Our Ava

Ava Jane, I like to call her but Randy is always very quick to correct me... She also is fondly called Ava Stinky Hope and Ava Dirty Hope. I try not to partake in this or encourage it but the child is always dirty! It is almost impossible to keep her clean- whether it is food or markers or the Lord only knows.

Ava is Miss At.ti.tude. She isn't really grumpy per say but just quick to put you in your place. I wish I could just list all of the things she says to us on a given day. She can stare you down and be downright stubborn too. She is also the sweetest, most helpful and cuddly child. She is the first one to offer to run for a diaper if I need one. She loves to have books read to her and she loves to experiment with writing all the letters and trying to spell words. Anytime she is away from Bella she says she misses her but on most days she decides she has had enough and no longer wants to play princesses with her.

Ava talks a lot and has a lot of questions. She in preschool two days a week and loves learning. I would love to see her interact with her friends... she seems to be quiet with them but holds her own, in other words, she gets mean when she is not okay with something. She is a sugar-holic and we have to hide it all, even the stinkin vitamins! She loves her milk too. We do lactose free milk with her and avoid dairy as much as possible- nothing dramatic but helps keep things solid if you know what I mean.

Ava loves her little brothers and the way she says their names melts our hearts... "Powta" (said like a Georgia woman) and Turner the same way.

Her eyes are more green these days but still show stoppers. She is starting her next gymnastics class this week and then trying out soccer for the first time in a few weeks. Like her sister, she started swimming last summer. Just today she started riding Bella's bike with training wheels as opposed to a tricycle or big wheel. At her four year checkup this past week our new doctor referred to her as a tank... no comment. Everything went well and we plan to look into her new stuttering pattern sometime soon (it seemed to come out of nowhere this past fall).

so. much. to. say.

I have so much to say, not enough time to do it or write it! Quick posts about each of my children right now. I want to remember it the way it is today. Time just flies way too quickly.



Bella. She is a snaggle tooth right now; she's lost three teeth with two more quickly on their way. She is sweet and helpful, but moody and argumentative on any given day. She is 6 and a half right now, 7 in April. She is still doing the Spanish immersion program at Antioch and I just love speaking Spanish with her. Unfortunately we lost her wonderful teacher about half way through the year this year and the adjustment has been tough on me. The students seem fine :)

Bella got her own room this year when we added a room/put up walls around the old playroom. It is still in the works but she has been able to live in it since before Christmas. Her favorite color is purple and she loves to play with Ava. They fight a lot, at least lately, but still keep going back for more. She is really good with Porter and loves to hold Turner.

She eats like a bird and asks to go to the movie theatre on a daily basis. She has been a little boy crazy this year and we have had to reign her in, reminding her she is Daddy's girl for about twelve more years and he is the only one she will be dating until then! There is a great book we got from our neighbor that helps teach our view- The Princess and the Kiss. Bella and Randy participate in Y-Guides through the YMCA. The tribe they are in is called the Arendale Arrows and they go on a short trips, outings around town and have regular tribal meetings- just daddies and their daughters. They have a daddy/daughter princess date coming up soon.

For now she is reading well, writing and drawing all the time. She still prefers training wheels but we are hoping this summer will be the breakthrough for that. She is going to start a golf class next week that meets at her school so we are looking forward to how this game unfolds in her life.

Most importantly, Bella accepted Christ this past year. She has lots of questions but mostly answers for her little sister, ha. She is in a phase right now where she wants to go to big church and we are letting her for now.

Much like the title, she has so much to say (read argue) these days...

My favorite thing about her is her style- she wears anything well. Some days she has on very preppy outfits, other days they are cutesy but most days it is a variety of all kinds of wild with a sweater, always a sweater and frilly socks sticking out of her boots or her gold strappy shoes. I. love. it.

Reflections at 36 Weeks

As I approach the last few weeks of pregnancy with this little guy inside me, I have so much flowing through my mind and heart. I have an influx of feelings- joy, anxiety, excitement, fear, even some dread. This has been the most painful pregnancy I have had but I expected that. I knew with each pregnancy, the pain gets more intense as we carry differently and our bodies respond differently. I have been really encouraged by women at my church, mothers of three, four and five children. They remind me they survived and what a blessing it is to have four children.

