ma-KING memories

Sick, sick and sicker...

2009-01-20T01:03:00.000-08:00

Yep, it is 4:00 a.m. EST and I cannot sleep. I have been up since 2:30 and don't think I fell asleep until midnight. I have an upper resp. infection and it has been a long time coming. Dale came down with something (we will leave it undiagnosed since he refused to go to the Dr) that resembled bronchitis on Christmas Day and so ensued the battle our family has been waging ever since. After a week, Ava ended up getting sick. She has been an extremely healthy child up until this point, we have been so lucky... little did I know that I was in for two weeks of hell for my little pumpkin. She woke up New Years Day not feeling well and by the following Monday I had her in the Dr. to find out she had a nasty sinus infection. After a week of antibiotics, she seemed much better. Took her in for her 1 week follow-up and that very night she started showing signs of being sick AGAIN! Two days later we are back in the doctor and she now has CROUP, requiring her to take steroids to reduce the inflammation. I was familiar with the CROUP because my friend Keirsten's daughter Olivia has had it quite often and it is miserable. Named for the awful bark-like cough I am guessing. It is awful and you feel so bad because you just want to help them breathe and stop the cough that literally chokes them. Well, now almost a week after that... Mom has finally succumbed to the BUG! UGH! At least I went to the Dr. and got a Z-Pack, hopefully I will be better soon! Gotta love winter and all the crud it brings!

Dale's 36th B-day

2009-01-07T18:38:00.000-08:00

We went to dinner at Charley's with our friends Mark and Kim. I forgot my camera but Kim snapped this one of us and I thought it turned out pretty good, thanks Kim!

Santa Trip...

2009-01-07T18:33:00.001-08:00

The picture does not project the fear that ensued about 2 seconds after they snapped the picture... for a little girl that loves "ho ho" so much, it's hard to believe she wanted to run screaming from him.

ICE!!!

2009-01-07T17:59:00.001-08:00

On day two of our Orlando trip, we decided to go see ICE, which is a chilling spectacle that one would normally not see in the middle of Florida. For those of you who don't know what this attraction is, they turn part of the Gaylord Palms Convention Center into a frigid 9 degree ice wonderland. They take tons of ICE and make gorgeous sculptures and cool slides with it. They give you these big blue parkas to put on the stay warm (we brought our own winter coats too after hearing how cold it was from others). Ava was pretty tired from the night before but we got the tickets with our hotel room so we went. It was very pretty, amazing what they can do with a block of ice. Ava and I both went down the slide. I should have went first, it was really bumpy and fast... I might have thought twice about sending her down on her own (they won't let parents go with them). She was NOT happy when she reached the bottom... oh well, we are such bad parents, I am sure she will be scarred for life!Checking out the fishy's on the way to ICE!

Ava imitating the fishy's face-

Yes, EVERYTHING is carved out of ice.

Giant life sized ice ornaments.

Daddy was trying hard to get Ava's blue coat on over her t-shirt, sweater and other winter coat... I don't think she was cold. It was a good thing she wore it down the slide though, it covered her butt at least.

And here comes Ava down the slide...

Come to find out Ava does not like to go by any Santa, even one's carved out of ice. It's hard to tell by the picture but this is a big Santa that you can sit in his lap. We had to quickly turn Ava around so she could not see Santa or she would have been screaming.

One of my favorites.

Just as a reminder you are still in FL and it will be 80 degrees out when you step outside so be ready peel off the layers!

Of course, my non-car sleeper did her VERY BEST to not fall asleep on the way back from Orlando... but she finally gave in right about the time we hit the Howard Frankland Bridge... sweet, only 10 minutes from home.

First Trip to Disney for Ava

2009-01-07T17:19:00.001-08:00

Getting ready to go to see Mickey!
Taking a tour of Gaylord Palms when we arrived.

Trying to "rest" before our big night at Disney.

Having a little dinner before we went...

