I'm sick, not lazy.

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!