Growing and Snowing

At the beginning of February we entered two of my father's succulent pots into the Southeastern Flower Show which took place in Atlanta. It was a big ordeal to get the genus and species of each plant properly figured out and identified with a labeling system(although in proper Daddy fashion he had maps of the pots made in a binder which helped immensely). Then the pots had to be groomed before we left which entailed removing any dead leaves and some persistent maple seeds which were tangled into the pots (also Daddy). Then we loaded them up with the help of Mom's neighbor and hauled them carefully to the Cobb Galleria where they were groomed some more before submission.

Well, all the hard work payed off. I'm not sure if Daddy would have planned on entering two plants but I'm glad we did because his were the only two submissions in his category (three or more species of succulents in one container). Therefore, and I can still imagine him laughing at this, we won first and second place! Here's the blue ribbon winner.
I think more people didn't enter this year because the show was uncertain for half the year if they would be able to afford putting it on. Last year there were at least 6 submissions. Even more exciting though was the trophy we were awarded for Best Collection in Show (there were at least 5 or six collections). Apparently there's an awards ceremony later in the spring so we'll let you know when we go how that goes.
Here are some of the judges comments, which surprised me because several of the other blue ribbon winners still had some critiques included.
And here's our little flower! She loved looking at all the plants and kids attending.

Ava's developing a healthy appetite for vegetables these days. She really prefers feeding herself and I love when she accompanies her eating with what sounds like her saying "This is delicious." Nom, nom, nom. She loves butternut squash, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, and here she is trying out the heirloom "Preacher beans", green beans which have been in the Tarver family for four generations.

As most of you know, we had a snowstorm down here a couple weeks ago and we really enjoyed taking Ava out on a hike to take in her first substantial snowfall. Ava even tried eating some snow and seemed intrigued by the feel of it.
The dogs enjoyed it as well.






And here's Ava with her cousin Bo at BBQ on President's day. Nom, nom, nom, more green beans!

Let's Play!

Bathtime is awesome! She loves to look in the mirror.
Blaahhh!

With one of her favorite furry playmates.

Frequently we put our foot in our mouth. Mmm...tasty. Makes bathing, dressing and diapering tricky.
Playing the xylophone. We love musical instruments! May be there will finally be a person in both sides of the family with musical talent? Next up... BONGOS!
With our friend Miles. He's the coolest. He's our role model on crawling.



Bellybuttons are great fun! Especially when they're Daddy's!


Bathtime with Grandma. Let's see how much water we can get out of the sink!

To Eat or Not to Eat Solid Foods

The two photos that follow were pretty much the sequence which took place whenever we tried to feed Ava solid food since she was about 6 months old until 8 and a half months old. Hilarious faces! And she'd shake her head and body too when she'd do it for added effect.

But lately she seems to be warming up to some foods more. Really, it seems like she just wants to feed herself. We still have some coordination issues you know...just like her Dad. Favorite foods are currently butternut squash, applesauce with rice cereal, and graham crackers. She's tried mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes too and prefers the deluxe version with some butter. And of course, she'd like to try everything Mom is eating. She's actually had several spoonfuls of various soup broths I've eaten lately. Yum, yum. After a while though, as Jeremy says "I'm done face painting!"

And here's Ava visiting a local landmark in Athens. The Varsity. Good thing she's not eating those kinds of foods yet. Mom really wouldn't like to mess with the likes of the following diaper.

Keeping Warm

As we possibly prepare for another round of snow flurries *fingers crossed*, here are pictures from the coldest time of the year so far around these parts. Ava and I walked up to the mailbox when the front of a very light snowfall came through.

Look at the marvelous little snowflakes! I've never seen them actually look like snowflakes before.
Here's Ava sporting Mom and Dad's souvenir hat from New Zealand mid-bounce.
And here are our four and three-legged critters keeping the gravity bill down by our new woodstove. Awww.

New Years

Thanks to Nana Phyllis, Mom and Dad were able to go out for a night in Atlanta to see the Avett Brothers show at the Fox Theater on New Year's Day. Before we left, we had a hankering for some hashbrowns, and where better to get them than the Waffle House. What a big day! First New Years, first Waffle House visit, and first time left babysat for five hours in the evening.
Here's Ava helping Dad order. "I'll have mine scattered and smothered!"

Celebration of a Life (formerly "The Funeral")

These guys were the little bright spots of the week spent preparing for my Dad's funeral. Mom said when Ava came into the hospital in her cute little hat all bundled up at 2 in the morning she couldn't help but smile. Ava and Bo got to spend a good amount of time together. Here's Ava entranced by Bo...
followed by a "kiss". Bo's kisses consist of placing his forehead on yours.

I wish I could have gotten video of the hundreds of sandhill cranes I saw flying south one morning. Absolutely amazing and truly lifted my heart. I'd only seen and heard a small flock once before in my life. Such a sight to behold and hear! Truly, Daddy was there.
And here's our little salamander friend. (Mom has a closer pic of his smile) He was right under the lip of the hypertufa pot that you see in the background staying warm I suppose. I went to touch it because I thought it was dead (it was like 40 degrees out!) and he moved! My Dad made that pot as a gift for our friends Kathy and Craig Adams. It was the neatest hobby he had taken up in the last year of his life. He made nearly two dozen and they take a while to make. I loved watching him get creative with them. He made them to accommodate his expanding collection of succulents. We intend to posthumously submit two of his pots in the Southeastern Flower Show next month. Last year he placed second, and as he and I studied the first place winner's display, all we could figure was that their pot was better. Thus, the hypertufa hobby commenced.

Modified: You know, "The Funeral" was just so bleak. My best friend and I have always believed, that when we die we'd really like our lives to be celebrated rather than mourned. And that was the attitude I tried to remember when confronting Daddy's death and the funeral. There will always be so many things to celebrate about his life. In addition, I tried to convey that in his obituary, and surprisingly the Atlanta Journal Constitution contacted us the day it ran to do a follow up bio piece in the Saturday paper. The link follows, but I'd like to preface your reading with a note: My father carefully got back into running. It was not a careless, heedless endeavor. He actually started biking first and he amazed the doctors so much that they cautiously agreed to his running again. I think running kept him alive really. It was one of his most favorite things in the world to do. (also, he only got to plant orchids in the Caymens, not trees, but you know, my experience with the papers is that they almost always get one or two things incorrect)

AJC: Don Tomczak, loved running and the outdoors

Christmas

(So, I'm determined to get this done before the end of January! I'll be caught up and hopefully keep up more then)


I think besides seeing family the only reason I even felt up for Christmas was this little cutie.
And despite all the presents, her favorite toys weren't toys. They were the bows, paper, ribbons, lights, and sounds of the holidays. Merry First Christmas baby girl.