Sugar High!!!

My husband, Danny, for the last 5 months has been organizing a benefit for my father-in-law. I thought it would be great to make a lot of cupcakes and cakes to sell at the bake sale. I do pride myself in being a pretty good cook, but I am definitely not a baker!! I don't know what I was thinking. Thank goodness my mom came over to help me frost everything. I think we ended up frosting 6 cakes and 10 dozen cupcakes. Oh, I almost forgot my second "helper".


Somehow Ava could sense when we were frosting with a different kind of frosting. She would come running into the kitchen, and sit on her chair waiting for me to put some frosting on her spoon.















Here she is doing her "pirate".... "arrrrrrrr"
















It was hard work, but she was an excellent taste tester.

Relay for Life

This was Ava's second time going to the Relay for Life. It was so exciting to see her little eyes light up when she saw all of the luminaries glowing bright in the night sky. It was a great time to remember all of the people I love who lost their battle.
Uncle Spike: would always bribe me with candy to go places with him.
Papa: he is my "dad". He was the goofiest guy I have ever met. One comical memory I will never forget involved fire and the loss of hair. He just got back from the hospital getting his cataract removed. He had to wear this great big patch over his eye. He was in the kitchen and went to lite his cigarette. The next thing I heard was a yelp. I peeked into the kitchen, and I saw a burst of flames coming off of his face. He grabbed the patch from his eye and threw it into the sink. He started laughing so hard. When I looked at him to access the damage, I saw that he had burnt both of his eyebrows off and singed part of his hair. He asks, "do you think your grandma will notice?" Needless to say, she definitely did.

Miss Olivia "Liv": I truly love this girl like she is my own. I have so many great memories of her. It has been a rough road recovering from her loss. I still have a hard time talking about her except to certain people. Whenever I think of her, I smile and am warm from the inside out.

Then I got a chance to honor those who won against cancer or who are still fighting the fight.
Grammy: she has been cancer free for some time now, but she had a long battle that she almost lost. She is one of the people that I look up to the most and who I am most like- for the good and the bad :(.

My father-in - law/ ava's grandpa: he had his last chemo treatment a couple of months ago, and is doing fabulous. At first, the odds were pretty much stacked against him, but he sure is making some headway. My husband's side of the family are unfortunately not very spiritual people. I remember standing in the kitchen one day with just myself and my FIL. He was saying how excited he was to have a "second chance". I said, "isn't it amazing what prayers can do?" He started crying and said simply, "yes it is." He is a great grandpa to ava, and she loves him dearly.

Here are just a few pics from the night.


Here are all of the kids playing in the tent. Ava's relay for life shirt was huge, but cute none the less. She was trying to help my sister, Laney, with her DS game. In the back are ava's cousins Evan and her "uncle" Jack. The three older ones spent the night, but I thought Ava was a little young yet. Maybe next year, maybe :)








This next picture I'm sure goes against some sort of child labor law. Every tent at the relay had things to raise money towards the walk. Ours was "pickle on a stick". The kids in our family love them, and they are exactly what the name implies, a huge pickle on a stick. All of the kids had their own billboards that got to wear as they walked the track. Call me partial, but I thought Ava was the cutest in hers. We did sell quite a few, but Ava ate at least four that night.










Here was Liv's light. Of course it had to be decorated with Barney. Her bag really stuck out of the hundreds that were there. Hers was the only one with a picture on it. As Ava said "that's Angel Liv's light".














You can barely see, but Ava decorated this bag with her fine artistic abilities.

















Papa's favorite color was blue. Mom and I are always searching the stores for blue flowers to put on his grave. I never knew how hard it was to find blue flowers that aren't awful looking.





























It was a great night for the relay. Our family plans to be in it next year and will be there year after year until we find a cure. Sending love, hugs, and kisses to all our angels in Heaven and here on Earth.

xoxoxoxo

Slacker!!!!

