Oh-Bla-Di

Weeks ago now, we visited the Shark Reef exhibit at Mandalay Bay.  For those of you unfamiliar with Vegas, Mandalay is a big, shiny gold hotel that you can see from the highway.  We pointed out where we were going to Ava and she helped us navigate to it.  Mandalay is also close to Matt’s office, so anytime we’re down there, she asks if we’re going to see the fish.  

Ava loved the exhibit and let the way through the whole thing.  She had a great time exploring and we were happy just to go at her pace.  Can’t wait to take her to a big zoo and maybe Sea World…all that wildlife would really rock her world!

Checking out the sharks with Daddy

She was nervous about this piece of glass over the tank at first, but found a way to explore safely.

BIG starfish!

These tanks were cool, but getting close to the glass warped how the world looked. Ava was nervous to get to close...I think she was afraid to fall in.

Say cheese!

She kissed the glass for this lizard. Gross, but pretty cute.

All in all, Ava had a great time visiting the fish and sharks.  We worked on being brave on this trip.  The word “scared” has become a big part of her vocabulary lately, especially since she went to see the dinosaurs at the the Las Vegas Natural History Museum.  So, we talk a lot about how it’s ok to be careful, but we still should try things and check them out…maybe they’re not so scary after all.  I’d say she caught on to the idea when she started kissing lizards!

For the second  year in a row (it’s an annual event now!), we joined a lovely group of families for a picnic in a nearby park during Easter weekend.   All the kiddos get dressed up in their Easter gear and we all enjoy a potluck picnic followed by an egg hunt for the kids.  Last year was Ava’s first egg hunt so she wasn’t so sure about the process.  This year, she did a great job looking for eggs and really had a great time playing with the other kids.  What a difference between ages one and two!

Here’s a shot of our pretty girl all done up in her Easter dress and fancy hair bow.  Just for reference, here’s last year’s shot.

As I mentioned, she was a pro (well, maybe with a little prompting from Mommy & Daddy) at finding eggs this year…even ones hiding in trees!

Of course, the best part of an egg hunt is the candy in the eggs!  Whoozy sure loves her treats!

Thanks so much to the Hoffmans for putting together another great Easter picnic.  Can’t wait for next year’s!

On the Friday before Easter, we took some time to color some eggs.  This was the first time that Ava actually got to help with this activity and, boy, did she have a good time!  The girl is a color-mix master and would have dunked each of the eggs in every color but, with a little guidance, she made some pretty good art.

While I’m pretty good about making sure we get to do these things (buy eggs and dye and having it all ready), the artistry of the event really comes from Matt.  He’s so great about modeling creativity for Ava and she just soaks it up. I’m so grateful that Matt can embrace the messiness and the creativity to easily.  Helps me to go with the flow of it too.  They’re a pretty funny team, so I’m usually very entertained.  We’ll just say that they both have very active imaginations!

Don’t they look like very serious egg colorers?  Here’s a peek at the finished product…

And, while pictures are worth a thousand words, I have to say that I love hearing the two-year-old speak for herself.  So, here’s a little video of the egg dying process – the oohs and aahs are totally unprompted.  

It’s so much easier to believe you’re going to have a baby when you see its little face on the ultrasound picture.  Even with the every-expanding belly and all the other symptoms, I have a hard time in the early months with really believing it’s a baby and not just a very large tumor.

So, imagine my delight to be able to share this photo of Doozy, taken with the ultrasound today.  By the way, Dos wasn’t sticking as a nickname for this kid.  But, we call Ava “Whoozy” all the time and Doozy is the perfect blend of the two.  I think we’ve finally found a nickname for this kiddo.

Doozy was quite a wiggler during the ultrasound and was also talking – even stuck his or her tongue out at the camera!  I have a feeling that this kid is going to fit into our  family just fine.    20 more weeks until we get to meet our Doozy!

So, the capstone is done and presented and the light at the end of the master’s degree tunnel is getting big and bright.  I’m gradually getting back into the swing of things other than paper writing and blogging is at the top of the list for the beginning of this week.  Until I get all the posts written that I’ve got the photos for, here’s a couple to say….”We’re back!”