Yesterday I took Ava to see her first movie in a theater: Dr Seuss' Horton Hears a Who. It was showing at the local $1 theater. It was a G-rated, saccharin-filled movie that she could handle, without the presence of any villains (such as the "Uh-gician" from Frosty the Snowman). Knowing the movie started at 4:50, I thought it would be a great time to go.
I packed the diaper bag full of snacks, a sippy cup and a stuffed animal (Frog) that was a gift intended for "baby brudder". She has somehow hijacked "Frog". :-) Ava woke up cranky from her nap (she still hasn't recovered completely from a cold bug this week), but we made the trek to the theater. I told her the "t.v. would be really big", and that we were going to see "Horton". :-)
When we got there, the house lights had already dimmed. She preferred to sit in my lap for the first half-hour, until she got more comfortable and figured out she wanted to sit in her own seat. I had to keep my leg on the bottom of her chair, because her little legs didn't weigh enough to keep the front of the seat weighted down. :-)
She sat GLUED to the screen. I leaned over and told her that we could leave whenever she wanted to go. She got wiggly about an hour into the movie (for a few minutes), but she sat still otherwise. She was quiet as a mouse and seemed to really enjoy the experience. She leaned over and kissed me five times during the movie, I think in an attempt to show her appreciation for such an experience. I thought that was incredibly sweet! :-) Of course Ava's recap of the movie for Doug was "the birdie was not nice..." Oh well. At least she hasn't had nightmares about the birdie, yet... :-0 Total cost: $1.25.
Not to be outdone by the Horton experience, we took Ava to a local horse stable this morning for a pony ride. We pass by this stable all the time, but have never visited. When we showed up, riding classes were finishing up. So, we waited a few minutes and Ava was able to ride the smallest of ponies, named Cricket.
I must mention, on the way to the stable, we asked Ava what color horse she wanted to ride. She emphatically said "A blue one!" Doug and I tried to tell her that there would probably be white, brown and black horses, and MAYBE a red one, but no blue horses. Lo and behold, when we arrived, we met Cricket. Horse "camp" was this past week, and Cricket's hooves were painted BLUE, and her hair / tail colored pink, white and blue at horse camp. I told Doug on the way home: "Does anything unfortunate EVER happen in Ava's world?" The kid asked for the blue horse and gets to ride a pony with blue hooves... :-) Go figure!
She watched other older girls (5-6 years old) ride the ponies and horses before she had her turn on Cricket. We watched the horses / ponies get hosed off with water, too, to cool them down. When it was time to ride Cricket, Ava was a bit apprehensive but finally agreed to sit on the "seat". We took a few rings around and Ava was done with her pony-riding excursion. Total cost: $5.
Apprehension. Notice Cricket's blue hooves?
Getting used to the idea...
Holding onto the reins
Check out the stirrups... Her legs weren't long enough. :-) Notice Cricket's pink pony tail?
A happy rider
A smiley gal
Getting comfy...
Petting "Cricket"
Saying goodbye to Cricket
Other horses cooling off at the stable
All in all, it's been a fun-filled weekend so far! I wonder what is on the agenda for tomorrow? ;-)
Peace, love, the Whos and blazing saddles,
Shelly, Doug and Ava
P.S.- I will try to take some "belly shots" a 40 weeks, but since we're officially 3 days away from our due date, these should suffice for now. :-)
1 comment:
Looks like so much fun!! Glad to see you are putting the extra effort forth to take time out and enjoy time with Ava! Crazy to think how a matter of a few days will change things! I love you and am praying for you! Molly
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