Say What??

As Ava approaches the big 3-year mark, I find myself reflecting upon her past year of toddlerhood. There are so many memories I want to cling to regarding this beautiful child of mine, but one notion that I realize has really cemented her personality is her sweet little sense of humor. Recently, I went through the red notebook in which I record all of her adorable comments, and I thought I’d share some of the more colorful ones.

After Mimi offered to get her a Kleenex during a particularly vivid nose pick: You know what, Mimi? At home I pick my nose all the time. What do you think about that?

Anytime she’s feeling unusually happy about something: I’m whole-happy!

A random comment at Mimi and Papaw’s house one day when one of their friends came over: I like when boys kiss me. No, we have no idea from whence this comment came. None at all.

After Erik chastised her by saying that Ho-Ho and Santa Claus were watching her behavior: Um, Daddy, HO-HO IS SANTA!

After making brownies, I asked her if she needed her hands washed. Nope, I already wiped them on my pants!

One day, she told me and Erik a highly elaborate story that clearly did not happen, following which we asked her pointedly if that had actually happened to her. Ava’s response? Oh, yes, it happened to me. When I was a different girl. With a different face. WTF? I don’t even want to know the depths of this child’s imagination.

Cravings

One of the most common questions I am asked about my pregnancy, other than the due date, revolves around any food cravings I might be having. Yes, people seem to find this fascinating. With Ava the answer was simple: milk and fruit! milk and fruit! milk and fruit! With this baby, however, I’ve found no recurrent theme to what I crave. It changes daily. Frequently. Wildly.

Take last week, for instance. One day in my classroom a student mentioned Crab Rangoon, a wonderful Chinese delight. Immediately my taste buds began to perspire and the muscles of my throat quivered uncontrollably. I could barely wait the few hours to the end of my day. Yes, on the way home, I stopped at China Wok. I HAD TO DO IT!

Also, with Ava, I was SuperMom and ate healthier than I ever had or ever will in this lifetime. Limited sugar and fast food, with NO SODAS! NONE! WHATSOEVER! In fact, this practice continued through the subsequent nine months of breastfeeding. If you know me at all, you know what a monumental feat this accomplishment was for me.

Unfortunately, I am no longer SuperMom. Damn.

Yes, I occasionally consume soda, albeit caffeine-free. Yes, I eat fast food at least once a week (sometimes more—gulp). Yes, I do feel guilty about it. But I can’t seem to stop myself. So if I have any recurrent theme to my cravings this time around, it is desiring things that are unfortunately bad for me. In my defense, however, I drink gallons of water a day, monitor protein, fruits, and vegetables, and take multiple vitamins per day. So while I am succumbing to some weak cravings, I am nonetheless remaining sensible about this pregnancy. Let’s not forget I am still the old Lori Thyen in many ways, and she would never tolerate less than one’s best effort.

Of course, right now I’m shushing her so I can go out and get a loaded cheeseburger with fries. And a Sprite! And maybe a Blizzard for dessert! With a pickle on the side!

Snow Day

Yes, it finally happened. After molding tiny wet snowballs from the past few disappointing snippets of intermediate snowfall. After explaining to Ava—again and again—the joy of suiting up for a frolic among inches of snow (an event she had been desperate to experience for herself). After securing Disney Princess snow boots to match the blizzard-style Disney Princess winter coat. After doing quite a creative dance in hopes that the snow spirits would finally relent and let my daughter have her first true romp in the snow. Yes, it finally happened!

Monday and Tuesday were snow days for the Smith family (thank you, Pike County!), and we couldn’t wait to take advantage of the thick carpeting of snow that had blanketed our neighborhood. Ava popped out of bed Monday morning ready for her adventure, although mean ‘ol Mommy made her wait until after lunch when the temperatures peaked around freezing. At that point, we began the time-honored tradition of donning our winter gear to battle the elements. Although Erik and I pulled together a hodge-podge of clothing that represented various stages of our past, and would have embarrassed us greatly had any of our neighbors been peeking out their windows, we at least had prepared an adorable outfit for Miss Ava. As you can see in the photos, she could not have been any cuter for her first official snowy foray into the backyard!

As for our adventure, we enjoyed all the usual wintry entrapments: making and throwing snowballs, kicking loose snow at each other, and building a snowman. Of course, this particular snow didn’t stick very well, so please do not judge our small, simple snowman. He served his purpose, and served it well, and we love him for it. Then we ended our fun by drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows back in the toasty warm house. Ah, another adventure. Another memory. Another photo-op for the blog and/or scrapbook.