Yahoo, after a long day of anticipation... we finally arrived at Disney around 5:45. We had an awesome time and would definitely recommend doing the Very Merry Christmas Party as a first trip to Disney. Even though Ava was only 2, she had a blast and we only stayed until 10:30ish but got to go on the rides and see what she wanted to see because it was not super crowded. Also, I think her favorite part was the awesome parade... she was able to see all the characters and wave to them but not get too close. Our wait to see Mickey was about 3o minutes and she was so excited... and then we got up to him and she freaked. Just like Santa.

As Ava says "the pitty lights"

I have never seen the castle lit up for X-mas before, it was gorgeous.

Minnie's fridge... so much cheese!
Trying to get a pic at Minnie's gazebo.

Dale decided to snap a pic of Mickey since we had waited for so long and Ava would not go near him.

So mesmerized by the parade... oh, and the tinkerbell light up toy. That was our 2nd one, the first dropped two seconds after we got out of the store. Dale went back in and told them it didn't work... strange, I wonder why. Needless to say, #2's shelf life was not much longer. It still lights up but barely goes around... come on, what do you expect a $15 toy to work longer than a day?

A few December Hi-lights...

2009-01-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

Ava hanging out with the snow people... they were her buddies, she called them Big Snowman and baby snowman and cried when they had to be put away (along with all the pitty lights, the inflatable Ho Ho and Mickey at the neighbors house).

Since I took over 200 pics in December, I will spare you and just hi-light a few of the best (in my opinion).

A special visit from Miss Brenda, Ava's first care-giver. We had not seen her since she moved out of state this summer. Hadyn came over for a visit too!

Oops, I did it again...

2009-01-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

Another month has past and I have not posted to my blog. I guess I should not have told everyone in my X-mas card to read my blog when there is nothing new to read! I have to admit, I have gotten a little carried away with Facebook and honestly, have not had time for both. We had a busy December... I will post pictures soon!

Thanksgiving at the King's

2008-12-04T12:21:00.000-08:00

The only way to get Ava to stand still for a picture is to hold her in place, thanks Grandma!

I need nummies! That is usually coming out of Ava's mouth about every 10 minutes, she just could not wait for the bird, she had to have some crackers first.

And this is where Dale spent a good majority of the afternoon (until dinner of course) but I can't blame him, he worked until 2 a.m. the night before prepping for Black Friday.

Hugs with Grandpa Don

2008-12-04T12:10:00.001-08:00

Ava loves to give Grandpa Don hugs, pretty much every time she sees him. In fact, this was just after she got up from her nap on Thanksgiving and was very snuggly with him for quite some time. I am jealous!

At the Beach with Grammy

2008-12-04T10:44:00.001-08:00

I am not sure what happened with this picture but it looks kind of like Dale and Ava are walking on water! It is really the sand.

Attempting to make sandcastles...

Chasing the poor seagull, this went on for at least 10 minutes until the bird wised up and flew away.

Yahoo, let's Play! Or as Ava says "Pay wif me Mommy"

Hanging out with Grammy Dixie!

Ava's Birthday

2008-12-04T10:33:00.000-08:00

Getting ready to blow out her candles!

Her special 2nd birthday outfit!

A quick pic with Mommy before the festivities begin!

Of course we had to have a Dora and Diego party... wouldn't have done it any other way.

Ava trying out some of her new b-day gifts, she loves to dress up, especially like Princess Dora.

MIA for too long!

2008-12-04T10:30:00.000-08:00

I know I have been MIA, I did however create a Facebook account, so that is now taking up more on-line time... that I did not have in the first place. I have not posted pics of Ava in way too long. Halloween, her birthday, Thanksgiving, visit from Grammy and Grampa and putting up the Christmas tree... wow, how time flies. I will try and post a few of all the events over the last month and get caught up here in the next day or so!

Ava loves Mommy Shoes!

2008-10-25T12:03:00.001-07:00

Or Daddy's or Bubby's or anyone who happens to come over and take them off...

Of course the hi-heeled platforms that Mommy can barely walk in are her favorite... but after multiple attempts to try and walk in them, she opted for the tennies.

