4th of July

Yesterday was a beautiful relaxing day here.  We decided the night before to do a last minute barbecue and invite my Mum and Shaun's Aunt & Uncle over for some 4th of July yummmmm.  This meant a late trip to the grocery store with miss cutie pie who was a huge help and the night before and making ice cream cake!

Here's how I did it... though I realize that if I did it again, I'd freeze between layers... oh well, still yummy!

For the Crust:

 Take one sleeve of Chocolate Grahams...

*Crush*

 (I used our "Baby Bullet" ...which is WELL used in our house)

 Add a little melted butter (I did 3 TBSP)

 To the grahams to hold it all together

Spread in bottom of pan (I think this was a 9x9 deep)

 1st Layer:

I used Chocolate Ice Cream

Add Crushed Oreo Cookies...

Aww!  I don't have a picture of this step!  I sprinkled the crushed chocolatey goodness over the ice cream.  I used one sleeve as that's all I had in the house, but you could do two sleeves.  That would be better!

Ok, here's the part I would do differently.  At this point, REFREEZE!  Pop that cake back in the freezer for a bit and let the layer harden a little.  While this is going on, let whatever Ice Cream you're using for the 2nd layer stay out on the counter to soften...

Then you could do what I did and go watch an episode of CSI Miami with the hubby

...la la la... waiting... la la la....

Ok... now take that sucker out of the freezer and add your 2nd layer of ice cream (we did vanilla)

Refreeze again (I just left mine overnight)

THEN... Add the 3rd layer (which is softened Cool Whip)

And DECORATE!  I tried to do exploding fireworks with Strawberries and blueberries... not sure how successful I was but boy was it YUMMY!

For our 2nd dessert (Yes SECOND!) We also had awesome CREPE SUZETTES made by my Mum!

 Don't they look patriotic?

For the cookout we had Grilled Chicken & Steak which Shaun cooked perfectly! ...Mashed potatoes, fresh corn on the cob and green beans with garlic sauce.  SO GOOOOOD... so good, I didn't even get any pictures to share with you.  It's probably better... you'd just be jealous anyway.

I tried desperately to get a nice family photo while I had the chance.  Thought we'd do a cute "kissing the baby" shot... this is what we got:

"What the HECK are you two DOING to me!!???"

Ava wanted NONE of it

 "Weirdos!!!!"

After a few off center...

Backwards baby...

Sideways baby...

And blocking baby photos...

We finally got these (see how she's staring down the camera?)

Where I look FAR more pregnant than I am... and I still don't know how to style this hairdo... but I'm happy happy happy!

And this one... reminds me

of this one. Shortly before we got engaged... it wasn't even that long ago and yet it seems like forever!  So much has happened since this photo!

When the new house is finished and we finally move from this sweet one, I'll miss barbecues in this backyard and shucking corn on the back porch. 

These were taken only two years ago ...the Summer we were dating/got engaged.  I look SO much younger!

Yet, I wouldn't trade the "look of youth" for what I've recieved by giving it up.  I wouldn't exchange a better body for the little one I hold in my chubbier arms.  My husband still looks at me with loving eyes and thinks I'm beautiful.  My body belongs to my babies now and though we missed the fireworks, as I sat in our quiet livingroom after everyone had gone home with my sleeping baby in my lap and loving husband by my side listening to the fireworks booming out in the sky,  I didn't miss seeing them either. 

I was gazing at a sight far more beautiful.

Hope you all had a Happy 4th of July 2012!

Filling you all in... while she's sleeping

Ava is asleep and has been pretty clingy very "loving" lately, thus while she's sleeping I thought I'd fill you all in.  Tried to do a "Thankful Thursday" post... that didn't happen.  Then I thought I could do a "7 Quick takes Friday" post... that took too long.  The weekend was pretty busy and suddenly here we are already on Monday... in JULY!  I'm sure you all get it.

Update on the new house.

Well, this is a good sign.  This is a photo I took one day of our present house ...see the rainbow?

And this one I captured the other day as we were pulling up to the new one.  Even God sees the potential!

Shaun's been working on the back yard whenever he has time and up and out on his days off early in the morning to get rid of brush from the "jungle".  We're blessed that a great friend has been coming on his time off to take down trees and let us borrow some of his machines to make things a bit easier.  You wouldn't believe me if I told you what it looked like before... this is an IMPROVEMENT!

