Christmas Shopping

I took Ava Christmas shopping this afternoon and I found a few toys for her to put under the tree. She's always trying to get ahold of the broom and dust pan when I'm using them, so I decided to get her her own mini version to play with instead. They look exactly like the ones we have so hopefully she'll be happy with them.
I also bought her a Super Scribbler, which is like a Magna Doodle. She likes to draw but makes such a mess with markers and crayons so maybe this will keep her entertained - and my house clean!

I'm having so much fun this year with Christmas, it's so much easier buying for a child. I can't wait to get a tree and set it up with lights and ornaments. I'll have to make sure I get plastic ones though...

One thing I'm having difficulty finding, is a stocking for Graham. I would like to get two with our names or 'Mummy' and 'Daddy' on them but they're impossible to find over here. I've given up on finding any personalised ones, but even the non personalised ones are crap. Maybe I'll make us some myself.

Ava being cute

Ava is currently sitting on the couch with the blanket wrapped around her and is saying 'Cosy! Cosy!' while talking to Laura on Skype. She is now high fiving the screen and shouting 'High five Wa-wa!' (Wa-wa is what she calls Laura.)

In our neighbourhood there is a big fluffy white cat named Snowy. He's always greeting people on the street and has a habit of trying to get into houses if the door has been left open for a few minutes. Ava loves Snowy and squeals with delight whenever she sees him. She often stands on the couch looking out the window trying to catch a glimpse of him walking by, calling 'Nosey? Nosey?' because she can't say his name properly. It's so sweet... I'll be really sad the day she calls him Snowy.

Another funny thing that she does is pretending to be asleep. If you say 'Night night, Ava.' She'll put her head down, close her eyes and do fake snoring.

The best thing she does though, is her dancing. It's absolutely hilarious! She wiggles her shoulders up and down and moves her bum from side to side at the same time. Don't know where she learned it but she's an excellent dancer! I'll try and catch it on video someday soon.

Update

*Just added the Woodbine pictures to the Trick-or-Treat post*

Baby News

We found out some great news when we were in Canada... Ava is going to be a cousin! Graham's sister Laura and her husband Robin are expecting a baby in May. We're all so excited for them and can't wait to meet little Baby Turner!!

Where moon?

The other night Ava was in her highchair eating dinner and I was standing at the sink washing some dishes. Suddenly I heard her say 'Moon!' and saw her pointing out the back door at the sky. A few minutes later I heard her say 'Moon? Where moon?' and when I looked out the window I noticed the moon had disappeared behind a cloud.

I tried to explain to her that it would probably come back in a minute but I don't think she understood.

Another few minutes passed, I was still washing dishes, and suddenly she shouted 'Moon!! YAY! Moon!' She was so excited to see that the moon had come back :) I wish I'd had the camera going, it was so sweet.

Trick-or-Treat!

Oops! It's been far too long since I last updated this journal! (Sorry Ava!)
Lets see... what have I missed since September....In October we decided surprise my family with a visit from the three of us, so we booked some last minute tickets and on the 21st we showed up at my parents' front door. No one had any idea that we were coming and it was a lot of fun surprising them :)

We had a great visit, it was really low key this time which was nice. We took Ava trick-or-treating for Halloween and she loved it. She caught on so quickly that by the time we hit the 4th house she was practically running down the street to the next one! She knocked on the doors saying 'knock, knock, knock' and would hold out her bucket for candy. Occasionally she would hand some of her candy back to the person at the door, and then even try to close the door on them saying 'bye bye!' at the same time. She was very curious to meet their dogs too. Every house she went to she would ask for Augie or Daisy and try to go inside :)

She refused to let go of her M&M's

An 18 month old little boy came to our door dressed as a monkey and he and Ava seemed to develope some sort of friendship together. After everyone said 'bye bye' we closed the door and they both continued to stare at eachother through the glass. It was pretty cute :)

Our little puppy all finished trick-or-treating! (That costume was meant for 18 month olds and it's much too small for her!)

We also took her to Woodbine Centre for the afternoon one day. They have a big playland full of rides and fun things to do. I went with my brother and sister when we were really young so I wanted to take Ava someday as well. I took her on the carousel and some hot air balloon ride, Graham and my dad took her on the little train and my mom took her on the ferris wheel. It was really quite in the centre so we didn't have to wait for any of the rides and since there were no crowds we could let Ava wander around a bit more freely.

Taking a Bumper Boat for a spin

Riding the carousel. When looking through photographs later, we discovered that Ava is riding the exact same horse that Robbie was on the day we went in 1985!

Grandpa (Papa) teaching Ava all about trains

Ava & Grandma
Ava & Daddy on the train