Emily update

Emily is 19 months old now! She really enjoys chasing after her sister and quietly observing the fast pace world around her. One of her favorite things to do is put on Ava's shoes and clomp around the house. I am surprised with how well she can walk around is such large shoes. Her other favorite activities are drawing with chalk and climbing up on anything she can possibly reach (Ava's bed is a favorite spot). Here are some recent pics.

Ava dresses herself

Ava takes great pride in dressing herself these days. She usually makes me leave the room so she can surprise me with what she has decided to put on for the day. I never know what I am going to see when she re-opens the door and excitedly yells Ta-Da! Here are a few pics of here recent outfit selections.

Enjoying the great weather

We took advantage of the great weather and headed out to half moon bay. The girls had fun playing at the beach then we took them to a kiddy ranch for pony rides.

Emily at 17 months

Here are some recent pics of Emily. She currently enjoys coloring, playing at the park and reading books.

Movin on up

A few months ago Emily started sleeping through the night and we needed to move her into Ava's room with the crib. This meant Ava had to relocate into her new room complete with a big girl bed. I was worried that Ava was not going to leave her crib and her room without a fight but I was totally wrong. Ava LOVES her new room and is so excited to show any visitors her room. She will escort any guest upstairs and proceed to say "look at my beautiful Room". After showing off her room she then proceeds to invite you to a jump party on her big girl bed.

jump party with Clark

Christmas and December pics

On December 10th Emily turned 3 months old. Her accomplishments to date are holding her head up, rolling onto her side and the biggest one Sleeping through the night!

Christmas Day was so much fun for us this year. Ava was very aware of Santa Clause and looked forward to his visit. Even though Ava woke up with a cold on Christmas morning that did not damper her spirits. She had a great time opening presents and singing her favorite Christmas songs: Frosty the Snowman, Deck the Halls, and Here Comes Santa Clause. After opening presents at our house we drove to Lodi for some more Christmas fun with Ava & Emily's abuelos. We miss being with family members living too far away for us to visit during Christmas and we send you all our love!

Emily 3 Months old

Ava wearing half of her Christmas outfit. She had a different shirt but insisted on wearing her new Elmo shirt.

Emily in her Santa dress

Sister Love

October Outings

October was a super fun month for us. We kicked off the month with a trip to Half Moon Bay to visit the pumpkin patch. Ava picked out her pumpkin, rode the on the mini train with dad, and zipped down the large inflatable slide.
For Halloween Ava's friend Sienna came over to trick or treat in our neighborhood. The girls were very shy for the first few homes we visited but that changed real fast. They quickly learned how fun it was to knock on doors and receive candy. By the end of the evening they were barging into the front door, yelling trick or treat and helping themselves to the candy!

So many pumpkins

Enjoying a train ride

Ava had so much fun on this slide

Emily showing off her Halloween outfit

Ava and Sienna in their Minnie mouse outfits and yes Ava is strutting her new favorite pose of finger in the nose...ahhh gotta love it!

Such a cute little Minnie mouse!

I'm a Big Sister

For months now we have been telling Ava that she is going to be a "Big Sister". On September 10th Ava's little sister Emily was born and she in now officially a big sister. As for Ava's reaction to this new little baby...let's just say the pictures speak for themselves!

ummm, what is this?

still not so sure about this "Big Sister" thing

Getting a closer look

OK, I think I like her!

Summer Fun

Sorry for the lack of updates this summer. Here is my attempt to catch up on what Ava has been up to for the past 2 months.

meeting Curious George at our local Pottery Barn Kids

firefighter Ava to the rescue

She loves driving any type of vehicle, especially this fancy big red fire truck

Meeting Bob the Builder at the Discovery Museum

Having some fun pool time with Mia at their Abuela's house

The Ocean Is Nice!

Since our last trip to the ocean we have really been working with Ava to teach her the ocean is not "scary" but that the ocean is "nice". We recently took Ava back Half Moon Bay and it seems that our reasoning has worked. She now says "ocean not scary, ocean is nice". Here are some pics of her braving the waves with dad!

getting close to the waves with dad

Okay, I think I have braved enough waves for one day!

Digging more holes

Hey dad, hope this feels good

More back rubs

Happy 2nd Birthday Ava!

Ava turned 2 on July 1st and in celebration of her big day we had a super fun Sesame Street themed Birthday party in the park! We had a great time celebrating this special day with our family and Ava's friends. The kids had a blast playing with bubbles, swinging on the swings, and eating Elmo cupcakes.

We would like to thank everyone who helped make this day extra special for our little Ava Miss Ava!

The big birthday girl!


Ava Loves this slide

Kushaan, Beau, and Katie

Beau & Ava making bubbles

Elmo cupcakes

mom and dad joining in the fun

enjoying the tire swing with Eli & Athena

Elmo & Grover funny fruit face platters