avablog

Gramary and Uncle Scott took Ava to a festival at the local Catholic high school (education center; it’s more than just a high school) over the weekend. They were also joined by Scott’s friend Valerie and her daughter. A couple choice pics (not taken by me): and… Ava carries on her great grandmother’s fondness for […]

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Leah, Ava, and I were joined by my dad yesterday for a trip down to Mt. Pleasant to visit the Old Threshers Reunion. It was a perfect day for it. Ava was like Templeton the rat from Charlotte’s Web, running around from food stand to food stand, eating everything she could get her hands on. […]

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Leah’s made arrangements to have Ava’s four-year portrait taken. We go around and around about this. I say that we could save a bundle of money by letting me take the photographs, but apparently G.G. likes to have an “official” portrait taken every year, and she’s willing to pay for it. Come on, Georgie, do […]

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The new wall decals that Leah purchased for Ava’s room:

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I took this shot downtown in front of the Java House sometime last week. I just like the way it looks, is all. Dunno why she was standing like that, but, then, why does she do any of the things she does?

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I did a fair amount of driving yesterday. We left the State Fair around 12:30 or so and got back just in time to get cleaned up a little before heading over to a block party at my dad’s house. It was a nice way to relax a bit before getting back on the road […]

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Little froggy escaped from the shower and ran outside. This shot was obviously taken AFTER we got the towel around here. The front porch was full of nudity there for a couple minutes. Also featured: Leah’s knee.

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I don’t recall what occasioned it, but I got it in my mind a couple days ago that we should pick up some new books for Ava, namely Mr. Popper’s Penguins and The Trumpet Of The Swan. Someone read these to me when I was younger, and memories of them came rushing back recently.

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So here’s a weird thing: For the last three weeks or a month, Ava has been waking up almost exactly 90 minutes after falling asleep and crying inconsolably for five minutes or so. You can darn near set your watch to it. We’ve been sliding onto bed next to her and patting her back or […]

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I found a black strapless bra in the parking lot at work this morning on the way into work. So, if you’re missing a black strapless bra (and have relatively small breasts, by the looks of it), you know where to look.

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We’ve had a nice time at Decorah’s (in)famous Nordic Fest. Ava’s grown into the little dress that Georgie got her two years ago. Here’s what Ava looked like back in 2006: And yesterday, as we prepared to hit the parade:

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Sort of. Gramary took Ava to the Johnson County Fair yesterday, where Ava did all sorts of fun stuff, including gathering wool from a freshly shorn sheep. Would’ve been nice to have had her face in the picture, but this provides a little more anonymity, after all.

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Ava actually asked me to take her picture as she clutched Leah’s coffee mug during our trip to the Java House yesterday. I’m not sure why. Would you like some eggs with that ham?

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More bad news to end the week: Deming and Dynarski note that, in the last 40 years, almost every state has raised the age at which children can start school. “This change is remarkable,” they write, “given the strong evidence that, in the United States, starting school later decreases educational attainment.”

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Then (July 2007): And now:

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So we had friends over for pizza this evening, and Ava said she’d go along to pick up the food. As I was strapping her in her car seat, she said, nodding to the empty two-cycle motor oil can on the retaining wall near the driveway, “Dad, could you make your next project to take […]

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We drove down to Burlington on Saturday to spend the day knocking around and visiting our friends Bob and Jude, who now live in my grandmother’s old house. It’s nice to go and see them and to get to spend some time in that familiar place. Ava likes it, too. And she likes to play […]

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Our friend Megan told us a story yesterday about how she locked her keys in her car and had to impose on the kindness of her husband, Ed, to dig up the spare keys and bring them to her. Ed wasn’t pleased. When Megan finally got home, Ed was lying on the sofa with a […]

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Well, 50% cute, at least. Ava was wearing my new sun hat while we sat outside at the Java House this past weekend. She was happy to take a couple arms-length portrait shots with me.

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So there I am 10 minutes ago, fresh out of the shower, when Ava trips into the bathroom. She has Topsy Turtle with her and is getting ready to brush her teeth. She takes one look at me in my birthday suit and — without missing a beat — says, “Your penis is disgusting.” Leah […]

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