The Good The Bad and The Baby

"Come on Baby, let's read."

2012-02-28T21:11:00.002-07:00

I'm not always fortunate enough to have a camera nearby when something wonderful happens. Sometimes those moments happen so quickly that I'm forced to imprint them on my mind, hoping that down the road I'll somehow be able to recall that instant exactly as it was. Today I got lucky.

As Ava and I lounged on her new "Big Girl Bed", she pulled Baby close, picked up a book and said, "Come on Baby, let's read." She read each book softly, stopping here and there to offer a kiss or a snuggle. As I snapped away, all I could think was I'm so glad I'm here to see this.

*****************
We have a new favorite game in the Lundstrom house. You might know it as "Hide-and-Seek"; around these parts it's called "Find-The-Mama/Daddy". Here's how it goes down: First, Ava begins to count; she usually stops anywhere between 10 and 14. You have no way of actually knowing when the counting will end, but you know that it will start while Ava's eyes are open and looking right at you. This typically leaves whoever is hiding about 4 seconds to run and dive behind whatever happens to be out of her line of sight. You know the game is over when she forgets to look for you.

Come on, you know you want to play too.

Winter Wonderful

2012-02-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

Life in the winter time around here tends to slow down a bit. We do our best to keep busy, but whether we like it or not, we are - more often than not - stuck indoors. But as you might have guessed, we aren't the types to let a little snow and cold keep us from a good time. Here are a few pics and videos of how Ava spends the blustery days of winter. (Some of these were taken with my phone so the quality is a little sub-par, but still pretty cute.) Enjoy.

Tumbling is once again in full swing. Always a hit with Ava, and more than a little entertaining for the parents.

The Museum of Nature and Science provides weekly doses of entertainment. This first video is Ava doing a little impromptu dancing in the Discovery Zone.

The second video is what happens when I speak a little too soon. The magic goes down at the 30 second mark.

Fortunately for me there's plenty to do at the museum that doesn't involve any danger of getting smacked in the face with a musical instrument. There's block building...

Piano playing...

And animals to gaze at. (Most of whom aren't quite as, shall we say, animated as little Goldy here, but Ava has no idea what the term taxidermy means, and I'm not about to fill her in at the ripe old age of 2.)

Now you might think that things get boring on the days we're stuck at home, but boy would you be wrong. There are bubbles to blow...

Cookies to bake (and sample)...

Horses to tame...

Trampolines to bounce on, and bikes to ride...

And there's always something that needs fixing.

Add all of this to legos, play-doh, dolls, art projects, hide-and-seek, and the occasional rousing round of "Chase the Dog Around With a Big Stick While Laughing Like a Crazy Person" and I don't know how we have any time to sleep!

Hope your winter has been as warm and wonderful as ours.

Balloons on the Ceiling

2012-02-05T21:01:00.006-07:00

I wish the title of this post were some kind of beautiful metaphor about motherhood; some profound observation about raising children. But the truth is, there's a balloon on our ceiling. The life span of this particular balloon was bound to be a short one in the hands of our two-year old, but it somehow made it out of Monkey Bizness, through the parking lot, into the car, and back home to our living room. Score 1 for the balloon. But thanks to 20 foot ceilings, we have now been faced (twice) with the rather daunting task of rescuing our little latex friend and returning it to its rightful owner.

Andy's trying to "sweep" it over to the stairs for me. This was Us vs The Balloon, Round 1.

I'll give you one guess whose winning this litte war. It isn't us.

As the result of some unpleasant weather we've been stuck in the house quite a bit lately, and entertainment around here is getting a little thin. You can only have so many tea parties and bake so many batches of cookies before you start looking for amusement anywhere you can get it. Hence, this...

This is her "eat your heart out, supermodels" shy face.

It was her idea. I swear.

Summer better get here quick. We really need to get out more.

This cannot possibly be comfortable.

2012-01-29T20:49:00.001-07:00

Ava fell asleep in the car today on the way home from Monkey Bizness. Like this...

A little holiday review.

2012-01-24T20:59:00.000-07:00

Once again I find myself a bit behind, so let's begin our latest game of Catch-Up with a quick look back at Christmas. It all began with an early visit from Santa. (He's kind enough to show up at our house before we leave town for the holidays. I need to remember to send him a gift basket.) He stuffed the stockings, and arranged all the toys and books by the fireplace, despite the fact that we forgot to leave him a plate of cookies. (Perhaps a gift basket, and a nice card...)

Ava was pretty pleased.

Particularly with the breakfast selection.

Then, in the usual grand tradition, we packed up a car full of gifts - along with everything Ava owns - and headed for Iowa.

Ava helped Grandma bake (ok, eat) the cookies...

Somehow managed to swipe Santa's hat. (Looks better on her anyway.)

And opened one of the biggest piles of presents I've ever seen. (Not all of them necessarily hers...)

But the best part, as always, was getting to spend the holidays with her cousins.

Hope you're Christmas was as wonderful as ours!

Playing Catch-Up

2012-01-08T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks! Sorry for the hiatus, but the exhaustion that comes along with expecting New Baby has hit me right in the creative streak. Let me dip my toes back in the blog waters with a couple of things you may have missed.

Let's Go To the Movies
Ok, so the next line of that song doesn't really apply since the only "stars" we saw were cartoon chipmunks, but Ava was nonetheless thrilled with her first movie experience. She wasn't sure what she was in for as we bought our tickets, picked out our snacks, and settled into our seats (which her little body miraculously did not fold up into)...

In hindsight, the giant bucket of sprite may not have been the best idea. She spun like a top for 20 minutes after we left the theater.

But from the moment the lights went down Ava was hooked. She pointed, smiled, and danced at all the right times, and almost made it all the way to the end of the movie before she got bored and tried to high-tail down the aisle for a better seat. I have to admit that I spent almost the entirety of the movie just watching the look on her face.

She was in such a good mood when we got home that she decided to help her dad shovel some snow. She did a pretty darn good job.

Ava's Real Halloween Costume
I never got around to showing you this, so here you go. The 3rd and final (and only one that didn't make her cry) costume of Halloween 2011.

She had orange pom-poms, but we - rather wisely, I think - decided not to push our luck by trying to make her carry them.

She had a ball trick-or-treating with Ollie, Brady, and Lucas, who looked pretty darn cute too.

Brady's mom adjusted his dinosaur head a dozen times. Never did look much different than this.

Recognize this costume? Baby Ava wore it 2 years ago!

The 3 Musketeers
I'll end with a picture of Ava, Brady, and Ollie snuggled under a blanket to watch a movie at Brady's house a couple of weeks ago. I love watching them hang out. And no, I don't have any idea why Ollie has a flash light shoved up his nose.

I prefer the reindeer.

2011-12-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

By all accounts, Santa is a pretty nice guy. The wardrobe is a bit of a head-scratcher, but anybody whose entire life is dedicated to spreading Christmas cheer is OK in my book. Unfortunately, Ava does not yet seem to agree. Once again this year we bundled up and went to visit the big guy, and once again Ava acted like he was there to pick her pockets.

Eventually she's going to figure out that he's the one leaving all those awesome presents under the tree. Bet she'll sit on his lap then.

A visit to Santa may have been a bust, but the stuffed reindeer in the lobby were a huge hit.

Prancer and Dancer there will have to fill Santa in on Ava's Christmas wishes this year. Hopefully they wrote it all down.

Happy (almost) Holidays!

Ava's going to be a.....

2011-12-04T11:40:00.000-07:00

The newest Lundstrom is scheduled to make his/her debut on July 18th! Ava was made for this job.

Dude, get me out of here.

2011-12-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Uncle Joel came into town a few weeks ago and met us at the museum. He was her favorite uncle until he almost fed her to the dinosaur exhibit.

Uncle Joel thinks the teeth on this t-rex are hilarious. Ava just wants to find the exit.

Decking the Halls

2011-11-28T21:45:00.001-07:00

Our girl is growing up. So, in yet another celebration of this fact, we decided to let Ava decorate the Christmas tree this year. We placed every unbreakable ornament we have at her feet, and let her go to town. Girlfriend did not disappoint.

She placed each ornament on its branch with extreme care, heatedly tossing aside any that didn't meet with her artistic vision. (She's even been back to the tree a half dozen times since yesterday to perfect her work. I'm certain this is a sign of extreme genius.)

As she decorated, she repeatedly stood back, surveyed her brilliance and exclaimed - quite rightly, I think - "Wow! Is BEAU-Ful!!"

I couldn't have said it better myself.

3 Halloween Costumes = 1 Lesson in Parenting

2011-10-31T15:56:00.000-06:00

It all started with the ill-conceived idea for a sheep costume. So cute, right? Puffy, soft, and totally endearing; it was candy-getting' gold! Well, I'll have to show it to you on the model hired by Pottery Barn, because my little darling wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. Plus, when I put the hat on she alternately thought I was a kitty cat and a bunny. Confusing, to say the least.

See how this kid's not screaming? Yeah, that would have been nice.

Moving on...

Next, Andy and I headed to Target to pick up what I naively thought was going to be a sure thing. Ava is obsessed with princesses, so a sparkly Cinderella dress (no head gear required) was the answer to our problems, yes? Uh, no. That too was met with ear-piercing screams, and thrown directly to the floor.

This final fit happened about half an hour before we were leaving for Boo at the Zoo, and Mama was gettin' desperate. Who was going to give candy to a kid dressed up as, well, nothing?! I ran to her closet and pulled out an Iowa cheerleader dress someone had given us last year. It was a size too small and didn't even cover her diaper, but matched with some tights, and an old pom-pom from the toy box, it was the best we were going to do.

This time, no tantrums, and she had a ball at the zoo. She gamely ran from station to station, holding out her bag for candy with an enthusiastic "trick or treat!", offering up a polite and hearty "thank you!" with each treat she was given. But I think the best part of this debacle was that her coat covered the whole costume, so most of the time you couldn't tell what she was anyway. *sigh*

The only thing she actually cared about was that red sucker in her hand. She didn't put it down until we got home.

More trick-or treating tonight, in a cheerleader dress that fits. Pics to come. Happy Halloween!

Milestones

2011-10-23T21:27:00.002-06:00

Kids come with lots of milestones. Some are big (first steps, first words, the first time you get more than 20 minutes of sleep after they're born), and some are smaller, but no less thrilling for them and you. Saturday morning we had one, and - at least for us - it was a biggie.

It was The First Haircut. (And yes, the boldface print was necessary.)

We went to one of those places that specializes in cutting children's hair. It was perfect - cartoons, chairs shaped like little cars and motorcycles, and everything from the walls to the floors covered in festive colors and kid-centric artwork. It made me wish I was five and in need of a trim.

Ava however, smelled trouble. As soon as we tried to put her in the little red fire truck that should have been her seat, she lost it. It was clear we wanted her to do something, and equally clear to her that she wanted nothing to do with whatever it was. Luckily, it wasn't the stylist's first rodeo. She distracted Ava with a cool toy and let her sit in her dad's lap.

Then she presented Ava with her first-ever lollipop, which she - literally - sucked on for the next 2 hours.

It was all over in record time, and topped off with a jaunty pink bow.

Well hello, gorgeous.

And once we were done, she decided those cool chairs weren't so scary after all.

Hopefully this is the last motorcycle she'll ride. Ever.

Have a great week!

Is "autumn" a color? If so, I think it's mine.

2011-10-19T22:05:00.001-06:00

Fall is in the air. The temperatures are dropping, the sweaters and boots have come out of hibernation, and recipes for hearty soups and stews that have been laying in wait all summer have found their way into the cast iron pot once more. I do love summer, but there's something about changing leaves and the need for a warm pair of socks when you get out of bed in the morning that I find exhilarating.

And what better way to kick off the season than a trip to a local pumpkin patch?

"I like this one!"

The look on her face in this one cracks me up.

They also inexplicably had a bunch of hula hoops lying on the ground. Score!!

Ava and Brady liked the giant climbing-pumpkins.

We walked away with two fabulous pumpkins. We haven't done the carving yet, but I have a feeling Ava's recent obsession with Mickey Mouse is going to factor into the design plan.

