Swift Kick to the Face

Saddle up babe!, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Often when we're in a place where we're unable to lay Ava down despite her being clearly tired and acting out, I'll try to lay her down in my arms with her head in the crook of my left elbow and her bottom in the crook of my right. I'll walk her around trying to get her to succumb to her unknown need for unconsciousness.

Now, Ava seems to think that when I hold her like this, it is the perfect opportunity for her to mess with my face. She is at arm's reach to:

1. Pick my nose,
2. Stick her fingers in my mouth (yes, unfortunately, usually in that order),
   
3. Wave her pacifier in front of my face,
   
4. Hit me with it,
   
5. Try to put it in my mouth, and
   
6. Kick me in the face with her trusty left foot.

She finds all of this highly entertaining.

Recently Ava and I were in the nursery of a church while Doni was attending a wedding shower in her home town. Picking up on her grumpy clues, I picked her up and tried to get her to fall asleep using my time-honored technique. It was kind of bright in the nursery, so I decided to go out into the hallway so I could be away from the windows in semi-darkness. She begins her usual routine of disfiguring my face. However, she soon finds another source of entertainment. "What is that.. that.. that," you ask? You guessed it... an echo. She starts babbling and promptly escalates to singing and joyful yells. Over the next five or so minutes she has the time of her life experimenting with her newly discovered "skill". Needless to say, we didn't get a minute of sleep that afternoon.