Ava & Mila

Hello! Our little Ava is now 119 weeks old!!!

Our week started off with a much anticipated trip to the Farmer’s Market. Here is Ava feeding Dada some tamales. She accidentally fed herself a bite and Dan screamed ‘No Ava. It’s spicy’. She spit it out as quick as a lightening bolt and saved her taste buds from the fiery inferno. Close one.

We picked up everything off our list: strawberries, blueberries and oranges. But Ava refused to leave until we bought some flowers. Kids and their routines. So she picked out these yellow pom-pom flowers that need no water. Good pick Ava. No water and no wilting. Perfect.

After the market, it was time to pick out a dress. A party dress. Poor Ava has no clothes. Nothing to wear. Yeah right! This girl has more dresses than anyone I know… put together.

Then we were off to Sal’s birthday party… to celebrate his big day with him and bubbles.

And sand castle making with Nicole.

And a birthday cake with Ava’s favorite fruit… strawberries.

After the sugar was well into their systems, it was time to run and run and run…

… away from the Diego Monster. AHHHH!!!!!

Back at home, I’ve started to make smoothies every morning. And I am not the only who thinks they are delicious. I can barely get a sip because Ava is constantly saying ‘my turn’ as soon as I take the cup from her.

What? I would NEVER do that! Or would I? Hehe.

At school, we found Ava asleep this week. Shirt up. Hand on belly. Dada style. Hehe. And shoes on too!

Also this week, Ava has been calling herself Aba. She has replaced all the V’s with B’s. And she is totally doing it on purpose. Because when I ask her to say her name she does and then immediately says Aba and giggles. Ava is also playing a lot more pretend games too. Pretending she has a turtle in her hand and we need to pet it. Pretending to cover up Dada with a ‘blanket’ that is a piece of paper. It is so great to see her using her imagination.

Swim lesson #3 was great this week. Here are Ava and I listening to the teacher’s instructions.

We practiced with the kick board a lot but Ava refused to hold it near the top most of the time.

And I had to dunk her under the water quiet a few times again but I wasn’t as bad as last time.

Our family and Grace’s family have been swapping dinner nights… which means dress up time for the ladies.

We have a BIG milestone to report. This picture sucks but it really did happen. Ava jumped! With two feet off of the ground. At the same time!!! YEAH!!!! It must of been her new ‘tenny’ shoes. They are magic shoes.

On Thursday, Ava showed up at ‘Nona’s house’. Hey Deets, do you know why I am here?

Do you know why I am picking flowers?

It’s my Nona’s birthday! Yeah!! More party time for me!!

Here are Deets and Ava decorating the cake with the letters totally out of order… Ava style.

Happy Birthday Nona Estera!!

Nathan and Ava had a chance to blow out the candles once Nona had her turn. Much to their delight.

And there was singing…

… and guitar listening too. Hey Deets, are you for hire?

Pajamas are on. Time to say good night. Bye!

One of the things I hate about daycare is that I am missing the things Ava does all day. But one of the things I love is their effort to share with us what she does all day. Welcome to the Fun in the Sun picture board.

Here is Ava peeking out from under the slide.

And here she is as the caboose in the slide choo-choo train. Weeee.

And here she is again…

…saying peek-a-boo!

Hello! Our little burrito is now 27 months old!! YIPPEE!!!

And what was Ava doing just as she was turning 27 months old? Sleeping, of course. Here is her first picture as a 27 month old… trying to wake up from her afternoon nap.

On Friday, Ava had an Easter Party at school. When we got there, it had already begun (early!) with cupcakes, cookies and strawberries.

Dan and I were very excited to watch her hunt for eggs with all of her classmates but it was too late. They already had the hunt in the morning instead of at the party. Boo hoo.