A few days later Ava helped us put the jack-o-lantern lights along the front path. And by "helped", I mean "stuffed the heads full of leaves".

Ok, so I'm not sure if autumn is my color, but it is definitely Ava's.

It was time for something new.

2011-10-16T21:44:00.001-06:00

Denver is an amazing place to raise a family, and we like to pride ourselves on taking full advantage of everything this fabulous city has to offer. But even with all we do, we're always on the lookout for something new. Enter, The Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Now, before you wonder if we've been living under a rock for the last 4 years, let me assure you that we know the museum has been here forever, and Andy and I have been there quite a few times by ourselves. The "new" part is introducing it to Ava and seeing it all through her eyes. I love this part of being a mom.

I wanted to make sure that Ava's first impression of the museum was a good one, so on the advice of the lovely lady at the ticket counter we hot-footed it straight to the Kid's Discovery Zone. It was the right choice.

Andy had a good time too.

We spent so much time in there that the only other room we made it to was the Space Odyssey. Also, a very good choice.

We flew a spaceship...

Retrieved moon rocks...

And learned all about planet earth...

I'm sure it goes without saying that I now have another membership card to keep track of.

Donna Reed sleeps in the room down the hall.

2011-09-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

And she looks (and cooks) suspiciously like my daughter.

There is nothing I enjoy more these days than cooking with Ava, and to my endless delight she seems to feel the same way. She sits on the counter, carefully scooping, measuring, counting, and tasting until whatever delicious treat we're making that day is in the oven.

This particular day's confection was a batch of oatmeal cookies. Those are healthy, right?

In case you were wondering, these were even tastier than the rice krispie treats.

It was corn-mazing!!

2011-09-27T16:46:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the corny title, but what else do you call a post about a corn maze?

Choosing to spend the better part of an evening lost in a field of 8 foot stalks of corn with a 2 year old was - to say the least - a bit of a gamble. No toys, friends to play with, or cartoons to watch, and only the sad little selection of snacks we had packed in Ava's backpack to sustain us. But, as happens more often than not, our sweet girl took the whole thing in stride and assisted us in kicking some corn-maze butt.

We even let her lead the charge for a while. We did eventually have to stop that, or we'd probably still be in there.

But she did a great job of helping Andy decipher the clue sheet they gave us on the way in.

The answer to each corn-related question was designed to lead us to the next numbered post. Since my knowledge of corn is restricted to the fact that it's yellow, and - contrary to popular opinion - has absolutely no place in a burrito, we had to defer to Andy for most of the answers.

Ava was riveted by Andy's explanation of the little tassel thingy at the top of the stalk.

Hey, Dad, found one!

We finally made it out, alive and well, and celebrated our victory with a post-maze pony ride.

I'm pretty sure she had a little crush on the cowboy.

Here's hoping your weekend was as a-MAZE-ing as ours!

(I'd like to promise you that the next post will be free from puns and corny jokes, but we all know I'd be lying. Sorry.)

Florida, Part II: Disney World

2011-09-26T21:19:00.000-06:00

“Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age. And dreams are forever.”

― Walt Disney

I love Disney World. The rides are thrilling, the parades are magical, and the ice cream shaped like Mickey Mouse's head is just about the most wonderful thing I've ever tasted. I've been there countless times, and yet I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see Cinderella's castle peeking up over the trees from the windows of the Monorail. And since I was lucky enough to marry someone who also refuses to grow up, you can imagine how excited we were to take Ava to the "Happiest Place on Earth".

Now, anyone out there who's ever had a toddler in their lives knows that any given situation - even the ones that are seemingly guaranteed to make a kid happy - can go any number of ways. Will you be rewarded with smiles and laughter, punished for your efforts by an epic temper tantrum, or simply met with an indifferent, befuddled stare? We walked through the gates, held our breath, and awaited the verdict...

Our timing couldn't have been better. A parade was underway, and whose float should be going by at that exact moment, but Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Our girl was hooked.

We didn't want to lose any momentum, so once the parade was over we hot-footed it straight to Fantasy Land for some rides. First up? The Teacups, of course!

Ava loved it. The faster that silly cup twirled, the bigger her smile got. And for the next 4 days, girlfriend's life was good.

Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride

Ava and Grandma Sally checked out the fish tanks while we waited for "Turtle Talk with Crush" to start.

We were even lucky enough to score a meeting with Princess Tiana from The Princess and the Frog (Ava adores that movie). She was about to wrap it up for the day when the security guard took pity on us and gave us one of the final spots in line.

The rides and parades were great, but it was something else entirely that threw the whole trip over the top. Thanks to Grandma Sally's insatiable love for ice cream - often in lieu of an actual meal - Ava got to indulge her sweet tooth at least once a day.

Mickey Mouse's head = Chocolate-covered heaven.

Yup, that's lunch.

One of the coolest attractions was the Nemo musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Ava actually sat (relatively) still for the entire 45 minute production, clapping, laughing and waving at all the right times.

That was our last day at the parks, and our sharp parental instincts told us Ava had finally had enough.

A big thank you to Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mac for helping to make this whole experience so incredibly special. We love you guys.

We're going to make this an annual thing, right??

Florida, in two parts.

2011-09-22T20:32:00.000-06:00

The biggest problem with wonderful experiences is that they must eventually come to an end. But if you're lucky - as we are this week - you're left with sweet stories to tell, pictures to share, and memories that stick with you long after your plane makes it safely home. Our recent trip to Florida delivered all that and more.

Since our trip was divided into visits to two different cities, spending time with 2 different sets of grandparents, I thought I'd break it up into two posts. So sit back, relax, and enjoy a little visit to the sunshine state....

Florida, Part I: Palm Beach
Besides, of course, spending some quality time with family, I had one goal for this leg of our journey: get my girl to the beach. I grew up completely in love with the warm, salty smell of the air, the sound of the waves lapping against the sand, and the irresistible feel of the sun on my shoulders. And the sunsets? Oh my. If you've never seen it in person, grab your bucket list and add "Sit on the sand and watch the sun disappear into the ocean". You won't be sorry.

You should probably know that I didn't inherit this love from my dad. He's more of a lounge-by-the-pool-after-a-nice-golf-game kind of guy. But despite his aversion to sand in his swim trunks, he gamely suited up and drove us to the shore so his granddaughter could have her first date with the surf.

She loved being close to and watching the water (as long as she didn't actually have to sit in it. Girl knows what she likes.)

And was completely content to sit under the pier scooping sand into her brand new beach bucket.

It was the perfect day. Thanks, Grandpa.

My obsession has now been successfully passed on to the next generation. Next stop: shoe stores.

The beach was amazing, but only a small part of our 4 days in my childhood summer vacation spot. There were cuddles with Grandpa, and afternoons by the country club pool...

And meeting her aunt, uncle, and cousins for the first time. It was so great to see them again - it's been way too long.

My step-sister Jen (yup, she's a Jen too) and her husband Mike

My niece Katie and nephew Aaron

How gorgeous is this girl??

It was a lovely 4 days that went by too quickly, and we will be back for more sun, sand, and fun. Thanks, everyone, for everything! We miss you already!

Stay tuned for Florida, Part II: Disney World!

It's a Birthday, Baby!

2011-09-08T22:01:00.000-06:00

I love birthdays. Yours, mine, Ava's, even Mina's. I love to drape the house in balloons and "Happy Birthday" banners, gather together a house full of fabulous people, and shower the guest of honor in presents and cake. How can you top a day like that? And I'm hoping to pass the love of all things crepe paper and frosting on to my girl. I think we're off to a good start.

We started on the day of her birthday. First, Dad put up her brand new basketball hoop so she'd have a cool new toy to play with as soon as she woke up. Then, we spent the morning at Monkey Bizness with Ollie, took a family trip to Chuck E. Cheese that evening, and topped the whole thing off with giant chocolate cupcake. We'll call that Birthday: Phase One.

Yup, she's dunking Nemo.

Check out that smug look. Girl was killing it as Skee Ball and she knew it.

Chocolate. Nuff said.

The weekend brought on Birthday: Phase Awesome. (You've already seen some of the fun. Remember those super cool pony rides?) Braydon came all the way from Iowa, bringing Aunt Lisa and Grandma and Hoppa Lundstrom with him (thanks, buddy). Peyton came from Houston, and was nice enough to buy tickets for Sammie and Aunt Brandy too. And, of course, all of Ava's local pals showed up to make her feel special. It was wonderful watching our sweet girl get so much love on her day.

The gang gathered to sing a little "Happy Birthday"

Mmmm, cake...

I am LOVING this table. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Brown! Cool doodle-paintings are courtesy of Aunt Marianne.

Aunt Lisa tried to teach Ava some baseball. Doesn't look like she quite gets it.

A little art work "al fresco".

The party was a hit, and Ava had a ball. I think we can top it though - next year I'm totally renting a bouncy house.

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet girl. We love you.

Stopping to smell the roses.

2011-08-18T22:21:00.006-06:00

I can't carry my camera with me everywhere. But there are moments when we've embarked on some spontaneous adventure, and I'd give anything to have taken the extra minute to pick it up. This morning was one of those times. I was rushing around trying to get us out the door to start our day, when Ava, using her sweetest Mommy-may-I voice, asked for a ride in the wagon. And since one of my favorite things about being a stay-at-home mom is the frequent ability to alter our plans at a moment’s notice, I agreed that a ride in the wagon was a fantastic idea. For the next 20 minutes we circled our block, quietly chasing a bunny until he disappeared into a neighbor’s hedges, chatting with a dog (even though we couldn't actually see him behind his fence), and - literally - stopping to smell some pretty purple flowers. Unfortunately I have no pictures, but sometimes making an awesome memory will just have to do.

A Fabulous First
Now this, I do have pictures of. Ava's birthday weekend was a total hit (all of which I'll get to in the next post), but here's a little taster: Ava, Braydon and Peyton got to take their very first pony rides at Heritage Village! How great is that?? And all three of them loved it. Not a single tantrum or frightened torrent of tears in sight.

How bad does Peyton want to be Calamity Jane in that hat?

Support Your Local Artists
Or better yet, just support mine.

Ava has always loved to paint, and (as I'm sure you know) we've done lots of that sitting at the dining room table of Casa Lundstrom. But I noticed on trips to the art room at Monkey Bizness that she really dug the freedom of standing at an easel to create her brilliant works of art. So, courtesy of Grandpa George and Grandma Raili, Ava now has her very own Crayola art easel. She's done lots of drawing on the white board over the last week, but today, for the first time, I covered the floor in towels and busted out the paints. Ava was in heaven. She dug her brushes into each color with gusto, swirling the paint onto the canvas with the utmost care. The kid didn't get a single drop of paint anywhere but the paper. Admit it, you're impressed.

Random Smiles on a Wednesday
I have lots more to come, but for now I'll close with a picture of Ava and Ollie enjoying Lisa's rendition of Knuffle Bunny, for no other reason than I think it's cute.

Stay tuned for the birthday post!

Family fun, and a really cool outing.

2011-08-04T21:10:00.000-06:00

Once again, better late than never. Here are a couple of the things you've missed over the last several weeks.

Let's start with the Really Cool Outing...

When was the last time you drove an hour and a half just to go to the zoo? If you live anywhere but here, I'm hoping the answer is "never". It's just a zoo, people. But if you do live here, let me recommend packing a nice lunch and heading up to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It's a haul, but well worth the drive. The whole thing is built into the side of the mountain and has incredible views, but if that doesn't do it for you, maybe this will: you get to hand-feed the giraffes. And if that doesn't do it for you, then I don't know if we can be friends, cuz hand-feeding giraffes is awesome.

This zoo is also in possession of what I'm certain is the world's fastest carousel. After watching it spin around at what looked to me like a terrifying pace, we decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. Andy had some trouble catching us on camera as we went whizzing by, but I think you can get a pretty good idea what Ava thought of the whole thing from this shot.

She turned to me halfway through the ride and, smiling ear to ear, yelled, "This fun!"

