avablog

Now I understand what that means, and we were only cooped up inside for six hours or so on Saturday. What a nasty day! I did, however, manage to get outside and take some pictures of all the ice. Leah likes this one and this one: One thing the bad weather was good for was […]

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Here’s Ava decked out in her swim/sunwear for our Mexico trip in January. After this shot was taken, she bounded upstairs (at least as much as she’s able to bound at her size) and hopped into the tub, pausing only to remove her hat. These duds are supposed to provide UV protection. Leah ordered them […]

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It’s only 8:30, and I’ve had enough bad luck already to fill an entire day. Maybe two days. First, Ava kicked me in the face bright and early at 5:30 this morning. Rise and shine! Then I got downstairs and discovered that a DVD rip I’d started before bed had hung up and had been […]

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I’m so blissfully unaware of the tough times ahead as I help raise a daughter in the U.S. I know I should be more thankful that I don’t yet have to worry about what Ava wears (or doesn’t wear) when she leaves the house. Maybe I never will have to worry about it. What the […]

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One of my only successful lobbying efforts as a parent thus far was my effort to let Ava have a little more autonomy at bedtime. For a long time, Leah had been lying with Ava in bed, telling her stories and rubbing her back until Ava (and often Leah) drifted off. Then Leah had to […]

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I was giving Ava a bath last night when, out of the blue, she stuck her hand out toward me and said, “Pull my finger!” I obliged, and the moment I gave it a tug, a little “pflup!” reverberated off the bottom of the tub, its accompanying trail of bubbles wiggling to the water’s surface […]

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Ava got a lot of painting done while we were in Madison. I don’t know if any of it is ready for the Met yet, but she sure seemed to have a lot of fun splashing color around. We did end up leaving Madison on Saturday, at Rachel’s gentle prodding. The drive home was much […]

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I wanted to post one of the pictures I took yesterday of Ava and her aunt Rachel. I wish I could have natural light with me wherever I was. Sounds like Rachel’s actually thinking about braving the mall today with Leah and Kevin’s mom. I wish them all the luck in the world.

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I’m in a real pickle (heh) about shopping for Ava’s Christmas gifts this year. For Pete’s sake, the kid’s only 3, and she already has rooms full of toys. She hasn’t touched some of these things in months, so I’m disinclined to add more to the heap. That said, I think this looks fun. Ava […]

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We went to a colleague’s for a party after work on Friday. The host’s teenage daughter was nice enough to sit with a couple of the younger kids while the adults chatted and drank champagne. Sophie, the sitter, was competent and sweet, but she wasn’t fast enough to keep Ava from running across the basement […]

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Flickr says I took this picture (with my beloved A70) on November 13th. I used to carry Ava around like this all the time. She was so tiny. She’s still pretty tiny, though she seems to be growing. It’s weird to look back on this image and try to impose her current personality — what […]

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Back-to-back MOCs! How on Earth do you people get so lucky? We were hanging out in the kitchen the other day when Ava got interested in doing some art. Typically, she’ll just freehand and go off in whatever direction her imagination takes her. For this session, I thought it might be interesting to see what […]

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Seems like a good time for one of these. I took this the other day as Ava sat in front of the TV, again. It’s actually a great time to get portraits of her, as the afternoon light really pours through the windows in our little TV room, and especially now that the leaves are […]

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Ava and I got to spend some one-on-one time together yesterday while Leah was off at a baby shower. We went up to the high school and played with her ball on the front lawn for a bit, then walked around back to look at the running track. I had her practice a couple sprint […]

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I never thought it would happen this soon, but there it was, last night at the dinner table, when Ava looked over at Leah and asked her where babies come from. The topic came up in the course of Ava discussing again how much she likes babies. Leah’s a big believer in laying out the […]

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I really enjoy photography a lot, primarily because I believe it’s a medium that lets people express themselves in ways they might otherwise not. A certain angle, lighting choice, or expression can provide insights into a subject that aren’t obvious at first glance. I feel this phenomenon particularly acutely when I’m taking pictures of Ava. […]

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Leah was giving Ava a bath two nights ago, and I was in the bathroom with them for a time. I stood and looked down at Ava as she splashed around in the tub, sitting sideways with her little head sticking up out of the water, and I was struck again by the fact that […]

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We took a drive out to Squire Point yesterday to take a stroll along the paths. We told Ava she should keep an eye out for pretty leaves, and we’d collect them to bring home so we could make a collage. She paid heed. It was just about a perfect day for a hike. Ava […]

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Some days I feel like my brains will run out of my ears if I tilt my head too far in one direction. Today is one of those days. Leah just called me at work (she has Fridays off) to let me know Ava has a fever and is draining copious amounts of green mucous […]

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We had a great time trick-or-treating last night. Ava was totally juiced for the event, and she went hard for two hours before hitting the wall about the time we arrived at Grandpa Chuck’s house. Next up: Thanksgiving. I came across an article in the WSJ this morning that has me thinking. I’m trying to […]

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