Christmas 2009

It has taken me a while to get things posted as Ava Grace has had a viral infection for about 2 weeks now. We have had a busy month as well. Tim and I went to Mark and Jessica's engagement party in North Augusta. We are very much looking forward to their upcoming wedding!! We also attended Shaw Christmas in the 'boro with MANY of our cousins. Ava Grace wasn't feeling well, so she wasn't her usual self, but it was fun for me to see everyone. I have such a wonderful family!!

Before Christmas, I decided to bake some cookies for the neighbors and Ava Grace helped. Well, she helped with the sprinkles. She wanted "more" every time the sprinkles left her hand. She seemed to like it, which means that next year baking cookies will be even more fun (and messier).

Christmas Eve service was nice as the children did a GodPlay of the story. We were in the play last year, so it was nice to watch it this time. Ava Grace did great as she played in the pew with anything she could find. Cece was with us on Christmas Eve which was extra special since we haven't spent Christmas Eve with her in several years. Christmas morning brought about much excitement and fun!! Ava Grace started to feel a little better, but still didn't have any idea what was going on. She did walk right over to her new wagon to see what it was and what was in it. I think Christmas 2009 was a big hit for our little one as she experienced Christmas and most importantly Jesus' birth!!

Dress Up

Ava Grace didn't really play "dress up" like most of you are thinking, but she did enjoy walking in her Mama's shoes and putting rings on her ears as earrings. It was so funny!! She has asked to place the rings on her ears several times since and she attempts to walk in my shoes (or any shoes that she finds) daily.

Let it Snow......Part 3

Ava Grace and I have been outside playing for a while. We built an Ava Grace size snowman. We tried to find all of the things to put on it, but we couldn't find a mouth that would stick. Oh well!! I will try again later since it isn't going to melt anytime soon. We made snow cream and ate it as a snack - it was yummy!!! We also shoveled our driveway (it isn't too long) with a plastic dustpan. Hey....who says you can't make a shovel with a little creativity!! The neighbors have been out walking the streets, so it has been fun to visit with everyone. It is kind of like having a block party - without the food and fun beverages.

Let it Snow...Part 2

Here is the afternoon version of this snow. We haven't heard an accumulation total yet, but it has to be at least 4 inches.

Let it Snow

We woke up this morning to a beautiful blanket of white. Yes, it snowed early in the morning and it hasn't stopped yet. These pictures are from early this morning. Ava Grace and I bundled up and went outside for her to walk around in the snow and slush. She slipped, laughed, sat in the middle of the street, and ate ice. She loved it and laughed as she watched some of the neighborhood dogs run around in it. Here are a few pictures of the snow in the early morning. We have several inches that has accumulated now. I will try to post those pictures later. Until then....

First Snow of the Year

This past Saturday we saw our first snow of the winter. It was pretty as always and the best part was that it didn't stay around too long. It was extremely cold though!! Ava Grace kept pointing outside saying "aining" which means raining. I tried to explain that it was snow because it was white, but I'm sure she didn't get the concept. She did, however, enjoy the snow hitting her in the face as we played outside for a bit. She laughed and laughed - too cute!! Also, she wore this toboggan for two days straight. Our cousin in southern California sent it to Ava Grace last year, but it was too big for her head at the time. I am thinking we are going to get LOTS of use out of it this year though!!

Once the snow stopped, we went to Johnson Farm (Historic Farm that our school district owns) for their annual Christmas. Ava Grace and I rode on a horse drawn buggy (hay ride really). So, she got to see some horses and got to pet a donkey. She didn't mind petting the donkey, but as "Chelsea" (the donkey's name) would turn her head and nose, Ava Grace wasn't too sure about the animal being that close. She never cried or anything, but held on tightly to me. So, as you can imagine, there was no way she was going to sit on Chelsea for a picture or anything. We watched other kiddos make crafts, but she was too young for that just yet. There was a Christmas tree representing every school in our county, so we looked at all of them. They were all very creative and made me proud to know that I worked with some of those children. We went on a tour of the old house on the land, but that didn't last very long as Ava Grace doesn't quite get the concept of "Do Not Touch". Ava Grace also got to sit in Santa's sleigh although Santa was missing and a teddy bear took his place. She liked it nonetheless. After our fun, we ventured into the main building where she enjoyed a big cookie and I enjoyed some hot apple cider. We have the best apple cider that is made at our numerous apple farms. YUMMY!!!

