Ava's Got Style

Ava is doing a wonderful job getting herself ready in the morning.  She combs her hair, brushes her teeth, washes her face, get's dressed, and last but certainly not least, Ava accessorizes.  Each morning I look forward to see what Ava will wear and how many accessories she will put on.  Most of the time she puts at least 2 flowers in her hair, but often 4.  She also likes to wear necklaces and bracelets.  Each time she emerges from her room I smile and tell her how beautiful she looks.  Ava smiles a sweet smile back and has a look of satisfaction for a job well done.  When we go out in public she often gets compliments on her fun style and many smiles from the grandmas in the crowd.  It is such a joy to be the mother of a wonderful, fun, and creative little girl.  I am proud of Ava for making the effort to get herself ready and I enjoy seeing what interesting look she will have on each day.

Ava really likes shirts with flowers on them.  Usually as soon as I wash them she is wearing them again.  On this day she wore a big flower hair clip and a big princess headband (she calls her crown).

I call this Ava's "Mr. T" look because she has almost every necklace and bracelet she owns on.  And yes she likes to look pretty even when playing outside and holding a worm.

On this day Ava surprised be by wearing her panda hat and not putting flowers or bows in her hair.  I'm not sure why she chose to wear a skirt and jeans, but I just rolled with it.  It actually wasn't as cold as she makes it appear.

Ava wearing 4 flowers, necklaces, and bracelets.  It is always funny to me when people comment on how "girly" Ava is because she is almost always wearing her Toy Story cowboy boots or Boba Fett shoes.  I think she is a good mix of "girly" and a tomboy.

Ava likes helping me clean the bathrooms because she gets to wear a swim suit.  Don't worry I don't let her use harmful chemicals.  I mostly use natural stuff.

Sac Zoo

 A couple weeks ago Ava and I went to the Sacramento Zoo with my parents.  As soon as we walked in the zoo gate Ava wanted to ride the carousel.  That is really all she wanted to do.  We walked around and look at some of the animals first, but she kept talking about the carousel.  We ended up riding the carousel 2 times and both times she chose to ride on the panda.  When we were done she asked to ride it again, but I told her next time.  Ava quickly got over it when we rode the mini train.  We had a wonderful day and were all tired by the time we left.

I didn't realize flamingos kneel with their legs forword.  It looked weird.

This otter reminded me of Ava because it was sleeping sucking its tail just like Ava sucks her thumb.

Ava getting ready to get a picture of an Anteater.

This Orangatang used a cardboard box for protection from the sun.  It was quite active and took the cardboard where ever it went.  It was interesting.

Ava insisted Nonna be in this picture with her.

Ava with Papa & Nonna.

If you look hard enough you can see we are all in the picture.  Somehow we all managed to squeeze in one tiny train car.  Good thing it was a short ride.

We waited in line for over 30 minutes to feed the giraffe.  Ava was excited until we stepped onto the platform and we got close to the giraffe.  I'm not sure what scared her but she wouldn't feed the giraffe.  Nonna & I did.

A really tired girl after a long day.

Ava is 4!

Yes, yes, I realize Ava has been 4 years old since January, but I'm just getting around to this post.  I have been busy with other things and not keeping up with my blog like I want.  Part of the problem is we didn't go to the doctor or take Ava's 4 year old pictures until the middle of February.  So now that it is the middle of March most of this post will be obsolete.  Ava keeps growing (too fast for me) and I'm sure she is already bigger than her stats from the doctor.  She also changes her mind frequently on what she likes, so her favorites list could have already changed to something new.  That is just life with a beautiful, wonderful, constantly growing, big 4 year old girl and I LOVE IT!

4 year old checkup:
Height:  39 3/4 inches, 50%
Weight:  33 1/2 lbs., 50%
-Ava also had both her hearing & vision checked and she did wonderfully.  The M.A. was impressed how well she sat still and followed direction during the tests.
-Ava had 3 shots, but barely cried.  She was so brave and tough.  She cried for less than 1 minute and then was ready to go.  Ava was excited about her stickers from the doctor's office and our special lunch at Taco Bell. 

Favorite color?    All of the colors 
Favorite toy?    Babies 
Favorite stuffed animal?    Cheese Curl 
Favorite thing to sleep with?   Babies 
Favorite fruit?    Strawberries 
Favorite cereal?    "Daddy’s Cereal" (Frosted Mini Wheats) 
Favorite thing to eat for breakfast?    Cereal 
Favorite thing to eat for lunch?    Macaroni & Cheese with Peas & Broccoli
Favorite dessert?    Chocolate Milkshake 
Favorite drink?    "Daddy’s Chocolate Milk" (Chocolate Almond Milk) 
Favorite dinner?    Hot Dog with cornbread
Favorite animal?    Panda 
Favorite book?    Spider Book from library because it scares mama 
Favorite song?    Popcorn Popping 
Favorite game?    Scooby Doo Dominoes 
Favorite TV show?    Dora the Explorer 
Favorite movie?    Cinderella 
Favorite thing to do outside?    Play School with Daddy 
Best friend?    My cousins
What do you want to be when you grow up?    A Mommy and a Missionary

  

We ended our photo shoot with one of Ava's favorite things to do at the temple, a doughnut picnic.

Better Late than Never

Ava and I picked out some "holiday fabric" before Christmas, so I could make matching skirts.  Christmas came and went and no skirts.  I decided I would then make them for Ava's birthday.  Well that rolled around and still no skirts.  I felt bad and was determined to get them done, so I set a new goal.  I vowed I would finish them for Valentine's Day.  This time I actually succeeded.  I made time to make the skirts and we wore them the Sunday after Valentine's Day.  They are not complicated or fancy, but I thing we look cute together.

Ava decided we needed a jumping picture, so here we go.

Look at the air we got.  Not bad considering I'm wearing heels.