Scared Happy

I posted a little note last night, but now I see that it never actually posted, so oh well. Anyway, on to Monday night. It was around midnight, and our little family was tucked into bed. I got up to go to the bathroom, and saw light shining into the bathroom window. I went to the bedroom window and saw a police officer walking through my yard with a flashlight. There were also 2 police cars in front of our house. Obviously I woke Brent up and we went outside. The police officer was now in our back yard. He said a neighbor had called them because a suspicious man was spotted "creeping" through our yard, towards our back yard. Of course I was shocked and completely freaked. The guy was nowhere to be found, so the police told us to lock up and left. They did drive by a couple of times after that - I knew that because I was up pretty much all night after that. After checking every window and door, Brent and I sat at the dining room table in the dark, staring out the back slider for probably half an hour. After we went to bed, Brent fell asleep but I was up. I was paranoid to begin with, but after this it is way worse. This whole week I've been checking the windows and doors over and over, and sleeping with my cell phone in my hand.
I have always felt very safe in this town, especially in our neighborhood. Our street doesn't have much traffic and it is pretty close knit. We know all our neighbors and we look out for each other. Luckily, the neighbor across the street was letting his dog out and happened to see the guy in our yard. I hate feeling unsafe in my own home. My theory about the creep is either he was just some wacko wandering around the street, or maybe he was cuting through our back yard. That would be pretty hard considering our back yard is woods that are very dense. You cannot walk through them. That or he was just looking for an easy target, like an open car (which mine was) or an open shed (which our's was). Nothing was taken.

On to happier news. Baby Ava is getting so big and trying to say so many words. She tries to say "baby" and "juice." One funny thing she says is "Uncle B!" My boss, Jennifer, has a brother named Brian. Jennifer's son, Max, calls him Uncle B. Max adores his Uncle B, and goes around the house saying his name a lot. Since Ava and Max hang out all day while I'm working, Ava has started to say it to. It sounds so funny when they say it because of the tone of voice they use. It sounds like they are saying "whhheeee!" When Ava says it it sounds like "bunkle-bunkle-eeeeee!" Ava loves Uncle B too. Whenever he comes over she goes right to him and wants him to pick her up, and she'll just sit on his lap. She has an Uncle D and an Uncle E, but Brian is her adopted Uncle B.
Ready for cuteness overload? Look at these pictures. Ava loves water; she loves the hose, the sink, baby pools, and now - the sprinkler! I had it on to water the plants, and she wasted no time jumping right in. I want to post a lot of pictures so I am making them small. Click on them to see them bigger.