Look out, Julia Roberts; here comes Ava!

If this isn't the perfect movie star pout, then I don't know what is.

Can't you just picture her on stage in front of thousands of adoring fans, eloquently reciting lines from Romeo and Juliet?  No?  Let's see if this helps you out...



The kid is a natural.

Little Mama strikes again.

I think it might be time to give Ava's dolly a name.  So far we've just been referring to her as "The Baby", but it seems Ava is starting to see her as one of the family.  (And all romantic memories of Dirty Dancing aside, no way am I referring to any member of my family as "Baby".)  This morning when I asked Ava if she was ready for breakfast, she toddled into the dining room and put her dolly in the booster seat.  I assumed this meant she was hungry, so I gave her some Cheerios.

And this afternoon when I picked out a book and asked Ava if she wanted to read it with me, she took it out of my hand, sat in her chair with Dolly in her lap, and read it to her instead.

Any suggestions for a new moniker for The Baby would be greatly appreciated.  Cuz I have a feeling that isn't the last meal I'm going to be serving her.

You really shouldn't grab a goose.

This is just one in a long list of sentences I never anticipated having to say.  And, of course, since I happened to be passing along this sage advice to a toddler, it was a good thing it was coupled with her dad's quick hands, or this little interaction with nature might had ended very badly.  I have no personal proof of this, but I've heard geese aren't the most tolerant of birds.

The playground was a much better fit for our curious tot.

Hope you had a great (goose-free) weekend. 

This Week in Pictures

Ava had a fabulous week.  So without further ado, let's dive in...

As you'll recall from the posts last summer, our girl loves some pool time.  And since we're still a couple of months away from dipping our toes into the outdoor pool, we decided to get Ava ready for summer by snagging a spot in some swimming lessons at the local community center.  The experience did not disappoint. Even just hanging out before class, Ava was in heaven.

On Tuesday, we joined Lisa and Ollie at Little Monkey Bizness.  Typically, Ava is fairly cautious, but chose this day to strike out on her own.  I could barely keep up as she raced from activity to activity, climbing, bouncing, jumping and sliding with unstoppable abandon.  I could barely control my pride as my brave baby waited patiently in line, then took her turn - over and over again - careening down the slide all by herself.  The smile says it all.

Afterwards, she and Ollie grabbed some lunch. (It's a good thing I always have a camera with me, cuz these two never fail to do something cute.)

This next picture was taken a little later in the day, and is included for no other reason than it makes me laugh.  Her hair is sticking up like that because there's peanut butter in it.

 Thursday meant tumbling class, and despite the fact that she was so tired she fell asleep on the way there with a graham cracker sticking out of her mouth...

...she lit up like a Disney parade float as soon as she woke up and realized where we were.  As always, she had a blast.



This morning Ava decided that she was going to work with Daddy.  She grabbed his computer bag and keys, and attempted to head out to the garage.  Didn't have the heart to tell her that her work attire was a little inappropriate. 

And I know most of you have already seen this picture, but it's cute enough for a second viewing.  Ava took Mina for a walk today without (much of) any assistance from me.  How is it possible that she's grown up enough to walk the dog??



I don't know about Ava, but I'm exhausted!