Weekend Fun!

On the weekends Ava gets to spend a lot of time with Grammy and Poppy. Sometimes they come over to our house - where she can play in the yard and visit our local parks.

And sometimes Ava visits them in Torrance - where she can go to the beach and the Redondo Beach pier. Either way, Ava always has a wonderful time.

A Magical Day

Grandma and Grandpa recently came down to celebrate Grandpa's birthday. To celebrate Grandpa's birthday we all went to Disneyland in the afternoon. This was Ava's first trip to the Magic Kingdom. Ava will surely be going back time and time again as we have annual passes. If any of you loyal readers is planning on a trip to Disneyland let us know and we can meet you there. And don't forget that this year admission is free on your birthday.

We started off the afternoon with the obligatory picture in front of the main entrance.

From there we moved onto the rides. As you would expect there are a lot of rides without height restrictions that are suitable for Ava, but we weren't sure whether Ava would like the rides or not. We started off with Winnie the Pooh which went pretty well.
Ava wasn't too excited to take pictures with Pooh and Tigger after the ride so we walked through Sleeping Beauty's Castle to Fantasyland where there are more kid's rides.

Ava wasn't too excited about Storybook Canal,

but after a bit of hesitation she loved Dumbo, and really got a kick out of It's A Small World.


Fortunately, Ava can't really sing just yet, so we didn't have to endure the same song over and over again for the next week.

After heading back home to give Ava dinner, whilst Grandma and Grandpa enjoyed more rides, the adults ended the day with dinner at home and a cake that Grandma made!

Ava's Vacation: 7 days in Torrance

For a week in January, Ava went on her first vacation without her parents. We drove Ava to Torrance where she spent 7 days playing with Grammy and Poppy.
Ava had a lot of fun playing in the many parks Torrance has to offer,

and going to the beach.

Since it's the middle of winter it rained while Ava was on her trip, so she spent some time doing her favorite inside activities like coloring,

reading,

and just being goofy.

Of course no vacation is complete without seeing new things, and Ava had plenty of new experiences including visiting and feeding a horse (a "neigh neigh") for the first time.

learning about the local animals that live in Torrance,

and playing the guitar (a "tar").

The Oakland Zoo

Even though we don't live too far away to the San Diego Zoo (not to mention the Santa Ana and L.A. Zoos), Ava's first trip to a zoo was to the Oakland Zoo. Ava has been learning about different animals, but farm animals like neigh-neighs, baas, moos, and goats are her favorites. The Oakland Zoo has a nice little petting zoo area where we were able to walk into the stables where the goats and sheep live to visit them.

Ava was a bit hesitant around the animals, especially the larger ones.

But she did have enough confidence to pet one of the baby goats, and I'm sure she'll be running up to them to pet them next time.

While we weren't at the zoo all day, we did get to see some of the more exotic animals like tigers and giraffes.

Ava's Second Christmas

Ava took full advantage of the twelve days of Christmas, as our Christmas festivities went on for some time. We started out by going to church on Christmas Eve where Ava was excited to see the kids' Christmas pageant. The pageant included a kid dressed up like a donkey (which Ava called a "neigh-neigh," her word for horse - close enough). Then it was back to our house where Ava got to open up her gifts from Grammy and Poppy before drifting off to sleep and dreaming of Santa.

On Christmas morning, Ava awoke to find that Santa had left a kitchen for her complete with a grill and a few food items like hot dogs.

Of course there were plenty of other gifts to open as well.

We then stopped at Grammy and Poppy's house for a nap and a chance to warm up.

Then it was off to Auntie Lizzie and Uncle Michael's house for more food, gifts, and a chance to see Santa.

After Christmas in Southern California, it was time to head up to Oakland for the next round of Christmas activities. Santa really knew what Ava wanted as a kitchen was awaiting her in Oakland as well. Ava's mothering instincts have already kicked into play as she became quite fond of feeding tomato sauce to her "baa."

Ava had more presents to open as well.

While in Oakland, Ava spent time visiting family and friends,

Playing outside,

And reading too.

Getting Ready for Christmas

While many people get ready for Christmas by running around to the mall to buy gifts, and to the store to buy food and drinks for guests, Ava's pre-Christmas activities are a lot less hectic and more fun.

Ava spent time dressing up,

Playing with mommy,

Decorating cupcakes,

Eating at her new table,

And learning how to color.

Picking out Christmas Trees

Instead of picking just one Christmas tree this year, Ava got the chance to help pick out Christmas trees for our house as well as for Grandma and Grandpa's house in Oakland.

In Irvine, Ava got to run around a Christmas tree farm as well as our local lot.

And in Oakland, Ava braved the cold (at least compared to Irvine) at the Boy Scout lot.

Ava helped us pick perfect trees, and maybe next year she can help us put on a few of the ornaments.