Oh my goodness you guys! Let me just start out with saying that this weekend was seriously one of the busiest weekends I have had in the past month. Easter with Ava was nothing short of amazing and I can't believe my sweet girl rocked the shaky schedule as well as she did. Let's do a little recap of how our weekend festivities played out. On Saturday we woke up and immediately headed downstairs for our morning routine. We ate a light breakfast and we were out the door by 11 a.m. I stopped to pick up thank you flowers for my best friend's mom (she watched Ava the day before while I went out and got a pedicure), and we headed over to a HUGE chamorro style Easter get together. There were so many people there, I wasn't sure how Ava was going to do. There were over a dozen kids there, some a lot older than her. The youngest baby was just six months old, and Ava absolutely loved her. She also grew fond of an (almost) one year old, and mimicked her army crawl all over the living room. We got there before a lot of people (believe it or not) so Ava watched her god mother cook in the kitchen, and she explored the house and the faces she hadn't seen before.

A couple hours had passed and after socializing and feasting, Ava participated in her first Easter egg hunt. They had two different egg hunts on Saturday. One for the toddlers and another for the older kids. I think there were like three or four toddlers Ava's age for the first egg hunt. Ava collected more eggs than her basket would hold and she ended up taking away the golden egg! The golden egg had five dollars in it, but Ava was more interested in kissing the egg, than claiming her prize. It was the cutest thing ever! She ventured off a lot without me, and somehow that ended up being okay with me. I hate to admit it, but my toddler can most definitely hold her own in a social setting. I was proud of both of us for not being stuck to one another like usual. We ended our Saturday with more food, a sleep over, and god mama cuddles! We didn't get home until after six and Ava hadn't napped at all on Saturday. She completely knocked out after her bath, and I was grateful since I knew that Sunday was going to be equally as busy.

Sunday we woke up earlier than I anticipated and the first thing Ava did was go through her Easter basket downstairs. She was in complete awe. It was so sweet to watch her delicately touch everything. She was in awe of the basket, her basket liner, her bunny... you get the picture. She loved the chalk and she absolutely loved her book and bubbles most of all. Easter basket time led into breakfast and we got ready to head out for our Easter church service. Ava hasn't been to my church since just before she was a year old, so I was a little nervous on how a toddler in church would go down. To my surprise she did amazing. She had her hands in the air and she swayed as we worshiped and praised. It brought tears to my eyes. Towards the end of the sermon we migrated into the nursery because Ava didn't want to sit down. The nursery has a flat screen for the mom's to tune into the service, and a whole lot of toys for the babies to play with. Ava's new little friend baby P joined us shortly after, and Ava was completely in awe of her. Watching my daughter with a six month old literally made my ovaries ache! Babies are definitely on the noggin as of now. Ava helped out so much with the little one and that made my heart so happy.

She knew just what to do with the baby. She tried to burp her, she tried to help feed her, and she held her. She loved on her. For an only child, I was in complete awe at how well Ava had mastered all of this. It took me a moment to really get it, but she mastered it so well because that's how Justin and I are with her. We deal with her delicately. With ease. Anywho, we topped off our afternoon with an Easter lunch and we spent the rest of our evening outdoor enjoying chalk art and other Easter goodies the babe got. A little before 7 p.m. Ava signaled to me to let me know she was tired, so we actually got ready for bed a lot sooner than normal. My child was out by 730 p.m. last night and I knew it was because of all that we had going on this weekend. Although we had SO much fun, I'm glad that we are getting back to our normal schedule.

Take a look at Ava grabbing her eggs:

♥- Leilani

2015, you are looking great!

I am seriously tickled with excitement for my husband right now. I won't share all the details just yet, but Justin got some mega great news at work. As you probably already assumed, it is work related. I am filled with so much happiness you guys, it's not even funny. Watching my husband's hard work, diligence, and focus pay off is one of the most heart warming feelings I have ever felt. I know I'm bias, but Justin is such a great leader. He takes care of his soldiers and he genuinely cares about them. Those are attributes I can only hope that will be instilled in our daughter. I know that his work ethic has definitely left me feeling completely motivated for when I take that leap back into the workplace.

In other news, I have taken on a new photography challenge from the wonderful Victoria Simmons, of Victoria Simmons Photography. I wanted to find a deeper focus with photography, and it looks like I've found it. I want to push myself even further and acquire even more skills this year. I still don't see myself taking photography into a career goal, but I genuinely enjoy taking pictures and learning how to edit them effectively. Up until about a week ago, I thought I really only enjoyed taking pictures of my family and our everyday happenings... I've noticed that this notion has changed. I took photos for some friends of mine this past week and I absolutely loved it.

