Christmas Time Is Here

I love these pictures of Ava because I think we are finally starting to see her features coming in. She definitely looks like her Dad, that's undeniable. My only claim to her so far is that I carried her for 9 months. Other than that, she's her Dad's mini-me.


I'm sure she's thinking, "My Mom, with that big black thing in my face...AGAIN!"


A smile for me, LOVE IT:


This year she really can't be bothered with this whole "Santa Business" and it's really Curt and I who are super excited about getting Ava into the Christmas spirit. I honestly am so looking forward to all the years where she comes tearing into our room at 5am because she wants to go downstairs to see what the big guy in the red suit brought her that year. SO fun!



So here we are, another Christmas away from the ones we love and miss the most. Thankfully we have Ava here to distract us from the being away from home. We took Ava to Curt's squadron kids Christmas party a few weekends ago and it was so great to have her looking around and taking in all the hustle and bustle that was around here. There were kiddos all over the place decorating cookies, making crafts, and eating all sorts of holiday treats. She, of course, was only able to take it all in once she woke up from her nap. She probably would have slept through the whole thing if Curt didn't wake her up! She sat on Santa's lap and in true "Santa meets Baby" fashion, she screamed. I think she's too young to fear a man in costume so it was probably based on something we're unaware of, but still, is it really a good Santa picture unless your child is screaming? I don't think so either...





We aren't going to have many presents under our tree this year for a couple good reasons. Curt and I don't mess around when it comes to getting each other gifts. We are really a lot happier giving away gifts to our family so we make our exchange short and sweet. Curt is so hard to buy gifts for. You'd think that because I have known this man for over 12 years that I'd have him all figured out. Well, I don't. He's super honest too so if he doesn't want/need it, he tells me. No worries-my feelings aren't hurt. What we do now is give each other a wish list in order to make sure our money is well spent. He's so great with surprising me every year and all year long. (spoiled? yes...) Christmas-y? Well, we think so...so that's the way it is. We are gifting Ava with some Nursery furniture once we move home and she's thrilled about it. We will have some toys and such under the tree for her to "open" on Christmas morning. I will do the shopping and wrapping and she and her Dad will tear into them on Christmas morning so they are both surprised at what Santa brought for her.