4th of July Weekend

Hey! Sorry I haven't been on here in awhile but I have been very tired and very busy! I know I know no excuses. Anyway, Ava was in this weekend from Wednesday until this afternoon and we had a great time. The weather wasn't that great Thursday or Friday, but this weekend it was great for Ralph's birthday and this afternoon we went to the park to play.

Ava was such a good girl. She is trying to talk a lot and when she says things and makes noises it sounds like it's in the form of a question. Her 4 teeth are completely in and I'm sure there's more to come although I can't say that I saw anything. The biggest news is probably how much she is walking! She is not really standing up on her own yet, but she'll get herself up on a couch, chair, toy, etc. and walk a good bit. My mom took her to the play area at South Hills Village while I was taking care of some things and these two little boys called her "Little Godzilla" because of the way she walked!

Other than she is playing a lot with her toys and understanding what they do, how to play with them, and certain buttons that she should press for songs, etc. Time is flying by and unfortunately doesn't look like it's going to slow down. I have some good pictures from this weekend. We went down to the Regatta for my dad's birthday and had a great time and then I have some pictures from when we went to the park.

I hope everyone had a good, safe 4th of July!!!

Weekend Warrior

I just got done working my first ever Weekend shift! Fortunately, I don't have to work tomorrow because they shut the mine off out where we work at 12:00 a.m. this morning. The only reason I had to work today was because of the lag time with shutting
off the mine still could have had some effect on the streams. Although I will say, I probably could use the money! Anyway, I just finished up and thought I'd show you guys the view from the parking lot! I'm right across from Heinz Field!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Count 'em

I am just finishing up my day in the office and I worked not 8, not 10, but 12 hours!!! I thought it was bad when they kept us a 1/2 hour longer for football! Oh well, tomorrow is Friday and then the weekend is here...oh wait I'm scheduled to work Saturday!


-- Posted From My iPhone

ALMOST!

Pirates nearly pulled off the rally! 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th to lose with the bases loaded!!! Are you kidding me!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Great Game

Pirates are down 2-0! Ava needs to hurry up and get here!!!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Pirate Game

Right now I'm tailgating in the Heinz Field parking lot for the Pirates game tonight. They're playing the Indians. I know if Ava was watching they would win no matter what, but since she's not they're going to have to play well! We'll see what happens! The Jolly Roger stopped by our tailgate! He's Awesome!!!

-- Posted From My iPhone

Father's Day Picture's Posted

The pictures from this weekend are on my MobileMe Gallery. Enjoy!!!

Happy Father's Day!

First of all, Happy Father's Day to all of our dad's out there! I had a great Father's Day, even though most of it was celebrated yesterday, today was very special to me! I got my first father's day present from Ava, which was happened to be a...cookie! Unfortunately, since I have to work tomorrow and Alexis was having Ava's birthday party at her house I had to take her back this afternoon. But we had fun in the car making silly noises and eating graham crackers, so it was a nice ride!

Father's Day Weekend!

Today was a busy day, my parents and I went down to South Side with Ava. She got grilled cheese off the Kid's Menu at Pita Pit and she really liked it. Then we took her down to the fountain in front of The Cheescake Facotry to play in the water, she had a blast playing and watching all the kids. After that we went and walked a trail that runs along the South Side and the Monongahela RIver, when we we're turning around to come back we stopped and fed some geese. Silly Ava kept calling them cats! It seems as though every animal on the planet is a cat to her! Anyway, on the ride home Ava was lights out, which was expected, and then when we got home since the weather so nice we went swimming!

I'd say it was a pretty exciting day. Ava is crawling all over me while I'm trying to write this, but I'm sure in about an hour she'll be snoozin'. Look for the album on MobileMe gallery either tomorrow or Monday, but as always I'll make a post when I put it up! Well that's it for now.

Hope you enjoyed the video!

Birthday Album Posted!

The pictures from Ava's Birthday Party are on MobileMe. And in case you've forgotten how to get there just scroll down a little bit and it's on the right hand side under Bonus Links! Enjoy!!!

The Birthday Girl!!!

Ava's is going to be one next week. I'm still in shock! Anyway, we celebrated her birthday here this weekend and there was great weather, great food, and amazing cake (because it was from Kreibel's Bakery). Ava got a lot of great gifts, outfits, and some gift cards for daddy to use :D! The picture above is her eating her "Smash Cake" a cake they specifically make for them too...well smash!!! I will say she was getting a little cranky towards the end of present time. She let us know how tired she was when I tried to give her my gift, a 3-in-1 Trike, last and she screamed when we tried to put her in it. She eventually got in it and now she loves it, which makes dad happy :) As usual I'll be making the album soon and putting it up on MobileMe.

STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!

Last night the Pittsburgh Penguins won the Stanley Cup. I hate to say it, but we knew it all along! I'm sorry I kept the secret from all of you. The fact is Ava is a good luck charm, and that' s all there is to it! Now if I could just get her to watch the Pirates!!!

