Here are more Pictures

This is the latest. Taken today 3-8-2009

Updates of Ava

Hello family. Sorry for the delay on the pictures. Here are some updates of Ava.




She rolls now. This picture and the next two
are like the second or third time she rolled.

It is quite exciting. Except now she will not lay
on her back at all. She immediately rolls over
and then cries because she gets stuck and
cant go anywhere.

Consider her blessed

Ava was blessed at the beginning of the month in our ward in Davis. Since it happened at the end of Christmas break, much of my family was still visiting my parents in Danville so they could be there. I think we made up about half of the ward that day.

Love Hate Relationship

Until recently snow and I had a hate-hate relationship. Need I explain this? Snow means cold... and the possibility of falling with no prior warning. Ok, I guess that's ice, but it seems they go hand-in-hand. In spite of this our last trip to Utah with BJ's family added a bit of love in my heart for the stuff. Maybe it was the fact that this time I was in Utah not as a student or working person but really as a visitor and therefore I had time to enjoy some outdoor winter recreation without a test or something looming over my head.

Since we're all native Californians, it took a while to decide what to do in the stuff. So we lounged.

Then we decided to build a snowman.
Cliff jumping into a pile of snow is also fun.
Especially when you do it as a group with your brother and bro-in-law.
And then realize you blew out your knees because your pile was not deep enough.

Here's me. I jumped. I know, so high.
Now snowboarding... I'll be honest, it brings out the worst in me. But a frustrating day on the slopes is always better when you run into an old high school friend. Beej with buddy Dave at Sundance.

One day we decided to go snowshoeing. I have done it a few times before, but I have to say this time was the most fun. I went with my brothers and sisters-in-law and took Ava along too. She slept the entire time. Beej, poor guy, had to stay home and study. We ended up blazing our own trails once we got up on the ridge, but then we got stuck and had to slide down the mountain. Ava the adventurer...and she didn't even know it. Too bad the sliding pictures didn't turn out. You'd be jealous of the good times we had. Nat, Abby, Ava and I took time to admire the incredible view of Midway. So basically it was like snow activity marathon for us for a few days, and now I can say I don't hate the snow. I enjoyed it, but did not cry when I left it behind to return to 65 degree January weather in CA.

First Christmas

Ava likes Christmas. She told me. This being her first Christmas, she experienced many new things. First she got to sit on Santa's lap, which her cousins quickly discovered was actually Grandpa Hagen.

Ava took a visit to the Oakland Temple to see the lights. Afterward we went to San Francisco with my side of the fam. Every year we go to the city to pick out a Christmas ornament and have dinner together.

On Christmas Eve Doug and Ashley stopped by for our yearly visit. It is now somewhat of a tradition to see these guys at Christmas, and only at Christmas. Maybe this year we'll get a little crazy and see what the Clarks are like during the summer.

Ava's new favorite spot. She spent a lot of time under the tree.

I was excited to have a kid participate in the Nativity this year, and as the star of the show. Here Ava sleeps in her decked out manger.

All tuckered out after opening all her presents Christmas morning.

Spending time with Great Grandma Clyde on Christmas day.

Sometimes Christmas day gets a little slow so of course we entertained ourselves by taking pictures of our baby. What else would new doting parents do?

Lately

I know, I'm not the most diligent blogger and this is a little outdated, but here's a little sampling of our recent Thanksgiving festivities. We spent the holiday with my family since BJ/Ben's family went to Utah. Honestly, never thought I'd wear one of those wrappy things, but my sister insisted I try it for our traditional Thanksgiving Day hike up Las Trampas in Danville. This is just a smattering of us. The other 5000 of us were scattered somewhere in those hills undoubtedly harassing cows or participating in some other shenanigans. I love this tradition. It's always muddy and green and really pretty up there in the hills and then you feel like you've earned your turkey at the end of the day. Come visit us and we will take you on this adventure.

Look what we picked up at the Pumpkin Patch

We thought now would be a good time to give in to peer pressure and start a blog. Here, a pic for those of you dying to see a belly shot. Now to the good stuff...

Our baby girl was born October 28th at 10:11 pm. 7lbs. 8 oz. 21 1/4 inches long. I know parents always think their baby is the cutest ever- I've discussed this phenomenon with some of you before- but really, she's adorable! Now I'll let the pics speak for themselves.