The Garrison Family: Ava O'Garrison...

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Ava O'Garrison...

On Monday, Ava was able to do something her Mommy will never be able to do...don 'Kiss Me...I'm Irish' flair. Since Matt's maternal side of the family is Irish, German, Dutch, and American Indian, Ava is allowed to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in full force. So, Ava's Aunt Casey thought it would be just the funniest thing to have little Miss Ava Bear in a 'Kiss Me...I'm Irish' onesie for St. Patrick's Day since she isn't quite the poster child for Ireland (aesthetically speaking). Her outfit did garner some funny looks from people while we ran errands that day, and it was all I could do to not laugh when people would do a double take when they read Ava's onesie and then looked at her face. I think they thought I was crazy. Had she been with Matt, they would have gotten it. I guess it's kinda like when Matt has Ava by himself and people think/ask if she's adopted (and then I appear and then they just smile in new-found understanding).

So, here is our little Miss Ava O'Garrison in her St. Patrick's Day flair..

Even though her Daddy wasn't here to celebrate the day with us, we made sure to celebrate it together by making St. Patrick's Day cupcakes. There was a recipe that I had been wanting to try, so we decided to use St. Patrick's Day as a vehicle to make it happen.

Well, the cupcakes were certainly homemade, as Ava and I got to make the batter, the caramel frosting, and the garnish from scratch (we dyed coconut green to use as a garnish to make them Irish in nature). Ava had a great time in the kitchen baking with me but she really loved icing the cupcakes the best. As you can see in the pictures, she was very helpful and very interested in the cupcakes...so much so that in the last picture as I was pressing the button on the camera to take her picture with the cupcakes we had just made, she stuck her fingers into the frosting of one of the cupcakes and proceeded to put her caramel frosting and green coconut garnish covered fingers into her mouth! Of course, I dropped the camera and frantically wiped her mouth out to make sure that she didn't swallow any of the coconut. What a goober!

1 comment:

Allenfamilyadventure said...: What a sweet Irish girlie!! Irish eyes ARE smiling!; 3:00 AM

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About Us...

Matt and I met on April 14, 2001 in Glendale, Arizona. I was in college at Pepperdine University and he was in F-16 pilot training at Luke AFB. We met through my brother, Matt (Goat), who was also going through pilot training at Luke. The two Matts met their freshman year at the Air Force Academy where they were assigned to the same squadron and lived next door to one another. Despite Matt being friends with my brother since 1995, we had never met one another before 2001. I fell in love with Matt at first sight and he fell in love with me shortly thereafter. We were married on October 4, 2003 in the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Air Force Academy-it seemed only fitting. God has blessed us with almost 5 busy, exciting, and wonderful years of marriage. In that time, we have lived in 3 states, 2 countries, run in over 20 races (combined) in 6 different countries and 5 different states, traveled to almost 30 different countries, and have have been blessed with the most precious and beautiful little girls.

Ava Holt was born at 3:05 AM on November 1, 2007. At 2 weeks early, she weighed in at 7 pounds, 11.4 ounces and was 20 inches long. Ava Holt is a dramatic yet easy going little soul. She loves attention and is always happy. She is incredibly observant, freakishly strong, very independent, and a very fast learner. Her curiosity fuels her day, as she fills her hours getting into anything and everything under 5 feet in height. As much as she loves me, she loves her Daddy even more. She is the epitome of a 'Daddy's Girl' and the highlight of her day is when Matt gets home and she gets to perform, laugh, and squeal for him. Then, when her Daddy gets in her way, her favorite person in the world is her baby sister, Myla Grace. From the moment she met Myla Grace at the hospital on the day we came home from the hospital, she was smitten. There wasn't a jealous bone in her body, only pure love. We are beyond blessed to have the miracle of Ava Holt in our lives. Oh, and did I mention that 'You Are My Sunshine' is her FAVORITE song? The apple didn't fall far from the tree, as it's mine too.

Sweet Myla Grace was born at 5:04 PM on December 2, 2009. At 3 weeks early, she weighed in at 7 lbs, 0.4 ounces and was 19 inches long. Myla Grace is so disgustingly sweet. She is our cuddly little one who prefers to be carried and or held when at all possible. While sweet and cuddly, she also loves to destroy, dismantle, and disassemble most things within her reach...all while flashing the most precious of smiles. And through all of her sweetness, she has the uncanny ability to make you laugh all day long. Maybe it's the mullet she's had since birth, the gummy grin (which is starting to blossom with teeth), or her serious smirks, but whatever it is, we can't get enough. Although Myla Grace was a complete surprise, we can't imagine life without her. She is absolutely Ava's little buddy (whom Ava affectionately calls, 'the little one,' 'Mywa Grace,' and 'Mah-la.'), Amy's cuddle bug, Matt's giggling partner, and the most beautiful little blessing.

Harper Lee was born at 3:28 PM on May 31, 2013. Also arriving 3 weeks early, Harper weighed in at a hefty 6 lbs, 15 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. From the moment she entered this world, Harper has been the happiest, calmest, smiley-est {if that's even a word}, sweetest, and easiest baby we've ever had. She NEVER cries and is so incredibly easy going...to the point that I thought something was wrong with her. And unlike her big sisters, Harper has always been on the tiny side of small. After several rounds of tests when she was 6-months old to make sure she didn't have any development or growth problems, the Doctors came to the conclusion that she is just going to be "petite." So despite being in the 5th percentile for her age, our precious Harper girl is absolutely perfect as the tiny little package that she is. Oh, and did I mention that she is the BEST eater in our family? This sweet girl can mow through food like a 10yr old! I am a believer in miracles and Harper further confirms my faith. Her existence is a pure miracle (not to mention an ultimate surprise) and we thank God all the time for giving her to us. We thought our hearts were complete but we had no idea how big of holes we had until she joined our lives. Her laughter, giggles, rambling babbles, smiles, and 2-finger sucking are constant reminders that we are recipients of so much undeserved grace. At 21-months old, Harper's favorite things are cats (she calls them "nows"--her way of saying meow), dogs ("uf-ufs"), Ava ("aw-buh"), and balloons ("boons").