Ava Loves Cats!

No! Ava is not trying to assinate Ali, she wants to give him a kiss...haha. Just thought I'd throw some Ava news out there before I go and get the big girl tomorrow! She loves cats, loves 'em...as you can see! And she is getting pretty good at saying "cat" she just needs to work on making the "T" sound. So she's basically got "mama" "cat" and "dada" under her belt. Although I will admit the "dada" is sparingly, and she doesn't know it like she knows the other two. And she has started to say something along the lines of "go". I'm not sure what it is or what she wants it to be, but the "Ga" sound is great! Just wanted to put that up there tonight and I'll hopefully get some posts and pictures up this weekend.

Ticked Off!

I got a couple surprises today while I was working. I had a couple of ticks on me! I know I had two for sure, and then I think there was another on the back of my neck. But as soon as I felt something I just grabbed it and threw it off me. It didn't all happen at once..trust me if I would ever get swarmed by anything at work, that would be my last day! Anyway, I have to admit I've never had a tick on me, but there's a first time for everything :D

Another Notch On The Ol' Belt!

It's official, I have been working at Hatch Mott MacDonald (HMM) for four months now. So far the summer is not going too bad. There was one day at work where my allergies were horrible and litterally my sinuses closed up and there was no breathing from the nose...none! But I went to the doctor's and got some medicine, but it's still rough out there. Between the pollen, the heat, and the poison ivy that feels like it's everywhere it's pretty scary...haha! Not to mention how high the grass and weeds are. It's crazy, the picture above doesn't even do some places we go justice!!! There are certain streams that we only monitor every month or two where the weeds and stuff are like 6-8 feet high, and if there's not a path it's not very fun to do!

Wedding Pictures Posted

I just put up the Wedding Album on to MobileMe Gallery. You can get to it by scrolling down a little on this page and go to "My Links" on the right side of the page. The link to MobileMe Gallery is right there! ENJOY!

Gone Fishin'

Me and my mom went fishing Sunday evening. Sunday was a free-fish day and my mom has been dying to go fishing so I thought we'd better take advantage! It was fun (even though I didn't catch anything). My mom caught a fish pretty much the second she put her rod in the water! Then after that she battled a fish the rest of the night. I'm thinking it was the fish she caught getting revenge on her. Anyway, we had a good time and hopefully we'll do some more fishing this summer!

The Weekend Of All Weekends!

So, this weekend is finally over for me :( it was great one! I just got back from dropping Ava off with Alexis. It was a long drive for some reason, contrary to popular belief when you stop a lot it does not make the time of the trip any faster! Huh...fooled me! Anyway, the bachelor party was awesome, paintball is a lot of fun. That same night the Penguins won, so that made it an even better night! Now the wedding...absolutely amazing! I had a great time just being with a lot of friends and family. Melissa and Caleb looked so happy and all of the groomsmen and bridesmaids had a great time too! The picture up top is probably one of my new all time favorite pictures. This was taken when we were doing the bridal party picture! I am going to post an album to MobileMe Gallery here tonight or tomorrow so you can see all my pictures from the wedding!

Busy, Busy Weekend

So, there is a lot of stuff going on this weekend and it starts tomorrow! My friends Caleb and Melissa are getting married on Saturday and we are having Caleb's bachelor party tomorrow. We are going to play paintball and then to a restaurant to watch the Pen's game. Caleb's a true fan so that's what he wants to do...I got no problem with it! Friday is the Rehearsal/Rehearsal Dinner, and I'm going to work that day, so it might get hectic. Alexis and Ava are coming in Friday afternoon, and Alexis is coming with me to the Rehearsal and dinner. 

Then the big day is Saturday! I'm in the wedding party so my day starts at 12:00 p.m. and the ceremony starts at 3:00. My parents will also be attending, along with Alexis and Ava. Then all the good stuff following, although it gets crazier because Alexis is in a wedding in two weeks and the bride's bachelorette party is that Saturday night! So Alexis has to basically drive to Columbus after the wedding ceremony! Crazy, but it will all work out I'm sure.

Now, the last thing I have is some Ava news that I promised everyone. This past weekend she took some steps on her own!!! She hasn't mastered the standing up on her own thing, but it's coming...soon! My mom told that I walked by myself on my birthday...so we'll see, maybe it'll be like father, like daughter!

And just for your enjoyment here's another little video I made of the big girl!

Welcome, welcome, welcome!

Hey everybody,

     Glad you could make it over here. I know it was a long journey and your probably a little tired...me too! I don't have much except for the fact that THIS IS THE NEW WEBSITE. WAHOO! I digress. I just wanted to throw up a quick post letting everyone know they're at the right spot. I've got some exciting Ava news that I want to share with everyone...but it will have to wait until tomorrow! I will tell you, however, that she does have some more teeth coming in (which is good and bad, because it seems like these puppies are painful)!