Tea and Popsicles with Chloe

2008-10-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ava's first ever popsicle, YUMMY! And Coco let them have "real" water for their tea party... so much fun! No wonder Ava asks to go to Coco-Chloe's (as she affectionately refers to them) EVERY DAY!

It's been awhile...

2008-10-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

I must be the worst blogger on earth... I could run down the list of excuses why I have not posted in so long but most of you already know them, so with that said. Here are a few pics of what we have been up to lately...

Thanks Linda!!

2008-09-26T14:43:00.000-07:00

Ava got a package in the mail yesterday and this is what it was! The first thing she said when she opened it was "hey, go tate (state) book"... she recognized it right away. Apparently all my training is paying off. What a thoughtful gift that Linda Lubanski sent her... we can use all the Spartan stuff we can get down here! Needless to say, it's her new fav book de jour. So we wanted to say, thanks Linda it was vey sweet of you to think of her!

Last Weekend...

2008-09-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Wow, can't believe it is already Wednesday and I am just now posting about last weekend. Well, first and foremost... HOORAY FOR MICHIGAN STATE! We were able to watch the game, Ava had her cheerleading outfit on and got to eat Taco Dip in front of the TV like a big girl and watch the game with us! She did make an exit at half time with Daddy to go have a sleep-over at Miss Tammie, her baby-sitter's house. So Dale and I got to go out to dinner and have a night alone... only the 3rd time in almost two years. Yahoo!

Very Busy Saturday!

2008-09-15T13:26:00.000-07:00

Of course, Michigan State was televised down here this week and I had a full day planned. No way I would be getting to even watch a minute of the game... Oh well, at least they won! I was so happy to see our friend Jessica (who now lives in Elgin, Illinois) at her baby shower. She looked fabulous and is due to have a little boy in December.

Then, it was on to Chloe Mahaz's 2nd birthday party at Gymboree! Dale had to bring the kid's to Clearwater and I drove straight from the shower. The kids had a great time and Chloe looked like a little doll in her special birthday outfit made by D's Darling Designs! I think the funniest moment of the day was when Marcus (my friend Laura's son) blew out the candles before Chloe did... it was so cute! He was just so excited, he couldn't contain himself. He's this little blonde cutie...:) Of course, Ava is always beating to a different drum. She had no real interest in the group activities (other than bubbles) but fell in love with the purple ball and would not put it down, even at the expense of falling when she was trying to climb up something. She did put this hat on too... for like a second. I was suprised we did not have a meltdown when we were leaving and the ball was staying. I half expected to be offering the Gymboree employees some dollar figure to allow us to take it home. But, she did not fuss a bit... she is always full of surprises.

New Hallway Wall

2008-09-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

I finally took some pics of the hallway painted and with the new frame arrangement. I had told my Mom I wanted to do something with all black and white frames and she found this arrangement in a magazine and sent it to me. I really liked it, so I created my own version with what I had and the space I have. Tell me what you think, I think it turned out great. Dale has only had to re-adjust the pictures like 5 times...

Meet "Roni" or "Ball"... depending on the day

2008-09-08T13:52:00.000-07:00

So this is Roni (pronounced RO-NEE) which we have no idea where the name came from, doesn't sound like rattle which is what we call it. However, this morning, she started calling it "ball" and I would ask about Roni and she would point to it but then call it ball. ??? Regardless, it had to ride to Miss Tammie's with us and there was a dramatic good-bye when I told her it had to stay in the car. I am thinking she will make a good soap opera star someday... very dramatic but not quite convincing.

