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.

Ava's Routine

Ava's daily or weekly routine isn't totally regiminented, but she does have a rough schedule that we try to follow. Ava is usually gets up around 6:30am. After Abby feeds her, Ava usually spends time playing in our bedroom/bathroom area while Abby and I take turns getting ready for the day.

Ava is well past just drinking milk, and now has several real meals a day. Ava much prefers finger foods to eating oatmeal or jarred food, and is a big fan of cheerios, avocado, and fruit.

Ava takes two naps a day and when she's not eating or napping she crawls around, pulls herself up on tables, chairs, and cabinets, and scoots around to explore her world. Some of her favorite indoor activities are trying to pull things out of Abby's diaper bag and reading books.

Ava's other weekday activities include going to Gymboree, daily trips to the park, and playdates with her friends like Jillian.

After a long day of crawling around it's time for a bath, which means playing around in the tub, and sometimes trying to escape. Ava gets one last feeding and then goes to bed around 7:00pm.

Ava Goes to Crystal Cove

It would be a shame to live in Orange County without going to the beach, right? Ava has now been to the beach at Crystal Cove State Park several times, but our most recent visit was the first time Ava was able to really crawl around in the sand. Crystal Cove is a short drive from our house and not only has a beach area, but it also has a historic district with cottages from the 20s and 30s that you can stay in, and a great restaurant on the beach called The Beachcomber. The wait at The Beachcomber can easily be an hour or more, which gives us enough time to play on the beach and work up an appetite.

Ava really liked lounging around in the sand, but didn't care too much for the cold water. Abby will be taking Ava to swim lessons soon (not really swim lessons, but mommy and me classes in the pool), so hopefully Ava will be able to enjoy wading into the water at the beach this summer.

Ava's Baptism

A week after returning from our vacation, a small group of family and friends joined us at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Tustin for Ava's baptism. The ceremony was presided over by Reverends Reese Riley and Kay Sylvester.

What's the Episcopal Church? Referred to by many as "Catholic Light," the Episcopal Church is the official name of the Province of the Anglican Communion in the U.S. The Church was organized shortly after the American Revolution when it was forced to break with the Church of England on penalty of treason as Church of England clergy were required to swear allegiance to the British monarch, and became, in the words of the 1990 report of the Archbishop of Canterbury's Group on the Episcopate, "the first Anglican Province outside the British Isles." In keeping with Anglican tradition and theology, the Episcopal Church considers itself a via media, middle way, between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Ava's gown and hat were both family heirlooms worn by several generations of Smith/Knapp(/and now Cruz) women.

(Ava being baptised)

(Chris, Ava, Abby and Godmother Aunt Hannah)

(Poppy, Grammy, and Ava)

(Ava, Grandma, and Grandpa)

Following the church service, everyone headed back to our house where we had a nice little brunch and Ava got to open up her presents. At least for the time being the opening of the presents is far more exciting for Ava than the presents themselves.