I enjoyed being able to watch their love in the moments I was snapping away. I enjoyed being able to capture the essence of those outside of my everyday life. I seriously got chills down my spine at one point when I captured a kiss between the two love birds. I'm always a sucker for genuine love on camera. I'm not sure if this feeling I have is going to last, or how it came about, but I plan on exploring it completely. I can't remember the last time I left the house without my camera, and I hope this lasts the rest of my days for sure.

In even happier news, Ava bug is almost 20 months old. **Yes, I am still counting the months until my sweet girl is two years old** and I have so much to share on her 20 month update. She started saying a few more words, so naturally Justin and I are gushing! We've also been asking her if she'd like a sibling, and each time.. she nods her head yes. It is the SWEETEST thing I have ever seen and we are thrilled at her little toddler response. Let's just hope when the time actually arrives that she feels the same way.

Our move is approaching very quickly as well! We literally only have nine more days left until the big moving day! Everything is set to switch over to the new house, and of course Justin made sure direct t.v. was set to come before the playoffs this weekend. We also have a set date that we will be arriving in New York for Justin's grandfather's military memorial services. It looks like we will for sure be there in April to attend the memorial and spend time with his family. I'm still extremely saddened for the reason we are traveling, but I'm glad that we will finally be able to give tangible support to all of those who loved Papoo so very much.

Well, that's all for now guys. I have a new vlog coming out (hopefully) in the next week, so be sure to check that out! I hope the new year is treating you well and that you are still sticking to some of those resolutions!

Happy Tuesday all!

♥- Leilani

Protecting Bug

This morning was an extremely tough one (emotionally). Ava smacked her face on the side of her toy chest, and she got her first real "boo boo" on her face. A small scratch on the nose, and I'm almost positive there will be bruising on the side of her eye, and the top of her eyelid. I, of course bawled my eyes out. I really can't stand when people tell me not to cry. When my baby is hurting, I can't help but feel sadness for her. She never really hurts herself like this, and I'm not looking forward to the future spills she will be taking. I wish you all could see how well Ava bug is walking now. She takes off so quickly now. She twirls, and turns, and she is actively trying to run. It's still a little weird for us to have a walking child, but all in all, I love it. Well, this was extremely short for a blog post. I really just wanted to share that Ava got her first real oowie on her face. Every little detail is important to me. Nothing ever feels trivial when it comes to my baby girl.

Happy Saturday all!

♥- Leilani

Mother's Day

I could not have asked for a better weekend with my loved ones. It felt great to vacation and separate myself from technology. One of our getaway rules was leaving technology behind, and I'm glad that we did. Saturday presented rain (and chilly weather), which was fine, but we got out and explored the outdoors. I was reminded of my love for the West coast during our getaway, and I am proud to say that I'm from here. There is no other place that takes my breath away like the Coast of Oregon or the lush Evergreen of Washington state. It's nice to see Justin appreciating some of the things that are so close and dear to my heart. I plan on bringing Ava bug back to Cannon beach this summer, and a lot of other hiking trails in Portland. The fact that Oregon is a tax free state doesn't hurt either. We love the state of Oregon and can't wait to return!

Ava has been able to spend a ton of time with my family this weekend, and that's always a good time. From the moment I woke up this morning, up until now, I have felt like such a Queen. I woke up to breakfast already made, I got the sweetest cards from Justin and Ava, and some of the sweetest gifts, including flowers from my daddy. Justin bought me these reusable, pink chevron bags, with photos of Ava and I plastered all over them (thank you shutterfly). It says Happy Mother's day mommy on the bags, and they seriously brought me to tears. His gift was so thoughtful and supportive of my "going green" movement. I will rock these bags everyone I go! I plan to use them on Wednesday when we head out to do Ava's cake smash photos. You guys have no idea how stoked I am for these photos. Chloe, has offered to do some nursing photos of Ava and I while we are in her studio, and I am getting so ancy for them. I'm almost positive Chloe Photography is going to be our new family photographer. She does some amazing work, and I'm delighted I found her. We got the cake ordered and all set up on Saturday, and I have a feeling it's going to be beyond beautiful. For those of you in the Puyallup area, make sure you check out Wanna Cupcake in downtown Puyallup. The customer service was excellent, and the cakes/cupcakes are even better!

Overall my weekend was great. I got a lot of great photos from our vacation, and a lot of photos from today. I have so much love surrounding me, it's completely moving. I couldn't have envisioned a better first Mother's day, and I am already thinking up a special Father's day for Justin. Justin will be in school over the next month, and I will be involved in a lot of FRG functions for his company. Hopefully that won't limit the amount of blog posts I put up. I still plan on blogging daily until Ava's big day. I'm really excited to be interacting with his new company, and even more excited for all of the toddler play dates Ava will have. I still can't believe we have just six days until Ava bug is one year old. I plan on sharing some of the photos we have taken from her session on Wednesday, so be on the look out.

