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 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: