JabberJaws

Ellie got the cutest play-doh activities for her birthday from a friend. You make all kinds of ice cream sundaes, cones, and even sprinkles! This picture looks like she's fake smiling big time, but she was pretending to take a bite of the ice cream that she made with her new play-doh toys. One of her new favorite things to do is to write. She asks me how to spell something and just writes away. She can write several names on her own now, even remembering how to spell them. When we travel, Ava watches "Lady and the Tramp" (her favorite and Ellie even enjoys it, so I just leave it in the van) and Ellie takes a tablet and a pen and asks me how to spell words for hours at a time!

When I was growing up, we would take vacations in the Smoky Mountains. While we were there, we would go in to Cherokee, NC, and would always see Indiana dressed in traditional attire. One in particular always looked like he was talking - he was standing outside of his teepee with no one around and just talked...so we nicknamed him JabberJaws and looked for him every year. Well, little Miss Ava has turned in to a Jabber Jaws herself. She just babbles all the time, but with great inflection in her voice, as if she were carrying on a normal conversation! It's so cute and so funny! We usually try to pretend we understand and keep the conversation going! Today, I fixed some homemade tiny pizzas with tostito chips and she ate it up - then licked her plate!!!?!?!?!? Doesn't she look so grown up in this picture??

She went for her one-year check-up and did great! She was a ham and really showed off for the doctor, talking, signing, dancing...and the doctor jumped to the 18 month questions. Ava can do everything but kick a ball at the 18 month level!! The doctor was impressed! (and we were just a little bit proud!) She weighed 23lbs. 13oz. (75th%), 32in. tall(97th%), and her head was in the 95th%. She's a tall girl! She also has a heart murmur. Nothing to worry about for now, just something to watch in the future.

It's a boy!!

My brother and sister-in-law had a baby boy on Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 9:01am. They kept it a secret the whole time - we didn't know if it was a boy or a girl and we didn't know name choices. He was 7lbs. 13oz. and very healthy! He was a long time coming, as they have had 2 miscarriages trying to have another Harrison baby. His name is James David Harrison, after my grand-daddy (James) and my sister-in-law's grandfather. They are calling him JD. He is going to be spoiled rotten - the only grandson!!

Tishie

Please pray for my aunt Tishie. Her cancer is active again. I don't know how to explain how I feel about her, except that she is amazing - like an angel! One story Landy, my cousin tells, is that when Tishie was going through chemo and her stem cell transplant from before and was puking her brains out, she would stop and ask Landy if she was comfortable or if she needed anything. That's just Tishie. She puts everyone and everything in front of her. She is so sweet and I spent so much time with her when I was growing up. I know that the power of prayer can move mountains and this cancer is going to take some major moving of mountains, because it's a non-curable form of cancer. That's why it's growing again. We were hoping for many more years with Tishie, though. Please pray that the chemo she is on now, along with the steroids, will strengthen her body, and also pray that she feels good and enjoys life! She's already lost her daughter and her dad to cancer...enough already! Pray for Landy and Danny, and the rest of our family, but especially for Tishie.

more great pics

Ava and Emily watching Hannah and Ellie at dance class at bring a friend night ~
~they both wanted to be in that room with them!

sweet halloween pic of a little girl I work with

even better! (same girl as above)
I had a blast taking her picture!!

what a sweet face - I couldn't help but post this
~a little boy I work with

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Some of the best neighborhood kids!

It was such a pretty day -
the girls had a great time playing while we worked on carving the pumpkins!

A monkey, banana, and 2 trees!

Ellie's pumpkin

Ava's pumpkin

Happy Birthday, Ellie Girl!

My Ellie is 4 today! She is growing in to such a wonderful little girl - no longer a toddler, for sure!!! She can write several names on her own, all of her letters, can spell a few words and names, colors very well, is very obedient, and is a people pleaser! Her birthday party today was a blast - it was Hannah Montana themed and we had a bounce house. When I asked her what her favorite part of her party was, she said it was getting her hair and make-up done. She had so many great friends and family here to celebrate with her! My mom made the girls some beautiful matching pillow-case dresses and hair-bows, but they weren't much in to taking pictures today so we didn't get great ones. The kids all had so much fun, though! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful little girl - I wish she weren't growing up so quickly, but that's life. Jeff checked on our girls sleeping the other night and said to me, "Man, we are blessed with some cute kids!" I agree! They are cute and so loving! What blessings! Happy birthday, big girl! We love you, Ellie Kate!

Happy Halloween!

Here's our little monkey and banana
(if you can't tell, Ava has on a yellow outfit with a blue "sticker" that says Chiquita!)

I have decided that being a mom is hard work - ALL the time! Even when we're playing. I absolutely love it, but for all of you who think I've got it all together, you're so wrong!! I try to find joy in even the hard times, though, because I know how fast time flies!!! I also know that we are not promised tomorrow, so even when I am about to pull my hair out, I know that I am blessed with two wonderful girls who I love with all my heart!

