Archive for the ‘Ava’ Category
22 Apr
Girl Scout bridging ceremony
Ava joined Girl Scouts this year, and last night, she “bridged” from Brownies into Juniors. (This, by the way, was the first time it occurred to me she will be in FOURTH grade next year, which I’m certain is unreasonable, if not entirely impossible.)
During the ceremony, they sang the same Girl Scout songs I sang some 27 (!) years ago, and then shared their favorite parts of the year. (Ava enjoyed learning about France and creating inventions.) Her friend Sophia is in red on the far left, and her friend Kayin is just to her right. In all, there are about 20 girls in her troop.
Congrats, Ava!
7 Apr
Overheard
Rebecca, to the cat: “I saw you chase that bunny, and I’m glad she got away.”
Ava: “Why? If she’d caught her, we’d have a pet bunny.”
Rebecca: “Yeah, I don’t think that would have been the outcome, actually.”
Ava: “What? …oh. Ick.”
Olivia: “I WANT A HAMSTER.”
31 Mar
Overheard: Weekend edition
Ava: “I’d really like to be president, but I honestly don’t think it’s a good idea.”
Olivia, who is certain her career path will lead to the Oval Office: “WHAT? You don’t want be president with your OWN SISTER?”
Ava: “If I were president, I would change the week to be two days long, and the weekend to be five days long, and that just probably wouldn’t work out so well.”
24 Mar
Happy ninth birthday, Ava Kate!
Born on a cold and snowy morning in Wisconsin, our firstborn spent five days in the NICU as she recovered from a hole in her lung. She hasn’t let us rest since, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our determined, smart little girl has made sure the past nine years have been filled with sleepless nights, challenging days and endless amounts of laughter.
Thanks, sweet Ava Kate, for teaching us how to be parents. We love you so much.
18 Mar
Ava’s Ninth Birthday Party
We celebrated Ava’s ninth birthday a bit early this year—friends and family joined us in Kansas for a sweet little luau last weekend. Many thanks to those who joined us in person and those who sent kind greetings from afar! My photos are below; you can see Doug’s here.
The day included near-tropical temperatures, limbo, Hawaiian snacks and a piñata (held by one very brave dad after the ribbon broke).
Happy ninth, Ava Kate!
17 Feb
Two down, one to go!
The girls completed their second trimester last week, and we had parent-teacher conferences for both. Ava’s doing exceptionally well in most everything, though her teacher noted she rushes through story problems, sometimes to her own detriment. (Given they all look like this to me, I have a feeling I’m somewhat responsible for any shortcomings here.)
As Ava approaches nine, she’s becoming more and more poised. She’s helpful at home, and only hassles me about my requests for help with chores 75 percent of the time, which is a noticeable improvement over the past year. She’s incredibly independent, and really wishes we’d treat her like the 16-year-old she believes herself to be. Ava has a small circle of sweet friends, and so far we’ve avoided the drama that seems to come around this stage. I desperately hope that continues.
Olivia is basically made for kindergarten, and her teacher reports she’s doing very well across the board. We’re fortunate to have a great enrichment program at our school, and both girls are benefiting from extra engagement in math and reading. Olivia will soon be adding in a component that includes research projects with the school librarian. This is remarkable to me, because at home this child would rather sleep or watch TV than do anything remotely scholarly. She spends the better part of her free time playing computer games and picking fights with her sister, so I’m thrilled she seems to be doing well in the classroom. She has a remarkable sense of humor, but doesn’t yet realize we’re laughing because she’s legitimately funny. She’s mercurial, this one. Sweet as can be one moment, and absolutely furious the next. Never one to temper her emotions, that’s for sure.
We’ve had a great school year so far with snow days, Girls Scouts, gymnastics and playdates. Hard to believe Ava only has two more years left in this school–she’ll move on before Owen starts kindergarten. So, while our days seem complicated logistically now, I know our lives are only going become more challenging as the years go by. Good thing we have these to to keep us focused on what really matters.
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