She's having a baby too!

Omg! My child! She is our entertainment! Brad laughs and quotes my dad all the time who once gave me a hug and said to Brad "you're never going to be bored being married to this one" Brad says living with both of us is an adventure, as I'm sure it is. :)

I put together some clips of Ava pretending/playing out that she is pregnant too. It's become more and more common for her to play this and I'm sure that's because it becomes more and more real for all of us as my belly grows. But to see the things she comes up with (ex. stuffy nose) just blows me away. She is paying attention to everything! 

Brad commented after watching this video "how does she know the sounds someone would make when the baby comes out? makes me believe in reincarnation". Who knows. I just know this little kid is a trip to have around.  I'm sure you can imagine this kind of expressive spirit has it's challenges too, and I'll be the first to tell you about them, but this is an example of the joy of having a sensitive, super observant kiddo. 

Getting ready for Christmas.

I officially began my maternity leave from Cassie Green Photography in mid-December. I knew I needed some time, more time than normal, to get ready for 2 big events, a year when Christmas was more exciting and real to Ava than it ever had been, and a baby boy coming into this world! 

There were these days and afternoons when I just felt so relieved to not be checking my work email so often and to have my full attention on Ava and this little person growing inside me. Going to the park in the late afternoon for no other reason that to watch Ava play reminded me of the days before this little business was even an idea, when all I was focused on was being a mom, when I didn't have a million other little reminders dinging in my head as I watched. Of course as she got older I needed something more, outside of motherhood, to stimulate my brain, and what a dream come true to pursue an art form I've valued and dabbled in since high school. But I love being a mom and feel extra blessed to be one that stays home with her children when they are young. Ava is the type of girl that really needed that, so making that happen for her (and me) is truly a gift from Brad and God. I am so grateful to Brad and the way the universe laid things out and made this all possible for us.

anyway, I'm off on a tangent :)

So I love this photo below because I see the relaxation in my face and the joy in Ava's. (And because there are so few photos of us since I'm the one behind the camera.)

The days before this Christmas will be a good memory of these last few days when it was just mommy and Ava. A special time of my life, for sure, soaking in my 1st born child to the fullest before adding the wonder of another. 

This year we got an amazing smelling Noble Fir from Oregon. I loved our tree. I have all my ornaments from when I was a child, and now I watch Ava get attached to the ornaments she has and gets each year.

Some nights I thought about sleeping on the couch so I could be close to the tree. I never actually did that, though I took lots of time to just sit and stare at it.

Some of the things we did to get excited for Christmas:

Ava's preschool invited us to decorate a gingerbread house one afternoon.

This was great for me, no baking, a house already assembled, and candy bought and put on a tray. All I did was ice the house and watch Ava decorate it (and sneak little pieces of candy now and then).

We were surrounded by her classmates also decorating and her friend Kelton would come over and check on Ava's house and ask her to look at his. Ava would nod and say "I like it Kelton". :)

Ava's 1st gingerbread house!

Her school also put together a holiday "sing-along". We sang songs from different religious December holidays. Ava learned all the words and we sang them daily for weeks before the sing-along. She also practiced them in her classroom.

I'm so impressed with her singing and memory skills. 

I have her recorded on my phone, so I'll try figure out a creative way for you to hear her singing songs about Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, etc. 

In the car is when she sings the most. My favorite kind of radio :)

We also went through the Vasona Park Annual "Fantasy of Lights", which was wonderful, though I didn't photograph the experience. Ava sat on Daddy's lap and helped him drive, which at one point became more interesting than the lights! She loved it. By the end she had her head out the window singing Feliz Navidad. Brad and I thought it was so funny that she interpreted the lights wrapped around a tree as the tree being tied up. She asked us, "why is the tree all tied up? poor tree!"

On the 22nd we headed up to Pleasanton to make Grandma Great's Christmas Cookies with Grandma. A great tradition!

It's such a sweet and special thing to watch. And something Ava really looks forward to.

It was extra special because Grandpa was still on sabbatical this year, so he was there too.

I don't know if you can see, but Ava sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating and as I was sorting through these photos I learned who else does that: Grandma! :)

Ava made sure to decorate her cookies with extra frosting and sprinkles, and as soon as she finished her 1st cookie, she put it aside, leaned over to peek at it one more time, picked it up again, and started to eat it! She just couldn't resist. I can't blame her. Those cookies are pretty much butter and sugar. I can't even go near them!

