The girls had an impromptu photo session with Ava and Max. This is one of the theme parties they had. So far we've had French, Mexican, Hawaiian, Italian, and of course, Western. They are great nannies, and I am lucky to have them watching Ava. The last picture is a perfect example of how Ava's relationship with Max can be. 
I haven't been using my desktop at home - because it is so slow! So I haven't been able to post any pictures. I don't want to clog up my work laptop with pics. Speaking of work, I am going nuts it is so busy. November - Feb is our busy season, and I am already missing how slow it was in the summer.
Ava is doing really good. She is loving pre-school. All of the morning anxiety I used to have dropping her off has pretty much disappeared. Now as soon as she hits the playground she runs from me, off to the swings. She is a swing addict. She still only goes 3 mornings a week, from 9am - 1pm. That is enough for me at this point.
Brent is excited to finally get his wii tommorrow (hopefully). After spending a couple of agonizing days on Ebay, and checking multiple stores in different cities, it will be nice for him to finally have one. Brent - happy early birthday? :-)
I am still absorbed in the Twilight series. I just finished the third book last night, and will start the fourth and final one tonight. I have been averaging 5 days to get through one, which is pretty good, considering how busy we've been. Although, I did stay up until 3:30am last night reading. That's not too good. I am looking forward to seeing the movie when it comes out in November - however, I know that it will probably be a lot of cheese. I feel a little cheesy just looking forward to it.
We just bought tickets to go see Disney on Ice in October. You know you are a parent when the only live shows you go to our kid shows. Last month, the Backyardigans, next month - Mickey. I think Ava will love it though. She enjoyed the Backyardigans, and Disney on Ice includes the Little Mermaid - what's not to love? Maybe one day Brent and I will be able to go to a grown up concert once again.
Here are some observations about my 2 year old:
She will sometimes do the exact opposite of what I want her to do.
She is the most loving kid I have ever seen. She gives me so many kisses, and randomly tells me how much she loves me throughout the day. She tells me that I'm her best friend, or that I'm "the best." She loves her family.
Much like my cat, she knows exactly where I am going to walk and manages to walk right in front of me and trip me up.
She is very shy around most strangers, but warms up quickly.
Her favorite thing to do is read or be read to. Her second favorite thing to do is dance and sing.
She is extremely verbal, and picks up on new words very quickly. She suprises me every day with something new she has learned.
Her idol is Lightning McQueen.
At 2 years old, she has a very good hold on right and wrong. She understands fairness. She apologizes easily when she does something wrong.
She is emotional, but not at all aggressive. If she gets hit or pushed by another kid, it hurts her feelings, but she rarely pushes back.
She loves Dum Dums and Hershey Kisses, and she responds very well to bribery.
Ava & her friend Leah at the Mexican Fiesta:
Scootering:
I think this is the longest I've ever gone without posting. To my very few loyal readers, I will be posting soon. Everything is pretty good, just busy and I'm trying not to be on the computer so much. Brent hooked up wireless so now I can bring my laptop home and sit in the living room in front of the TV - not exactly the best time for writing. I have been hooked on a new book too - Twilight by Stephanie Myers. I know it's not new, but I finally gave in and decided to see what it was about. I didn't want to like it, but I am kind of loving it. It's very high school and a little cheesy, but I have to make myself stop reading. That has been taking up a lot of my time.
Ava has been saying some of the funniest things - I wish I could remember them all. Today I had told her we could go to a kid's amusement park that they have in town here, but it got too late and I kind of hoped she would forget about it and we would go tomorrow. Well, she woke up from her nap and said, "I'm ready to go to the ferris wheel store now." She even went to the closet to get her shoes. I felt so bad when I told her that it was too late and we would go tomorrow. She tried to argue, and negotiate about why we should go today. She even knew that tommorrow was Sunday! When I kept telling her it was too late and we couldn't go, she said "I'm frustrated, mommy!" It was hilarious.
The other night we were all sitting on the couch, and she said something about America Online. We have no idea where she picked that up.
I'll post some pictures soon.
