Happy New Year!

Here is Ava walking around in the kitchen - I found her trying to get the Kix box out of the cabinet. She is so sneaky!

My apologies for not updating the blog in the last week. I have been working through some awful morning sickness (all-day-long!!!!). Have a great new year!!!

A Merry Merry Christmas

We had a really enjoyable time on Christmas. After all of the traveling it was nice to stay at home and relax and watch Ava open her gifts from Mom, Dad and Santa! Daddy gave her a book about 10 Bears bouncing on a bed and I gave her some shoes and a pool for the summer. Santa had a rocking horse under that tree that she really got excited to see (again).

Ava has so many new, fun toys that she couldn't let herself take her normal nap - we laid her down yesterday morning and she was yelling at us to get her back out. By noon she was so exhausted that she finally took a nice little nap - by that time mom and dad were pretty exhausted too!

Thank you to everyone who gave Ava a gift - you were so generous and she has so much to play with that I think we have all that we need for a long, long time!!!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Today we visited the Koopman's for Christmas. It was a very busy day. Ava had a great time seeing lots of people and showing off her walking skills. Had we gotten another nap, church would have been more enjoyable. We hit a rough patch early on and mom and Ava spent most of the time in the back of church. Sometimes we take her naps for granted, but days like today we are reminded of how important it is for her to get some shut eye!

Hopefully all of our friends and family reading this are having a wonderful holiday. We are thinking of you! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

It was Christmas at the Schmollinger's today! It was a great time. Here is Ava with Grandma and Grandpa at the christmas tree. Ava had a good time hanging out and playing with a play snake that Grandma picked up for her. Ava got some great presents that she continued to play with when we got home. The trip home was a bit scary, but we made it. It took over three hours - going 40 mph most of the way - WHITE KNUCKLES!! We are thankful to have made it home.

We hope all others traveling today made it to their destination safely! Happy Holidays!!!

Finally interested in presents!

Here is Ava trying to get into her gifts under the tree. Of course she isn't picky so she tried opening others too. The bows have been ripped off of just about every gift (it's as bad as when Donte the kitty was at the house!)

She just started getting interested in gifts - hopefully she will have a good time opening presents this year!

Happy Holidays!

Where did the week go?

I'm not sure where the week went - I suppose my mind has been busy and we have been too. Here are some pictures to catch you up on our week.
Monday at playgroup Ava jumped into the pool of balls - Tuesday at Baby and Me class she jumped into a container of foam blocks - and today she saw Santa at the Y! Mom was more excited about it than Ava. She just wanted to go play with the cool toys.

Hope all are doing well. We look forward to seeing many of you in the next couple of days!

Good friends, good food, good times!

It was a very busy weekend for the Koopmans! Alexa came over on Friday night - she gave Ava a very cool bowling pin/ball set with animals on each pin. Saturday we went to the cities for two different holiday gatherings. We saw Melissa, Jeff and T for lunch - we had some awesome lasagna and salad and a great cake! Ava got a Learning Puppy from Melissa and Jeff which she just loves!

For dinner we went a half hour away to Hugo to see a bunch of friends an our annual holiday gathering. It was a very good time, we were all getting pretty tired from all of the visiting and eating! It was a long trip back that night, but well worth the little fussing from Ava.

Today we are hoping to make it to play group and get back on a schedule!

Ava goes to the Bradberg's!

Here are Ava and Connor playing together - they play so nicely together! Mama had a little meeting to go to, so Heather was nice enough to watch Ava this morning. Ava had Kix today for the first time (that is what her and Connor are trying to open in the bottom picture - super cute!)

All Better!

We are happy to report that we are feeling much better today. Yesterday was a very long day! Here is Ava playing in her new tunnel - it is a Christmas gift from some friends that stopped in over the weekend. She likes crawling through it and taking toys with her from time to time.

From Bad to Worse

It is bad enough to have seen Ava feel awful with the flu, but when mom and dad both come down with it at the same time it is just awful. This is the worst flu that I have had in a very very long time. Kevin is feeling equally bad. I hope you all manage to avoid this. We all had a flu shot over a month ago, but it doesn't seem to have done anything. We are hoping that maybe tomorrow we will start to feel better.

