Family Day!

I picked up Ava Saturday morning from the in-laws house. Ava called me at work Friday night to ask if she could spend the night again because she didn't want to leave Gerti! Gerti?!?!?!? Apparently she cashed in the tickets she's earned and went to dinner at Red Robin, went dress shopping and got a new Beta Fish named Gerti at Pet Smart. She was so excited about Gerti and talked non-stop about how beautiful he is and how much she loves him! I love hearing such excitement in her voice. They really ARE the best grandparents ever.

We all got ready to go to Ballet together to start out Family Day. We were late OF COURSE, but only 5 minutes or so. I am the one blamed for every lateness but I'll take it, even though I know my Lil short person carries some blame too! I love to peek in the windows at her while she's dancing. I can really see progression in her from a year ago when she started. Next Saturday is the Sleeping Beauty ballet so today was the class for 2 weeks. Her friends are going to the ballet also, so we'll have all of our little ballerinas at Aurora's Tea Party together for the cast meet and greet. We got out tickets in the mail last night and we are sooooo looking forward to it. 

 

Nia and Ava



After Ballet we headed to Virginia Beach for lunch and a trip to the Park. We went to California Pizza Kitchen in Town Center to eat. There's really no point for me to look at a menu there because Ava will only eat cheese pizza which makes my choice a shared cheese pizza. I don't mind though, its still a pretty good boring pizza. She's very good about trying new foods and will eat a lot of things most 4 year olds wont, but don't mess with her cheese pizza!!

We're so cute!




Ava being sweet! I think this is when I suggested Cup Cakes!

 



After lunch we walked to the new Just Cupcakes in Town Center. Its a very small but adorable little cupcake shop. Ava got a mini m&m cupcake and I got  butter cream coconut.They packaged them into a cute little to-go container and I think this cute packaging is the only reason she agreed that AFTER the park would be the best time to eat them.

Walking to get Cup Cakes

We took our "goods" and headed over to Kids Cove at Mount Trashmore Park. The weather was a little chilly, but the sun shining helped a lot! This was Ava's 2nd time at this Park. She and Doug went last week so for some reason this fact made me, the new one, the automatic park villain.

"Run away from mommy!!!"

"Hurry, she's coming!!"

"Ahhhhhhh, she almost got me!!"

I spent the park trip chasing the two of them like I was some kind of monster that they had to keep away from. Ava of course thought this was hysterical!!!

I thought she had a change of heart and wanted to play "with " me here, but after climbing up to the top.......

.....She LEFT me and bolted to the other side of the Park!

After an hour of NON- STOP running and playing, she stopped, looked up at Doug and said, "I want you to carry me on your shoulders, Its cupcake time!!" Doug knew that having those cupcakes in the car would be good bargaining chips to leaving the park without causing a scene, we just didn't think it would be her idea. She sang all the way to the car, "its time for cupcake time", She's so funny!

Finger licking good!!!

Ive never seen anyone enjoy a cup cake this much!!!!

See my dirty hands :)



I took a movie of her on the way home showing the last "lick" to being passed out in 30 seconds! When we got home she still had the nerve to tell me she wasn't tired and what happened in the car was "me just resting my eyes!" We got cleaned up, Jammie's on, had a nice dinner and then.....this is the part where we usually say stories and bedtime.......got dressed again and headed to MacArthur Mall!!!!I knew taking her to the mall after a day like that with only a 5 minute care nap is parental suicide but we needed a dress!!!! My cousin is in the Sound of Music play today at Norfolk Academy. With the weather changing to much we had to make a quick (2 hour) trip to the mall in search of the perfect Sound of Music attendee dress!! She was so excited when I told her to take off her Jammie's and put on clothes! We found the cutest Little Mini Boden outfit after trying on about 20 dresses!!! She still stuck to her "I'm not tired" story the whole way home.  She went to bed within minutes of us getting home and slept until 830 this morning!!!!!! We had a fantastic family day!