To top the whole experience off, she got to pet a goat, and look into the eyes of a bear with only a sheet of glass between them. Wildlife, up close. We will be going back.

4th of July
4th of July weekend at Joel and Kristen's was, once again, fabulous. Time on the lake, long walks, good food, sweet kids, and the comforting feeling that comes with knowing that everyone in the room loves your baby almost as much as you do.

Joel even managed to talk us into taking Ava on the floating loveseat that he pulls behind his boat and confusingly refers to as "the tube". Check out the Murphy's blog for some pictures of all of us trying it out. And yup, that's Ava falling asleep.
http://lisaandryanmurphy.blogspot.com/

Thanks, Joel and Kristen! We can't wait for next year!

There's more to tell, but I need some sleep; Ava's birthday party is coming up!

So Happy Together...

2011-07-20T19:00:00.005-06:00

I hope you can hear the title song playing in your head while you're grinning at these pictures. And don't try to tell me these don't make you smile...

I gotta figure out how to add music to this blog.

A Brilliant (yet slightly shortsighted) Plan

2011-07-19T21:38:00.000-06:00

I got the idea from a picture in another blog I follow: Kid not interested in going to the grocery store? Make them feel included; like they're part of the process. Let them "shop" alongside you. How much fun is that?! So this morning I packed Ava's little plastic grocery cart into the car and headed for Target.

She was in heaven. She pushed her cart along behind me, smiling and waving at the other shoppers, only occasionally getting distracted enough by something to try taking off on her own. And I felt like a genius. Which, as I'm sure you've picked up on from reading this blog, was bound to be short lived.

Check out her right hand. She refused to relinquish the car keys. Drove that cart with one hand the whole time.

What I neglected to take into account was the fact that - even under the most entertaining of circumstances - toddlers have the attention span of a wooden spoon. It wasn't long before the cart had been abandoned, and our usual game of Cat and Sparkly-Shoed Mouse was in full swing. I never win this game.

After I finally caught up with her - and with far fewer tantrums than usual - she agreed to ride in my cart and keep track of the grocery list for me.

Yup, that's her cart in the back of mine. I was really glad it fit.

We will be attempting this again - if only because my kid looks really cute pushing a tiny plastic grocery cart.

Irish Skies are Rainin'

2011-07-17T22:04:00.001-06:00

Once again this year we packed up and headed to the local Irish festival to celebrate part of Ava's heritage. Marianne was in town, so with the sun shining we arrived at the gates with high hopes for the evening: good food, a few cocktails, and watching Ava shake her groove thing to some fabulous Irish tunes. The perfect night.

And then came the rain. Buckets of it. But never one to let a little thing like weather get in the way of a good time, Ava rose to the occasion and made the best of a wet situation.

She talked Marianne into a little game of airplane.

Marveled at the music...

Found the best splash-puddle this side of Rocky Mountains...

And showed these nice folks a thing or two about dancing in the rain.

By the time we left she was soaked from head to toe, and completely exhausted. Not at all what had we planned, but still, the perfect night.

So from Ava and all of her Irish friends, old and new:
Bless your little Irish heart and every other Irish part.

G'night.

Yum!

2011-07-10T21:41:00.002-06:00

Ok, so once again I'm way behind and have a million things to catch you up on. And I'll get to all that I promise, but for today, I just want to show you this...

Little Mama got her chef on tonight and made some rice krispie treats. And after eating half a pan of them, Marianne and I are here to tell you that they are freakin' delicious. The girl definitely has some skills.

She took the marshmallows out of the package, and measured out the rice krispies...

Did some stirrin'...

And patted the krispies into the pan.

And in the process, tasted her very first marshmallow. Let's just say, she's a fan.

Such a fan in fact, that she never actually agreed to eat the finished product. She happily sucked on this one marshmallow for half an hour until I finally had to scrape the remnants off her hands and face so I could brush her teeth and put her to bed.

If you're nice to her, maybe she'll make you a batch on your next visit. If I don't eat them all first...

A New Frontier

2011-06-30T21:11:00.000-06:00

Our Girl is a brave one. Swings? The higher the better. Carnival rides? No fear. Big dogs at the park? She'd hop on them for a ride if they'd let her. But the one thing that has inexplicably always freaked her out is - are you ready for this? - grass. Yup, grass. The yard has always acted as a kind of invisible fence for Baby, effectively keeping her on the porch better than any play pen ever could. Andy has made it his life's mission to change this, and finally a few days ago...

She ran back and forth chasing the dog for a solid 15 minutes. Victory! Now maybe we'll work on her fear of fruit.

(Do your best to focus on the joy in her eyes, and not her mismatched pajamas. Laundry day.)

$10 bills are magical.

2011-06-10T12:46:00.003-06:00

Not only can they provide water park-like fun right in your own back yard (see below), but they can help snag a rocking horse at a garage sale that moves its tail, shakes its head, and makes spot-on horse noises. Score 1 for Mommy and the Magical $10 bill!!

Luck Be a (little) Lady

2011-06-09T20:56:00.010-06:00

Ava's life is pretty cool. Scratch that - it's awesome. Let me give you a taste of what my lucky little lady has been up to over the last couple of weeks. Get comfortable, cuz she's been pretty busy...

Love came all the way from Iowa.

Grandma Pat and Hoppa spent a long weekend with us and Ava was determined to show them a good time. She took them to the zoo and bought them some ice cream...

Showed them how much fun the botanic gardens can be....

She even let Grandma play with her doll houses and showed Hoppa how cute she is when she swings.

I'd say she made a pretty good case for a repeat visit!

Thanks so much for coming, guys! We loved every minute of having you here!

Heritage Square
Snuggled into the foothills not far from our house is a tiny little amusement park that's just Ava's size. She had a blast, and watching Andy try to fold himself into the world's smallest ride was worth the price of the tickets.

See what I mean? Funny.

Check out Andy's hand. Ava was determined to sit on the horse by herself and wouldn't let Andy touch her. Such a brave girl.

Got the bounce house all to ourselves. Talk about lucky!

She "won" these silly bracelets. They were so big on her that she had to hold her
arm like this the whole time.

We will definitely be making a trip back there soon.

Party Time!
Ava's bud Brady turned 2 last week, so the kids hit the splash park to party like it was 2009. Ava had such a good time I was ready to move just to be near this place. I wonder if Hoppa and Grandpa Mac could build one of these in our backyard? What do you say, fellas?

After the sugar buzz from all the cake started to wear off, we put the kiddos in dry clothes and moved the party to Brady's house. Ava gave him a tee-ball set, which proved to be the perfect way to fill the rest of the afternoon. The all enjoyed it so much, I plan to give one to every kid I know under the age of 4. Ava preferred the role of spectator.

"Um, Dude, I'm not sure you're doin that right..."

2 cups and a $10 plastic pool
What more does a kid need?

She spent an hour filling up these cups and dumping them out. Wish I was this easy to entertain.

There's so much more to tell, of friends, and parties, and days full of fun, but I'm beat so it'll have to wait until the next post. Take care, all!

The Grocery Store Blues

2011-05-30T21:54:00.001-06:00

Ava hates sitting in a shopping cart. Apparently, its the equivalent of forcing me to sit through a televised football game without a magazine, or access to the internet. Pure torture. The minute I attempt to swing her feet into the little holes where her legs should go, an epic tantrum begins, and the screaming only subsides if I can quickly locate the one item in the store entertaining enough to distract her from her misery. I've gotten pretty good at not only finding said item, but at stealthily swiping it from her while she flirts with the checkout attendant. I walk out thinking, "Voila! Another job well done."

And just when my arm starts to get sore from all the patting myself on the back, my girl decides to prove to me that I'm not as smart as I think I am. Prior to a recent trip to Wal-Mart, I had yet to choose a distraction that Ava couldn't live without. Enter, the Talking Baby Doll. It cooed, giggled, and "Mama"d its way right into her heart, and my attempt to put Baby back on the shelf was met with heartache I just wasn't prepared for. I caved. The connection was so complete that it was hours before Ava would even let me take New Baby out of the box.

If this keeps up we're going to need a bigger house.

Safety First

Enough said.

Summer in Denver

Summer's here, and that means time outdoors with friends. Ava and Brady recently took advantage of some gorgeous weather and spent a morning at the botanic gardens. Have I said before that I love this town?

They were both soaked from head to toe by the time we left, but what's a dry kid compared to a happy one? No contest.

Grandma and Grandpa Lundstrom were just here for a long weekend, so stay tuned for some fab new pictures and stories. Happy Summer, all!

Dude, stop sitting on me.

2011-05-16T14:28:00.001-06:00

Children always want what the other kid has. This simple, irrefutable fact has sparked many a playground tussle, been the impetus for thousands of swapped lunches, and forced millions of parents to listen to an endless barrage of "please, please, pleeeeeeease!!!" in toy stores all over the world. Toddlers, I am now discovering, are no exception to this rule. They swipe each other's toys (and whack each other over the head with them, if you're not quick enough to stop them), steal food right out of the mouth of the unsuspecting tot next to them, or - in the case of Ollie and Ava - refuse to find a place to sit that the other one isn't already in.

I love that fact that he's just decided to sit on top of her in this one.
What's really funny is that she doesn't seem to care.

And people wonder why I never leave the house without a camera.

It's a Grandma thing.

2011-05-15T21:07:00.002-06:00

Grandmas love their grandbabies. There's something about the opportunity to get the good cuddles, buy the pretty clothes, play all the super-fun games, and not have to worry about paying for college that makes being a grandma an experience worth waiting for. And boy is my mom living it up. She was here a couple of weeks ago, and here's just a taste of what she and Ava were up to...

Ava picked Grandma up from the airport and filled her in on all the fun to come.

They spent some time at the botanic gardens...

Did some swingin'...

Had a ball clowning around, and decorating Easter eggs...

And even managed to talk the Easter Bunny into showing up with the basket goodies a day early so Grandma could enjoy the festivities. Cuz Grandmas just have those kinds of connections.

Canvas and Cocktails

I have no artistic talent. So when I heard about a place that would serve up wine and blast top 40 tunes while walking even a novice like me through a canvas painting, I was all over it. I managed to talk Grandma into handing Ava over to Andy for the evening, and we headed out to Canvas and Cocktails for a girl's night out. It was a blast, and an experience I fully intend to repeat.

Mom named these "Blobby Flowers on Sticks"

We hated to see her leave, but eventually - with the promise that she'd return soon - Grandma did have to head home. Fortunately, until we see her again we have a funky painting hanging in the bathroom, and a closet full of new clothes for Ava to remember her by. We love you, Grandma!! Can't wait to see you again!

Vintage Ava

2011-05-02T20:40:00.000-06:00

This video was never posted, but I can't deny you the opportunity to see it any longer. Cuz it just makes me smile. Andy was doing some ab exercises and started counting in a funny voice to make Ava laugh. It worked. Enjoy.

The Joy of Cooking

2011-04-11T21:34:00.003-06:00

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

2011-04-04T21:47:00.002-06:00

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!

Look out, Julia Roberts; here comes Ava!

2011-03-19T13:21:00.001-06:00

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.

2011-03-13T20:54:00.002-06:00

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

2011-03-11T21:24:00.000-07:00

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!

Chillaxin' with Daddy

2011-02-27T19:10:00.002-07:00

I don't have anything clever to say about this picture, I just wanted to make sure you got to see it. Cuz it's really freakin' cute. Enjoy.

Toddler Wisdom

2011-02-25T15:03:00.004-07:00

Ava has taught me a few facts about life that I didn’t know; I thought I’d pass them along in case you’re as clueless as I was:

No toy is interesting until it has been put away.
Food is more delicious when taken from the person who was about to eat it.
Good books should be read a minimum of 3 times in a row. Really good books, at least 6.
There is never a bad time to dance. If the music moves you (even if it’s playing over the sound system at Home Depot), go for it.
Getting paint on your fingers is gross; picking your nose is not.
Potties are where you keep your valuables.

So go throw your watch in the toilet, swipe somebody’s chips, and dance to whatever moves you. The smile on Ava’s face tells me that life is better that way.

"Tumble Tots" Rocks!

