Avi, Mommy & Sitti

Sitti took us out shopping and we all got some new clothes!  Later, we went over to Keith and Nancy's for an amazing gourmet home-cooked meal.  During wine and appetizers, Avi, Sitti and I went into the garden for a few photos.  Sitti is a great photographer!

I LOVE this one!  The resemblance is endearing...

Y.M.C.A. (Youthful, Maniacal and Cute Aveah)

The Y.M.C.A. in Carlsbad is fantastic!  They have "open play" for toddlers everyday for one hour.  Avi and her parents and Sitti went there twice in one week it was so entertaining.  In fact, Maren got "kicked off" the trampoline because she was jumping on it - they were pretty strict about it being only toddler time!

Hanging out in the foam pit!

 Running down the long rectangular trampoline (there were THREE trampolines)!

 Need anything be said...

 She's a maniac, maniac!

Carlsbad with Sitti & Grampy

 Avi getting the deluxe bathing treatment from Sitti while the "boyfriends" watch.  (The story behind the "boyfriends": On the train ride, Avi was talking with another passenger, and Avi asked who that was sitting next to that passanger, and I said, "That's her boyfriend."  Well, then Avi became fixated with the word "boyfriend".  So, when she met her cousins Madeline, Abigail, and Jamie, she started calling them the "boyfriends".  It cracked me up!

 Sitti watched Avi while Michael and I went to downtown San Diego to the Shout House - a dueling piano bar.   It was a fun night out!

Avi so cool hanging out with the big kids.  Just chillin' in the "hot pool".

Some mornings, Sitti would take Avi outside and play with her so we could sleep in.

Other mornings, we took care of Avi like this...

The view of the ocean from our room.

At an impromptu playdate at the park.  Avi met this boy from New York City, and they played together for over an hour!

Sitti is the best!  She got in the pool and played with Avi for hours!  Thank you Sitti!

Here is one of Avi's followers, Ravella.  This little Russian girl fell in love with Avi the first time they met, and continued to ask to play with Avi throughout the week.

San Diego Botanical Gardens

 Grampy Jim teaching Avi about a plants.

 In the Kid's Garden area, they had a toddler wadding river (that was about 3 inches deep) and had little plastic boats the kids could float downstream.  

 Avi acted like the normal-possessive-toddler once other kids came around. She hoarded about 5-6 boats to her chest until we had to leave because it wasn't fun for her anymore.

 The bamboo forest with daddy.

Amtrak Aveah

We decided to take the 7 hour train ride to San Diego, instead of driving for 6.5 hours.  It was a really great time - Avi wasn't stuck in a car seat: she could run, sit on our laps, nurse, talk with all the other passengers...

Avi didn't even come close to taking a wink of sleep on the 7 hour train ride there, but once we arrived at the station, and put her in the ergo baby on Maren's back, she was out in about 10 minutes!  Unfortunately, Sitti arrived 5 minutes after that and we had to wake her up. Oh, well, some days you just miss your nap.

Slinging Hippo.

I've worn Avi in a sling since she was about 2 weeks old.  She loves the sling!  Now, I ask her if she wants to be "slung" and she says, "yes!"  Well, the other day she wanted to wear the sling herself and put her toy Hippo inside. I think she will make a very good mommy.

The practicality of the sling: it frees your hands so you can do lots of stuff, like take a drink of water.

P.S. thanks to my friend Paula who handmade this sling for me. It has been and continues to be my favorite.  I take it on every trip we take (have it with us now in the Delta) and wear it all around Tierra Nueva.

At the Table with Avi.

 Avi invited her friend Nonny over for noodles.  These are creamy pesto linguine with smoked salmon.  Avi has fine taste.

 Eating is so much fun!

 Avi likes sitting in a booster seat to eat.  She was never too fond of her hair chair.  She never really liked being "tied" to one area.  So around 18 months we gave up on the hair chair when we got this kitchen nook set with a bench she could walk all around on while eating.  Crazy, roaming, grazing eater!

 When not eating at the table, Avi can be found playing with toys or drawing.  Here she plays with her favorite toy of the moment: her Matroyska "babuscka" Russian Nesting Dolls.  She adores these dolls so much that Maren found her a Matroyska doll shirt for her to wear.

 Where Avi is, Daddy (weird, strange, cooky Daddy) is nearby.

Eating breakfast. Avi likes to attack her food!