Thanksgiving Fun

Ava Grace and I had a great time at Cece's for Thanksgiving. The trip is always so short, but so much fun. We played in the backyard, went to the park, put up the Christmas tree, ate lots of yummy food, and got a first haircut!! Here are a few pictures of the fun....

Fun at the park...beautiful weather!!

Helping Cece put up her Christmas tree

Ms. Karen gave Ava Grace her first haircut. Ms. Karen actually gave me my first haircut when I was a little girl and cut my hair until I went to college. She actually cuts it every time I go home too!!! Ava Grace did pretty well. She wanted to tear up at the beginning, but when she realized that I was going to hold her, she was OK. She squirmed and wiggled, but Ms. Karen managed to trim it up a bit. Hopefully now it will grow thicker and longer!!

Football in the South

Most people know (hopefully) that football is like an institution in the South!! Everything stops on Friday nights and Saturday to root on your favorite teams. Most of you also know that I still support my high school alma mater and that I am a Clemson fan and an Auburn fan. What some of you may not know is how much of a Wofford and Mauldin fan I am!

Let me begin this post telling you a little bit about Mauldin High School. Mauldin is a huge high school in Greenville and their colors are orange and brown. Yes, I said orange....so with my other favorite teams...can you guess what my favorite color is??? Anyway. Mauldin has not been a very good football team in recent years past. They have struggled often while playing in the toughest 4-A conference in the state. Well, this year they have broken some 30 school records in football, made an appearance in the 2nd round of the play-offs, and finished their season 10-3. The other exciting thing that has happened to this football team this year is....the head coach was named Upstate Big 16 Coach of the Year. Why do I care about that?? Well, that head coach happens to be my big brother!! Doug has accomplished a lot this season...maybe even more than he thought possible at the beginning of the year. I am so proud of him and what he does everyday to make a difference in the lives of young men. Dad would be so proud of him and it makes me smile to watch him coach every Friday night as he resembles my dad exactly on the sideline (well...he pretty much reminds me of Dad in every way). The season unfortunately ended last Friday night, but the memories of a fun time every Friday night will always last. Congratulations to the Mauldin Mavericks for believing in yourselves and making everyone else believe in you!!

Ok.... I graduate from Wofford, so it is only natural that I would be a big fan. Wofford football to many would probably resemble a high school game because the size of the school is smaller than some of the high schools in the state. However, to people who graduated from Wofford or any other school in the Southern Conference....football is HUGE!! We love our Terriers and enjoy going to their games. Unfortunately, we don't get to many games, but we are hoping that will change one day. In the meantime, we have to don our black and gold and cheer as we watch the scores scroll across the bottom of the TV screen. This past weekend Wofford played Furman....huge conference rival and schools that are only 30 miles apart. My dad played football at Furman, so I have often wondered how fun this rival would be if he were here with us. Either way, my loyalties lie with Wofford and nothing will ever change that. So, in the spirit of the football (which did not turn out in our favor), Ava Grace wore her Wofford Terrier shirt. Check it out....so cute!!!

Can you see the Terrier on her shirt?

Go Wildcats!

My Uncle Ray played football at the University of New Hampshire and loves his alma mater. So, it was only fitting that Ava Grace would have a shirt (or sweatshirt in this case) to wear to support the Wildcats. UNH plays in the same football division as Wofford when play-offs roll around. So far, Wofford hasn't encountered them, but if they do, Ava Grace will have to wear her black and gold - not blue and white. Sorry Uncle Ray!! We do pull for UNH every other weekend though. They are pretty good and honestly, I think it would be really neat if UNH played Wofford at some point. It is always fun to have a little family rivalry!! Thank you to Uncle Ray and Aunt Susan for getting some Wildcat attire for Ava Grace. We hope to see you soon. We love you!!

Happy Halloween!!