The hardest right now is when the girls have trouble sleeping at night (I need my beauty sleep - or something like that). Ellie finds any excuse to come get in our bed - she's "freezing cold" or she's scared - not of anything in particular, though. Ava must be cutting teeth because she's kind of had a rough week, but last night, she was too busy wanting to play duck, duck, goose! She would almost be back asleep and I would be rocking her...when all of a sudden, she would smack me on the forehead and said, "Duh" (aka duck)!! It was so hard not to laugh and tell her it was time to go night night - it was at about 1:30 this morning!!

Ellie has become a pro at Mancala. She wants to play the "ball game". I taught her earlier this week after Ava went to bed and we have played every night since...and she has beat me every night, fair and square!!

Ava is amazed by bubbles right now. She has never really cared much for them, but loves them now!

Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

sunshine and sweetpeas

I have updated my gift and photography blog if anyone is interested.

sunshineandsweetpeas.blogspot.com

funny sayings

Ellie is hillarious right now. She tries to talk like such a big girl and will say something, then correct herself! Tonight, she said, " Mom, Ava was borned so lots of weeks ago. I mean, she was born a lot of weeks ago." It was cute. I can't believe she'll be 4 Saturday. Time flies.

Ava is signing lots of words now - more, please, all done, thank you, potty (only instead of the sign for restroom, it looks like the sign for milk - but she does it every time I ask if she went potty), and eat. She says, "Day doo" for thank you and "duh" for done. "a-nuh-nuh" is another and she hates to have a dirty diaper - she'll pull at it and say "a-nuh-nuh dih-dih", believe it or not!!! Hopefully that means she'll potty train easy.

I could post a thousand pictures...

but I'll stick with just a few for now.
We had a blast in FL! This was our last hoo-rah at Sea World

watching the light parade at Disney

visiting some of my dad's family - gramma and grampa

playin' on the beach

I promise to post more pictures soon.

Atlanta

Erica and Ellie - playing with their babies! :-)

Rob and Jeff

Christina showing me that we had to take our shoes off in the Hindu temple
- even in the bathroom?!?

International Food Market - squid, octopus, eels...

Tyler and Ava playing

We had such a good time visiting the McQueary's! We hadn't seen them in a while and for whatever reason, we just click with them. Their kids are so well behaved - I didn't get a picture of Natalie, which stinks, but we had a great time with her, too!

busy, busy, busy

We went to Indy for the State Convention

My mom made the cutest pillowcase dresses!!
The girls wore them to Mother's Morning Out.

My nieces spent the night - they don't get to come very often.
They were laughing at me turning around and saying, "Sweet Nibblets!"

Then we went to Atlanta. Our friends, the McQueary's, live there and I got to hang out with Christina while Jeff was at the conference. This was at a Muslim temple. We didn't get to go inside, but it was beautiful from the outside.

THEN, we found a Hindu temple - and we got to view a ceremony!! It was beautiful and seemed very peaceful - and the people were very welcoming.

I'll post more pictures soon...

Ava is 1!

Our whole gang - including our new addition, Lucy

She loves her car - and I love that face!

SO sweet!

pretty ballerina

Our sweet Ava Claire turns 1 tomorrow! I never dreamed I would be blessed with such wonderful little girls! Ellie continues to amaze me with how obedient and willing to learn she is. And both girls are so loving. But, both girls are so different! Ellie walked at 13 months, Ava walked right before she turned 9 months. Ellie still doesn't like to climb, Ava climbs on top of the table and stands up and claps for herself. Ava is so funny - she has such a silly personality and is a jokester! Ellie will pout about something for what seems like hours, Ava keeps her emotions out for everyone to see. That calls for more tantrums, but she throws her fit and she's done and can move on. Ellie has always been real timid around animals, but is really growing to like them more, Ava has always loved animals and has never been scared of them. Ellie likes certain foods and most are pretty healthy, but doesn't eat much at a time, Ava is such a good little eater - she'll eat anything and absolutely loves fruit! Ava talks all the time and picks up on sign language really quickly. She can sign more, please, all done, and thank you. She says several words, too. Mama, Dada, Poppa, Nana (which could mean Nana, Nonee, night night, Hannah), nuh (which means up), diddy (which is sissy and/or kitty), dog, and bird. She knows how to make a few animal sounds, like panting like a dog, roar for a bear or a lion, and blows a raspberry with her tongue for a horse. She can run now, but she doesn't know how to stop herself, so she just has to run in to the softest piece of furniture she can find! :-) I can't imagine my life without my family. Jeff and I have been truly blessed with such wonderful girls who we love more and more every day. Ellie is so looking forward to her birthday, which is going to be Hannah Montanna themed, but we also have our family (Jeff, me, and the girls) trip to Florida between now and then...and Halloween...and a trip to Indy...and a trip to Atlanta...we're busy, but it's fun! So, Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!
WE LOVE YOU, AVA CLAIRE!!!

Poppa

Ellie never floats - but somehow my Dad convinced her to try!!
Isabelle is really good at it!

Ava's version of floating!

crawling like a crocodile

Well, Ava decided while we were in Florida to cling to her Poppa (my dad). She started saying Poppa and Mama . She had said Mama several times before, but didn't really call me Mama - now I hear "Mama, nuh" all the time...nuh means up when you speak Ava's language. :-) Anyway, all of the kids enjoyed the swimming pool at our hotel, but Ellie and Ava had such a great time - especially with Poppa!