Oh, wow. It’s been two months since I posted anything, and I think I am officially in trouble with some of you now. But I do have a legitimate reason for being away so long… 
Baby Dillon #2 is on the way, and between the fatigue, headaches and morning sickness, I needed to put a few things on the back-burner during this time. I’m now at 16 and a half weeks and feeling better than I was, though I still have some hard days. But it is so worth all the sickness to grow this little one inside of me. And I’ve heard that the more sick you feel, the healthier the pregnancy, so it is actually a blessing! 
We are all ecstatic around here to add another pun’kin to our little family. Ava loves to kiss my belly and say, “Baby”… though we know she doesn’t quite understand what’s going on since she also lifts up her shirt and points to her own belly and says, “Baby!” 
We have had a lovely spring around here and are enjoying just getting out and playing in the sunshine. Everything’s in bloom, and the smell of flower blossoms blow in through the open windows. It’s just wonderful. Since the worst of the morning sickness is past, it is nice to get into some spring cleaning and sprucing up around here. Iced Tea is made almost daily, and we’ve been grilling out a LOT. Mmmm. Tastes like summer. 
Our Birdie loves the outdoors. She hits the ground running and doesn’t let up until we make her come inside again. Whew. She wears us out. We all sleep reeeally good at night. Ha! One of our next projects is to put a picket fence around our backyard to contain her so we can have a break every now and then.
Her exuberance is contagious. She is a light in our lives!
The picture above cracks me up… I asked her to stay there for a picture, and this is what I got. I had a flash-forward of her teenage years for a second. “Ah, mom… hurry up.” Ha!
Joy.
We pooled some of her birthday money to get her this little pink car.
Orange Juice, muffins and bananas for breakfast. Morning is my favorite time of day, I think. “It’s always fresh, with no mistakes in it yet.” {Anne Shirley}.
So I’m really back in the saddle… I will work hard at blogging more often now. And I must admit, it’s good to be back!
Daddy had to log in a few hours of work on Saturday, so Ava and I worked on surprising him with a little Valentines Tea Party when he came home later that afternoon.
We made a “decorate-your-own-cupcake” platter with all the pink trimmings. Ava was in heaven. 
Mark was a bit later than he said he would be, and of course in a toddler’s mind, the wait was excruciating. Trying to keep her happy and distracted until he got home was a bit rough. I tried to teach her that “love is patient,” but I think it went right over her head. 
I think Mark had to drink 16 teacups full of milk in order to equal one glass to go with his cupcake, but of course Daddies are always such good sports about things. 
The frosting is the best part to me and Ava. Mark likes the cake part and would prefer his without frosting. *Gasp!* In my opinion, the cake is really just a “frosting holder.” No wonder girls are so much sweeter than boys. 
How to itch a nose tickle when you have sticky fingers.
Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!
She trusts. Fully. Unwaveringly. Abandoningly. Is that a word? Do you think this is the reason that Christ calls us to have the faith of a little child? {Mark 10:15}. Ava has no doubt of her Papa’s love for her, and she sees no risk in trusting Him fully with her safety, her love, her life. She holds nothing back, because her Papa loves her and she knows it. It inspires me to want to trust my Father more fully. 
Why, when we get older, do we wonder if God will catch us when we fall? If He’ll abandon us in our time of need? I think that as the years go on we see that people do fail us… they hurt us… they abandon us… they reject us. And we began to question God’s love as well. But if we truly knew his love {agape, unconditional, abounding, unfailing love}, we would not question whether we can trust Him with our all… our everything. He won’t drop us. His plan for us is good, not to harm us {Jeremiah 29:11}. We can allow our hearts to become childlike toward the Father again because He is good. We can know that we know that we know that He loves us with an everlasting love. And there is safety in His arms.
To name this child Ava Winter Grace was sheer perfection. If anyone has grace for winter around here is our little Birdie. She adores the cold, the snow, and the wind… in fact, the windier the better.
She loves to smile and say “cold!” when the wind hits her face. She finds it very invigorating. I find it just plain cold. I really can’t complain, though… we’ve had a very mild winter compared to most. So mild that our snow keeps melting on us. Now that is crazy for Minnesota!
