Visiting the Farm for F Week

This post is weeks behind, but I lost my pics so it has taken me awhile to get this all together.  Our good friend Angel, from my mom2mom group, set up a tour with a local organic farm and we all got to take our kids and walk the tour.  I was extremely interested in all the farmer had to say and I loved the activities for the kids. 

The first thing he took us to see was what he called, the maternity ward.  It was mommy cows that were either VERY pregnant or had just given birth.  There was one that had given birth that day walking around.

This was the picture of the mommy that had delivered. The kids were quite intrigued.  Then the farmer went in and brought out one of the babies, so the kids could pet it and see it up closer.

Then we headed on our way up to the chicken and turkey coops.  They showed us how they moved the crates three times a day so the animals could graze on the grass.  The kids loved the chickens.  Then we headed over to the chickens that lay eggs for us to eat.  The farmer allowed the kids to reach in and help collect the eggs from the chickens nests and place them in the basket.  This was a definitely a favorite activity. 

Needless to say, there were a few eggs broken, but overall the kids did pretty well.  It was a little harder getting Christian to be gentle.  I guess he thought they were not too fragile.

Here they were more interested in the cat under the car, than in anything else.  They did have fun though and we learned alot.  AT the end they gave each of us some sample Raw Milk to try.  Christian drank it right up.

Day Out With Thomas - 2010

A very good friend of mine called and invited Christian and I to accompany Herself and her little boy, Angel, to go see the real Thomas the Train.  Her husband had won four free tickets and she thought this would be a great day for us to get out and spend some time with our boys.  Sort of a date out with our little guys.  I immediately agreed to this, knowing this would be as exciting to see Christian's face when he saw Thomas as it was to see Ava see Cinderella for the first time.  I couldn't wait.  Micah was sad he couldn't go but glad Christian was getting the opportunity.  :)
So, Thursday night we dropped Ava off at Grandma and Pappy's house and left to go home with Christian.  He was so sad and quietly pouted the entire way home.  He was trying so hard not to let us see him with tears in his eyes, but he was sad he didn't get to spend the night at Grandma and Pappy's too.  We tried to explain to him, but he didn't understand.

The next morning, the first thing he said to me was, "go see Big Thomas day?"  He was holding me accountable.  We hopped in the car and drove to Carlisle to pick up Rosita and Angel.  When we got to Rosita's, while we were strapping the boys seats in and getting ready to go, they were talking to each other about seeing real Thomas.  They were so excited.  They kept laughing and talking about Choo-choos. 

Yes he was in a pink seat, I had to use Ava's.  He wasn't too upset, he was off to see Thomas.  :)

When we finally arrived, we were walking across the parking lot the first time Christian and Angle spotted Thomas.  They were in amazement. They both stopped in their tracks and stared, with gaping mouths.  They were pointing and just staring.  I don't think either of them expected Thomas to be so big and so REAL.  :)  They wouldn't even smile for a picture because they were in shock and still staring.

First real glimpse of Thomas.  Stopped him dead in his tracks.

Christian and his friend Angel, both Thomas the Train Fans.  They were completely in Aww, there was the real Thomas. 

We headed on down to the track, following the signs guiding us to the Thomas Station.  First of all, the amount of little boys there was incredible and just breath taking.  Their were little boys everywhere and they were all in their glory.  Literally like Disney for the girls.  So crazy.

Here we were watching Thomas go by while standing at the crossing.  The kids were closer this time and still in aww.  Look at their faces.  The parents are pretty funny too as they are almost as excited as the kids.



We found out the kids had so many activities they could do while spending our day there.  They had a big white tent with TONS of Thomas products, including puzzles, train sets, flags, hats, shirts, sweatshirts, and so much more.  In fact, I am not sure I knew they even made so many Thomas things.  It was crazy and like a small section of Heaven for these two little boys. They were running around exclaiming the whole time, "I want that!!" or "I get this for my birday?" and so on. Needless to say, we didn't get to spend a ton of time there since it was hard to keep them on task. :)

The boys trying on their Thomas Hats.

Then we headed over to get in line for our big ride with Thomas.  The boys had to stand in line, but they were not at all upset.  They got to watch Thomas and Christian kept waving and Yelling, "HI Thomas!!" 

