ZING ZAng zOom

We went to the Barnum and Bailey/ Ringling Brothers Circus a few weeks ago. It was SO much fun! I wasn't sure if Ava was maybe too young but she wasn't. Ava LOVED everything. We arrived early for the preshow where we got to meet some of the performers and see the elephants do some tricks.
Here she is with one of the clowns.

After the pre-show the stage was so packed with people it took forever to get back to our seats. So Russ sat down on one of the risers and I snapped a couple pics of Ava being her cute little self

The whole show Ava's full attention was glued to the stage. She loved the music and movement of all the excitment of everything going on. We had a blast. I think we will make this a tradition and go to the circus every year. I found coupons for the show. SO our tickets were $4 each and Ava was free. Well after taxes and fees it was a bit more than that. But still it was way cheap.

Our little Fam>>

While I was taking pictures she keep trying to turn around to see the stage like she is doing in the pic below. I was pretty impressed with how well the show kept her attention.

FALL.. in love

Another one of our Sunday walks. The canyon is just SOO beautiful. I lOVE the fall. I'd have to say I think it is my favorite season, or at least a close second to summer :

Feels like FALL..

At first I was sad summer was ending, we really had SOOO much fun. But Sunday we went for a drive and a little hike at Cascade Springs up AF canyon. It was perfect FALL weather. Just chilly enough that we needed sweaters and the air was crisp and fresh. It had been raining all morning and when we got up there it just cleared up and was beautiful. But by the end of our walk the dark black clouds returned and started POURING with thunder and lightening. Luckily we were back to our car by then so it just made for and interesting ride home.

We couldn't seem to get one pic where we are all smiling and looking at the camera. She's smiling in this one, but not looking at the camera.. haha

Ava was so interested in the water, as you can see from the pic below. I think the sound drew her in.

Now that summer has ended. I am excited for the fall and especally Ava's first winter! I can't wait to play with her in the snow and go sledding.

VEGAS

The trip to Vegas was a bit last minute and random. But we really wanted to take a family vaycay somewhere hot where we could soak up the sun and Russ needed a break from work. It was so much fun and Ava LOVED it. There are so many interesting people and things to look at in Vegas. So she was constantly entertained.

Ava LOVES water and so she really enjoyed being at the pool. It was so hot and it felt so good to get in and splash around. Ava drew so much attention to herself everywhere we went. I wouldn't have thought of Vegas as a baby friendly place, but EVERYWHERE we went people would fuss over her and complement her, ask to hold her, stop to talk to us. It was so crazy! But of course I loved it. I mean who wouldn't love a million people telling you how cute your baby is :) And Ava loves being the center of attention so it worked out perfectly.

Our second day in Vegas we were hanging out by the pool laying out. We would bring Ava's stroller and she would take her midday nap laying in her stoller at the pool while we would relax and lay out. Ava was shaded from the sun in there but it was still pretty hot. Anyways these 2 nice Canadian guys came up to us and asked if we wanted to use the Cabana they had rented for the rest of the day. They were leaving early and thought it would be nice since we had a baby. I was SO happy they offered. The cabana rentals are over a hundred dollars a day so we really scored getting it for FREE! The cabana had a fridge with snacks. And there was a ceiling fan inside making it nice and cool. It also worked out perfect for Ava's nap. We really got the VIP treatment. It was great. Below is Russ in front of our cabana using the mist machine. It was funny how Ava reacted to it.

Me and A in front. :)

We visited the M&M store. It was funny because by the time we got there Ava was sound asleep and nothing we did would wake her up. Finally later on our way back she woke up and we stopped by the store again for her. She loved it, all the bright colors. I thought the big M&Ms would scare her but she actually like them. She was so amazed by them I think.

I love this one. She put her hand out to shake her hand. I was so cute that she did it on her own!

We bought her the stuffed animal green one. She loved playing with her.

Our last day at the pool. She was being so funny, splashing and playing. I didn't want to leave. I had way to much fun. But then again..it always feels good to come home too.

The rest of the pics were taken in the shops near the Venetian Hotel. Here was Humpty Dumpty. Really random ... But she was pretty excited about it!

I was SO sure she would cry at these wax figures but she didn't.. She is getting braver. Not that she needs to love blue people...I'm not friends with any smurfs haha

6 MONTHS

What!! I have a 6 month old little baby girl? Where has the time gone. As cliche as it sounds it really does feel like yesterday that I had her. She is such a funny little monkey. She has really started jibber jabbering lately. I LOVE to hear her talk, nothing is understandable except for "da da da da" and her high pitched, "Hi!" I just love her more than any words I could write would even begin to express. She is my little best friend. The older she becomes the more I feel like we bond. She loves me and prefers me most of the time. She always gives me the cutest smiles and giggles. She has such a funny little personality and such a sweet spirit. I can't even imagine life without her. Every day is fun. I love our little family. Russell is the best daddy to her and I am so lucky to have both of them in my life.

A FEW OF HER LIKES:

-apple juice
-any toy that sings or plays music
-sweet potatoes
-churros (she loves to lick the sugar off, I just share a little bit with her :))
-Lucky- she ADORES our little dog, she is not even on his top 10
-snuggling, hugging and kissing her mama, dada and grandma
-bath time, swimming in the pool.. this girl LOVES the water
-being the center of attention at ALL times
-loves when I sing to her, although my nursery rhyme songs are limited, and sometimes she gets -some Top 40
-being photographed- every time I pull out the video camera or regular camera, she looks right into the lens and puts on a show. I need to put this little girl into baby modeling or something, can't let this talent slip by unappreciated right?

SOME OF HER DISLIKES:

• Vacuum- she screams and cries from the second I turn it on and until its off and completely out of site
  
• when her bottle runs out- she will scream at the top of her lung till she gets more


• men- especially men with any facial hair (the only man she likes is her dada)


• the bat and wobble penguin toy- she is petrified of this toy, he has a scary laugh and bounces towards her. She didn't mind him before we put the batteries in. But now she is scared to death, whether the sound is on on or not. (I need to return him to Walmart, no use having a toy that gives her nightmares.)
  

Hogle Zoo

We took Ava to the zoo Saturday. It was so much fun and the weather was PERFECT! Not too hot, not too cold and the animals were very active, including out little animal Ava. haha. She had fun.
I love this pic, she looks like she is clawing with her hand. And she is smiling under her bink.

Dada and baby. Oh I just love them both...

There they are looking at the large tortoise aka desert turtle. She was so interested in him. He was eating and looked like and old man.

Here Russ is holding her up to see how she compares in size to the gorillas. She's my little monkey. ;)

Okay so we found this random jungley looking place. In the middle of the zoo and Russ thought it was a perfect place for a pic. It does look cool.

Baby and mama.

Watching the elephants. She was so interested.

There was a baby Giraff that was only 3 days old. It was so cute and small.

Here she is in the stoller, she likes it now. The first few time we put her in it she hated it but now she loves it.

Ava's personality has really been coming out lately. She is such a happy funny little girl. She has these silly little facial expressions that she makes and it just makes me laugh every time. She will wrinkle up her little nose. She knows she's being funny and will laugh and smile after doing it. Sometimes she will smile and make a funny face. She's a little goof. She loves all the attention we give her. She is so loving!!

We put Ava on top of this gorilla statue to take pics and there were some people around watching well she started putting on a show for everyone- waving her arms and legs, laughing and talking. It was so cute, she is such a ham:)