Barrette

Here is Ava hard at work in school doing art. She loves to color and cut and paste. Her Friday folder is always filled with things that she has made at school. Usually there is an interesting and imaginative story that goes with one or two of them. Last week she had some "movie tickets" that she made. Notice the barrette in her hair. Every day when she is ready for school she picks out a barrette and puts it in her hair. The one that she is wearing in this picture is a gift from Japan from her friend Bridgette and it is her favorite barrette.

Painted nails

Ava decided that she wanted to paint her nails. So she did it all by herself... with paint! She picked a nice sparkly blue paint and went to work on her fingers and toes. Then she went over and sat down in front of her little heater so that her nails would dry. There were little blue toe prints all over the floor. There was paint all over the bathroom. Thankfully it was washable paint! Then mom had her take a shower and it washed right off. Yesterday mom painted Ava's nails with real nail polish and Ava was quite happy.

Ava the photographer

This picture was taken by Ava. She decided that she wanted to use the camera to take some pictures and so she ran around the house taking pictures of Mom, the cats, the clock, etc. Later Dad found an old camera and gave it to her so now she has here own. Mom and Dad were quite impressed that she knew how to use the camera and actually took some pretty good pictures.

Sticker face

A nice picture of Mom and Ava. Well, Mom looks really good in her long black dress! All ready for the auction Gala. Ava decided it would be funny to put a bunch of stickers all over her face. We made her take them off before going to the sitters house, otherwise we were afraid that they would send us back home with her!

Simon's kitty bowl

Simon likes his food. Simon is always hungry. Simon is growing. Simon loves mommy.

CHA Auction cake

Saturday night was the Canyon Heights Academy Auction. Mom worked really hard on the auction for months. She made lots of calls and got many local businesses to donate items. She drove all over to pick up things and drop off letters and flyers. The last thing that Mom picked up was a specially decorated cake that had the school crest on it. Ava liked it and wanted to take a bite out of it. But the cake survived in the fridge for a day without Dad or Ava taking any bites. The auction raised a lot of money for the school. Thanks Mom!

Rainbow snow cone

Saturday morning Mom and Ava took Dad to the West Valley farmer's market to get a snow cone. Ava choose "rainbow" for the flavor. The snow cone was so big that Ava, Mom, and Dad all shared it. Ava ate most of it and she ate it so fast that she got a little bit of a head freeze!

Fish Derby!

Ava went to the fish derby in Santa Clara on Saturday morning. The local mens organizations sponsor the event and they fill the fountain in the town plaza with trout. The children then get a chance to try fishing. Ava caught a fish in less than one minute. Sounds like a good event so far. Then it got pretty traumatic for Ava and especially for Mom and Dad. They give you the fish in a plastic bag with some water to take home. Mom and Dad decided that we really didn't want to kill the fish and eat it so we drove to a local river to release it. Ava let it go in the water but then cried and cried. She said that she wanted the fish... that she wanted to eat the fish! We don't know if she really wanted to keep it or eat it, but suspect that she actually may have wanted to eat it. Mom and Dad were quite upset by the whole ordeal and don't know if we will try fishing again any time soon.

Jobs at school

Here is Ava doing one of her "jobs" at school. This one was sorting little pictures into things which are "living" and "non-living". Ava loves all of the jobs at school and gets very excited every month when they change the jobs. Today she told me that they are changing the jobs again because next week they will start studying zoology. Dad said that he didn't remember studying zoology or any sort of "ology" in preschool!

Cabana Club

We joined a swim club in the neighborhood. It opened for summer the other day and is open on the weekends. This Sunday was a beautiful day... sunny and 75, though it feels hotter in the sun. Ava, Mom, and Dad went to the Cabana Club to try it out. We spent two hours there with Dad and Ava swimming in the water. There were a few other children there that were Ava's age as well. Fifteen minutes before every hour they blow the whistle and say "Adult swim" which means that all kids have to get out of the pool for 15 minutes so that the adults can swim alone. Ava got a little upset each time and didn't like having to sit out while Dad got to swim alone. Ava loves the water!

Homemade strawberry juice

Ava had the idea to make strawberry juice. She had it all planned out and all that Mom had to do was watch. She smushed it and bit it and squeezed it some more. Made a little bit of a mess, but she was very satisfied with her "strawberry juice". Dad didn't get to see this firsthand... but then on Wednesday morning Ava again made Strawberry juice for Dad for breakfast!