2011-02-24T21:08:00.000-07:00

Ava and Ollie started tumbling class today, and what a fabulous room full of adorable chaos it was. Ava was in heaven from the second she toddled through the door; she was almost impossible to keep up with the entire 45 minutes we were there. She spent the first 5 minutes pushing these giant balls around the room. I have no idea why this was fun, but since I'm the kind of person that actually enjoys cleaning, I certainly have no room to judge.

(I thought she was going to rumble with that kid that came out of nowhere and hit her with the lawnmower.)

The kiddos were all 3 yrs and under, so the teacher was kind enough to tell all the parents that it was ok if your kid ran amok like an wild animal during the structured parts of class. (Ok, so I might be paraphrasing a little.) I was grateful for that concession, because this was my little darling during "circle time".

Fortunately for our rebel-baby, most of the class was free time, allowing the kids to climb, play, and explore without any of us pesky grown-ups getting in the way.

The class wrapped up with a little parachute time (it's not a metaphor; there actually was a parachute) and some songs.

It was the kind of morning that makes everybody smile. Hope you had one of those this week.

You must've been a beautiful baby.

2011-02-20T21:46:00.002-07:00

Ava is a Girl. And yes, I realize this has become a recurring theme in this blog. It has also become a recurring theme in our house. With each passing day it becomes more and more apparent that we are not dealing with a tomboy here. She's spends her days nurturing her dolls and stuffed animals with kisses and cuddles, "talks" on anything that even remotely resembles a phone, and now turns anything shiny into jewelry. If it fits on her wrist it's a bracelet; if she can get it over her head, she's found a new necklace; and if I happen to leave my earrings laying around, she does her best to stuff them in her ears. It's just who she is. And it's damn cute.

Yesterday she decided to style her hair with the help of some Sesame Street stickers.

(But just to prove that she is, in fact, my baby, she also loves her books. Gorgeous AND brilliant. Mama is proud.)

And to further illustrate my point, I'll tell you again that Ava loves to talk. In full sentences, no less. Now, we don't yet understand all of what she has to say, but that doesn't stop her. As long as each of her declarations is met with a heartfelt, "Oh really??", she is happy. The only person that seems to understand her every word is Ollie.

He listens attentively, and even laughs at intervals. They seem to have a language all their own. Thanks to Lisa for this picture; have you ever seen anything sweeter?

Tumbling lessons start this week, so much more fun to come!

This post has aboslutely no common thread.

2011-02-17T13:42:00.002-07:00

So don't look for one. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the random pictures and meandering thoughts.

Want to see what happy looks like?

That is the face of a child in total bliss at the opportunity to spend the afternoon at the children's museum. It would have been the perfect outing if Ava hadn't insisted on playing within 2 feet of a child who had clearly pooped his pants, and whose parents had (I hope) not yet noticed that fact. I was pretty pleased when he left.

Ava developed a bit of a crush on this (pleasant smelling) little fellow, and thrilled him to no end when she threw her arms around him for a hug. I think Andy and I are in big trouble when the teen years come along. How do you think she'll feel about an all-girls school?

Ava, live at the Denver Zoo

Sunday was gorgeous here, so we packed up the family and headed straight to the zoo. The animals were active, and Ava had a ball chasing the free-ranging geese, but as always, the height of fun was had on the carousel. It never fails to make her - well, all of us really - smile.

How much do you think art school is going to cost?

Art projects have become a favorite pastime for Ava and Ollie. In keeping with this new hobby, the kids made Valentine's Day cards for their dads.

Pure genius.

We might need to work a little harder on sharing.
Ollie made the mistake of trying on Ava's necklaces when he was here for a visit. Ava made it very clear that this would not be tolerated.

Ava tries to prove that she's the Alpha Baby

That second picture says it all; Ollie looks devastated, and Ava couldn't be happier about how the whole thing turned out.

Sorry, Ollie. If it helps, she takes stuff from me too.

Happy Thursday!

You only think you know what you're doing.

2011-02-08T16:31:00.003-07:00

Is laundry confusing to you? Do you sometimes wonder why your clothes don’t look quite as perfect when you put them on as they could? Well I have recently learned some valuable tips from Ava that she has given me permission to pass on to you. You might want to take notes…
First, make sure your laundry sorter is in the right place. Mine clearly was not, so Ava moved it for me.

Next, remove all items from their respective baskets and throw them into one big pile on the floor. Sorting is for losers.

Once your clothes are clean, you might think that you should fold them and put them away, but you’d be wrong. Now this next step is crucial, so pay attention. You need to climb into your laundry basket and stand (or sit; your choice) on your clothes, then bundle them up in your arms and squeeze. You must then throw them, one piece at a time, onto the floor. You may now proceed to folding.

Trust me, follow this advice and you’ll look fabulous in those clothes. Especially if you have some place important to go.

Now relax. Laundry is hard work!

Lightening in a bottle...

2011-02-04T12:42:00.005-07:00

Ever managed to get 3 small children to sit still and listen to a story? Not only did Lisa and I do it, but we were quick enough to get the evidence on camera. We rule.

How sweet are those babies?

A Day in the Life (cont.)

2011-01-30T15:49:00.007-07:00

Ava loves to be in the kitchen with me. I'm so looking forward to the day (in the not-so-distant future, I hope) that she'll be able to help me measure flour, and tear fresh basil, but in the meantime she's content to sit on the floor playing with the tupperware while I cook. She opens the cabinet, pulls out everything within arm's reach, and has recently decided that plastic bowls make fabulous hats. The funniest part is watching her try on various sizes until she settles on her favorite, then parades around the house in that day's winner.

Sometimes she even brings me one to wear.

Food is still a bit of a battle with Ava, so I'm always on the lookout for anything that she'll eat. I'd love to feed her mountains of organic fruits and veggies, with a healthy side of brown rice. But since she'd rather starve to death than eat any of that, I'm reduced to serving up daily plates of macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, and waffles. (Not together, of course.) But every now and again my girl will surprise me. She likes to eat guacamole with a spoon (but not avocado. Go figure.), and yesterday shocked me by repeatedly digging into a bowl of hummus, mumbling a heartfelt, "yummm" with each messy bite. I love that she always keeps me guessing.

Ava was invited to a birthday party recently, and in the gift bag was a sheet of Tinkerbelle stickers. I didn't think much about them until I ran across them in a drawer a couple of days ago, and to her delight started pulling them off the backing one by one the sticking them to her legs and arms. They were soon plastered all over the living room and, figuring I'd just deal with them after bed time, called Grandma Sally on skype to chat. As toddlers do, Ava soon tired of talking and scooted off to play. I looked up to see this...

Andy says this looks like a mug shot. I just think it's hilarious.

Have a great week!

Ava-nt Garde

2011-01-25T13:04:00.007-07:00

Avant-garde: [1] The adjective form is used in English, to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics.

-Wikipedia

Now people, I ask you, what could possibly be more innovative than this...

I'll pause for a moment to allow you to marvel at the brilliance.

Are you done marveling? Great. Now I'm going to let you in on a little secret: art projects with toddlers are intimidating. When Lisa and I strapped Ollie and Ava into their chairs and handed them brushes, we had no idea what to expect. Baths at the very least; repainting the walls if things got really out of hand. (Oh, and before you decide that I've clearly lost my mind, we didn't actually give the kids paint. It's corn syrup and food coloring.) But, since fear never got anyone anwhere, we threw tarps over everything within a 3 foot radius of the kids, dressed them in old t-shirts, and forged bravely ahead. And - who would have guessed - it was a complete success.

Check out that razor-like focus. Dare I say we have a future Frida Kahlo in our midst? (Hopefully without that weird eyebrow thing. Don't know what I'm talking about? Look it up. Scary.)

Let the bidding wars begin!

A Day in the Life

2011-01-19T21:12:00.010-07:00

You know how it is: the holidays are over, family has gone home, and meals no longer consist of 5,000 calories worth of stuffing and pie. Life goes back to normal. And normal for us looks something like this...

Our daughter - minus pants, as always - jumping on the couch, hair standing on end, gleefully wielding the drink she swiped from me a moment before. Normal.

With the new year we have also discovered a new favorite pastime. The Denver Children's Museum is a colorful, educational mecca disguised as a room full of tree houses, playhouses, games, puzzles, and even a "garden" where kids can plant pretend veggies. Ava loves every minute of it, and I can't think of a better way for kids to spend an afternoon.

Fabulous.

An another note, have any of you parents ever wished there was some children's music in existence that didn't make you want to fling yourself into traffic? (Sorry, Wiggles. You're annoying.) If so, I have two words for you: Philadelphia Chickens. Google it and take a listen. You won't be sorry. Sung by the likes of Meryl Streep and Eric Stolz, it's fun, snappy, and will have you dancing and singing along right away. No valium required. Oh, and the kids will love it too.

Happy Thursday!

Home for the Holidays

2011-01-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

I promised pictures of Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa's and - late as always - here they are. I'm nothing if not consistent.

I love Christmas in Iowa. Ava getting loved on by family and playing with her cousins, while Pat's famous Christmas cookies bake temptingly in the background. The sea of presents covering the living room, making you wonder how in the world you're ever going to get your family's share home. It reminds of when I was a kid, and I'm so thrilled that Ava will grow up with this to look forward to.

Ava baked with Grandma, cuddled with Grandpa (and Aunt Kristen, and Aunt Lisa...), opened a million fabulous gifts (OMG, a doll house, AND an American Girl doll?!?! Heaven!), and rocked the fab matching jammies Aunt Kristen bought for all the kiddos. We even managed to get all the grandkids to a portrait studio for pictures. (Which, by the way, was the funniest thing I've ever seen. Every time we'd get one kid sitting still and smiling, the other three would take off running in opposite directions. We had 7 adults running interference and still had a hard time catching them. Good times.)

And now I'm craving those cookies.

Thanks for a great time, everyone! Can't wait til next year!

Twas 4 days before Christmas...

2010-12-31T21:05:00.000-07:00

And in the midst of our 'hood,
Was a sweet little girl
Who was sure she'd been good.

Now Santa'd been watching
And with her did agree,
So he brought the toys early
And placed them next to the tree.

She played with each gift -
A turn for every toy.
It was lovely to watch her,
Filled with sweet Christmas joy.

So Santa we thank you,
You're a heck of a guy;
And maybe next time we see you,
Dear Ava won't cry.

Stay tuned for more holiday pics from Grandma and Grandpa's house!

Yay...a bad hair day!!

2010-12-19T09:52:00.004-07:00

It's official - our daughter finally has enough hair for it to be a mess!! This is so exciting! I would blog more, but I have to run out and buy some bows now. Hair, I mean, have a good day!

Say hello to Ava's little friend.

2010-12-15T22:24:00.000-07:00

The teensy little bathing beauty here in the tub with Ava is Peyton, the daughter of our dear old friends the Laakso's. No matter how many times I look at this picture, it never fails to make me laugh; not only is Ava twice Peyton's size, but the look on her face makes you wonder if she's plotting something. Or just peed in the water.

Peyton's mom and I grew up together, and even though they live far apart, it looks like our babies will also grow up as friends. Well, "friends" may be overstating things a bit if Ava doesn't stop stealing Peyton's toys, but at the very least they'll be forced to spend a lot of vacations together.

Brandy, Peyton and I were joined last week by two other fabulous ladies (also known as the rest of my wedding party) - Marianne and Lauren - and the visit was as it always is: relaxing, wine-soaked, banter filled, and comfortably familiar. Perfect.

A few highlights from Girl's Week:

The babies had a blast at the park...

Peyton taunted the dog with her breakfast...

And I dared to actually hire a babysitter so I could have a night out with my (grown up) girls...

Cheers to friends old and new. Ava and I love you.

Holidays are awesome! Tummy troubles stink.

2010-11-30T20:00:00.002-07:00

Our girl is under the weather. We've had our flu shots, and the first colds of the season have come and gone, so I thought we were out of the woods for a while when, out of nowhere, a stomach bug showed up and bit us. Unfortunately, Ava got the worst of it. Poor bunny. Don't you just want to kiss those little cheeks?

