Snapshots from January

With all this cold weather Ava has learned to love hot chocolate. After we go for walks on the trail we enjoy warming up with a cup.

On this day Ava and I built a treehouse with a pool out of duplos. My favorite part was Ava's zoo. She had me put the tiny fence together and then she crammed all of her animals inside. That was Ava's zoo...poor animals. I was surprised when the lion didn't eat the other animals, but Ava told me it was a nice lion.

Ava can be very funny and super silly. On this day she put her anti thumb sucking gloves on her feet. I made the gloves by just cutting off the fingers and leaving the thumb. Sometimes Ava will wear them to help discourage her from sucking her thumb. It works when she wears them, but usually it is too much of a battle or inconvenient for her to keep them on. It was pretty hilarious to see them on her feet though.

All month we have been enjoying broccoli from our garden. Garden fresh broccoli is so good and one of Ava's favorite things to eat.
The last couple of months we have been talking with Ava a lot about what she eats and the kinds of food that will make her healthy and strong. We have been having a lot of fun and interesting conversations around the dinner table.

For her birthday Ava got crayon maker from Papa and Nonna Kurz. We have used it a couple of times and made some crazy swirling colored crayons.

In this picture Ava is wearing some clip-on earrings and a necklace from Italy. When Rich was on his mission in Italy he met a guy that owned a souvenir shop and he gave this jewelry to Rich. He told Rich to give it to a beautiful lady. Many years later Ava discovered it and now she is the beautiful lady that wants to wear it.

Big Surprise in the Mail

The day before Ava's birthday a big package arrived in the mail for her. She was excited to see it, so we let her open it that night. The gift was from Ava's birthmom, who also has her birthday on the same day as Rich and Ava. Inside the package was a giant panda and a few small wrapped gifts. Ava thought the panda was great. She rolled around on it and sat on it until it was time for bed. The panda now lives in her tent where Ava likes to snuggle it. Kim also gave Ava a butterfly purse, cuckoo clock, and a panda egg timer. Ava enjoyed all her gifts.

Super-Duper Big Girl and Old Man

This year Rich and Ava's birthday was on a Sunday. We had celebrated with Rich's family the week before, so we had a quiet celebration with just my family on their actual birthday. We had dinner, presents, and cake. Ava got a lot of stuff (probably too much) and felt very special. Rich got some great gift cards and some things on his wish list.

Since, I made Rich a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting for the celebration with his family, this day I let Ava pick the cake. She said over and over she wanted a white cake with NO frosting. Since I didn't think no frosting sounded good I made a few things. Ava was given a Snow White & 7 Dwarfs cake pan (made 8 individual character cakes) for Christmas, so I made those for her. I then made cupcakes with chocolate frosting and a heart cake for Rich with the extra batter. That way everybody was happy. The next day Ava had a cupcake with frosting and liked it too (I think even a little better).

The Super-Duper Big 3 Year Old and The Old Man
I feel pretty blessed to have both of them in my life. They make me happy and smile each day.
And they are just so darn cute...not too bad for an old man.

When Ava turned 3 she decided she was officially a super-duper big girl. That meant big changes and more responsibility. The big work in progress is potty training.
Ava's favorite place to take pictures is up in our tree.

While I worked on dinner Uncle Eric, Elizabeth and Papa read books to Ava. Reading is one of her favorite activities.

Ava enjoyed ripping through her presents. This was the big gift from us, LeapPad Explorer Tablet. She loves to play with Rich's iPhone and my iTouch, so now she has a toy of her own. She loves it so much we have to limit her time playing it and only let her play once she has completed the tasks on her list (brush teeth, make bed, etc.). It is a great learning tool and also a great motivator.

This is a princess game for her LeapPad from Papa & Nonna Kurz. She was pretty excited!

With Christmas so close to her birthday she was loving all the gits.

Uncle Eric got Ava a beautiful Sunday dress, some P.J.s, and a couple coloring books.

As everyone watched Rich open his gifts Ava was too busy with her LeapPad. She didn't really care about daddy's gifts (this is why we have a time limit each day).

Part of my gift to Rich included these knee pads. That is what he asked for. He plans on using them for some future home projects. In the mean time he has been wearing them as Ava rides on his back like a horse. He said it offers some cushion from our hard floors.

Ava and Rich blowing out candles. Ava asked daddy to help her. Ava's plate has 8 mini-cakes on it. One Snow White and all of the 7 Dwarfs.

Ava chose to eat Snow White first because she is her favorite.

Our Family at Grey Lodge

Grey Lodge with the Cousins

During one of our January visits to Gridley we went to Grey Lodge. Grey Lodge is a wildlife area and nature preserve. During the winter thousands of migratory birds stop there. It is a beautiful place to walk around and explore. We were excited to go there with cousins and see the birds.

The cousins
It sure is hard to get all of them to look and smile at the same time. This is the best picture I got. It's not perfect, but I'm glad to have the memory.

Ava and Rich

Who's that hiding?

Dave's family

The kids enjoyed playing around the weirs which made the moms (at least me) nervous.

Lily found a feather.

Bella and Zoie are the best buds.

Parker found a giant walking stick.

The lovely Sutter Buttes

Rich and Ava watching the birds from the observation station.

Good Times with the Bowling Crew

During December and January we were lucky to have a lot of the Bowling family visit. We had some good times hanging out in Gridley. We especially enjoyed watching Ava play with her cousins. Ava's favorite part was taking a bath with her cousins Lily and Parker. As soon as we got to Gridley she would ask to take a bath.

The family singing "Happy Birthday".

The three birthday kids, Ava, Rich, and Dave.

Parker and Ava.

Ava enjoying "daddy's" birthday cake.

Lily and Marlee chillin'.

Zoie, Bella, and Rachel being fashion designers.

Parker, Marlee, Lily, and Rachel.

Ava watching something on the computer with Nonna and Kobie. Ava loves to snuggle with her Nonna.

Ava and baby Abby. Ava loves to hold Abby whenever she gets a chance.