Father of the Year

Rob has reached what he probably considers his greatest achievement as a father. Tonight after picking up our fast food (momma don't cook on Friday nights), we sat down on the couch and Rob reached for the remote. Then the following words came unprompted out of Ava's mouth:

"I wanna watch football daddy."

It's been about an hour and I still can't wipe the smile off his face. And I thought he was wrapped around her finger before.

Some recent Ava-isms

One of the best thing about 2 year olds is the way they talk and the things they say. Ava talks quite a bit for her age, in fact sometimes I forget she's only two. I remember reading once that when we learn new information, our brain tries to tie it to something we already know as a way to retain it. Here are some examples of what I interpret as Ava's brain doing just that. Either that or she's just two and says funny things:

"We saw shampoo the whale. I love shampoo the whale." (After seeing Shamu at SeaWorld this weekend)

"I wanna push the button for the aligator" (Standing outside the elevator)

"Let's sing Book of Morning stories" (When asked what song she wanted for Family Home Evening)

I am sure there are a thousand more that I am forgetting as she cracks me up a million times a day these days with all the funny things she says and the way she says them. And since I'm posting this today, here's a little Happy Birthday shout out to Rob! Happy Birthday babe!

Potty Training Spiders

Today Ava and I were in the bathroom and I saw a spider running across the floor. I grabbed the closest thing to me and gave it a whack. Then I told Ava to grab me some toilet paper, which she did. I picked the spider up in the toilet paper and flushed it down the toilet. Ava, after watching all of this, looked up at me and said "Mommy, is that spider going potty?" Ummmm yeah, something like that. LOL.

Busy summer days

I've been absent for awhile, mostly because we've been having too much summer fun with friends. I've also been holding off posting because I wanted to get Ava's birthday pics and our 4th of July pics up but have yet to download them. But this week is the week that we get to spend with my family up in the mountains in Idaho at our cabin. I look forward to this week all year and feel like it's worth noting on here. This is the first time that Rob has been able to come for the majority. He has spent the last few days hiking the Tetons with some old law school buddies but should be arriving here tonight. Just pulling up here and looking up at the sky takes my breath away. I can't remember the last time I saw so many stars. And the weather here is my favorite, hot summer days and cool summer nights. Today I rode on the jet ski with my sister and as I looked around and breathed a sigh of relief, I realized that just as people have comfort foods, this is one of my very favorite comfort places. I immediately relax and know its time to sit back and enjoy myself, it takes me back to all the summers spent here as a child with my family. Today as I watched Ava play in the sand with her cousins, I found myself remembering images of myself and my cousins playing in the same sand when we were her age and throughout our youth. I am glad that she will grow up with equally fond memories. The week has just begun and already it's flying by. Before I know it, it will be back to real life. But I'll prop my feet up and enjoy it while it lasts.

Already 2

My dear Ava:

It's hard to believe you are already two years old. The last two years have been a crazy, fun, exciting whirlwind. You are such a huge blessing to your dad and I and we love you to pieces. It's amazing to see how much you change every day and all the new things you learn. You are becoming very independent these days. It's not rare for you to respond to a request from me with "I don't wanna _________." or "No way!" The word your dad and I constantly use to describe you is intense. Everything you do you put your passion into, whether it is playing with your dolls or saying hello to a friend. You are so smart and talk so well for your age. You keep me laughing everyday with the silly things you say. You love to read books and would do that all day if I would sit and read to you. You also adore puzzles and lately you really like playing "mommy" to your dolls. Your dad and I are often told "Shhh, be quiet, my baby is sleeping." You are quite the musical child and you astonish me with all the songs that you know. You sing almost 24 hours a day and are capable of turning anything into a song. In the car when we sit at a red light you will often shout "green! turn green!" and when the light changes you will burst into song "Green, green, I love green. Green, green, I love green." You have spent much of the morning today singing Happy Birthday to yourself while you went about your playtime. Another thing you love, which you don't get from your mom, is bugs. When you see one crawling outside you get so excited and always try to get it to crawl in your hand. You will crouch down and follow it around while saying "Hello bug. Hi bug. Whatcha doin bug?"

The last two years have been wonderful and here's to hoping the next many are the same. Your dad and I love you more than you know and are so grateful you are part of our life. Happy Birthday my little one.
Love-
Mom