Miss my lil' miss

I just got home from a super LONG day at work. What day isnt when you work 12 hour shifts though? It's thurday so as usual lately in the Swift house its very quiet. Doug plays in a pool league on thurday nights and Ava spends the night with my in-laws so Im home alone! Yuck! I miss her so much when I go a whole day without seeing her face. I am so looking forward to this weekend. Saturday we're having a family only day. We'll have breakfast out, then ballet and hopefully if the weather agrees we can stay outside the rest of the day. I need a good family day and a littel down time.

Ava's Favorites :)

Favorites!!!!

Breakfast: Honey Kix, Cheerios and yogurt

Lunch: ham and cheese sandwiches

Dinner: chicken, steak, corn and rice with soy sauce, risotto. ALL MEATS must include a "dipping sauce"

Beverage: water?????? Weird huh?

Movies : Monsters Inc and Rapunzel

"See look, there's no monsters in your closet. Ok, well now there's one. Its okay though. Im not gonna scare you. I'm off duty"

We have had to hit replay over that line in Monsters over and over and over!!! Her giggle is so funny!!!

Animal: Rhiley and Bailey. Rhiley doesn't really care for her, but she LOVES him!!!

Clothes: dresses and skirts. NOTHING else. "Nighties" are a must have for bed. "Princesses don't wears pants!!"

Snack: Cookie dough when we bake and GOLDFISH!

Likes: Playing in her kitchen, tea parties, going to the park, SHOPPING, cooking, baking, dancing, Taylor Swift, movie night, dress up and make-up, playing with her friends. buliding "f-f-f-f-forts" She has to enunciate the "f" repeatedly so we don't make fun of her for saying "ports"

Dislikes: being woken up, when Rhiley wont play with her, when Bailey wont leave her alone, wearing pants, when she cant get something right immediately she gets REALLY upset and she HATES to ask for help! This is going to one day be a fabulous quality!!

Cartoon: Max and Ruby

Color:pink and purple

Stuffies: Pink Bear and Puppy ( she sleeps with them EVERY night)

Its friday night again :)

   Another pre-saturday ballet class night is here. Ava had been doing so well in the new class. They've started to do bar work and this year will be her first recital. She loves the new teacher ,who happens to also be the director, and loves having her classmates from school with her. Claire and Nia are both in class with her. Doug got us tickets for the Sleeping Beauty ballet at the Sandler Center coming up. The company puts on fantastic ballets and there's a SUPER fun tea first where all the cast does and meet and greet with the little ballerinas. I love that she loves ballet and is such a girly girl. It will be such a fun date day for us. I love our girl time together. Ava is such an amazing daughter and I am so in love with her.
   After ballet tomorrow her "best friend" Alana invited her over for a play date. Ava and Alana are inseparable at school. Alana is such a fun spirited little girl with a TON of energy....the makings of a true best friend at 4 years old! While Ava is at her house I'll have a few hours to get my EBay stuff together. I'm really hoping this goes well as its my first time listing anything alone. I realized (for the millionth time) I have a little shopping addiction when it comes to her. I NEVER buy myself anything! I haven't really enjoyed shopping for myself at all since she was born. My thoughts are always on what SHE needs and what would make HER happy. I guess that's the way its supposed to be. My husband says I there's a certain glow or laugh I get and without even having to ask he knows I have radar lock on a new "something" for her. Radar lock is a constant thought about something I have to have that DOES NOT go away till its mine.........hers! Spring is coming soon and the current radar lock is new Hannah's, summer dresses and sandals! MUST SELL OLD STUFF NOW! :)

Ava-ism of the Day 2/15/11

I know there are so many things that are covered in her Montessori classroom that at this age she either forgets by the time we pick her up or she just doesn't care to share.

Today she randomly stops what she's doing and says to Doug, "Dr. King had a dream for peace. "

What 4 year old is talking about Martin Luther King??? I literally laughed out loud when I heard this. She is the funniest little girl I know!! Hahahahahaha!

1st Family Park Day!

