Happy Halloween

This was Avila's first time trick-or-treating. We practiced all afternoon saying three things, "trick-or-treat".........."Go Army" (she was a Westpoint Army Cheerleader).....and "thank you". Well, I'm not sure how many times she said any of the phrases we practiced, but I do know she said "CANDY" over and over! She didn't notice any of the scary costumes or frightful music; nothing phased her. She was a girl on a mission. Avila would run to doors dragging her "candy purse", smile at the person holding a bowl of candy, say thank you, and run to the next door. Didn't take long for her to become a pro. At a number of houses she stood at the door waiting for 2 or 3 more pieces of candy, she was working it for as much as she could get. How could you resist a little cheerleader looking at you with those pleading eyes saying "candy......tank-too (thank you)"

Emma was content to be moms costume, taking in the whole event. Next year Blair and I will have double the candy to raid when the girls go to bed. Oh how I love eating candy I didn't have to work for.

Hawaii

These pictures are a little late, but better late than never! :o)

We had a lot of fun visiting my brother and sister-in-law who are stationed there.

Hoorah, go Army!

The pictures say it all. If we weren't swimming at the pool we were playing at the beach.

Go Army - Beat Navy

Yes, I was a cheerleader in high school. Proud of it. And yes, I have high hopes that my daughter will at least not mock them as much as her daddy does. And yes, to the horror of many I would be happy if she wanted to be a cheerleader in high school.

....................I'll pause a moment for the shock and awe.................

This Halloween Avila will be dressed as an Army Knight cheerleader. This is as close to Westpoint as she will ever get if she got her mommy's brains or her mommy's lack of desire to "play guns". This Halloween she will cheer for uncle Stephen and the men and women fighting for our freedom. She will cheer for Army with all her spirit although Navy continues to beat them. She will cheer for her uncle Stephen who "plays war" every day in Hawaii living the hard life.

Let's go Army .....clap, clap, clap.......Let's go Army........clap, clap, clap....... Let's go!!!!

We love you Uncle Stephen and Auntie Megan!!!!

Beach Baby

Beach days with Avila get more and more fun as the time goes on. This is a picture one year ago today. 7 months old and ready to leave for Hawaii.

Here she is today. 4 days until we leave to visit Uncle Stephen and Auntie Megan in Hawaii again. Ready to play in the sand and splash in the wa-wa as Avila would say.

She LOVES playing in holes in the sand. She found this one while looking for sea shells. I'm not sure what she was pretending the hole was. One minute I thought she was pretending to swim in a pool and another minute she was pretending to sleep in it.

We went to our secret beach today. We were the only ones there for most of the time. I felt like we lived on a deserted island.........well at least until I looked behind me to see the road, cars, and the train in the distance.

Daily Mercies

Today I was reminded of Gods daily mercies to us while I was on a walk with the girls

I am so thankful to the Lord for the love He has given Avila for her new sister. Although she occasionally likes to steal Emma's socks and put them on her own hands, I catch her constantly through out the day doing sweet things for her sister. She loves to hold her hand and talk to her. Here she is in the stroller having a "conversation" with Emma. Sometimes I find them both making unintelligible noises to each other seeming to know what the other is saying. Avila will start laughing at something Emma "said" and both are entertained for the next 5 minutes. Today Avila decided to bring Emma every one of her favorite toys. I turned to see Emma covered in toys and a blanket. I tried to get a picture, but I figured I should help Emma not suffocate before trying to find the camera.

I am so thankful for my girls! They bring me so much joy each day.

The last 2 months

Emma must have known that to get much attention in this house you have to be able to do something cute. This is one of her first smiles. She loves it when mom and dad make crazy noises and faces. All Avila has to do is say her name and she gets one of the biggest smiles. They are already best friends. Avila loves it, someone to entertain besides mom and I love it because now there is someone else to entertain Avila besides me!!!

Who said having 2 was more work. 2 kids and 2 checkups at the same time. Avila is holding her hand trying to get her to stop crying. She was VERY upset that the nurse gave Emma and "owie" in her leg. Try explaining to a 1 1/2 year old why getting a shot in the leg helps Emma. All day I heard, "Emma....owie...Emma" while pointing to her leg. So sweet.

Avila has met her first boy crush. His name is Nick and lives across the street. And yes he happens to be an older boy, 8 years older than her! She sits at the window and waits for him to come home from school. The minute she sees his dads truck round the corner she starts banging on the window screaming for him. Thankfully he not too cool to hang out with a baby yet. She likes to pretend to ride his scooter while he's taking a break. Nick also recently taught Avila that the "music truck" actually has ice cream in it. Thanks a lot Nick!

