Pumpkins and Fairies

Instead of going to just one pumpkin patch this year, Ava got to go to two, and our family somehow ended up with five pumpkins, including an Ava-sized pumpkin that we got for free at the fall festival at Irvine's Great Park. In addition to a costume, Ava had plenty of orange and black seasonal wear.

For Halloween itself, Ava was a fairy, and had several opportunities to wear her outfit as Abby took her to a number of Halloween parties (not the scary kind, but the toddler-friendly kind).

Abby carved our pumpkins and each of us had our own jack-o-lantern.

And Ava enjoyed playing with her pumpkin even after Halloween was over.

Learning to Swim

Ava has been taking swimming lessons for a couple months now at Waterworks, and has advanced from the beginner group to the intermediate group. The intermediate lessons are for swimmers aged 4-36 months who work on independence in the water by working on back floats and rollover breathing.

Indian Summer

Even though the days are getting shorter and we've set our clocks backward, it's remained warm in Orange County. Before it started to cool off, we decided to take another trip to the beach. Ava is totally acclimated to the cold water by now and loves to run straight into the waves.

After an afternoon at the beach, Abby and I walk back from Crystal Cove to our car parked up the hill with Ava in her ErgoBaby.

Dress Up Time

When we're at home we spend a lot of time just playing around the house and in the yard. We can have plenty of fun without fancy gadgets or electronics (although Ava likes toys that light up and make noise too).

But sometimes we take a break from reality and escape to somewhere new and different. Rather than catching the latest movie or curling up with a book, Ava dresses up.

Some days Ava pretends to be a ballerina (one of her favorite books is A Very Young Dancer by Jill Krementz).

And sometimes she dresses up in mommy's clothes.

And recently she dressed up as Tigger (thanks to Jillian for the cool birthday party favor).

Our New Kitchen

Even though Ava's been in our house for just over a year, Abby and I have had to deal with our kitchen for over four years now. After saving up a little bit of money, we decided it was time for a change - new cabinets, countertops, and appliances. The size of the kitchen remains the same, and the layout is basically the same, but we now have more counterspace, a larger sink, and cabinets that are much more user friendly.

Here's our old kitchen.

And here's our new kitchen.

In our old kitchen, Ava had a cabinet that she could open up and play with tupperware (all the other cabinets were childproofed). Similarly, in our new, Ava has two drawers with tupperware and towels where she can play. As you can see, she loves playing in our new kitchen as much as we do.