Dad & Mom's Night Out: Harvest Ho-Down

I know this blog is about Ave but I just HAD to post this one cause it was just too much fun... First off we have the most fun and entertaining ward ever! They always come up with the best ideas for activities, this time they had a Harvest Ho-Down. We ate amazing food, played ridiculous games, learned some new dance moves, took pics, and danced into the night. AND we won the "Best Dressed Couple" award, pretty snazzy huh? Anyway, here's some of our funny pics and I hope ya'll enjoy! YEEHAW!

P.S. Special thanks to Maunya Marlene for babysitting so we could have a rootin' tootin' time! We sure do appreciate it! Lot's of Love! 

HAPPY HARVEST!

Mischievous Ave McMauve!

Since Ave has become more mobile, vocal, and characterized. She has also become ultra-sneaky and mischievous! It's like one second she's right there and the next she has disappeared to reek havoc on something. Her top favorite mischief is to play in the dog food bowls. We try to only feed Canaberry, our Shitzu, when Ave is asleep or distracted. But I think she senses when the bowls have been set out cause she cruises over to them asap! I am quite impressed though that she has found that if you dip the dry food in the water it becomes soft enough to chew... However, I find it absolutely disgusting that she has become quite the connoisseur of "fine dog food!"  

Ave's second most wonderful trick to pull, is to find wallets or purses and play with ALL contents inside.  Her favorite is the plastic and cash though. If she can get to those two items she will have a ball for hours just playing with the money. In this picture she has just got into Daddy's wallet and then took the contents and put it into her "shopping cart" walker and went around the house hollering. I don't know what she is saying but I can't wait to find out!

  During feeding time now Ave has become extremely independent and she doesn't just want one... SHE WANTS IT ALL! She will throw a mighty fit if I only hand her one, if she can't hold it all then she's not having it. But we had a discussion and have came to an agreement she can have one in her mouth and one in both hands. Our little lady is what I call a "chain-eater" she has to have food in hand at all times.

And finally Ave's death defying stunt: climbing the stairs. It scares the crap out of me every time she does this and I run up and grab her like a crazy lady. This is SOOO funny to Ave she laughs so hard when I get nervous and worried. Ave has absolutely NO FEAR and this makes me super excited about our future dare devil. I guess Mom's are always right when they say, "You're gonna have a kid just like you!"

STAY TUNED FOR: 

HALLOWEEN SHALLA!  

Watching the World Outside

Recently, Ave has discovered that she can watch what is going on outside through our screen door. She will sit for about 15 to 30 minutes just mesmerized by the cars that drive by, the squirrels, dogs, kids, ect. Sometimes when our dogs are outside playing she will pound on the glass and babble at them.

Another thing I wanted to share is this little clip of Ave's progress walking with the help of her "shopping cart" Whenever she is playing with her shopping cart she steals my cell phone and puts it up to her ear and throws it in her cart. She also loves to play with Daddy's wallet, she opens and closes it and empties the contents out. She will go around and gather her blocks and shapes and put them into her cart. And she stamps her feet and hands when the music plays on the cart. Our little girl is quite the mover and shaker these days!

Ave's First Horse Ride

Ave's Maunya Marlene invited her to go riding for the first time ever. So we threw on our jeans and boots and saddled up. Ave has excellent balance on the horses and sits up with her "head up, heels down." She wasn't a bit nervous or scared.

I liked this picture because Ave is like, "look Mom, NO HANDS!" I think Maunya has a new riding partner for life!

Ave is a super lucky girl to have a professional horse trainer and teacher for a grandma. As you can see in this picture Maunya Marlene never passes up a chance to teach. 

And as usual here is my chance for a photo op! Ave looked so darn cute in her cowgirl boots and hat. I had so much fun sharing my love of horses with Ave. Thanks Maunya Marlene for letting us ride  your ponies! 

Park City Weekend

My parents invited us down to their time share in Park City, UT for a weekend and we jumped at the chance to go enjoy the last of Summer.

Ave just loves the outdoors and was so content when we were hiking. She is definitely in her element here in the mountains as you can tell in the way she smiles in these pictures. 

We also got to go swimming at the resort. After being in Houston though this pool was a little too cold for our blood. We enjoyed it anyway and Ave is such a good little fishy. She LOVES to swim and hopefully we will get her into swim lessons this winter. 

At the pool they had this huge chess set that was the perfect photo op. So I took a bunch of pictures and Ave was even pretty smiley in them :)

Here are a few more shots we took of Ave. She is getting pretty good at posing for the camera. And it helps that her Daddy is happy to dance around like a rabid monkey... She thinks he is absolutely hilarious! 






Ave also feels like she is old enough to walk on her own. Sometimes when we are holding her she will squirm until we let her down then she insists we hold her hands and let her lead. 

I love Park City's art scene. I will forever love hippy artsy fartsy towns. These fish were all recycled car materials and I just thought they were awesome. Art makes me happy. 

Our favorite part of Park City was this little park called Sound Park. It was a bunch of sound makers made once again out of recycled materials and they actually made great sound. Since Jaimo has percussion background he was like a little kid running around banging on things. 