The weather was so beautiful last weekend. We've had a bitter cold winter and it just now (in Mid-February) seems to be letting up. I cant wait till this summer when we can share family days like this every weekend. I love asking Ava spontaneously if she wants to go to the park and seeing her face light up with excitement and her eyebrows curl in half disbelief because its been sooooo cold! She loves the outdoors and would play outside all day if we'd let her. To be such a Princess and girly-girl she enjoys the outdoors so much. I love to watch Doug and Ava play together. She loves him "too much" as she says. They played Tag and hide-n-seek, of course she won every game and would quickly "switch" games if she was about to lose.

Valentines Day!

I planned a special Valentines Day date for Ava and I. I picked her up early form school and told her I had a special Valentines Day surprise! I made reservations for her at All About Me in MacArthur mall to have Dinner with the Princesses! "Cinderella and Belle" would both join the girls for dinner, crafts and cupcake decorating. Ava was so excited to get dressed up and have mommy time. She was SUCH a good little girl! Since we had her 4th bday there she walked in like she owned the place and made sure they knew she'd been there before. They made cupcakes, played games and ate pizza. Afterwards we went to Gymboree and let her pick out a new dress. She LOVES to shop and was really excited to not have to go straight home when the party ended. I could not have had a sweeter Valentine to spend the evening with. Doug was busy working from home and couldn't join us, but that is OK! We needed some girl time!

Its Friday night. I know I've gotten "old" when the best part of Friday night is the anticipation of Ava's Saturday morning ballet class!! I just love watching her dance and to see how excited  she gets when she  dresses up in her leotard. We started her at BVI ( balletvirginia.org) last year. I absolutely love them. Ava started in the "big girl" ballet class last Saturday. She was very excited but we had to leave20 minutes before it ended. Turns out she had an URI and still had a UTI. Hopefully now that she's had a week of antibiotics and a lot or rest, tomorrow will go better! Several of her classmates are in class with her. She has little "friends". I always think about how funny it would be if these little friends turned out to be her "Joy's" (my best friend) later in life. I guess we'll see who makes the cut 30 years from now. :) 

This is her at the start of class last year :)

I wish I had started this when I was pregnant with Ava. There are so many things I want to have written down to share with her! It feels like starting at 4 Ive missed so much! I'd like to take a step back in this entry and highlight some of the details of the day I met my baby! I always knew I wanted to have a little girl. The lord knew what he was doing blessing us with this little miracle. Ava was born on December 29th weighing 8 pounds and 12 ounces at 1244 am! Thats the time someone finally looked at the clock in midst of the silence that filled the room. "Silence"??? Yes, you could here a pindrop at one point. I'll never forget those first few moments. The looks, the whispers, the silence, the "white coat" crew that rushed in within moments, the terrified look in my husbands face. I will never forget any of it. Soon after she was born when every parent waits to here that loud "im here" scream.....we didn't. Ava was born with bilateral pneumothorax's (little holes in both of her lungs. She was immediately transferred to the special care nursery. There was talk of plans to send her to CHKD to have chest tubes put into her tiny lungs. She had xrays taken on her 1st day of life. A mother spends 9 months imagining what her baby will look like, her hair, her eyes, her smile, then finally I get to see her and in an instant she's taken away from me so someone can photograph her insides!!!!! Lucky for us, Ava made a full recovery with spending her 1st days of life underneath a 100% oxygen hood. I couldn't hold her, pick her up, feed her....but it was worth it to avoid a dangerous transfer and invasive procedures. My baby came into this world a strong little fighter!

This was the 1st time we got to hold her! 2 days after she was born!!!

I love looking back at old movies of her and laughing...and laughing...and laughing!!!

New Fall Pics of Ava

Testing the phone blog transfer. It would be really cool if this works!

My poor little girl!

I thought since she's getting older that these childhood illnesses would slowly stop. WRONG!!!! She had croup last month, a UTI a few weeks ago and now an URI that has her on the couch with 103 fevers! I am so tired of my poor baby feeling terrible. We spent 5 1/2 hours in the ER at CHKD yesterday to leave empty handed and upset. Her regular pediatrician saw us today and hopefully with the double strength amoxicillin she'll be back to her normal self soon! I need my baby back. We're on our 4th movie today and Ava is FAR from a couch potato type!