On a happier note, Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mac were here to visit for Thanksgiving, and once again, I was afraid Ava was going to try to leave with them. She spent the long weekend being smothered in kisses, cuddled, read to, and unabashedly adored. And being a little sick didn't stop her from enjoying every minute of it. So cute.

As a treat for the whole family, we made an attempt to visit Santa. Being the naive mom that I am, I had visions of my daughter happily rushing up to meet the big guy, smiling widely for the cameras, as Andy and I looked on, proud grins on our faces. What actually happened was, well, the complete opposite of that. She took one look at the bearded offender, and screamed like we had just introduced her to one of those creepy flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz. Putting her in his lap turned out to be a big mistake, and we left without a single picture. I'm pretty sure we did however, set Ava up for a few hours of therapy at some point in the future. We came home and took a few pictures in her rocking chair instead.

Please don't send anything Santa-related to Ava for Christmas. I'd hate to trigger flashbacks.

Happy Holidays!

I'm sick, not lazy.

2010-11-09T19:19:00.019-07:00

I've been catching a little (loving) flak lately about the length of time since my last post. But in my (slightly lame) defense, it's been Sick City around here for the last couple of weeks. Andy and Ava just got over colds that seemed to hang on with a vengeance I wouldn't have previously attributed to something that isn't human, and I'm currently down with bronchitis. So rather than leave you Ava-less for yet another week, I'm offering up my version of the Reader's Digest post: short and sweet.

No whining; at least there's pictures.

Ava did Halloween up right. First she hit the zoo for the annual Boo at the Zoo festivities. Here she is in her Piggy costume explaining the elephants to her dad...

Then she had her buds Ollie and Brady over for a little Trick-or-Treat shindig.

And spent last Saturday gettin' crazy at Monkey Bizness for her friends' Emma and Kelsey's 4th birthay. Happy Birthday, sweet girls! We love you!

We're trying to get as much use as we can out of the swing set before Jack Frost renders it too chilly for little tushies...

And our Little Lady is still putting in lots of practice feeding herself. She's going a great job, but so far we still have to avoid anything involving sauces when we're not near a bathtub.

Ava's showing the first signs of wanting to dress herself. I don't have any pictures yet, but let's see if I can paint one for you: the socks wind up laying over her ankle, and the shirt rests nicely on top of her head. She has absolutely no use for pants.

Not perfect, but you have to admire the effort.

More soon, I promise!

Something Not-At-All Wicked This Way Comes

2010-10-23T20:39:00.012-06:00

In case you've been living in a deep, dark hole and missed it: Halloween is almost here!! So, as all good parents would, Andy and I spent the day doing our best to prepare for this holiday in a way that's appropriate for a 15-month old. Basically, this means completely avoiding anything that could be remotely construed as scary.

The first thing we needed was a pumpkin to carve a cute face into, so off to the plant nursery/pumpkin patch we went.

As luck would have it, some future costume ideas for Ava presented themselves...

Those were pretty cute, but I think this one is my favorite...

We moved on from the pumpkin patch and headed to Target where we picked up all the plates, napkins, and shiny decorations we could find that were guaranteed NOT to scare the pants off anybody.

Our final challenge for the day was to take our giant pumpkin and carve it into a character worthy of a Saturday morning cartoon. It was hard work, but I think you'll agree we accomplished our goal; by the time we were done I just wanted to give the thing a hug.

Happy (almost) Halloween, everybody. Boo!!!

There's nothin' better than a house full of babies.

2010-10-21T19:31:00.001-06:00

I love organized racing events. The air is filled with anticipation, the spirit of friendly competition, and the heady, thrilling feeling that comes with completing a task that most would find impossible. And if you're lucky, some really cool people will travel half way across the country to take part in one of your local races, and hang out in your house for the weekend. And if you're super-lucky, they'll bring some cute babies with them.

Last weekend the Denver Rock 'N Roll Marathon brought us the cool people and the babies. Our thanks to Lisa, Ryan, and Braydon, and their friends (and now ours) Sarah, Corey, and little Reid for letting us hang with them for the weekend. Let's do it again some time!

While everyone was here we enjoyed a trip to the mountains...

(The precious little pumpkin on the left up there is Reid; the handsome guy in the middle is, of course, Braydon; and the gorgeous grin on the right belongs to Ava. I love this picture.)

We dressed up in Iowa gear to support everyone's favorite team. Braydon kept a really close eye on the game for us in case we missed anything; and yes, that's Ava sitting in the dog's bed again...

Oh, and Andy, Lisa, and Sarah ran 26.2 miles. :) Congratulations, gang! You're awesome!

And in case you missed my texts, emails, carrier pigeons, or the skywriting, Ava has officially started walking!! For the last couple of days it's just been 3 or 4 cautious little steps directly into the arms of a waiting parent. But today our brilliant girl stood up, knitted her little brow into a look of sheer determination, and toddled an impressive dozen steps to her high chair.

That girl does everything in her own time, and I can't help but love her for it.

Little Mama

2010-10-12T21:03:00.008-06:00

Ava is a girl. No, I have not suffered a recent blow to the head that required a reminder of my child's gender, nor do I assume that you have. So in an attempt to clarify the reason for my seemingly obvious declaration, allow me to write that sentence again: Ava is a Girl. With a capital G.

I think my favorite manifestation of this fact right now is her relationship with Dolly. You see, I noticed from the time Ava was tiny that she had an attraction to any toy with a face. So last week I took her to Toys R Us so she could help me pick out a proper baby doll. As we wandered from isle to isle, checking out what each baby had to offer, Ava reached her little arms out to every one, handling the ones I gave her with a awe I didn't think was possible at 14 months.

Now, I don't know how many of you have shopped for baby dolls recently, but I gotta tell you it's a bit daunting. Actually, the word I'm looking for is "scary". They don't just sit there any more, looking sweet and occasionally opening and closing their sleepy little eyes; they jump at you, playing peek-a-boo with blankets held in their stiff, unnatural arms, or literally begging you to pick them up in voices that must have been recorded for a Stephen King film. In the end I was able to avoid anything that was bound to give me nightmares, and we went home with an adorable, blue-eyed baby that will never move on her own - I hope. And Ava loves her. She holds her and pats her little back, muttering "awwwww....." as she rocks Dolly back and forth.

And I watch my Little Mama with a tear in my eye. I can't wait to see what my Girl has in store for us next.

Dance like nobody's watching

2010-10-10T20:14:00.009-06:00

I love that piece of advice, and Ava seems to have taken it straight to heart. She's crazy for music, and anything with a beat sets her little body in motion. Andy and I have been attempting for weeks to get it on film, but up until now that coveted piece of video has been reminiscent of Big Bird's pal Snuffleupagus - everyone but us was pretty sure it was only in our imaginations. The quality isn’t great, and once Ava figured out we had a camera pointed at her she was more interested in playing with that than dancing, but the proof is irrefutable; in her heart, Ava is a dancer.

These particular performances are courtesy of Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. Enjoy!

20,000 Leagues Under Denver

2010-10-02T19:38:00.007-06:00

Ever had the desire to shell out a whole bunch of money just to walk around a crowded building and look at fish? Well, us either, but Ava's recent fascination with them resulted in us driving downtown to The Aquarium (the capitalization is no accident - that's actually the name of the place) to do exactly that. And yes, it was well worth it just to watch her face.

She marveled at every tank, pointing and repeating the "Oooohhhh!" she kept hearing from the people all around her. Which was cute. Just freakin' cute.

She wasn't sure what to make of the weird, animatronic gorilla in the "rainforest", but frankly, neither were we.

And the skeptic in me was told - just for today - to shut the heck up and enjoy herself. 'Cuz sometimes, she's just wrong.

Being this fabulous is a full-time gig.

2010-09-28T19:54:00.002-06:00

Do you ever stop to wonder how much work it must be to be Ava? Constantly being so adorable that it keeps the grandparents, aunts, and uncles coming back over and over again, and ensures the really good gifts on all major and minor holidays? Picking just the right moment to do something precious, pausing for dramatic effect, then laughing and clapping until everyone joins in? Never missing a chance to wave "Hi" or "Bye Bye", even when no one's going anywhere? I mean, those dance moves alone have to be exhausting. But thanks to all of you out there that adore her, I can see in her eyes that it's all worth it.

Anyone out there disappointed in her efforts? Grandma and Grandpa Rankin sure weren't. They stopped in to stay with us on the way home to Florida, and Ava pushed the Cute pedal all the way to the floor. She gamely posed for pictures...

and showed off pushing her walker around - without falling - like it was no big deal.

Of course, it didn't hurt that the grandparents were passing out smiles and hugs like they were candy at Halloween. :)

Since I'm a little behind on posting, and I have a few items to report, I'll add a few mini posts at the bottom here for your viewing pleasure...

Nemo has been found
His big, bright-orange tushy was recently found floating in our toilet. On top of Ava's blankie. In my rush to remove a proudly smiling Ava from the scene and rescue the victim's of her favorite new game, I didn't manage to get any pictures of the crime in question, but I can assure you that both blankie and Nemo survived, and after a (very hot) date with the washing machine, are both as good as new.

This seems like a bit of a step backwards.
It took some time, but Andy and I had reached a point where we no longer had to hose off the high chair every time Ava had a meal. But since she no longer has any intention of letting us feed her, it was time to hand over the spoon. I think the video speaks for itself.

It took some scrubbing, but I was able to return Ava to her original, squeaky-clean state. Here are the before and after shots to prove it.

I'm starting to understand the animosity.
Mina still isn't quite the fan of Ava that the rest of us have hopelessly become. I think I'm beginning to understand the problem. Guess who's bed Baldilocks is playing in here...

Are you surprised this kid is happy?

What? Is this wrong?

2010-09-18T21:17:00.006-06:00

Up until recently, I don't know that you would have described our girl as particularly adventurous. That's not to say she doesn't love a good thrill when she comes across one, but seeking them out hasn't really been her thing. Now however, she's into everything and Andy and I are struggling to keep up.

To give you a prime example, the stairs were never of much interest to Ava. It was the daily gateway to sweet dreams, and an avenue that Mommy and Daddy occasionally used to temporarily disappear for who-knows-what purpose. Sad, yes, but since we always came back she never seemed to feel the need to give it much thought. Then yesterday I looked over from the bottles I was washing to see this...

Today I glanced over again and found this...

It appears that we are now venturing into an entirely new frontier. So far Andy has talked me out of covering Ava in bubble wrap, but no one said I can't line all the surfaces of the house with it.

Is that wrong?

Old McDonald was crazy.

2010-09-13T20:46:00.001-06:00

I think we can cross "farmer" off Ava's list of potential career choices. Some friends invited us to spend an afternoon at Belleview Park, a fab little family paradise complete with petting zoo and miniature train. We started with the petting zoo, naively thinking Ava would see all the animals as big, fun dogs and enjoy sinking her little hands into their soft coats. Instead she kept a wary distance from the sheep and goat, and practically climbed me trying to get away from the pig. (In her defense, he was kinda gross.) She did however love the train, made a new friend (Hi, Josie!), and discovered the divine treat that is red licorice. All in all, a successful outing.

I'm guessing veterinarian is off the list as well.

Independence has its drawbacks.

2010-09-01T18:49:00.015-06:00

In an effort to foster some of the freedom that comes with toddlerhood - and hopefully get Ava to try eating something that isn't a Cheerio - I decided to attempt a little experiment. I thought that perhaps if Ava had free reign over her food, then it might make it more interesting to eat. So, I warmed up some macaroni and cheese, gave her a spoon, and let her at it. The result? A bath, a clothing change, the taking apart and cleaning of the high chair, and - no surprise here - not a single noodle anywhere near her mouth. But boy did she enjoy herself.

In keeping with the theme of free will, I've also stopped putting Ava into toys that restrict her ability to move around the house as she pleases. No more stationary bouncers for her; its crawling and climbing and rolling around all the live-long day. And she has started using that newfound freedom to help around the house. For example, she recently rearranged the tupperware cabinet...

And reorganized the diaper bag...

