Into the Second Year IV

Another bath moment captured, this one at the start of month 21.

Cousin Jessie delights in reading one of Ava's books to her at Grammy and Opa's 50th Anniversary dinner, May 22, 2004.  The book was a treat at one of Ava's visits to the doctor...maybe all that they had left to hand out were these Spanish books?  We listen to Finding Nemo and Monsters, Inc. in French or Spanish sometimes, just for fun.  That must be confusing for a little one who's doing her best to conquer English!

 

Grammy and Opa, Christmas 1954.

 

Blowing out the candle on their dessert at the dinner.  Aunt Linda came out from Massachusetts for the event.

 

Outside on a warm May evening.

 

Admittedly, we haven't done much with her hair lately.  We plan to take her to a hair salon soon, but we also kind of enjoy this messy quality that it has right now.

 

One solution was to put her hair in ponytails, which Mommy did on this Saturday morning.

 

The hairdo instantly made Ava look much older, we thought.

Out in the stroller later that day...

Wearing Grampa John's sunglasses when he and Grandma Rita visited for Mommy's birthday.

Watching her beloved Finding Nemo DVD on Grammy and Opa's TV the next day.

Blending in with the greens and pinks on campus on a walk with Daddy early on a Sunday morning in June.

 

In the parking lot at daycare at the end of her day there.  She's giving me that look that means she's up for an adventure.

 

So, we stop at the park on the way home...

 

It seemed to work well for both of us.

 

Ava's big girl bed is now ready for her to use.  It's been fully tested by our dedicated sleep experts.

 

The center of attention once again when Aunt Leslie (aka Aunt Sessie in Avaspeak) and Cousins Val and Brianna visited.

 

Helping Mommy do some weeding on a chilly morning.  The bright light made her hair look longer and more red than it usually does.

 

A week later, it's another day for yard work, but Ava wants to go somewhere in the truck.  She insists (as only a toddler can!) that I put her in her car seat, so I give in, but I let her know that we're not going anywhere.

 

It begins to sink in that we really aren't going anywhere, pretty eyes or not.

 

The next evening, despite the rain, she and I go out for an evening walk, something that's becoming routine for us...in fact, she usually demands it by pointing to the window and saying "Outside!".  She really likes the stones in this driveway.  Re-arranging them is a daily obligation.

 

Ava lets me know that I'm far too slow in following her up the street (6.25 mb video; 8 seconds).  This is good evidence of how vocal she can be around us, especially as she's often pretty quiet around friends and family that she doesn't see too often.  And it's also evidence of how ordering me around like this has become more common lately.  I enjoy it, of course.

 

Minutes later, the bright yellow evening sun came out as she was cruising through the parking lot looking for puddles to step in.

 

Ava uses her crib for a play session and lets me know that she's spotted a Carter Bean.

 

Experimenting with the remote control while watching Shrek a few hours later.

 

And, in the afternoon, Ava leads her cousins up the street to see all of the highlights of her daily walk.

 

At the end of the day, Grandma Rita and Grampa John pose once again with their five granddaughters.  Here's the same group almost two years ago.

 

Cousins Brianna and Valerie show Ava the "hand washing" part of the kitchen set, which was a nice gift from Uncle Mark and family (as was the farmhouse toy seen behind her on the red blanket).

 

Long shadows in the parking lot during our evening walk.  On this evening Ava's done walking, and, as requested, I'm carrying her.

 

Another important part of her evening walk...touching the Black-Eyed Susans.

 

Our evening walk is essentially over whenever Ava spots a puddle in the parking lot.   It's just splash, splash, splash until her shoes and socks are completely soaked.  Even then, she doesn't want to stop.

 

Same old story....Ava's more interested in A Bug's Life than anything that I'm doing to get her attention.

 

A big day at Aunt Sessie's house...the occasion was a surprise birthday party for Aunt Renee.  Ava got a hand-me-down from her own Mommy this time...Grampa John brought the pram that Mommy played with many years ago.

 

Ava's cousins went in the pool in the evening.  Here, Ava wonders if she might join them.  It wasn't warm at all (the mid 60s maybe), but she seems to be considering it just the same...

But, she'd have to convince her parents that it was OK for her to go in.

 

...We weren't too sure at first...

 

She hadn't napped all day....Was she really up for this?

 

She might not like it once she got in...

 

And, one of us was going to have to go in with her.....

 

So did it happen?

 

???

 

 

Of course!!! She had made pretty eyes...what could you do?

 

She thinks that she can use a big inner tube.  Mommy's there to make sure that Ava doesn't slip through.

 

After the swim, she ate several things from Aunt Sessie's garden.

 

A week later Ava was in Louisville for a mini vacation with Aunt Sessie, the girls, and Mommy and Daddy.  Mommy spent some time getting Ava's ponytail to look nice on this morning, but the humid Kentucky day messed it up pretty quickly.

In the Winner's Circle.

Bathing Beauty at the pool at Natural Bridge State Park in Eastern Kentucky.

Letting me know how she feels about all this picture taking.

Standing on her own in the shallow end and playing with the fountain.  She screamed and screamed when it was time to leave the pool a few minutes later.

On the way up to see the Natural Bridge.  Ava hiked on her own with the rest of us for part of the climb.  When we stopped to rest, we kept our spirits up with songs, such as "The Wheels on the Bus" (The Mommies on the bus goes "shh shh shh").

 

Back at home, taking a rest during another walk in the evening.

 

At Target, wearing the outfit that Cousin Bunny bought her.

 

And during the evening walk.

 

Sometimes she's just a blur...

 

...But others times she's pretty stationary for awhile, if you put her in the right place, that is.

And another Summertime pursuit...ice cream!

"Yummy!" (her words)

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