Ava's Baptism

Today was Ava Claire's baptism at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church. Nana and Poppy and Robert, Ella, and Lilly came to stay with us for the weekend. Having all of the kids together for the weekend was crazy to say the least. Once we finally got to the church everything went great. She looked so pretty and angelic in her christening gown. Her godparents were Uncle Michael and her cousin Monica. Ava thought Father William was funny and kept laughing at him during the ceremony! She did great and didn't even cry. Afterwards we all came back to our house and had lasagna and fettucini alfredo and lots of cake, cheesecake and ice cream. Ava got lots of presents that I'm sure she will treasure forever, especially her beautiful bracelet from Monica and her rosary from Uncle Michael. I did learn one thing once it was all over... I need to start preparing myself now for her wedding day!!!

4th of July

We had big plans for the 4th of July holiday this year, but the weather just didn't want to cooperate. Nana and Poppy came up to enjoy the festivities at Noni and Paw-paw's house. Chris cooked a huge feast of smoked pork, ribs, grilled veggies and fried potatoes. Grandpa Werner and Aunt Therese and her family came to enjoy the good food. We all thought the rain was going to ruin the fireworks spectacular that Uncle Michael brought, but the rain quit just in time. Little did we know the fog that followed the rain made the firework viewing next to impossible. We couldn't even see the fireworks put on by the church right down from the mountain! Chris and Michael did the best they could despite the lighter going out a few minutes into the show. Ethan was so excited all day about the fireworks, but when it finally came time he fell sound asleep! The fireworks may not have gone exactly as planned, but we had a great time with the whole family.

Ethan-isms

Ethan says the funniest things these days. The way he pronounces words, the stories he tells, there is never a dull moment. I thought I should blog some of his funniest moments so we will be able to remember them. It's already been 3 years since he was just learning to talk and I'm sure I've forgotten some of the cute words that he tried so hard to get right, like daughter instead of water. So here you go...Ethanisms.

• umbrella - rainbrella
• macaroni - macanomi
• squirrel - swirl
• february - ferrerrry (he always says "I can't say that one, Mommy"
• flashlight - fashfight
• wipie - lopie
• Ethan Michael Dickerson - Etan Mial Geerson

Ethan is quite the story teller. When he was in pre-school the teacher told me that they would all be sitting at the table coloring and Ethan would go off into a 15 minute story. All of the other kids would just listen while Ethan went on and on. One of his recent funny stories was about a deer he says he saw at Nana and Poppy's house. He said he was coming inside and looked out toward the woods. He saw a big deer and his eyes went big! When he said his eyes went big, he did his hands up by his eyes and made this crazy surprised face. It was so funny! We made him tell the story several times and everytime he made the face.

Yesterday Ethan, Ava and I were having dinner. Ethan was being a bear and going grrrr to Ava. I told him Ava was baby bear and I was momma bear. I asked him what his name was and he said "Ethan Michael Dickerson bear". Priceless.

Ethan and Ava

Well, my babies are officially growing up too fast!  Ava has just turned 3 months old and amazes us everyday.  She rolled over from her stomach to her back on June 30.  She is cooing and gooing at us.  Every time we smile at her she gives us this big toothless smile.  It is so funny because she always sticks her tongue out when she smiles.  She is such a happy baby!  She has always been a great sleeper.  Ava has been sleeping until about 5:00 am since she was about 2 weeks old.  We went to the doctor for her first round of shots (yuk!) last week and she was such a trooper.  She barely let out a little squeal and then she was fine.  I think she may be tougher than her big brother was! I’m still amazed at how fast time has gone since we had her.  It seems like yesterday that there was just 3 of us.

Ethan is 4 but acts like he is in his 20’s.  He has definitely done some growing up since Ava’s arrival.  He loves being the big man in the house.  He is so protective of Ava. He always tells everyone she is His Ava.  Ethan is already wanting to do everything the big guys do.  Anytime Chris is outside, Ethan is right there with him.