I don't know what I'd do without her.

If you're thinking of hiring her for some projects in your house, forget it. Her hourly rate is outrageous.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby!

2010-08-16T20:17:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since our lovely little angel was born. And what a fabulous celebration we had, surrounded by the love and laughter of friends and family. I know I've said this so many times before, but our Ava is one lucky girl. The smile on her face says that she knows it too.

The tutu and sash say that her mom got a little carried away at the mall. But you have to admit that she looks adorably fancy.

Despite missing a nap and being a little over-tired, Ava managed to pass out smiles to all the revelers, and was the perfect birthday trooper as she was handed (and kissed, and hugged) from person to person.

And then it was time for.....the cake. I'd been anticipating this moment for months, and admit I was skeptical at best. I expected her to poke at it a little, maybe give the frosting a taste, then stare at me until I replaced the offending thing with a pile of Cheerios. I put the strawberry confection in front of her, lit the candle, and joined in on a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday". After the candle was out, I put a little frosting on her lips, and waited. And boy was it worth the wait. She went after it with a gusto I was unaware she was capable of. Mama was proud.

And of course, what would a birthday party be without gifts? And what a haul it was! A brand new pink and purple tricycle, and a state-of-the-art two-seater wagon complete with canopy...

...puzzles, stuffed animals, and a set of musical instruments that turned Ava and her cousins into a rock n' roll sensation. I know you're dying for a copy of their first album, but we're still shopping around for the right record deal. We'll keep you posted.

It was the perfect way to celebrate the first year of our beautiful baby's life. Thanks so much to all of you who came and shared Ava's day with her. And to those who couldn't be here, you were sorely missed. We love you all.

In my next life, I want to be Ava

2010-07-30T19:00:00.005-06:00

My life is pretty darn good, but hers is positively fabulous. She spends her days playing on her swing set, splashing in the local pool, and since I never met a toy I didn't like, she has an endless array of colorful diversions that sing, light up, and giggle. Our house is a paradise for the under-2 set, and when we're not at home, things like carousels are eagerly sought out by parents that are still young at heart...

To further make my point, Ava and Ollie recently spent a day at the baby nirvana known as Monkey Bizness. For the older kids, there are rope swings, giant lakes made of balls, and gauntlets worthy of a Richard Gere movie. For the little ones, it's a giant walled-in section full of age appropriate, and soft climb-worthy items that thrilled the target audience. We will be going back. Repeatedly.

One of the faves turned out to be this seemingly boring little 4-key piano. Ava crawled over and made like Beethoven, while Ollie lurked in the background, planning his takeover. It wasn't long before he pounced.

Eventually, they made beautiful music together.

Ava had a blast riding the little foam animals and twirling the knobs and buttons on whatever this big thing is.

She also spent the week getting love from Aunt Marianne.

Ava is starting to really get into eating "people food" so we're offering her everything that looks soft enough for her to tear apart with her three little teeth. The only problem is, she seems to be the world's youngest Junk Food Junky. Here's a perfect example: In this photo we've given her the choice of a cucumber, a whole-grain fruit bar, and a french fry. Guess which one she chose.

She's also shown an affinity for ice cream.

Officially, I'm horrified. Unofficially, it kind of makes me giggle.

Happy Friday.

And....she's off!!

2010-07-18T16:59:00.009-06:00

The moment you've all been waiting for is finally here! Ok, so maybe that's overstating things a bit, but we're pretty darn excited around here. After months of demonstrating, cajoling, and attempting to entice her with absolutely anything she might find remotely appealing (see the picture below of a toy pile I created and placed just out of reach), Ava has finally decided it was time for her to be on the move. She's not setting any land-speed records yet, and she's really only interested in using it to get to whatever she has her eye on, but the bottom line is that she's crawling, and we're so proud of her. Let the baby-proofing begin!

I knew you wouldn't believe me without proof, so here is a short video for your viewing pleasure. I assure you, no stunt babies were used in the making of this film. Enjoy.

Ye Olde Irish Ava

2010-07-11T16:03:00.008-06:00

Ava decided that our little family needed to attend the local Irish Festival on Friday night to celebrate her heritage. And who were we to argue with such an important cultural experience? I mean, what kid shouldn't spend a Friday night listening to bagpipes and eating funnel cake? So, off we went.

She was a little confounded by the giant turkey legs, but quickly got over it and ate hers like a champ. (Ok, so I made that up. Sue me.)

Then had one too many Jameson's and passed out in her stroller. Kid can't hold her liquor.

(Just kidding, of course. It was Andy. But none of the pictures of him passed out in the stroller were any good.)

Our hot water heater has been broken for the last several days, so Andy and I have been taking our showers at the gym. But since Ava is the only one that fits in the sink (I know, I've tried.) and I can heat up just enough water on the stove for a teeny tiny bath, she gets to clean up without the need for shower shoes. I'm a little jealous. And she, of course, is happy no matter what she's doing.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Babe in Toyland

2010-07-01T21:30:00.007-06:00

Do you ever sit around and think to yourself, "If only I had more stuff..."? Ava doesn't. You get bonus points if you can find her.

Spoiled and happy. I can't think of a better life for a kid, can you?

I have a brilliant new idea for the punishment of violent criminals: force them to sit around all day and blow up baby pools with the world's smallest bicycle pump. Repeat offenders will be a thing of the past. Here is a picture of the pool we ordered from Pottery Barn. It took over two months to show up, an hour to blow up both pieces - the tail is blown up separately, in case you were wondering - and the length of one of Ava's naps to figure out that the stupid thing has a hole in it. This whale will be swimming back where it came from, and we will be having our pool time fun at the Grant Ranch club house. So there.

We had a big family play-date a couple of weeks ago to get the summer started off right. There was swimming, swinging, food, and beer, and a good time was had by all. Here are some pics of the festivities. I'm not sure why Ellie is resting on the slide, but since she seemed to catch her second wind afterwards, I assume it was necessary. And yes, that is Ollie climbing into Ava's lap to claim the toy she was playing with. Our girl may need to toughen up a bit if she's going to hang with the boys. :)

Dreams do come true.

2010-06-16T16:29:00.006-06:00

From the first time I laid eyes on this house, I had a dream: a backyard with a swing set, and a baby to play on it. (Well, baby first, then swing set. I'm also pretty sure that my dream featured a lot less dog poop, but whatever.) Today my suburban dream is complete. Here is a picture of my sweet baby playing on her very first swing set, and loving every minute of it. If she could talk I think she'd say, "Life is good."

Sometimes the small victories are the sweetest.

2010-06-12T16:59:00.012-06:00

This is a picture of my daughter happily chewing on a biter biscuit. Now this may seem to some a mundane event, hardly worth blogging about, but to me it's a major hurdle finally overcome. This is the first time she has voluntarily put anything food related into her mouth, and - wait for it, people - she did it multiple times! I was so excited that I ran upstairs to find Andy yelling "You're never going to believe this!", effectively scaring him half to death.

Ava has become an expert Peek-A-Boo player, and finds it endlessly hysterical when one of our faces pops up from behind whatever she's holding in front of it. Today she was helping me reorganize the armoire in our bedroom, and decided that a pair of Andy's boxer shorts would make the perfect Peek-A-Boo prop. This would have been a fine idea, if she hadn't been trying to play it with the dog. Needless to say, it was the shortest - and most boring - game of Peek-A-Boo she's ever played.

Goodnight, Ava fans!

Hi. Come here often?

2010-06-09T20:08:00.002-06:00

I love this picture. Sometimes kids are forced to hang out and be friends whether they like it or not, and such is the fate of Ava and Ollie. So far they really seem to dig each other, and that fact makes for a lot of laughs and some fantastic photo ops. They babble back and forth, touch each other's faces (Or smack each other in the head. Whatever.), and seem generally fascinated with one another. And to illustrate my point, guess whose little feet these are....

It's the summer of baby birthday's, and our friends' sweet little Brady turned one last week. The weather was hot but gorgeous, so we spent most of the party outside. Ava had never actually sat in grass, so we thought we'd give that a try. Turns out grass makes her really mad. Mad enough that we had to pick her up before I could get any pictures. But Ollie stepped in to demonstrate how the whole incident made her feel. Thanks, Ollie.

Baby Girl chose higher elevations for the rest of the evening.

Frankly, the whole thing was exhausting.

G'Night!

Library Chic

2010-06-03T13:55:00.005-06:00

Here, the lovely Ava is wearing the latest in readable fashion. Told you the girl loves her books.

The Beauty of Summer

2010-06-02T20:06:00.013-06:00

I love summer. Always have. Days spent splashing in swimming pools and oceans, warm evenings on the porch with friends and an ice cold beer, and the freedom your toes feel when they're finally allowed to flaunt their pedicures in sandals. Pure bliss. And to my delight it looks like Ava is going to share that love. Walks outside in her stroller (even when I put her in silly, oversized hats) thrill her...

Although I'm pretty sure she's going to be asking to dress herself as soon as she learns to talk. :)

You've already seen how happy swing sets make her...

And her first taste of outdoor swimming was a huge hit. She looked a little suspicious when I first started trying to stuff her into her new floaty, but the minute her feet made it through the leg holes and hit the water, she was hooked. Andy and I spent 20 minutes just pushing her back and forth to each other while she kicked her sweet little legs and giggled. I think we found a new favorite way to spend a Saturday.

Happy Summer, everyone!

Check that smile now, baby!

2010-05-26T20:27:00.012-06:00

The sweet, gummy smile that Ava has spent months charming us all with is about to be a thing of the past. No, she has not suddenly decided to become one of those brooding artist types, sporting a frown and a black onesie. She is however, finally getting some teeth! Ok, so just the one tooth, but experience has led me to believe there will be more. I'll post pictures when the little pearly white gets big enough for its film debut.

I should have suspected we were close to a first tooth since Ava is currently chewing on anything and everything. Toys, books, her sleeve, me. Anything that is, as long as it's not food related. I occasionally try to sneak something into her hand that isn't pureed, and she just closes her mouth and gives me her "I'm not falling for that" face. Here she is lifting up the living room rug so she can stuff her Biter Biscuit under it.

Ava adores being read to, so I picked up a couple new books for her when we were at the mall yesterday. Her current faves have furry animal pictures that she can "pet", and today she seemed to have a particular love connection with a panda bear. She kept leaning in to give him her patented open-mouthed kisses. I tried desperately to get it on film, but she's seems to be a Smooch and Scram kind of gal, so I never was quick enough to catch it. This was snapped just a second too late, but you get the idea.

The love between a baby and her panda bear; don't you wish everything in life was this sweet?

Um, only when we put her down.

2010-05-21T12:44:00.012-06:00

As you may know, I've been training for a triathlon. (And in answer to the question no doubt running through your head right now, yes, I probably am crazy.) I needed a place to swim, so I joined a gym with a terrific child care facility and Ava and I go there a couple of times a week. The title of this post is the answer I got when I asked one of the ladies in the day care if Ava had cried at all while I was swimming. I think our girl may be a tad spoiled. :) I don't have a picture to illustrate this point, so rather than post nothing, here's a random picture of Ava eating my camera case. Which, by the way, is the closest thing to solid food she's shown any interest in.

Ava was invited to her friend Johnny's 2nd birthday party last weekend, and she was kind enough to let her dad and I tag along. She wasn't big enough yet for the bounce house, but she did enjoy hanging out in the living room playing with some of the other kiddos. One of the dads decided we had a major photo op on our hands, so we lined 'em up and tried to get them all to smile at the same time. Any parent who's ever tried this knows that getting 3 small children to simultaneously smile is like trying to catch wind in your hand: impossible. Nevertheless, the results were pretty darn cute.

I just wish someone had gotten video footage of a room full of parents jumping around like circus clowns trying to make those babies laugh. Watching that later with a few cocktails would have been entertaining.

Have a great weekend!

Ava's first 5K

2010-05-09T19:22:00.009-06:00

Ava ran her first race this morning. The Denver Mother's Day 5K was a happy little event filled with parents, strollers, and lots of energetic kiddos out for a morning of exercise and family fun. It was a bit chilly to start (as you might have guessed by Ava's Arctic-ready outfit), but by the time the race got going the weather was gorgeous. We crossed the finish line, excited and proud, looked into the stroller and saw this...

