Spring is in the air

While the Midwest gets the occasional snowstorm, March in Arizona brings the start of our really good weather. Which means that Ava gets to enjoy lots of outside time. The last few weeks have been perfect for the little one to run around outside, play on the swings and slides, and just enjoy the sunshine.

Here’s Ava admiring the neighbor’s golden retriever puppy.

At the park, heading for the basketball (“B-ball” in her words) court and the tennis courts.

Taking a little break from hiking….all that work in the backpack makes her thirsty!

Chase meanwhile was happy in the shade.

Of course warmer weather means that the water features are being turned on at the parks and the shopping centers. Ava wasted no time in getting her feet (and entire body) wet by playing in the fountains.

 

From Click the photo above for a video of Ava playing in the fountains

Ava has also discovered that being an assistant in the kitchen is fun. Especially now that she can watch from the top of her stepstool.

All tuckered out after a long day of playing….

Off to enjoy another nice day in the sunshine!

Videos and More Videos

Time for a little more active post. Below are some videos (click the image to play the video) of the little peanut over the last month.

Ava at the playground doing her high fives.

Click image above for the video.

Going down the slide

Click image above for the video. (From AvaHighlights)

Playing with an airplane...and Dad not catching her in time.

Click image above for the video. (From AvaHighlights)

Taking her toys for a walk. And yes that fire engine was Dad's from when he was a kid.

Click image above for the video.(From AvaHighlights)

The "never ending" slide.

Click image above for the video. (From AvaHighlights)

And the never ending run against the couch.

Click image above for the video.(From AvaHighlights)

Playground Fun

With the warmer weather, Ava’s favorite hangout has been the playground. She’s there at least once per day, playing in the sand or going down slides. Plus, there are always other kids around to play with – she’s a little social butterfly!

Ava loves riding in her bike trailer to the park. But her favorite things is to take the flag off of it and march around the park.

Here she in in mid-flag pull.

And proceeding to march around the park.

She also is attentive for her educational videos. Especially when she gets to sit on the ottoman and kick her legs.

Ava of course has fun with her riding toys. Here she is with her zebra around the house.

Later that same day with Alexander and Charlotte, all playing in the wagon.

And toys at someone else’s house are naturally more fun.

All that works means you still need to relax afterwards….Chillin’ with Dad.

Note that Chase wanted to be featured too….even with his “bad hair” day.

And for those of you in cold weather, we do get snow here…this is snow on the peak about 5 miles from our house…

Time to go catch the little energizer bunny before she gets more toys out!

Trains

Ava is into trains. Or maybe Dad is into trains, and Ava just likes to follow along. This week the Mom’s group had an outing at the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park, which of course means that we all had to go. Ava was definitely excited by the trains and by the carousel there.

Anxiously awaiting the train ride.

As we are going around the park.

Ava was anxious to pose on the engine after the ride.

Ava and Mom on the Carousel.

On the car ride home, Ava was still “all smiles”.

 

Later in the week, Ava decided she needed to coach Mom on her workouts.

Here she is demonstrating the proper form.

Ava (and Dad) are definitely ready to go to the railroad park again soon – maybe next time we will get the annual pass…

Chilling in the chilly weather

While the rest of the country has been hit with snow, the southwest has been hit with some cooler than usual weather. With Ava still recovering from a cold, this means that we can’t play outside quite as much. Last weekend we took advantage of some of the sunny days to play at the park near our house.

Here’s Ava running through the park.

And seeing if I am watching as she tries to go into the desert area.

Later in the day we took her to the Tempe town lake. Here she is trying to see all of the ducks.

Followed quickly by a “mission” to go pet a dog that she saw.

We moved Ava’s picnic table inside recently. She like having a little indoor picnic with it for lunch.

On Wednesday evening we took Ava to the Phoenix Art Museum. She loved running around and looking at everything, but was a little disappointed that she couldn’t touch it all.

Flashback to the same spot from November 2009:

Ava’s favorite activity was cleaning the condensation off of the windows….

In addition to art, Ava has also managed to stay up on pop culture. Here she is with her “There’s Something About Mary” impression.

For now we are looking forward to a return to our normal warmer weather and more time outside – not just to wear her out, but so that she can practice some art with her sidewalk chalk.

18 Month Checkup

This week Ava had her 18 month checkup. She clocked in at 30.5 inches, 22.5 pounds – definitely getting bigger! Not only that, but she is getting even quicker about running around the house (and yard, and playground, etc.) This week’s other development was eliminating the pacifiers – it was easier than we thought!

Here she is during a little downtime watching some Baby Einstein in her rocking chair.

Last weekend at Sofia’s birthday party.

Playing in her princess castle. With Chase’s leash on.

Getting out of the castle…

Playing with balloons at another birthday party today.

And the fountain of course!

Which is way more fun when you play with the water.

Afterwards, a little swing time…

It is hard to believe that it has been a year and half already! Got to run after the little sprinter…..