Edlewolfewards 3rd annual camping trip!!!

Edwards family (Our family and Blair's family)

Lewis family (My mom and Patrick)

Wolfe family (My dad and Patty)

My mom and I at Morro Bay State Campground ready fun a weekend of fun

It was a little colder than expected, but we all had a lot of fun. Just more reason to have a big campfire!

Morro Rock Beach with Dad and a juice box (a special camping treat)

Mom and her girls

Emma spent most of the days snuggling in a warm blanket grammie Patsy brought. Funny, she slept more hours at night in the tent than at home. Why is that? Slept 9-10 hours at night in the tent and sleeps 6-8 hours at home at night. Hmmmmmm..... anyone else thinking Emma needs to sleep outside in a tent every night?

Avila LOVED sleeping in the tent! By the end of the weekend she was calling the tent "home" and went to bed in her sleeping bag without peeking out the door for mom and dad. Our little camper. Covered in dirt day and night and LOVING it...... sound a little like her dad maybe?

Morning till night Avila had two goals...... see how many laps she could walk around the campground and see how many grandparents wanted to walk with her. By the end of the weekend she had made a number of new friends with the rest of the campers and their doggies. Hmmmm, would you also say she's a bit like her mom?

Both of them passed out in the tent.

Such a fun weekend with the family and the kiddos.

I think we all loved it!

Emma Grace Edwards

Emma Grace Edwards
Born: June 14, 2010 - 8:02 pm
Weight: 8.1 Pounds
Length: 20.5 Inches

Spring!

No we are NOT potty training! I repeat we are NOT potty training Avila. However she is obsessed with potties! Evelyn (her little friend) is a little older and is being potty trained so Avila being the little copy cat she is loves to "pretend" to go potty and also have her stuffed animals and baby dolls go potty too.
I couldn't wait to use my new double stroller. This is Avila and her friend Landon. Don't let the picture fool you, we had a nice time on our walk.


Water baby! She is crazy about playing in the water. When the sun is out Avila will find a cup, bowl, or bucket and ask for "wa-wa". It's not so cute at 7am when I'm still in my PJ's and trying to finish my coffee, but later in the day it's a guaranteed to provide at least 45 minutes of fun. Can you guess what Avila will be doing while mom is trying to take care of the new baby this summer.

Learning to eat with a spoon has been fun and messy! This is when I miss having a dog to clean the floor after she eats. She's actually pretty good at it!

She loves clothes. She likes to get herself dressed, her dolls, and even the animals! Doing laundry has become quite the experience since she tries to put on everything I'm folding.

She also like putting her baby "ni-ni". Getting ready to be a great little sister.

She's having fun being the only child for these last couple of days!

Babymoon in Oregon (April)

Oregon was a 5 day trip that covered over 500 miles.
We started in Portland. Walked around town, talked, and just enjoyed being on vacation.

Highlight: Byway Cafe - best breakfast of my life and Tillamook Dairy Factory (on the way to the coast) - seriously there is NO better ice cream in the world!


The Oregon Cost was our next stop. Very different coast line than Ventura. I had NO desire to jump in this water or lay on the damp sand - but it was magnificent to look at. Great for pictures.

Highlight #1: One the hikes we did that led to a suspension bridge so high above a waterfall my toes tingled in fear when I looked over the edge right outside Pacific City.
Highlight #2: Rouge Brewery. Blair loved every minute of taste testing while I enjoyed the BEST rootbeer float of my life.

Next stop - the Alsea Valley. I do not recommend this as a vacation spot unless you get a kick out of towns that seem to be dying before your eyes. I'm pretty sure this house a few others were the only buildings still standing that hadn't been eaten by rot. This is a picture of the Bed and Breakfast we stayed in - not at all what the web photo looked like. Honestly we pulled up and drove away - we thought it looked like a scene out of a scary movie - but we ended upcoming back after diner. Looked much better inside.

Highlight: Watching Blair fly fish and reading a good book

Corvallis here we come. Cutest town. I was ready to pack the u-haul and become a farmer or raise lambs (which is a popular trade apparently). You can tell from this picture that eating "cheap" was helping the baby to get nice and plump. I think I can still hear her asking, "more fries please".

Highlight: This hike (Bald Hill Park) and the brewhouse we ate dinner at.


Silver falls state park - wow this was one of the most AMAZING things I have ever seen! 8 mile hike and 12 waterfalls. The only downfall is there was only 2 bathrooms for this 8 months pregnant mommy. This, by far, was my favorite day of our vacation.

