Happy Halloween!

Love, Hayden and Ava

New "Family Member"...

We got Ava her own Ugly Doll yesterday to add to the collection. We had fun picking out the perfect Ugly just for her.

Hayden was NOT interested in posing with Ava. Instead he wanted to flip the lights on and off.

BIG TOE

Big Toe is very busy, but he’s going to take care of everything. Just watch. At first Big Toe may seem a little slow... until you realize he’s always one step ahead. Those donuts you were saving for tomorrow? Gone. Those leftovers from the picnic? Done.

Big Toe’s on top of things! An unstoppable force of knowledge, Big Toe’s got the scoop on all the latest info, and knows what’s going down at all times... Except for when it comes to you. What’s up with you? Big Toe wants to know.

MOXY

Moxy's got a lot of "moxy". She's a real get up and go Ugly,with far more energy than her older brother OX. Why the big antennas? Moxy uses them to pick up signals from all over. Just the other day, OX gave the signal for them to remove any chocolate based substances from the fridge.

Are you a party animal? No? Would you like to take care of one? No? Well that's ok because Moxy is here to take care of you. She can take care of pretty much any problem you may have...it's a gift of hers. For example, see how messy your room is? No problem! See? Moxy is on your side.

Moxy is very curious about YOU. What's up with you? Why don't your toes point towards each other? Please discuss.

Happy Two Months Ava!

Today Ava had her two month well baby check. She weighed in at a whopping (HaHa) 10 lbs. 9 oz. and was 22 3/4 inches long. Her measurements are fairly average with her height being a bit higher on the growth curve. Believe or not Hayden weighed 13 lbs. 11 oz. at 2 months. Unbelievable. Her shots really bothered her this evening, but it didn't help that Hayden wasn't being very sweet to her. Sometimes he gets really excited and wants to touch her, but it doesn't come out very gentle all the time. But then other times he's really sweet like when he gives her kisses or reaches over to hold her hand when they're in the car. He can just barely reach her hand when they're both in their car seats.

Ava has a bit of a tear duct issue so she got some eye drops since her Dr. thought she also had a touch of conjunctivitis.

Ava is just the sweetest baby. I say that a lot, but she truly is. Two nights this week she's only gotten up once. It's been kind of nice. Our schedule consists of Josh taking the first shift and me taking the second so that way Josh can get a long chunk of sleep before getting up for the day. He doesn't like waking up too close to the beginning of the day because he has a hard time falling back asleep.

Ava Being Smiley

Ava was being super cute the other night. She was cooing and smiling and moving her arms and legs all about. She is just a sweet baby.

Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

The Ozarks are beautiful in the fall

Table Rock Lake view from Pat's house

Near the bear habitats (they have just four bears)

Ringo the tiger

Yesterday I asked Josh if he wanted to go to Eureka Springs, Arkansas and Josh suggested we go see the BIG CATS. So we called up Pat(Grandpa) and Jenn and we followed each other to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. It was the perfect day to go as the leaves are still turning and it was about 72 degrees. Since Pat and Summerwinds have donated money to the refuge for a habitat we got the VIP tour from founder Tanya and her husband Scott. They have a little leopard that was born the same day as Ava and is still being bottle-fed. You could hear little Spyke making the cutest little roars while playing with his toy. It really was amazing seeing all the cats super close. Usually at a zoo they're laying as far away from the people as possible sometimes barely getting a glimpse of them. At the refuge there are some cats that have very large habitats and some smaller. I'm sure as the refuge grows all those other cats will be moved to larger habitats as well. They also have the cutest cabins to stay in. At some point there will be habitats at the back of the cabins and at night one could sit on the back porch and listen to the animals "sing" to each other. After visiting the animals the founders joined us for dinner in downtown Eureka Springs. It's a cute little artsy village.

Our Little Pumpkin

Tonight we carved our pumpkins and prepared one for Ava to sit in. She didn't mind it at first, but as soon as she started to cry we got her out and into the warm bath that was waiting for her.

Daddy and his babies

At the Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday after church we met with the Schmickle's to have a fun day at the pumpkin patch at Rutledge Wilson Farms. They had pick your own pumpkins, hay rides, a corn maze, farm animals, a hay play area, and a playground. They had really cheap pumpkins all for $4 a piece no matter the size. I think we'll skip the corn maze next year, but everything else was really cool. Hayden and Jack had a good time running around and checking out the cows and other animals.

Ava sure is changing

Ava just becoming interested in bright colors

"That's enough floor time for me."

Mommy stealing a kiss

Hayden was having nothing to do with getting his picture taken ...

He wanted to play with Ava's drawers instead

Hayden demonstrating...

that he wants to be a baby too! Hayden climbed on Ava's bouncy seat and he looked so cute doing it. Last night was the first time he showed a bit of jealousy so maybe this was his way of communicating that he didn't want to be left out. Earlier I was holding Ava while she was fussing and Josh was eating and Hayden really wanted to sit on my lap so he layed down at my feet and waited until I was done.

Hayden's bruise is slowly fading...