Pinwheel

Another great purchase from the Dollar store. Ava calls it her pinwheel, or sometimes her "cartwheel". She ran around with it and made is spin. The day had a little wind so when we stuck it in the ground it did spin a bit.

Ultrasound

Last week Ava went with Mom and Dad to the 19 week ultrasound appointment. Mom asked if Ava could go and the nurse said "a very well behaved 4 year old can come." So off we went to Stanford Hospital. Ava was all dressed in her school uniform because that is where she was going afterwards. Many of the nurses told her how cute she was. Ava sat and watched them perform the ultrasound. She was very excited to see her baby sister!

Ava's school

Here is a 1-minute segment on Ava's school that is going to air on the news here in May. It was voted best grade school in our town. Ava isn't in the video and seemed a little upset that the "little kids" weren't in the video.

Game night

Sunday was our "stay out of the rain" day. Ava and Dad went to the YMCA swimming and Ava jumped in (without any life jacket or float noodle or kick board) and swam about 10 feet to Dad. This was a big accomplishment for Ava and Dad was so proud. Dad says that we need to get Ava in to some swimming lessons this summer!

Then Sunday night after dinner and bath was "game night". Mom picked out one game and Ava picked another and we played them both. Mom picked "Busytown" here is Dad and Ava being silly with the magnifying glass pieces. Ava picked Mickey Mouse Yahtzee. Ava always says what order is, usually she says "the pattern is Ava, Daddy, Mommy". This means that poor Mom is usually last.

Bath shooter

Dad bought Ava a water toy from the Dollar Store. It is a kind of giant syringe that shoots water. Dad thought that Ava could use it in the bath tub. Well... that wasn't such a good idea. Ava went crazy with it and we wound up with water all over the floor, walls, and ceiling! Mom says that the "bath crayon" (which is what Ava calls it since it looks like a giant crayon) is one for outdoors or the beach.

Science experiment

Sunday was a rainy day so Mom, Dad, and Ava spent most of the day inside. Ava and Mom did another experiment from her Science kit. This one had some coloring and some acid that did an underwater eruption. Ava thought that it was pretty neat since she loves volcanoes.

Watching grass grow

Ava learned about plants in school. One project that they did was for each child to grow grass. Ava brought home her grass and it was nice and tall and green. We kept it inside for a few days but then caught Simon chewing on it. So we put it outside where it could get some rain and sun and NOT get eaten by a cat! Eventually we should probably plant is in the yard somewhere.

Kite flying

This weekend was really windy! Saturday Dad and Ava flew the kite. It went all the way up to the end of the string! Ava held on tight. The wind was wild and a few times the kite just took a huge crash dive into the ground! Ava helped launch the kite again.

Spring planting

Ava and Mom planted catnip on Friday. Ava got out her gardening tools and went right to work. Mom can't really keep indoor plants alive so maybe Ava has Grandma's "green thumb". Anyways the cats will have something to snack on when the go out in the backyard this summer!

Harold the Helicopter

This past week was Ava's Easter school vacation. Thursday Mom and Ava went to Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo with Jason and his parents. Jason is in Ava's class at school and they are good friends and both seem to love amusement parks. Last year they met a few times at Great America. Ava and Jason rode lots of rides together, this one was Harold the Helicopter.

Flafel's Diner

Mom took Ava and Grandma to Flafel's Diner in San Jose. It was featured the TV show called "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives" on the Food Network and they serve Mediterranean food like flafels and gyros. Mom and Grandma both thought it was really good. Ava didn't try any and instead ate her peanut butter sandwich instead!

Rainboots

Sunday afternoon was a real soaker in Nor-Cal. Ava insisted on going out in the rain and playing with her boots and umbrella. It was raining pretty hard and was a little chilly, but apparently that doesn't really bother a kid!

Ava's park

Ava's park is the San Tomas Park in San Jose. It is about two blocks from our house. She likes to ride her bike there with Mom or Dad. Sometimes after school Mom and Ava go to the park with Ava's friend Bridgette and her mother.

The park has a tall rope pyramid that Ava loves to climb. The swings and slide are a little small but Ava still has fun on them too. But the most fun thing is a little seat that Ava sits on and Grandma spins her around and around. Ava laughs hysterically and gets so dizzy that she can't even walk for three whole minutes.