Happy Easter!

“Christ the Lord is Risen today Alleluia!!”  Ava and I practiced the this hymn in preparation for Easter day and she just loved singing it.  She still breaks out into “He Lives!”  Just yesterday in the car she was singing “He walks with me and talks with me, He LIVES Christ Jesus Lives today!”  Oh so true baby girl.  

About to start the hunt…

Ditty took us to see the Easter bunny!  Ava LOVED him, and let him know with a BIG kiss!

(Still a little pirate, Ahrrrr)  Waiting so patiently in line, Ava didn’t take her eyes off that bunny….

Getting Bunny Tickles

Pictures at last

I have so many posts to catch up on (Ava’s birthday 6 months ago, Christmas, Thanksgiving, pics of Austin, the list goes on) that I decided to stop procrastinating and just start posting pictures however unorganized they may be. SO here is a slideshow of the kids and family all the way from October 2010 to today!

Merry Birthday and Happy Thanksmasoween! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The Hug-A-Thon

Ava and Caden have been buddies since babyhood but now I think Ava has a new beau in additional to her daddy.  Caden came over to play a few weeks ago and Ava kept trying to steal hugs every chance she got!

First hug oh so cute

By the tenth hug it was time to teach Ava about respecting “personal space” ha!   Poor guy got backed into a corner……

Run for your life Caden……

Which turned into a great game of chase with two smiling and  squealing kiddos!

Happy Birthday Austin Gregory Rowe

This post has been a long time coming but better late than never!  So actual date on these pictures is January 13, 2011.  Austin was born at 12:30 am weighing 8 pounds 2 ounces.  He was 21 inches long and looked just like Ava did for the first hours of his little life (all except Austin had hair and Ava didn’t!) 

This the the first time I got to hold him.. there are absolutely no words to describe that feeling .  It was the same feeling I had when I held Ava for the first time… LOVE LOVE LOVE, these were for sure some of the BEST  moments of my life. 

   

One day old

Going home from the hospital

One Month Old

Our sweetie is already one month old!  Oh it just goes too fast.  He is so a precious little baby and we are loving each new day with him more than words can say!

Meet Baby Brother Austin!

We love you baby Austin!! This was the first time Ava got to meet her sweet baby brother. I had been looking forward to this moment for months! I teared up a bit but tried to hold it together for Ava's sake, just so precious!

Ava Claire

 

 

 

 

Outtakes of our little girl with the “pirate smile” as we call it  (90% of all the pictures we take have and smile plus a wink)

    

Winner of least likely to use on our Christmas Card: Nothing says Merry Christmas like this face, Ba Humbug! 

Uncle Brad and Boo

I just had to share this picture of one of Baylor’s favorite people!  She loves Uncle Brad as you can see by the lab smile!

(P.S. Ava’s 2nd birthday blog post coming soon!)

Baylor Boo I love you

Cousins

We had such a happy weekend! Jessica, Scott, Emmy, Hayden, Karo, and K Bob came to visit. Ava LOVES her cousins, no doubt about that. I think she watched Emmy and Hayden’s every move. Here are a few pictures of the sweet girls! (Ava has a new posed smile as you can see, I call it her pirate smile.. arrrr!)

Greg made a super yummy dinner on his barbeque pit…. ribs, brisket, chicken and sausage. Ava inhaled the corn on the cob, yum!

I love my nieces and little scrunchy face smiley girl!

I'm Bubbling in my Soul

Listen carefully! Here's my mommy interpretation of Ava's toddler words:

"I singing, laughing, Jesus... whole"

"I'm Bubbling Bubbling Bubbling.... night"

"I'm Bubbling I'm Bubbling, I singing, laughing"

"I'm bubbling (big pause) day and niiiiight"

AND here is the song word for word: I'm bubbling I'm bubbling I'm bubbling in my soul. I'm singing and laughing because Jesus made me whole. Folks don't understand it but I can't keep it quiet. I'm bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling bubbling day and night."

My heart melted this morning when I heard Ava singing this song in the bathroom. (Listen carefully over the sound of running water- I let her play in the faucet with her water toys when I am in my room getting ready) This was more than just a song to me and I have to share this story!

This is a song that Ava learned at church and we sing it sometimes at home. We haven't done it for a few weeks at home so I know it was a song from her heart and not just a "parrot song." (Plus we sing many different songs all throughout the day- Bingo is still Ava's reigning favorite) After I finished taking this clip I sang the song with Ava, she was super excited and sang almost the entire song second time around with me. So precious! BUT here is why I am so touched by her little song. I am currently doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Revelation and loving it. Last night I was studying approaching the throne of God and how we can approach with confidence. I love the verse Rev 5:8 on how the prayers of the saints are "golden bowls of incense," so beloved by the LORD! In my study guide I was asked to "approach the throne" with my heart's desire. The following has been my prayer since the day I found out I was pregnant with Ava but again I prayed this to Lord .... "God I want my children to LOVE Jesus above all earthly things, to listen to you, to have open hearts and ears, to let you lead their lives, and to love others with your love." Every night Greg and I pray over Ava that she will trust in God for her salvation at an early age. I believe that God will bless my family and I am so thankful for my spiritual heritage to pass on to my children. This said there is nothing like having God BE your life, the joy, peace, purpose, hope, truth, everything wonderful! I want this for Ava and my baby boy so much that I can't express it in words. What a sweet gift from God this morning to hear my 22 month old baby girl singing that she was bubbling about Jesus!! My heart just goes crazy to know that God invites us to approach him, listens and answers because he loves His children!

FOUR Rowes and a Boo

Ava is having a baby BROTHER! We are so thankful and super excited to have a little boy!

I had been counting the days until today. I remember seeing Ava at her 2nd trimester ultrasound and just falling even more in love with her then. I felt the exact same way for this little baby. At first he was curled up for a few minutes and then he decided to stretch out which made it easier for the technician to do the organ measurements.

It was so funny because the second he was on the screen Greg and I were looking for the gender. At first Greg and I thought we saw a little boy, but then we couldn’t figure out if it was the cord. The ultrasound technician could tell we were really wanted to know so she did the gender bit right away. Greg’s face LIT up when she said that the baby was a boy. He high fived me and after a few "It’s a b-o-y!” exclaims he looked at the technician and said “are you sure?” She was so sweet and got that close up pictured above just to prove to us that us that she was sure.

We feel so thankful that God has blessed us with another baby and can’t wait to meet him! (due date is Jan. 6th)

Oh, I was thinking about how this blog has come first circle in an ironic way. In our first post when we found out we were pregnant with Ava, Greg got to buy a new boat as his end of the “ baby deal." Yes, I know that sounds pretty crazy to barter a baby for a boat but I REALLY wanted to start our family and Greg really wanted a new boat so that reasoning worked for us! (And of course Greg was so in love with his baby girl the day she was born, with or without a boat) Anyways, when Greg found out we were pregnant with baby #2 he decided that it would be wise to sell the boat. Bye Bye boat and hello BABY BOY!! We wouldn’t have it any other way!!