Our Little Ballerina Isn't Quite Ready for Swan Lake Yet...

The Little Ballerina



















Ain't She Sweet?















Ava's Curtsy



















What's This All About? :-)















'Loving Her Activity Seat















She Eats Clothes


































Miss Ava















The Ballerina Takes a Break



















Hello, everyone!

We had a pretty uneventful weekend this past weekend. Ava was a complete angel, other than at times when her teeth were obviously bothering her. Those times seemed more limited this weekend. It seems to be that she is bothered most by her teeth near the end of her day, before she goes to bed. It is so hard to see her in such pain!

THE BALLERINA OUTFIT
We had some fun dressing her up for church on Sunday... Before Ava was born, a co-worker (Miss Macy) bought some cute little pink ballerina slippers for Ava. I saw a sweet little outfit on clearance at Target and bought it, also before Ava was born. The outfit consisted of a pink "tu-tu", a long sleeved onesie with a little rose at the neck, and a short little cardigan with a pretty bow. The dilemma? Where does one wear a "tu-tu"? It's not like you'd want to wear a tu-tu to the day care center or running errands around town... So, we tortured her (again) by dressing her up in an ever-so-girly outfit for church on Sunday morning. She was adorable.

PRETTY LITTLE NECK
This is cute, and goes along with the ballerina theme... When I took Ava to her two month check-up (some time back), the pediatrician commented on her chubby little neck (or lack of a neck, I guess :-). I told the doc that Ava actually had a pretty little neck when she was born. (I called her our little ballerina at the time, because of her long neck). The doctor said that her "pretty neck" would return at a later date.

Her cheeks are now so full, they look like they'll drip off her face. :-) They're so cute! Strangers comment that it looks like she can store some "nuts" in her cheeks, like a squirrel. You would never know it if she did, her cheeks are that full!

I GUESS SHE MUST BE COMFORTABLE...
I was carrying Ava out to the car yesterday from church in the morning. By now, I am used to Ava migrating down my arm to find her fist (so she can suck on it), while I carry her. She will double-over to find her fist, if need be. I think I was carrying her securely with one arm, when a woman in the parking lot did a double-take of the contorted way in which I was carrying Ava. The woman then commented that she was surprised to see that Ava LIKES being carried that way, and laughed. I let the woman know that Ava always finds her fist, regardless of how Ava is carried. I was not pulling a "Britney Spears" on her (for those of you who don't know, Britney has been in the tabloids for reportedly not being the most cautious Mommy).

ON THE VERGE OF CRAWLING, IT SEEMS
Ava will be crawling VERY soon. She has the leg motion going, it is just that her arms stop her... She hasn't figured out yet that she needs to use her arms to move her body forward. We have this toy which plays "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" whenever it is touched. She knows the toy requires that she touch it, in order that the music play. So, our house has been filled with the music of "Old MacDonald" for a few days now. I thought she would hate it, it is so loud, but she seems to THOROUGHLY enjoy it. Sometimes when she not within an arm's reach from the toy, she'll tap it with her noggin' to get the tunes movin'... Doug and I laugh hysterically at her ingenious methods for getting the job done. Resourceful already, I guess you could say!

Weekend, "Cliff Notes" Version:
We had a night out at the "Mad Italian" on Friday night, followed by a visit to the local bookstore. Doug bought an architectural dictionary / reference book he wanted for his birthday.
Saturday we slept-in and later went for the 'ole 2.75-mile walk. The weather wasn't too hot on Saturday, which allowed a nice walk. Doug helped a friend paint their kitchen on Saturday night, so I stayed home with Ava, as I didn't think I could be an effective painter while watching Ava. I made some cookies which had fun-sized Snickers in them... (I had seen them somewhere before and wanted to try my hand at making them, so I did a google-search for a recipe). Sunday we caught-up on household duties and projects, also sleeping-in and going to late service. Doug visited a VERY NICE house in the area for ideas on a houseplan he is drawing for a friend's relative.

We hope everyone had a great weekend! Summer is here!

With love,
Shelly, Doug and Ava