A Little Bit of Ava

When we went to the States for a meeting recently, we got to see some of her grandparents in person. Time apart over a long distance from her grandparents didn't make Ava shy at all. Other than the initial excitement of seeing each of her grandparent, she acted as if her grandparents had been next door all along in the last 8 months that we have been overseas. She has not forgotten them or become cool in her affection for them. It did all of our hearts good! The one grandparent she didn't see in the States was Greg's dad, John, but that will be taken care of next month when he comes for a visit!

"What's dis? What's dat?" That's Ava. She says that now and then but she seems to go through phases when she asks "what's dat" incessantly and it's worse when she doesn't even wait for an answer and especially worse when she already knows the answer but asks anyway. We don't bother answering if we realize her question isn't a genuine desire to know.

She also has phases where she wants to communicate like a cat. She'll talk to us in "meow's." Sometimes I humor her and we meow back and forth conversationally....and nonsensically.

Ava can "read" Brown Bear, Brown Bear out loud. It sounds like a boast but it's really funny if you know the book. It's repetitive and prompted by pictures of animals. For example, there is a picture of a brown bear with a line "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" Then you open a slot at the bottom of the page that reveals a red bird and a line that says, "I see a red bird looking at me." It's the same lines over and over, replacing the animals with other animals corresponding to the pictures ("Red bird, red bird, what do you see? I see a green frog looking at me! Green frog, green frog, what do you see? I see a blue cat looking at me. Blue cat, blue cat..." and so on). It's funny to listen to her read that book out loud.

Ava has generally moved past the worst of the terrible two's. She still has her ornery days (not the same as crabby days when she's tired, hungry, etc) but they're becoming far and few between. She's becoming more agreeable, easygoing, and patient. She can wait happily without complaining if I tell her she can't have (insert something here) today but could tomorrow. If she has a tantrum at all, it's usually fleeting and she can calm down to listen to me. Her impulse control is getting better. Yesterday, she saw something interesting when she came home (a spring that'd come loose from our couch), turned to us, and actually asked if she could play with it. What a shocker! Normally, she does what she wants and doesn't ask permission. Ava's a pretty happy kid. Just the other day, Greg was pushing her on the swing and she was happily singing at the top of her lungs. She's still outgoing as usual, saying hello to everyone in Turkish.

Ava's third birthday (April 4) is coming up. I can hardly believe it. Three seems like a fun age. The actual birthday falls on a Wednesday and she normally goes to preschool. I am trying to think of something to surprise her on that morning; a treat, a present at the breakfast table, some decorations. I will probably send a cake with her to celebrate with her class at preschool. How fun and cute is that! The following weekend is Easter weekend and I think my small group has a plan in the works for a picnic on the beach on that Saturday to celebrate Easter so that would be a really fun day for Ava. So...possibly cupcakes to pass out, a Happy Birthday song, and back to playing. No theme parties :-) Greg's parents will come 5 days after Ava's birthday and we can do a celebration with cake and candles. Yum!

On her birthday, I will ask her twenty questions which I will do on every birthday as she grows up and see how her answers change over the year. It'll be fun!

Anyway, I will try to remember amusing anecdotes about Ava so I can post them here. I'm bad at remembering things like that. The things that make us laugh are usually the kind of things that you just have to be there yourself to see and they don't translate well to the blog. Maybe there will be something...