Halloween (late) and Much More!!!

I know...once again it has been a while. I really intended to post Halloween pictures on Halloween, but both Ava and I were sick and we are just now starting to feel better! My sister's family got us sick (if you read her blog, you have heard all about it) and it has been a challenge to get over it. I feel like Ava has been sick since we moved!

Anyway, I just wanted to share some cute pics of Ava and her cousin, Caleb, in their Halloween costumes. First, I need to explain Ava's costume. Early on, Kurt started calling Ava "Sugar Bear". We don't really know why he chose that nickname, but it stuck. We decided she should be a Sugar Bear for her first Halloween, so here she is...

I know I am her mother, but isn't she cute???

Here are some more pictures. Caleb was a very cute lion for Halloween. He even roared like a lion. :)

Caleb is "roaring" for the camera in this picture.

We told Caleb to kiss Ava, but it looks like the lion is eating the bear. :)

A lot has happened since I last posted. Ava is crawling now! She has been doing this for about two weeks and she is into everything!!!! It look her a while to figure it out, but once she got the hang of it, she was off. She is also pulling up on everything. She was pulling up before she learned to crawl, but now she has more choices. She is starting to "cruise" along the furniture and toys a bit, but she isn't quite strong enough to walk yet. She used to love to stand before she learned to crawl, but now she prefers to sit down so she can go where she wants to go.

Ava also got her first FOUR teeth last week. She cut all four teeth in two days! She has definitely been a trooper though. She has been a little fussy, but nothing near the horror stories I have heard about teething.

The last major change since I posted last is that Ava is 100% on table food. We officially gave up baby food last week. She has been eating table food for a couple of months, but baby food was really for my convenience. We were going through at least six jars of baby food a day, so I figured it was time to finally make the switch. She is doing great! She loves eating off of Mommy and Daddy's plates.

I am so excited about her first Thanksgiving this week! I can't wait for her to taste all the Thanksgiving food. We are having family pictures taken this week, so that should be fun too. Of course, I'll post them on here as soon as I get them. We will be using some for our Christmas card, so you'll have to wait to see that one!

I am also VERY excited about decorating for Christmas. I always do that the weekend after Thanksgiving. I can't wait to see Ava's stocking hanging on the mantle and her Christmas presents under the tree. Most of all, I love the radio station that plays non-stop Christmas music until Christmas Day. I am going to pull out all of my Christmas CDs and blast them throughout the house for the next month. Ava loves music, so I hope she loves them as much as I do. If you can't tell, this is my favorite time of year!

Ava will be 10 months tomorrow. I can't believe my little girl is growing up so fast!!! I just want to keep her a baby forever!!!