The Joy of Cooking

You've heard me say before that I have high hopes for my girl in the kitchen.  No matter how much flour I have to clean up, our chocolate chip cookies will be the best in town, even if there are a few eggshells in them.  And what I'm loving the most at the moment, is that Ava's instincts seem to have The Barefoot Contessa written all over them.  She gathers all these things from the kitchen herself, and "cooks" her magnetic fridge letters with a pinch of focus and a dash of flair.

Now if cooking ever begins to bore her, art may be her pastime of choice.  Ava's been a bit under the weather lately, so to cheer her up I picked up some sidewalk chalk to see if it could live up to her love of stickers and play-doh.  So far so good.

Time with Friends
It's been a while, so we were thrilled to get a chance to spend the evening with the Lassars recently.  It's hard to believe that these beautiful girls were all of 10 months old when we met them.

Watching them grow up has been so much fun.

And thanks to their pretty little piano, Ava may have picked up a love for another artistic hobby.  I'm not sure how the marker in her hand came into play, but who am I to question.

It's always so nice to spend an evening with our good friends, and Ava took advantage of every second.  Kristi's going to kill me for blowing up these pictures, but I think they're so sweet.  Ava is lucky to have these folks around. 

Happy Monday, all.

Spring

Spring is slowly making its way to Denver, and with it has come a whole new world of possibilities for Ava.  My current favorite is the children's garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens.  A winding path leads you through a fabulous open space filled with streams, flowers, stages, and shelters, all set up to encourage little eyes and hands to explore and learn.  As it is with most toddlers and new experiences, we had no idea what to expect; and as she almost always does, Ava embraced everything the day had to offer.
 

I love this city. 

Now, since I haven't blogged in a while I'd like to take a chance to catch you all up on what's been happening in our 'hood.

It's a Family Affair

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky to have Tyson, Charlie, Kristen and Joel here for a visit.  Once again, Mother Nature saw fit to bless us with some beautiful weather, so we packed up the kids and headed to the zoo.  Ava couldn't get enough of Uncle Joel, and I think he was pretty happy about it.  Really cute.

 

We were also thrilled to have my cousin Barbara and family in town a while back.  It was Ellen's birthday, and she wanted to spend it in the snow.  Fortunately for us, we had some.  How gorgeous are these kids?
 

 

Come back soon, everyone!  We miss you!

Movin' On Up
A pink condominium has gone up in our living room.  Doesn't really go with the furniture, but Ava loves it, so for the foreseeable future it stays.  If you're nice to her, maybe she'll let you stay in it next time you're here.
 
 

Wait until you see it with the porch out.  My apartment in college was smaller than this thing.

Strollers are for babies.
And clearly Ava is not a baby anymore.  Dolly (she still doesn't have a real name) gets pushed in the stroller by her mommy; I'm only allowed close enough to take pictures.

 

There's so much more to tell, but I'm all blogged out for the evening.  Sleep tight!