Egg Hunts and Cowgirl Hats

We had fun for Easter this year. I planned an egg hunt for a few families in the neighborhood. Everything would've been great if it didn't snow!!!! We moved the location to my friends house which is a little larger and a better setting for an egg hunt. Outside was no longer an option at our house. It ended up great. We had 10 kids hunting and lot's of parents taking pictures. We also decorated sugar cookies with the kids. A hilarious event. Ava and I worked together on the frosting part, but Ava ate it all by herself. She licked the sprinkles and frosting off and left the cookie.

My parents returned home from their month long road trip through the Southern US. Ava was so excited to see them. They brought her back some presents from Texas including this pink cowgirl hat. She seemed to like it because she left it on for quite a while. We of course liked it because we could take funny pictures and watch her look at herself in the mirror. She loves to do that. Anytime I do her hair or put new clothes on her, she runs into her room and looks in the mirror and twirls back and forth.

We also had a run in with makeup this week. As much as some members of my extended family are trying to make her all things tomboy, I am still motivating healthy girl attitude. She has watched me put on makeup since she could sit up. She likes to sit on my lap and look at everything on my dressing table. Within the past month she has discovered how to apply makeup herself. The cool thing is, she always keeps it on her face. Not on the rug, her clothes, the wall, or anything else. It's lipstick, mascara, blush, and concealer all over her face. What a cutie!

On to some news that does not involve Ava and all the things she does that I think are cute, funny and amazingly brilliant . . . We bought a new couch. This is a huge step for Todd and I. We haven't bought many new, like new from a store new, things lately. This is new from a store and top grain leather. We love our couch. It is so soft and comfy. I like to describe it as sitting on melted buttah! It's the perfect cushiness and size for our whole family to cuddle on. It kind of shocks me how the little things are what really get me excited these days. Man I'm getting old.

Pregnancy news - Our ultrasound is a week from today and we will finally know if we're having a boy or girl. I'm trying not to think about it because I'll get too anxious and excited. I feel like after the ultrasound, after you see the baby and know what the gender is, and know that everything is going well, the whole pregnancy seems that much more real and exciting. The ultrasound also means I've hit the halfway point. For me, it's mostly downhill from here. No more sickness! Not many cravings lately, but milk tastes awful to me. Everytime I drink milk I think it's gone bad. I even dumped the rest of a half gallon out thinking it was sour. Then I remembered that this happened last pregnancy. For some reason, I can not stand the taste of milk, no matter how fresh it is. Must be a hormonal balance in my body is off kilter.

For those of you who know my friend Erin, I wanted to post this recent picture I took of her and a recent love interest. They are very cute together and seem super happy. I'll let her share more of the details, but we are excited for both of them.