Our Little Ballerina

Today Ava went to a birthday party at a ballet studio. It was a real class- first position, second position and leaps and turns they called a funny name that I am unsure how to spell! She did well for the first part and then was only interested in when they were going to cut the cake. She somehow spotted it hiding in the corner. It was a lot of fun to watch the girls in their leotards and tutus.

Picnic, Pool and Football Saturday

The day started with a picnic social for Ava's preschool at a local park. When Ava was picking out her outfit for the day, she asked me if she had to wear her uniform. She was very excited when I told her she could wear anything she wanted. As Todd and I socialized with the other parents, the kids played with one another. There was also a petting zoo there where you could feed the animals. Ava fed the geese and has a bite mark on her ankle to prove it! Even so, she still isn't afraid of them. We are so happy that we found this school- what a wonderful community. The priests even showed up to say a blessing for Ava's class.
After the picnic, we were invited to a cabana club for some swimming. Then we went to their house and watched the UofM/Indiana game as Ava and the little girl, Bridgette, played. Her dad is from Michigan and went to UofM so it was an instant hit for all of us.

New Toothpaste

Today I bought Ava a new toothbrush and toothpaste. She said that the "fur" on the old one tasted funny. Perhaps that was because we've had it for over a year!! We also bought some new all natural strawberry toothpaste. Ava seems to think that it tastes great because the box had a picture of a strawberry on it, but I think it tastes like rubber glue. At least she is happy and brushing her teeth!
By the way, magic markers have now been added to the confiscated list. During some imaginative play today she decided to write on one of her shirts. Then she brought it to the bathroom to spot it. She then put it in her pretend washer and dryer. When she took it out, she looked at it and said " The spot came out." That's when I got a little suspicious. At least she's honest. I'm not sure how much longer that will last.

Naptime in the Car

Ava loves hearing stories from when she was younger. She especially loves hearing the one where she fell asleep on the way home from a park at 5 in the afternoon and didn't wake up until the next morning. Well, the other day she was looking pretty sleepy in her carseat as we were driving home. As soon as I pulled in the driveway she perked right up, but told me to leave her in the car. Even though that sounded a little suspicious I thought a few minutes of peace and quiet might be good for me so I let her stay. A few minutes later I heard her come into the house. She walked past me, not saying a word, and then into her room. She came out of her room wearing pajamas and had her pillow and blanket. Then she got back into the car and laid down to take a nap. All along she had no intention of falling asleep, but she knew she was being pretty silly. Here she is "sleeping" in the car.

Confiscated Items

Lately, some of Ava's toys have been disappearing. A few days ago, her beads were taken away because she refused to pick them up. Yesterday, her markers were confiscated because a big blue streak showed up on her carpet. It wasn't on purpose, but she knows that she is only allowed to color on her little table or the kitchen table. Today she lost her scissors because she purposely cut a hole in her pants. After she did it she told me that it's okay because I can sew it. She also lost her Thomas flashlight because she threw it when she didn't feel like brushing her teeth. Hmm, pretty soon there will be no toys left. Hopefully, she will realize that she isn't getting her toys back anytime soon! Attached is a picture of Ava and her new hole.

Which One Was It?

We had a bit of an incident this weekend involving the computer modem and an unnamed cat. One of them decided to use the modem as a litter box. Ava thought it was pretty funny and decided to tell everyone.
Todd thinks that we need to "eliminate" the problem. Later in the day, I overheard him telling Ava that Dena is really old and sick. I better keep my eye on him before he decides to take matters into his own hands. Plus, I'm not even sure it was her! Could have been that sneaky Siamese.

More Artwork

After school we came home and Ava started working on her artwork again. First she made a bow out of construction paper and tape. I almost fell over when she showed me her bow. She even taped it to her Minnie Mouse nightgown.
Next she drew a picture of Simon. She really amazes me. Later she drew a picture of Dena, but that looks more like a bunny than a cat. Close enough, I guess.
Believe it or not, I didn't help her out with any of these crafts. She has a very creative mind and hand!

Little Artist

This morning Ava found her winter hat from last year and decided to put it on. When she started painting, I thought she looked like a real artist so I snapped a picture. Afterwards she went and played on the swing in her "colorful" outfit.
Next we headed to the library for story time and met one of her friends for lunch. When we got back home, she immediately went back to using her imagination and making crafts.
At school they have a special birthday celebration where you wear a birthday hat and walk around a candle holding a globe. Here Ava made her own special birthday hat and pretended to have her school birthday celebration. She even wrote a "4" and "HA" on the birthday hat , but stopped at the "P." Not bad for a 3 year old!
Her last craft of the day was when she made a sword and armor. Notice the armor on her shins and on her chest- she taped them on. The purple and orange thing is her sword. She got the idea from one of her Franklin books. The paper even matched her new candy corn socks!

Walking the cat

Tonight Ava and mom had the idea to take Simon for a walk around the yard. Mom put a harness and leash on Simon and Ava tried to walk him. The trick to walking Simon is that he is really walking you. You have to follow him. Ava said "he is such a handsome boy", because she hears mom say this all of the time. Look at Ava's socks, they are Halloween socks, purple and orange with little candy corns on them.

Labor Day Carnival

Monday we headed to a local carnival that had six bouncy houses plus another area with water play, toys, petting zoo and many other things. Lots of treats were consumed by the little lady- first a large hot dog, then cotton candy, snow cone and popcorn. Seriously. Believe it or not, she even went to bed without getting up once. We told her that if she got up then she wouldn't get any cotton candy or snow cones again. Our threat worked!

Coyote Point Museum

We headed to the Coyote Point Museum where we saw several animals- porcupine, bobcat, otter, badger, snakes, turtles and raccoon. The raccoon was washing himself just like our cats do so she thought that was pretty cute. I told Ava to ask Grandma and Grandpa about the raccoon stories from when I was a kid. Maybe we can dig out some of the pictures! The museum had a craft area where she made a snake out of clay. She used acorns for its head and eyes.
After the museum we headed to our friend's house. Ava had a great time playing with Anya and Lindsay on their huge trampoline. The day ended with salmon and a Carvel ice cream cake (Yum!).

Slinky

We went to a birthday party last night at "The Jungle." It is a huge place with bouncy houses, ball pits, mazes and games. She had a blast. After pizza and cake, she even got to take home a really fun gift bag that had sunglasses, paddleball, chinese finger trap, pinwheel, activity book and slinky. They were all a hit, but the slinky turned out to be the most versatile. Plus, we don't have any stairs in the house so we couldn't show her how it is "supposed" to work. Ava made it into a saxophone (pic #1), an accordion (Pic #2), a belt (Pic #3), a tunnel for marbles and finally a mangled mess.

Fancy Nails

Today Ava decided that she wanted her toenails painted. She choose two colors- red because Mimi had her toes painted red and purple because that's the color Mom wears. She did a great job sitting still while I painted them and even sat in her rocking chair as they dried. She even asked me to turn on the fan to help them dry quicker. You would think that she has been to the nail salon before!