As we waited in line.  The cool thing was we were close to the train, so we could just watch it go by.  The boys liked waving at the people on the train.

Finally Thomas pulled up an it was our time to board the train.  We were the third car back and what exciting times to get on a real Train. The boys again could hardly contain themselves.  They were waving out the window and waving at each other. 

There he Is, coming up the Track.

Here they are entering a real train for the first time. 

They can hear Thomas' whistle. 

Me and My little Man.  What a nice train cabin we were in.

Getting ready for the highly anticipated ride to begin.

After the Train ride, we headed up to the front of the train where we could get our picture taken with Thomas himself.  You couldn't wipe the smile off Christian's face. 

A few more pics of Thomas the Train in real life.

Christian posing with the conductor for a quick picture.

Christian and Angel saying goodbye to Thomas as he was heading in for the day.  His last ride had just finished.  They were waving away. 

One of the fun activities they had for the kids that was included in the ticket. . . Crank Cars.  You used your arms to make it move around the little track.  The boys really liked this game.  We did this numerous times.

They had lots of tables set up for all the boys to play on.  This was under another tent and the kids loved going from table to table to play. 

The boys chose Choo-choo whistles as their souvenirs and we heard them all the way home from Lancaster.  Or at least until they finally conked out. 

I love this picture.  It sums it all up.  We had a Fabulous Day Out with Thomas!!

 

Pennsylvania: Life experiences inspire Heart Walk participants

Pennsylvania: Life experiences inspire Heart Walk participants

Energetically Experiencing Letter E Week

We started out Letter E week with making our own Egg Sandwiches.  I allowed the kids to crack their own Eggs and then scramble the Egg Whites and Yolks.  I am pretty sure they got a bit more on their hands and clothes than in the pan, but they had fun doing this activity.  We actually ended up having Eggs most mornings for Breakfast this week.  We had dippy eggs, egg sandwiches, and scrambled eggs. 

Yummy!!!  They loved their sandwiches that they made themselves.

We also decided to Entertain our Friend Erin Berry with a Princess Tea Party.  The kids had fun eating with her and drinking their tea.  Erin even brought Ava a Princess Tiara for the party. 

We also decided to make Letter E Elephants with eyes and tusks.  This was a bit hard and needed some assistance with the glue, but they were very Excited!!

Ava got her first Eye Exam at the doctors office and we talked about eyes and why we need them and what they do.  We took walks for exercise and did some other Exercise activities.    We also sang a song called, "One Enormous Elephant, marching down the street.  Two large Ears and four big Feet.  He passed a friend, who wasn't afraid to join a friend and form a parade.  Two Enormous Elephants marching down the street. . . ." and you can add from there.

One of the fun crafts we did was The Eye Dropper Filter painting job.  We laid coffee filters down and then used Eye Droppers to drop colored water on the filters.  When they dried, we made them into flowers along with Pipe Cleaners and then Encouraged Aunty One-L with them. 

By the End of E week, the kids were really good at writing the Capital Letter E.  We also worked with Easter Eggs, and discussed how to Encourage someone and Entertain someone.  We learned some cute Elephant poems and songs and sang them while we danced around like Elephants.  We also talked about the story of Adam and Eve and how Eve ate the Fruit and got kicked out of Eden.  The other Bible Story we focused on was Esther and her Bravery.

RIP Little Blue Honda Civic

Well, yesterday as Micah was driving to work, the little blue 1992 Honda Civic decided to make that it's last trip.  The steam started rolling out from under the hood and the temperature gauge was pinned to the top.  Thanks to God's continual blessings, he was able to make it to the parking lot at work.  Diagnosis was a cracked radiator. Repairs would have exceeded the benefit of keeping the car.  The car was towed to a junk yard later that afternoon and we said our final goodbyes. 

Micah's goal was to reach 300,000 miles, and from the below picture you can see the final tally.  (294,685)

This little car was the first car I ever owned.  Micah bought it for me the month before we got married, Feb. 2002.  This car has been through alot with us and has given us a great 8.5 years.  With the good gas mileage and the hour comute to work, we saved a pile of money on gas.

A shout out to my hubby who ran the vehicle with no working radio, no airconditioner and no dash lights for the past three years.  This was all while communting an hour each way to work every day. I don't know how he did it, and I am pretty sure it is why he talks to himself on a regular basis.  :)  I am sure Jeff, Johnny, and Nate got pretty sick of Micah's continual desire to talk on the Nextel 2-way.  :) Oh, and we must not forget the deer that literally ran into the car, causing some duct tape to be what held the headlight in place for the last few months. 


