The Fighter's

Ava has a new hobby...she is my bracelet making machine!  She spent all day today making bracelets for all of her friends.  Love my crafty girl!

Welcome October!  We love Fall and decided to kick off one of our favorite months with a trip to the farm!  The girls had a blast and so did we.  Pumpkins, cows, piglets, sheep, bunnies, kittens, beautiful farm setting and perfect Fall weather made for a fantastic Friday night outing:-)  We loved watching the girls run around with their big smiles...Olivia trying to keep up with Ava and Kate.  So much fun!  This is a night I would easily hit the repeat button on many times!  Happy Fall!

Today at the park, Ava initiated a conversation with a little 4 year old boy who we later found out was named Nash.  He was sitting on a see-saw with his mom.  Ava threw a few quick smiles his way and then an exuberant "Hey! Do you want to play?" To which Nash replied with an excited..."yeah...mom, help me off this see-saw!"  He was the cutest little boy...full of smiles, extremely outgoing and as excited as Ava to have made a new friend.  The two of them hit it off immediately and enjoyed each other's company for the next hour.  I began talking with his mom - a mother of 4 - kids ranging in age from senior in high school to Nash, their youngest.  As we chatted and watched the kids play...I noticed that Nash had casts on his legs and had some trouble keeping up with Ava.  At the jungle gym he had to hold onto the side bars or crawl to make it up the stairs.  As we watched...his mom told me that he had...

Yesterday was my 31st birthday...can't believe I'm 31. Seems like yesterday I was counting down the days to my 16th birthday!  Anyways... I had a fantastic day....dinner out at one of my favorite Italian restaurants with Doug, the girls & my mom, followed by a scavenger hunt with my girls to find my gift (they thought that was the coolest !) and a "dessert smorgasbord" - all put together by Doug (thanks babe!).  The girls made homemade cards and Ava wrapped a book of leaves that she made at school that day. ;-) And...I am SOOOO excited because Doug surprised me with a new "fancy" camera! I have been like a kid with a new toy the day after Christmas. I think I have taken pictures of everything in our house...trying to figure out the settings and features. I can't wait for a nice sunny day to take the girls to the park for a "photo shoot"!  Lots to learn...shutter speed, aperture, exposure, flash compensation...but I am having fun reading...

Our sweet little Olivia is one!  We celebrated with a family dinner, cupcakes & presents! Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle Rob, Aunt Carly & Jet came over to help celebrate.  Livvy has brought so much fun to our lives.  She is curious, determined and makes us smile with her laugh, dance moves and silly antics.  Her sisters absolutely ADORE her...always trying to steal hugs and kisses.  She goes by many nicknames - Livvy, Liv, Lou, Livvy Lou, Boo, Sissy and Moo Moo.  Olivia weighs 21 pounds and is 28 inches long (50% percentile for weight, 30% for height).  She says mama, dada, mama (grandma), "mil" (milk), "ayyigator" (alligator - which we think is a riot - out of all the words - but she loves her sisters' alligator song and tries to chime in and does a pretty good job!), doggy, up and all done.  She has been taking steps since she was 10 months...but is full blown walking now and able to crawl up steps.  Livvy is growing mo...