Ava & Mila

At 3 months old, Ava said hello to daycare.

And at 2.5 years old, she said good-bye to daycare.

The whole time that we were there packing up, she had this look of fear. Fear that we were leaving her again. During the last month or so of daycare, she has been saying ‘no school‘ or ‘stay home with mama and dada‘.

But after telling her a million times that we are all leaving together, it finally sunk in and she said good-bye to her painted flying elephant.

And said good-bye to the family wall which had a picture of her, Mila and Dada. Front and center.

She also reluctantly said good-bye to her best friend Ava R. Our Ava didn’t want to hug her for some reason. But Ava R finally got a hug in and our Ava gave us a cute smirk.

And as always, she took crackers from the bowl on our way out. One for herself. And one for Dada and Mama to share.

See ya, suckas! (For now.)

It’s about time I finished last Friday’s blog post. Our little ballerina is now 132 weeks old.

Let’s start this blog off right. With ice cream. A mini chocolate one that she picked out herself.

Ava has a hard time finishing all of her ice cream before it melts away. Don’t worry. I am totally working on that. But in the mean time, she knows what to do when the remainder melts. She drinks it. Hehe.

Over the weekend, we ended up at the Farmer’s Market for some fresh fruit. Here is Ava asking for the both us to hold her hands. I think this was moments before she screamed 1-2-3-weeeee!

And you won’t believe this. I think strawberries have taken a back seat to peaches. Wha-what! I know. Crazy. Ava especially likes to eat it whole. I tell her to be careful of the pit (pinka) and she keeps telling me that she will be careful of the šminka (which means lipstick in Croatian). Hehe.

Ava insisted on making Deets a birthday card over the weekend. She asked me to write his name. And then she attempted to copy letters for the first time. It’s a little hard to see. It looks like grass scribbles under the S. She also drew her favorite smiley face in the bottom corner. Not bad.

On Sunday, we hit up the local aquatic center for some fun in the sun…

… but not before helping Dada apply sunscreen. A little too much as usual.

This was Ava’s first time with her new ladybug floaties. And they worked so well. She didn’t tip over like she does with all of her other ones. We finally found a winner. Except for the fact that all life vests at the aquatic center need to be coast guard approved… which this is… but none of the life guards believed us so we had to take it off of her to show them the certified stamp… like 5 times.

I’ve been trying to take some pictures with our ‘fancy’ camera… in preparation for the new baby. The pictures are much softer looking. I love them. But it’s a real pain to lug around a digital SLR. I got a couple cool shots of Ava with her watercolors.

And one of her new painting technique. Silly kid.

She loves to look through the view finder (something our regular camera doesn’t have) and  loves to ask ‘where are you Mama?‘.

We haven’t measured Ava in a long time. She hasn’t had a doctor check-up in over 6 months so we have no idea how much she weighs or how tall she is. So we took the height thing in our own hands. Look who is 38 inches tall! Almost as tall as her godmother. Jk.

Half days at daycare are going well. I know I could keep her home but I believe that she benefits from playing with other kids for part of her day and creating art. Like this thing. She calls him Mr. Sun.

On this day, we found Ava patting her friend, Ava R’s back, like the teacher does to some kids to help them fall asleep. The teacher was so impressed. Ava actually already put one boy to sleep and then worked on the other Ava… who usually takes forever to fall asleep. Not today, with our Ava’s help. I hope her paycheck comes in the mail soon.

We occasionally take Ava to the fish store. Well, she insists on going whenever we are close to Target. As soon as she walks in, she loudly asks where Nemo and Dora are. I’m sure the employees there love that.

We also spend time at different water fountains in town. And I never have enough pennies for this kid. Thank goodness Sponge Bob was there to divert her attention from her penniless Mama.

Everything was going well until she freaked that there were monsters in the bushes. As you read on Monday, she has been having some monster nightmares. Usually they are her friends and she loves pretending that they are chasing her… but not this week. And I wish I knew why.

Here are the girls before ballet class #5. And yes. They were crazy as soon as they got there. Screaming and giggling and yelling.

