Catching up

I want to remember these cute first steps Ava took, even though it was months ago! She is a pro walker now, but those first steps are so sweet!!

rrroar!!

 We had a fun Halloween this year, with Ava being able to participate a bit more than she did last year! She loved her costume and had no problem keeping it on all night...she was such a ham for the camera too, can't you tell? :)

We got this costume for free from a family in our ward. They estimated that it was a 18month old size, but the suit was definitely way too small for Ava. We improvised and just took the tail off and had her wear the headpiece. It's so cold here anyway that most kids wear jackets so it wasn't a big deal. 

Dad and Ava at the ward trunk or treat. Ava fell on her face right after getting out of the car, so she was a little crabby all night.

Best costumes of the night! Our friend's the Shore's were the characters from Up! So creative, eh?

The next night we went to Beacon Hill for our annual excursion. We really are going to miss this tradition when we move!

I let her eat some m&m's and she was in heaven...H-E-A-V-E-N. Multicolored drool all down the chin of her costume.

So much fun!

Erik's first marathon

For some strange reason, Erik got it in his head that he wanted to run a marathon. He's crazy, I know! And to top it all off, he decided he wanted to qualify for the Boston marathon. THAT is crazy. He needed to run a marathon in 3 hours and 10 minutes. HOLY cow that is fast. He chose the New Hampshire marathon - a tough course but one of the only ones that was on a Saturday and within the time frame he needed. My parents just happened to be into town, so my dad also ran the half marathon, and my mom and I ran (read: walked) the 5K (which was a serious joke...laps around the elementary school! psh!). Dad and Erik did great and.....

ERIK QUALIFIED!!!

He ran it in 3:01 - what a great time! He got 1st in his age group and 4th overall (I'm allowed to brag :)) Dad ran the half in just under 2 hrs. Awesome job guys! We had a blast!!

13 months

This was a big month for you, baby girl. No wonder there were so many tantrums, because there was lots of progress as well!

- walking! finally!!!

- more words (mama and dada)

- pointing

- 5 teeth

- becoming more independent

- transitioned to one nap

- motioning with songs

 

 We sure love you sweet Ava Mae. I can't believe how much you've changed - I really feel like you're a toddler now. Thank you for still giving me kisses and loves and I can't wait to see how your personality grows and develops!

California and Disneyland

In August we met in California for a Walker Family reunion of sorts. My parents rented a beach house and we played cards, sat on the beach and visited Disneyland in a whirlwind weekend trip.

 

Ava loved Disneyland and hanging with the family so much that she just pooped out in her stroller...that's never happened before!

We got to meet my niece Claire for the first time. What a doll. Ava just could not get enough of her. Don't you love their matching onesies?

Worlds largest sourdough Mickey Mouse head 

Grammie and her two grandbabies!

The family with the 4 new additions in the last 3 years!

While there we got to visit with the only great Grandma that Ava had not met. It was so fun! Here is a 4 generation (kind of!) picture of the Hulterstrom girls.

Thanks for the great trip Mom and Dad!

dancing!

She won't talk or walk, but she will dance! 

(beginning and ending are the best)

(so she is actually saying "hi" a lot now, and waving, but amidst all the unstoppable jabbering, no other real words to my amazement. she walks a ton holding on to our hands and really could walk if she had the desire...apparently she just doesn't! she is really good about giving kisses and loooooves babies. she also just discovered a love for the pool and a great knack for throwing tantrums [the plopping-herself-on-the-floor-and-crying-when-she-doesn't-get-something-she-wants kind of tantrums]. love this stage.)

picking peaches

This oh-so-cute farm just outside the city has strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, apples and pumpkins available to pick during the summer/their season. We went as a family on Saturday and gobbled up the amazing peaches and nectarines - so fun! Ava was in HEAVEN...always begging for more of any fruit she could get her hands on - full manifestation of the fruit gene!

look at that joy!

happy as can be

full mouth...and look at that yummy juice!

we didn't even have to use a ladder :)

milestones

Ava took her first steps yesterday!!! She even performed for her grandma and grandpa on 

g-chat video.  We are so excited! 

(photos of Ava's Seattle birthday party - courtesy of Lar)

our sweet girl turns 1!

I'm so far behind...


Ava Mae turned 1 on July 23rd, so we held a little gathering in her honor. It was lady bug themed in honor of her favorite blankie (thanks Jamie for the idea!). We had cupcakes and brownies and invited some friends over. I had planned to have everyone outside in our yard, but mother nature decided torrential downpour was the order of the day so we squished everyone inside instead. Made for a cozy evening, but the kids seemed to have fun!

We have made some great friends here in Boston and their support really means a lot to us! Mel and Derrick (above) just had their first - what a sweet baby.

Jamie, Bryson, Eliza and Rachel, Hailey and Ethan (two of the 5 kids from the ward who were born within 3 weeks of Ava)

This is the face of pure joy. We got a great video of the cupcake action and I will get it up soon. Let's just say she was not letting go of that cupcake for ANYTHING!

This is a perfect portrayal of our life these days - Ava always wanting to be touching me/in my lap and I am constantly trying to reassure her that she is okay sitting on her own.

She got a lot of great books from our wonderful friends!

Thank you again to all our friends who were able to come!

1 year stats:

Height: 31.25 inches (97th percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs 14 oz (86th percentile - a big girl!)

Head: 97th percentile

At 1 year, Ava is curious, happy, sweet and chatty! She doesn't have any real words yet (to my sheer amazement), but she jabbers up a storm and is constantly "talking" to me. She started sucking her finger a couple weeks ago, and it is her new favorite thing (see above picture!). She LOVES pulling things out of the bathroom cupboards, and still puts a lot of things in her mouth. She loves playing peek-a-boo, cuddling with her blankie, and greeting daddy when he comes home from work. She has an amazingly infectious laugh and great smiles, but those who aren't around her often have to work hard to see them. She is cautious around new people but loves to be out and about. She still refuses to sleep on airplanes and loves walking while holding on to our hands. She can unload the bookshelf in 5 seconds flat, loves bubbles and laughs at Toy Story. She is my cuddle bug, "punky" and sweetheart, and we have sure enjoyed her 1st year of life!

more eating adventures

This girl loves to eat. I feel like more than half the videos we have of her and from this angle, eating one thing or another. This one is pretty funny - we gave her a mango seed with some mango on it to suck on. She had a hard time holding on to it, but sure got testy if it fell down!

Check out the excitement 35 seconds in...

another yummy recipe

We have been on a white chocolate kick lately, and what is better with white chocolate, than macadamia nuts? Enter the best white chocolate macadamia nut cookie recipe EVER.


White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies
from All Recipes

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coarsely chopped macadamia nuts
• 1 cup coarsely chopped white chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the macadamia nuts and white chocolate. Drop dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Trust me on this one, you won't be disappointed!

image from http://www.visionsofsugarplum.com/2008/04/white-chocolate-macadamia-nut-cookies.html

a few more...

Our internet was out for a week and a half. I kind of hated it. And I kind of loved it all at the same time. Now I'm having a serious relationship crisis with Facebook. We may be on the fritz.

Anyway, here are a few more pictures. The first is to show Grammie how much hair Ava has! (yes, I know the piggies are kind of ghetto...it's just for a picture!)

The second is to document how many teeth Ava has at 11 months. Can you see the little molar? That popped out without us knowing. Weird.

And two more cute videos. I couldn't resist. Some days, this is what we do...a lot.

And finally...I KNEW there was a budding musician in there! Look at that pure delight!