Houghtaling Girls: March 2011

Sunday, March 27, 2011

March Madness, Elmo, and Houghtalings!!

This was our weekend!! First, let me share this picture. It made me cry. Happy tears, but tears. I LOVE, LOVE this book John is reading to Ava. It's called A Blessing From Above. It's about a kangaroo who wants nothing more than to have a little baby in her pouch. And one day she is resting under a tree and a little bird falls into her pouch. The mama bird didn't have room for the baby bird so he lived with the kangaroo in her pouch! It's such a great "adoption" story and I hope one day it all sinks in with her. I want that little girl to know what she means to us and how many nights I thought of her and prayed for her to be in "my pouch".

So, when you live with a 47 yr old man who is obsessed with March Madness and a 2 yr old who is obsessed with Elmo, someone has to lose right? Well, other than the fact I have NO time to catch up on General Hospital, Ava got stuck watching an Elmo DVD on the portable CD player. Thank goodness we had a DVD. We usually just DVR Sesame Street, but I bought the DVD to take to China.

My child has recently become obsessed with Elmo! We started to turn on Sesame Street recently and she took an instant liking to the little red monster! She asks where he is, calls out for him at 4am, and carries him everywhere! Our house has turned into an Elmo shrine! Haha!!

Saturday, we had some of the Houghtaling's up for a visit. It was just a small get together, but it was close to John's sister, Anne's birthday, so we took the opportunity for another donut cake! Yes, that's 2 in one week. We opted for chocolate frosting this time. I prefer the white, but it was still super yummy!

Cousin Quinn made an awesome cheesecake!

John's niece, Tiffany, just had a baby girl and they were able to stop over. Ava loves babies! She kept trying to feed her with her plastic food! Haha!

Here is John with a some of his siblings that came up!

John's brother, George looks alot like John and they both even have the same build. Well, with both of them in black, I had a hard time telling them apart from the back. I ended up rubbing on George's arm once and even sat down next to him. I definitely was blushing a few times on Saturday night.

Here I am with my 2 husbands!

Ava repeats almost everything that she sees! Sometimes it's not always a good thing!

Like drinking out of the dog dish!

This morning, John's best friend from high school, Lloyd and his wife Sandra came up for brunch. We went to the Holiday Inn French Quarter. Sandra brought her 2 daughters and it was much appreciated! Monica kept Ava entertained and kept taking her on walks!!

Here we are together with Lloyd and Sandra. They are great people and I wish we could have spent more time together!

My vision is continuing to improve and I'm so excited! Just a few more days with no makeup. I hope the people at work don't freak out tomorrow!!

Have a great one!!

Sara

Friday, March 25, 2011

I Can See!!

Not too much happening in these parts since I have to rest my eyes...

But let me tell you how AMAZING this is! The procedure was virtually painless and I could see a little when I got home. I took the required nap (darn it) and when I woke up, I could see the alarm clock!! It was soooo awesome! And now I will never wash my hair with conditioner again. I'll actually be able to see the shampoo bottle! I went today for my follow up appointment and everything looked great. I could almost read the whole bottom line except for one letter. The Dr. said it was probably because of my dry eyes. I had to take a family pic one last time in my glasses. They are never AGAIN!!

They give you a pair of sunglasses to wear home and to wear because of the sensitivity to light. I basically kept them on as a shield from Ava! Haha! Anyhow, here is my little Mini Me. She needed to wear her "gassees" around the house, too!

Wednesday night, I went to the Red Wings game with my friend, Tricia. We went to a little bakery in Detroit and I got Ava a cupcake. I think she liked it!

Spring fever is flying around my house! And guess who has it the worst? I think she wishes she would've been in a park for a picnic instead...

We have a busy weekend with some of the Houghtaling clan coming to town. Hope you have a great one!!

Love,
Sara

PS: You will notice my child is in a diaper in most pictures. She hates to keep her clothes on and asks to take them off immediately when we get home or when she gets up in the morning! Is this normal??

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Happy Referral Anniversary!!

One year ago today at 11:15pm, this is the sweet face that I saw for the first time:

And my life has never been the same and I couldn't be more in love!

One year ago, I became a Mommy.

Although it took months to bring her home, I was still her Mommy. And that is a title I am proud to have!!

I love you, Ava Kate!! You are my world!!

All Kinds of Stuff!!

Hi!! Remember us? I knew I was a bit behind with blogging and that was confirmed today when I received a few messages wondering when I was going to update! Haha!!

First things first!
A HUGE shoutout and congratulations to our very dear friends ~~

Lisa and Keith Mullen

They just annouced the arrival of their first baby due in October! We are so excited for them and can't wait!! Congrats, you guys! We love ya!!

