The Fighter's

Trying to figure out this bubble stuff...Kate just wanted to eat the bubbles. Ava's new pastime ...going down the slide backwards. Kate crawling over to cause havoc and succeeding.

Grammy's house.... Welcomed by sweet hugs and kisses every time, the scent of delicious food cooking in the oven (sometimes a Sunday lunch, other times a mid-week dinner), warm, cozy, loving. Favorite toys include the coasters (both sets...the beige coasters and the hamburger coaster set), fire place blower thing (not sure the official name), fridge magnets, the recliner, wooden wine cups, and the green bag of toys (which includes puzzles, books and other trinkets). Ava loves to build a fort with Grammy's blankets between the couch and the recliner (she also loves to make her poor Grammy crawl through the fort with her 50 million times). And lately she's been stealing Grammy away upstairs for an application of clear nail polish, lip gloss and blush. She comes down every time strutting her stuff, saying...look mommy...with pursed lips, feeling like a queen! Kate loves getting into Grammy's cupboards, messing with grammy's cd player and/or the VCR(which is off limits....

Whoever thought that my two little brothers Rob & Pat (aka Robby Bobby and Patricia), who I used to kneel on and perform spit tortures to, who used to chase me up and down the stairs in all out physical warfare while our friends sat on the couch (watching in wonderment)...would ever grow up to be two of my very best friends. Cheesy line…yes. But it’s true. They have grown to be such kind-hearted, great guys who are so much fun to be with. I am truly thankful. Doug and I were blessed to be able to spend the weekend with the two of them and their amazing better halves. My parents took the girls for the weekend, and we (minus Doug who was at a golf outing) started the day out at Pat’s for bagels and coffee. We then headed down to campus for OSU/OU tailgating. After a painstaking game for the Buckeyes who ultimately won (but barely…go Bobcats!) we took naps, cleaned up and headed downtown to Martini’s for a fantastic dinner out. It was fun to look around the table and see how “grown up...

Here is a shot of Ava's new do. She had about 3 inches chopped off into a cute little bob. Adds to her spunkiness (and it's so "trendy" that I'm thinking of following in her footsteps)!!! The girls are headed to grandma & grandpa's and Doug and I will be spending the weekend here in Columbus with my brothers and their better halves. Can't wait! Hope you all have a fantasticly fantastic weekend!

Gotta love it! I know I adore my thomas the train loving, movie star princess!

This is my absolute favorite month. Nothing better than September...fall is coming (my favorite season), college football, school is back in session (I always used to love going back to school!), beginnings of crisp autumn air and leaves, autumn sunsets and skies...I could go on and on! And we rang in my favorite month with a wonderful day! Here are a few pics from the picnic we had with neighbors. We are so thankful to have such great friends living right next door, all with kids the same age. It can often times be sort of crazy with 6 kids running around under the age of 3 (and 1 on the way), but it is so nice to be able to relate as parents...and the kids have so much fun together. I just love watching Ava & Kate running around, laughing and giggling and having so much fun with the other kids. So much joy! What are you doing Kate? Haiden & Ava cooking with their hard hats on... And now grocery shopping... Kate checking out Carter...

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 ...