Ava was involved much more this week. And even asked what the teacher’s name was out loud.

Who says shy girls can’t speak up?!

And here is Ava with her giraffe… who is wearing baby-to-be’s diapers. Ava is pretty convinced it is a girl this week. And she is almost over the notion that we are having one of each. Damn that Dora book!

On Thursday, we packed up the Airstream for one more trip before the baby arrives. We basically went up the street to Ojai to enjoy some warm weather… and their water park too. Ava kept calling this fountain her house.

It was just the two of us at the water park on this day. Dan had some work to do. And trying to fit my belly in a tube plus balancing Ava on it at the same time was quiet a feat in the lazy river. We got lots and lots of stares… and a couple high fives.

When the park closed, Ava was a little sad and insisted that I wrap her up like a burrito.

Oh. Did I mention we were at Lake Casitas? More stories to come. But for now…

… we have some sprinklers to avoid. Bye!

Hi. Ava is now 128 weeks old! And this is our 501st post on this site. Wow wow wee wow!

Our week began with some Mama and Me time. Ava and I went to one of our favorite breakfast places in town to enjoy fresh fruit, omelets and lots of croissants… which she smothered with her new love. Honey.

Afterward, we took a stroll the Farmer’s Market where she devoured lots and lots of samples of white peaches… even after our large breakfast. So I bought some peaches and at home, she refused to eat them all week. What the?

Next on the list for a girls day out is shopping, of course. Ava got to pick out a new toy (she picked a horsey) for taking a dook on the toilet instead of in the dressing room where she was about to dook… in her underwear. Close one! I also bought her a new backpack (Dora, of course) that is lighter and easier for her the carry to school… with a change of clothes since on Monday she starts school without diapers or pull-ups. Ahhhh.

Later that day, we joined our neighbors on the street for our annual block party. Ava loves saying ‘it’s not too bright‘ but she sure didn’t say it once this day. (BTW, here I am with baby #2 at 30 weeks. Only 10 more weeks to go!)

At the block party, we enjoyed ourselves with drinks, food and live music. Ava enjoyed getting her face painted with her choice of any animal in whole world. She chose a butterfly.

The lady really doubted if Ava was enjoying the process. She didn’t respond to any of her questions. What did she expect? Poor kid had an audience.

Our shy little kid.

The music was a little too loud for our taste and Ava’s ears so we decided to have art time on our front lawn instead and enjoy the party from afar. Finger painting time!

On Sunday, we decided it was time to get out of this June gloom and head for some sunshine. So we ended up at the Lake Casitas Water Park. Oh man. It was lots of fun. Especially the lazy river. Ava’s first. She had a blast going through misty caves and waterfalls. Stay tuned next week for more pictures. Like this one. It’s tough to open your eyes under a waterfall!

So Monday marked Ava’s first day at school with real underwear. Here she is before school. All ready with her backpack full of emergency clothes. And waterproof shoes on her feet.

And how did she look at pick-up time. The same!!! Can I get a hell yeah!! Oh, and I should mention that Ava insisted on taking her backpack home everyday because the other kids will take it, she says.

But Day 2 didn’t go so smoothly. She pooped in her underwear. Oh man.

On Day 3, I told her if she poops in her underwear, the teacher has to throw out them out… and one this day she was wearing her favorite ones of all. Cinderella. So on Day 3, she had no accidents. Yeah.

But on Day 4, she almost made it. She a little accident when trying to get on the toilet. Oh so close! This is how we found her at pick-up time. Asleep. Belly exposed. Knee bent. Shoes on. Awesome.

Developmentally this week, Ava is starting to color within the lines. Imagine that.

And get a little braver with slides.

And we think it’s time to bust out her Christmas bike.

Because she keeps asking Dada to push her faster when we circle to block.

And at the walls, she is really focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Totally reminded me of my gymnastics class… that I totally sucked at… but where Deets had a blast playing with the mats and rings in his sweatpants. Ah memories.

