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.

Around Town

Like me, Ava likes to start the day off with breakfast and the newspaper.


Of course we like to play at home. Sometimes by ourselves.


And sometimes with friends.

We can walk to the park and to Yogurtland (yogurt for the adults and blueberries or kiwi for Ava), but for bigger trips we have to ride in the car, and sometimes Ava falls asleep in the car (or sometimes we plan our trips so that they coincide with Ava's naps).

We continue to take Ava to Gymboree every week, but Ava has also been taking swimming lessons, and like most people who live in the OC we take her to the mall too. Not for shopping but to let her play in the jumping fountains (which she loves) and to take a ride on the carousel (which she hated, and which we will not be doing anytime in the near future).

I wake up early most Saturday mornings to head down to The Olde Ship to watch Chelsea, and we've even brought her down to the pub. We brought our own snacks with us, but maybe next time Ava can try some beans and toast.

Visiting the Sunny Side of the Bay

Abby's family lives in Oakland, so every couple months or so we head up Southwest and visit the Knapps. Our house is one story, so visiting Grandma and Grandpa gives Ava the chance to climb up stairs. She's become quite good at going up, but hasn't quite figured out how to get down.

Prior to our most recent trip, Ava got her first major boo-boo. Standing in our driveway, she reached down to pick up a leaf and lost her balance. She got a big scrape on her nose in the process, but other than the immediate pain it didn't seem to bother her one bit.

Not only did Ava get to spend a lot of time exploring Rockridge with Grandma and Grandpa, but Abby and I got a chance to take a little break to Sonoma with Hannah and Rob.

After wandering around Sonoma, wine tasting, and a picnic lunch, we enjoyed the Sonoma Grand Prix where we saw Helio Castroneves (yes, the guy from Dancing with the Stars) dominate the field to get his first win of the season.

Ava's First Birthday!

Ava turned one on August 14, 2008. Since Ava's birthday fell on a Thursday, the three of us played at home, and looked forward to Ava's big birthday party on Saturday.

No birthday would be complete without a birthday cake, so we got Ava a pink cake with baloons on it, along with her first candle. As you can see, the cake was probably large enough for 6-8 adults, but Ava demolished it all by herself.

After taking a bath and getting all the icing off her hands, face, and hair, Ava got to open up some of her presents.

As expected, Ava enjoyed playing with the giftwrap and the plastic doodads that came with the toys as much as the toys themselves.

Saturday, August 16 was the big day with friends and family coming over for a backyard bbq.

Balloons were a must.

As were cupcakes.

Ava was a little camera shy when her cupcake came out and everyone sang for her.

But she was very excited when it came time to opening presents. Given the many toys she received we've taken to opening something new every week or two so that she always has something new to play with, and she isn't overwhelmed with all the new toys at once.

Thanks to everyone for coming, and for those of you who weren't able to make it, thanks for all the cards and well-wishes.

The Aquarium of the Pacific

After going to the world's largest aquarium in Atlanta, it's probably all downhill for Ava as far as aquarium experiences are concerned, but the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

The aquarium had all the things you'd expect to see at an aquarium like fish, seals, and starfish.

And some things you wouldn't expect like tropical birds.

After visiting our ocean-going friends, we decided to eat some of them, and enjoyed a meal at the very kid-friendly Buba Gump's with our fellow land-lubbers Lori, Alex, and Michael.

It's Summertime in Irvine

As the days get hotter we spend more time trying to cool off outside. Abby and Ava now regularly go to Parent & Me swim lessons at WaterWorks in Irvine, and we purchased a water table so Ava can play in our back yard (if you look carefully you might even be able to see Ava's new bottom teeth).

Since we live in Southern California we have no excuse not to go to the beach, so we do that too. The water is a bit too cold for Ava, so Ava plays on the beach while the rest of us eat sandy sanwiches.

All this time playing in the water also makes for a great excuse to try on lots of new swimsuits.

Ava Can Stand Up And (Sort Of) Walk!

For the last several months, Ava has been able to sit up, crawl, and get around by scootching along furniture or the wall.

Of course, she still likes being held too.

Over the last several weeks, Ava has learned how to stand by herself, and has even been able to take a few steps on her own.

To help her become more mobile, we hold her hands and walk all over the house, the yard, and the park. We also got her a walker that is shaped like a lion - if you flip down the handle she can ride on it too. She can really get moving and can now walk all around the house with the help of her trusty lion (which we have creatively named "Lion"). I'm sure soon enough she'll be walking everywhere all on her own.