Father's Day

*Art keeps asking where his Fathers Day "homage" is. I guess this will have to do....even though a certain someone received neither a Mothers Day card nor gift. Since we were in Hawaii, I will give him a pass*

Ava had a great Fathers Day weekend with her dad and both Grandpas and Grandmas. She also spent it slathered in SPF 1000 sunblock since we were outside a lot. 

You can tell my parents were not at ALL excited to see her. 

Learning how sprinklers work.

Keeping cool with the water table.

Ava is lucky to have such great guys in her life as these three. Happy (belated, naturally) Fathers Day to the best Dads out there! 

Year and a Half!

Happy 18 months to the little light in my life! 

It's hard to believe that Ava is already a year and a half old. She adds excitement and joy to each day and we love watching her grow. 

She continues to perfect her smile. 

Is constantly on the move....

Is discovering different acrobatic maneuvers..

And has her first boyfriend...Elmo. Which is always pronounced "ELBOWWWWWWWW" at the top of her lungs.  

18 Month Stats:

Weight: 24 lb, 6 oz (52% percentile)

Height: 33" (85th percentile!! I am super excited about this)

Speech: Can repeat most things we say (including the bad words, oops). 

Favorite words- Please (peas), Thank you (ack ee), No way (no way), Elmo (Elbowwwwww), Cheese, Chair, I see.

Funny stories: When we were in Hawaii, Ava stayed with my parents; they have a dog named Honey. Every since she got back home, every dog (including Kate) is called Honey. 

Also (not sure what my mom did to her), ever since she's been home, if you ask her what noise an animal, any animal makes, Ava will inform you that it says "Neigh". 

Obsessions: Elmo, Minky (her "backpack leash"), the bolt cap on the back of toilets that I never knew existed until Ava decided to take one as a trophy off each toilet she meets, carrying around sunscreen, trying to open the oven, cheese, the swings at the park and books. Tons and tons of books. 

Cheese! (it's not cheese)

Art and I had a great time in Hawaii. We enjoyed the beach, the pool, lounging, indulging in cocktails and the total lack of responsibility. But in the end, we were excited to come back. We missed the tantrums, early wake up calls, Elmo, constant games of "chase", and food throwing. But mostly we missed our sweet girl. 

We brought her a little (commercialized) piece of Maui back with us. 

Hasn't noticed she's wearing a hula costume yet. 

Walks purposefully with her briefcase. 

Wait a minute...what is this weird skirt thing...

Save me from the plastic grass skirt! Oh the tackiness! Horror! 

Luckily for me, Ava decided to help me unpack. 

I heard her walking around saying "Cheese! Cheese!". When I looked over I realized she had gotten into my toiletries bag. 

Can you guess what she found? 

To her credit, they DO look like string cheese. 

Bite Size

Tonight Ava was running around the house before bed, saying something that sounded like "bite size". Regardless, I enjoy watching her run around with one pigtail missing, tights long gone and jabbering up a storm. 

Ava for President!

I finally joined the new decade and sprung for an iPhone. Prepare thyself for many, many videos of Ava. 

Here's Ava on her soapbox addressing all the important social issues of the day. Ava for President! 2050!

*This video is poor quality because Ava's babysitter texted it to me then I uploaded it from my text messages. Hopefully the others will be better*

Champaign Easter and Caviar Dreams- Ava Interview

This past weekend Ava and I spent Easter in Champaign with Grandma and Grandpa E. Why no Art,  you ask? Daddy went to a bachelor party in Las Vegas, because it wasn't "his" Easter (true, he is Orthodox so their Easter is next weekend). I sense a solo trip by Mommy coming on while Art watches Ava for a weekend. Just a guess. 

Anyway, poor Ava didn't get any attention all weekend. Let's see what she has to say. 

Mom: Ava, tell me about your Easter weekend! Wasn't it so much fun?

Ava: Totes. I had a blast at the park. Remember when I would only stand by the swings and ignored all the other cool stuff and whined until I got to swing for 30 minutes? That rocked!

Mom: Yeah, I remember.There are lots of other things to do at the park though! Like going down the slide, playing on the horses, stuff like that!

Ava (staring blankly): But they're not the swing. Nothing compares to the swing. NOTHING!

Mom (sigh): Okay then. Moving on...

Ava: Grandpa taught me how to play the piano! 

Mom: He helped teach me, too! What a cool thing for him to teach us both!

Ava: For sure. Look, we're both playing with our eyes closed. I'm a savant!

Ava: Grandma sure likes to kiss me. What's that on my back? 

Mom: Uh, nothing. Just a little fun backpack. It's not like a LEASH or anything. 

Ava: Then why is there a long, suspicious looking string that Grandma is HOLDING while I'm walking!? I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS THERE!

Mom: It's just the monkey's tail! Grandma was helping so it didn't drag on the ground. 

Ava: The jig is up, mommy. I will not be the laughingstock of the playground as the kid who runs around with a leash!

Mom: Take it up with Grandma; it was her idea. 

Ava: I had fun going to dinner on Saturday night at the club. Thanks for playing Elmo's Adventures in Grouchland to keep me happy and totally occupied! 

Mom: Anytime Ava. Anytime at all. 

Mom: You looked pretty cute on the dance floor with Grandpa. 

Ava: Yeah, he sure is tan. Did he just get back from Naples? Say, I'd like to go back to Naples. Let's get on that. 

Mom: We'll see. Someone has been throwing a lot of tantrums lately. 

Ava: I'll tell Kate to knock it off. 

Mom: On Easter morning the Easter bunny left you eggs with raisins inside. Did you like that?

Ava: That was awesome! Except Lucy and Kate kept trying to steal my raisins. Hey, why do you and Grandma give your dogs people names? 

Mom: Because it's ironic and funny. Duh. 

Ava: And on the third day Jesus rose from the dead...

Kate: Yes, that's right. Keep looking over there. 

Ava: I was SO thrilled with my new set of golf clubs. Did you know that they can be used as missiles, to hit things or as a teether? 

Mom: In fact, their use as a weapon escaped me until I saw you with them. It was a lapse in judgement. 

Ava: So multi-functional. I need a second set to keep at home. Why did you make me leave them at Grandma and Grandpa's house? 

Mom: Let's move on.  

Mom: Why were you crying here Ava? Were you over-stimulated? Tired? Hungry? Missing your Dad who is in Las Vegas this weekend?

Ava: Um, no. I found the Illini cheerleading outfit and remembered that we fired Weber. He was such a nice guy! Who cares about win-loss records? How could they?

Mom: Regardless of what I may teach you, sometimes it DOES matter who wins and who loses. Should we really have been paying $1.3 million to a guy who can't get us to the Tournament or recruit? 

Ava: But he was nice. 

Kate: Nobody mind me. Nothing to see here. Move along. This Elmo belongs to ME! 

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! GOD BLESS! 

Easter Warm Up

Today our friends Sam and Megan graciously hosted us at the Union League Club's "Breakfast with the Easter Bunny". Knowing how kids Ava's age are (and particularly how Ava is), we were fully prepared for a screaming, crying meltdown. We were thrilled that she seemed totally cool with Mr. Bunny, even though he was holding her in awkward poses. 

Ava and Liv had a great time drinking juice (Ava's first juice!)

And eating cupcakes (with no icing, I'm a mean mom). 

Thanks for the fun morning, Elsener Family (Oh, and Graham IS there...he's just behind Art :)