Oh-Bla-Di

Ava’s truly a lover of the simpler things in life – especially when those simpler things involve a brass band and maybe some sequins.  Completely by accident, we’ve learned that Ava loves the Lawrence Welk show.  It came on and she said “Whoa.  Beautiful.”  After every song she asked, “More singing?”  Whoozy was hooked.  Needless to say, we’ve got it TiVo’d now for future non-cartoon TV opportunities.

Not only does our girl love Lawrence Welk, but ice dancing has become a huge favorite.  She just thinks it’s beautiful and her whole face lights up watching it.  Also, she likes watching the freestyle skiing where the skiers ski up a ramp and then do lots of crazy acrobatics.  Olympics are a huge hit.  We’ve got hours and hours TiVo’d.  Maybe they’ll last us until the next Summer Olympics!

Get your tickets!  Welcome to the carnival!

We had such a lovely time celebrating Grace’s fourth birthday at a wonderful carnival lovingly created by her parents and Mimi.  Sadly, we forgot to take a camera with us, but thank goodness for the iPhone!  I got a few cute shots in spite of my forgetfulness.

Ava got her face painted and LOVED the popcorn.

Also, the Hoffman’s hired my clown to help out with one of the games.  

Love these two.

Happy 4th birthday, CeeCee!

If you know Matt well, you know that he’s got the “knack”…bad.  His is one of the worst cases of nerdy engineering tinkering ever documented on the face of the earth.  We never throw anything with a motor away around here because it’s always going to be turned into something “someday.”

Recently, some RC helicopters got new lives as boat propellers.  I had been out shopping and, when I got home, Ava met me in the garage to announce, “We’re making a boat!”  She was super excited to help her dad tinker and they really enjoyed playing with their new toy.

The boat probably needs a few more revisions before it’s ready for springtime play, but it sure did keep those two happy for an afternoon!

…back to our regularly scheduled programming.

I had meant to get on and update the blog earlier this week, but Sunday turned into Monday, Monday turned into Tuesday, and on Tuesday, the bottom dropped out.

We had a little pregnancy scare this week, but have just come out from under it to learn that baby #2 is perfect and it’s all going to be ok. Matt was TDY all the way across the country, and I had to call him back to come visit the doctor with me. We waited all day on Wednesday for a referral and appointment for an ultrasound, but didn’t get to go in until this morning. At about 10:30 this morning, our world was put right-side up again when we heard Dos’s heartbeat and now know that the baby is growing perfectly. HUGE relief.

We have many things to be grateful for today. First, a family all here together, healthy, & happy. Second, a wonderful progress report on our family’s newest member. And third, but certainly not last or least, our dear friends who were here to save us when we so needed them.

Since no blog post is complete without a picture and since the grandmothers in this family will sleep better seeing it, here’s a photo of Doozy from today.  Perfect and very well-loved.

Yay!  You’ve made it!  Welcome to the brand-spankin’ new Oh Bla Di.  Nothing quite like a new blog for Valentine’s Day.  Matt’s been working a lot this weekend to get this up and running…bear with us as it’s a little bit of a work in progress.  We’re excited about the increased functionality, though, and the videos should work for you!  I’ll tell you, it’s nice when the people you love really “get” you.  So, since you’re here, how about a story?

Although we spent much of this weekend coping with various stages of illness (Ava had a fever Tuesday – Friday and I caught her bug on Friday), we had a lovely four day weekend during which to celebrate lots of love.  And then we took a nap.

On Thursday, after Ava’s doctor appointment, we stopped by Michael’s to pick up a quick craft she could make for Matt for Valentine’s day.  One wooden picture frame, some paint and Modge Podge later, and we had a bona fide “I made it myself with love!” gift for Daddy.  Plus, it totally gave us something to do besides watch Mary Poppins for the 55th time in three days.

Matt loved it, by the way.

Because I’m horrible at waiting for actual holidays to give gifts I think people will really like, Matt got to open his Valentine from me a day early.  As I mentioned on the bridge post from our old website, Matt really gets me and the way I like to communicate.  Turns out, that was a theme this year, as my gift to him was a set of hand-pressed stationery.  As much as I love the interweb, Matt prefers snail mail.  Now, he’s got a beautiful way to keep in touch with the folks he loves.  Although, since he’s been working as a web designer for the last three days, don’t think that you’re not on his list if you don’t have a letter soon.  

Ava had lovely surprises from her Valentines, as well.  Two lovely books arrived for her in the mail and, wow, does girly understand when we say, “Hey, Ava, this present is for you!”  She tore into those packages like she really knew what she was doing.  The best part is always the whispered “Whoa” when she gets something new.  Treasuring that sense of awe…especially when it’s for some new socks.  Thanks for the new books, Grandparents!!

Happy Valentine’s Day from our hearts to yours!