If it has to be so cold, then at least we have snow days to warm our hearts!

It's a Boy!

As many of you already know, we are expecting a new little addition to the Smith family around June 3rd. I suppose I’ve been too superstitious to mention my pregnancy on the blog before, but now we have news that must be shared: Ava is going to have a little brother!

Yesterday we had our 20-week ultrasound, a milestone Ava was determined to be a part of for the past several weeks. As you can imagine, she has desperately been wishing for a little sister (to be named Sally, according to her), and we did our best to prepare her for the possibility that this may not happen.

Mommy: But if it’s a boy, Ava, I don’t want you to make a scene at the ultrasound. No temper tantrums. And you can’t get mad at the doctor.

Ava: Oh, no, I promise I won’t get mad at the doctor! I’ll just get mad at the baby boy.

OH MY, OUR LIFE IS GOING TO GET SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING!

At any rate, she did handle the news better than we expected. She did not scream, shout, or stomp her feet. Instead, she cried soft little tears of disappointment and tried to put on a brave face, although her dissatisfaction was clear. So while Erik pumped his fist in victory, I comforted our daughter as best I could. Afterward, we all went to eat at Fazoli’s and made phone calls and texts to share our news.

Later, I knew the crisis had passed when Ava asked to see the ultrasound photos of her “little bitty baby brother.” She grinned at his tiny face, then marveled at his tiny hands and feet. I don't know how we're going to make the transition from pink clothes, pretty princesses, and the like, but I know it will be fun to see where this child leads us. Little guy doesn’t know what he’s getting into by joining the Smith family, but we’re certainly excited to meet him in a few months.

Silliness

Yes, it's an honor to come home to this kind of silliness every single day. In fact, I REVEL IN IT!

Happy New Year

Welcome, 2009!

Looking back at the past year, my family has truly been blessed, and we certainly have a lot to look forward to in 2009 as well. We Smiths also enjoyed a wonderful Christmas holiday. Everyone should spend that time of year with a 2-year-old—it really reinforces the magic that is too often lost as we age and mature.

Once again, I was reminded of the vast benefits of having two teachers in the family, especially when both work in the same school corporation. Erik was home with us for the entire break for the first time ever, and as a result we were able to do more fun family outings than usual. Although I was afraid Ava might self-destruct having Erik and me around full-time, she actually embraced the opportunity and couldn’t have been happier. No temper tantrums! More miracles!

I’d love to write several pages about the magic of our holiday, but I’ll spare everyone the details and instead just recap some of my favorite memories from Christmas 2008.

*When Ava unwrapped her gifts from Santa, she meticulously removed the wrapping paper and insisted upon putting each piece in the provided trash bag before continuing with the process at hand.

*Her casual comment, halfway through unwrapping, upon finally noticing the single unwrapped gift beside the tree: Is that a bike for me?

*Erik’s surprise gift to me, which was a day-long date he had arranged for us in Evansville with all my favorite things to do, plus gift cards to all my favorite places to shop. And he even held all the bags for me!

*Getting a gorgeous painted portrait of Ava from Mimi and Papaw—what a surprise!

*Asking Ava what she wanted to do for an “Ava Day Outing” and hearing her enthusiastic response: Chuck E. Cheese! (Yes, we spent HOURS there.)

*Sharing all these moments with my entire family

Christmas Card

Yes, I had big plans for our family Christmas card this year—plans that included our entire family posing beautifully within a festive scene. We would all wear matching outfits, with Ava in the most adorable dress I could find. Visions of our holiday happiness danced in my head.

Then the toddler spoke, sharing her opinions. Her independent opinions. WHICH IS NOT A BAD THING; I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY FOR THE RECORD. Remember? I WANTED her to be an independent woman!

And her opinions? No, she did not want to take a picture for the Christmas card. No, she did not want Mommy or Daddy to be present, even if she did finally concede to this horrible request. No, she would not wear a dress. No, she would not be smiling for the camera. Needless to say, it was looking like I would never create the perfect Christmas card. Although I did manage to convince Ava to pose for several photo shoots, nothing turned out well.

Until a random day at Mimi and Papaw's house. Ava suddenly decided she was ready for her close up. Wearing a purple sweat suit, with not a bow in sight, she proudly posed alone with a big grin. And me? I was more than happy with that, as those of you know who did, in fact, receive the Smith family Christmas card this year. See? I’m not picky! I take what I can get!

Happy Holidays!