Neat stuff

Here are some of the pictures from her book. As you can see I've even included pictures of the dogs. She really likes to point at the picture - then the dog. Her favorite page to look at so far is the one of her baby cousin Kate.
I made Ava the cutest little book yesterday. It has pictures of all of her family members with their names on the page as well. I used Microsoft Publisher but also used a lot of digital scrapbooking type things - backgrounds, embellishments, ribbons, and then printed it off onto photo paper. (I also had fun making some embellishments of my own - hello graphic design!) I then used my Xyron to adhere the "photos" with enhancements, and then used my Xyron to laminate the pages. Last, I hole-punched each page and put them together using rings. Hopefully Ava will really enjoy it and it will help her learn the names of her family members.

Here are some web addresses of sites that I really like. Most of them offer free items.

http://www.twopeasinabucket.com

This one offers a free monthly digital kit with background papers & embellishments. I used a lot of stuff from this website. GO to the "digital scrapbooking" tab and scroll to the bottom for past monthly kits.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/activityCenterHome?lc=en&cc=us&cat=47205&dlc=en&

This is a site by HP, Hewlett Packard that offers lots of free projects for download. Lots of the projects have pieces that I like and would probably use for other things. If this link doesn't work - just go to hp.com and click on "activity center."

http://www.onescrappysite.com/downloads.html

This site has tons of free fonts for download.

http://www.scrapvillage.com/fontsb.htm

Another site for free font downloads.

http://www.typadelic.com/free.html

This one also has some free fonts.

http://www.creativedelights.com

This is one of my FAVORITE sites for purchasing true type and picture fonts as well as other embellishments to print for cards and scrapbooks, etc. If you sign up for their newsletter you can get 10 free fonts. They also have pretty good periodic sales to watch for.

Well, I hope to have helped at least a couple of you!

First Swim!

Yesterday was the first time that Ava has been swimming. We almost didn't get to go because of the lightning but waited it out and were able to get in. We took her to the Indoor Aquatic Center - didn't have to worry about sunscreen or hot sun so that was nice.

Ava LOVED swimming. We weren't surprised. She didn't know what to think at first but I told her it was kind of like a bath. ;o) It was a short time before she was splashing and playing with the equipment. We stayed for about an hour or so - until we saw that Ava's lips were blue. She never complained though. We had lots of fun and can't wait to get more swimming in this summer.

"Hi!"

Ava's been trying to say "hi" since she was 5 months old. Some say they heard her say it then but I never really counted it. Well, lately there is no question that she understands the word "hi" and knows how to use it. Today at church she was saying "hi" to the two Vonfeldt girls sitting behind us. Then in primary she was saying "hi" to those on the back bench. I, of course, think it is way cute.

I got a new camera for Mother's Day, (a Canon PowerShot A620), and I REALLY like it. I was having camera envy for my sister Heidi's camera. We bought our last digital camera in 2001. The technology is so much better now. Needless to say, I've been taking a lot of pictures lately. Now I REALLY need to get going on my scrapbook albums.

Ava hasn't had much patience for me to take pics of her. I've been getting a lot of "walking away" shots. I guess Mommy's just too slow.

I'm planning Ava's 1st Birthday party. We're having it at a park. Let me know if any of you have any ideas for activities. There will be kids there ages 0-8 years old or so.

Here are some of my recent shots. As you can see, Ava spends a lot of time with her cousins William and Kate. She LOVES babies and always wants to hug Kate and pat Kate and give Kate her binky, etc. It's really pretty sweet. Ava likes to watch and play with William too, (when he'll let her that is). One of the pics is of Ava and my sister Kelly, Ava's (and everyone's) favorite Aunt.

Growing Up

Ava is really growing up! On most days, Ava and I wait for Daddy to get home from work. I usually try to keep us busy by watering or looking out the window or sitting on the bench and waiting. Ava's face lights up the moment she's sees Daddy's black truck turning the corner and driving up to our house. Her smile appears when Daddy pulls up onto the driveway and starts waving. It's very sweet. Chris then usually takes Ava with him to walk and get the mail. I think it's great Daddy-daughter time.

I was finishing watering and looked over to see how they were doing. I forgot how small Ava was until I watched her from far away. I saw her and Daddy getting the mail, Daddy putting her down and letting her walk, Daddy trying to hold her hand, Ava shaking it off - showing that she could do it without him, Ava walking right past our house and continuing to walk further away, Daddy running in front of her and trying to get her to turn around...etc.

We survived!

Thursday was the last day of teaching for me. We made it! I'll miss many aspects of teaching and working with school-age kids, but I don't think I'll ever regret staying home with Ava.

Here are some pictures of my 3rd grade class on the last day of school.

Last Day!

For those of you've I've visited with recently, you know that I have been counting down the days to my retirement (for now at least---a long "for now" if I have my way) from teaching. Tomorrow is my last day with the kids and then Friday I have a half-day working in my room. I love teaching and love the kids but I am ready to be a full-time mommy. I only worked half-time this year but it has still been too much for me. I figure I'd rather be a little poorer than work right now.

Ava is almost 1 year-old. I can't believe it! This time last year I was very pregnant, (elephant foot and ankle pregnant) and was just finishing my first year of teaching. (I know, who gets pregnant their first year of teaching?? She was the best surprise I've ever had. ) One year later I have a beautiful little girl who is the center of our world. It's so amazing!

Joining the Blogging Party

I've decided to "join the club" and start a blog for our family...thanks to Camie for the convincing. I think this will be nice opportunity to say a few things, post a few pictures and hear from some of you! I hope to at least entertain you with the misadventures of the George family. Please feel free to post your comments!