Swimming Lessons and Summer Heat!

Wow, triple digit temperatures have already arrived!  I can only imagine what temperatures will be come August.  This last week Ava had swimming lessons.  My aunt and uncle built a new house last year complete with a gorgeous backyard and pool.  Since our families spend a good amount of time together, my aunt wanted to make sure that the kids (Ava and my cousin Brittany's three kids) all had swimming lessons for safety reasons.  My Aunt Carolyn works with a woman who teaches swimming and she was nice enough to meet us at my aunt and uncle's house each day last week for private lessons with Ava.  I had a bad experience swimming when I was a small child and consequently didn't learn to swim until I was ten years old.  I was also terrified of putting my face in the water.  I was a little nervous about how Ava was going to handle the lessons.  It turns out I shouldn't have been because Ava took to it like a duck to water (ha ha!).  She was not afraid at all and just was so excited each day to get in the water.  She gets her fearlessness from Kevin because I am generally not a risk taker.  Ava's teacher, Miss Allison, was great because she was okay with us sitting outside and watching and Ava loved being able to show off for us.  This way we were also able to get pictures throughout the week.

This is the first day of lessons and Ava is practicing just putting her face in the water.

She also discovered that she can stand up in the shallow end and walk back and forth.

Miss Allison taught her about "motorboating"(which made me laugh because I kept thinking about one of my favorite movies, Wedding Crashers--"You motorboatin' SOB.  You old sailor, you.")  "Motorboating" is just blowing bubbles in the water with your mouth.

She was so proud of herself!

In the afternoons after the lessons we would sometimes hang around and all swim.  One of Ava's favorite things to do was put on a lifevest and then go jump off into the deep end.  The vest still let her go completely under but would quickly pop her back up.  She did this over and over, never holding her nose or worrying about keeping her eyes closed.  Here she is in the background climbing up the ladder to get out and jump back in.

Practicing kicking...

And learning how to use her arms...

Miss Allison gave Ava a beach bag at the end of the week with a beach ball, goggles, sand pail and shovel, and a bunch of other swimming goodies because she did such a great job.  Kevin and I let her pick out two new swimsuits, a couple of cover-ups, and a new float.  We are so proud of her!  We plan to continue to practice as much as possible this summer so that we can enjoy all the pools at the resort we are staying at on vacation.

The swimming lessons weren't until the afternoons and the heat was just unbearable even in the mornings.  So we decided to break out Ava's new slip-n-slide (and let me tell you, slip-n-slides have come a long way since Kevin and I were kids!) and cool off that way until heading to the pool.

Ava couldn't wait to get it all set up so she could start sliding.  Here she is striking a pose in her Jackie O/Audrey Hepburn sunglasses.  She is such a ham!

Waiting patiently for the pool to fill up...

And finally, time to slide!!!!

Such a fun week in our busy summer!  

My Mother's Day present has arrived!

Each year for Mother's Day, Ava makes or picks out a gift for me and Kevin also gives me a gift that is just from him.  This year on the Saturday before Mother's Day, Kevin told me that he was taking me shopping for new living room furniture for my gift.  I had been complaining the last few weeks that our furniture was looking really worn out.  We bought a couch, love seat, and chaise when we first bought our house 7 years ago.  This is what they looked like a few weeks ago:

The chaise actually looked really good but that is because we never sat on it.

Love seat is looking pretty raggedy...

Couch is looking real raggedy...and this is why:

Patton is a snuggler and he loves to be comfortable.  When I was on bedrest for the last few weeks of my pregnancy, this is where Patton and I hung out all the time.  This is his spot.  If you were sitting there, he would literally sit right in front of you on the floor and stare at you until you finally felt so guilty you would move.  Allie has never shown an interest in getting on the furniture and is happy to lay on the floor.  Patton, however, is on the couch or the bed or wherever he can squeeze his 100 pound furry self.  We had the couches steam cleaned all the time but eventually they got grungy again.  

So, off we went to the furniture stores.  I wanted to change things up a bit and try to find some furniture that would fit into the space better.  After visiting several different stores, I finally found what I wanted at The Great American Home Store.  Their service throughout the whole process was exceptional.  I ended up deciding on a sectional and a chair and ottoman combo.  The sectional could be delivered within the week but I had the chair and ottoman made from a custom fabric and it was going to take about 6 weeks to complete.  So I wasn't able to actually have my gift on Mother's Day but no big deal.

The day the sectional was to be delivered, we cleared out the room.

We got the sectional a few weeks ago but my chair and ottoman came today and now the room is complete!  Here are some pictures of the new room:

Ava was helping me take pictures by using the camera on her DS.  

When they brought the chair in, I realized that the fabric I had picked was extremely similar to the fabric on my curtains.  I guess I really like that fabric!  Now I'm trying to decide if I need new curtains though.  

A couple of different angles:

And I have to include this one.  Look closely at the bottom right part of the picture.

That's right...Patton is on the floor!!!  Poor thing is so confused as to why we won't let him get on the couch now.  We have one of those big, cushy dog beds for him but he just refuses to use it.  I guess he is on strike!

I am very pleased with the new furniture.  I think it suits the room a lot better and opens it up more.  Kevin and I love the sectional because we can both lay all the way down on opposite sides and be completely comfortable.  

I've been taking all the pics for my blog on my phone because it is so convenient but I am not very happy with the picture quality.  The colors just look so dull and washed out.  I guess I am going to have to break out my actual camera and learn how to use it!   Something to add to my to-do list!

An SBC Baby Shower!

