Little Lins!

Oh hi. No time to chat.

Gotta get ready for a party. It’s New Year’s Eve after all.

Hey Deets?

Yes, Ava?

Check out this bad ass gingerbread house that I created with my bare hands. I can even eat it with my finger.

What? I should eat it with my mouth instead? Hmmm, show me please?

Hahahaha. You are a good influence, as always.

So, what is so special about 12/29/08? Well, I have been blogging every day for 5 months straight!! So I am giving myself a star for the day. Yeah for me. And yeah for you, my dear readers.

Love,
Marlene

What? I wasn’t doing anything!!

Hi there. Our little Ava is now 101 weeks old!!

Last Friday, we picked Ava up from daycare a little early so we could hit the road. It was still nap time for her and boy was it difficult to wake her up! But we had a birthday party for the lovely Miss Sweet to attend and had high hopes of avoiding some LA traffic. Yeah right. It still took us twice as long to get there than usual but we still made it in time to drop Ava off at my parents and have a “night out”. Yeah.

Well, it was “yeah” for us, that is, until our dear little Ava woke up at 5:55 am to check out their Christmas tree and choo-choo train.

On Saturday, we attended Grace’s 3rd Birthday Party. Happy Birthday Grace!!

Ava had fun running around with Grace and the other girls. Knocking on the kitchen door. Wondering why no one was answering.

At cake time, Ava froze up a bit. Maybe it was a flashback to her own birthday party. Or maybe she just wanted us to hurry up and give her some cake. A few minutes later, she noticed a man with a mustache and asked him to sit next to her. Not sure if she thought it was Barba Frank or not, but she made a quick friend with Grace’s Uncle Tim.

The next day was a day off for us. No parties. No plans. So we picked up Ava’s Great Grandma Dinka and did a little window shopping for bunnies.

Later in the day, Ava woke up from a nap with a croupy sounding cough and a visitor sitting next to the tree. Nathan, who had a runny nose himself. I swear it is impossible not to have a sick kid during the holidays.

Everything was going swell until Nathan discovered Ava’s favorite party favor that Grace gave her. A Minnie Mouse pez dispenser. Good thing she had pockets to hide it in.

That night we attempted to go to Redondo Beach to check out the special part of town that decorates their homes as if electricity was free. But it was a no go. The line of cars was ridiculous and bedtime was quickly approaching. So we drove back to my parent’s place but first parked in front of a fellow Croatian’s home who had the craziest house in town. Ava loved it.

On Monday, we went to Disneyland!!!! It was Ava’s first time. She seriously loved it. After each ride, she said “I wanna more!”. It was so much fun that you’ll have to wait for a separate post for the details.

And it was soooo much fun that it sent Ava to the hospital the next day. I know. I know. NOT AGAIN! But her cough was pretty bad and she obviously had trouble breathing so we ended up at the Torrance Memorial Hospital ER for 5 hours so she could get an x-ray, steriods, a breathing treatment… and a reindeer too. She did great getting her ears and mouth examined and did well with the rest of the pokes and prods… but her biggest complaint was the hospital gown. Ava made the nurse laugh after she swallowed the oral steroid and screamed “Yucky!!!!”.  Hehe.

After a rough night of sleeping in the big bed with us, Ava was feeling a bit better. It was Christmas Eve and we were a day behind with the festivities thanks to the ER visit. So, it was time to build a gingerbread house. Her very first one. Ava thought it was a lot of fun and even tried to lick the candies as she stuck them to the frosting.

All the candy licking caused a slight sugar high. Here we are dancing with our “ballerina” dresses.

Check out this cute family.

Oops. I forgot to include Yoda. Okay. Now, check out this cute family. Yoda is bit camouflaged. Sorry Yoda.

And four generations of ladies next to the Christmas Tree. Somehow we all coordinated by lucky accident.

And then the rest of the family showed up…

…and it was present time. Ava’s first present on Christmas Eve was this little walking crab from Carrie. Obviously a big hit.

After a few more presents, Ava insisted on taking off her dress and getting more comfortable. Hehe.

Then it was Christmas morning. And you’ll never guess who showed up while we were sleeping!?! SANTA!

And he got Ava a bike and a helmet too!! Just like she asked!

But there was no bike riding outside for Ava on Christmas because of rain. So she positioned her new chair in front of the sliding glass door and watched the rain with her Dida. Dida, don’t freak out but there is an orb, AKA ghost, next to your butt.

I tried to get Ava to nap for three hours on Christmas but she did not want to fall asleep. I think she knew that we had more fun on the way. With all the presents that still needed to be opened and all the posing we did next to the tree.

And she was right. It was time for Christmas dinner at Teta Mary’s house.

Even with no nap, she did well. She read with her Barba Frank…

…who later turned into Santa Claus! You’ll have to wait and see how this turned out later in the week.

Nathan was still addicted to hugging Ava. And Ava still doesn’t like it. One. Bit.

Why me??