A year in phlox

Ava and I were playing out by the phlox this afternoon and I was reminded of this time last year when I took photos of her in the phlox. I can't believe how much she's changed in just one year!

How do I slow this train down?

Right to choose?

I felt confident that I was prepared to handle the trials of raising a opinionated toddler. Choice! That's the answer. Empower toddler to make a choice between two acceptable options. What the books and articles neglect to mention is what the parent is to do when the answer is "No!" to both options. Take our exchange this morning:

Me: "Ava, do you want to wear the duck shirt..."
Ava: (interrupts my presentation of choices) "NO!"
Me:"... or the pig shirt? "
Ava: "NO!"
Me: "The duck shirt or the pig shirt" (I smile and hold each up like Vanna White)
Ava: "No! Flower!"
Repeat.
Repeat.

We're late so I pull out a t-shirt with flowers and she grins ear to ear. She's won.

I should point out that I don't really care what Ava wears. Flowers, ducks, pigs, it makes no difference to me. What I'm trying to avoid is a complete meltdown when, for example, the oft requested tiger shirt is either unavailable or unacceptable (Bragging Rights game day, perhaps?).

My advice to my parent-friends with younger peanuts: Don't make a big deal about the clothes. As cute as it is to say, "What's that on your shirt, Baby?" and see him/her look down at a pooched-out belly and point excitedly saying"Kee-kee!", you'll regret it later when the kee-kee shirt is in the wash!

Ah...rhinocerous!

I love this video. We stayed in an African-themed hotel over Easter and Ava had a great time learning about the animals. She kept calling the rhinocerous a "pig" and at least once in the video she calls it a pig-ocerous. The video also captures her new habit of saying "ah..." before answering a question. She does it nearly every time we offer her a choice but here she says "ah..." while thinking of the answer.

Scenes from Easter

We've just returned from a great Easter visit with family. We had a wonderful time. Here are a couple of photos of the Easter fun.

The Easter egg hunt!

Ava's been learning to sing some songs with us. It's a great way to pass the time in the car!

Easter goodies

Ava's sitter made all the kids these chocolate bunnies and the kids decorated eggs. All the jelly beans are gone and the head of that bunny is looking mighty tasty. I had to snap a photo before there was nothing left.

I feel pretty!

this and that...

Here's a couple photos from the past week. Ava sported her first MU Tiger paraphernalia this past weekend. She really loves this shirt and asks to wear it everyday. "Tiger shirt - grr!".
Over the weekend Ava caught yet another cold. Monday was a warm day and we were playing outside. She'd been up and down all day. She was swinging happily in the swing and then her eyelids got really heavy. She fought sleep hard but eventually lost the battle. I let her swing there (attended - of course) for about 10-15 minutes. I just knew she was having such trouble sleeping flat on her back at night with this cold. I figured she could use some rest. Why don't they make those indoor infant swings support toddlers? That would have been perfect for her to catch some Z's while recovering from her cold.
Finally, a scene from our bathroom tonight. Ava donned her "bath coat" and I finally snapped a photo.