This car has seen many places including, trips to Canada for The Falls, New York for Weddings, North Carolina for Visits,  Georgia for Softball Tournaments, Tioga County for many Hunting Trips, Frederick for Work, and many others.  Fun times were had and memories were made.

Micah starts a new job, a new chapter, in his life, next week.  We look at as though the car was saying goodbye because it had done its part and now it was time to move on.   Sad to see it go, but grateful for all the many times it came through for us. RIP little Blue Honda Civic. . .we won't really miss you all that much, but you will always be a good memory.

Some Final Little Stories from the Past for My Enjoyment

Ava thinks we are being robbed. . . .by Michelle Bumbaugh on Thursday, September 10, 2009 at 10:37am


How do you explain to a little girl that comcast on Demand will no longer be with us. We have had On Demand for a year, which in turn means Caulliou, Dragon Tales, Dora, Diego, and so on. Children love watching whatever they are in the mood for, and as parents it is nice to use that sometimes. So, we decided to get rid of comcast on Demand and they are cutting us off today. Last night Micah was trying to explain this to Ava, so he informed her that a guy was coming to take our "dragon tales" and other shows away. Of course, she was asking WHY and so finally he just told her that other little girls and boys didn't have this T.V. so he was giving it to them. She went to bed alright and this morning she got up and right away said, "Did that man come today to take our movies?" I said yes and then she said, "Mommy, don't let him take my Cinderella movie, it is my favorite" I explained that all our "movies" were staying and then she thought awhile and said, "why can't those boys and girls buy their own dragon tales??" I thought this was funny. Later she asked me if the man was going to take our peaches and our milk and anything else she touched in the house. I guess she thought he was actually coming into the house and taking things. I finally had to sit down and really explain, that it was a man coming to cut a cord, and our shows would go away. I told her she could watch them at Nana's. :)
 
 
Another update on what is going on at our crazy house!!!by Michelle Bumbaugh on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 at 4:10pm


Last week was Ava’s first time at her ‘gymatics’ class as she called it. She was super excited and could not contain herself. She thought that she was such big stuff. Christian was with Micah, so I had Ava by myself and I think I was super excited too. She was so funny. She ran in to the room and said hi to a little girl beside her in her class. They seemed to hit it off pretty well. Funny enough, they won’t let you go and watch the class, so they had this kind of small window that was a mirror you could look in, but they couldn’t look out. There was one mom and I who had our faces plastered to the window the entire time. I loved it, for 50 minutes, I was glued. She will definitely benefit from being in this class, since she has no idea of lines and waiting your turn when in a group. She was so excited, she couldn’t stay seated, so every time the teacher would have them all sit and then he would demonstrate what they were to do, she would bounce right up and start doing it and he would have to come and help her sit down and wait. She was not deterred by any measure. She was tumbling and running backwards and attempting handstands. When the class was over, she came running out and said, “thanks mommy, for bringing me to this, I had so much fun. We did this, and this and . . .” as she started to tumble right there in front of all the craziness. She had fun though. She couldn’t wait to go back. So, today, was a week, and her Aunt Bleppies took her. She was so excited all over again. I guess it was worth the money, cause she is enjoying it so much. Thanks Aunt Bleppies for taking her.
Christian had a few exciting days recently also. I had a day where It was just him and I and we decided to work on potty training. He actually made it two whole days with out wetting his diaper. However, I did have to keep taking him, he didn’t go by himself, but he was holding it and very proud of himself. I finally put him in a pair of boxer briefs, which by the way are the cutest things ever on little boys, and he was doing well. I saw him standing in the kitchen awkwardly, so I checked his pants and they were dry, but a puddle was on the floor. Here, the pee had somehow, missed his boxer briefs almost completely and run down his leg. Only the very bottom of his boxers were a few drops wet. I couldn’t stop laughing at him. Bet he couldn’t do that again if he tried.

