Christmas and Birthday

Ava started the Christmas holiday weekend by staying holed up in her bedroom at Gram and Gramp's!!

We had packed up her new bright red Christmas dress with the velvet, white-fluff trimmed jacket and shiny black shoes, and had brought her down for the family party Howard and Kay always have on Christmas Eve. Ava hadn't been too keen on going, and once we got there she didn't want me to leave. She grabbed me by the collar with both fists and Grandma literally had to pry her fingers from me as Ava screamed that she didn't want to stay! We left her there, assuming she'd be okay once we were gone, and went to my mother's to meet Brenda there and play cards until 6:30 when it would be time to go pick up Ava from the party.

When we walked into Gram and Gramp's house, the party was still in full swing - little kids running around everywhere, and grown-ups from one end of the house to the other. Kay came up to us with a look of exasperation and told us that Ava had not left the bedroom the entire time! Various family members had gone in to try to get her to join the party, but nobody had been successful. I went into the bedroom to find Ava tucked in under the covers, and the party dress and shoes still in the bag...

Once I got her up out of the bed, and carried her through the throng over to the dining table to get her ready to leave, she started warming up. People gathered around as she smiled and opened her presents, while sitting in the security of my lap. On the way home, she asked us why we didn't stay at the party with her, and we tried to explain that even though Gram and Gramp were her family, they weren't our family... We told her that "back in the old days" I had been married to Grandpa David, and that blew her mind. A week or so later, out of the blue, she said to me, "I can't believe you were married to David - aren't you glad you have Gaffer and me now?"

After we picked up Ava from the party, we drove to Brunswick to get Joe. He wanted to spend the night with us, and once we got home she put him right to work, being a veterinary assistant - she had gotten a veterinarian coat, stethoscope, etc., and had fun taking care of all her little plastic animals.

On Christmas morning, she didn't wake up until almost 8:30, and then it took over four hours for her to make her way through all her presents. Bobby and Katie arrived about 9, and then Kerry came in at noon. Ava played with each present as she opened it - she really enjoyed every single gift. Santa had given her an Easy Bake oven, but had forgotten to include a light bulb, so that was the only present of the day that she couldn't try out.

Later in the day, we drove over to Aunt Brenda's house for the family get-together, and Ava had a great time running around with Alivia and opening more presents there. She finally got a chance to wear her pretty red Christmas dress and shiny black shoes, although she wouldn't let the white tights stay on her body for two seconds - as soon as I pulled them up over her bottom she started squealing that they were too tight!! She likes loose things... But she looked beautiful even with her bare legs hanging out!

Today is January 3rd, and Ava turned 4 yesterday. She was funny, trying out all the things she can do now as a 4 year old! She's taking it very seriously, and said to me last night, "I'm not a toddler anymore!!"

She didn't have much a party - Mother Nature provided her with a snowstorm for her birthday that kept everyone home except Aunt Brenda. But we had fun anyway, and Ava hung pink streamers from the fan over the dining room table and used lots of tape to stick little pieces of pink streamer to randem objects - the glass sliding door, my pocketbook, the doorknob, etc. - around the house.

I made her two birthday cakes, both new recipes, and we had to throw the first one away - I never saw a cake come out of the oven looking so awful!!! But the second cake came out great. We used food coloring to make it pink, and she loved it.

For her birthday, we gave her an Animal Planet jungle treehouse playset and a Go Diego Go rescue jeep. She asked if we would take her to Play N Learn so she could choose some new "aminals", so that was fun - we braved the snowstorm to drive to Freeport and she picked out a big new mammoth and two bison, and then I chose a cow and calf and told her they were for me. She gave me a big smile, like "Cool!! Gammer's getting amnials, too!" and then said, "Will you let me play with them?" and then I said, "Actually, Ava - these are really for you!!" She was ecstatic - kept saying, "I can't believe I get to have this many aminals!!" She's spoiled, but she appreciates it!!

Later in the day, we took her for a ride through the woods on the snowmobile. She loved it! Gaffer had told her to look for deer, and she'd give us updates from time to time - "I haven't seen a deer yet!" She sat up in front of Gaffer for a while, but seemed to prefer sitting between us. We got home just in time, though - as I was taking her gear off, she started crying that she was cold. She couldn't wait to jump into my bed and snuggle in. She said her feet had stayed warm and her face was warm, but her body was cold. And this with LL Bean winter coat and snowpants on! Next time we'll do more layers.