Artist Aveah

We are so thrilled that Avi has started to paint.  It was like one day she just started and went from non-artist to a full art student in one week!   We love her creations & expression and use of colors!

So skilled she paints with both hands.

Advanced color mixing technique.

Accessing her muse... 

And my "creation" while she painted - French toast and fresh figs. 

The Bathing Artist

They didn't have these when I was a kid, right Mom?  Avi's got these super-cool bath crayons she has a blast with.  Here we are inspired by our truest muse.

 The artist stands by her work.

Avi and Kendall: Mini Models

Sarah has all these great matching outfits from her sister who has triplets (2 girls and a boy) that are about a year older than Kendall. So, we dressed them up in coordinating outfits and had some fun. Sarah was great at managing the kids while I managed the camera.

Love those boots! (Actually, that was most of the trouble - the boots were about 2 sizes too big for Avi, so she was stuck in place while Kendall ran all over! Getting them in the same frame was very challenging!)

Aveah's doing this silly cheek-on-the-shoulder pose whenever I ask her to "pose" now! Kids are so much fun - way better than dogs! Avi knows like 30 more tricks than my dogs ever knew! Of course, there are other reasons why kids are better than dogs...

Kendall wasn't happy here, but you can't really tell - she sorta looks like she just having fun yelling.

Avi loves to hug!

Here's pictures from when we did our last photo shoot when Avi was about 10 months old.

Moss Landing, An Unexpected Fit of Inspiration

Avi and I took a road trip for a few days to go visit my brother in Scott's Valley in September. We stopped at the beach in Moss Landing (population 1,000, maybe?) and I was suddenly struck with the beauty of all that was before me. Avi was playing in the warm sand, she was wearing a hand-knit sweater by a friend, the sky was blue, and I had my camera in the car 3 feet away. Hello?! Photo shoot here I come!

I was singing to Avi and she would dance.

Learning to walk in sand was uncharted territory. She'd take 3 steps and fall down. Then get up and try again.

Putting, yet again, something inedible in her mouth. Avi when you have kids someday, just don't get mad at them - you did the same thing ALL the time!

Have you ever seen so much joy on just one face?

She looks too young to be walking. She looks like a tiny babe.

One fall that took her a little too close to the sand.

Here she saw a bird and was chasing (as fast as her little legs would take her) after it!

Found a toy (i.e. a tiny piece of driftwood) to play with in the sand.

Mommy approved toys - a ball and an empty bottle of fish oil capsules.

Unfortunately, the only picture I could get of the two of us. Oh, how I love her!

This is Just to Say.

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

-William Carlos Williams

How else should one hold a plum?

Oops. I need a bath now.

All clean!

Onto blueberries!

Bathing Beauty

Here I am with the bathing suit beauty. This picture was taken with our point-and-shoot cheapo camera. She was so cute in her little suit, the next day we went to the beach again, this time armed with our professional camera. Boy, am I glad we did. These pictures are my favorites to date of our little Avi Dove.

Walking confidently, holding daddy's hand.

Look at the way the baby fat rolls over the swim suit! Have you EVER seen anything as cute as this???

Sitti got Avi this matching suit, hat and even little robe. Avi got so many compliments on the beach, and we gave credit to Avi's Sitti Julia every time. Thanks, Sitti!

Life's not always a beach.

One sandy, and happy, little foot.