 
 
Drippy Eyes by Michelle Bumbaugh on Thursday, July 23, 2009 at 7:45pm


Well, the days have started when my daughter is trying all she can to avoid going to bed. We finally have a good routine going and she usually does pretty well, considering for the first three and a half years of her life, she didn't sleep much at all. So, routine goes as planned on most nights, but last night, we were all very tired. The day had been a long one and I just wanted to go to bed. So, Bath time first, check. Night time snack, check. Then, while I was getting ready to sit down and wind down the kids started playing, and the time flew by. Time for bed, so we tucked them in. First little whimper, "Mommy, you forgot to brush my teeph" I argued that we had brushed them a second time this afternoon and she would be fine, but that didn't work, so we got up and brushed teeth. Tucked in once again, I hear, "Mommy, we didn't do our debotions" I usually read her a Bible story before bed, but I had forgotten. I tried for awhile to get out of this one but the fact was, she has a great memory and I had told her earlier that we would read a story that night.

So, I told her to come get in my bed real quick and I would tell her one. She was all too anxious for that idea. after I finally made it thru the story, she yawned and told me that she "might maybe stay here for a yittle while and then go to her own bed yater." I smiled and rolled over, too tired to fight. Then she said, after yawning, "Mommy, my eyes are so drippy." I was so tired I started to laugh. I said you mean your eyes are watering honey, and she said, "oh, yeah, my eyes are waters and like you when you are sad and your eyes are waters." I asked her if she was sad and she said, "no, that is why they are just drippy." :) How can they always bring a smile to my face. I love my kids

 
Sweet nothings by Christian and Ava by Michelle Bumbaugh on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 10:21pm


Well, things are about as they were last time I wrote, but I do have a few funny stories I thought I would add. Ava is really excited that she is getting a new baby cousin . . .a girl, and though Pap and Bleps already have chosen a name for this little bundle of joy, my daughter has decided they should name her "Sarah" and I think this is pretty funny. She is so sure they will, that she refers to her as Sarah. She also has decided I should have her a baby sister. The other night I was a bit weepy, and sort of cried myself to sleep because i was sad that my kids were growing up so fast. Just a "mom moment" i guess. But, I told her the next day that I was upset and I told her I was having a hard time with her growing up. She said, "but mommy, I want to grow up taller so I can get in the "refriger" and get my own drink. But you can have a sister for me and it will be your new baby and when she grows up, you can have another sister" then I told her I would just wait until she got married and had babies for me to hold. . .she said "I have babies??? IN my belly???, Then if I do, I can tell all the kids to not hit the belly" :) I guess with the recent baby boom, and all the pregnant women around, we have all been telling the young children to watch the bellies. ahhaha. I love how her little mind thinks.
Christian has been so funny lately too, he is learning to roll his eyes, and I think he gets that from his Nana. I love how he also knows what I am telling him, and I know he understands, but he has always gotten away with not listening because we didn't think he did understand. He loves to dance and hum and try to say his ABCs but he sings "A B A B AAAAAA C" He is loving the swimming pool this year and I love how he just floats around and soaks in the sun. I am still so amazed at his chest and how you can't even tell where he was burned. What a miracle. He must have gotten bit by a bug or something the other day, because when we got him out of bed, his eye was swollen almost shut. Micah was so "proud" because he thought Christian looked like Rocky in the movies. DADS!!!

My children remind me everyday how blessed I really am. .. Praise God!!!
 
 
 
 
Another update on my kids – May 2009by Michelle Bumbaugh on Thursday, May 14, 2009 at 2:48pm



Ava is learning about time in reference to days, times, weeks, and stuff like that. So, when we say it rained for forty days and forty nights, while the animals were in the Ark, she assumes that “forty days is the same as two days” she also thinks that things we did a few days ago was “yesterday, when we did that thing” it is funny to hear her reference things, and the time line is so mixed up because she doesn’t have it all figured out yet. She told my dad that we were going on a trip to Hershey Park in two days. . .when I had told her that we were doing so in a few weeks. I think that one was a bit of wishful thinking too. She is learning some of her alphabet and she can write her own name. . .which as we all know “AVA” is such a hard name to write. Now, when Christian can write his name, that will be a victory to me!!! So, I am excited for her though. I asked her what her favorite thing to do with Daddy was and she said “go outside with him” then I asked what her favorite thing that I did with her was and she said, “when we do crafts” I asked her about her nana, and she said “Fills my tummy full with yummy food” and then I asked her about Pappy, “he gives me Peep-peeps and swings with me” (he gets her the Easter Peeps) Then she said “Gandma Bumbaugh makes juice for me and makes me snacks” and “Pappy Bumbaugh takes me outside to see Simba” I thought it was cute that she had a special thing she liked about each person. She is really talking a ton and I love to sit and just listen to her talk, though at times, believe it or not, I can hardly get a word in edgewise.

