{home improvement} Ava's Room!

Ava's new room is just about done! We still have a few more things to hang and move the rest of her clothes in but it's pretty much finished. We love how it came out and Ava seems to really like it too! We used a lot of the stuff from her old room and, of course, some new stuff too! I'll post some more detail shots later---I just had to take some pictures while it was clean and Ava was somewhat out of the way :)

looking in
{we hung the paper lanters to hide the ugly light in the room until we get a new one}

reading nook

more books & coat hook

her sleep tight sign is above the closet

signs by her bed

hook for her purses
{yes that is my first coach purse I let Ava borrow---let's face it with 2 kids there is no way I'm going out with just that any time soon :) }

shelves
Ava picked out the bird house and fence for her room

silly girl

comfy bed!
{yes there is a bed rail on the bed---it's just tucked away for picture sake}

24 week appointment

I had my 24 week appointment today for baby bean! Everything looks great! Ava got to come with me and wasn't too sure what to think about mama being at the doctor. She thought I was absolutely crazy for peeing in a cup. She kept saying "mama, no pee in da cup! Pee in potty". Poor kid will probably never drink apple juice from a cup now :) She got lots of attention from everyone & was really good. She seemed to like hearing the baby's heartbeat {so did I!} Other than coming down with a cold/allergies, I'm feeling great. My dr put me on some medication for the heartburn and I go back again in 4 weeks for the glucose test. I also signed off on my VBAC form just stating that I knew the risks. We still have the original c-section scheduled so we'll see what happens! Last night I started with my sciatic nerve pain---I forgot how much that hurts! Hopefully bean will not settle on that nerve like his sister did for the last 6 weeks of pregnancy :)

go, fight, win!

A HUGE good luck goes out to my dad {aka grandpa} who is starting his radiation treatment today. Not that you need it {because you will beat this} but we're thinking about you and praying for you!
GOOD LUCK!! We love you lots! :) Now go kick some cancer ass!

guilt

I'm sure all working moms experience some kind of guilt from leaving their kids {although I fully admit there are mornings where I don't mind dropping her off at school for a while :) } Ava's been really into asking where we go during the day, why we work etc. Yesterday, Ava told me three times: "I no like when mama work" with the saddest face ever. Talk about guilt! Granted she has a blast during school with her friends but it doesn't make it easier hearing her say that. She doesn't seem to mind when dada works because {in her words} "dada make money for mama shopping!" She learns quickly!
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We've been hitting a ton of traffic lately in the drive into work. It doesn't matter if it is 6:30 am or 8am, we always hit traffic. Monday was really bad and Ava kept asking why we stopped. After telling her there are cars in front of us, Ava said " 'scuse me, cars, 'scuse me!" Oh I wish it was that easy! :)

what a difference...

Watching her play at her kitchen today made me realize just how big she is getting! Look at the difference from Christmas! She can reach the top and everything {not to mention all the hair she has!} She is just growing up way too fast!

today:

Christmas 2008:

what weekend?

These weekends go by way too fast! Saturday, nana & papa came over to finish the baby's room and paint the living room, kitchen & hall. It looks great! We just have some decorating to do but it looks so much better! On Saturday I was asked to present for infant sign language at an open house my company was having. Unfortunately people didn't show up so I didn't have to present. I felt bad for the people hosting but didn't mind getting paid and doing a little shopping for me :) {I finally found maternity jeans that fit and are comfortable!} After heading home, Ava and I spent some time outside so everyone could finish painting.

me & bean

Sunday was full of laundry, cleaning, more painting & errands. Ava was so helpful loading the washer and collecting laundry for me. We headed out to do some food shopping and Ava insisted on taking her purse and paying. By paying I mean holding up the ridiculously busy line at BJs so she could put her paint chips on the scanner. The man behind us, who she asked if that was her dada, was thrilled I'm sure. At least I had a happy toddler considering we had been out for almost 2 hours. We, of course, watched the Pats and were thrilled with the win. They are almost back to their old selves. The painting is finally done and the house is somewhat back in order. We had the chance to organize Ava's playroom. It looks great right now but we'll see what it looks like by Wednesday! Papa put up shelves in Ava's room and we just have a few more things to hang in there before that is done. We're slowly getting there!