I love Ave's expression in this picture! HA HA HA! She looks so amazed at Daddy playing music. So dang cute!

Ave even joined in the fun and played some music. Jaimo has made beat noises for her since she was newborn so she has quite a good sense of rhythm and beat. Ave definitely enjoys music a lot!  

We also took Ave to the playground and she went down the slide for the first time with her "young at heart Maunya Marlene."  

She also was able to swing all by herself and she thought that was   really cool. She squealed with delight and giggled the whole time. We had a great time in Park City. What a nice weekend it was!

Family Pictures 2010

We recently had the opportunity to get together with my family and have our pictures taken. My parent's home is so beautiful this time of year and it was the first time in years that all of us were together. So as promised here is a few of the pics of the whole family!

Ave is not a big fan of the camera so most the time she just glares at the photographer. This time we caught a little half smile and her big baby blue eyes! 

Ave was so patient during these pictures! And she was exactly nine months old... I can't believe how quickly this year has flown by. But it has been one of the most savored years of my life. I'm so grateful for an incredible year with my little family.

Here I am with my absolutely gorgeous sisters. I just love these girls and it has been so great to have my big sis back from Philly! People are always saying how we look alike but I only see small resemblances. These girls are my best friends!

This is my all time favorite picture of my favorite nephews! They make me so happy... each one of them have their own special personality and I just LOVE them. They are such characters they make me laugh constantly and fill my soul with joy! THESE ARE MY BOYS! 

Here is the WHOLE Ploc-her clan! It has been such a long time since we've all been together and oh how wonderful it is. There is so much energy and fun that we all have together. Once again my blessings of a great family are overflowing. I have so much gratitude for my incredible parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, and niece. True contentment is found in family life.

This next picture is our little family. I just love my two favorite people in the whole world. Jaimason and Ave have brought bushels of love to my life. I cherish these moments we get to capture and keep forever. 

Finally, here is my favorite pic of the whole shoot. I am still so in love with my handsome and brilliant hubbins. Our lives have changed because we have each other. Hand in hand I get to spend forever with my best friend and partner in crime! 

Thankful for the establishment of the 3 Little McReynolds

Ave's 6/9 Month Check-Up

Because we were in Houston for the summer we missed Ave's six month check-up. So when we got back we made an appointment asap to see where she was. It had been four months since we knew her weight, height, ect! At 8 months old Ave is 25 and 1/4 inches tall, that is in the fifth percentile, meaning 95% of kids her age are taller. Big surprise right?! And her weight is now 15 lbs 7 oz, which is in the 10th percentile. However, her head circumference has stayed at a constant 30th percentile so according to the doctor she is right where she needs to be. 

THINGS AVE HAS ACCOMPLISHED:

* Pulls herself up to standing position from sitting.

* Picks up tiny objects with any part of thumb and finger.

* Walks holding on to furniture.

* Stands alone momentarily.

* Understands the word NO (but does not always obey it).

* Looks for dropped or hidden objects.

* Objects if you try to take a toy away.

*Works to get a toy that is out of reach.

* Can pass objects from hand to hand.

Coming Soon:

Park City Adventures!

Home Again Home Again Jiggidy Jig

Since we have been home there have been a lot of things to be thankful for. First and foremost, Ave has her own room and crib to sleep in. While in Houston she slept in our closet in a makeshift bed. The catch was that the closet was also in the bathroom. So if we wanted to shower or brush our teeth or whatever we had to risk waking Ave. Not only is this more convenient for us but it has also given Ave a new sense of comfort. She seems to know it's her room AND her bed. There is a certain amount of peace that comes with a consistent environment. Her schedule is now more than ever set in stone, she wakes at 7:30 am and eats then back to bed until 9 am. Then she takes two naps one at 12:00 pm and one at 4:00 pm. Never fail. For me this has been wonderful, I can now schedule times to complete tasks at hand. 

Another new development since we have been home is we have begun teeth brushing. Ave got her first toothbrush and she really enjoys brushing her 2 (almost 4) teeth and her sore gums. She spends about five to ten minutes everyday brushing away at those little teeth. She especially enjoys brushing at the same time as Mom or Dad. Ave is definitely a mimic!

  As for her other developments she is moving right along at a quick pace:

She can now bear all her weight and pulls herself to a standing position on the furniture.

Her determined nature assures me that she will soon be walking around.... Mom is not prepared.

Also, she is a climber. Her favorite way to scare the crap out of me is to climb the stairs. I think it's time for a baby gate!

She has also acquired a new taste for Canaberry's dog food, I have moved it several times and she continues to find it and grab a handful before I can catch her.

I was worried that her and Cana wouldn't get along but Cana is being very patient and allowing Ave to pull her hair and lay on her. Ave adores her doggie.

Coming Soon: New Family Pictures & Ave's Wellness Check!