This week was ballet class #2. As we drive to class, Ava likes to remind us that she is not going swimming and that she is going to ballet class instead.

This class was more successful than the last. Lots more participation from Ava. But she did spent a portion of the class spinning instead of listening the teacher’s instructions. She was a bit out of control. Kinda reminded me of obedience class with Rudy. Me with a non-listening dog/kid. Causing trouble. I just hope at the end of this class, I don’t get a certificate that says ‘Congratulations Marlene Jerkobitch’, like with Rudy. Seriously. It happened.

Ava really responded to the jump on the dot instructions.

And enjoyed being a cocoon…

…so she can become a beautiful butterfly.

Jazz hands. Hehe.

After class, Deets and Carrie came up for a wonderful visit.

The visit didn’t start off too well… because of a surprise. Ava doesn’t like surprises too much. They showed up with a bubble machine that freaked her out. She seriously starting running to the dining room window when I said Deets and Carrie were here. But when she noticed a million bubbles on the front porch, she kept running until she landed in Dan’s arms so she can hide in his arms. But don’t worry, things changed the next morning. And I have pictures next week to prove it.

The great part of their visit is that they got to witness Ava after a ballet class. You would think the class would make her prim and proper. Ummm. Not even close. She gets so CRAZY after class. She turns in a firecracker. She started running in circles, doing head plants into the couch and started yelling ‘Hey Guys’ over and over again.

Ava isn’t too good at naming her dolls and stuffed animals. Her last horse is either called Neigh or Horsey. But when I asked her what we should name this dog, she said its name is Rudy. Ahhh. The funny thing is… the last time she took this dog outside, it got covered with those prickly pears things… just like our Rudy used to do. See?

Okay. Time to go watch this butterfly grow 600 6 times its size. Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hello. Our little lollipop is now 127 weeks old!

Last Friday was our final day of vacation. We checked out of our hotel room but stuck around the pool for a bit longer. Each and every day, Ava needed to build up the courage to get into this Las Vegas pool.

It’s a little too cold for comfort when you first get into it.

But after a few minutes, she walked down the steps and started swimming.

When pool time was over, Ava decided that it was no fun to wear a wet swimsuit so she insisted on stripping down to a clean pair of pull-ups… followed up by a box of juice.

On the car ride home, Ava slept for over 3 hour straight. Damn. Rough day at the pool, I guess. So Dan and I decided to keep driving and we pretty much made it to L.A. before our little lollipop woke up.

The next stop on the itinerary was Nona and Dida’s house. Ava immediately started to feed her dolls there…

… and run around the house like a wild child that just slept 3 hours and had energy to burn. But all those Vegas buffets must had made her grow an inch or two… because before we knew it, she bumped her head on the kitchen counter corner. It was sore for days.

On Saturday, we went to visit Nathan and play with his toys. After lots of running around and screaming at the top of their lungs…

… they wanted me to read them a story. Thanks guys!

We also went to the local ballet store to get Ava an outfit for her upcoming ballet classes. Check out Ava during her very first shoe fitting.

And here she is in her first dressing room… checking herself out. She kept saying ‘It’s not too small.’ No Ava, it’s just right!

We also drove down to Nicole’s to celebrate her birthday and her brother’s high school graduation.

She had a great time playing on the swings with Grace…

… and running away from the scary Dada Monster.

On Sunday, we were finally home. Just in time for Father’s Day. If you have ever been around Ava in the mornings, you know that she doesn’t like to let her Dada sleep in for too long. Dada, wake up! I wonder who she gets that from?

She said ‘Happy Father’s Day‘ and wanted him to open his present right away.

Dan already has a fake jersey from Target but now he has a fake one from the NBA store. Go Lakers! Maybe one day we’ll splurge on a real jersey for 200 bucks. Yeah right!

During Father’s Day breakfast, Ava did something for the first time. She spoke up to the waitress. A complete stranger! Imagine that! I told the waitress that Ava wanted a Mickey Mouse pancake for breakfast… and she immediately spoke up to correct me and said ‘No Mama. Minnie Mouse‘. Hehe.

