Wonderful Ava...

Yesterday morning we were at my grandmother's house for lunch. Trying to mush on my Ava, I said, "Ava, who does mommy love?" (of course I meant her!) She quickly replied with, "Jesus." I almost couldn't bear it. I was so thrilled. I just hope that she sees that, rather than just reciting something I've said.

This morning I was playing with her, getting her to repeat whatever I said. She repeated a couple of silly phrases easily, but then I wanted her to say something silly like, "Mommy is the best thing ever!" She said, "You're not the best thing." "What?," I said. "Who is the best thing?" "Charlotte," she replied quite frankly!

Child prodigy or naughty girl...

You occasionally have these 'mom' moments where you are a little unsure of what your response is supposed to be. You are torn between proud and mad or sad and glad. Well, this morning Ava and I had one of those moments!

I walked into the dining room to find Ava putting the lid back on a black Sharpie marker. We had a discussion about who uses mommy's markers, then she said, "I made an M!" She said, "Look, mom. I made an M."

I looked over at her art easel and sure enough, there was an M on the paper in fresh, black marker. What was I supposed to say? What would you have said?

Reaching for the...

Our neighbor Ben and his father were over for a visit the other night. Ava and Ben were playing in the backyard while the parents talked. At one point, Ben and Ava were quietly talking for a minute or two when suddenly they started jumping up in the air with their arms lifted. They were obviously trying to catch something. When we asked what they were trying to get, they responded that they were trying to get the moon! We laughed for a minute at those darling children.

Then, I had to go inside for a minute. When I returned, this is what I saw. Those wonderful dads were helping their kids reach the moon. What a wonderful reminder of the importance of fathers and the way they think...just days before Father's Day.

Ava Compliments Her Daddy

This afternoon we were driving in Tri-County (actually past VCC's new Student Union) when Ava handed out three of her biggest compliments to her favorite man...her daddy.

It went something like this...

Me: Daddy is at work.
Ava: He's my friend.
Me: He's your friend?
Ava: Yes, he's my friend. He's big.
Me: Oh, he's big.
Ava: Yes, he has flip-flops.

Funny Ava. If you're her favorite thing, you're her big friend with flip-flops. We should all be so generous with our hearts.