The Fighter's

Here's a movie clip (press play button on 1st pic) and some other pictures of the girls having fun in Kate's crib (not a usual activity, but they were having too much fun!)...

Doug brought home a new wagon today and Ava couldn't wait to help him put it together. I just loved watching them work on this...reminded me of fun projects I got to help my dad with while growing up. Father/daughter bonding does wonders for a young girl's confidence. Dad's are the best! Future engineer?? Perhaps she'll follow in her daddy and her Godmother Kacy's footsteps.

Doug has been traveling a bit for work lately, and it's so fun to watch the girls run and clobber him when he walks through the door after being away for a few days. They just adore him to pieces (as you can see from the pics below) and I just had to capture (and share) the moment! The girls love thier daddy and I love my Doug!

Today was an adventure. Girls woke up in a great mood. Dropped them off at sitter. Breakfast with Doug. Productive with work. Then, my husband (who was working at home this morning because he has been working evenings/nights this week) decided to take a break and come talk to me in my office. While talking, he was rummaging through drawers and found masking tape. At this point he began wrapping masking tape around me and the chair and....I was laughing so hard, I couldn't fight back. After about a minute of masking tape, my dad called....Doug answered the phone, handed it to me without saying a word, went to go work out and left me stranded with phone, in my office, completely stuck in masking tape. I was laughing so hard I was crying...haven't done that in a while...loved it! After finishing work (and digging myself out of masking tape)...I picked up the girls and headed to Kroger for some grocery shopping. Ava is addicted to shopping carts that double as kiddie cars. She expe

I have to confess that I have been addicted to the 2008 Olympics...I have enjoyed taking up space on the couch every night, lounging and watching the games (how about Phelps!). So here I am playing catch up again...... And in true Olympic fashion, the Fighter household had a major victory on August 12, 2008 (writing it down for the record books!). Ava went tinkle on the potty!!!!! Yes!! I never realized how exciting this would be. We have tried with our Ava, but the stubborn little peanut wouldn't have anything to do with it. Finally on Tuesday I told her that "today was the day"...no more diapers. After some resistance, and Dora the Explorer undies, she decided to give in. While playing in the basement, she declared it was time...I ran her up the stairs so fast, plopped her on her little potty and bingo! She got it. You should have seen her face light up when she realized (although the look of astonishment probably had something to do with wonderment of her mom jumping

Kate's trying so hard...working on her first few steps! She'll be walking before we know it...

We are so grateful for our neighborhood filled with young families like ours. They're all fantastic, and it is so much fun for Ava to have kids her age to play with, right next door. After dinner we usually find ourselves outside hanging with our neighbors, while the kids run back and forth between all the different yards, play sets, trampoline and toys. Tonight we had so much fun... some of our neighbors pulled out boxes of dress up clothes and let the kids have at it. They had an absolute blast. We had Spider Man, Alice in Wonderland & Snow White (among many other princesses), Buzz Light year and others. Adorable! Here are a few shots.

Here are some shots of the girls from the past few days. We have been enjoying our backyard. Ava insisted on holding Kate down the slide...so we let her (with a little help). As you can see...Ava loved every second of it. Kate had her doubts! Freeze pops....yum... Running start, big splash & tuckered out... And today is an absolutely gorgeous day...we have all the windows wide open and are enjoying the 70 degree, non-humid weather. Love it!! This morning we walked to the park and took a picnic for lunch. Ava ventured on a few areas of the playground, climbing things she has never climbed before. She worked and worked until she finally mastered them by herself! I think her dad gave her the confidence to try…he was right behind her the whole time. And I wish you could have seen her big grin and proud swagger when she finally got to the top without Doug's help. Priceless! Kate had a ball climbing through the tunnels…she gave me a few heart attacks (the kid has no fear) and

The highlight of today..meeting baby Colin...new bundle of joy to our good friend's Jenn & Brian. He is adorable to say the very least and Jenn & Brian are naturals! Of course when you go to a new baby's home you want nothing but to bring a peaceful visit. I don't know what we were thinking bringing our 1 & 2 year old kids (sorry Jenn & Brian!). As soon as we got there, Ava & Kate started full fledge fighting over who got to sit on my lap. After numerous girl screams, hair pulling (mostly by Kate), pushing (mostly by Kate) and knees to my stomach (Ava)...my husband, who was sitting across the couch laughing, finally came to my rescue...for them only to crawl right back to me and start the whole thing all over again. The girls have desperately been vying for my attention lately...much to Doug's comedic relief (and honestly sometimes...to my wits end). I just keep reminding myself that there will most likely come a day when my girls will outwardly wan

We had a party Monday night with neighbors to celebrate Katelyn's first birthday! I can't believe it has already been a year. Seems like just yesterday Doug and I moseyed on into the hospital at 7am and spent the Saturday watching golf and waiting for our peanut to arrive! She is such a joy and it is so fun to watch her personality come out. Doug and I think she will be our little spitfire…into everything and not afraid to use those vocal cords. Here are a few pics of the birthday party. 7 kids under the age of 3.5…chaotic to say the very least. Kate sat in the middle of all the older kids and sucked her thumb while they all opened her presents. Once they were open, she just wanted to sit on top of the boxes. Entertainment at it's best! Happy birthday Katelyn!

We have a lot to celebrate in my family! Since I have not written in a while, I will try and catch up on this past month’s events week by week as concisely as possible!: 1. My mom’s surgery was a success and she has recovered very well! She now has one meter of platinum coils in her head, but as of this past Thursday, was granted a clean bill of health by the doctors. We are thankful that the good Lord was merciful and gracious to us, and was able to use the hands of the great surgeons at U of M to fix my mom! Looking back, not only was the outcome of the surgery amazing but the whole experience was. Our family banded together like I’ve never seen…my aunts flew in from Phoenix & VA to join my uncle, dad, brother, family friends and I in supporting each other. It was amazing to see first hand how God truly, truly works through people to comfort, heal and support one another. We were touched by so many people through this whole thing that were truly acting as his hands and feet and c