Christian is doing well. He is in the process of learning to count and he has just recently gotten his shapes and colors down. It is so funny how he says words, but it is so nice. He can mimic anything we say now, but still lots of correcting him on how to say them. He picks a word and runs around saying that word a lot. Like, if I say “Would you guys like some milk” he could run around shaking his head yes, saying, “Some!!!, Some!!!” Like I just offered him the world or something. He is quite funny. Oh, and he is sleeping in his own big boy bed!!!! The transition was so awesome. He was so excited about having a big boy bed, that he just never gets out of it. When we say, it is time for bed. . . he drops whatever he is doing, runs to his room, climbs in his little bed and says “nigh nigh”. We go in and pray with him, but he doesn’t get out of his bed until the next morning when I finally walk back and sit beside his bed and say, okay, you can get out now. Then he asks for oatmeal or “meal!!”. Man, if Ava was even the slightest like that, life would be easy, but she has good things about her personality though too.

Oh, and my favorite thing to close this entry, Christian has his bow and arrows that I mentioned a few entries back. Well, he watches daddy shoot his deer target with his bow, so Micah decided to get the deer out and let Christian shoot at it with his bow. Christian did great. . I heard Micah exclaiming “great job son!!!, you hit him square in the lungs!!” then I heard Micah laugh as he hollered up to me to come see. Here, Christian had thrown his bow down and ran over to the target and gave it a bid hug and kiss. I think he felt bad for shooting it. .. . Now, that is MY son. . . hahahah.



 
When I get taller mommy??by Michelle Bumbaugh on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at 8:51pm


So, yesterday I was shocked by something. . . something happened that made me laugh. I was in the kitchen and Titus, Ava's buddy, was pooping on the potty. Ava had opened the door and was standing there watching him. I walked in and she was telling him that she could wipe him. I told her that she was never to wipe someone else's butt. That it was my job. She said, "when I get taller mommy, can I wipe other people's butt's??" The expression on her face was one of such anticipation, I started to laugh. It was so funny. The things that little ones get excited about. . I remember I couldn't wait to shave my legs, now I hate it. . Though I do do it. ahhah. Just thought this was funny
 
 
 
Christian is growing up fast!!!by Michelle Bumbaugh on Tuesday, April 14, 2009 at 10:23pm

Christian is really starting to get his own personality . . . .lately, there are a lot more “NO” s coming out of his mouth than his father and I would like. When we got to get him out of his crib. . .”no, no, no” when we change his diaper, “no, no, no” and when you tell him to clean up his toys, “no, no, no” As you can imagine, this scenario goes on with just about all we do right now. He is so cute though, and we have to really try hard not to laugh while getting on his case. He is still so much more compliant than his sister and much easier to deal with on certain issues.
Some of his newest developments: He likes to jump around like a frog. . .when you ask him what he is doing, he says “frock” “frock” it is so funny. He got a small toy hand bow for his Easter gift and he loves it. He has always enjoyed watching his daddy shoot his bow off the deck at the deer target and so when he was given his own bow, he was quick to pick it up. He knew exactly what to do. Micah said it was the best day of his life seeing his son shoot his bow. I am not sure at all that that was the best day of my life, but I did think it was so cute. I am going to post a video at some point.
Christian is starting to say more words too. He is a little bit slower with growing and developing, but over the past six months he has come leaps and bounds in my mind. He has a long way to go until he surpasses his sister’s incessant talking, but hey, I am still not sure Ryan ever surpassed my incessant talking, though he is pretty close. J They watch a show called Max and Ruby and in the show it is a little brother Max and his big sister Ruby. She is always bossing little Max around and ‘taking care of him’ or ‘helping him’. This is most definitely a great depiction of Ava. Then there is Max, who walks around saying the same one or two words the entire episode. That is so Christian. No wonder they both love it and they have even sucked their cousin Reece into the show. Now he bugs his mommy for max and Ruby too. When they are all three together, they sometimes pretend they are the “Max and Ruby” Characters. Too cute.
Christian tried it at decorating Eggs for the first time, yeah, maybe we will have better luck next year. . .Hahhaha. He thought they were for throwing. Micah says, “that’s my boy”

