WE'RE MOVING!!!

So, perhaps this is old news already, but Brandon, Ava, and I have decided to start a new chapter in our lives- we're moving to Aurora, CO! Brandon has been offered a fantastic job at Cherry Creek School District, and he starts July 1st. The planning is incredibly stressful, especially since I don't have my job lined up yet and the housing market SUCKS, but never once have we questioned our decision to go for it. We're confident that everything will work out the way its supposed to, so we're going to sit tight and enjoy the wild ride.

My last day at Mesa County DHS is July 10th. I'm trying to look at my (hopefully) brief time off as time to get organized and spend extra time with my baby (who is rapidly becoming a toddler, minus the walking).

Anywho, if you know anyone hoping to relocate to an awesome house on Orchard Mesa, pass along the link!
http://www.brayandco.com/listings/detail.php?lid=46073201&limit=28&offset=10&&&posc=17&post=28&cfq=limit%3D10%26county%3D77%26state%3D8%26pricemin%3D224000%26pricemax%3D225000%26property_category%3D1%26radarea%3D1%26searchtype%3D1%26sort%3D1%26restype%3D1%26searchtypesent%3D1%26yb_l%3D0000%26yb_h%3D2009%26vtycount%3D2%26SRSearchDate%3D1245121852%26SRRecordCount%3D28%26SRPageCount%3D3%26SRPage%3D2

PS to my cousins- You know you want to live across the street from your mom ;-)

She may not crawl or walk, but she sure can dance!

Forget Old McDonald- our kid busts it out to songs about apple bottom jeans!

Soccer makes little girls tired

Ava's been to quite a few soccer games this year, and sometimes high school games can get a little crazy. We've taught her a trick that we'll find quite handy over the next few years. "Ava, earmuffs!" Feel free to say any adult content that you may not want a 1 year old to hear.

Soccer games are super tiring though. Too bad this car seat doesn't recline further!

She's going to be 1 on Monday. I can't believe how quickly this year has flown. This time last year, I was already mentally checked out of work (5/9/08 was my last day) and was anticipating 10 weeks off. I had the next week all planned out- I was going to get a pedicure, clean my house, and relax. I got one day off, then little Missy decided she was ready to come, so obviously that didn't happen like I planned. This has truly been one of the best years of my life. I can't wait for everything she's going to bring in the coming years.

Three months? Really?

Now that I've quite certainly lost any followers I might've had on my blog, I figure I'll blog for blogging's sake. Updates:

-Ava will be 1 year old in 12 days. Where the hell has time gone?

-No, she isn't even crawling yet, but she can roll around like the crazy little baby she is. Walking does seem to interest her, but she needs help. Not too worried anymore about this stuff. I never crawled because I had amazing cousins to carry me around everywhere. Pretty sure Ava's going to take after me and go straight to walking. When she's ready.

-She pretty much has a full set of teeth already, and has had them for quite some time. Weird.

-We teach her tricks like she's a puppy. She can wave, blow kisses, put her hands over her ears when we say "Earmuffs!" (which comes in quite handy when we want to talk about adult stuff), give high fives, and she laughs when everyone else does because she wants to be part of the group.

-She's an adrenaline junkie. A favorite past time is being swung around by her feet.

-She dances. Cutest damn thing you ever saw.

-Ava says "Dada" when she's happy. She says "Mama" when she's upset and needs something.

MY MOM DRIVES LIKE A MANIAC!!!

Keep your britches on. I'll update the blog someday...

Before I was a mom

I got this in an email the other day, and it touched me. Every word is so true.

Before I was a Mom,

I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.

I didn't worry whether or not

my plants were poisonous.

I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never been puked on.

Pooped on.

Chewed on.

Peed on.

I had complete control of my mind

and my thoughts.

I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held down a screaming child

so doctors could do tests.

Or give shots.

I never looked into teary eyes and cried.

I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.

I never sat up late hours at night

watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,

I never held a sleeping baby just because

I didn't want to put her down.

I never felt my heart break into a million pieces

when I couldn't stop the hurt.

I never knew that something so

small could affect my life so much.

I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,

I didn't know the feeling of

having my heart outside my body.

I didn't know how special it could feel

to feed a hungry baby.

I didn't know that bond

between a mother and her child.

I didn't know that something so small

could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,

I had never gotten up in the middle of the night

every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.

I had never known the warmth,

the joy,

the love,

the heartache,

the wonderment

or the satisfaction of being a Mom.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,

before I was a Mom.

The delinquent blogger

I've been pretty bad lately... I could say that this last month has been crazy, but that's a lame (and probably overused) excuse. What really happened is that we were overtaken by a band of vampires and warewolves, and they held our internet captive until we agreed to turn Ava over to them on her 14th birthday to let her roam their lands and learn how to lead their ranks. It kinda works out well, since in my field, I've seen the peaceful, drama-free nature of teenage girls. Aside from that...