Flu Update

Just a quick update: Ava is feeling better. We are going to continue to take it easy today, but she is keeping everything down and we gave her some Cheerios this morning and she has been good with those too.

Baby Ava & The Flu Bug

We all woke up this morning to a tough start. Ava came down with the flu bug. She had yet to be sick with the flu, so I guess it was just a matter of time. She wasn't keeping anything down until 11 or so after she woke up from a nap. We have been successful with getting her to keep a mixture of water and electrolytes down. She is not happy because we can only give her a little bit every half hour.

Hopefully she will bounce back soon, but we won't be able to make it to play group tomorrow! Hope everyone else is doing well.

A Visit with Santa

Here is Ava with Santa - completely mellow. She would have been content to sit there for quite some time, but we had to get going. I thought maybe she would pull on Santa's real beard, but she just sat quietly!

I think I heard her tell Santa that she wants a pony! ;) I think Santa is going to follow through!!!!

A Friday Surprise!

We had a surprise visit from Connor B. today (his mom had a doc appt and we are a hop, skip and a jump from the clinic). Ava was surprised when she woke from her nap to find someone playing with HER toys - but it is good for her to learn to share! These two cuties are only 10 days apart in age! They had a good time together.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

We were all so happy to wake up and see that St. Nicholas came last night and filled our stockings! Ava got some baby food, new bath toys and an ornament for the tree - Kevin got an ornament too (and chocolates and a Rubik's cube). Both ornaments have bells on them, so Ava found it fun to shake them a bunch before they went on the tree! Even Monte had a stocking - some bones to make his breath smell better!

Kevin got home in time for dinner last night, so we are all very happy to have him back! Santa made an early delivery and had a snow blower waiting for him in the garage! Yeah!

Happy St. Nicholas Day!!

The $5 Sweater

Who knew that Kmart had decent baby clothes? When Heather mentioned it at a recent playgroup I just had to go to see it myself. Recently I bought this sweater 1/2 off for $5 at Kmart - SIZE 18 MONTHS. My baby is growing up so fast!

Jeff the Snow Shovel Fairy?

Ava woke up very early this morning and after feeding and playing for a while we were looking out of the front window at all of the snow that fell overnight. It was so peaceful outside. After Ava started pulling more on the curtains than looking outside I pulled her away and we played for a little while before I laid her down for a nap. I figured I better get outside to shovel the front sidewalk before Bill the Postman comes by, and this is what I saw when I looked outside! Within a half hour of last looking outside the snow shovel fairy had shoveled our front walk!!! So now I need to figure out an appropriate thank you - I have been thinking about this since last night, but am not exactly sure what would be most fitting. I was thinking a small gift and a handwritten card. And I believe this neighbor is now getting a christmas card! Any advice on an appropriate thank you gift?

Jeff the Snowblower Guy

It is snowing and snowing and snowing outside and with Kevin out of town I have been trying to keep up with shoveling, but it has been tough. I had just gotten Ava to sleep and headed outside to arm myself with the trusty shovel. I only got a little done (I had just started to day dream about what I would do if someone tried to mug me while I was shoveling) when movement from twenty feet away caught my eye. There was someone shoveling our front sidewalk! The guy came over and said he was going to go get his snowblower to take care of all of it - and he wouldn't let me pay him. So today I am saluting Jeff the Snowblower Guy (no picture because I thought it would be rude to take his picture when he was outside doing work and I was inside). Thank you Jeff and all of the other Snowblower Guys who take time to help out their neighbors down the road - embarrassing to say we have lived here five years and this is the first time I am meeting him!

A Case of the Mondays

We sent Kevin off this morning for Mhub. Hopefully he will be back by midweek.

I'm feeling a bit house-bound today as the alley next to the house is really sloppy and hard to drive in and out of. I'm not sure if we should venture out until he gets home as I don't want to get stuck in the snow. It sounds like we are going to get another two inches tomorrow and I am just hoping that we don't get much of anything as I would really like to get out to my Baby and Me class - Ava and I both need to get out to see people!!