Mama's Little Gardener

Mama's little gardenerby Michelle Bumbaugh on Sunday, September 20, 2009 at 1:32pm


The other week, my favorite in-laws brought me flowers to plant in my garden. They were very sweet and did all the work along with me. Ava and Christian were having so much fun spending time "gardening" with their grandparents. After about an hour of watching us, Ava decided to dig her own hole and plant a flower for me. I was watching her while she worked. Here is what I saw. . .

1.) First she dug a hole, but since our soil is so hard and has so many rocks in it, she wasn't able to make the hole very deep at all.

2.) Next she took a plant, some sort of lilly, that had roots on the end of it. she placed it in the hole but it was too tall and kept falling over.

3.) She took clippers and cut off the roots and then threw away the roots and planted the green stem. It was still too tall so she broke more off of the bottom. When she finally got it short enough to stand up right in her small hole, then she smoothed the dirt around it and watered it.



Then she stood up and clapped her hands together to knock off the dirt. Looked at me and said, "there mama, now the flower will grow for you!" It has now died, but she told me it will come back next year. I hope that she forgets about it by then. :)

Just Like My Daddy. . . .

EditJust Like my Daddyby Michelle Bumbaugh on Monday, November 2, 2009 at 9:06am


Christian watches everything we do, like all toddlers, and then tries and mimmick it to a T. I think this is funny usually, and sometimes a tad embarassing. So, the other day my mom called to talk to him on the phone for his birthday. Usually he is a talker on the phone, and he walks around naming everything that he sees. I think he might just be excited to be saying all these words and he thinks whoever is talking to him should be just as excited to hear all the things he says. SO a conversation might be like this. .. .."shoes, Lion King T.V., chocate milk, birthday. . ." and so on. Well, on this day in particular, he was very quiet. I could here Nana talking and he wasn't saying anything. I watched him to see what he was doing. (sidenote, his daddy rubs his belly sometimes while on the phone.) so there Christian was, pulling up his shirt and rubbing his belly while he was pacing. This was such concentration part that he was not able to actually talk and do this at the same time. I guess he already is not a multi tasker. :)

His other thing is he loves to walk around the house and shoot deer with his gun. I guess he listens to al that daddy says too cause when Micah gets home from work, he says, "Daddy shoot deer?" with lots of anticipation. I guess he is destined to be daddy's sidekick in the woods. :)

Van with a Mustache and Ava Crawler

Van with a Mustache


Today Ava and I were out and about, driving in the first snow of the year. I was thinking and not listening as she was talking and talking. All of a sudden, with Exclamation, she got my attention. "MOMMY, that Van has a Mush. . .. .Isn't that so funny, it is a white mush on its face." I looked over and there the van sat with some untouched white snow sitting on the end of the hood, between the headlights. I started laughing as I asked her if she meant "mustache." She agreed that that is what she was saying. It kind of did look like that with the head lights being the eyes and the Grill being the teethy grin.

Introduced to Ava's first Pet - Ava Crawler
 
Ava's first pet. . . .a Catipillar. She found it on Sunday in the afternoon. She put it in a container and put some grass, leaves and sticks, along with a single acorn in the container. She said this was so it could stay "real." I thought all was inocent and sweet. She kept putting it up against her face and saying how soft it was. I asked her what she wanted to name it and she said, "Ava Crawler" so then she continued to take it on a swing ride and a wagon ride. She became very attached to this little baby pet. She wouldn't lay it down all evening, and I think her cousin Reece was a little in wonder at what was so great about this stupid little bug. ..since Ava no longer wanted to play anything else. So finally, when we were getting ready to go home, we told her it was dying and that she needed to do the right thing and let it go. We told her we could come visit next weekend. She shocked us by her eyes filling with real tears and a broken heart. She was inconsolable for 20 minutes, because she didn't want to let her go, but she was sad she was dying. So, we prayed that Ava Crawler would live thru the night. She took her home and before we went to bed, she came out and asked her daddy in a sweet little voice, "daddy, will my Ava Crawler die?" Daddy, being the honest man he is, informed her that yes, it would die if she kept it inside, cause it couldn't live in the container. That was not the answer she was hoping for, so she started to cry, once again her heart had broken. Daddy told her she could still keep Ava crawler. She was so happy. She slept well that night, with Ava Crawler beside her.