Keep an eye out for photos and video from Christmas. Coming soon, if this baby holds out! :)

Celebrating Grandpa's 90th!

We took advantage of having Grandpa with us just a week before his 90th birthday to celebrate him! He really is a centerpiece to our family. He was born December 7th 1921 and he's still going strong! He's a truly amazing man and I've loved being his granddaughter for the 5 years I have. He really treats me like one and it means so much to me.

Yesterday, when I went out to get the mail there was a box of Lilies for me, from him, with a note saying that he thinks of me everyday. I almost cried I was so touched. 

I love you Grandpa.

 Now, you may think we're crazy, but we attempted, successfully, to put 90 candles on his cake and make him blow them out, which he did!! Amazing! As you can see it was a team effort and I'm pretty sure Doug got a 2nd degree burn trying to get that last candle lit! :)

 And here he goes!!

Yay Grandpa!!

Hailey loves her Grandpa Great. 

 What a great smile! 

So happy to celebrate you, Grandpa!

See you on Christmas Day!

xo

Decorating Grandma's Tree | Thanksgiving 2011

Every year, the day after Thanksgiving we all gather at Grandma's and help her decorate the tree. 

This year it was extra fun for Ava because, not only did we have Hailey with us, but Caroline, Lucy, and Doug were there to help too! 

We really loved every minute of our visit with them. Portland seems far away sometimes, even though it's a lot closer than Michigan!

Ava was in tears when they went home, Hailey too, when she had to go home :(

The three cousins together, well, we just really didn't see much of them at all. They were off, upstairs playing, with the exception of being called down for meals. And we'd see Hailey a little more than Ava and Caroline because she'd want to get her Lucy fill now and then.

It made me so happy to see them all play and enjoy each other and it gave me a really relaxing visit with no conversation interruptions. I sat on a couch for more than 20 minutes, with Brad, and family just talking. Haven't done that in 3 and a half years! :)

So, here's a little collage of decorating the tree and a couple more of my favorite photos from our visits.

Oh, and I have to give a shout-out to Doug! Best big cousin ever! The girls love him and he was so generous with them (and his iPhone--Hailey hijacked it from him).

Grandpa and Ava are in love, I swear! (Lily is jealous, maybe Grandma too?) :)

Grandpa Great with his Greats! 

whole family together!! Can't believe we made that happen. :)

Mid November visit from Coley & Dave

See that look on Ava's face?

She thinks Uncle Dave is the silliest person she's ever met! Really, she does! 

This girl is so impatient on Skype with everyone except Uncle Dave. He could practically babysit her while I went out over skpye! 

He is SO good with kids. 

It's hard not to laugh listening to them talk.

I'm so glad to have captured those looks she gives him and that laughter one afternoon while they were playing in her room. And that's just it, I think. Dave still really knows how to play. He's still got kid spirit in his heart and is uninhibited about showing it. I love and really appreciate that about him.

His baby is a lucky little one. Due May 21, by the way!!!

I loved having them out here. It was a tearful goodbye for everyone because our time together was so nice.

We had an almost 70 degree afternoon in Santa Cruz at the University's aquarium. We got to explore the sea creatures and have a picnic outside and hike along the cliffs.

it was an awesome day!

Coley and Ava spotted dolphins out in the Pacific

and then we headed into town for coffee and hot chocolate.

Ava loves her God Parents, that's for sure! (sorry I cut your head off Dave!)

And my big sister, well I love her so much, and I couldn't be happier to share a few months of pregnancy together. We made some pretty yummy meals together while she was here and she taught me how to make pie crust. We made a delicious apple pie!! 

I just loved every minute with them. 

I love you guys! 

Can't wait to see you again in February!!

Early November visit from Nana & Poppi

 My mom and dad came out for a long weekend to visit with us this fall and I didn't take many photos, but I love the ones I did take. Just these few of Ava and her Poppi walking the trails up at Sanborn Nature Center in Saratoga.

There's not very much to say. 

For me, the photos tell the story of the quiet morning there and the sweet trust and love between Ava and her Poppi.