On a positive note, I made the Pork Loaf featured on Heather's blog - super easy to make and very tasty! I am trying to think outside of the box by making new recipes as I feel this will help me better embrace being a good housewife/at-home mother. Tomorrow I will be studying up on Christmas Cookies!!

Our Little Snake Charmer!

Ava's not afraid of snakes! From the looks of it - they should be afraid of her!!!

We went to a play date and they had some rubber snakes that I found in box. She loved them - I think I may have to go 'hunting' for them in the store!! ;)

We hope everyone stays safe in this very snowy/icy weather we are having! Take care.

Daddy and Ava at Play

Kevin and Ava were using the stacking cubes as drums last night - very cute!

It has gotten cold and snowy now. Kevin made the first fire in the fireplace this season last night. It really helped to keep the room nice and toasty!

Up, up, up the stairs I go!

Here is Ava going up the stairs. She is also starting to figure out how to go down backwards. She has a long way to go before she masters going downstairs, but every day there is progress!

SAVE THE DATE!! Ava's Birthday is January 18th. We are looking at Saturday, January 19th (1-3) for a birthday party. Invites will go out in the next couple of weeks! Sorry, no petting zoos or inflatables at this one! Just some good old fashion fun for the kids to play and parents to chat a bit. AND CAKE & ICE CREAM!!!

It will be a great time!!

I did it!!

A BIG thank you to Heather B. for telling me how to make sweet potatoes for Ava (who knew it would be so easy!) I made enough for lunch, dinner and three more days worth for the freezer! Now I want to make more stuff, so if you have any fun recipes or baby food ideas, please let me know! She is always eating these days, so it would be wonderful to make the stuff myself if at all possible. Have a great day!

Me and my Daddy

Daddy and Ava spent some time last night looking at the tree - it is only half decorated, but we are getting there! She has been really good about not going to the tree by herself. She remains - so far - to be more entertained by her books and toys than attacking the branches and nonbreakable ornaments (thank goodness!).

Splish Spash Ava's Eating Dinner?!

In our attempts to get Ava to hold her own cup/bottle you can see that it quickly becomes a game of "Flood the Tray". She seems to enjoy watching the water come out of the cup when held upside down. We are continuing to work on this, but are finding it difficult to be patient!

Three little cuties standing in a row..

Here is Ava hanging out with the boys at this morning's play group. Ava, Brennen and Jakob - we missed seeing Connor and Kaia - hopefully they will be there next week!

Ava is getting more and more brave one her little legs - maybe by Christmas she will have the wobbles out of them!

O Christmas Tree

Our tree is up and ready to be decorated. I think this is the most beautiful tree we have ever had. I love Christmas trees and am excited to decorate it in the next couple of days. We underestimated the size of the tree when we bought it so we will probably have to rearrange the room to accommodate the tree. I couldn't help but break into a couple of Christmas carols, but Kevin lost his voice yesterday so he couldn't join in - although I think he thought I was silly for singing as it was.

Ava went up to it once last night and felt the branches and then tried to stand up next to it - that part didn't go so well. So far she hasn't bugged it too much, but I am sure she will get more and more interested in it as the days go by (and as more presents gather under the tree)!

Happy Birthday Grandma Carolyn!

Happy Birthday Grandma Carolyn! We hope you have a great birthday! We are looking forward to seeing you on Christmas Eve!

Later today we will be getting our christmas tree - very exciting! We haven't had a tree in a couple of years and are excited about getting and putting up our tree. It will be very interesting to see how Ava reacts once we have the tree up!

Picture Perfect Kids Contest

I forgot to mention that Ava made it through the first round of the Picture Perfect Kids Contest. This is a contest where you vote for your favorite baby and the proceeds go toward getting newspapers in schools. If you would like to vote, please do so at:

www.winonadailynews.com or click on the title of this blog to get there! Because this is a fundraiser, it does cost to vote - minimum of $5 if you vote online. This next round of voting will narrow it down to only three kids for the final round, so feel free to vote!

Ava is just waking up so I have to run!