We're having a...............

BOY!!! Quay, Ava, and I will be welcoming little Samuel sometime in mid-March!! We had our ultrasound today and everything looked great. Little Sam measured perfectly--dead on his estimated due date. The docs said he looks perfect! We are so very excited!! We told Ava, but she just looked at us funny. Poor thing, she doesn't know what's coming. Little Sam's profile picture looks just like Ava's picture from her 20 week visit. I mean, exactly the same! The only way we can tell them apart is the little date at the top of the picture.

I'm a little scared though--we don't have many boys born into our family. This will actually be the first boy on my mom's side in a LONG time. There have been four generations of just girls in our family. My grandpa has been waiting 50 years for a boy to be born in our family. I called him first after telling my parents, because I knew he'd be thrilled. Quay's also pretty proud of himself--he says he single handedly brought a boy into our family. I'm figuring I'm going to need lots of help at the beginning with rearing a boy--I think I've only changed two boy diapers my entire life. This should be fun!!! Here are some pictures of little Sam.

**Another new post below**

Pumpkins

Quay and I took Ava to Fisher's Farm in Greer to pick out her very own pumpkin this past weekend. She really could've done without the pumpkins, because the LOVED the animals. We spent most of our time looking at and trying to pet all of the farm animals they had. Fisher's Farm was so much fun and a really good deal!! Ava liked the "wabbits." Quay called them bunnies, and she looked at him real matter of factly and told him they were wabbits. It was cute as can be.

Her other favorite was the pig. This is her trying to call the pig. She just kept yelling "pig" at the poor thing. You can't see him in the picture, but you can see the hole he was digging with his nose at the bottom.

I thought this was the funniest picture! We were on the tractor ride, trying to show Ava the trees, apples, and the little things Fishers Farm had put out--pumpkins and little ghosts in the trees. She looked at them but didn't get too excited. Then all of a sudden, some birds flew out of the woods a little ways away. Ava loves birds, I mean LOVES birds. She can spot them anywhere and will quickly point them out to you. I think that comes from my dad always showing her birds and squirrels when she was younger. The funny thing about this picture is I look just as excited as she does!! It reminds me of pictures we used to take in high school. If people were posing for a shot, others would get in the background, one would point in some far off direction and the other would look that way. I have a few of those tucked away in my high school scrapbook. It looks like Ava and I are doing the same thing.

The family picture (plus baby in the belly) on the tractor ride. A nice couple offered to take this of us--it was our only picture with Ava looking at the camera. Funny she'll look for other people but not Quay or me. Oh well.

All in all, we had a great time! I can't wait to go back next year. Ava will be bigger and can understand it a little better, and we'll have baby #2 with us!!! woopee!!!

Church Pictures

Quay, Ava, and I had our first church pictures made together for a new directory. Ava did great! Thought I'd share a few photos with you. Enjoy!!

Jump Zone

Ava's cousin Anna Claire had her fourth birthday party at Jump Zone last Sunday. I wasn't sure at first if Ava would like the moonwalks and slides. Well, those thoughts vanished in the first few minutes. We let her start on the small moonwalks, where she could just run around on it. She just sat and watched the older children at first, but then she got the hang of it. This is Anna Claire jumping with Quay and Ava in the background.

After she was used to the big jumping toys, Quay, Joe, and my dad decided to take her on the slides. Emily and I couldn't slide because we're pregnant. :( Too bad. Well, she LOVED them!!! Every picture we took had her smiling with her mouth open as wide as it would go. She would get off the slide, and try to go back up it saying "me, me, please." I think we might be in for some crazy years if she already has no fear of big slides--she's already so active. We might have her party there next year since she liked it so much. All of the other children love it, too.

This is the last picture we took before opening presents. Ava walked over to her diaper bag, grabbed her blanket, and laid down on the floor. She wore herself out!!