At home, Ava was so excited to open each and every egg she had collected. This kid is more excited about opening the eggs than she is about eating the candy. (Thank goodness!) It was the first time she ever saw a Peep too. And when she held it her hand for the first time, did she want to eat it? Nope. She wanted to go outside with it… because she was under the impression that it was a stick of sidewalk chalk instead of candy. Hehe.

That did not happen. Don’t believe my Mama. I would never make a silly mistake like that. NEVER!

With all the dancing she did at Mickey’s wedding, Ava has been a little bit of a dancing machine at home. Here we are dancing to some James Taylor while he performed on The Oprah Show.

We spent Easter weekend down south at my parents’. Ava got a brand new high chair but decided to not eat as much as usual for some reason. I think her stomach was bothering her a bit. Because you know something is wrong with Ava when she refuses soup and strawberries!

So meal times were shorter and thus play times were longer. Here are Deets and Ava hiding under the Easter table, taking turns yelling ‘Get off of my land’ to anyone who got too close.

The last time Ava was at Grace’s house, she took a real liking to the fake bottles belonging to her baby doll. Realizing that Ava’s baby only had a stoller and no food, we ran to store so Ava could feed her starving baby.

She had just as much fun feeding the baby as she had feeding herself. Silly Ava.

On Saturday, Ava colored Easter eggs for the very first time. Here she is dunking her an egg for the very first time. An orange one. Orange you happy I  said ‘for the very first time’ only twice in this paragraph?

And once the eggs were colored and decorated, Ava asked for more. Sorry Ava. All done.

On Saturday, Ava helped her Dida water the plants in the backyard. We must have refilled that little watering can twenty times. In the middle of the night, Ava woke up crying and complaining that her bottom hurt. So we brought her in bed with us for three long hours. She babbled, punched, kicked, etc until Dan finally placed her back into her bed so I could get some rest. But before he did, she looked at me and said ‘I love Mama. I love Dada. I love Nona. I love Yoda. I love outside… put water on dirt like Dida… and I love Baby’. How sweet is that. She did that for the VERY FIRST TIME.

So after a restless night, Ava finally laid an egg. In her diapers. On Easter. Very appropriate, I think.

And her appetite slowly started to return. Here she is eating a decent amount of soup with Nona Dinka.

Before we knew it, Easter was here. And Ava was so ready for the ‘party’. She had on a cute dress… and sparkly shoes that didn’t fit. But did she complain? Only if they fell off. What a real lady she has become. Wearing shoes that are too tight for the sake of their cuteness. Hehe.

You will have to wait for a special Easter post or two to find how the day went. But she did get this crazy doll in one of her Easter baskets. Let’s just say it’s the most annoying thing we’ve ever seen or heard. Dan wants to throw it in the trash. But did he?

Nope! Ava likes it too much. I guess our only choice now is to wait for the batteries to die out. Hopefully soon. I might have to post a video of this doll so you can feel our pain too.

We started to play soccer in the living room. Ava kicks the ball so much better than me. It’s pretty embarrassing. She refused to play the other day because we didn’t have jerseys. Can you believe that? Luckily we had a few jerseys from our trips to Croatia.

Okay. Now we can play!

Also this week, Ava discovered a new spot to watch TV from in the living room.

She has designated all three of our couches as either the Dada Couch, Mama Couch or Yoda Couch.

I guess she decided to claim the ottoman as the Ava Couch before the baby shows up.

All right. It’s time to go and try to get Ava to potty… this sticker chart isn’t working as well as I was hoping it would. Bye!

Hello! Our little Ava is now 114 weeks old! Yippee!!

Every week, I try to remember to take some close-ups of Ava for the start of her weekly posts. These days, I tend to remember to take them on Thursdays, the last day of her week, just as the sun is setting. My memory might be fading quick but at least I am remembering during the best light of the day. Usually Ava is happy to comply with my cheese wishes, but not this week. This week I got lots of ‘gotovo’ (all done)…

… and ‘no more Mama’…

… and some faces that were worth a million words. Okay Ava, I’ll stop.

