The Fighter's

The girls were so excited for Grammy to come and spend the weekend with them! They had so much fun with her...early morning bubbles on the deck, a walk/bike-ride to the park, shopping, reading, playing and of course lots of hugs and Grammy cuddles. Not to mention Grammy spoiled all of us (including my parents and family friends) with a super yum dinner of London Broil and her famous salad and twice baked potatoes on Saturday night. She spoiled Doug and I with some extra help and motivation around the house. Doug and her cleared out the last of the moving stuff and boxes and we can now park both cars in the garage. After 3 weeks we are officially completely unpacked. Yay ! We love our Grammy.

We are so enjoying this weather...playing outside, windows open, trips to the park. And...the pool opens this Saturday...can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One of my favorite things this spring is all the plants in our backyard. I'm still trying to figure out what everything is (I'm hoping Doug's mom can help me when she visits this weekend), but I am definitely enjoying the scenery. I also put together some pots of flowers...now lets see if I can keep them alive throughout the summer! I am a nerd and took some pics to document Fighter-ville's first bloom in our new home. Hopefully one day far in the future we can look outside and it will still be just as great (I'm really worried about killing it all!....did I mention I don't have the greenest of thumbs?). If not, we'll at least have the pictures to remember it by! Hope you are enjoying your spring just as much!

Doug and I were so lucky at our first home to have landed next to people that would not only be our neighbors, but that would become some of our very best friends. We all started out living on our street (2 and 3 doors down from each other), newly married and no kids. After hanging out a few times and clicking...the rest is history! Look at what we've grown to over the past 6 years (see pic below)! Seven kiddos all under the age of four and one on the way! We have shared lots of meals, play time, pool time, zoo time, babysitting time, pregnant time...just lots of time together. And even though we live 2 hours north now...we want to continue the fun. So...the neighbors drove the 2 hours north and came to visit! We were SO happy to have them...it was so much fun and the kids had a ball! The day started with a pizza party lunch, followed by lots of playing, chaos, screaming and running around the house (did I mention they were all under the age of 4?) and a trip to our town...

Tonight the girls and I went to my parents for dinner and my dad got orange/vanilla ice cream but told the girls that it was Orange Scream Ice Cream. So after dinner he dished out our bowls of "orange scream", took a bite and screamed. The girls thought it was hilarious and followed suit. They took the orange "scream" very literally...screaming after their bites:-) Who knew ice cream could be even more fun than it already is! Here's to Grandpa (pee-paw or gaw-paw as Kate says) and orange scream ice cream!

Happy Mother's Day! I am definitely a happy mom. My girls bring so much joy to my heart and I am so thankful that I have been so blessed by them. And not only am I blessed to be a mom on this Mother's Day...I'm so blessed to be a daughter to my amazing mom and mom in law. They are such strong, good hearted, faithful, loving women and if I can be half the mom and set half the example that they've provided to Doug and I, then I'll be doing OK .

Ava had her team pics taken today. They were too cute not to post. Go Wizards!

Kate found a pair of underwear today and put them around her head and arms. She was so proud of herself and kept saying..."look mommy". Her own unique accessory!

Ava & Kate have been snagging my camera...here are some of the shots they've taken. It's kind of fun to see things from their perspective:-) And...Ava is actually not that bad of a photographer. The first one is her taking a picture of the window...you can see her reflection! Kate's turn...

I decided to try a vegetable garden this year with the girls. I've never done this before and I don't have the greenest of thumbs but we're going to give it a whirl. Two types of tomatoes, cucumbers, jalapenos (for Doug) and pumpkins. The girls were so into planting the seeds (Kate wanted to eat the seeds) and hopefully they'll get a kick out of watching their veggies grow. Keep your fingers crossed that I can keep these veggies growing. I'm waiting for Grammy Fighter to visit town to transplant into the ground...too scared to do it myself:-) It will be a celebration when we have our first successful veggie result! 5/19 Update...they're growing....:-)

Fun Ava quote of the day.... Ava to me at Kohl's: "Mommy...look...a Tinkerbell towel. Tinkerbell's everywhere." Me to Ava: "Who else is everywhere?" Ava to Me: "Thomas (the train) .....and God." :-)

We had such a great day today! Saturday morning...woke up to Ava poking my face, made coffee, relaxed...then headed out the door to Ava's 9am soccer game and practice. My dad, Uncle Rob & Aunt Carly joined us...and I'm pretty sure that 3 year old soccer games may be one of the funniest things ever. Not only are they all just in their own little world...but the kids are just so darn cute. At one point a little boy got the game ball and started running towards the goal. ALL the other kids (on both teams) started chasing a ball in the opposite direction, that was sitting off the field. Definite You Tube moment. Laughing so hard I cried! Mornings don't get much better than that!

