Ava has a subscription to Highlights magazine (thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!) that she LOVES. This month’s issue had a recipe for salad built to look like mice, and she and Bryan set to work last week.
Archive for the ‘Ava’ Category
22 Apr
Sleepy sisters
After five years of doing everything by the book (or by all the books I can get my hands on), I don’t think we’ve made much headway in the sleep department when it comes to Ava. And, now that Olivia is out of her crib and into a toddler bed, she’s (literally) harder to contain.
I have decided that super rigid routines don’t seem to make much of a difference, and so I’m done fighting battles about bedtime. I don’t care where you sleep; I don’t care who you sleep with. Just GO. TO. BED. Someone’s bed…anyone’s bed. If you’re in mine, though, I’m going to move you back to yours at some point in the evening.
And, when I came upstairs last night, this is what I found in my bed. The girls like sleeping together, though they often have a bit of a hard time settling down at night when they are side by side.
Do you think they fell asleep mid-snuggle or mid-struggle?
21 Apr
Notes from Ava
Now that Ava is learning how to assemble letters into words, we’re reaping the benefits at home. Just yesterday, after overhearing a conversation I had with Bryan, she left me this on a Post-It:
Rember to turn of yur flat iron
And, then last night, on a much larger piece of paper:
To Mom and Dad – Becaus is not a resin – From Ava
Think I will submit future notes here.
18 Apr
Overheard: Peer Pressure Edition
After she confessed to being less-than-kind to a friend at a birthday party yesterday, I chastised Ava and insisted she be nice to everyone. Here’s the ensuing exchange.
Ava: “Well Ginger did it too!”
Mom: “Well if Ginger jumped off a bridge, would you jump, too?
Ava, after a long pause and with much conviction: “Yes.”
It was my first time throwing out an old-school retort like that, and it failed miserably. Too early?
9 Apr
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique
When we started to plan our trip to Disneyland, I asked our friends what we shouldn’t miss. Alisa and Melissa insisted the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique—a “beauty salon where little girls are magically transformed into little princesses”—had to be at the top of our list. The boutique is owned by Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother and operated by Fairy Godmothers-in-training.
I was a bit disappointed Olivia missed the cutoff age of three, but as my fellow first-born friend Alisa noted, “That’s what she gets for being born second.”
So, early that Thursday morning, we pulled out the Cinderella costume and Ava and I headed into the park. A godmother-in-training whisked her over to a salon chair and began task of piling her short blond bob into a neat little bun on the very top of her head. (Ava had the choice of three hairstyles, and I held my breath until she passed up the “Miley Cyrus,” opting instead for the “Classical Princess.”)
While one godmother worked on her hair, another painted her nails a sparkly pink.
They used–and this is a conservative estimate–a half cup of gel in Ava’s hair. See that glob on the godmother’s hand? That was for ONE SECTION.
Ava picked out a blue and silver ring, telling the godmother that her “favorite finger” was actually her thumb. News to me!
A can and half of hairspray provided the foundation for a good sprinkling of fairy dust.
As Ava made a wish, the godmother said the magic words. A twinkling mirror appeared to reveal the newly-minted princess.
Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo!
As we walked through the park that day, staff members stopped to greet Ava with, “Thank you so much for visiting the kingdom today, Your Highness.”
Life back in Kansas as a commoner has been a bit of an adjustment!
5 Apr
Tinkerbell!
Meeting Tinkerbell was on the top of Ava’s Disney to-do list. She’s been a big fan for quite a while, even dressing as Tinkerbell last Halloween. She insisted that we pack the costume my mom made for her, and she donned it the morning of our first full day in the park.
We arrived at the entrance to Pixie Hollow relatively early that morning, and there wasn’t even a hint of a line. So, when Ava wanted to take time for a bit of face painting, I didn’t argue.
It was at this point that I realized I had been looking at the exit to Pixie Hollow—not the entrance—which explained the lack of a line.
As we made our way around to the entrance, we found a line filled with toddlers and preschoolers that appeared to be at least 2.5 miles long. (Disney has mastered the queue–Bryan and I debated if queuing was an art or a science, but either way, there must be a significant amount of research that goes into how people determine that 75 minutes is indeed a reasonable amount of time to meet a fairy.)
I don’t have any photos of the wait, mostly because I spent the entire time trying to prevent Olivia from ingesting the hand sanitizer provided at every turn in the queue. She had disinfected every inch of exposed skin she could find, not stopping at her own. (By the way, Doug bestowed the nickname Stinkerbell on Liv this weekend–pretty appropriate, don’t you think?)
After almost an hour and a half, we reached the first fairy in Pixie Hollow. None of us could remember her name, but the mere sight of a Disney character made us feel as though we were making some progress. The girls hugged her in celebration.
By the time we rounded the next bend, Olivia could hardly contain herself. When she caught site of Tinkerbell, we literally had to hold her back so she didn’t crash through the rest of the people in line.
Finally!
In the end, Olivia was too shy to commit to a hug. Ava, on the other hand, would have listed to Tinkerbell preen over her costume all day.
Olivia warmed up just as we were ready to move on and allow the 1,200 people behind us a chance to meet Tinkerbell.
Ava, who had been on the lookout for pixie dust all morning, received just enough from Tinkerbell to find herself on Cloud 9 the rest of the day.
30 Mar
Happy birthday, happily ever after
When we arrived at our hotel in Disneyland, Ava received a “happy birthday” button. Over the course of the day, every single Disney employee we encountered stopped to wish her a happy birthday. It must have happened at least a hundred times, although as Ava asserted, it was closer to a zillion (and then, a zillion and one). Even the participants in the parades would stop to greet her. She was speechless, and Bryan has a hard time recalling this part of the trip without tearing up.
We planned a dinner with the Disney Princesses for Wednesday night at Ariel’s Grotto. Ava was slightly disappointed when she found out it wasn’t a private dinner, but it was still pretty exciting.
One by one, the princesses stopped by our table to wish Ava a happy birthday and teach her a few new poses (which as you’ll soon see, she employed more than once during the trip).
Olivia loves Sleeping Beauty, and she was happy to give her a big hug, too. (Never once did I see any of the princesses recoil upon being accosted by a toddler with extremely messy hands. Impressive.)
We had ordered a birthday cake for Ava, which was a big surprise to her. The big surprise for us? Our server made an announcement about her birthday to the entire restaurant, and nearly 200 people sang to her in unison. She seemed in awe of the entire experience…
…but recovered in time to make a wish and blow out her candle.
I imagine it will be hard to top this next year!
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