Ava's first trip to the city

"I'm too tired to eat"
Sacked out....
"I'm so good at getting the Wiggles to play full blast on the surround system"

"My first trip to NYC--16 degrees not factoring in the wind chill!" "They gave me a teddy bear for coming in, it was worth it!"


"Where do my fingers go?"

"Chuck E Cheese--I loved it but it gave momma a headache!"

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"I danced on stage with Chuck...""I gave him a high five too"

"This driving thing is cake...."

"I even did it standing up in the monster truck!"

"I played whack a mole"
Last weekend we went to NYC to speak at a meeting for the adoption agency we used. There were people just starting out in the process. I remember that meeting very well! They all kept staring at Ava and she would then turn and stare at me confused. She was so cute and well behaved. She waved bye bye to all of them and blew kisses. It was freezing in the city but Ava was a trooper. She was unimpressed by all the buildings.

We went to Chuck E Cheeses yesterday and that was a far bigger hit! She loved it. She danced away shaking her little bottom. It was so funny to watch her. She liked all the little rides and loved being with a ton of kids. I am so thankful that she is so social. One little boy was frustrated with her lack of going down the slide quickly enough so he pushed her! Funny how as an adult I wanted to take on this five year old. I of course refrained.

Ava is doing so great in daycare. This morning she didn't even cry. She went right to the woman, gave me a kiss and waved good-bye. She is learning so much there. She can identify A and B by sight and make the sounds they make. She loves showing me all of her pictures she draws. She has added some new words to her vocabulary, Barney and Bob (Sponge Bob). Still not walking...I always felt she would be 18 months and she'll be 17 next weekend so I think it'll be close.

I'm going to Philadelphia on Thursday with a group of high school students for model UN. I hate to be apart from Ava but I think in some ways it is healthy that she not expect only me all the time. She will be in her house following her normal schedule. I come back on Sunday. I'm trying to think of all the perks verus not being with her....sleep all night through, relaxed meal time and catching up on some reading. The students are only with us for a very short time so we have plenty of down time. I plan on refreshing my energy to come back and be more present with Ava.

There has been a lot of good news on the blogs of birth certificates being issued, PGN outs, more babies coming home! I hope Guatemala is able to finalize their adoption policies so that they can continue.