Hand-mouth Coordination

Trying to take advantage of the weather before it starts to get cold instead of cool, we've been going for walks more often lately. Ava has gotten a lot faster at walking so we haven't been taking her stroller as often. We would get to the park (our usual destination) faster if it weren't for Ava's curiosity and the abundance of leaves on the sidewalk. One of her hands will hold her favorite leaf while the other will pick up new leaves and then promptly hand the new one off to Doni or I. She's got to have at least one hand free in case she sees another leaf that strikes her fancy. Usually it's only the next sidewalk square away. As you can imagine, it can take a while to get to the park, let alone the next house.

We have to watch her when she has leaves because occasionally she will try to eat them. I can't imagine they taste good. Maybe it's because they are the same color as the grapes, bananas, and apples that she eats. Then again, maybe it's just because she's learning by experience. Leaves: Not for eating.

Today we went to the Children's museum as our membership is about to expire. The three of us walked through the garage to the car in the driveway. Ava trailed behind and became fascinated by a clump of grass left behind from when I had earlier mowed the lawn. At this point Doni was already in the car and I was waiting at Ava's door to put her in her carseat. After finally getting her attention, she walked up to me with a leaf in one hand and a skinny, six inch stick in the other. I didn't take them from her as they had the potential to keep her attention and make our ride to the museum a little more sane than our usual car rides. I lifted her up into her seat and began buckling her in. Halfway through securing her in her 5-point Nascar racing harness I realized that what she had in her right hand was, in fact, not a stick. Instead, it was a cold, semi-stiff earthworm! I threw it out onto the driveway as Doni squirmed in the first seat. Half a bottle of hand sanitizer later, we were on our way to the museum.

Had I not realized that the stick was actually an earthworm, it is only logical that she would have done with the stick what she was probably going to do with the leaf.... put it in her mouth. Worms: Definitely not for eating.

Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin Patch, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

After church today we made a trip to the local pumpkin patch. It was like a kid's fall harvest paradise. There was an inflatable haunted house, a corn cob pneumatic gun, a mini-pumpkin slingshot, a mountain of hay to climb on, and, oh yeah, PUMPKINS!

Hayride, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

We took a hayride to the pumpkin patch. After searching through the acres of pumpkins, an ideal one caught our eye. Ava seemed more interested in the grass than the orange behemoths. We paid for our pumpkin after hayriding back to where we started. Not a family to pass on kettle corn, we got a jumbo bag before heading home.

Ava-o-lantern, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Doni is probably more excited about the pumpkin than Ava is. She can hardly wait to cut it open and roast the seeds.

The Joys of Drawers

While playing in her room tonight Ava discovered her dresser drawers. I wouldn't have thought that drawers could be so much fun, but apparently they can be. It began with a simple open and shut. First the bottom drawer, then the middle drawer (the top drawer was out of reach). Soon this wasn't enough for her and she decided to spice it up a little bit. There was the push-shut-with-your-belly move. This was followed by the hip-check slamming of the drawer. You know she was sure not to forget the booty-bump shut. She was having a grand ol' time until, in her enthusiasm, she pulled the drawer off the tracks. Dad stepped in with his healing hands and she was soon back to booty-bumping and hip-checking.

Pictures

Ava really likes her circus hat... especially when it doesn't fall over her eyes.

When she's not busy coloring on my dress shirts, Ava enjoys a good coloring book.

Ava sitting pretty waiting for her parents to finish getting ready for church.