Thank you for coming to see us.

Halloween 2011

As you can see I'm playing catch up. 

It's not that I've stopped documenting life with Ava, it's just that working has kept me so busy I literally don't want to look at another photo when I finish processing a shoot. My back screams at me to go lie down. 

I'm proud that I've uploaded them, at least, and happy to be paying attention to this blog again.

This year, Halloween was so much fun!

Ava wanted to be a ghost so we went back to JO-ANN fabrics and chose her fabric together. She ended up being a sparkly ghost, which also meant that anything she touched became sparkly too. We had a sparkly floor, sparkly stroller, you get the point :)

She was adorable. And I just love that she beats to her own drum. Yes, she loves princesses, but she didn't want to be one. I love that.

We started off the Halloween fun at a pumpkin patch with our sweet friends Beth & her baby Emma.

We played there for a while and saw all the animals, and of course picked our pumpkins. 

Beth carved out a pumpkin and put Emma in it.  I wish I could show you that photo!

We carved up a pumpkin that Ava designed with no help. I did my best to replicate the drawing.

A pumpkin with eyelashes!

Isn't she a scary sparkly ghost?

When Hailey was here, the weekend before Halloween, we took the girls down to the park to ride the carousel at night and walk through the haunted house. Hailey loved it. It was a little too scary for Ava. Hailey was a cheerleader for Halloween :)

And on Halloween at 5pm we took Ava to Johnson St. in Los Gatos, known to be closed down and dedicated to trick-or-treaters. All homes were decked out with Halloween gear. 

It was good timing. We were some of the 1st people to walk the street, which meant that it wasn't crowded and Ava just couldn't beleive that every house gave her some candy. 

Every house we approached she would say in her little voice "Happy Halloween, trick-or-treat". Half the time no one heard her, but I always did.

Brad's face in this photo is so funny. He probably just noticed the grown man wearing a diaper, an Obama mask, and a t-shirt that said "change me. I stink". 

Brad and I loved watching Ava's thrill and excitement. 

As soon as I told Ava she could have a piece of her candy, she was ready to go home :)

I was too. We walked there, which was fun becasue we ran into people we knew, but boy did my feet hurt! Not so smart to wear flip flops, mama :)!
Happy Halloween, 2011.

baby update:

Well, I officially look like I swallowed a basketball! :)

We had a 36 week check up today and saw baby brother one last time on ultrasound before he's here live and in person! He's doing great. He looks very healthy. There is lots of amniotic fluid, the placenta looks healthy, the umbilical cord is in the right place, no concern whatsoever, he's still a boy, and the best news of all...

He's head down! He's in position!

I'm 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. (this really doesn't mean much other than he's getting ready. I could still go all the way to due date.)

We've been busy here getting laundry done, things moved around and bassinets out.

I'm really excited to meet him and give him a kiss, but I'm being patient and taking lots of breaks. I know he's happier in my belly. So, 38 week appointment is scheduled, BUT

Just in case, keep your phones on!! :)

xo

My Grampy is 90 today. Happy Birthday Grampy!

It's a special day.

 Call it coincidence, but I was emptying an old box yesterday (yes, we still have boxes from our move a year ago that haven't been unpacked) and I found this photo of my Grampy and I dancing. 

He's a great dancer and I've had the privilege many times.

I just love my Grampy and Grammy.

I was just telling Brad's mom about what it's like for me to step into their home. I can't seem to take a deep enough breath. I love the way it smells. It's like wrapping up in a warm blanket.

I have so many happy, loving memories of spending time with them. 

I'm missing my Grampy today, wishing I could celebrate this great milestone with him.

I'm filled with gratitude to have the experience of having such loving grandparents!

Happy 90th Grampy!

I love you so much!

I miss you and send you hugs from California.

xxoo

more collages from summer in Truro 2011

Taking an after beach bath in the claw-foot tub at Great Nana's

Beach time at Corn Hill

Farmer's market in P-town

Great Nana's house and all its detail. Such a special place.

Blueberry picking with auntie coley and making blueberry corn muffins.
There is no one more into this than Nicole. Sometimes I think Ava could be Nicole's daughter.

Sunsets and beach bonfire evenings at the beach.

see you again in 2012.