Over the weekend, the girls had a playdate. Here they are admiring Flippy the Frog.

And as always, they enjoyed some dress up time.

Boy were they excited to take a bath together. It’s been a long while since they got to do this. It was so cute to watch them both ‘swimming’ in the tub, completely covered in bubbles except for their tushes. Hehe. But what wasn’t so cute was to try to have them sleep in the same room for a mini sleepover while the grown-ups hung out.

Also this week, Ava has been continuing with her fake reading. Here she is getting ready to read Snow White. As soon as she turns to a page with the witch, she flips to the next one like her hands are on fire. That is one scary witch Snow White has to deal with.

On our daily walks, I am trying to slowly introduce to Ava the notion that there will be 4 of us in the near future. So instead of picking out just three objects and labeling them as Dada, Mama and Ava… now she needs to pick one out for Baby too.

When the great outdoors and our house get too boooooring for Ava, she requests that we go into the Airstream. I have a feeling she thinks this is her own personal playroom. Tea anyone?

Ahhhh. Look at this sweet toddler hugging her doll. Isn’t she sweet? Well, guess what?? This sweet little toddler started talking in a new possessed voice this week. And it kinda freaks me out! Someone splash some holy water on her. QUICK.

Dan and I both got long overdue haircuts this week. Dan went to a fancy smancy salon our bathroom and shaved his head himself.  Not me. I need some pampering every once in awhile. Dan and Ava were kind enough to join me in Santa Barbara for the occasion. Here they are waiting patiently for me to finish.

Usually Ava takes a walk down the street with Dada and they end up paying way to much for some show at the Arlington. But not this time. This time, Ava discovered their tea cups and saucers so they had a 45 minute tea party instead. Lucky Dada!

Afterward, we headed to my favorite restaurant in town for some pasta and garlic bread. To our disappointment, the prices went up and the quality went down. WHY LORD? WHY!!!! So, after praying for a glitch in the universe, we also went to a water fountain to solidify our wishes. Ready?

Oops. I need money Mama. Pay up!

Make a wish. Boom!!

While taking the long way home to admire the sun setting over the Pacific, Ava cried from the back seat of the car. ‘More, pjesak’ (ocean, sand). She didn’t have to ask twice. We found the perfect parking spot at East Beach and enjoyed the sunset together.

Ava not only enjoyed picking up all the sticks she could find, but also enjoyed the silly footprints made by the seagulls.

School is going great… except for one small thing. Ava started to say the word ‘chonies’ instead of underwear. I guess her first slang word was going to come eventually. I just didn’t expect it to come so quick. She is growing too fast! (Oh boy. I just sounded like Dan.)

Ava is starting to sing more and more. Not as much as some other Mama Mia obbessed kids but alot more for her standards. She sings the theme songs to the Wonder Pets, Dora and the Mickey Mouse Club House now… and songs that come out of her Dora radio. She has also started humming this week too. Mostly Jingle Bells.

We’ve been having more playdates with Grace it seems. Probably because we are taking turns with dinner nights. What a fantastic idea for us cooks. Hehe. So Ava and Grace get to play their hearts out… until one of them starts melting of course. Here they are on Grace’s princess slide…

… which ended up being the fastest slide I have ever seen in my whole life. It went so fast that I couldn’t take a clear picture of Ava. Hehe. They sure didn’t mind the speed.

Kids plus bubbles always equals a big mess. And today was no exception. Here she is showing off her bubble blowing skills to Molly. Notice no bubbles and all the drips on the floor?

Ava also got to pet Grace’s cat, Lola, for the first time. I think she was a little surprised that Lola didn’t run away like Yoda does. I think they were both happy with the petting time.

Here I am asking Ava to give me a thumbs up. This one?

Show me again.

I did it! Yeah!! Have a nice weekend everyone. Thanks for stopping by!!!!!

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!!!