We're still currently taking bids on the work that needs to be done (boy do THOSE vary!) and checking references, etc... before beginning the work.  No news on the sale of our beautiful home.  That's ok, though we know that trusting God means trusting in His timing and realistically if it sold right away we'd have so much work left to do on the other one, it might not be a good thing.  Still, pray that it sells to the right person, at the right time.

Update on Miss Ava Marie:

Well, she's a crack up.  She definitely has her own great little personality.  She LOVES her Daddy!

 Gets VERY excited when he comes home.

 Loves his kisses.

 And he loves her

 She always wants to play with him... here she is with her new ball (thank you Rita & Rachel!)

 ...OH... you ROLL it?  I thought you just kept hitting me with it!

 She tells him all her troubles..

 He's a good listener...

 The bunny makes it better...

And time with Daddy...

Usually, she loves to just hang out with him.  This is their favorite spot.

She's standing on everything.

Climbing too.

Loves to get into the recyling (two of her favorite things are paper and socks)

She has crazy hair in the morning...

 and loves to SING!!!!

 and dance!!!

 on her cool toy from Nana.  Thanks Nana.

She's teething on EVERYTHING!  ...and FINALLY getting her first tooth (on the bottom) ...I'm still nursing, so I'm not really sure how I feel about that yet.

 here she is teething on the coffee table...

 like how childproof we are?

"Busted!"

We've been doing ponytails lately...

 Which are very cute, but almost make her look too old.

Ava's "sniff-face"

AFTER the ponytails... oh MY!

She recently had her 9mo checkup (last Tuesday) and grew 3 inches!  She's over the 95th percentile in length... off the charts and weighs in at 19lbs 10oz.  The doctor said she's doing great and advanced all around.  We're not doing anything different... she's just got places to go and people to see.  We love her.

Update on NEW Baby Fullen!

Today I'm 9 weeks along with the new baby and he/she is due on February 4th.  We're very excited and feel richly blessed.  Please pray for a safe pregnancy for us both.  So far I feel great.  I'm one of those lucky ones who doesn't have morning sickness... just a bit of nausea from time to time, but overall I feel even better than I did with Ava and I thought HER pregnancy was great!  I also feel less tired than I did with hers (I felt borderline comatose with her), but this might be due to my ability to get rest if I need it and not working full time teaching 25 3year olds and running our parish youth group.  Ava's really good about letting me rest and just hanging out with me if I need some time.  I also have less "food aversion" than I did with hers.  I feel great... just fat.  I didn't lose all the weight from her as I was still nursing and concerned about working out too much and affecting my milk production... then I got pregnant again.  Shaun thinks I'm beautiful, though.  Boy am I lucky!  I do have some issues with my back that have been ongoing for a while, but I guess it's not too much for me to have something to "offer up", right?

Here's some info on what happens in the 9th week:

Most of your baby’s joints are formed now and he is using them. Baby is flexing and stretching, but it will be a couple of months before you can feel it. Your baby is now almost one inch long and weighs just .07 of an ounce, about the size of a grape. Growing more human like from his early embryo days, your baby has finally lost his embryonic tail.

This 9th week of pregnancy, your baby is being nourished by the placenta, rather than the yolk sac. The placenta is an amazing structure, as it provides nutrients to your baby, along with providing a filter for your baby’s waste.

Your baby is now fascinated with his hand, and he actually has a grip. If you were to place a very small object in his hand, he would wrap his little fingers around it. Speaking of fingers, your baby’s fingerprints are also forming, and they are like nobody else’s.

Your baby’s eyelids are now fused together at 9 weeks of pregnancy and will remain that way until about 27 weeks. This gives his eyes a chance to do some developing of their own. Your baby’s ears, nose tip, and tongue have also formed. All major organs are now present, but need a lot of further development to function properly.

Pretty cool, huh???  Tooth buds!  Already!

Other updates:

I cut my hair.  Yup... over 20 inches.  Needed a trim and decided to donate it.... though it's still sitting on my kitchen counter all wrapped up.  I need to just get it in the mail.  What'dya think?

 BEFORE

(Probably should have brushed it first...)

AFTER

BEFORE

 AFTER

BEFORE

 AFTER

BEFORE

 AFTER

That's all folks!  Hope all is well in your worlds.