Ava Grace had a fun Halloween!! She enjoyed hanging out with her cousins Brittany and Rebecca along with Aunt Deb, Meme, and Pop Pop. Rebecca was dressed up as Pocohontas and Ava Grace was dressed as Snow White during the day. I didn't have a camera with me at the time, so I wasn't able to get any pictures of the two of them during their visit. Sorry!!

Ava Grace went with Luke to Mineral Springs Park (in Williamston) to trick-or-treat. Luke, Ava Grace's cousin, had to pass out candy since he is on Student Council at his elementary school. So, Ava Grace, Aunt Stacey, Cece, and I tagged along for the event. It was actually pretty fun!! While Luke was passing out candy, Ava Grace spotted the slide and swings, so we headed in that direction for a while. Afterwards, we walked around playing some games (some she played and some Luke played for her) and got some candy. Ava Grace got to sit on a miniature horse while there as well. She didn't mind it at all (I wasn't sure how she would react). Of course she didn't get a whole lot of candy, but that was fine since we don't let her eat it anyway. After we got back to Uncle Doug's house, we changed Ava Grace's costume to a frog. She ended up with 2 costumes....so we had to have pictures of both outfits!!

Here are a few photos of our night:

Trip to the Orchard #2

On Saturday, our good friends Mic, Kristen, and Laney (18 months old) came for a visit. The weather couldn't have been more perfect!! Fall in the mountains is truly beautiful!! We ventured out to the apple orchards one last time before the end of the season. Most of the apples have already been cropped, but we were able to get some really good pictures. Let me make that....Kristen was able to get some really good pictures. I didn't get as many as I would have liked, but here are 2 that I managed to snap. Ava Grace wasn't very interested in picking the apples off of the tree, but she enjoyed eating them off of the ground. Don't worry...I made sure they weren't rotten before she took a bite out of them. Laney chose to ride in the wagon for some of the adventure while Ava Grace chose to walk or be carried by me all the while trying to eat 2 apples. She ate both of them (not the entire thing) while we were in the orchards. She even sat down for a bit to concentrate on their yummy flavor.

It was a quick trip for the Bernard family, but a fun time was had by all. Thanks for coming to visit us!! We miss you already!!

Go Skins!

Since the Redskins play the Eagles tonight for Monday Night Football, we thought it only fitting to let Ava Grace wear her cheerleading outfit to mark the occasion. Now, who knows if the Redskins will actually win, but at least Ava Grace was cute wearing the outfit for her Mama's favorite NFL team!! Thank you Aunt Stacey for my cheerleading outfit!

These pictures were actually taken yesterday when we went to the Family Fun Night at our church. It was a fall carnival where the children were allowed to wear their Halloween costumes. Ava Grace is not going to be a Redskins cheerleader for Halloween this year. The event was on Sunday and that means church and then football in our family. So, she was just donning her NFL attire. The carnival was a lot of fun. Ava Grace won a prize picking the duck that had a cross on it out of a barrel of water. She loved playing among the pumpkins too.

Septmber and October

Watching the USC/Ole Miss game with Daddy

Loving Cece's hammock

Swinging by myself

Helping to wrap a present (or myself)

Hanging out with Cece and Luke

Waiting patiently for the doctor at Shriner's

Playing Star Wars with Luke

Brushing my teeth and loving it

A Girl After Her Uncle's Heart

This was too cute not to share. Ava Grace has been going to most of Uncle Doug's Friday night football games. She learned before the season began to put her arms straight up in the air and say "touchdown". So, on Sunday we were watching football on TV and several times she pointed and said "football", "touchdown", or "uh duh (which means Uncle Doug)". It was so funny!! See Uncle Doug, Ava Grace really does pay attention to what you do on Friday nights!

Also, here are two pictures of Ava Grace in her Indiana University cheerleading uniform. Some of you are probably wondering where we got this and what the meaning behind it is. Well, Ava Grace's Meme grew up part of her life in Indiana and she and Pop Pop live there almost half of the year now. So, it was only fitting that she had an IU outfit to wear!! She has probably worn more college logos than the average kiddo, but what can we say, sports are a huge part of our life!!