Happy Thanksgiving!

Ava enjoys looking through the front door glass

at Auntie Lara's and Uncle Mark's in Fargo, ND.

Ava's handprint (8 mo.) becomes

the Thanksgiving turkey. Gobble, gobble.

Our girl.

Sleeping Babe

Auntie Tamara also had a hand in many "design

decisions" for Ava's room, since color isn't my thing

(although I'm learning). On Sunday,Tamara took

pictures of our babe sleeping in her room. The wall

saying states, "Grace was in all her steps, heaven in

her eye."

Ava's room is my favorite of the house. The light is always

so nice & I love to sit in there to look & listen. This

was a habit long before Ava arrived. Now the room

is filled with cooing, consonant sounds, bedtime stories,

laughter, crying, and lullabies--the sounds I

imagined and looked forward to the most. "Ava" means

life and it truly is life's room.

Fall Fun

Auntie Tamara brought her camera and took pictures
of Ava on Sunday afternoon. I wanted to get some six

month photos to capture the halfway mark of her first

year. I'm about a month late. Oh well. The leaves and

weather were beautiful and we had Grandma &

Grandpa Weets, plusMaggie, trying to get Ava's

attention. It was pretty funny. Enjoy!

Boo!

About two days before Halloween, Jason said to me

while we were eating, "You know, we should dress Ava

as a little devil." There's some background here. Last

Halloween I was convinced by Auntie Lara to borrow

her nun's costume to be a "pregnant nun." You guessed it,

Jason was the priest. This is the product of our love. Hopefully

Jason and I haven't jinxed ourselves; right now Ava's the

farthest thing from this costume. We'll see what we say when

she's two. *All Halloween photos taken by Uncle Mark, FATcat

Studios, Fargo, ND.

Happy Halloween 2008

Here's our little sweet pea, in a pod.

Lil' Punkin'

Growing up, Mom called us her "pumpkin butts."

Why? We don't know; she doesn't either! Here

are some photos of the latest little pumpkin on a

beautiful fall day. Ava was all smiles (& just before

a nap!). We were surprised the kitty, Bumper, sat

still enough for a photo. Also, Ava is back to razzing--

she hasn't done it for a couple weeks, but she started

back up again last week...mostly while eating her cereal.

Oh, and that scarecrow only looks like it's going to gulp

down our child in the photos. It's much more friendly-

looking in person. Enjoy!

Solids!!!

We have the green light from the Dr.

to try solids, so we thought we'd see

how she liked rice cereal (there is actually

1 TBsp. cereal in there--I know, hard to

tell, but don't knock it.). Anyway, taking

a line from my childhood: "Hey, Mikey,

she likes it!"

A Brisk Autumn Walk

We took Ava & Maggie for a walk this afternoon.

Ava is wearing her moccasins from Auntie Bethany;

Bethany received them from a Native American student

who told her, "We believe a child isn't a child until she

has her first pair of moccasins." They match her coat

(from Auntie Tami) so nicely. The hat is a gift from

Jason's cousin, Heather. It was cool out, but good to

get outside.

Ava & Her Doggie, Mags

We tried to get photos of the girls.
Ava got her bath early.
Not bad...
Maggie decides to chew on sticks.

Oh well.

Ava in Camo--A Daddy's Dream

Jason bought Ava her first camo in early May. He was very picky about it too. None of that fake girly camo for his girl. It had to be green and pink....and from Gander Mountain. So here's our Ava, in camo.

Tamara & Ava

Happy Birthday, Auntie Tami!

Auntie Tami and Grandma & Grandpa Weets came out on Labor Day to walk around Washington Square Mall in D.L. & eat at Lakeside--yummy. We celebrated Auntie Tami's birthday one day early. Here's a picture of her with her girls, Ava & Maggie.

In Honor of Uncle Mark

Uncle Mark is well-known for his raspberry-sounding tooters (made with his lips and tongue, not the other end, folks.). It appears Ava is following in his footsteps. Ava is on Grandma Weets' lap and looks to her for approval. :)

Friendly Visit

Ava and I went to visit my high school friend, Heather. We had a really nice afternoon, posing near Heather's beautiful picture window that looks out onto Nest Lake, and Heather introduced me to a little espresso cafe, Deidre's. I ate there THREE times in one week. Mmm....

More Bathtime Photos

Ava's hair gets really curly when we wash it, so we decided to make one big curl. Grandma Weets thought Ava's hair was long enough for a curler....

Swift County Fair

It doesn't get more wholesome than this. Jason, Mom, Dad, Ava and I went out to the Swift County Fair in Appleton. We all donned "Vote for Andrew Falk" labels (even Ava), ate supper at one of the church stands, and then Ava took a nap as we went through the 4-H displays. Although, perhaps the nap was intended to distance herself from Grandma & Grandpa, posing in the kiddie American Gothic cut-outs above. J/K.

Four Generations

Jason, Ava, Mom, Dad, and I traveled to Pipestone to visit Grandma Weets, Steve, Jo, & Damian. Ava settled herself right into G.G.'s (Great Grandma) lap & fell asleep. G.G. looked at me and said with a smile, "See, lots of experience." I'm not sure which of the two was happier. We took a four generation photo outside & I couldn't resist the close-up.

Return to We Fest

After an eleven year hiatus, I returned to We Fest. I went with Tanya & her friend Susan to watch each evening's headliners. (Tanya generously shared one of three tickets she won.) It was a fun weekend; we paid way too much for food and drink, got into a near cat-fight with some chick over chairs, and sang with a bunch of strangers--yep, that's We Fest. Our favorite part was seeing Jason Aldeen. I think I've got a heart murmur now.

Happy 8th Anniversary

Auntie Lara & Uncle Mark volunteered to babysit while the hubby & I went to the movie, Wanted & out to Red Lobster (as well as run a few errands.--amazing how "dates" change once you have a baby.) The above ilustrates our attempts at taking our own photos. The last one is of Ava and me...note the ring on my right hand--my anniversary gift from Jason--Ava's birthstone (aquamarine) with two small diamonds on either side. What a nice surprise!