Happy Birthday Ava!

Our sweet girl is already 2 years old! I remember two years ago being scared to death going in to the hospital to be induced. I had no idea what to expect as far as labor is concerned and I definately didn't know what to do with a newborn! But here we are two years later and I can't imagine life without her! Ava is such a joy and makes us laugh a lot these days. We had a swimming birthday party at the Boys and Girls club (same as last year). Her party was red/pink Valentine themed. The pictures below are in reverse order, I can't figure out how to switch them. Also, can someone please tell me how to add more than four pics to a post? I will add more party pics later in a new post since it won't let me add more than four!


Ava enjoying another cupcake after swimming

Swimming with Daddy

Singing to the birthday girl

I Wear My Sunglasses at Night...

Is that eighties song playing in your head now? A couple weeks ago Mimi bought Ava some new sunglasses. For a few days she did NOT want to take them OFF! She wore them inside, outside, breakfast time, play time...you get the picture. Here are some "playing in the bedroom with my glasses on" pictures!

A Texas Longhorn fan?

Sshhhh...don't tell daddy!

Snowed In

We have way more snow here than I care to have. I really don't like to be out in that powdery white stuff. Thankfully, having an infant gives me a great excuse to stay in. Every time Justin asked me to come play outside with he and Ava, my reply was,"I can't...someone has to stay in with Kinley." I guess next year we should invest in a snowsuit for the girls, I just didn't think we would get much use out of one. I was wrong. Justin and Ava have been out in the snow at least once a day, sometimes twice. Ava loved it, although she hated being all bundled up. Eating snow was a favorite thing! Today we had some people over and after they left I saw Ava walking around eating snow out of her hand. I asked her where she got it and she took me to the rug at the front door. She was eating snow that people kicked off their shoes when they came in! After that we got her some clean outside snow in a cup and I got some to make snow cream. Ava would not even try the snow cream! She just wanted her plain ol snow.

Papa giving Ava a push down the hill

Wahoo! So much fun!

"Piddy" in Pink

Ava loves piddy (pretty) things these days. She admires sequins, sparkles, and all things girly. A couple days ago we were staying home all day so I let her pick out her outfit. Look closely at the picture below. Pink from head to toe! Socks, bow, everything! The girl wants to MATCH. How do you explain to an almost 2 year old that you can mix it up with neutrals and complimentary colors?

On another note, we have had an interesting week. Ava and daddy had an ER visit one night due to some hives. It was just before bedtime and I discovered she had swollen bumps and lines from her waist down. It really freaked us out. So Justin and Ava went to the ER. Thankfully they had the portable DVD player to watch Dora for about 3 hours while they waited! The doctor said it is hives from something she is allergic to and gave her some Benadryl. Well now these hives have come and gone for the past 5 days. She will be totally broken out, then an hour later they are gone. We cannot figure out what is causing it! No new foods, no new soaps, diapers, lotions, etc. They don't seem to bother Ava at all. She just gets stressed when we want to look at the hives and yells, "No boo boo!" She has a well check up at the Dr. this week so hopefully we can get something figured out.

A Kinley Pic

I really don't feel in the mood to type tonight, but I wanted to share a recent picture of Kinley. They change so fast! She laughed for the first time this week! She has also been squealing a lot more. This girl is content to just take in life!

Polka Dots and Wild Things

You may or may not know that I started a business a couple years ago selling scrapbook supplies and handmade items. I created an online store to sell the scrapbooking supplies and sell handmade gifts locally (although I have had some out of state customers order handmade stuff). We were so busy moving and having a baby that I shut down the online store. Recently I came across these baby items and fell in love! I can't resist polka dots! I am going to place an order and sell them through my store. Being Razorback country here I am really excited about the red and white set! If you would like to order something please email me at rachelnlong@gmail.com. I will be placing my order on Tuesday. Of course I will have them for sale after that, but if you let me know before I place my wholesale order it will gaurantee that I have the size, color, and style that you want. There are polka dots and 3 different animal prints. Onesies and toddler shirts come in long and short sleeves. You can also get matching leg warmers, headbands, and beanies. Onesies and shirt size 2t are envelope neck, shirts size 4 and 6 are ringer neck.

Prices:
Headbands - $6 - one size
Beanies - $10 - size 0-12 or 12-24 months
Leg Warmers - $12 - one size
Onesies, long and short sleeved - $16 - 0-3, 3-6, 6-12, 12-18 months
Shirts, long and short sleeved - $18 - sizes 2t, 4, 6