Ava likes to read

Ava has been obsessed with books since birth I swear. Her perfect day would be to sit on my lap with a giant pile of books and have me read to her all day long. We recently checked out a book about trains from the library. She's a big fan.

Everything is BIGGER in Texas

Including the lightning and thunderstorms. We had a doozy last night. Ava and I went to the zoo with some friends yesterday and when we were pulling in the garage when we got home I could hear the city tornado sirens going off. I swear, I didn't even know bad weather was coming but apparently we were in the hot spot for tornadoes, bone-crushing thunder, and 70 mph winds. At 8 pm, after a bolt of lightning that lit the sky and thunder that felt like it was shaking our house, our power went out. It is now 11:30 the next morning and still out. Apparently it's dangerous to repair power lines while there is still massive lightning in the sky! It's amazing how much we depend on electricity. Like this morning when I realized my cell phone was about to die and I had no way to charge it and since I have a cordless phone at home I was soon to be cut off from communication to the outside world. I'll be honest, the thought freaked me out. And of course, there was no internet. So Ava and I loaded in the car (after I raised the garage door manually - ugh the torture!) and headed to a friends house to soak up the comfort, convenience and bliss that is electricity. My cell phone is charging on the counter, Ava is dancing to the music coming from the television and here I sit updating my blog for all to read. I would have made a terrible cavewoman.

Hopefully this isn't it

You know that quote from Andy Warhol that says that everybody will have 15 minutes of fame? Hopefully today isn't Rob's. I think we'd like ours to be when we accept our check from Publishers Clearing House. Still, Rob is fielding phone calls from the likes of The New York Times and Fox News New York today. For those of you who have been watching the news, Obama appointed a new justice to the Supreme Court: Judge Sonia Sotomayor. And it just so happens that Rob interned for that same judge when he was in law school. So apparently the hard-hitting reporters have been trying to get Rob to weigh in on all the negative criticisms she's been getting, which of course he won't. I asked him if he said something good so they would quote him. Rob: I don't think I said what they wanted. I told him maybe this was his 15 minutes of fame. Rob: I hope not.

I hope not too. Ed McMahon, we're waiting!

To the Big Girl

Dear Ava:

Today you and I went to Old Navy to return a few things and as usual, you were obsessed with the mannequin dog there. You spent 10 minutes petting it and talking to it and giving it hugs. So I took this picture of you and emailed it to your dad.When your dad and I talked again later, we laughed about how with your sunglasses it's hard to tell which one is the mannequin. We also joked about never needing a real dog because you are apparently content with a plastic one. About five minutes after we'd hung up, your dad called me back:
Your Dad: I was looking at that picture you sent again.
Me: Yeah?
Your Dad: She looks like a little girl in that picture, not a baby anymore.
Me: I know.
Your Dad: She is a little girl now, I mean look at that picture.
Me: Yep, her and I just had a conversation today about how she's not a baby anymore.
Your Dad: How did that happen?
Me: I don't know.

Even though we're not sure how it happened, the truth of the matter is, our tiny baby is long gone. It's hard to believe that you will be two years old next month. Where did the time go? I'm not sure but I know it's been quite the ride so far and we still shake our heads and can't believe how boring our lives must have been before you came along. I'm sure time will continue to fly by and before you know it your dad and I will look at another picture and wonder when you became a teenager. But until then, I'm gonna enjoy today with you. Let's go read a book.
Love,
Mom

The smoke is coming from my house.........

And no, not because my house is on fire. I know judging from the last post that's the likely thought that is passing through your head right now. Well just stop it. It'll be a good year at least before I do something else dumb enough to have to call 9-1-1. But anyway, back to the smoke coming from my house. We got a fire pit!!!!! And if you can't tell by the 5 exclamation points at the end of the last sentence, I'm very excited about it. I've wanted one forever. In fact, I tried to talk my dad into putting one in my backyard growing up but alas, he doesn't love me that much (ha!). But Rob and I have decided that this is the year to get our backyard into shape and so after laying sod for an entire Saturday two weeks ago, our grass is looking fantastic and it has motivated us to get the rest of the space put together. So today we bought some new patio furniture, some tiki torches (another childhood dream) and a fire pit. And Rob and I even had a romantic little evening making smores over our new toy after the kid was in bed. (Technically the instructions say not to use it as a cooking device but I've never been much for rules). It was actually a cool night here in Texas and it was lovely to be able to sit next to it and warm my hands and close my eyes and pretend I was camping. It was pretty close. I even have the smoke-filled sweater to prove it. So don't call the fire department but feel free to stop by for a little conversation around the coals. It's bliss!