I’m still working on getting her to smile for the camera. 
Our lake is filled with cars, snowmobiles, and fish houses… Saturdays are especially busy.
Ava Birdie loves her little buddy Ethan. They have conversations that no one else can understand.
We bought this little wooden sled from a flea market a few years ago when Ava was still only just a dream in our hearts. 
And here she is now, enjoying ever minute of her first solo sledding experience.
Whoops! 
The sled stopped and she kept going. 
But back up the hill she went, again and again, enjoying her winter afternoon. 
It is February 9th and I am just now posting Christmas pictures. Bad blogger! Yes, I know. Though I do have good excuses… one being that my health has not been good for over a month now. So I hope there are some of you who are still in the mood for Christmas… in February. And I’ll try to be better about posting. I think I just needed a wee break. Thank you to those of you have emailed and have missed the blog updates. I am so blessed to have friends who care. 
Christmas in Sugarwoods is always so magical… so comforting… so cozy and warm. There is nothing quite like being home for the holidays. 
Marmie’s mantle always speaks to us about the beauty of the season.
There was plenty of time for snuggles and naps…
…reading books inside of pink tents…
…and chilly winter walks…
… with a dose of cozy chairs by the twinkle lights and a mug of hot cocoa nearby. 
Our game of choice this year was Sequence, and we didn’t even bother getting out any others.
Of course Uncle Kogi had the upper hand since his niece was on hand to “help” with his game plan. 
Um, and I think you can tell who won this round. 
Poor Marmie was down with the flu on Christmas morning, but she began to feel better later in the day and came down to join the festivities. So unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of her this year… at least any that I can share on the blog without her wringing my neck. Ha!
Birdie loved Uncle Jamie’s iPhone and did a little networking while she waited for gift opening time.
The wonder of packages and bows and new books and toys.
And when two exhausted little girls were fast asleep, we lit the candles and played soft carols while Jamie read the story of Silent Night… complete with a German Accent and all. We drank Mulled Wine from Germany and ate homemade Eggnog Tres Leche Cake and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. It was so special. And then the next morning I woke up with the flu. Arrgggg…
Niecey grew and developed so much in the 3 weeks since we had seen her. What sweetness. She endured many snuggles and kisses during her weekend up North.
She adores her Uncle Kogi. I don’t know what it is that makes all babies love him, but I think he may secretly be The Baby Whisperer. 
Our family is in love with BBQ Chicken pizza. Every.one.of.us. So we decided to try our hand at making our own over the holidays. Yumm-o! Our favorite BBQ sauce is Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue, and I think it made it my favorite pizza ever. Ever. Try it… you’ll love it. 
I added some greenery and berries to my candle centerpiece for the occasion.
I found this 
We played 20 questions till late into the night. Unfortunately Mom was not feeling well, so she ended up falling asleep on the couch while we played. But she refused to go home and break up the party… I think she’s a lot like her daughter and is always happiest when surrounded by her family. Even if it means falling asleep right in the middle of all the talking and laughter. 
Back soon with more pictures of our Christmas weekend with the family. 
I made sure to get up earlier than Ava to “light” our poor man’s fire along with a few candles and turn on the Christmas music.
She ran straight to the presents by the tree and started playing with the ribbons. I think she is a little nervous about ripping the wrapping paper wondering if she’ll get in trouble. 
She liked her Christmas story book that she got from Nana and Papa Cal… recorded with their voices. Very special.
Mommy and Daddy got her this little tin tea set, and she absolutely loves it. She’s played with it all week.
We bought this little princess tent with money that Mark’s Grandparents sent for her… 
She also got a new Christmas movie. Which she requests to have played over and over again.
Christmas morning Monkey Bread… Mmmmm… fresh and hot from the oven.
This little girl loved using her new little tea set for Christmas breakfast. This is the stuff that memories are made of.
Perfect Days
“There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy.”
So I thought I’d share just a few snapshots of our perfect day… but if I were completely truthful, I’d show you a whopping pile of laundry on my basement floor. But I try not to think about it and just go outside to play!
Shhhhh….