On the Road Home

One of our family's favorite things is a road-trip! We absolutely love to get on the road and stop and see kitschy road attractions and find great food. We love listening to music and singing along. We love the calm of an open road and how conversation just flows when you have nothing but time. When we were ready to head home from Houston we jumped at the opportunity to plan some fun stops along the way.

Our first day of driving started out by changing the oil and getting snacks then we said our goodbyes to the crazy city of Houston. And we were off to Midland where Jaimason's grandparents live. One thing that surprised me about Texas was that it isn't a huge desert, there is quite a plethora of contrasting landscapes. There is also a ton of different BBQ places in Texas too... and I had to stop at every single one. My favorite though was Rudy's BBQ just outside of San Antone, we stopped and had brisket, sausage, peach cobbler, potato salad, coleslaw, and of course baked beans. We thought we had just eaten the best BBQ in the big state of Texas...

Little did we know that the VERY BEST BBQ was going to find us the next day in Midland. Our Papa and Granny McReynolds made us the most incredible mesquite BBQ I have ever tasted. It was beyond words AMAZING! They have a big old smoker and they cooked brisket, sausage, and ribs to die for. It was all perfectly smoked, flavored, moist, and fall off the bone tender. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Granny is the queen of sides, she made butter potatoes, beans, veggies, cheese stuffed jalapenos,  biscuits, corn, and so many other sides. Every single one was delicious and you had to go back for seconds and thirds cause you simply couldn't fit it all on one plate. It was a feast that epitomized Southern Comfort Food for me. After dinner we had good conversation and played games into the night. Papa reminisced about his childhood and it made the night a perfect summer night in Texas.

    Next, we were just going to head straight through to Cheyenne, Wyoming to see one of my good friends. But we couldn't help but be drawn into Santa Fe, it is one of our most loved cities. It also has our all time favorite chocolatier shops, Kakawa, so we had to indulge in the impeccable gastronomic aztec dark chocolate! We got a basil, peanut and chili, white pepper and jasmine, and a chili carmel truffle. And my new favorite was their decadent brownie with 80% dark chocolate and barley flour! We tried to save a few pieces but it was gone in a few minutes... We should have stocked up!

We are firm believers in the best way to find the best food in any town is ask a local in an artsy or foodie shop. Of course we asked at Kakawa and they directed us to Counter Culture. Nestled in a little artsy district, "the SOHO of Santa Fe" we found the gem surrounded by a glass blowing studio, an herb shop, a bead shop, and mineral shop. It was charming and exuded the spirit of Santa Fe.

Now I can't help but tell you about the FOOD! Their menu was gargantuan, and had a myriad of flavors from across the world. We chose the Portebella Mushroom Burger and the Middle Eastern Salad. The mushroom burger was surprisingly meaty tasting and had a richly flavored basalmic glaze, big flavor with a wow factor. And the salad had a hummus flavored with cumin, chilies, lime, and calmata olives, which was Ave's favorite. We sat out on the patio in the perfect weather sipping home made lemonade and once again found bliss in Santa Fe.

After a nice looong lunch we decided to hit the road again and drove through Taos, NM. We didn't get to stop but decided it was on our list of new places to explore. Then began the long drive up north to dry and cold Wyoming. As soon as we got there my throat felt itchy, small, and dry and I thought how sad it was to leave the humid warmth of Houston. But to make up for it I got to visit with my good friends Barbara and Ryel and meet Ryel's new baby Bryer.

We ate at Sanford's one of my favorite places in Cheyenne and I got to eat my favorite fried pickles with peanut butter. In theory it sounds horrendous I know, but in reality it is delish! We were planning on staying longer but we were ready to get Ave home. She had been a trooper the whole ride but she was definitely over the car and carseat. After a little discussion and walk we decided to drive through the night to home sweet home. Through the mountains we drove stopping here and there for quick naps and complaining until 5:30 am when we finally arrived back home. Jaimo was the best for keeping focused so he could get "his girls" home in our own beds. He is still my prince in shining armor saving me from a distressful circumstance.

 Walking into my own home was the best feeling in the world after that long drive. It was just as gorgeous and lovely as I remembered and it felt so comforting like the house was giving us a big hug to welcome us back. I have found a new appreciation for my sweet little home. To have a bed for my baby to sleep in and a constant environment to grow up in.... Aw what a lovely trip and a beautiful end too!

AND THE THREE LITTLE MCREYNOLDS WERE HOME SWEET HOME....

Ave and Evie Talk Up a Storm

We have Evie all week and overnights this week. Ave and her will get so involved in their playing that they seem to talk to each other the whole time they play. I had to catch a movie of them trying to climb the diaper and wipes boxes and discussing the best way of accomplishing the task. Ave is always so determined!
Ave's speech gets better every day. She now says MA MA MA when she wants me or sees me and DA DA DA when she reaches for Jaimo or when he comes home. She also strings tons of different sounds together as if she is talking her own alien language. Another of her favorite vocal tricks is to gurggle it sounds like she is putting saliva in the back of her throat and gurggling it or sometimes it sounds like she's rolling her tongue. She has so much to say already and I can't wait to hear it all!