Ava the Lion Tamer!!!!

Josh took this picture on his cell phone. Ava is playing with our cat Garfield who is still a baby too. We think she looks like a little lion tamer for the circus with her little spatula!!

Kindergarten

Cristian had his first day of kindergarten on September 2nd. He was kind of nervous to start, but was also very excited. About a week before school we went to the school for an open house and met Cristian's teacher Mrs. Becker. We saw his classroom, gym, art room, music room, computer lab, and library. He has some kids that he already knows from sports and daycare so that really put him at ease.He is doing very well and today he felt very special because he was the classroom leader for the day.

Ava's 1st Tooth!!!!!

Ava has her 1st tooth!!! She was extremely inconsolable at Cristian's soccer game. She put some grass in her mouth so I was wiping it out and I noticed that there was a little hole in her bottom front right side of her gums. I will have to post pictures after it has poked through and is visible because Ava still likes to hang her tongue out of her mouth!!! ;-)

Ava's hairdos

Ava's hair is growing!!! We are starting to try some new things with it and she looks absolutely adorable!!! These two pics were taken on Mandy's cell phone and they were taken only two weeks apart. You can see how much she is changing in such short periods of time!! If you look closely at the first picture you can even see her little boo-boo which is her 1st black eye.

Ava's check-up August 6th

Ava had her latest check up on Wednesday August 6th. She weighs 16.4 pounds and is 28 inches tall. She is in the 50th percentile for height and her head and in the 10th percentile for her weight. She is a little peanut!! She is doing great except for her weight which we still have to watch. She is crawling all over the place and is starting to pull herself up to stand.

Ava's check-up June 23rd

These pictures were taken on Mandy's cell phone on June 8th.

Ava had her check up with the doctor on June 23rd. She got caught up on all of her shots. She weighs 15 1/2 pounds and is 27 inches tall. She is a in the 90th percentile for height and in the 20th for her weight. The doctor wants to keep an eye on her weight to make sure she keeps gaining and is getting enough to eat.

L.C.O. Headstart Graduation

Cristian had his headstart graduation ceremony on Wednesday May 14th at the L.C.O. Lodge and Convention Center. They had a tribal elder say a prayer in Ojibwa and the Pipestone singers to sing and drum while the kids marched onto the stage. They all were wearing these blue caps and gowns with boutonnieres and tassels that said 2008. They had a little presentation of diplomas in which they called each child by name and shook their hand. Afterward there was cake and all of the kids were given brand new bikes. Cristian was really proud of himself and he felt special in his cap and gown.

Cristian's hockey picture 2008

These pics are from Josh's cell phone from various practices.

This picture is his professional one that was taken to purchase.

Updates

Sorry it has been so long since I have written on here! We have been very busy. I had my post partum check up in January which went well except for the post partum depression. Dr. Kelley put me on Zoloft to help with all of my weepiness, sadness, irritability, and other moods. This has been helping a lot and the only side effect is that it makes me tired.

Ava has had some great check ups and she is doing amazing! At her last check up which was on April 14th. She weighed a little over 14 pounds and was 26 inches tall. She got her shots except for the last hepatitis one due to a shortage for the vaccination. She now rolls over and can kind of move herself on the floor. She is a very good girl and is happy almost all of the time. She has begun to sleep through the night and we started on some solid foods which she absolutely loves!!!!! She is also VERY fond of Cristian and loves to give him kisses. She amazes us everyday because she is such a smart girl! We had her baptized on March 29th with Josh's brother, Jamie, as godfather and Mandy's friend, Stephanie, as godmother.

Cristian finished up his hockey season in March and we are getting into the baseball season! He will be graduating from head start on May 14th. Josh took him for his kindergarten screening and did very well!! He told the lady giving out the name tags that they had spelled his name wrong. The only concern they had was his speech and pronunciation of his "F" sounds. They said that this would be monitored and it shouldn't be a problem and was probably caused by all of his ear infections from when he was a toddler. He is definitely looking forward to starting kindergarten!

In February, we closed on a manufactured home in a small community of Pre-fabricated homes. We moved into it on March 22nd and we love it. It is one level which is really great for the kids and they each have their own little bedrooms!! Cristian was also very excited because he had saved some money and we finally let him get a kitten. We got Garfield in April (Cristian picked the name) and we are very happy to have him as part of our family! The kids love him and the kitten REALLY LOVES Josh.

In April, Mandy returned to work and Ava went to daycare. She is doing very well there and enjoys being with the other children.