As a special surprise, the waitress brought a brownie with the check, that was meant for Dada. Ava immediately said that this brownie was for Mama and Ava. And when she got to eat it at the Sprint store while Dada shopped, she took one bite and decided that this brownie was just for her… and so she kept her distance from both of us in order to do just that.

I was a little worried that her transition back to school would have some bumps in the road after a long vacation, but no. She was right back into her normal routine. And with a special gift for Dada, too.

A very serious picture of herself in a puzzle frame with the caption “Dad, I love you to pieces”.

Potty training is still going well. She wears pull-ups to school and underwear at home. When it was time for number two this week, Ava kept asking for a diaper. After lots of insisting that she was a big girl, she got the job done and got to enjoy a special bubble gift.

And this week, Ava officially became a ballerina. She was really concerned that her new pink slippers would get dirty on the grass so we had to take a really quick picture so Dada can continue carrying her to the car.

We were the first to get to the classroom. Ava enjoyed seeing herself spin in the mirror.

Her friend Grace was also in the class with her. Can you tell Ava was more than a little excited?

But when the class started, she was one of the shyest around. The teacher asked all the kids their names. When it was her turn, she whispered ‘Ava Lin‘. Hehe. I guess it’s from being one of two Ava’s in her school her whole life.

I didn’t realize that this was a Mommy and Me class, so I had to sit next to her and do everything the teacher asked us to do. And let me tell you, touching my toes and jumping over ‘rivers full of alligators’ was not an easy task. Ava was really shy during the first half of the class. She didn’t really want to participate. I had to help her out with lots of the activities.

But then it was time to stand up and practice our ballerina stances.

With a little help from these felt hearts.

And then she got into it. Especially when it was time to fly around the room like butterflies.

Check her out on her tippy toes. Too cute.

Good job ladies!

Last night, Dan rushed us out of the house to pick up his new fancy phone. We rushed out of there so fast, I forgot that Ava still had on her underwear and I had no spare clothes with me. Oh oh. I usually put on pull-ups when we are out of the house. Oh oh. But she did great. I made sure to take her to the restroom a lot to prevent any accidents. She actually asked for 2 out of the 3 trips we took. For a second, she squatted on the floor and started farting. I almost died. I immediately told her she needed to go to the restroom to do that. But she just looked at me calmly and said ‘No Mama. I’m just burping!‘. LOL. She cracks me up.

Okay. Time to go. We have cereal bracelets to wear.

And eat. Yum. Bye!!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Our little camper is now 125 weeks old!!!

Ava’s 125th week began on Friday just as she was getting up from her nap at school. And here she is making her bed. Yes, making her bed.  Something she has never done at home. Her teacher has magical powers, I think.

For the past week or so, I can not take a picture of Ava at school without her friends wanting to be in the picture… and then look at themselves right afterward. Cheese.

And Dan can’t get out of the room without making the kids laugh… and on Friday, helping the other Ava with her shoes. What a nice guy.

On the way out of school, Ava was wondering why we weren’t parked in our normal spot outside of the building. Why were we walking down the block? As soon as she saw our Airstream down the street, she got very excited. Yeah for camping!

We spent the weekend at Malibu Creek State Park. It was amazing up there. The hills were green. Wildflowers were blooming. And we were in vacation mode. Once Dan finished setting up the Airstream, we headed out to explore the campground.

We walked over to the group campfire area to play on the stage. Ava had a blast pretending to be Dora while Dada took turns being Boots and Swiper and I was the Backpack.  After lots dancing and jumping, she ran over to the benches and before long…

… had multiple splinters in her hand. Her first… and second and third and fourth. Ouchie.

After lots of screaming and crying (from all three of us), Ava had a Dora band-aid… and preceded to flip us off show us her boo-boo all weekend long.

For the rest of the evening, we stayed nice and safe indoors.

No splinters in here… I hope.

As soon as it got dark, it was bedtime… but not before someone wanted to say good night to the moon.

