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Archive for the ‘Ava’ Category

28 Jan

Monumental projects

Posted by Rebecca in Ava. 6 comments

Last semester, Ava’s second grade class created projects about national monuments and parks. Her assignments included a “postcard” presentation about the Grand Canyon, which you can watch here.

She also had to create a model of a monument. It was so interesting to watch her process with this—while I was trying to figure out how she’d chisel the Statue of Liberty out of floral foam without cutting herself, she was Googling ideas that didn’t include a trip to the ER for stitches.

Ultimately, she decided to construct her model using a doll. She was quite attentive to the details, which included draping of the gown, the inscribed year on the handmade book, a Christmas-bulb-turned-torch and the toothpick crown (with exactly seven spires). Everything had to be just so. She was quite bothered by the fact spray paint wouldn’t adhere to the doll’s hair, but I think her end result was remarkable nonetheless!

23 Jan

Coupon wars

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Overheard. 3 comments

Ava just handed this to me. Her sweet smile dissipated, and she admonished: “I only have ONE.”

It should last me at least the next 20 minutes.

19 Jan

Ava and Owen

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Owen. 4 comments

You’d be hard pressed to find a baby that’s kissed more than this little guy. Not that he seems to mind…

28 Dec

Overheard

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Overheard, Parenting. 1 comment

Bec: “We are going to visit Daddy’s undergraduate advisor at his house, and we need you to be on your very best behavior. He doesn’t have kids, and so it’s really important that you are exceedingly good.”

Ava: “So, basically, you want us to lie about what kids are really like.”

Bec: “Yes, exactly.”

26 Dec

A&O fix

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia. Leave a comment

In Christmas dresses made by my mom…

25 Dec

Merry Christmas!

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia, Owen. 1 comment

21 Dec

Deck the halls. ALL the halls.

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Olivia, Rebecca. Leave a comment

Seems the Tooth Fairy has been busy decorating–her door has a new wreath (and a liberal sprinkling of gold fairy dust). Olivia assures me there’s a tiny little Christmas tree inside.

16 Dec

He sees you when you’re sleeping…

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Family, Olivia, Rebecca. 1 comment

Santa has long been one my very favorite things about the holidays, and sharing this tradition with my kids has been incredibly enjoyable.

When I was a kid, I vividly recall my mom telling me she spied Santa checking up on me–it was July, and he was peeking around the big red barn as she mowed the lawn. Then, close to Christmas one year, I found sleighbells in my stuffed animals: Mom supposed Santa dropped them while looking in on me one night.

Perhaps not coincidentally, Ava and Olivia found bells in their beds one morning in November–undoubtedly dropped from Santa’s accoutrement as he peered over them as they slept.

13 Dec

Tis the season…

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Bryan, Olivia. 2 comments

The moment we returned from Florida, I insisted we secure our spot for the next day’s Old Fashioned Christmas Parade. Despite his desire to first spend more than 20 minutes at home, Bryan agreed to load up the kids yet again and head downtown. As it turned out, the Saturday parade brought lovely warm weather, a carful of cute kids and the company of good friends.

Later that afternoon (and really, before we even unpacked), we set out to the Christmas tree farm.

We spent Sunday decorating and preparing for the week ahead, which included a hosting a party for my team from work and attending Olivia’s Christmas concert.

We also hosted another small gathering for a very special guest…more on that soon!

10 Dec

Disney, done.

Posted by Rebecca in Ava, Bryan, Olivia, Owen, Rebecca. 6 comments

One more Disney post–just to capture the best memories, like this one of Owen just before he took his first swim in the chilly hotel pool.

And, this one, wherein we discovered we could travel from our resort to the Magic Kingdom by ferry (which is far better than the Monorail, at least in my estimation).

Our hotel was right on the water, and a family of ducklings hung out on the ground below our balcony.

I changed our reservation at the last minute, requesting a room that overlooked the Magic Kingdom. We had the good fortune of seeing the nightly fireworks from our balcony, but Bryan had other plans and insisted we stay in the park for the show one night. It was late, and we were dead on our feet after 15 hours of walking. He was right, though; it was entirely worth it. When the fireworks were done, Ava said, “That’s the most awesome thing I’ve ever seen.” (Olivia promptly asserted, “Really? What about Owen?”)

We spent an afternoon in Epcot and enjoyed champagne in France, beer in Germany and wine in Italy. The girls had their faces painted and visited with St. Nick. That night, we attended an incredible Christmas concert that featured Neil Patrick Harris retelling the Christmas story (with the help of a huge orchestra and impressive choir).

Did I mention NPH? Oh, right. I think I did.

Admittedly, some memories are probably worth forgetting, like the utterly terrifying trip down Splash Mountain.

But the girls made some new friends…

And secured autographs from some VIPs.

Perhaps my favorite moment was seeing the girls play in this interactive fountain, and hearing Bryan say he remembered doing the same when he was a kid.