Randy and I laughed a lot at the beginning of this surprise pregnancy but now we find ourselves talking at night, a little sad we didn't have as much time with Porter as the baby. We are really enjoying him right now at this stage. He is so funny and just all boy! Before having him, we thought it would be nice to have all girls but now with him in our lives we cannot imagine it any other way! He climbs, flirts, shouts about football, makes us laugh and eats like a man. I am happy to be bringing a little brother into the mix for him but could have used a little more time before doing so!

I don't want to forget pregnancy but in so many ways I cannot wait for it to be over. I want to have relief from all the bathroom trips, the contractions, the odd shape and obstacle my growing stomach provides but at the same time I know the miracle of it all and the days of feeling a rambunctious little boy bounce around in there and kick are numbered. I cannot say for sure if we are done. I would like to be but I cannot imagine making such a permanent decision as surgery. Birth control pills and other methods have obviously not been very successful for us but of course we would not change that in a million years. Each baby has been an amazing experience and blessing and over the years I have learned more about birth control and the way many of them work which has led me and Randy both to avoid most methods, namely medications and devices. I would love to explain this further so if interested, just ask me!

Overall, I am curious about how this baby will present himself. Each labor has proved to be quicker than the last and they have all come before 39 weeks but every one is different, right? Should I expect the same with Turner or will he throw us for a loop? I have been afraid to pray for an epidural but oh Lord, what I would not give for a little more warning with this labor, and a little more time and a little more peace in the delivery room. I know His timing is perfect and I trust Him.

I probably won't post again until he arrives but I hope to document a lot more of our lives in 2016. 2015 flew by and very little got written while a great amount got done!

P's first haircut

He did great! It was clear he was relaxed but that what she did around his neck was tickling him. It was pretty cute.

it's not over until it's over

Well, this post will lack pictures and probably a lot of sense but this blog is not finished. I am not done blogging. This past season has just been out of control busy with life. Good life. We are working on a "remodel," I got an iphone and therefore use instagram for most updates, we found out we are having a number four baby and I have been busy rushing around between four locations to complete my third and final internship as a counselor. I have two classes left and plan to graduate in May, finally! I love what I am learning and I love counseling but between childcare and everything else it is stressful to say the least! In addition to seeing clients and doing paperwork/documentation, we are also required to meet weekly with an approved and licensed supervisor for one hour, plus an hour and a half with our staff supervisor in a group setting and complete related assignments.

About the baby, we were not trying- of course- we never are but after the initial shock we welcome the blessing and thank the Lord for allowing us the privilege. As far as the future, we like the number four and feel that it is a great place to stop but not sure what that looks like right now. We are praying about what the Lord might have us do and not sure we need to be taking permanent precautions into our own hands just yet.

The girls are pretty excited but, like me, have some anxiety about another boy! We like the idea of Porter having a buddy so close in age and keeping things even but Porter gives us a run for our money between climbing the table and making messes.

The next post just may turn out to be a photo dump because frankly that is about all of an update I can muster right now...

Our Little Monster Turned ONE!

Porter's 1st birthday was Saturday and we had our family over to celebrate. We went with a monster theme even though there is nothing about him that is like a monster! He is just a ball of precious. He makes us smile and laugh all the time. He was happy to have all of the attention on him too.

He dove into lunch and then dove into that cake. The girls thought it was hilarious and could not stop giggling. As for the presents, he was happy to play in the "ball pit" and we had to really work to get him to open anything. He mostly just wanted to climb onto the boxes and push them around. He got a lot of cute stuff though (and it was time he had his own boy toys!). He got a 4 in 1 tricycle, a water table, a toy chainsaw and a toy leaf/bubble blower, a big toy dumptruck, a toy car and a little toy puppy to walk. It took all of an hour to get them all opened, ha! Randy and I worked together to make him a miniature "busy board" which is right up his alley but he hasn't been able to look past the ball pit in two days. It would be nice to eventually make him a much larger one but we were on a bit of a time crunch.

It was a great day and I think he had a lot of fun. His 12 month check up is right around the corner so I will be interested to find out his stats. I also plan to post an update on other milestones from this month.

Without further ado, here are A LOT of pictures:

Bella's First Field Day

Bella's school had field day last week and I had been looking forward to going for a while. That morning turned out to be a rough one with the littles and Ava never made it to preschool. I took them with me and rushed to the school to catch the last two events. The kids were still full of energy and having a blast after three hours of being out there!