Running is exhausting.

Since the course was next to the zoo, we followed our run with a visit there, then took our sleepy little girl home. It was the perfect way to spend Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day, all. I hope yours was as lovely as mine.

No doubt she's a Daddy's girl.

2010-05-05T21:01:00.008-06:00

Ava loves her Daddy. And at no time is this more evident than when he comes home from work. Andy walks through the door looking for his little princess, and when he finds her calls out a happy "Hi, Baby!". She grins from ear to ear, her little body positively vibrating with joy as she waits for him to pick her up and give her a kiss. The problem only comes when, instead of making a move to hold her, he turns to go upstairs and change his clothes. This breaks her heart like nothing else can. The tears are heart wrenching. As you might guess, Andy rarely makes it to the bottom of the stairs. Today was no exception.

Buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack...

2010-04-28T19:47:00.009-06:00

We took Ava to her first baseball game a few days ago. Being the sentimental parents we are - always so excited about every "first" - we packed up everything Ava owns and headed to the ballpark with big grins on our faces. I'm not sure why we were convinced that she was going to enjoy sitting outside in the cold watching a game she doesn't understand while 10,000 drunken strangers screamed around her, but naivete' is one of the great joys of first time parenthood; you're able to walk into any situation genuinely believing that it will be wonderful. The reality was that our beautiful little girl chewed on her daddy's ticket for 3 innings, then let us know in her own special way that it was time to go home. She may not be a sports fan yet, but nobody looks cuter in a ball cap.

Grandma Sally and Grandpa Mac came to visit for a whole week and spoiled our little angel rotten. Ava got so attached to Grandpa I was afraid she was going to learn to talk just so she could ask to go home with him. I love watching how much they love her. She is such a lucky girl.

Ava still hasn't learned to crawl, but that isn't stopping her. She rolls over and over until she hits furniture, or makes her way to the hardwoods where she's figured out she can make up a lot of ground by sliding around on her belly. I'm considering attaching a Swiffer pad to the front of her shirt so she can do a little cleaning while she's down there. Is that wrong?

And Ava's first word is....

2010-04-08T16:15:00.005-06:00

MAMA!! I'd be lying if I said I didn't campaign shamelessly for this, endlessly repeating those two syllables while we played, demonstrating how she needed to move her little lips to make it happen. I wasn't about to settle for "Hi". (Which, incidentally was my first word. It's so 1976.) And I wasn't about to play second fiddle to something lame like "baba". She actually said it for the first time on Tuesday, but I was waiting to make the announcement until there were multiple repeat performances and an eyewitness so I could prove it wasn't just wishful thinking. If you need verification, please call Andy.

Ava started swimming lessons last night, and she was so cute. She wasn't thrilled for the first few minutes when she realized that this was not bath water, and therefore not at all warm, but once she warmed up she really seemed to enjoy herself. She's the youngest kid in her class, and didn't do much but kick her feet a little and chew on the pool toys, but just getting her used to the water will make pool time this summer so much more enjoyable for her. Plus, Andy and I think it's really fun. Here are some pictures and a short video of our little guppy. Enjoy!

It was involuntary monitor-cide.

2010-04-07T19:54:00.000-06:00

I had to buy a new baby monitor this week after I accidentally dropped our old one into the washing machine. While it was running. I'll pause here for a moment while you ponder how I managed to do that. I'd tell you what really happened, but whatever's going through your mind is probably more amusing than the truth.

It was Ava's first Easter on Sunday, so of course the Easter Bunny hopped by and left some toys in her basket. I'm pretty sure she didn't have a clue why we handed her a basket full of stuffed toys, but she was awfully happy about it nonetheless.

We spent the afternoon hanging out with the lovely Lassars, eating good food, drinking good wine, and taking advantage of their uber-cool swing set. There's a climbing wall, slide, picnic table, and a small condo that overlooks the yard. Keep your fingers crossed that Ava never asks for one of these things - I'm pretty sure she'd have to choose between that and college.

Hope everyone had a terrific Easter! What was in your basket?

She is my sunshine, my only sunshine...

2010-03-23T19:34:00.017-06:00

Everyone in our house is sick. All 3 of us have colds, and poor Ava has her first ear infection. But as usual she's all smiles, and busy soaking us with her giant, open-mouthed kisses. I've never seen a kid so dedicated to being happy, no matter how she feels. I swear she could make lemonade out of roadkill. Of all the adorable and charming things I love about her, this might be my favorite.

Joel and Kristen brought the boys for a visit last week, and though Ava isn't quite sure what to make of them yet (Charlie's a rather enthusiastic hugger), it was so great having them all here. We had some gorgeous weather on Thursday so we piled kids, strollers, sun hats, and diaper bags into two cars and hauled it all to the zoo. It took us an hour and a half to get everybody ready, 35 minutes to get there, and another 20 to get everyone and everything out of the cars and headed to the front gate, but once we got inside it was all worth it. Tyson was having more fun than any other kid there. Here are some pics from our adventure.

The weather turned nasty on Friday, but since the Easter Bunny had hopped all the way to Grant Ranch from, um, well, wherever it is that he lives, we dressed up the kiddos and went to see him. Apparently there weren't very many parents dumb enough to take their little ones out in a snow storm just to see a giant rabbit, so we had him all to ourselves for a while. Ava was pretty confused by the whole thing, and Charlie was certain the bunny was up to something, so Andy helped out and got involved.

Lisa, I think that picture is a contender for next year's calendar. And maybe this one as well...

Sorry, Joel. I couldn't help myself. I'll expect payback when we come to see you in July, but I don't care. It was worth it. :)

Ava and Ollie sittin' in a swing, G-I-GG-L-I-N-G

2010-03-17T16:39:00.007-06:00

Happy St. Paddy's Day everyone!

Ava and Ollie had a play date today, so Lisa and I decided to take the kiddos to the park. You may remember Ava's last experience with the swing (yawn), so I wasn't sure how she was going to react. I could tell you, but I think you should just see it for yourself.

I love when our girl is so happy.

Stick with me, kid. I'll show ya how it's done.

2010-03-16T18:53:00.029-06:00

As many of you know, our dear friends Chris and Brandy Laakso recently had a beautiful baby girl so we made a trip to Houston to meet her. Her name is Peyton Elizabeth, and she's the tiniest little thing you've ever seen.

Since Ava's gotten pretty good at working the system, I can only assume that she's got a thing or two to teach the newest Laakso. I can almost hear her now:

1.) "First of all, you have to use the crying to your advantage. Do it too often and it'll lose the 'poor baby' factor. But make sure that it sounds really sad when when you do use it. The cuddles you get are totally worth the red eyes."

2.) "Second, smiles are worth their weight in gold. Don't just give them out all willy-nilly; if you hold them back a little, you can get your parents to do anything to see that little grin. And I do mean anything."

"That should get you through the first few months. We'll reconvene this summer when I'll show you how to properly wear a cute hat, and explain why no one can resist a baby in jeans."

Ava did great on the trip. She sat through her first full meal in a high chair, where she politely inquired about the mashed fajitas, then did a little light reading while she waited for us to finish our meals.

She helped Aunt Marianne do a little work, and took some walks in the warm Houston sunshine.

And showed off her fashion sense at a little soiree thrown by Aunt Brandy and Uncle Chris. The whole family had a great time; Daddy got to have a little guy time, I got to do some bonding with little Peyton, and Ava spent some time reading stories with Sammie. It was so great to see some of our old friends and introduce them to Ava. I know she's going to grow up to love them as much as we do. We already can't wait to see everyone again.

Grandma, come baaaaaack!!!

2010-02-28T19:29:00.022-07:00

There really is no one else on earth like a Grandma. They cuddle you when you're sad, only feed you things that you think are yummy, and will do just about anything to see you smile. They don't even care when you throw up on them! Although I'm guessing Grandma Sally will pack fewer black items of clothing next time she visits. (Mom, Ava says to tell you she's sorry about those pants.)

Grandma was here for a whole week, and she and Ava had a ball. They played with every toy in the house...

Sent out a few prank emails. (Think you got one? We'll never tell.)

And had some deep, therapeutic conversations. ("Ava, how do you really feel about peas?")

Grandma was a cleaning machine while she was here, but we had to slow her down when she mistook Ava for some laundry. Don't worry, we stopped her before any folding happened.

She also became president of the "Teach Ava to Crawl" campaign, but was impeached when she didn't have any more luck than we did. We're currently accepting nominations for her replacement.

Thanks for everything, Grandma! We love you and can't wait to see you and Grandpa in April!

We all have to grow up some time.

2010-02-10T15:25:00.009-07:00

Now before any of you are tempted to get your knickers in a twist and start shouting things at me like, "Grow up!?! She's only 6 months old!! What's wrong with you??", relax. I'm not talking about Ava, I'm talking about me. We reached another family milestone over the weekend, but this time it was all mine: I left home for an entire weekend all by myself. Thanks to the fact that Andy is an amazing father, and that Ava lights up like a Christmas tree every time he walks into a room, I honestly wasn't worried about them; I was concerned that I would spend Brandy's baby shower missing Ava so much that I'd be crying in a corner. You'll be happy to know that everyone made it to Sunday in one piece. This post is proof that I'm still kicking. I'm attaching a picture of Ava reading the latest People magazine so you know that she's no worse for the wear.

If you can believe it, our darling Ava is now 6 months old. She had her 6 month doctor's appointment, and is 15lbs, 13oz, and 27in long. That puts her in the 95th percentile for height (yep, you read that right). Our girl is tall and skinny. Big surprise. :)

Ava is reaching all her milestones right on time, so to keep things going Andy and I are trying to start coaxing her to crawl. The techniques I've been trying are as follows:

1) The Demo. I don't think this technique requires any description, but I'll bet you're wishing you had a camera hidden in our living room right about now.

2.) The Assist. This involves placing Baby's hands and knees in optimum crawling position. It's often followed by The Demo.

3.) The Dangling Carrot. Also known as The Tough Love. Basically, you put a favorite toy just out of reach and hope that's incentive enough for Baby to get moving.

So far, nothing. We'll keep you posted. Ava finds this whole process exhausting.

Hey Mom, I got this one.

2010-02-01T08:50:00.005-07:00

Hey there! It's me, Ava! Mommy usually writes all my blog posts, but she's busy making my bottle so I thought I'd scoot over here and say hi to everyone. Typing sure is hard with these tiny fingers of mine, so I'll just send out some hugs and kisses to all of you: XOXOXOXO! Gotta go eat!

Let them eat......meat.

2010-01-25T18:43:00.009-07:00

Ava has decided not to become a vegetarian. I know this because Andy fed her turkey and sweet potatoes, and she ate it. You'd think she'd pretty much eat anything at this age, but she already has her own unique way of letting us know when something's just not her bag: she looks right into your eyes, and flat refuses to open her mouth. No fussing or fanfare; just pursing of her teeny little lips. In case you're wondering, pears are the first thing off her list.

There's nothing much cuter than a baby in a swing. The great big grin, the delighted giggling, the little legs kicking. And of course this is what we pictured as we gleefully pushed the stroller to the park for the first time. We got a few little smiles, but for the most part she just looked a little bored. See for yourself.

As long as she didn't hate it, we won't be giving up any time soon. As I said before, there's nothing much cuter than a baby in a swing.

Her college years are going to be very interesting.

2010-01-20T22:18:00.013-07:00

I say this because apparently I'll be sleeping on the floor of her dorm room. Yes folks, its confession time again....

Ava slept in her own room for the first time a couple of nights ago! Yay, Ava! And yup, I slept on her floor. 3 nights straight. I'd love to say it was because she was having separation anxiety, but I'd be lying. Mommy just wasn't quite ready to let go. I'll pause here while you finish laughing at me. Done? Ok. Moving on.