This weekend, I helped to host a baby shower for one of my friends who I taught with at Southwind years ago.  There are six of us girls who taught together for several years that became friends and we are still going strong today.  We have celebrated many weddings and babies together and I hope we continue to celebrate many more--babies that is, not weddings as we are all married now. :)  Southwind was not the easiest place to start a teaching career and I can say with complete sincerity that I would not have been able to stay at that school for four years without these girls.  They are the reason that I kept my sanity during those four years and I love them!  This baby shower was a group effort and I think it turned it really well.

Friday night, I spent the evening prepping favors and decor for the next day.  I made these pretzels to give away as little treats.  You can probably guess that the baby is a girl...

They are super easy to make and are really festive and yummy.  Here is the finished product:

My friends and I got to the restaurant early to decorate.  Ashley scouted out some locations for the shower and booked a private room for us at Owen Brennan's.  It was a great choice and we set to work making the room look festive (while drinking mimosas, of course).

We went with a pink and green theme and Sara made bunches of these cute tissue paper flowers that we used all over the room.  

We incorporated some pink hydrangeas from Ashley's yard into the decor and also placed a framed copy of the shower invitation on the food table.  More tasty food...

Here is the cake table.  Jenny had these petit fours made and brought them and the cake stand from her home in Arkansas.  They were delicious!  You should have seen all of us trying to figure out how exactly to decorate this table.  We changed it I don't even know how many times before we decided on this.  We put one of the tissue paper flowers in the center of the cake stand and then Emily made a bow for the top as a finishing touch.

I made a couple of banners to go over the gift table.  The first banner is of the baby's name--Caroline.  I just made this on my trusty Cricut and tied it all together with ribbon.  Then I got some jute to string up like a clothesline and used these cute Shabby Chic clothespin to pin up the onesies that I got to give to Brandy, the mother-to-be.  

I got both a plain white and a plain pink onesie and ordered these cute iron-ons from Etsy to dress them up.  They turned out SO cute!

Brandy and her mom drove up from Louisiana for the shower.  It was the first time we had gotten to see Brandy and her baby bump and she looked so cute!

The guest of honor at her table

After eating, it was time to open gifts.  Brandy got some really nice stuff.

We had a really good time and it was so good to see each other since we are now spread out over three states.  

Congratulations, Brandy!  I wonder who the next baby shower will be for...:)

Ava's Last Week of 3K

Get ready to be inundated with pictures!!  This week was Ava's last week of 3 year old preschool.  She didn't start until this past February once I decided just to work part-time.  She dove right in though and absolutely loved it.  We did not have a moment's trouble getting her to go to school.  We would see quite a few parents every morning outside the classroom with their kids clinging to them and Ava would always just waltz right in.  She's my little social butterfly!  This Tuesday the school had their "Fun Day" for the kids.  Kevin had work to do but I went to hang out with her.  There were quite a few games for the kids to play.

Then it was time for face painting!  Ava chose a glittery, pink heart.

Afterward, it was time to go back to class and settle down with some coloring.

After the kids calmed down, Ava's teachers asked me if I would read a couple of stories to the kids.  It took me right back to my teaching days and the kids and I both enjoyed it.  After school was over, Ava and I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.  We hit up Hobby Lobby, Sephora, Ulta, and Target--all of our favorite stores.  One lady that was also shopping commented, "Wow, your little girl really gets into shopping!" (We were in the shoe section of Target!)  To which I replied, "Yep, her daddy is in trouble!" Ha!  She is a great shopping partner.  We found gifts to give to both of her teachers.  We thought these cute and summery plates, bowls, and cups would be great to relax and enjoy a nice meal outside this summer.

I made some bags with her teacher's initials and we wrapped them up!

This Thursday was her last day of school and the kids celebrated with their end of the year program.  Kevin and I had no idea how Ava would do with this since she has never been up in front of a crowd before, but she sang her heart out and just grinned and waved at us.  Unfortunately, we had to wait in the parking lot for all of our family to get there so we didn't get the best seats for pictures. 

The program was all about colors and each class wore different colored tie-dyed shirts.  Here is Ava in her shirt as her class was filing out after the program.  She had to stop and vogue for Kevin.

After the program, Kevin went home to go back to work and I told Ava that we could celebrate her last day of school by doing whatever she wanted to do today.  I know she is my child because she said she wanted to go get mani's and pedi's and then go eat lunch!  Ha!  So off we went to the nail salon.

We now have pretty toes

and pretty fingers!

Then it was time for lunch.  

Me:  "Ava, what do you want for lunch?"

Ava:  "I want chips."

Me:  "Well, what do you want to go with the chips?"

Ava:  "A sandwich."

Me:  "Ok, from where?"

Ava:  "Quey's."

Me:  "Huh?  Ooooh, you mean Huey's!  Honey, Huey's is the hamburger place."

Ava:  "Well, it's that place that ends in y's."

Me:  "I think you mean Lenny's?"

Ava:  "Yes, that's what I said--Lenny's!"

When we got home, I started unpacking her backpack.  She had quite a few cute little end of the year papers including this one:

Look at that last sentence.  I swear I was fighting back tears as I showed it to Kevin.  I have never known a child to be so passionate about wanting a sibling!

Her teachers had also included a CD of pictures they had taken throughout the year and it was fun to see what Ava's life was like at school when we weren't there.  Here they are:

This picture was taken on her first day.  It was Clifford the Big Red Dog Day.

Team Spirit Day along with a visit from the eye doctor.  Go Tigers!  You can't see it in this picture but she also had on the cutest Tigers ponytail holder.

A visit from the dentist

And a policeman

With her class and a parent reader

Celebrating her 4th birthday (she wanted to take Howard's donut holes for her friends)

Riding with a Bartlett policeman to raise money for St. Jude at the bike-a-thon

Bring your pet to school day

She crammed a lot a fun into these past four months but she got some learning done too

I cannot believe in one year we will be starting kindergarten!  Time does fly when you are having fun!