On Saturday, we packed up some snacks and went on a hike through the local mountains with our buddy Nicole.

The hike was probably longer than we should have went on but we took lots of stops along the way. There was a visitor’s center with different types of stuffed wildlife… like this scary coyote.

And a bridge that had a creek running under it. Little did we know what was coming up.

What the?

The wide and smooth hiking path turned into a rocky, muddy one-person lane. Oh boy. Poor Dada  had to carry Ava in his arms for about half a mile…

… and SUPER nicole carried the stroller with her bare hands. I think someone is going to get a cape for their birthday!

And me? I was in charge of carrying Baby #2 and telling the others when to stop for breaks.

After about 3 miles, we made it. We made it to the old site where they used to film the TV show and movie M*A*S*H. There wasn’t much there besides two rusty trucks and a shed full of pictures but it was nice to have final destination.

After a few rounds of ‘on guard’, we were off to the bottom of the hill again.

Ava did great on the hike. She wanted to stay in the stroller the entire time until the last mile… where she practically ran and danced down to the end.

To reward ourselves with a job well done, we went to the Cheesecake Factory to refill our bodies with all the calories that we lost along the hike.

Back at the campsite, Ava was hopped up on whip cream and ready to play.

Lucky for us, Super Nicole was still in full effect and had more energy to burn with her.

Ava was also busy finding airplanes overhead…

…and telling us to be quiet because the bees were sleeping in their ‘house’. Shhh.

Before we knew it, our weekend was over and we were back home. I set-up Ava with sidewalk chalk and toys outside to entertain her while we did some cleaning but she had other plans. Helping us clean was way more fun for her.

On Monday we were back to the grind and back to the coffee shop too…

… for some whip cream. I think my pregnancy cravings are screwing up my kid.

After school, it was back to play time too. This week, Elmo turned in a tower destroying monster.

Bedtime has reached a new normal. I can now say good night to Ava (after a few songs) and have her fall asleep on her own. But I need to leave the door cracked open the entire time… which I never had to do before.

After an ultrasound this week, Ava started to shove her doll Mariana under her dress as if she is pregnant too. And during the ultrasound, Ava said hello to the baby several times. Baby #2 is looking good. He or she is already 2 pounds 12 ounces, which is in the 71st percentile. Yes, percentiles already. Sad, huh?

And back at school, all the kids (but Ava) are still obsessed with getting their picture taken.

There is a list at school where all the kids got to say what their favorite vegetables are. Ava said apples, bananas, corn and watermelon. First off, 3 out of the 4 are fruit. And watermelon? She spits that out every time.

On Wednesday, we hosted a play date dinner at our house. The girls and boys still tend to play separately. But this week, Ava got Matheus to join the girls with a little game called Super Buddy.

It’s a long post. I know. But we did a lot this week. Like teach Ava to crawl under the table to get to either of us. Probably not a good idea but our poor backs are grateful.

At the end of the week, we filled our bellies with Mickey Mouse pancakes…

… changed into our poo-jamas, packed our Dora backpack and hit the road.

We had a quick pit stop to show off Ava’s flying skills to her Grandpa…

…before we hit the road to Las Vegas. Our as Ava likes to say Las Biggest… a.k.a. Las Veliki. Hehe. BYE!

Hello there. Our sweetie pie is now 123 weeks old. Which is funny because this week, she has been counting all things in pairs as 1, 2, 3. What a cowinkadink!

This past weekend was a four day weekend for us. We spent all of it down at my parents’ place doing all kinds of fun stuff. We had so much fun that most of it will be blogged about in separate posts next week… because I went a little picture crazy. It’s totally not my fault. I have a cute kid! Hehe. Over the weekend, Ava got the chance to see the Goodyear Blimp parked in its home off of the freeway. Would that be called the blimp airport? Who knows. But as soon as we got back to the house, Ava insisted on looking for it with the binoculars. And low and behold, she found it. That thing is always flying over the Port of Los Angeles.

