Growing up is hard to do

After a crazy busy few weeks, I'm finally getting around to updating the world on Ava's birthday. We celebrated by taking Ava to the carousel at the mall and letting her ride until it closed. She came home with carousel stamps up and down both arms! She woke up that morning unsure of the concept of "birthdays" but now she gets it - at least the present part. She keeps asking if she can open more presents. The next day Mike's parents and sister arrived for the weekend and we had another little celebration. Much like last year, Ava doesn't seem much a fan of the Happy Birthday song, at least not when directed toward her.

Happy Birthday, Ava!

Cousins

Probably the best part of our trip was getting to spend time with our family and watching the three girls, born in January/May/September of 2007, bond with one another. It was a true joy. Above is a photo of Charlie, friend Jayden (also born in September 07), Rhys, and Ava.

Ava and Rhys show off their matching shirts. Ava's was a birthday gift from Di and Q. Thanks guys!

Sharing an inside joke.

Charlie, Rhys and Ava cashed out after one of our many adventures.

A classic.

Sesame Place

As I mentioned we splurged and took Ava to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. It was quite fun. As a fan myself, I was just as excited to see all my favorite characters. Check out this cool topiary at the entrance.Included in admission is the option to see several shows. We only had time for one so we chose "Elmo's World Live" which is a live version of the segment on the show. It has the same format and even includes Mr. Noodle and Dorothy. It's hard to tell if the girls enjoyed it. I think they were in shock.Surprisingly enough, there were plenty of ride appropriate for even the smallest kids! Clearly I'm having a blast on this one....I think Ava enjoyed it too!

Mommy guilts Daddy into trying to win a toy for Ava:

Success! Ava with her loot. At least her $9 lunch included a souvenir cup!

Here is Ava in Big Bird's Nest. This was a great play area for the little kids. This is where we first noticed that Ava was changing. She played there by herself and with her cousins. No mommy needed!We were thrilled to see that Sesame Place included a carousel! Here we waited in line to ride it again!We ended the day with a great parade including all the characters. Here Ava is exhausted after her day of fun!

the roaming Ava

We've just returned from a wonderful trip up and down the East Coast. We flew into DC for work. While I attended meetings in a windowless conference room, Mike took Ava for a tour of landmarks. After the work portion was over we went took a train to Baltimore and met up with Mike's sister Di and her family. We took the kids (Ava's cousins are also 2) to the National Aquarium and then left for Philadelphia. After loading up on a philly cheese steak we left the next morning for Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA. I'll post more on that later. After Sesame we went to NYC to stay in Brooklyn. Ava had an art class, went to FAO Schwarz to dance on the Big piano, went to the Central Park Zoo, and rode the subway. Finally, we went to Di's country house in Massachusetts to recover from the city. Whew! It was a whirlwind. Ava changed so much while we were away. She really came out of her shell and did things she wouldn't have done two weeks prior. Her vocabulary really took off and she's been talking about her adventures non-stop. I've got to find a way to go on permanent vacation.

Here are some shots of the roaming Ava. Future extra credit in American History, perhaps?

Independence Hall in Philadelphia


The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. It was much smaller than we were expecting.


The Capital


The White House


The Supreme Court

The Washington Monument