Today Ava Was A Social Butterfly

Your little personality is really coming out now that you've got your feet under you. In the three weeks or so that you've been walking you've come out of your shell. 

Get your shine on.

Whenever we're near other children your age, you want to be around them, play with them, or in many cases, just stare at them. 

Tonight there were two such instances. One, you even scared a little boy so much that he ran away from you.

We started out at Target to pick up some more food for you - it's on sale. $1.29 for small Gerber meals that you've taken a liking to. 

I need some new work shoes so it was off to Kohl's. They didn't have what I was looking for in the shoe department so mom went to the baby section to scope out some deals. I let you down to walk a bit and eventually you caught sight of two little girls shopping with their mom and grandma. You;re hand slipped from my grip and walked over to them to say hello. 

Mom and I chatted with the grandmother for a few minutes while you made new friends then it was next door to DSW. 

As we walked in and were making our way to the back of the store to the clearance racks, I picked you up and put you on my shoulders. All was well until you spotted a little boy walking with his dad in the opposite direction. 

As soon as your eye caught him you pointed and became excited. We said hi to him and his father and as I was bringing you down or a closer look the dad said "He will probably run away. He either runs from new people or runs to them and give them hugs." 

It was the former in this instance. The moment your feet touched the ground the little boy picked up steam and further down the aisle he went. Mom jokingly told the dad "It's okay, he's too young to be chasing girls anyway." 

It was one of those scenes that makes me laugh as I look back on it. We hear a lot about how cute you are but this was the first time someone ran from you. Was it the black eye, or the fat lip?  

A fat lip to compliment your shiner? Yeah ...

Today Ava Got Up Close With A Dog

All's well that ends well, right? We'll see. 

This thing's almost as big as McGee!

Things got off to a good start at my cousin Alexis' annual Fourth of July Weekend cookout. You were having fun seeing family, eating pork straight from the hog, walking around and just generally being outside. 

A few times we had to take you in to change your diaper where you were excited to see Alexis' three dogs - Jester (which belonged to your Great Grandfather before his passing, Duke (her 7 or 8 year-old shepherd mix, and Willy (a dog she recently acquired from her neighbor). 

It was Willy you got to know really well later in the evening. More on that to come. 

Alexis lives on 7.5 acres and along with her three hounds she has two horses. Alexis rescued Shadow, so named for her dark coat, and little did she know, Shadow was pregnant. 

Soon, Kalumi was on the scene. Now full-grown she relishes attention whereas her mother is more of a loner. 

We set you on her back. Leery at first you soon opened up to her and enjoyed being on top of the world. 

You went back to see Kalumi two more times before we went home and each time you couldn't get enough of her. 

Now, back to Willy and my upcoming Father of the Year Award. We took you in the house for a diaper change and when we came out, Willy was out back wanting to fetch a tennis ball. I began to throw it and he would excitedly chase it and bring it back. Nothing was getting in his way. 

Giddy up!

That is, until the final toss. You were standing off to the side happily watching him go back You had taken a seat in the grass for a better view when I threw the ball. It accidentally went slightly over you and Willy came to the right, around my back and straight towards you. My heart sank. 

It played out like a movie in slow motion. I saw the impact coming and there was nothing I could do to stop it. It wasn't Willy's fault, he was dong what he knew to do, get the ball by any means necessary. 

He tried to leap you, but his hind legs caught your face. Smack! Instantly back to reality and game speed to the ground you went. 

It took a second for the water works to proceed, but when they did, the crying was harder than we've ever experienced. We know it hurt and it's indescribable how we as parents felt for you. 

Mom was on the scene immediately with baby Tylenol to help ease the pain.Your left eye was red and puffy within seconds.

You eventually came around and all was well. You even saw another pup and wanted to go pet it. So all is in fact well that ends well. 

I fear a nice little shiner over your left eye tomorrow. Only time will tell.