Ava also spent A LOT of time singing her favorite song, Oh Marijana. Over and over again. Seriously. She is obsessed. I have to sort through all of our videos to show you since you all demand proof. But in the mean time, you can listen to the original version of the song here.

Here I am at 25 weeks pregnant with baby #2. Yes, I know I look like most people close to 40 weeks… but I am a big girl. And big girls get bigger than little girls. That’s your lesson of the day. Anyways, Ava has been extra sweet with the baby this week. She has been picking flowers, kissing, hugging and talking to him/her a lot more too. It just melts my heart when she does those things. I can’t even imagine what I will feel when they are physically together. My heart just might explode.

Ever since Ava has become an official jumper, she has been hopping everywhere. Off of pillows. Off of steps. Off of slides. Off of couches. Off of highchairs. Off of us. And off of Yoda, if she could.

With all the fun we had over the weekend, Ava’s naps were all thrown off. It drives me crazy when we get off of our routines but it had to be done in the name of FUN. On Saturday, we had a big day planned and Ava knew it. She refused to nap in her pack ‘n play. But luckily, as soon as we got in the car, she held her new kitty cat tight and announced ‘It’s nap time. I close my eyes.‘ Dan and I both giggled and said Good Night. Lately, on our car rides at night, Ava refuses to sleep. She talks during the entire drive. Seriously. I recorded her in the dark until my camera died. She looks out the windows for airplanes, asks a million questions and states lots of facts. ‘Dada, you’re a boy. I’m a girl. Where’s the airplane? What is the airplane doing? What’s in the sky? What’s that? What’s Yoda doing? I like ice cream. I wanna go to Darla’s house. I’m a monster. Ahh, here comes the banana monster. I’m not scared.‘ This can go on for over an hour. Easily.

On Saturday, we had big plans with Deets and Carrie. We met up with them at the house. Ava was so shy when we got there. She just woke up from her car nap and needed a few minutes to become her old self again.

We had so much fun on Saturday. It was one of those days you remember as being one of the best days ever. It really was. It was non stop action and fun… and nothing got in our way. You’ll have to wait until next week to get more details on our day. But I won’t keep all of it a secret until then. We spent some time on Olvera Street, the birthplace of the City of Los Angeles. Who knew?

They had an array of things for sale there. Like little hats that Ava did not enjoy one bit. ‘That’s for babies‘ she said.

But she did enjoy all of the puppets that lined the street.

Back at Carrie’s place, Ava got another piano lesson from Deets. Boy has she grown since her last silly lesson on this piano.

Ava also loved sitting on these theater seats with Carrie, browsing through all of her pretty art books.

But I must say that her favorite part of Carrie’s place was something else. Something that brought out the laughter.

Lots of laughter. And screaming. And barking too.

Darla the dog!

The two of them played and played and played until…

…they no longer could play anymore. It was awesome. (I miss you Rudy).

On Sunday, it was time to celebrate Croatian Independence Day with lots of ?evapi…

… and Kolo dancing too.

On Sunday night, Dan and I went out to the movies to celebrate our 7th anniversary a bit early. I left the camera with my mom to document what they did while we were out and I came home to find this picture. Oh boy. Ava holding her rosary beads as if she is posing for her first communion photo. Good one, Mom. Ava usually doesn’t wake up at night (unless she misplaced her prarie doggy or blanket). But not on this night. Deets heard her screaming and crying shortly after she went to bed. He opened the door to find her upset and screaming ‘Uncle Buddy‘. LOL. I’m not sure if Uncle Buddy was out to get her or if he needed help, but she settled down shortly after that. In the morning, I asked her why she was screaming his name and she told me that Uncle Buddy needs food.

On Monday, it was Nathan’s big day. His 2nd birthday. We went over to his house in the morning to help decorate. The kids had a blast playing with bubbles and scattering all of his toys around the house.

Ava had so much fun with Nathan at his party. More to come next week. This is not Nathan. I know. But this guy is the reason Ava started to do this…

… wink. Hehe. How about that new milestone. Good job Ava!

