Ava and Willow

Ava is a bit afraid of dogs, but we are working with her - teaching her that doggies are sweet, loving animals. This is her Grandma Howard's dog, Willow. She loves to let Willow lick her hand, and she loves to feed her carrots.




In this last picture, she is feeding Willow a carrot.

Smart Kid

Ava loves to look for diamonds when we are driving down the road. By diamonds, I mean road signs in the shape of a diamond. (When she was younger, she would look for octagons) Wednesday night, on the way home from Papa and Mamaw's house, she started saying, "Say amarillo diamond." I knew she was speaking Spanish, but I didn't know *what* she was saying. I wondered if "amarillo" meant diamond in Spanish. She kept saying this over and over as she saw 4 or 5 signs. I actually felt like I was in a "Go, Diego, Go!" episode. :)

Today she said the word again in front of Michael. So I told him the story. He informed me that "amarillo" was yellow in Spanish. Then he asked me if the signs were yellow. I know you are not going to be surprised by my answer... they were! Is my kid a genius or what?!? I just had to share that story. She also impressed me tonight by counting to 12. I do work with her on stuff, but I promise you all that I do not sit around and try to push stuff on her. I understand that she is only 2! I know you all are thinking, "well, she's in preschool now", but let's remember that she has only been in for 2 days. Okay, I am just bragging now. :)

I forgot to mention that she can also count in Spanish. Yes, I'm still bragging.

First Day of Preschool

Ava's first "official" day of preschool was Sept. 1st. I was a little worried about the first day because open house had not gone well. Ava was used to being in a different room all summer. She had never met her teachers before, and none of her summer camp friends are in her class. She did cry when we left her on that first day. But when we took her back on Friday, she walked right in, gave Ms. Daniela a big smile, and said goodbye to mom and dad! I never should have doubted her!



In her classroom

Big Girl Bed

Wow. I am approaching a year since I last updated this blog. Sorry to be a stranger! I think I got caught up in the winter holidays and just never sat back down to update. So here we are, August 2010. Ava is growing up so fast. She started preschool summer camp back in July, and she loves it. She will start regular preschool on September 1st. We just want her to learn things like standing in line, waiting her turn, following directions... stuff like that.

This weekend we put Ava into her toddler bed. It is something I have been putting off for so long because she doesn't nap. I am afraid to lose "rest time" in her crib. She has slept in the bed 2 nights, and she has done fantastic. Mostly because she doesn't nap! She is exhausted by bed time! I guess there are some advantages to skipping naps. Here are some pics of her "big girl bed".



She decided to lay the other way.


Playing in her room the next day.