Tubing in Park City

Harrison and Jordan loved the tubing hill (and the rope tow that took them back to the top of the hill), and Ava just loved eating the snow and her upside down diva sunglasses!

Christmas

Christmas morning was magical - Harrison was THRILLED with the presents, Ava was THRILLED with the stocking candy and sugary Christmas cereal, and Matt Matt slept through it all!

Christmas Jammies

Getting Ready For Christmas

The Photo Shoot

So the other evening, just before taking our annual (sort of) family Christmas card photo, Ava scampered over to me, demanded "Up!", immediately struggled in my arms (as always), and somewhat angrily gestured towards the point and shoot camera with a crazy half-smile. In my usual pathetic inability to understand my children, I asked Harrison to interpret. He rolled his eyes and told me she wanted to take some pictures. I picked up the camera, turned towards her, and she was in full mugging mode, no instructions necessary. A small sampling of the results:

Ava is a wild, hilarious little girl, who has me seriously wrapped around her finger. Just when I think that her level of cuteness can't get cuter (sorry for the parental overspeak -- I get in this bloggin' atmosphere and I just can't help myself), she figures out a way to step it up and give me a right hook to my heart. Like how she started speaking little words here and there, with "da-da" being one of them, and "mmm-hmm" as an answer to every yes/no question (but never to an open ended question -- that was always "ummmmmm ..."), now she's graduated to exclaiming "DA-DDY!" every time I turn the lock on the door coming home from work, answering "Yesh", "O-shay!", or a defiant "No!" to every yes/no question, and answering most open-ended questions by naming a Sesame Street character -- "Eerrnie", "Melmo" or my favorite, always said with an almost Southern accent, "Ahh-bay!" (Abby). Can't wait to see her reactions to things Christmas morning. Love my daughter. -- Guest blogger Jordan

A Christmas Twist - by Harrison

Currently in my living room, the Autobots are saving baby Jesus from the three bad guy kings...who were then promptly eaten by a T-Rex.

Happy December from the Howe Family!

Introducing.....

Matthew Clason Howe

October 15, 2011

9:15pm 7 lbs 1 oz

A bit crazy getting him here - but all is well. A perfect little one.

First Day of PreSchool (again)

So glad he loves school!

A Tough One

Those lips!

When Mom chooses....When the 3-year-old chooses

Siblings

The Birthday Princess

We had a little family dinner/birthday party for Ava where she got to dig into a little personal pink frosted chocolate cake. She was hesitant at first, ate a little, smushed it around really well, and tired of it quickly. She received some lovely gifts and had LOTS of fun with the wrapping paper and her cousins. I would have loved to have done a big outdoor party in the warm sunshine, but alas, it is winter and we live in Utah. January has been bitter cold - endlessly cold - but fun was still had by all, and my baby is one. A really cute one.

Ava Grace - 12 months

She is wild and fun and full of energy - and we wouldn't have it any other way. A few things about her so I don't forget:

• Height: 31 inches - 95% Weight: 24.4 lbs - 91%
• Love love loves to clap on cue and any other time she hears or sees others clapping
• Has four teeth - 2 bottom middle, her right front tooth and right incisor (random)
• First word: Dada - even though I have tried my best to get her to say Mama
• Makes car noises as she pushes Harrison's cars around the house
• Takes 3-6 steps on her own before grabbing onto something or lowering herself slowly to the ground
• Is in LOVE with books - she sits and 'reads' by herself a lot and loves to be a part of reading time with Harrison
• Has destroyed the sides of her crib with her little chompers - black paint flecks were a regular in her neck chubs before the teething coverings went on
• Sleeps with the same blanket every night and likes it up around her face at all times
• HATES cooked carrots - spits them out every time
• LOVES cheese - especially Colby jack
• Plays with her 'kid kitchen' A LOT - she loves opening and closing the compartments and filling them with pretend food
• Is a CRAZY woman in the tub. Splashing and thrashing, climbing and falling best describe tubby time
• Loves to give high-fives and slobbery open mouth kisses
• Follows her brother everywhere
• Crawls faster than the speed of light if she sees an open bathroom door
• Loves to dump out trash cans
• Signs - 'all done' 'milk' 'more' and 'please'
• Sleeps like an angel - stick to her schedule and she is a happy girl
• Loves to empty the kitchen cupboards

What a beautiful and blessed year we have had with this little one. My Ava.