I really do love this age. Almost every day there's a new first to be celebrated. Today, it was Ava's first meal in her big-girl high chair. We've been feeding her in the Bumbo (the blue, spongy little chair, for those who weren't sure) until now, but her fascination with her feet and proximity to them in there made meals kind of a challenge. I thought putting a tray on it would help, but she just wound up face down on the tray with her foot in her hand. The high chair keeps the tootsies out of reach.

One of Ava's favorite new activities is making funny sounds with her mouth. Adorable? You betcha. Funny? That too. But she likes to do it while she's eating. Check out this video to see what I'm talking about. Remember my advice about wearing old clothes?

The children's museum in Denver has an infant's section, so some other moms and I took our little ones to check it out. There were lots of soft places to roll around on, mobiles to play with, and a tiny bridge to help them practice standing. The kids were so cute checking everything out. And you've never seen anything quite as funny as a bunch of moms in a small space trying to figure out which baby "doesn't smell right". Fortunately it wasn't any of our babies - the poop smell took off with someone else's kid.

I'm going to try to sleep in my own bed tonight. Care to place any bets on whether I'll succeed? You should - there could be big money in it.

Ava loves the zoo!

2010-01-13T17:45:00.009-07:00

Ok, so that title could very well be a big, fat lie. We took her there over the weekend and, well, see for yourself. Here are some pictures from our adventure.

Here she is marveling at the giraffes...

Delighting at the elephants...

Fascinated by the, uh, well, whatever this was.

She woke up about the time we were headed for the exit. Oh well. At least Andy and I had a good time - we love elephants.

Hey, when did we get another baby?

2010-01-05T12:58:00.004-07:00

Ava was sitting in her Bumbo on the bathroom counter yesterday watching me dry my hair, when she suddenly noticed the other baby sitting next to her. She's usually sitting in something that blocks her view of the mirror, so this is the first time she's really gotten a chance to "play" with her doppleganger. She spent the next 10 minutes talking to and touching her reflection. I love when she discovers new things.

It was during that same hair-drying session that Ava discovered her new favorite game; one I have affectionately dubbed "Mommy, Fetch!". All of you that have ever had small children are familiar with the rules: Mommy places a few colorful toys in front of baby to amuse her. Baby picks up the toys, one by one, and drops them on the floor. Baby stares at Mommy until she picks them up and gives them back. This can go on for hours. Baby always wins. Now I know there will come a day when I'll start to find this game tiresome, but for now I find it hilarious, and think my daughter is a genius for figuring it out. If anyone out there is tempted to burst my bubble on this one, just let me have my fun. Besides, I think it's good exercise.

Ava is very into faces right now, and loves when Andy and I get close enough for her to touch ours. The only problem is that she's stronger than she looks, so when she manages to fishhook a bottom lip, grab a nose, or poke an eye, it hurts. A lot. But she's so cute when she's doing it that neither one of us has the heart to stop her. No matter how many times a week I cut her nails they're still sharp enough to cut glass , so we look a little like we've been in a fight with a bunch of angry cats. Ask either one of us if we think its worth it. I think you know the answer. :)

I resolve to be a better blogger in 2010.

2010-01-01T15:30:00.002-07:00

With all the craziness of the holidays, I haven't had much time lately for blogging. All of you loyal Ava fans have lots to catch up on. So, without further ado, let's get cracking...

Since Ava's still too little to understand what - or when - Christmas is, we decided to have a little family holiday at home before we left for Iowa. She of course doesn't quite get the concept of opening packages, but she did seem to like some of the stuff. Aunt Brandy gave her a giraffe (at least I think it's a giraffe) with rattles and colors and spinny-things (oh my!) that she adores, and watching her try to get the sock monkey I got her out of her stocking was a riot. To the left and right you'll see pictures of her with some of her spoils. How cool are those shades? I like them so much I have a feeling they might make a reappearance somewhere in this post. Guess you'll have to keep reading to find out.

After fretting for weeks about how our little sweetie would handle a 12 hour drive to Iowa, the trip of course came off without a hitch. Ava slept most of the way, and Andy was happy that I didn't spend the whole drive tugging on his sleeve and asking if we were there yet. I'm not much of a road-tripper, and tend to turn into a 5 year old after the first few hours. You'll all be happy to know I was on my best behavior.

We were thrilled to see everyone in Iowa, but the most exciting part was getting to meet Braydon for the first time. It's hard to believe the babies were almost 5 months old before they got to be in the same room together. We took a million pictures, and everyone took lots of time cuddling each other's kiddos. Tyson and Charlie were incredibly sweet with the little ones, and are funnier and more enjoyable to hang out with every time we see them. Ava and Braydon are lucky have them.

Another exciting first for our little family was Ava getting a chance to meet her great grandmother. She had a little cold, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. She threw on her sunglasses (told you they'd be back) and hat and was ready to go. We had a terrific day at the farm hanging out with the extended family and can't wait to go back.

As I mentioned earlier, Ava's battling a cold. Actually, we all are. But since this is Baby's First Cold, I of course have learned a few things:

1.) A baby with a cold will sneeze the second you put a spoon full of food into her mouth, spraying that food all over both of you. Wear old clothes until baby feels better.

2.) Baby Tylenol is the greatest stuff on earth.

3.) Sick babies produce a lot of snot, most of which winds up on the parents. See my advice in point number 1 for clothing choices.

Happy New Year, everyone. Cheers to a great 2010!

By the way, I still can't figure out why my blog won't allow comments. I'm working on it, but in the meantime if you have something to say you'll just have to call me.

What the heck is a winkle?

2009-12-16T19:52:00.005-07:00

Being a parent means adopting an entirely new vocabulary: boppy, bumbo, Bjorn, and yes, winkle. From the moment you find out you're expecting you are inundated with words that previously meant nothing to you - or to anybody else without kids for that matter. We attended our first Christmas party as parents last weekend and were informed by the other moms and dads there that the winkle was the toy for the under 1 set, and that we had to acquire one immediately. Frankly the thing looked a little dull to me, but since I'm not exactly the demographic being targeted by Winkle, Inc., I figured my opinion didn't hold much water. So, since I'm always up for an excuse to shop for pretty much anything, off we went to Baby's R Us to buy one. We gave it to Ava, and she really does seem oddly fascinated by this thing. Who knew?

And now it's confession time. Out of all the babies we know around Ava's age, our little girl is the only one that can't roll over yet. I take full responsibility for this, since it's hard for her to learn these things when I never put her down. At this rate she'll be the only kid rolling around on a play mat in the 1st grade, so it is my current mission to have her rolling like a pro by Christmas. I've started taking her down to the basement every morning (the carpeted floor down there is much more comfy than the hardwood on the main floor) to do our little baby workout. We spend about half an hour working on rolling over (front to back, and back to front), sitting up independently, and standing up while holding on to the couch. At this point she still bobbles around like one of those dashboard hula dolls, but we're getting there.

I'm sure this will come as a surprise to no one, but it looks like Ava is going to be a tall and thin. At her 4 month appointment she was 50th percentile for weight, and 75th for height. (At this point the size of her head is only in the 15th percentile, but to anyone that's ever seen me try on hats this shouldn't come as a shocker either.) She's weighing in at 13lbs 5oz, and already outgrowing the length of some of her 3-6 month pants. I can't believe how fast she's growing up.

I love Christmas! But who's the big guy in the jammies?

2009-12-07T09:25:00.015-07:00

We took Ava to see Santa on Sunday, and apparently he's a bit more in demand than he was when we were kids. You don't just stand in line anymore; now you have to make an appointment. But it gave Ava a chance to take a little nap in her stroller, and me a chance to do some shopping, so the extra time worked out well for everyone (except Andy. Sorry pal.) She's still little, so the fact that we were handing her over to a stranger to have her picture taken didn't bother her, and although she was too confused to smile she was still awfully cute.

The next thing on the list of Christmas "firsts" was picking out and decorating the tree, and we made sure to do it up right. I turned on some Christmas music, dressed Ava up in her reindeer shirt, and Andy and I got to work turning the house into a holiday wonderland. The stockings were hung by the electric fireplace with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas would be smart enough to figure out a way into the house without a chimney. Ava was an excellent - and very happy - supervisor.

It's been a really big week for our little angel. As you saw in the previous post, Ava is now eating solid foods. We've been serving up baby oatmeal for about a week, and that went so well (that's an oatmeal picture on the right) that tonight we moved on to sweet potatoes. She seemed to really dig the taste, but the best part was the mess she made. In case any of you didn't know this, sweet potatoes are orange. Really, really orange. Lisa, since I know you haven't started this with Braydon yet, I have a bit of advice for you: invest in an apron. Or a hazmat suit.

The meal took forever since I had to keep stopping to take pictures and laugh, and the chair she was sitting in will never be the same. I never thought I'd have so much fun trashing the kitchen.

I think I can make millions with the invention of baby food-colored clothing, since I'm convinced that's the only way a child's wardrobe will ever survive this phase of life. Who's with me?

Ava's ready for her close-up, Mr. Demille.

2009-12-04T18:18:00.001-07:00

For those of you that haven't had a chance to see Live Action Ava yet, this post is for you. Being the proud (and slightly dorky) parents that we are, Andy and I filmed Ava's first experience with solid food. She wasn't nearly as freaked out by the whole thing as I thought she might be, and only wore about half of what we spooned into her mouth. I'm pretty sure this means she swallowed the other half, so I consider the whole operation a success. Now please silence your cell phones, and hold all applause until the movie is over. Thank you, and enjoy the show.

This food looks great! Now, who's teeth can I borrow?

2009-12-01T14:58:00.020-07:00

Ava's first Thanksgiving was absolutely wonderful. We loved getting a chance to relax and spend time with family, eat tons of fantastic food, and watch Ava get smothered with love and kisses. Her grandparents were so excited to see her I was afraid they weren't going to let us take her home. In fact, if we didn't have all the good toys here, she may not have wanted to come with us. She was quite the busy girl the whole trip...

She had sing-a-longs with Aunt Shirley...

Long conversations with Grandpa...

She tried on Grandma's "hair"...

And posed for lots of family pictures...

It was the perfect Thanksgiving and we miss everyone already. We're going to do this again next year, right?

Can you please purée these peanuts?

2009-12-01T14:31:00.006-07:00

Ava has officially taken to the skies, and it couldn't have gone better. Andy I and were prepared for anything: long lines, parking problems, a fussy and/or uncooperative baby. Fortunately, we had none of those issues; unfortunately, that meant we had 2 1/2 hours to hang out in the airport. So, we had a nice long lunch at a steak place...

grabbed some magazines, changed another diaper, and then it was time to board. Time to worry about the next round of potential pitfalls: Ava's ears popping, running out of formula, or having to change a really poopy diaper in a bathroom the size of a hibachi. And again, nothing. Our little angel slept through takeoff, then spent the rest of the flight happily playing in her daddy's lap. I think my favorite moment was when I looked over and Andy had challenged Ava to a thumb war. Oddly, she won. Repeatedly.

We arrived in Georgia on time, and handed Ava over to the waiting arms of her very excited Grandma. And two very exhausted parents breathed a sigh of relief.

Too much assembly required.

2009-11-19T11:06:00.011-07:00

I came to a rather unpleasant realization today: Children's toys that require assembly were invented by sadists who hated their parents. But, after several pinched fingers and a bunch of words I'm glad Ava is too young to repeat, the Baby Einstein Discover and Play Activity Center joined the toy arsenal that used to be our living room. And I have to admit it looked really fun! I grabbed the camera, scooped up Ava, and lowered her in. I had to prop her up with a blanket so she wouldn't take a nosedive into the dinosaur hand-puppet, and her feet don't touch the bottom yet, but she's fascinated by all the colors and sounds. I think she looks smarter already.

My second title choice for this post was "Sleep Schedules are for Chumps". In fact, I'm pretty sure that will be Ava's first full sentence. In a typical day she takes a few 20 minute "power naps", falls asleep at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, then wakes up ravenous and ready to hang out at 3am. At least she usually goes back to sleep for a couple of hours after a snack and some cuddling.

Remember when the doctor told us that she'd sleep through the night when she hit 12lbs? I'm thinking of suing him for malpractice. :)