Playgroup Passi

Last week Julie, Megan, the kids (Elliot, Ethan & Ava) and I went to the Natural History Smithsonian, but quickly decided to go back outside and enjoy the most beautiful day ever. Spring fever!

joy ride

In the midst of doing some Saturday cleaning, Doug took Ava for a little joy ride.

innocent until proven guilty

While I was getting Ava's breakfast ready, she had managed to pull the placemat and milk off of the table. Her face says it all.

Follow the Leader

Ava started playing 'follow the leader' out of the blue one evening and we thought it was adorable, though the clip doesn't quite give it the justice it deserves.

...Sew...a needle pulling thread...

As many of you know, I'm not the craftiest person in the world. However, my friend Julie is prodding me along in our mini projects. She's quite inspiring...and patient. This last project took us a month to do with my lack of expertise and with our little gals at our heels. Look at the picture and make a guess first (hers on left and mine's on right, with the opposite material for the backing). If you have any imagination at all you will see the obvious shape of a cat. We printed the pattern off of the Amy Butler website and went for it. Despite the imperfections, what I like to believe gives them personality and character, they didn't turn out to bad. Ava and Elliot got a kick out of the sewing machine and were mesmerized, until they started head butting.

Sneaky Sneaky

Like most kids, Ava has always been fascinated with garbage cans and their contents. On this particular day I was busy doing who knows what and noticed the silence in our little apartment. As I came around the corner I couldn't help but catch her in the act, and this was the result. Notice she turns away from me and does a sort of grunting sound? Yes, this is Ava's talking back to mom and dad voice. When we actually say "no-no-no", that's when the grunts get deeper and louder, it's hilarious.

and she's off...

Yep, two days after her first birthday Ava just took off. After her first steps over Christmas she really clung onto Mom and Dad, didn't quite want to give us up yet. However, she continued to walk with her push-n'-ride toy, holding onto furniture and along walls. A week or two before her first birthday (Jan 19th) she would push off whatever she was holding onto and take a few steps and then a few more. On Monday, Jan 21st she really let go and hasn't stopped since. In fact, she does laps around our house, it's quite the game for her. Fortunately, Doug was home for the holiday so he could join in on the excitement. But, the really nice by-product of it all is that mom is able to get more done and have a bit more freedom...I LOVE IT!!!