avablog

Often, when I return home from work on a Friday afternoon, Ava will have created something cool during her day off from school. Last week, I was particularly surprised to come up the front walk and find this chalk drawing in front of me:

[Read more →]

[Read more →]

When it’s time to go inside and get ready for bed, but you want to stay outside and play “owl:” Take notice of the green Croc in the upper right. It was removed and tossed during the course of the meltdown. We’re loving 3 1/2 so much!

[Read more →]

Poom Poom and G.G. were in town over the weekend to spend some time with Ava. The stay began with a bout of what Leah and I like to call “Madison weather:” Cold, wet, and windy. But things shaped up steadily as Saturday wore on, and by yesterday, the weather was downright amazing. We got […]

[Read more →]

A couple recent shots I wanted to share. First, Ava: Now, Leah: As always, click the images for larger versions. Trust me, it’s worth it here.

[Read more →]

What a gray, dreary day here! They’re talking about the “S” word, possibly, for this weekend, which isn’t doing much for my mood. Time for a pick-me-up: Ava spent a couple hours with her Gramary the other day, during which time this photo was taken (by Gramary). I swear sometimes Ava is part duck (on […]

[Read more →]

Mark always tells me that I have obsessive-compulsive disorder, and though that’s a gross exaggeration, there is a kernel of truth to his accusation: I do indulge in some obsessive behaviors. However, last I checked, I still could leave the house without ritualistically rubbing the light switch 200 times.

[Read more →]

I’ll admit it: I was a rotten teenager. I was the one your parents warned you about–the antisocial, punk-rock poseur. Actually, though I was pretty rebellious for small-town Iowa, I imagine my antics wouldn’t have caused much commotion in a bigger city. I shaved part of my hair and dyed it purple. I wore black […]

[Read more →]

I promised Georgie I was going to write this post, so, here it is. This is a picture of Ava taken in G.G.’s bedroom the morning we left Ava to come up to Minneapolis:

[Read more →]

In an effort to make winter last as long as possible, we’re heading north to Minneapolis this weekend to spend a couple days with Leah’s sister and brother-in-law. We’re dropping off Ava in Decorah at Grandma Georgie’s; that’s where we are now. This afternoon Ava participated in her first peace rally. She even got to […]

[Read more →]

We walked downtown to grab coffee over the weekend and took the opportunity to stop in a park along the way to pretend like it’s spring. Ava likes to play Three Billy Goats Gruff with Leah these days. Ava plays the billy goat. Guess which role Leah gets? (Hint: It’s the troll.)

[Read more →]

I need to make sure I always have my camera no more than 15 feet away. Last evening, Ava was sitting on the sofa, watching a video (AGAIN!), and the evening light through the west windows was just delicious. So I grabbed the Canon and started clicking away: For those of you who care: Exposure: […]

[Read more →]

Leah’s decided it’s time to start a dress up basket for Ava. It’s a win/win for both of them. Ava gets to wear funny dress up clothes, and Leah gets to shop for funny dress up clothes. Here’s hoping Ava doesn’t become “that kid” who goes around everywhere wearing her dress up princess gown: Leah […]

[Read more →]

Ava and Leah are off to a birthday party today, and Ava was excited about getting all dressed up. Leah’s convinced that this dress is too short for Ava, but I think it’s cute: Sure, she may not be in it by the end of the summer, but we can still get some cuteness out […]

[Read more →]

I know, I know. Practically every picture I have of Ava recently is from her sitting on our sofa. Sorry! It’s the only time she’s standing still! I guess I could start using my flash. I think it’s been fired maybe 12 times over the last 5,000 pictures I’ve taken. Maybe fewer. I sure do […]

[Read more →]

There are myriad ways a child endears itself to its parents. It starts with just being born, then progresses through smiles, cooing, first words, all sorts of goodies. Ava’s been sleeping in our bed with us for the last week. It started when she got sick, and when she recovered, she did all she could […]

[Read more →]

Ava finally got out from under the flu over the weekend. That was quite a past week. I think it must’ve helped that it was nearly 60 degrees here yesterday. Or maybe it was the trip to DeLuxe Bakery for cookies: Cookies always make things better. Ava and Leah also made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies […]

[Read more →]

That’s life. We thought we had Ava’s cold beat, but she had a pretty good fever again last night, so no daycare for 24 hours. Rules are rules. The real kicker is that we were about 15 minutes from the end of The Painted Veil, which we got using Leah’s new Netflix subscription. We have […]

[Read more →]

Kind of a whirlwind weekend, but we made it through OK. We were all just thankful that the weather cooperated this year, after shutting out Leah’s birthday the last couple years.

[Read more →]

Leah and Ava baked cookies this past weekend while we were trapped inside. Oatmeal chocolate chip. Yum. It was a trial to get all the ingredients into the bowl and mixed before Ava ate them each individually. We were unaware of her affinity for plain flour before last weekend.

[Read more →]