Future student

I don't think I'll have to worry about Ava's school readiness. Not only is she already sitting flipping through books with a knowing look as if she's assessing the narrative arc and plot development (Ava on Pat the Bunny: nice!), her vocabulary is growing almost daily and she's starting to be bored with some of the shorter books in her collection.

She also loves this backpack my parents bought her when she was literally about 14 months old. She had barely started walking and would bop around the house with it on.

Note the scary-ish happy monster on the back. Yes, that is a matching coin purse.

I hope she loves school as much as I did. I loved it so much, I once ran six blocks, crying, chasing a school bus I'd missed. Only to catch it, out of breathe and sweaty and discover... it wasn't my bus. I trudged back home, dejected and had my dad call the late bus for pickup.

Needless to say, I was not a kid who my parents had to harangue to get going in the morning. In fact, since I was bussed to the other side of the city for many of my school years, including a two hour public bus ride from middle school on, part of my morning routine was to wake my parents up for work before I went to catch the bus and to let them know I was leaving. Fun times.
I don't know what Ava's school years will look like but I hope she has this same smile on her face when she heads off to school in less than 4 years.

The more things change...

I've been home sick, laid up with coughing jags, nose blowing and a general feeling of miserable-ness. The older I get, the less frequently I get colds but when they do hit, they pack a punch. The one bright spot this week has been the extended time hanging out with Ava. She is a fun kid! She walks around "talking" about things in the room, brings me books to read to her, tells me when she wants more or no more of food, and generally is a happy little camper whenever she gets to spend time with me. 

Taking this time prone on the couch to organize some digital photos on the laptop warming my stomach, I found these pictures: one with me holding 3-day old Ava fresh from the hospital, and one from last week. Note the similarities: mom, content/napping baby, laptop. Amazing how much has changed and how much consistency there is in these snapshots of our lives 18 months apart. This is still Ava's favorite spot in the whole world. And mine. :-)