Happy Sunday all, and happy Mother's day to all of the wonderful mama's out there!

 ♥- Leilani

RECAP

This entire weekend was so mellow and relaxed. It felt so good to spend most of our time on the floor, playing with our daughter; or walking the neighborhood with our dog in tow. It was exactly what this family needed after a very busy week. Friday night, we enjoyed some Japanese food and watched the Disney movie frozen. Can I just say that Frozen is the cutest film I have seen in quite some time. Usually Justin hates singalongs, but I caught him singing a few of the melodies. Ava was knocked out by this point, but it was nice to just enjoy a movie with my husband. Saturday continued with the same relaxed pattern. We really didn't do a whole lot, but there were tons of giggles and smiles in this house. I think Ava loved having mommy and daddy on the same level as her.

We even caught her dancing to the beat of a few songs on pandora. This child is so animated, I love it! Yesterday's weather was so gorgeous that we actually had an excuse to get some ice cream. I hadn't been to Baskin Robbins in forever. The only one that was near us in Georgia was shut down shortly after we arrived. In light of Spring arriving, Justin even assembled his grill. I really love when we grill our food outdoors. It's been quite some time, so I am excited about future Howland barbecue's that we'll be hosting at our home. We topped this beautiful weekend off with my first trip back to Puyallup Foursquare Church, and my emotions were at an all time high.

 I haven't been able to worship and praise in such a graceful community in over three years. It was definitely an amazing experience, especially with my husband and Ava alongside me. What made this experience even better, was the nursing facilities. It was like a four star resort (for infants). Ava was able to play with other kids that were in the nursing room, and there was a flat screen in the nursing room, so we didn't have to miss any part of the service. The room had plenty of rocking chairs, and foot cushions to make mama's comfortable. I even nursed without a cover in front of complete strangers (little leaps). Ava kept giving other little ones hugs and waves. She really is a social girl, so sweet and cute.

We started our afternoon with brunch, and that was fun. Ava fed herself eggs for the first time, and she decided to socialize with almost everyone in the restaurant, including the little girl at the table beside us. The little girl's parents actually took their daughter out of her highchair so she could hug Ava, and play with her. It was so cute! The afternoon is still among us, so I'm almost positive we are heading outdoors again. Happy Sunday all! 

♥- Leilani

Superbowl Sadness

Well, our Broncos were beat by a landslide, and I couldn't be more upset about the outcome of the game. I spent a good portion of the Superbowl feeling sorry for my husband and our mile high boys. These past three years with Justin has caused my love for football to increase immensely. The loss hurt, and because (a lot of ) Seattle fans are so nasty about winning, I deleted my Facebook. I think it's going to be hard to walk around the Seattle area for a few weeks. Part of me wishes that Justin and I weren't taking this so seriously, after all, football is still just a game. On a high note, Syracuse is having a great season, and we have been rooting on our Orange men!

On a much higher note, tonight was the first time I have ever put Ava bug in her crib. I had originally planned to start off with putting her in the crib during nap time, but our day just did not allow for that to occur. This evening after we showered, I sat in the glider, and nursed my baby until she fell asleep. I waited for a few more minutes (just to make sure she was KO) and then I laid her in there. She didn't wake, and I was relieved by that. I managed to go downstairs and chit chat with Justin for a bit (the baby monitor was attached to my ear) and figure out what the rest of our week was going to look like. She must have been in there a little under an hour when she woke up crying. We knew waiting this long was going to be difficult for the babe, and for us, but I never thought my heart would hurt so badly from doing something as normal as placing my daughter in a crib. Tonight was a definite bust, and Ava is currently in slumber land beside me. I plan on trying everyday this week, starting with naps before bedtime. It's more important for me to have Bug feel safe and comfortable, than for her to actually be out of our bed.

Today I finally found frames large enough to complete my first picture collage. I'm pretty pleased with the way it came out, considering I have rearranged this wall almost a dozen times. Justin signed in for permissive TDY today, and it felt weird. It's going to be very weird when he finally goes back to work. We haven't had a normal schedule since we left Georgia almost two months ago. I know it'll be different, but good to get back on track with our home life. My grandmother is coming to visit us the week of Valentine's day, and I'm pretty excited for that. She has never met Ava, and I'm seriously considering doing "generation photos" with my grandma, mom, sister, myself, and baby love. I really want to have that type of photo in a collage in my home.

 

Well that's all for now. I have to get dinner going, and I've got a ton of homework to do! I'm so glad this is the last week of this writing class. As much as I love to write, it's not as fun when it's not recreational. I hope everyone enjoyed their day. Happy Monday all! 

   ♥- Leilani