Ok, so I've kind of slacked off on the whole blogging thing. Well, we have been pretty busy around here, thankfully, with mostly fun stuff. Since we have done so much, I'll try to catch up. So, last week Ava and I spent the day with Julie and the kids. Can I just tell you how much I truly love this family?! We spent the day at the zoo, water area, and the children's museum. It seemed like the children's museum was the biggest hit.

Ava has been loving driving things along roads and tracks.



Here are Ava's little hands.








Ava and Brooklyn driving the tractor.










My little Picasso
















notice the blue paint on her head?


Tada!!!! Truly a masterpiece :)

Have you checked your weight today?

well, I did- at least in gallons of milk. Ava and I got to spend the day with the Chatterton family. More of that adventure is to follow, but I had to tell you about "my weight". Now what woman would actually tell everyone her weight? Let's just say that only one other person knows how many gallons of milk I weigh. I would like to lose a gallon a gallon or two :)

Look away weak of heart or stomach!!!

If you skipped over the title, here's one final warning for you. If you are easily grossed out, this isn't the post to be reading.
Ok, I just had to do a post to celebrate what a big girl Ava is. She "poopyed" in the potty for the first time today. She has been doing an ok job "pee peeing" in the potty but never number 2. For the longest time, she hides somewhere, and then you hear her grunting and her face turns bright red. Well today, I caught her mid hide, and we ran to the potty. She did her thing, and I was so proud of her. I promise a less gross post next time.

my real job

I thought this was toooo cute not to post. Yesterday I was watching a tv program watching a mom buy things she would need for her first baby, and the mom was saying how expensive a baby is, amen sister!! Anyways, my youngest sister, who is 8 years old, was watching with me. She asked me, "how did you get all of that stuff for Ava"
me- "I bought it at stores"
Laney- "how did you pay for all of it?"
me- "with money"- what has this girl been paying attention to in her 8 years worth of shopping?
Laney- "how do you get the money?"
me-"I get my money from working in the hospital"
Laney- funny/confused look
me-"why did you think I work so much?"
Laney-"well, to save lives" :)

For a moment I was speechless. I never thought of it that way. Don't I have the greatest job ever!!! I get to make money while having the pleasure to save lives everyday!!!

Fun at Fondulac Farm Park

As most of you know, I am a PICU nurse. The majority of "our kids" have heart defects. Sometimes, these kids have to stay in the hospital for a very long time. The hospital staff becomes their families and, in return, these families are forever a part of our lives. Such is the case with little Olivia. I could go on and on about how this one little girl has made such a huge impact on my life. About a month ago, Liv became one of God's most treasured angels. I have to admit, her loss has really left me with a heavy heart. Even though Livs is gone, I am still very close with her family, especially her mom, Julie. We went on our first play date at Fondulac Farm Park. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures with Julie or the kids, because my forever energized 2 year old kept my mom and I on the run.
Here's a picture of my mom with Ava at the park. Ava tried to be brave enough to touch a horse, but I don't think she ever ended up getting to pet it. Maybe next time, tootsie!!

4th of july pictures

Here's Miss Ava getting all ready to walk to the park to watch her first ever fireworks.












She did such a great job sitting on my lap. Of course it didn't hurt that Ava's "Aunt" Joy brought along some yummy cupcakes.
It also helps that Ava's daddy gave her some glow in the dark necklaces.

yay, fireworks!!

Well, Ava went to her first fireworks. I was kind of nervous about her first experience, because she doesn't like loud noises, but she did great. The fireworks started, and she said "fireworks, neat!!" Of course it didn't hurt that she got to watch the show with a cupcake, marshmallows, and popcorn. I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Newbie on the block!!

Okay, so I'm trying this new blog thing out. I'll have to admit that I have become addicted to following fellow bloggers, and I would like to give it a whirl. Since I'm slacking in keeping up with Ava's baby book, maybe this will just be her "virtual" baby book :).