Crazy Love Gamble-Style

Once upon a time I wanted a dog, more then anything. Not just any dog, but a Puggle . My heart was set. If there was anyone who could talk me out of this I dared them to stand in my way, including my husband. He gave in and we got Lily. The most adorable puppy there ever was. She literally stopped traffic with her incredible cuteness. She was our baby and we loved her to pieces. One day we had a real baby. One that made us change the way we felt about our dog immensely. Lily had to be constantly managed. You could never leave anything anywhere for fear of her eating it. She stole all snacks & food she could get her little paws on. She woke the baby up constantly. We spent all our time trying to keep her quiet and calm. We stopped enjoying taking her places. She would bark and whine and make all experiences less fun and more challenging. She ate each and every favorite pair of jeans I have ever had. We found ourselves yelling at her all the time. Not wanting her aro

The tree and all the decorations may be down but we better back up a sec, here are some photos from Christmas before we forget all about them. We went to a lovely party on Christmas Eve, I didn't break out my camera once. I can't explain it. Something must be wrong with me. Here are two of the pictures I took right before we put Ava to bed. The next morning, Christmas morning, we held a party at our house. I made my sister take a few photos of John & I before the guests arrived. Where is Ava you wonder?? Here she is, she slept until we woke her up at 10:30, long after our party had begun. But when she did get up she was happy as a clam, thrilled to be surrounded by Christmas cheer. There were a ton of presents. And our beloved family. She loves her Dad. We made her hand out all the presents. She loved that job. You may remember the whole Pillow Pet ordeal , she had asked for a bee, then changed her mind claiming she wanted a "red bee with black polka dots". R

My little baby is turning 3 today, where has the time gone? Yesterday we had a little party for her. Ok , truth be told, not so little, more like huge. We got home Christmas evening, put Ava to bed and ripped our tree down. We put away every last Christmas decoration and replaced it all with birthday motif. Yes, we are crazy like that. It took Ava a few hours of reveling in balloons to notice her beloved tree was missing : ) She soon realized there were a whole new slew of gifts to be open (there really is something to be said for tricking these December birthday people into thinking their birthday is in July, way too many gifts in a very short period of time!) The house was packed full of Ava admirers, we have such wonderful, supportive friends and family. Ava was so cute, each guest that arrived she gave huge hugs to and thanked them for coming. She was jumping up and down telling people she is 3 now! She was so excited for cake she started asking for it soon after she woke up. Our

We just got back from the beach. We had a nice relaxing time, we played a lot of Ticket to Ride, we even upped the stakes and played for money! We danced. We also got creative! Ava got to decorate a gingerbread house: She did great. This is very serious stuff, don't you know. I think she is trying to convince me it belongs in her tummy. My Mom got Ava this little birthday cake game. It is just like this pizza game my Aunt Linda has that Ava has always loved. You can slice the pieces and decorate them with different toppings, they even have candles. She was in heaven. We must of had the happy birthday song sang to us a million times. We started to feel pretty old. : ) Not only did we make candy houses and eat a lot of fake cake but we also made cookies to decorate. I may or may not of teased Ava by telling her she couldn't eat a cookie after Mom & Jessica each ate one. Yes, I am mean. I was only kidding though... Check out the end result: Ava is so creative! I have no ide

Here is a VERY QUICK video of Ava telling her new joke, I don't know where she learned this but she won't stop telling it. Translation: "Why do chickens sit on their eggs? Because they don't have a chair!!" hahahahaha Cracks her up each time, and really, even though I have now heard it 437 times, I still think it is funny. It's her little laugh that gets me...

It is such a busy time of year. I'm really OK with that though. Sort of in a stage of hurry up lets get this baby all cooked and out of here! Saturday we went to visit Sammy and see the bunnies she has on loan from her school for Christmas break. The bunnies are huge! They were also quite tame and really nice. They are basically taking over Sammy's whole room! I love this picture of the kids sitting together while Tracy reads them a story: Next we headed up to Mom's house to help decorate her tree. Ava became an eagle for a moment: She enjoyed hanging the ornaments. Chris & D'Auna helped too. The finished tree: Uncle Chris Auntie D'Auna Us We had a fun time hanging out with the family. Tomorrow Ava and I will head to the beach for a few days of relaxing before all the holiday festivities begin. When we come home it will be game on, lots of cooking, partying, family and friends. A two day Christmas extravaganza followed immediately by our little baby's 3