So first of all...I am happy to report that Ava has gone almost a whole week without binkies . My three and a half year old was only allowed to have them for naps and bed time, but boy was she addicted. She even slept with one in between the toes of her feet:-) A year ago the binky fairy came which worked for a few days, but then Ava came down with the flu and we didn't think it was the right time to make her give up binks being sick and all. So after some contemplation and advice from loved ones...we decided that it wasn't the worst thing in the world for her to have a bink . As other kids have thumbs, blankets, tags, etc., the bink was Ava's comfort, and as I did with my fingers and Doug did with his thumb...kid's will usually decide on their own to give up the habit. So instead we decided to try to encourage her every day to sleep without binks , but would give it until this summer to go cold turkey. Thankfully this past week at bed time, Ava said to us out of no ...

Ava had her first "arts & crafts" class today at our local rec center. The class lasts an hour and every week they'll make something artsy. She was SO excited to go...not only does she love doing arts and crafts, but she was excited about other kids being there and felt like such a "big" girl as this was the first class (besides Sunday School) that she got to go without Mom. I went in to fill out paperwork at the beginning of the class, and she very confidently said to me "this is just a kid class Mom." On that note I left! Today she made an Octopus. Instead of hanging on to every piece of art work (as much as I would love to)...I decided I'll take digital pics which will save some space for the extra special things she does through the years that I'll want to keep!

About twice a day Ava decides to tackle Kate or visa versa , and it ends up in a wrestling match. They roll all over the floor, giggling like crazy. I'm a little nervous about this new found game because Ava is so much bigger than Kate, but it seems no matter how hard Ava tackles Kate...she goes back for more. I stand by through the matches and am usually able to break them up before they end up with someone crying, but they do have so much fun together...and I just love their sweet sister giggles. Much different than the spit tortures I used to give my brother's (hopefully the girls don't ever learn that trick;-)).

2 giant truckloads, piles and piles of boxes and lots and lots and lots of greatly appreciated help from family and friends later...we're moved in! What a whirlwind! There are still boxes everywhere but we are making a good dent in it day by day. As someone who likes to have everything in order, right now ...it's been a tad tough looking around at the disarray , but I keep reminding myself that it will get done. And...we are so happy to be in our new home! I made dinner for the first time tonight in our new kitchen which was so fun (just need to remember where I stashed everything...took me 5 minutes to find the cutting board!). We are so thankful to everyone that came to help this past weekend...Mom F, brother Bobby and his girlfriend Katie for driving all the way up from Columbus for the day to help. Mom F is a pro at this moving stuff and helped keep things flowing...always going above and beyond! Katie was great with the girls, and I loved watching Bobby and Doug just be ...

...Can't describe how much I love to hear my little munchkins speak their first words. Kate's been speaking new words every day...sentences (her favorite..."I got you"...followed by a cheeky grin and laugh). It really is one my favorite things about being a mom...watching them learn new things, speak new words, do new things. Not much can compare. Even Ava's 50 billion questions in a row..."Mommy...how does the sun go down?" or "Daddy...how does it rain"...followed by 50 more "why's" and "how's". I don't think I could ever get tired of that! We snapped a quick movie of Kate's speaking her word for Grandpa..."Pee-paw". Yes...she calls him "Pee-paw".

Caught a few pics of the girls snuggling with their Grandma to read the new children's Bible they got for Easter:-) Ava's favorite story...the "sneaky snake".

One of our favorite games to play lately is "Ava & Kate's beauty shop". I am the customer, and Ava & Kate "beautify" my hair with a brush and goody barrettes , and in return, I pay them pretend money. Ava also likes to do Kate's hair...as is evidenced by the many barrettes in the picture below. It is so funny to watch...Kate sits patiently, letting her sister tug and pull at her small bit of hair:-) Kate is also a BIG fan of headbands. She puts them on herself...sometimes multiples...and it's always good for a laugh. You should give the shop a try sometime...

We had a double whammy this weekend. Not only did we celebrate Easter, but we celebrated our guy's 32nd birthday! Uncle Pat made the drive home, making our weekend family time more complete! Easter morning began with the girls finding their Easter baskets...they were thrilled with jelly beans, crayons, paint, bubbles and a new Children's Bible. After that was breakfast (egg casserole made especially for my birthday boy), then church, followed by an Easter egg hunt. While the girls were down for a nap, Doug and Uncle Pat went out for a round of golf and my mom and I went and picked up coffee and then for a stroll around Lowe's (needed her advice on paint colors and carpet)! We came home and put together beef tenderloin, twice baked potatoes and veggies for dinner. Uncle Rob & Aunt Carly came to join us which made the girls extra happy (especially when Aunt Carly painted their fingers and toes red...she makes them feel so special:-)). After dinner we sang happy birthday t...

We are so excited to have a new place to call our own. Closed on our new house yesterday and couldn't be more elated! Our family lived so many great memories in our house in Columbus and we're looking forward to the prospects in our new home. We are going to take the next few weeks to clean and paint and other odds and ends before officially making the move. My parents have been awesome letting us bunk with them until the house is ready...we are truly thankful for their generosity and giving up of their space for a few weeks. They have been troopers to say the very least. Here's a first picture of the girls in our new home...many more to come!