Where do I start about the last few days?? Hmmm...
Let's start with the potty...
We went from this:

Back to this:

Ava has completely regressed with potty training. And it all started when we went from treats to stickers. We are seeing a slight progess since we went back to treats, but not what we hope for. It's ok, though. We are going to let her do it in her own time. I don't want to rush her.

Thursday night after swimming lessons, Ava got a visit from Nana. She was already in the bathtub and Nana went in to see her. Ava decided Nana's hair needed a washing, too! My mom was such a good sport!

We are still struggling with Ava's sleeping schedule. These wee hours of the morning wake-ups are exhausting Mama! So, Friday night after work, I asked John if he would mind if I laid down and took a 30 min power nap. Of course he had no issue so off to nap I went. And woke up 3 1/2 hours later!! I slept through dinner and everything. But it was AMAZING! And it felt so good!! And I wasn't even up all night! I went back to bed around 11 and wouldn't you know Saturday was the day Ava slept until 7! So, I got another 8 hours of sleep. It's safe to say, I'm caught up on my sleeping! Haha!!

Amy, Sara, and I threw a diaper shower on Saturday night for our friend Heather. She is having her 2nd little girl on April 5th! She already has one little girl, Jada, who will be 2 in this summer. We can't wait to meet Jada's little sister!!

I was horrible taking pictures Saturday night and got very few...But I did manage to get a picture of this:

The VERY BEST AND MOST YUMMIEST CAKE EVER!!! It's a donut cake from Haas Bakery. It is made out of donut batter. It is soooo good!! We got a huge cake and there wasn't much left by the end of the night!

Ava had a blast at the party. She had a hard time in the beginning with sharing her toys, but a tiny discussion with Mama in the bedroom rectified that situation. And she was excellent after that!!

She was super tuckered out and passed out on Amy:

On Sunday, Ava went to her friend Gabbi's birthday party. Gabbi is in her class and they invited Ava over.

I'm sure she was a little confused and just kept staring at me while they sang Happy Birthday, but she sure enjoyed the cupcakes!! Here is Ava and Gabbi:

After the party, we went to my mom's house because she made a big pot of chili and she cleaned out her closet. So I went shopping at my moms and ended up with some new shirts! Thanks, Mom!! We were all trying on new shirts and my aunt Tammy put one on. Ava looked at her and said "Aw, cute!" So funny!!

Ava got bored while we were trying on clothes, so she had her own fun:

We kept telling her all the dishes were dirty, so she decided to wash them:

I have been in complete, absolute spring cleaning mode! Yesterday was the spare bedroom closet and Ava's closet. I went through summer clothes for her to see what we needed. We are going to Florida the first week of May. So, I need to gather shorts, sundresses, and sandals! I think she is all set. Maybe just need to get a couple of pairs of shoes for her.

Tonight, I cleaned out the our bathroom closet and drawers. Ava and John were a big help:

Next up is our closet and dressers. It's a mess and I'm embarrassed! I'm kind of holding off until I can transition the summer clothes. Hopefully soon?????

And last, but not least:

Nah, Nah, Nah....Nah, Nah, Nah, Nah...Nah! Hey! Hey! Hey! GOODBYE!!!

It's official.

The time has come.

My LASIK is scheduled.

Thursday at 11:45, my vision with be corrected to a smooth, crisp 20/20! I cannot even begin to tell you the excitement I have!! I have had glasses since 2nd grade and contacts since 11th grade. It's over. And I couldn't be happier!!! Stay tuned!

Hope all is well with you!!

Love,

Sara

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Love,
Ava

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Spring Has Sprung!!

The warm is approaching here in Northwest Ohio!! And this family couldn't be happier! Today the temperature was close to 60! And rumor has it that Friday it's going to be 70!!

We took advantage of the weather and took Ava out to play. Our awesome neighbors have offered full access to their swingset! And she LOVED it!!

Enjoy the weather!!

Love,

Monday, March 14, 2011

Our Weekend

It was a quiet, low key weekend around here! And it was much needed!!

Daddy was still super sick all weekend. He had strep throat and was literally in bed from Thursday night until Sunday afternoon. He isn't 100%, but definitely better! Yea!!

My mom took Ava for a couple of hours Friday night so I could rest my eyes after my appointment. We did nothing. Just laid around all night. Aaahhhh....

Saturday, Ava and I did the Walmart trip! She isn't the best person to go shopping with, but she loves to push the cart!

Saturday night, Ava and I made her treats for St. Patrick's Day to take to school. There were many options, but since the kids are only 2, I kept it simple.

Once I got her off the counter...