avablog

We went on a family walk last night after work, which usually looks like Ava and Leah strolling down the street with a backwards-walking paparazzo in front of them. No matter. I can’t resist getting pictures of my girls!

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I was reading a magazine to Ava last night, and at one point, she stopped me and pointed to a word on the page. Then she started to sound out each letter. Leah walked into the room while this was going on, and with our encouragement, Ava finally read her word. It was pretty thrilling. […]

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Ava had Easter overload this past weekend. Her Grandma Georgie came down from Decorah with all sorts of fun plans, which included dyeing eggs and frosting cookies. On top of all that, the Easter Bunny dropped off a fun new pal for Ava. Meet “Pinky:” And a bonus shot of three generations of Miller/Klevar/Palmberg women:

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There’s no way I could resist sharing this shot of Ava as an Easter greeting, even though it was taken in July last year.

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I was taking pictures of Leah’s Easter egg tree the other day when Ava decided to horn in on the action. So, you get what we have here, which, is the way she wants it….

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I was making bolognese yesterday afternoon when Ava pranced into the kitchen and asked if there was any cooking she could help with (I immediately recognized her mother’s hand). I’d just finished preparing the sauce for its long simmer, so there wasn’t much else going on. Momentarily flummoxed, I asked how Ava would like to […]

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That’s how long it takes us to get from our driveway to Ava’s school in the morning; we get exactly one time through Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” which is Ava’s new favorite song (I don’t miss “Hungry Like the Wolf”). After I’ve backed out of the garage, I start the song, and Ava sings along as we […]

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Before the weather went to s*#t yesterday, Ava and I ran (no, really, we ran) down the street to the neighbor’s place to see all the crocuses growing in his yard. He doesn’t have any beds or anything, the flowers just come right up through the grass.

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In case ya didn’t know, I’m a fan of Hardee’s. I actually only eat there three or four times a year, tops, but it’s really the only fast food burger joint I frequent (if you can call that schedule “frequenting”).

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They’re doing a project at Ava’s school for which each kid brings in a picture from each year of his or her life and writes a description of what’s important about the photo. Four or five pictures. They’re calling it a “personal timeline.” Easy, right? HA! HA, I say! Why, we have just under 3K […]

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Ava’s pretty adept at most things. She enjoys talking, especially. I love it when she goes off on a tangent and gets all excited about explaining or describing some thing or another. The other day, I was listening to her talk when she came across the word “regular.” But it sounded, from her mouth, like […]

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I really need to get more multi-generational pictures with the Klevar women. Editor’s note: No, Ava doesn’t live in that shirt.

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Sometimes I need to remind myself that this blog isn’t all about me. Or Leah. So I’ll try to put together a unicorn chaser here. Thanks to all those who commented on yesterday’s incendiary post; it’s always interesting to find the limits of acceptable public disclosure.

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Applying Easter window decals at G.G.’s this weekend.

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Leah informs me frequently that we’re dealing with a little girl who has a fragile ego, and that under no circumstances does she need to hear any discouraging words from her father. I see the validity of her argument. Like most parents, I’d love for my child to live a life free of negativity and […]

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We had a nice weekend at home. Dinner with friends on Saturday evening (Exotic India; go there), then Alex’s 4th birthday bash on Sunday afternoon. Once again, we failed to get any maternity shots of Leah this weekend. We have got to get that done. That baby’s going to be here before we know it. […]

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Leah and I went to the mall at noon to run some errands. Still spring break here, and the mall was mobbed with kids, mostly teens, some with their parents. Have you had occasion to take notice of teenagers recently? I superimposed Ava’s face on every girl who walked by, leaning evermore heavily on my […]

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My day at home with Ava yesterday was really nice. I do love spending QT with my big girl. After Leah returned home from work, she and Ava spent a little time watching wolf videos on YouTube. Ava’s in a major wolf phase right now. She seemed particularly taken with a video of wolves fishing. […]

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Hi, Ava. As you know, there’s some excitement in our house over this new baby we’re expecting. We’ve each been thinking in abstract terms, mostly, about how things will change when we go from three to four. Things that we’ll lose. Things that we’ll gain. And things we hope won’t change at all. Like the […]

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We walked downtown yesterday morning to get breakfast and go to the coffee shop. As Ava and I were out in the yard waiting for Leah, she grabbed a low-hanging branch from one of the maples in the yard and said, “Dad! Buds!”

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