Batter up!

Andy adores being a dad to two girls, but there's a small part of him that wouldn't mind if the tea parties were occasionally interrupted with a t-ball game. 

"I totally got this."

"Visualize the hit..."

"Wait, what's a "hit" again?"

"

"Got it, coach!"

"Maybe if I really get to know the equipment."

"Oh forget it.  Does this bat bring out my eyes?"

I'm not sure Lila's his answer.

And they all lunched happily ever after.

Phase II of the birthday extravaganza saw us, and the Kansas branch of the Lundstrom clan at a magical event that seemed to have been created just for Ava.  On the day of her 4th birthday, The Melting Pot hosted "Fondue Fairytale".  Girls and boys were encouraged to don their finest Princess or Knight attire, and feast on melted cheese and chocolate while rockin' out to their favorite Disney tunes.  Staff dressed as Magic Kingdom royalty circulated, handing out crowns and swords and posing for pictures with the kids.  A "dragon" - complete with smoke - was on display in the basement.  Big Sister was enchanted.

Belle meets her little doppelganger.

Smitten.  Love it.

Charlie was as excited about meeting Rapunzel as Ava was. So cute.

Lila had a pretty good time too.

Can you imagine a more fitting afternoon for our girl?  Because I sure can't.

We followed up with a trip to Belleview Park.  The perfect day.

Happy Birthday, darling girl.  I love all that you will be, and everything you are.

"I love all that you will be, and everything you are."

I stole that quote from one of the girls' favorite books: "How Do I Love You?", by Marion Dane Bauer. Every time I read these words to them I'm struck not only by how true they are, but how wonderful it is - and how lucky I am - to watch these two beautiful little people grow. Every day they become a little more of who they are, and who they are is lovely. I can only imagine what they will be.

 

Ava just turned 4, and who she is, is pretty amazing. My girl is smart, loving, clever, sociable, and hilariously imaginative. And Big Sister knows what she wants and isn't afraid to go get it. That last part actually made planning her 4th birthday party pretty fun. Her requests were simple and clear: cake, decorations, and balloons, all with a Tinker Bell theme. We were happy to oblige.
 

Tinker Bell bounce house, check...

  

Tinker Bell cake (and the pure joy of listening to your name being sung by a room full of people) check...

Super-cool gifts that included sparkly dress-up clothes and pink high heels - well, those were just a bonus.

 

    

The kids had a ball, and the birthday girl went to bed exhausted and happy. A great party by any standard.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of the birthday extravaganza.                                                                

We all have to learn some time, right?

The decision to finally hand over a fork or spoon to a child for the first time is a daunting one.  Once you do there's no going back; said child has now tasted (pardon the pun) the freedom of deciding what bite goes in when, and they're gonna like it. (Hate peas?  No longer a problem.  Just shovel those bad boys right to the floor.)  You also must prepare yourself for the inevitable aftermath; you're going to be cleaning spaghetti off the walls, the floors, the child, yourself - and very possibly your other children - for days.  But it has to happen at some point.  Our point is now.

I got off easy with Ava.  She wanted the food in her mouth and wasn't crazy about a mess, so she mastered the polite use of utensils pretty quickly.  The younger of my progeny thinks messes are funny.  And so, meal after meal, we have this:

The spoon here is really just for show; she shoveled most of that onto her head with her hands.



Lasagna. This one required a bath.

I just like the look of smug self-satisfaction in this one.

Tomorrow we will all be wearing a peanut butter sandwich.  Care to join us?