Dinner Party

When Rich got home from work the party continued while we went out to dinner.  Rich decided he wanted to eat at Ichi Maki.  Rich enjoyed sushi and Ava ate a variety of things, but mostly edamame.  We were able to bribe Ava into eating some raw tuna and salmon.  At first she said she liked it, but then she had a harder time with the second bite.  I was proud of her for trying.

When we were done eating to our surprise our waitress brought Rich and Ava a dessert and sang Happy Birthday.  We don't really know what the dessert was.  It was a little weird.  Ava enjoyed the whip cream and chocolate sauce though.

The two birthday kids.

Ava being brave and eating raw fish.  This was her second piece, so it didn't go down as easy.  I'm so proud of Ava for trying new things...even if she was bribed.

Ava and Rich blowing out the candle on the unusually dessert.

Let's Get the Party Started

This year Rich & Ava's birthday was on a Tuesday.  It was a long, fun-filled day.  Unfortunately, Rich still had to work, so he missed some of the fun.  Ava went to preschool wearing her crown and bringing cupcakes to share.  When I picked her up from preschool I surprised her with Papa & Nonna Kurz.  We took her to Round Table for lunch and Baskin Robbins for a little treat.

While Ava was at school I prepared another surprise for her.  I blew up a whole bunch of balloons.  I planned on having them fall on her when she came home and opened the door.  I was disappointed when I realized the door opened the wrong way.  I thought my surprise had been ruined, but I was wrong.  Ava was super excited just to have balloons all over the family room.  She ran around for about 10 minutes saying, "Balloons, balloons everywhere."  She threw them, kicked them, and rolled around in them.  Ava loved her balloons and we ended up keeping them around for a few days.

After all the fun afternoon surprises we decided to rest and prepare to party (some more) when daddy got home.  Ava sat with Papa & Nonna and watched her new favorite "Twinker" Bell movie (AKA- Tinker Bell).  I spent most of that time stacking and frosting the cake.

The lady at Round Table was very kind to give Ava free Parmesan Twists for her birthday.  These are Ava's favorite "pizza".

Ava with Papa & Nonna Kurz.  In front of her is a bowl of "crunchies" (croutons) from the salad bar.  These are also one of Ava's favorites.  She always steals them off of our salads.

Ava got a scoop of Chocolate Fudge ice cream.

She LOVES chocolate!

Rich and Ava discovered if they rub the balloons on their heads or Luca to create enough static electricity the balloons would stick to the ceiling.  Ava thought it was pretty cool.

Birthday Baking

This year baking for Rich and Ava's birthday was a little crazy.  I made Rich a chocolate cake, Minnie Mouse cupcakes for Ava's school, and Ava's 6 layer rainbow cake.  It was a lot of work, but worth it to see the smiles on their faces.  I can't wait to see what they request next year.

Ava's favorite part of helping me make cupcakes was licking the bowl and eating leftover frosting.  She got that birthday crown on Sunday in Primary and wore it everyday, all day, until the end of her birthday on Tuesday.  She even wore it to preschool.

Ava really wanted Minnie Mouse cupcakes to take to preschool.  After searching the internet I decided to make these.  I used regular oreos for the head and mini oreos for the ears.  I made the bows using the melting candy you can find at craft stores.  I melted the candy, put it in a squeeze bottle, drew bows and top with white sprinkle balls.  Ava was happy and even helped me a little bit.

I ended up making two 2-layer cakes and dividing it into 6 layers.  I decided to use cheap disposable foil cake pans from the Dollar store, so I could bake all the layers at one time and not in batches having to wash pans in between.  The cheaper pans were also a little smaller, so it made good sized layers.

The layers were almost level.  I actually used a level to stack the layers since it was going to be so tall.  I wanted to make sure it wouldn't fall over and be a disaster.

This is the finished cake.  I was pretty happy with the way it came out.

Gridley Birthday Celebration

On Sunday, January 13th we celebrated birthdays with family in Gridley.  It was Rich, Ava, and Dave's birthdays.  We enjoyed spending time with family and eating good food.  I made Rich & Ava a chocolate cake and Alicia made Dave an apple pie.  It was a fun and wild time.

Happy Birthday to Rich and Ava.  I put 38 on the cake for Rich instead of 38 candles, so we didn't cause a fire hazard.  I did put 4 candles for Ava.

Blowing out the candles.  I'm sad I didn't get a picture of Dave...sorry.

Rich using his favorite family heirloom...giant scary knife.  This knife was owned by Rich's great-grandfather who was a chef.  It scares me from the stories I've heard about the siblings chasing each other around the house with it.

Ava enjoying some ice cream and chocolate cake.

Ava got a lot of wonderful gifts.  She has been enjoying all of them.

Ava loves to unwrap gifts.

Ezra and Eli couldn't wait to play with Ava's pirate toys.  They had a good time together.

Our Little Ballerina

Ava loves to dance.  She dances (and sings) all the time around the house.  At night when Rich sings her a song, Ava makes him dance with her too.  When she walks she often walks on her tip toes.  And one of her favorite things to do is play her kids dance game with the Xbox Kinect.  So, last month I asked Ava if she wanted to go to dance class.  She said, "YES!"  Ava was super excited about the idea of dance class, so I signed her up for pre-ballet this month.

When the day came for Ava's first dance class she could hardly wait.  The class is in the evening, but she wanted to put her dance clothes on first thing in the morning.  She kept asking me all day if it was time to go to class.  When it was time to go she got her ballet clothes on and danced all around the house.  It was so cute and I have to admit I was just as excited to watch her at class.

Ava had a great time at class.  We got there a little early, but Ava had no problem making a new friend while we waited.  Ava met another girl who was just starting lessons too.  The two girls hit it off and were holding hands and running around while we waited.  When a third girl showed up they all became instant friends and held hands until the teacher started class.  It was so cute.

