Ava's 1st Birthday party

Photo update extravaganza!

So nerdy

Like Mother, like Daughter.

Yum... Vegan Cheetos!

I'm so addicted. It doesn't take much to get me excited about food, but these are really awesome. I can eat the whole bag in prolly ten minutes. Maybe it's a good thing that the health food store by our house doesn't carry them. We have to go about fifteen minutes away to find these Tings. Last time we got two bags of them and they were both gone in less than 24 hours. Hmmm, maybe we'll have to make a special trip today to pick some up for our potluck party tomorrow. I guess I'm not shy about letting people know that it's my birthday. Hope it's not too busy at the park 'cause it's also Memorial day. Ahh, mems. We'll be making more mems with our families and maybe lots of bags of Tings.

Botanical garden fun

We went to a couple of gardens two days in a row, last week. It's going to be too hot to go anywhere like this after the next couple of weeks, so we have to soak in as much leisurely outdoor time as we can.

A.J. has just started clapping her hands, and it's so much fun that we are constantly trying to get her excited about anything, just so we can see her do it.

It was a super, windy day.

Paranoid Mommas like me have to keep the kid in the shade, even though I know darn well that she's covered in sunscreen. Will I always be this crazy?

What everyone thinks about me...

T-rex is cool

*from qwantz.com

My brother Sam

He just got back from an extended trip to Hawaii. The last time he saw Ava, she was just a couple of weeks old. So I guess he was gone for over 7 months. I still can't believe how grown up he's gotten. When I think back to when I first learned how to change diapers and take care of a little baby, it's Samuel that comes to mind. He was so cute and funny (and still is). And when he grew his li'l baby teeth, they were so white and round that my sisters and I started to call him Pearl. Sometimes it would be Pearly, so it didn't sound as much like a girl's name- it just drove my Mom crazy. He's 10 years younger than me and towers over everyone in my family- and we're a family of mostly tall people to begin with! Somehow, he managed to be the only boy among 7 sisters, up until a few years ago when our brother Seth was born. Sometimes I can't believe he survived the trauma of it all. When he left, I didn't really say goodbye to him 'cause I thought he would just be back, shortly. He's only 18 and had never been on an airplane before. He went to Cali., with virtually no money to speak of and planned on camping out in the Redwoods. Somehow he ended up in Hawaii a few weeks later and was living on a commune. He's one of the greatest artists I know and such a little hippie kid. He can sell his art on the streets and at the Farmer's Markets, and get along with pretty much anyone he meets. Since this trip, I think he's caught the traveling bug, and I'm sure he'll be on his way to some other awesome destination in no time. But I'm glad that he's back in town and in our lives, again. I love my widdo bwudda!

What a cute kid Shawn was

This is what Ava will look like with top teeth!
It's uncanny how much they look like each other.