Little Lins!

Ava has been memorizing and reciting books to herself. Check out her new skills.

Dan and I discovered a new tickle spot. I don’t think Ava was as pleased as we were. Check her out saying ‘no, no, no’ (at 00:30) and ‘čekaj’ (aka wait at 00:51) and then diving right into singing B-I-N-G-O (at 1:11). Enjoy!

And if we had an ultrasound picture at this exact moment, I’m pretty sure Baby #2 would have been making the same face. Hehe.

I am going to start posting more pictures of our baby in the belly and ultrasounds as we get them. So, that means we not only have to start thinking about actual baby names for Baby #2 but also a new name for this website. But I’m not stressing… yet. We still have 25 weeks to go!

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Hi Mama. Can I give the baby a hug?

Hi Baby! I’m big sister!!

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I think my heart just exploded.

Hi there. Our little Ava is now 113 weeks old… and she has a little bit of an under bite. (Queue the gasping.)

Over the weekend, we made a trip down south again. To Ava’s surprise, there was an Ava-sized Strawberry Shortcake there to dance with. We try to not have any balloons at all at our house. They scare the crap out of Yoda.

Ava got to spend some more time with her Nona Dinka and show off her double-fisted coloring abilities.

She also got to spend the evening with her Nona. Thanks babysitter! Here she is trying on a dress that needs to be altered… but trying to pin up a hem is almost impossible when our little ballerina wouldn’t stop twirling.

When it was time for us to say good-bye to Ava for the evening, she gave us a kiss and continued playing. Muh. See ya. While we were away, Ava got to eat A LOT of her favorite soup. So much so, that she woke up soaking wet the next morning. Ava also got to show off her putting a doll to sleep skills. When Nona said that she was going to make a good Mommy some day, Ava looked at her, stuck out her bottom lip and started to cry for me. Good one Nona. No reminders that we are gone please.

The reason we left Ava was because we were invited out for an evening of fun for Michelle’s birthday. Grace wasn’t too happy when we showed up sans Ava.

We spent some time at her in-laws house enjoying snacks and a game of washer toss. Oh Mahky!

And we were off to downtown Fullerton for dinner… and a few drinks too. Oh Dan!

The next morning, we packed up the car and headed to Carrie’s place. Ava was bringing a bag of cookies that she made to Deets… and a freshly picked flower for him too. Her idea. She refused to put the cookies and flower down during the drive…

… even after she passed out cold. Still holding onto them.

At Carrie’s place, Ava was a little shy around her dog Darla. At times like this, I wish Rudy was in Ava’s life for more than just 9 months. Maybe she would be more comfortable with dogs as she is now with cats.

But after some time, she got more and more comfortable with Darla. I bet if they had a couple hours together, they would be running around in circles together… and eventually pass out together on Darla’s bed. Hehe.

The plan of the day was to hit up the much anticipated Griffith Park. First stop, the antique merry-go-round. This is actually the ride that inspired Walt Disney himself to create Disneyland. Ava, pick a winner!

I don’t know what it is about antique merry-go-rounds, like the one in Santa Barbara. They go super fast. Dan was explaining that it had something to do with the old motors but I stopped listening after my first eye roll. Smarty pants. So, this is the only picture I have of Ava on this ride… while Dada was buckling her in. After a spin or two, her bottom teeth came out and she jumped off of the horse. Afterward, she kept repeating ‘too fast’.

So, they only smiles you’ll see on this ride are from these two. Hehe. Next time, we’ll try to put Ava on one of the slower inside horses… if she lets us near the thing.

After a few more stops around Griffith Park that fared much much better than the merry-go-round (posts to come! thanks again Carrie and Deets!), we stopped for a quick bite to eat. As soon as Carrie got her coffee, Ava jumped off of my lap and ran onto hers. You see, I created a whip cream monster this week. During my weekly stop for a white chocolate steamer, one of the baristas asked if I wanted some homemade whip cream on top. I said sure. As I walking out of the coffee shop and to the car where Dada and Ava were waiting, Ava’s eyes bugged out of her head. Ice cream for breakfast? And that is how I created my whip cream monster.

So, it is no longer dark after dinner thanks to the time change.

So we are back to our walks around the block routines.

But now it takes us a bit longer to make our loop. Ava insists on patting the baby and readjusting her blankie a million times. Why do all kids have OCD?

On Tuesday, it was not only Fish Taco Tuesday at Rubio’s but it was also St. Patrick”s Day. We met Grace and the crew for dinner and the girls just happened to wear the same exact skirt. If this happened to Michelle and me, we would probably be embarrassed and roshambo for who had to go home and change. But not these two. They matched. And were more than happy about it.

I always get a picture of the girls together. Little Cole is there too… and always smiling. It is just impossible to get the three of them together… because little brother’s have cooties. Hehe.

While reading the book ‘Daddy kisses’ with Ava, Dan copies the animals in the book and kisses her where the dads kiss their babies. So when the Daddy Giraffe kissed Baby Giraffe on the neck, Dan did the same to Ava. That’s when Ava told him ‘No Dada No’, stood up, pointed to her back, and told Dada to kiss this neck. Hehe. She made the sweetest mistake, thinking her neck was her back. I wish I had it on video to share. Plus, when she started to stand up and point to her back, for a moment I thought she was going to tell him to kiss her ass!

Daycare will still going well. Dan asked her who her best friends were in class and she answered ‘Ava R, Brianna and Miss Dolores’.  Everyday at pick-up, I get a paper that details what Ava did during the day. Every time I ask her what she ate for lunch, she almost always says crackers… and sometimes pizza. Which is not true, so put down the phone. No need to call 911. And when I ask her what songs she sings at school, she always answers ‘Jingle Bells’. I mentioned this to her teacher, Miss Dolores, and she said it was true, Ava requests it every single day. All the different teachers that lead singing time, get the request from Ava and agree even though Christmas is long gone.

We went to new restaurant in town called the El Rey Cantina. It was half restaurant and half bar. The decor was sorta gothic, dimmly lit and had velvet pictures of Elvis every where. I guess El Rey means The King in Spanish, so it totally made sense. As soon as we sat down, Ava said ‘drugi restoran’ (another restaurant). I guess the decor was kinda freaking her out. I then explained to her that her Nona loves to sing to Elvis as much as she loves to sing to Deets. After that connection clicked, she was okay with the place.

This wisteria plant in our backyard might look nice but it’s a pain in the butt. It is in bloom for a short couple weeks and then either green or bare… and what a mess. But each year I try to get a picture of it in the background with Ava. This year we did much better. And in case you forgot how the previous years looked like, here is Year 1 and Year 2.

Hmmm, this weekly post is pretty long. I must be feeling a little like my old self again. Hello 2nd trimester! Here is Ava on her flying unicorn. Have a nice weekend! BYE!!!

Hi. I’m Ava and welcome to Ava’s Art Corner.

Today I will be showing you how to paint like a pro. Tip #1:  Don’t be shy. Just dive right in.

Tip #2: Feel free to use multiple colors and… both hands.

Tip #3: When I said use your hands, I really meant use your hands. This stuff washes off pretty well… according to my maid Mama.

All done! Tip #4: Don’t forget to take a picture of your art work. Say cheese!

Since this is paint, it takes time to dry. Follow me.

Tip #5: Place your masterpiece in a nice and sunny area. Just make sure it is not too windy out.

And here is your final tip of the day. Tip #6: Keep your hands up. Mama has enough on her plate.

This photo speaks for itself. Hope you are feeling okay after all of those green beers last night!