Sunday - not a day of rest

Yesterday was an incredibly busy busy day. Michael and Kati went to church yesterday morning together and then went out to lunch afterwards. While they were at church, Ava and I went to a wedding shower brunch for his cousin, Rachel. It was a very nice shower and it made me want to get married again so we could get new stuff. Ava tried her best to steal the show with her squeals - she loves to hear herself. After the shower, Ava and I headed home. She must have worn herself out as she slept from 1 til 3:30pm! I got a lot done though, including some really great mom and Kati time.

Kati also started swimming lessons yesterday afternoon. She wanted her dad to take her so I had to settle for pictures. She had a really good time. It was so cute watching her try to reinact what she learned.

Ava had her first veggie this weekend - squash! She loved it as her face proves.

We were able to get outside and get some fresh air for a change and the girls got to wear their first shorts of the season. Typical Midwest weather - last week it was snowing, this week it is 75 and humid, and tomorrow it is supposed to be 60 and rainy. I will have to remind myself of this when it is 95 and sunny in July.

I also found the time to get in the kitchen this weekend. I made homemade cinnamon rolls for work this morning. I LOVE my bread machine. I didn't know it had a dough setting until yesterday. I put all the ingrediants in and 90 minutes later I had perfect dough to roll out, spread with cinnamon mixture, cut, put in the pan, put in the fridge. this morning I took them out, let them raise and bake. They were so very yummy. I am the birthday person at work and our CFO doesn't like cake but requested cinnamon rolls - in case you wondered why I was making rolls on a Monday morning. I am not normally that ambitious.

I heard the best words this morning from Kati - "I'm glad I have a sister." Ava just lights up when she sees Kati. Kati loves it that Ava smiles at her and gets so excited. "Mommy, Ava just gave me a smile" is a commonly heard in our house. I love it. After all the time and heartache it took to get my girls, it is so rewarding to seethem together.

4 month check up

Ava had her 4 month check up yesterday and all is well. She is 13 pounds, 10 ounces (50th %tile) and 25 inches long (75th %tile). She also had to get her shots, her poor little legs. Kati wanted to go with us and be the big sister. I told her Ava had to get shots and it was going to hurt her and she would cry, but Kati wanted to go anyway. She held Ava's hand and talked to her the whole time and was so very sweet to her. She kept saying "it's okay Ava."

Ava started eating oatmeal and really seemed to like it. We start on a veggie at the end of the week!

Cereal time

Ava began eating cereal a few weeks ago. She is growing and getting so big. This morning I pulled an outfit from the closet and Michael said it was too big for her. Much to his surprise, it fit. She is growing so quickly. She has such a sweet disposition. Ava has found her voice lately and loves to coo very loudly - it's music to my ears. No matter how bad my day was, it always perks me up. We go to the doctor on Monday for a checkup and shots (yikes!)

Now that she has started rolling over, she doesn't stay on her back for long!

Ava Rolled Over

Ava rolled over for the first time yesterday afternoon. I missed it since I was at work (yes, I cried that I missed it.) Thankfully, Michael did get to witness it as he had just arrived to pick up the girls. I am very grateful that Aunt Lisa now has a digital camera and high speed internet! So even though I wasn't there in person I did get to see pictures almost immediately after it happened. Ava has been on the brink of rolling for several weeks now and I have had the video camera primed and ready to go hoping to capture it at home but alas I missed it and will have to wait to get it the next time. She just laid flat on her back last night as I tried to coax her with toys to show me her trick. I am sure I will see it many times over. It is the down side of being a working mom though - missing those firsts. Nonetheless, I am a proud momma.

Easter time

(I totally thought I published this post last week. I couldn't figure out why no one had said anything. I never check my own blog so didn't realize I hadn't posted!)

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with my parents in St. Joe. My brother David and his long time girlfriend, Tammy, came up for a short time on Sunday to visit us too. We hadn't seen them in over a year, it was good to see them. (Far too long!) Kati thoroughly enjoys her time at Grammy and Papa's - Michael and I don't exist in her world when Grammy is around.

Egg hunt on Saturday at Grammy & Papa's

Ava disguises herself as the easter bunny.

Kati on Easter Sunday - after services they had an egg hunt. She got lots of good stuff that she won't eat but Michael and I will!

This is a late evening shot of Ava in her Easter outfit. (Things were so busy, I didn't realize I had forgotten to get a picture of her earlier in the day!) It once was Kati's baby dedication dress. Hard to believe Kati once fit into it and now she is so big.
Taking this picture was special to me, every year growing up, we would take pictures on our front porch before going to Easter services. This year it was important to me to get a picture with my family on the porch.

David & Tammy joined us on the porch.
This is my adorable nephew Aidden. He lives in North Carolina. Even though he wasn't with us on Easter, I have to include this very adorable picture of him. We love and miss you Aidden!

Deep Discounts

I just got good news and feel like writing about it. We had a lot of medical bills in 2007 with my pregnancy (lots of tests, multiple doctors appts.), Michael's MRI, and the bills for Ava and myself after her birth. Anyway, the hospital system I work for offers charity care for people who cannot pay their bills in full for whatever reason.

So my good news, is that after insurance the discount of 40%, we only owe $285.05 for all of our bills! That is such a huge blessing for us. Our total bill would have been $475.08. So anyway, I am thrilled.

Free rice = increased brain power

I just learned of a new program called Free Rice. I read about it in the most recent People magazine. Basically, for playing every correct answer in the word game on their website they donate 20 grains of rice to United Nations World Food Program. It is a great program helping those overseas that we wouldn't normally be able to. It gives an update for every day and month so you can see how much rice is being donated. For instance 3,893,361,180 grains of rice were donated in February 08. I placed the link to the right for those of you who want to play/donate.