Our daily routine

Every day after work, I go to pick up Sebastian and then we go together to get Ava. Ava is usually playing in her crib since she doesn't take a nap after 1 p.m. So by the time we see her late afternoon, she is so delirious and really "punchy". Of course we think it's really cute but the punchiness lasts until we arrive home and she turns into this little sleepy grumpy growling bear. But at least we get to laugh with her for 30 minutes.

Sorry for all the commentaries in the video. I had a hard time getting the words out that day.....

Once upon a time, ANOTHER little Princess got herself in a wee bit of mischief.....

Sorry, my previous post wasn't very clear. Hopefully the URL attached will allow you to link to my friend's funny story about her 2 yr old Princess ;-)

Sebastian's first Football team Picture

Sebastian has also had a "first". His first Flag Football team picture and his first touchdown. We have had only one game because the games have been rained out the past two weekends. But Sebastian did help the team score a touchdown during their first game :-)

Big smile on a sunny day

It was a picture perfect day and Ava was in a bright colorful dress so I decided to take a photo opportunity. She wore this dress only once and that was for the interview in Hanoi. Even though this is the first day of Fall, it still felt like Summer! So I figured, this will be her second and last time to wear this dress. She's so beautiful in it (my personal opinion of course).

A week of many "firsts" (part 3)

As they say....everything happens in "three's". I think Ava has been "holding" out on us and saved everything for one wek for us to discover. I missed the first few times we caught Ava pulling herself up in her crib. She is officially pulling herself up in a standing position. Of course the digital camera would be nowhere in sight when I needed it! Until last Sunday, when she woke up from her nap and lo and behold, she was standing up waiting for someone to come rescue her. I immediately yelled "now is a good time to lower the crib mattress!" :-)

A week of many "firsts" (part 2)

A video of Ava clapping her hands. She has discovered that if she puts her hands together, they make a slapping sound! Of course Mommy has to provide the music to go along with the clapping ;-)

A week of many "firsts"

I can't believe another week has gone by. Since our schedules have gotten a little more hectic, I will update my blog once a week. This past week has had several "firsts" for our little one. Here are some pics to capture and summarize what I'm talking about.

First time Ava is wearing shoes. I bought five pairs of sqeaky shoes for Ava in the open markets in Ho Chi Minh City. They were about $4 a pair. They cost $12-$19 over the internet. The shoes don't stay on her feet very long and she drags her feet on the carpet when she's crawling.









I bought these shoes hoping they would fit her next year when she was 18 mths old. I've never put shoes on Sebastian before he could walk because I didn't think that was very practical. I was a little off in the shoe sizing for Ava and her first pair fit her at 8 mths old. Oh well, they look cute on her feet.









Ooops, there she goes! Once she got the crawling figured out, I had to learn to shoot pictures faster ;-)

Ava's teeth are coming in nicely

Ava's little bunny teeth.


Who are you calling a bunny?

Ava's Stance

We have decided that Ava will make a good waitress someday when she's working her way through college. She has this stance with her arms and hands that we have noticed ever since she was an infant. She always raises her arms above her shoulders and lays her hands out. All you need to do is put a tray in her hands and teach her to say "may I take your order?"





Maybe if I smile a lot, they'll give me a great tip ;-)

Ava's second week of daycare

Ava's second week of daycare remains the same. Drop off in the morning is effortless. I think it's because it's so early in the morning and she doesn't know what hits her yet. Although the past few days, she has been following me around the room as I put her weekly supplies in her cubby. She is still struggling with the afternoon naps and bottle. Between 4 - 6 p.m. she turns into a glassy eyed zombie. No matter how early I leave work in the afternoon, it really is a long day for the little one.

Ava learning her social skills....gee that toy looks interesting.



What do you mean you had it first? Did you ever hear about the "toddler rules"?









I didn't take anything...honest. I was just sitting here with my binky.

Little BIG Piggies

Ava has always had these pudgy little piggies. I remember the first time I looked down at her feet, her toes were so pudgy that they didn't fit side by side. They were more kind of staggered because of their thickness. I had to do a double take because for a second, I thought she had six toes on one foot. I still love to kiss her little piggies ;-)

Flag Football

Here are shots of the first few flag football practices. We are in full force three times a week. I pick up the kids from daycare, rush them home to jam dinner down their mouths and then off to practice. This Saturday is the first flag football game. The kids don't have uniforms and football equipment in flag football. Thank goodness...I'm not ready for "real" football just yet.




















Ava on the sideline. She's not sure if she likes the feel of grass under her.

The return of the raspberries

If you haven't notice by now, I've become addicted to movie clips. It seems the work days are so long and the evening time with the kids is so short. So I've captured every cute moment so I can remember what it was like being a baby. I wish we had the digital technology when Sebastian was a baby. All his baby videos are still on video tapes.

Anyway, Ava hasn't done her raspberries in a few weeks and she has returned to the raspberries this evening. Here is a clip of her raspberries and trying to find her binky (pacifier).

Ava's Plastic Ring Game

I really can't take credit for this game. Michael came up with this game and since he was with Sebastian at flag football tonight, I had to come up with some entertainment. For her AND for me ;-) I get such a kick on how she drops a ring so she can grab a new ring. It's like each ring is better than the last one. Hey, family games can be so entertaining.

Cape May Pictures

Sebastian mastering his cannonballs in the pool.


A little beach time.









Leaving our imprints behind (for a fleeting moment)




My Mommy made me pose for this picture since she's always behind the camera lens.










Dinner is ready!












We were sitting on the bench when Sebastian saw a man standing outside the Fudge shoppe with a tray in his hand. He asked me if he could go over and try an "example". I started to giggle because I knew what he was saying.










Here's how the fudge is made as the man demonstrates in the store window.

Ava Learning to crawl!

Here it is....Ava has finally figured how to move across the room especially when something catches her interest, a remote control! Sebastian's favorite toy was a remote control so why not Ava? We have tons of "dummy" remotes laying around the house so it wasn't like we didn't have any to spare ;-) Ava's life will never be the same and so is ours!

Ava Babbling

I know it's been a couple days since I've posted anything. We spent a nice long weekend at Cape May for Labor Day weekend. That's when we discovered a LOT of new things about our sweet little Ava. She is cutting two more teeth, has learned to babble in her baby talk AND has mastered the crawl. I have attached her babbling video. I know, I know, the littlest milestones are HUGE events in our lives and we wanted to share it with you!