Smiles, Duluth, and Twins!

Ava is smiling! She's been showing off her adorable grin for a few weeks now and we love it. Here are some cute shots we've taken:

We all are smiling lately, though, because of Steve's new job! As I said before, we are very excited. He beat out over 100 other applicants to be offered the position, so it is definitely a big confidence-booster that we needed. Our next step is to find affordable housing in the Twin Cities area. As much as we have loved and benefited living with Steve's family here, we are very eager to get our own place again. We'll keep you all updated on that point.

Even during the excruciating wait period while we had yet to know if he got the job, we did some fun things. We went to Duluth, where Steve's brother, Michael, ran his first marathon (way to go, Michael!). And we also made it to a Twins game which was a blast. For Steve's birthday present I bought tickets for us to go and Steve's mom and Joseph and Michael got to come along, too. Nash was all decked out in his baseball t-shirt and hat and decided that his favorite player is the pitcher. He also enjoyed getting a hot dog to eat and dancing to the music over the loudspeaker. Ava slept through almost the entire game, believe it or not (and it was loud in there!).

Here are some pics from Duluth:

And here are pics from the Twins game:

(did I fool anyone with my post title into thinking I was announcing that I was having Twins?)

Steve got a job!!!!

Today, Steve was offered a job at Graywolf Press in Minneapolis! Yay! And he accepted!

Congratulations, Steve--you are the best and you totally deserve this!

Happy Birthday, Nash!

I can't believe my little boy is 2 years old! I love so many things about him! To me, he is the most amazing and adorable little boy I have ever known.

He loves playing outside, especially on playgrounds, he loves climbing and figuring out how to do things that other kids or people can do. He loves toy cars and trucks and he always wants to "drive" when we get in the car. He loves sucking on his two middle fingers of his left hand and cuddling his blanket and toy monkey for comfort. He loves to run around and he likes being chased by the tickle monster. Speaking of monsters, he loves cookie monster and Sesame Street. He loves to listen to books and can stay entertained by it for quite awhile. He loves baths and playing in water. He loves to help me with anything and everything I'm doing, especially cooking or washing dishes. He likes to build things with blocks and duplos, especially shuttles and tunnels. He really loves tunnels and gets excited about going under any archway or overpass, because it is a tunnel to him. He loves playing with friends and going to Nursery. He likes kicking soccer balls and going on walks. He loves giving Ava hugs and kisses. He likes to eat pickles, olives, yogurt, cheese, butter (with or without bread), pizza, raisins, noodles, watermelon and more, depending on the day. He loves to dip his food in any kind of sauce. He likes to pretend to mow the lawn and dig in the dirt and help me water the plants. He likes to put the flag up when we put mail in the mailbox. He likes to play the drums and the piano. He loves to dance and has got lots of moves. He is an incredible talker and has amazing vocablulary and annunciation for his age.

Nash, I love you--these past two years have been two of the most fulfilling of my life. I am incredibly blessed to be your mom!

You are such a good, fun, happy boy! Happy 2nd Birthday, Nash!