Ava is still enjoying herself at school. But when we pick her up, her personality completely changes. She goes quiet. She stops talking and responding to teachers. And don’t expect her to wave good-bye or acknowledge your presence in the hallway. She becomes so shy. I asked her teacher if the other kids do this also when their parents come. She said most of them act crazier or turn into babies. So… I will take Ava being shy at pick-up time over those other options, thank you very much.

Oh and another milestone for Ava… thanks to my mint chip ice cream cravings… her first ice cream cone. For some reason this is supposed to be messier option for kids, but not Ava. She stayed clean the whole time. How about that!?!

Here she is at swim class #7. Our second to last one. She is becoming more comfortable with floating with the pool noodles and keeping her head in the water while on her back. So much so that she is starting to rinse the shampoo off of her head in the tub just like this picture… minus the noodle, of course.

At home this week, Ava has officially moved out of her crib and into a new toddler bed. Sniffle sniffle. Here she is testing out her new mattress and duvet cover.

And here are two magical princesses that are about to put her new bed together.

She picked this bed out all by herself. She really loves the sheep on the headboard. Especially because she loves singing Mary had a Little Lamb.

As soon as she tested it out, she wanted to take off of her clothes and put on her pajamas. But she needed a bath first. So it was off to the tub and she totally forgot about her new bed. When I mentioned that she was going to sleep in her new bed, she stood up in the tub, said ‘gotovo‘ (all done), and tried to get out of the tub herself. Hehe.

Her first night went as well as can be expected. She asked me to sit with her in the room for about an hour or so. At first, I had to sit on the floor next to her. Then it was okay to sit in the rocking chair. Then I could go in and out of the room for a few minutes at a time.  Then she had to go potty. And then she fell asleep. Yeah! And was fine all night, with the exception of needing help pulling up her blanket once. In the morning, I wondered if she would call for me like normal or come to our room all by herself. But she didn’t do either. I needed to wake her up because she took so long to fall asleep and needed to sleep in. And that thing with her asking to go to the potty, only happens at night. A couple nights before this, I was awake with her from 12-3:30 taking a million potty breaks. It got to the point that we told her to just go in her diaper. She looked at us crazy and said ‘No Dada. No peepee in the diaper‘. Shame on us, Ava. We were sooo tired. Sorry.

On her second night in her new bed, we finally bought her new pillows and washed the new duvet cover and blanket. She was ecstatic. And refused to open her eyes while saying cheese. Hehe.

And on the second night, we moved some of the furniture around again. It looks a little better in here but something still feels off. Maybe I just need to get used to it… or maybe it’s the ‘nesting’ thing that I totally don’t have right now. (Shut it, Dan!). But her second night went better. It was okay for me to sit in the rocker but I only needed to be there for 45 minutes instead of a whole hour. And at night, I didn’t need to come into her room once to fix her blanket. Yeah for me! Her new duvet is a twin size and her bed is a special toddler size. So that makes her duvet cover a little big for the bed and thus I get to tuck her like a burrito. Hehe. But I did have to come in around 4am to help her find her missing prairie doggy… and I almost toppled over when I crashed into the ottoman in the middle of the room. And once again I had to wake her up in the morning. Miss Late Sleeper.

Ava’s crying fits are few and far between these days. If she whines, they are usually quick instances that go away as soon as she realizes she needs to ask for things nicely. But on Thursday, she melted. She melted because Dada turned off her Wow Wow Wubbzy cartoon and turned on the Lakers. Oh man. Sad Ava came out in full force and she kept repeating ‘my turn‘.

In these situations, it is best if Ava just gets a change of scenery… quick. So it was outside for bubbles. And it worked like a charm.

Okay. It’s time for us to pick some lemons. Have a nice weekend. Oh, and that thing I said last week about not blogging on weekends. I lied. You might see a post or two after all. Too many pictures!!

Hi. I’m Ava and my Mama and Dada are late picking me up. So I’m going to grab a seat…

…and put it right here… and wait.

It’s about time guys!

I’m outta here!!