrated my birthday and our 13th Anniversary. He also brought home his new toy, the Wii Fit and he and Emma had fun hitting the virtual ski slopes!

Ava in her half cheer leader, half ballerina outfit.

Where's the bird? Dher, Dher...

Ava loves painting on our back patio. Here, she is sporting her cheer leading top and head band around her waist.

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Yes, We are Still Here!

Hi Everyone. My apologies for not posting until now. I barely have time to check my email, let alone post anything on our blog. Scott's parents are here this week to meet Ava for the first time and also to come for Emma's ballet recital and kindergarten graduation. I am so happy they are here for a visit. It is nice to have some adult company and some help with the girls. Scott has been gone for one month now, only 2 1/2 more to go! In the mean time, the girls and I will pack up the house hold goods and move to Kansas around the first part of July. My mom and Paige will come out here mid-June to help with the girls while I deal with the movers--thank goodness!!! Scott can't miss class, so their help will be priceless!

Emma's ballet recital was awesome!!! She did so well and is looking forward to finding a new ballet school in Wichita. She graduates from kindergarten tomorrow afternoon. She has to recite a poem and informed me this morning that she is very nervous because there will be a lot of people there. I plan on videoing everything so Scott can watch it when he gets home. Emma has had a great year and has done so well with the kindergarten program. She is looking forward to her new elementary school in Kansas too! Everything will be new, even her house!

Ava continues to do very well adjusting here at home. She is still throwing up a couple of times per week. Unfortunately we do not know why. She seems to feel just fine, eats well, and is full of energy. We cannot pin point any one food that aggrevates her system either. We will find a gastro specialist once we get to Wichita and get to the bottom of this. We found out that she is allergic to sunscreen, so we are searching for something that she can tolerate without breaking out into a rash. She was running a fever all day yesterday, but is just fine today. She is walking better also--just needs more practice and I think she will be fine. Here are some quick things about Ava:

--She is a great sleeper now! She loves going to bed in her crib every night and sleeps all night--no crying at bedtime. Just a happy girl that gives kisses good night and falls asleep by herself--AMEN!!! She still only takes a short nap, but hey, at least she's great at night!!!

--Ava loves her sister Emma, but is ready to defend herself and claim her territory in a split second. She can be pretty mean to Emma--hitting, spitting, and now pinching. We are working on this!!! Last night she pinched me too!!! She can also be really sweet giving Emma hugs and kisses and playing chase, painting the sidewalk, and taking a baths.

--Ava will put herself in time out--too funny. She knows my tone of voice when I am not happy and I will say, "do you want to go to time out?". She will shake her head no, and then go sit against the wall. I try not to crack up, but it's so funny to see. This time out thing seems to work for discipline for her. She doesn't like it, so most of the time she will stop her bad behavior if I threaten time out.

--Ava loves water--drinking it, bathing in it, swimming in it, splashing in it--you name it, she LOVES water.

--Ava is very friendly and goes to everyone. Her new favorite person is my father-in-law, Papa. She will even call him Papa. Of course, he's in heaven right now with this little girl giving him this attention.

--Ava is very independent. She wants to dress herself, feed herself, brush her teeth, comb her hair. She loves to throw away her dirty diapers, trash, etc. She wants to put her milk cup in the fridge by herself. Sometimes it's easier to do it myself, but she doesn't want me to--very stubborn, this one.

--She is picking up the language very quickly and seems to understand most of what we say to her. She said, "I love You" today.

Here are some recent photos of the girls. Enjoy.

Gene

A Lot Going On Here!

Well, Scott has been gone for a couple of weeks now and we are settling into a routine. Emma is getting ready for her ballet recital and kindergarten graduation! Ava is continuing to adjust to our life here at home with very little problems. She wants to do everything Emma does and have everything Emma has, so the sibling rivalry has begun!

Ava hasn't had any "episodes" or thrown up in about a week--record so far for us :). She just got over a green nose and now she has a rash on her cheeks, neck, and behind her ears. I have been treating it like eczema or dry skin, but who knows what it is? It could be a reaction to her vaccinations or a virus. If it is not better in a few days, then we will go back to the doctor. Everything is so new to her, so she is like a newborn and her system is adjusting to everything. Unfortunately her liver enzyme test came back elevated, so we have to repeat her blood work next month. The doctor said it could be anything, so don't panic yet and too bring her in earlier if she starts to look jaundice.

The last bit of news of that we bought a house sight, unseen! Scott went to Wichita a couple of weekends ago to check out some neighborhoods, schools, and houses. He found a few prospects, but nothing we just had to jump on. Our realtor called us this past Tuesday and said that a house popped up on the MLS and it was a bargain. She went to look at it for us and said that it wouldn't last until the end of the day. I was on the phone with her while she toured the house and she described everything to me. She emailed us some photos and info and said not to waste too much time thinking about it--it was the deal of the century. It just so happened that the couple selling the house are Chinese and were being sent back to China by their company. They also wanted to close the exact same day that we did! Their company is paying to relocate them, so they are selling the house and all the furniture well below market value. I made the offer on the spot and they accepted! We are nervous, but our realtor assures us that we got an awesome deal. She was happy that she beat all of her other realtor buddies to the deal too. I guess the market is so down now that the competition is fierce. We have to paint the inside of house, but other than that it is right along the lines of our taste and style. The colors are a little bright for us :).

More soon...here are some photos for your enjoyment.