2008-09-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Dale was hard at work this weekend, painting the hallway, hanging my new frame arrangement, hanging the new stuff I bought for the office. Don't feel too bad for him though, he did get to golf this morning. I will have some pictures to post as soon as we get the finishing touches done on both spaces. Yesterday, I went to my friend Jamie's baby shower, she is expecting a little girl at the end of October. Her son Sean is one of Ava's playmates and is two weeks older than her. It was a very nice shower and then after I got home we went to Kelly and Thi's for dinner. They made us basa fish fillet sandwiches, they were delish! I had never had that kind of fish before and it was tasty. Even better was the fact that I did not have to cook and Ava was able to play with Alexander. Ava has a little girl at daycare named Abigail and she calls her "Agabee" well, Alexanders' name has transformed from Alalalala to Alagabee in Ava translation. It is so darn cute to hear her say it. Ava took a 3 hour nap today... after terrorizing the house all morning when I was trying to pick pictures for the frames in the hallway. It gave me time to clip coupons and figure out my shopping trips for the week (my new favorite past time) and when Dale came home from golf, we went up to Isla and played in the pool for awhile. The weather was beautiful all weekend here, no rain, a little hot but always a breeze at the beach. Looks like Ike will be missing us pretty much all together so we can breathe for a few more days. Here are a couple pics from today, oh, and how could I forgot... Yahoo, State won and Boohoo, the Bucs lost. Ava did wear her Bucs cheerleading outfit and practiced her "Go Buc's" chant with Daddy. Her new favorite toy which you may see in a picture she calls "roni", no idea why... it is a Tupperware Maracas Rattle thing. I thought she had long outgrown it but apparently she is now in love with it... and also with all "coldies" which are frozen teethers. Another item I thought we had seen the last of. Guess we have to keep EVERYTHING for a little while longer...

Dora Potty Strikes Again...

2008-09-06T07:08:00.000-07:00

The unfortunate circumstance of not having a door on the bathroom in our bedroom leads to Ava wanting to go directly for the drawers and toilet in there whenever we happen to be in my bedroom. I was trying to wrap a gift in my room today and Ava HAD to be in there. After terrorizing my side table drawer (where all my jewelry resides and she likes to drag throughout the house and occasionally wear), she headed for the drawers in my bathroom. I have eliminated anything I would consider dangerous or poisonous, it's mainly just stuff to make a cluttered mess. Then she wanted to get on the scale... see pic, and according to our scale she is 28 lbs!! We moved the stool and Dora Potty seat into my bathroom because it was causing major issues everytime we were in the main bathroom for tubby time. She likes the whole idea of being on the toilet but then when we try and put her on, she freaks. She spotted the seat and the stool and decided it was "Dora Poo-Poo" time... I dread it because it is usually more of a fight to get her on then anything. I told her not right now but she opened the toilet seat and put her Dora seat on by herself and started taking her skirt off. I guess she was serious... so off with the skirt, off with the diaper up with the shirt... oh yeah, we need a book. We tried again, she did not put up a fuss to sit there but about 5 minutes produced no results and... she kept asking for crayons. Umm... no. So, back on with the diaper, the skirt, and out of the bathroom we go. I still think it is way too soon, I wish I would have never bought the dora seat yet but oh well. At least she knows what it's for.

I am finally getting over my bronchitis and wishing that we had Big 10 Network to watch Michigan State today. Although, I am going to my friend Jamie's baby shower at the exact time it is on, so maybe it's for the better. I wonder if we will get any games televised this year... I just cannot picture taking Ava to a sports bar. I would probably get to see about as much of the game there as I would with it NOT be televised at home.

Regardless, GO STATE and hope for a win this week!!

GO STATE GO!!!!!!!

2008-08-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

HOORAY!!!! Its the start of college football season! Of course, we had to get Ava dressed in her Spartan gear. We may save her cheerleading outfit for a daytime game. Michigan State plays Cal tonight at 8:00, of course, we won't get to actually watch it here but I will be checking for hi-lights. I am so excited football season is here... it means falls coming and maybe more mild temps in a few months. Happy Saturday and Go Green, Go White! I got Ava to make some funny faces and CLAP, in preparation for watching a game. Maybe next week!

Very First Post- Testing...

2008-08-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Well, we are finally going live with the blog, even though it is not set up exactly how I had hoped yet. It will definitely be a work in progress as I am totally learning how to do everything from scratch. I am hoping this will eventually take the place of my monthly Ava updates... since I have not sent anything out since June. We have had a very busy summer and I am hoping to get an slide show on here of pictures from the summer. And from here on out, I will try to post pics and video of what is going on daily/weekly. Any current bloggers with tips are greatly appreciated!!