Happy Birthday Ava! {The Big T-W-O}

Dear Ava,

Today you turned two. TWO.
I hope today all your little two-year old dreams come true,
I know my dreams came true when I had you.



These last two years have truly been better than I could have expected.
I know I've said it before (and I'm sure I'll say it again)...
If someone told me I could handpick all the qualities in my daughter-to-be...
I really would have picked you -
 - every tiny little thing about you.
I love your bright, cheerful way of looking at life,
your outgoing, completely "un-shy," life-of-the-party personality.
I am amazed every single day by how smart you really are,
how funny and witty you can be,
how much joy you find in even the tiniest of things.
I love your sparkling, chocolate brown eyes,
those big juicy lips
and your darling, squeaky voice.
I love watching those little wheels turning in your head as you figure out this big world around you...
...and so quickly.

Other things about you:

• You know all the letters of the alphabet, and you sing the ABC song very well. You recognize all letters and recall the letter names. 
• You count to 10 perfectly. You can also count backwards from 5.  
• You know all your basic colors (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, pink) and are constantly pointing out colors everywhere we go. Your favorite color is purple, it seems.
• You know that on a stoplight, red means STOP and green means GO. You wait for the green light every time and then shout, "GREEN! GO!"
• You know several shapes: circle, oval, rectangle, star, heart
• You love to dance! You are especially obsessed with ballet and ballerinas lately.
• You love to take pictures and say cheese. You say, "Pose, Momma?" and put your hand on your hip to pose. 
• You are forming 3-4 word sentences and are learning new words every single day. You are quite the little chatterbox.
• You are the sweetest big sister to your little brother, he loves you so much!

You love to sing, and learn new songs. In the car, on a walk or just in any quiet moment during the day, you quietly ask me to sing a song. "ABCs, Momma?" And together we sing, until the next request that quickly follows. "Popcorn, Momma?" "Twinkle Twinkle, Momma?" You surprise me constantly with how quickly you pick up on songs and learn the words. You love to sing "I Am a Child of God."

You weigh 31 pounds (80th percentile weight-for-age) and are just barely under 3 feet tall (99th percentile). Such a tall girl!

I love you SO much, sweet girl. You are the greatest addition to my life - I don't know how I got so lucky! Here's to many, many, many more beautiful years together, sweetheart. :)

Love,
Momma :)

Ava {2 Years Old} from Ashley Webster on Vimeo.

Brad and Kelsey's Beautiful Wedding

Such a gorgeous wedding, we LOVED being in North Carolina with the Brock family!

As Brad and Kelsey were coming out of the temple, Ava ran right up to them and gave them a big hug. 

It really was so cute, you can tell she loves them so much!

 The reception was GORGEOUS and so much fun - everyone danced all night long.

Ava didn't miss one song, she danced more than anyone! 

That girl can bust a move! 

 Poor Ava got a sunburn on her little cheeks that morning from being out on the boat, so her cheeks were red. 

We LOVE our new sister-in-law, Kelsey, and feel SO blessed that she is apart of our family! Yay for another girl in the Webster family! :)

Congrats to Kelsey and Bradley! 

Love you both SOOOOO much! 

"Picha Momma"

I think I may have created a monster.

Ava saw me taking pictures of a little boy the other day in this spot.

So naturally, after she got dressed this morning, she looked in the mirror and said, "Pretty!" and ran off.

Two minutes later, she had my camera bag in hand and she started pulling my arm towards the back door,

"Outside Momma, picha Momma! Come Momma!"

She struggled to sit herself up on the bench, smiled and proudly proclaimed "Cheeeeeese."

And after she heard a few clicks from my camera, she asked to "See Momma?" 

Upon careful review of the pictures, she declared them fit with a "Ohhhh cute, Momma!"

Yep, see?

Indeed, a monster. 

But a very, very, very CUTE monster nonetheless. ;)

Gavin {6 months} - Happy Half Birthday!

Dear Gavin,

You turned 6 months old on September 6, 2013. You are officially HALF a year old! I can't believe how quickly you have grown and how much you have learned in six short months. You continually melt my heart. People everywhere just "ooh" and "aww" over you, and really, I don't blame them - you are simply adorable. Many people have said you remind them of the Gerber Baby and told me I could make some money off you. Hmmm.... :) To be honest, you could be the world's most unfortunate looking baby and I would still think you were the absolute most beautiful boy! I am totally, completely and shamelessly obsessed! 

Here are the highlights from this month:

• You tried solid food: rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples. 
• You despise formula and will not drink any of it.
• You were sleep trained for about 3 days. And then you went back to waking up every 2-3 hours al night long.
• You are sitting up and you definitely prefer sitting to laying down.
• Basic schedule: 8am wake up, 10am nap, 1pm nap, 5pm nap, 8pm bedtime. Usually wake up 2-3 times at night.
• During the day you are very mellow and easy going. You are very easy to smile and will flash a big, bright smile at anyone and everyone!
• You are very "busy" and curious and want to be mobile SO badly! You can turn in complete circles and roll all over the place, but crawling is still out of your reach. You love to grab any and everything and stick it directly into your mouth.
• Still no teeth
• You love to jump - in your jumper or while someone is holding you. 
• You love when I hum or sing to you as you are falling asleep. Whenever I sing a song, you stop and stare and intently listen.

You weigh 8.72 kg (19 lb 3.6 oz) (77.09%*), and are 2' 4.25" (96.59%*). Your BMI is 16.94 kg/m2. 

You love, love, LOVE your big sister! She can make you laugh and smile so much! She really loves you too! I know you two will be great friends - how lucky you are to have each other. The person who can make you laugh the most however, is your dad. As soon as he gets home, you light right up and babble, coo and laugh all night so long as your Daddy is holding you. :)

Here you are at each month....such a handsome boy!


I love you soooooooooooo much baby boy!

Love always and always and always,
Momma :)

How cool is this?

I didn't even know this was possible - my phone just made it. 

AND I love it!

This was Brad and Kelsey's wedding day, as they came out of the temple, 

Ava ran right up to them and gave them a huge hug. 

Luckily Brad and Kelsey are good sports and indulged her - 

that girl loves being the center of attention! 

And more than anything, she sure does love her new, beautiful Aunt Kelsey!