Our little monster is now 111 weeks old. I keep forgetting to mention that Ava got the last of her molars sometime around her 2nd birthday. Now she has all her baby teeth in. See?

Ava was a little sad in daycare this week. According to her teachers, she cried for me after waking up from nap time most of the week . When I asked her what was wrong, she said her stomach hurt. Poor thing. By the end of the week, she seemed in better spirits. Check out those yogurt fingers and that custom paint job on her dress.

What a mess! I love how that yellow block on the floor looks like Dan has a snaggletooth. Yeah yeah. I know it’s only funny to me.

Our weekend started with a trip to the farmer’s market. Ava had a butterfly print dress on during our visit. Out of nowhere, Ava said ‘I want to fly high in the sky’. Dan and I both giggled and eventually made her wish come true. Hehe. I retold that story to Deets and Carrie over the weekend and Ava turned to me and gave me a ‘Oh Mom’ look. I think I embarrassed her. You think that’s embarrassing, Ava? Just wait until you read this blog yourself. And once again I apologize for the first dump picture. Pas kaka!

We were on a mission to buy the prettiest flowers we could find for the floral arrangements we were in charge of at Livi’s bridal shower.

These will do just fine.

Yeah! We found the prettiest flowers in the whole market! Now we can go to Nona’s house!!

One of Ava’s favorite things to do at Nona and Dida’s house is to look at photo albums. She especially loves pointing out pictures of baby Ava.

She also likes playing Ring Around the Rosie with Nona Estera and Nona Dinka.

Ava had some stomach trouble on Saturday (aka the cha-cha-chas) and it messed with her nap. So Deets and I took her down to the duck pond since it was such a nice day.

We threw bread at the ducks and geese.

Posed with flowers behind our ears.

And said hello up close to a new goose in town. Quack quack.

By the end of the day, no nap Ava was a disaster. She was fighting with Nathan and she refused to eat much at dinner so we threw out our hopes of visiting the red trolley car and water fountains that night.

The next day was bridal shower day and Ava had a nice long nap but someone else didn’t.

Ava had so much fun with Nathan. They were running around like crazy together. Here they are laughing at their echoing voices in the bathroom.

And laughing while playing every instrument Deets had in his room.

I somehow forgot to take actual bridal shower pictures so this will have to do. Here is Ava eating pasta as Nathan and Teta Mary watch in amazement.

And here is Ava with her Nona Vinka. Oh pregnancy brain!

And here is what happens when you have had a long day. Deets and Nona pretending their knees are their feet while singing some silly song. I love the expression on Ava’s face… and her tippie toes.

Back at home, our potty training isn’t going so well. Ava tried wearing underwear one evening before bedtime. I kept asking her if she needed to use the restroom. Like every 2 minutes. No joke. She insisted that she didn’t need to use the toilet but asked if she can use the bucket. What is this? Komiža?? A few seconds later, there was a tiny puddle under her. Ahhh.

Also this week, her Little Red Riding Hood obsession is back in full swing. For some reason, she called the wolf  ‘Nona vuk’ (Nona wolf) and the ax carrying man ‘Deets’ a few times.

And if you have ever been to our house while Ava and Grace are playing, you know that this tent means that the Dada monster is coming. There was no Grace play date this week so I was in charge of being the Mama monster.

And I was pretty scary, if I don’t say so myself.

The rains this week also brought out the slugs. Ava got a chance to see her very first one. And of course, we posed her with it. I wonder what our neighbors were thinking at this moment?

Okay. That’s it. Go away blog reading monster. And have a nice weekend. Bye!

At pick up time, I try to take a picture of Ava as soon as we enter her room. The picture is always blurry because she is running towards us as quickly as she can.

Every once in awhile, she will stop and give us a pose before we leave… so we can document just how messy she got on that day.

And one time, I turned to camera to show Ava the picture I just took of her. After that moment, everyone wanted to be in the picture so I can show them the result too.

Silly girls. Can we go home now?