breakfast at the Florest household

serving mama

Ava painting

we could totally hire her but I'm not sure of the results!

helping dada put together her new shelf

my little cheerleader. on the phone. hello teen years!

cleaning because the "floor messy mama" Thanks, Ava

finally napping so we could clean

her playroom {it won't look like this for long!}

new shelves, table & chairs, babies & Little People
I'm planning on framing some of her art work to display

her kitchen has never been this organized and
I think we have all the pieces. in the kitchen. at one time. unreal! :)

we love the new shelves! I got pink for Ava, blue for bean and green for misc stuff but Ava has since taken over all the colors. Sorry, bean.

sadly this isn't even all the art supplies but at least most of them are in one place
{this is in the garage right outside the door---easy access without having to worry about some one coloring on surfaces other than paper}

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

painting

What we were up to today:






more pictures & updates to come tomorrow :)

TWENTY-THREE {monthly update}

The last monthly update for Ms. Ava as a one year old! It's hard to believe she is going to be two in a month. I'm not sure where these past 23 months have gone! She is adding more and more words every day. I love hearing her talk and hearing her tell me about her day or her version of something. We usually go the same way to work every day which includes an on ramp a few miles from our house. One weekend we were going to the shops just past the on ramp. As we stopped at the light, she pointed to the ramp and said "that way, mama, that way!" Who knew she really paid attention everyday! She loves telling us which way to go when on a walk or in the car and if you tell her you are going a different way she tells you "I no like that way". She sings all the time and mixes songs together to form her own "thumbkin/bus/baa baa/itsy bitsy/twinkle twinkle" mix. She just adores books still and loves being read to and loves reading to us too. Ava counts up to 10 in her own way---sometimes she gets all the numbers and other times she will skip over a few but always remembers TEN! She knows all the colors except for orange---I think it is tough to say. She finally got pink down {yay!} and has to point out every color she sees.

Ava's moved on to the "why" stage now. So everything is met with a "why?...why?" I feel like there is just so much she wants to know and asks a million questions a day. She always wants to know "where that car go? nana night night? we go in mama's car? fry day today? dada go to work?" It's cute watching her comprehend all the day to day activities and you better have an answer for her because she won't stop asking until you answer her :) Some of her favorite things to say are "almost" "not yet" and "one/two more". If you ask her if she is all done she'll say "almost" or "not yet" . She'll ask us "almost done, mama?" or tell someone she is "almost two". She always asks for "one more" or "two more" of something and holds up the corresponding fingers. She makes it hard to say no! Ava uses "excuse me" "please" and "thank you" on a regular basis which is nice to have some manners counteract those tantrums :) She's gotten a lot better about using her words and knowing that we don't give her attention when she whines. Granted she still whines or cries for something but when we tell her to put her tears away and use her words, she normally does and we all have a little more sanity!

Ava loves her shoes and taking them off and putting them back on. She hates shoe shopping but loves having shoes to try on. She does really well putting them back on but sometimes she'll get out of the car with her shoes on the wrong feet and down one sock. She's getting opinionated about what she wears so we give her choices between 2 shirts or 2 pants and have her pick out her shoes. She knows what she likes. Her babies are still her all time favorite toys. They are part of all kinds of stories she creates about them which is so cute. She always has a baby and a wipe/cloth in her hand to wash the baby or use as a blanket. Ava loves painting and doing all kinds of art projects. I just organized all our art stuff into one area that she can pick stuff out.

Ava is into paying now when we go shopping {not with her money of course} It's cute watching her hand over the money and collect her money {paint chips} in her purse. She always asks to go "shopping in mama's car" I can't imagine where she got that from! :) She's fully into her big girl room and loves it! We're so glad she had an easy time with the transition. I love being able to snuggle with her while reading stories and before bed---it's a nice way to unwind.

Happy 23 months baby girl! We love you!

some pictures from today:

munchkins!

new letters!

Here's what I was working on while Ms Ava napped on Wednesday:

new wall letters!

I saw these on etsy for $20 each letter! I figured I could try to make them myself and did for about $5 total. Not too bad. I think they are pretty cute and were so easy to make. I still have to attach the ribbon and the pins that I made but they should be up on the wall soon!

Now if bean had a definite name I could get started on his :)