avablog

Testing out a new lens yesterday as Ava prepared to go over to her friend Mac’s house in her new raincoat. Certainly not the sharpest image ever taken, but I like the color and the look on Ava’s face. Not to mention those curls….

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Ava brought this home from kindergarten today: I do love the kid’s use of color, but I’m a little dismayed that someone’s already turned her on to the little dots at the intersections and ends of the lines on her letters. I guess she’ll be ready to join a sorority one day.

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Uncle Scott was over for dinner last Friday evening and took a few moments to toss Ava up in the air as high as he could. Which was high.

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I felt like a bit of a failure as we pulled away from Willowwind this morning after dropping Ava off for her first day of kindergarten; I didn’t get nearly as many shots as I wanted, and because I was toting the boy around in his car seat, I couldn’t even get out my Vado […]

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Subtitle: Moment of cuteness My mom got this picture of Ava last evening at their picnic in City Park. I don’t know how much my mom pays attention to framing or composition when she takes a picture, but this shot turned out about as great as you could hope for. Between Kevin’s shots and my […]

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Uncle Kevin posted his Grand Marais pictures today (they’re awesome, of course), and I wanted to put up one in particular that I’d been looking forward to.

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Ava got a new headband. Big news? Maybe not. But our friend Mindy tells us that feathers are “in” these days. Leah says this new adornment makes Ava look like a little flapper.

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One of the neatest things about the vacation this year was that there was a real sense that Ava was making it her own. She’s at the age now where she’ll start having lasting memories of the things we do, and it’s clear that Ava has her favorite activities (let’s face it, she has a […]

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Remember me? Anyway, we’re back from the annual trip to Grand Marais, MN. It was nice and quiet. Emmett slept the whole way up, pretty much, and was awake the whole way back, pretty much. Ava did a great job in the car both ways, thanks in large part to the Magic Treehouse audiobooks I […]

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Ava’s friends Aaron and Claire came over to play yesterday, and eventually things turned to dress up. I love this shot of Ava in her finery standing amidst the detritus of our damaged tree in the side yard.

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Leah has been agitating the last couple weeks for a picture of our family, and the recent visit to Decorah gave her the chance she’d been waiting for. As usual, we imposed on Uncle Kevin to get behind the lens and work his magic. For those not in the know, it’s not easy getting a […]

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Taken at the fish hatchery in Decorah over the weekend. Ava put this little bouquet together herself.

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I miss all the good stuff. This morning, Ava came into our room when she got up so she could get some snuggles with Baby Brudder (she HAS to learn to say her th sounds someday). I got up to use the restroom, and while I was down the hall, I could hear L’s breathless […]

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Helmet optional.

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I chatted briefly the other day at school pickup with the mother of one of Ava’s classmates. Turns out she had a friend who reads this blog (or maybe the other one). The mother had been describing Leah to her friend when she mentioned Ava’s name, and the acquaintance suddenly realized exactly who was being […]

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It’s been fun lately to watch Ava become more interested in physical pursuits. I haven’t pushed her in this direction at all, mainly because I wanted to see what kind of natural affinity she’d have for things like throwing balls and riding bikes and scooters.

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What a nice weekend. Leah and Em had a baby “sprinkle” to attend on Sunday, which meant Leah had to have her hair done on Saturday. So Ava, Emmett, and I toodled around downtown for a spell while Buzz did their worst with my wife’s locks.

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I have a general sense that Ava’s getting used to having Emmett around. A small poster, created by her, appeared on her easel the other day that reads “I LOVE EMMETT.” She’s also having an easier time going places without us, such as school, which makes things easier.

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Leah and Ava (and Emmett, I guess?) got me a new external flash for my camera for Father’s Day, and so far, this is my favorite shot with it: I’m such a huge fan of natural light photography that it’s going to be a real transition to using this flash more, but I can already […]

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