As I watched Ava during dance class I wasn't sure what she was thinking.  The first 15-20 minutes the teacher had them do different stretches and taught them first, second, etc. positions.  Ava looked lost, but was trying to follow.  The teacher did a good job helping the newer girls and taught in a fun and silly way.  The second part of the class the girls worked on skipping, marching, and other gross motor skills.  Ava seemed to like this part more even though she had a hard doing some of the movements.  It made me laugh to watch her just run in circles during the skipping part.  Overall, Ava did try and I think it will help her develop her gross motor skills.

After class was over Ava had a smile on her face, but was confused.  She said she had fun, but then she said, "I want to go to DANCE class."  Even though, she enjoyed the class I don't think it is her idea of dancing.  I think Ava is used to more free movement and, for the lack of a better term, getting down.  I tried to explain to her that ballet is a type of dance, but I don't know if it convinced her.  Ava did say she wanted to try it again and wants to do it in February.  We will try it for another month and see how it goes.  I don't think she will want to be a real ballerina, but I think she will have fun.

This was my view.  The teacher pulls a big curtain across with a small gap in the middle.  This is so the kids won't be distracted by the parents.  It was a good idea, but hard for me to see.  I could also stand by the outside corners and watch through another small gap.

Stretching

Ava liked this stretch.  The teacher rocked her a little hard and made me nervous because she almost bumped her face.

Jesus Wants Ava for a Sunbeam

Ava is now a Sunbeam and attends Jr. Primary.  She was excited to go to primary and be with the big kids.  Ava was also happy that we would be together since I am now a teacher in Primary (not her class).  She loves her new teachers, the Thompson's, and friends.  Ava's favorite part of Primary is probably music time.  She is learning many new songs and is excited when Sister Weddick brings instruments.  Each Sunday Ava looks forward to primary and it is fun for us to see her excitement and growth.

To celebrate Ava's first day as a Sunbeam I made her a special skirt.  We tried to find material with suns on it, but had no luck.  Instead Ava picked out this yellow and orange fabric with flowers on it.  I thought it turned out pretty cute and Ava was happy.  We now refer to it has her "sunbeam skirt".

This is how Ava decided to pose.  Now that she is 4, super active, and independent, it is hard to get her to be still and cooperate for pictures.

This is a happy little girl after her first day as a Sunbeam.  She is wearing my grandma's beaded rose shoes that I use to wear when I was her age.  I have many fond memories walking around my grandma's house in those shoes and now Ava is enjoying them.  I think she can actually walk better in heels than me.

New Year's Day

We spent New Year's Day at home.  We started the morning with ladybug shaped pancakes Ava picked from her new pancake cookbook.  After breakfast Rich and Ava put her new bike trailer together so we could go on a ride.  We rode our bikes to a nearby park and played for a bit.  We then spent the rest of the day putting Christmas stuff away and relaxing.  It was a good way to start the new year.

Ava picked the ladybugs as the first fun pancakes to make from her new book, "OMG Pancakes".  She also has a small Minnie & Mickey Mouse and Rich has a caterpillar.

Ava trying to get her bike trailer ready.  She was so excited to try it out.  I have been riding Ava to school almost everyday now that we have the trailer.

The trailer required a few tools to get it ready to attach to the bike.  When Rich got out his tools, Ava got her tools  too.  Ava is funny because she just has wooden play tools, but that doesn't stop her.  I think we need to get her some real tools because she loves to build and help daddy fix things.

Ava is ready to go.  She had a great time on the ride and stayed nice and warm.  We also had a good time, but were cold from the wind.  It was worth it to see her smile.

New Year's Eve in Gridley

This year we spent New Year's Eve in Gridley with Rich's family.  Ava was excited to play with all her cousins and we looked forward to the Bowling New Year traditions:  Clam Chowder & Pinata.  This was the first year Ava got to hit the pinata.  It was funny because she kept asking if they could break open the "candy cane" all day.  She was so excited even though she had no idea what it was.

At 9pm (midnight Eastern Time) we celebrated New Year's by busting out the pinata.  The cousins each took a couple turns at whacking the pinata starting with the youngest.  It took several rounds of cousins bashing the pinata before it was busted open.  All the kids were excited to pounce on the candy, toys, and money that spewed across the floor.  Once it was over there was some trading among the cousins and then enjoying of their booty.

Ava was sad that after the pinata it was time to get ready to go home.  She didn't want to leave all the fun, but we wanted to make it home before the crazies were out on the road.  To  ease her sadness she got to take a "cousins bath" with Lilly.  Even though Ava didn't want to leave she was asleep within 10 minutes of our drive home snuggling her blanket with a big smile on her face.  It was a good day!

Papa Bruce getting putting the pinata up.  Ava really wanted to help.

Cousins ready for action (lf-rt):  Nathan, Rachel, Ava, Ezra, Lilly, Kobie.  Bella didn't want to be in the picture and Eli was running around.  Uncle Bob did make a cameo by popping his head in.

Silly face cousins.  Eli made an appearance in this photo but Bella was still MIA.

Eli was the youngest cousin in attendance and got the pinata started.

Ava was second to hit the pinata.  She didn't hit it very hard.  It was cute.

This swing she put a little more into it.

Ezra was up next.  He took his superhero mask off to get a better look.

Next was Lilly.

Bella is a baseball player and knew how to swing.

I didn't get a good photo of Kobie hitting the pinata because his back was always to me, but I think this picture is pretty awesome.  Kobie you are too funny!

The pinata got moved up higher for Nathan and the older cousins.

Rachel is also a softball player and knows how to swing.

This is Sammy, Rachel's friend.

Ava Round #2.

Pinata Princess