The next morning, when I opened her door, she had Ava Crawler in her bed with her. She played with her pet for the entire day. . . and she danced with her, let her crawl all over her and just was so happy that her pet was alive. Everytime she would let it crawl on the ground, Christian would try to stomp it. Such a boy. That was a challenge in itself to keep him from killing her pet. :)



Finally, yesterday, we got up and Ava Crawler was lying on her back, feet in the air. Ava called this her belly. She told me that her pet was not moving and that it was sleeping. Ava Crawler has officially been "sleeping" for more than 24 hours. My mother found another catipillar that looked like Ava Crawler, so we are going to do the switch aroo today. Ava Crawler the second will be entered into a contest on Tuesday. We might win $100 dollars. :) Never thought I would have a bug as a pet in my house. :)

A break to a few of my older blogs from the past.

So, every once in awhile, Ava and I have a "girls' night" and we stay up way past our bedtimes. We stay up until we are giddy and laughing our heads off at dumb things. So, Ava would actually have us do this EVERY night of the week, but I limit it for my sanity purposes. (though, I enjoy these nights very much and I enjoy even more when she sneaks up to me and whispers, "mommy, can we have a girls night tonight??) Most times we make popcorn and watch a movie, but this time we decided play "Princess Memory Game" while having a tea party. We even had chocolate and cheese. :) But, before the night starts, we have to make sure the BOYS are tucked in bed safe and sound. Tonight, Ava was a bit impatient. I heard her tell Christian to follow her, as she lead him back the hall and tucked him in bed. She even kissed him, prayed with him, and turned on his night light. Then she came out and said, "okay, Christian is in bed, now we have to get daddy to go to bed." When I soon went back to check on him, there he lay, tucked in and sleeping away.

Daddy soon followed and the night began. After three games of memory, we sat down and put together her first sort of scrapbook ever. It was a book of all the autographs from all the princesses she saw at Disney. We had so much fun, and now she wants to wake her daddy to show him the book. I told her, that since it was 11:30 at night, she would have to wait until tomorrow.

 

While we were having our night of fun. . . I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up. Her response was, "I want to be your age mommy. . . .I want to be a mommy." That melted my heart and I am so grateful for a little girl that I can share my secrets with. Posted are a few pics of our night.

This was January 14, 2010 - the day my life changed forever.

Ava's Actual Birthday. . . .2010

So, even after all the party fun and all the other activities that were done, we had a few tricks up our sleeves for our little girl.  Monday morning, Labor Day, arrived and we decided to celebrate and sing to Ava.  She is at the age where she really enjoys this and loves all eyes on her.  I had made her a book that was hard backed with pictures of just her.  Then in the back, I wrote her a letter telling her how much I loved her and how much she meant to her daddy and I.  I gave her this book on her Birthday morning.  Also, earlier this year, she dropped a ceramic piggy bank and it broke.  She actually cried and asked for one and her daddy promised her he would buy her one.  I found one almost identical to the one that had broken and I bought it.  Daddy gave that to her and she was so excited.  She has played with it a lot.  I couldn't believe she remembered wanting it. 

Mommy and Ava with her very own memory book.  Happy 5th Birthday!!

Daddy with his Birthday Princess!!

And, a kiss from the frog. . I mean Prince. :)

After our celebrations at our house we headed to the Bumbaughs for a Breakfast Brunch and Ava thought this was another birthday party for her.  She was so excited when we all sang to her. . .again!! 

When we got home that night, she realized that after all the fuss, we didn't get to play any games at her party, because of the wind.  So, mommy and Ava headed out to end her Birthday with a Girls' night.  We went to Dunkin Donuts to get coffee and donuts and then headed to the park.  She wore her Cinderella dress and we had took along her newest Princess memory game.  She used her Celebrate plate to eat her Donut on and we just laughed and spent the evening together.  She told me this was the best time she had ever had.  (she may be a little over exaggerated.)

Here are a few pics to show how much fun we had.

What a great Birthday!!! Girls night and all.