Children's Fairyland

Oakland is known for many things including the A's, the Raiders, Jerry Brown, MC Hammer, and Jack London Square. For Ava, Oakland's most important site (other than Grandma and Grandpa's house) is Children's Fairyland. Fairyland has been entertaining Bay Area kids for the past 60 years.

Fairyland is where fairy tales and childrens' stories come to life.

Kids (and adults) can see where their favorite characters live, and can even listen to the stories using a magical key (for the 60th anniversary, Ava got a very special diamond key).

Fairyland is also home to the Storybook Puppet Theater - the oldest continuously operating puppet theater in the country - where we enjoyed a performance of The Petrified Princess.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Ava just turned three years old (tres años).

Her birthday started a day early with little princesses and a playmat from our wonderful nanny Maribel, and continued with plenty of other gifts.

Ava asked for a Dora the Explorer birthday party, and Abby happily obliged making a Dora cake, cupcakes, Dora-themed food, and decorating the house with Dora and her friends Boots, Map, Backpack, Tico, and Swiper.

Despite never stepping foot into the pool, Ava wore a Dora bathing suit and enjoyed all the food and playing with her friends.

New school, new hairdo

This week has been very eventful for Ava. After having previously gone to mommy and me pre-school, Ava attended her very first day of her new pre-school - Good Shepherd - all by herself. Her first day was very successful with Ava jumping right into the thick of things.

Just like any teenage girl, the start of school required a new haircut. After almost three years without a haircut, Ava finally went in for her first visit to A Star Is Born. Again, it was a complete success.

Before:

During:

After:

Swimming National Championships

One of the random benefits of living in Irvine is that it's a hotbed for swimming, and this week Irvine hosted the National Championships (try to spot Ava in the stands on Sunday on NBC).

After doing really well at her own swimming lesson in the morning, Ava was excited to go see the grownups compete at the swim meet. Not knowing what to expect and whether she would be into it, she chose a few books and her Winnie the Pooh stuffed animal for her backpack and we made the short drive to the Woollett Aquatic Complex.

We didn't need to worry, as Ava enjoyed all the races with Mommy, Daddy, and our friend Jen.

She saw a wealth of talent including Michael Phelps, Ryan Lochte, Natalie Coughlin, and Amanda Beard.

Ava clapped, cheered, and danced throughout the beautiful summer evening.

Bye for now!

The OC Fair

One of our summer rituals is a trip to the OC Fair - the home of deep fried butter.

Our first stop was Centennial Farm to see all the animals.

Then it was time to stuff ourselves with junk food.

One thing that made things a bit different this year is that Ava is now tall enough to stand in most of the wooden cutouts on her own, and we took full advantage.

Summer Fun

Summer is in full swing here in Southern California and despite the up and down weather, we've been having a lot of fun doing new (and old) activities including...

A visit to Old Towne Orange...

Fourth of July in San Diego with Auntie Hannah & Uncle Rob, and Doug, Sucheta & their very friendly dogs...

Crystal Cove with Grammy and Poppy...

Celebrating Mommy's birthday with ice cream cupcakes...

Playing with Daddy's remote-controlled car...

And continuing with swimming lessons.

All-Star Mickeys

With the Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Anaheim, All-Star Mickeys have popped up all over town. While Ava didn't get to see the Dodger one (at the Music Center in Los Angeles), she did get to visit the Mickeys in Irvine honoring the Mets, Rockies, and Diamondbacks.