Highlight: This moment. Standing under a raging waterfall with my hubby. Truly amazing!

The last day of the trip was spent going to Mt. Hood and the Columbia River Gorge. You'll notice there aren't many pictures......well let's just say I was ready to come home to our little munchkin. Although, I don't think my mom was ready to give up her duties. :o)

The good, bad, and ugly of new words

So like any mom, as soon as Avila said her first word I jumped up and down. Second and third word I clapped and cheered. Fourth, fifth, twentieth, I sent Blair a text message and made her perform for my friends.

Now we've reached the point where the words she knows can be used against me. They aren't always cute and fun tricks anymore, but now they're are little requests and often demands for mommy. "Mommy ow" - pick me up mom; "mommy nana" - feed me mom; "mommy wawa" or "mommy mow"; give me something to drink (water/milk).

Not bad right? Well now imagine you've been asleep for 3 hours, nice and warm under the covers and you hear over the baby monitor "mommy baba" followed by screaming, screaming and more screaming. Oh, not so cute that night. Especially because she doesn't get a bottle anymore.

So what did I do you ask? I walked right in there and told her, just like Super Nanny would have done on her show...."it's time for bed sweetheart, you already had milk, now go to sleep", rubbed her little head, and she obeyed by laying down and going right back to sleep.

Right? Reality I walked in her room, picked her up, walked half asleep into the kitchen, got out a bottle from the top shelf hiding spot, filled it with milk, and put her back in bed. Mission accomplished, never heard a peep out of her all night.

Negative part of the story? She has now done this for 3 weeks. Every night. Preparation for midnight feedings you might say? Ahhhhh, what have I done!

So much personality!

Look who's talking! It seems that as soon as Avila hit 14 months she decided to start talking. Here are some of her favorite new words....

"Choooo"

Translation: Juice please

"Mow"

Translation: Milk please

"Baaaw"

Translation Options:
(1) Bottle
(2) Ball
(3) Book
(4) Bath

"eee-ee"

Translation: Kitty

Alternate meanings: Look mom, a kitty! Or....... Come here kitty, I want to attack you.

"No-no"

Translation: You really need a translation for this?

"Bye-bye"

Translation: Are we leaving yet? Or...... please, let's get out of this house.

"Chee"

Translation: Cheese please

"Bir"

Translation: Bird

"Oow"

Translation: Up

"Mmmmmmm"

Translation: the sounds she makes at breakfast while I'm drinking my coffee and she drinks her juice.

She tries to imitate a lot of what we are saying throughout the day, which has made us very conscience of what we are saying! These are the things that she says independently or in reference to things.

She's also learned to climb the stairs at the park and go down the slide by herself. She's a bit obsessed with this activity, but I have no complaints. I've developed quite the tan this week sitting on the sidelines watching her climb, slide, and repeat. Too bad it might be a little inappropriate for a pregnant woman to lay out on a public park in her bikini with a towel and a drink. Maybe I'll start a new trend or maybe I'll be the new spokes model for helping teens not get pregnant.......sure you get a cute baby, but look what happens to you after! You'll never look the same in a bikini again, moms are the reason the invented the tankkini.

Other fun developments of the month.......

I love to play with my friends. Sometimes I attempt to say their names. La-lin=Landon and Elly=Noelle. Learning to share has been rough though.

I love to go for bike rides with ma-ma. I wave and point while she rides us around the neighborhood and to the park.

I love to go for walks with ma-ma in the morning, even if it is a little chilly. Glad that Spring is finally here!

I love to watch movies after a long of playing while ma-ma makes dinner and we waiting for daddy to come home. We LOVE Elmo!

I love to color. Washable markers were a GREAT invention.

I made a best friend. Noelle. We love all the same toys and Elmo. Perfect Match. When she comes over we love to run around the house laughing and screaming.

I love to swing. Daddy had to take it down to finish some painting. I still sat in it for a while, waiting for it to move. Every morning after breakfast I bang on the back door to go outside to run and swing.

I get invited to birthday parties. I may be the youngest, but I'm still one of the girls.

Lastly new development, she will run up to any animal and "love on it" no matter the size. Dogs, cats, but as we learned last week NOT birds! There were a few on the ground near here at the park while we were having a snack and she FREAKED out. She will run screaming if any bird lands near her while playing at the park or beach. She doesn't mind them if someone is holding her or she's in the stroller - she actually calls out to them ...... "bir, bir, bir" pointing and smiling. She's an odd character.

That's pretty much it.....

new words,
new fun things to do,
new friends,

new fear of birds,

and a new sense of accomplishment at the park.

She's been a busy kid.