Today Ava Captained The Ship

We might just need a new dishwasher. Ours is on par with the stink in your diaper. Unlike you, the stink remains after we clean it. 

There's a crazy girl in the wavy mirror!

So, we went to Sears in the mall to check out new ones. On our way out there is a stand with many different children's toys. A NASCAR, a vintage corvette, a helicopter and more. Walking past, we thought you might enjoy a ride in one of them. The NASCAR had the deepest seat - less risk of you falling out. I put in my dollar - nothing. Hmmm .... tried to get the change, no go. Shady toy vendor 1, Dad 0. 

We scrounged up some more change and went for the chopper. You seemed to navigate towards that one anyway. It was painted like a cartoon, with eyes on the windshield and a big smile. Right up your alley. 

Naturally, you took the the left seat - the Captain's Chair. No co-pilot here - a born leader. 

We put in our 75 cents and and it began to rock back and forth. You leaned for the controls. A pilot to be. 

Cautious at first, we weren't sure how you'd react, but you loved it.

We also let you stretch your legs and walk through the mall with us. You were into that as well, making noise the whole time and attracting smiles and "Ooooohhs and Awwwwws" from the gallery. 

Today Ava Sat The Bench

When I got home from work we had dinner and got you fed and off to he ball fields for a double header we went. We were half an inning late and for that I'm thankful.

Ask your mom, I don't like being late. Growing up Grandpa Waechter operated on "Lombardi Time" which means "If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late." Countless times mom's been frustrated with me as I've felt we were running late and begin to pace the kitchen, living room, or whatever surface I'm standing on. Inevitably she gets the last word as we're rarely late. Call it anxiety due to my upbringing, but I operate on "Lombardi Time" as well.

It's lonely on the bench.

Tonight was one time I'm thankful we weren't on time for something. Had we been, I would have been playing softball rather than riding he pine and therefore would have missed out on a moment I'll cherish the rest of my life. 

Due to some obscure rec league softball rule, I was unable to enter the game in any capacity - sub, pinch runner, replacement - since I wasn't present when play began. Nada. Tonight I rode the bench for the first game of the double header. 

So, I brought you to the bench with me. And there we sat. 

What's so memorable about sitting the bench? You sat right beside me and watched the game with focus and intent. 

I loved it because you didn't need me to hold you up, you didn't need me to cradle you, you only needed me to lift you to the bench and sit you on it. I hope you'll need me for a long time, it's just that tonight this really felt special.

It's obvious our passion for athletics has been passed down to you. We knew this the first time we took you to watch basketball games when mom was coaching. You were young, but the action captivated you. 

Of course I grabbed my phone took a few steps back and snapped some photos. They are a few of my new favorites. You sitting there ready to sub in on a moments notice. 

I'll admit, I did tell you "Don't get used to sitting here, the only time you'll be on the bench is between innings."

Today Ava Played With The Box

Just before Christmas my boss told me "Don't get your daughter any toys. Give her an empty box and some paper. It'll save you a lot of money and she'll be happier than if she had toys.

Forget expensive toys. You're getting
cardboard from now on.

I somewhat dismissed his words. How could we not get you toys, it's your first Christmas? 

I should have heeded his advice. Six months later and you still want to play with the box. 

Mom ordered a water table for you from Amazon.com and it arrived this evening. She was eager to assemble it and see your reaction. An arctic theme, it's blue in color with green legs and complete with a "glacier" protruding from the table. The glacier has slides for the little toy penguin to go down. It also has two other toys - a polar bear and sea lion. 

The dry run was a success and we'll set it up in the back yard for you to play with tomorrow. 

All was well until you spotted the box, then the table was all but forgotten. You must be hanging around the cats too much because you wanted to crawl on, in and over the box. 

It was honestly fun to watch because you were unsure of the stability at first and gingerly tried to climb on top of it. Once you knew it was stable - game on. 

Mom even crawled into the box and you back on top playing wth her. I caught some of it on video. Have a look: