Ava in her Pre-K Gymnastics Class

Ava started attending a 30 min Tiny Tots class 1x a week at Nat'l Gymnastics Training Center across the street from our neighborhood in late January. Now that she is over 3.5yrs old she is attending their pre-k program 1hour /1x wk. She really likes her two coaches and the kids in her group are 3.5 to 5yrs old. I believe she is the second youngest in the class and I really like this and the fact that her class happens to be a class with two coaches because the coaches have time to be more hands on and better at spotting them. She also is benefiting from watching how the older children perform their skills and following instructions. Ava does get side tracked, but for the most part of the hour she is eager to participate in all the excercise routines. They practice hoping backward, forward, spin jumps on the trampoline, balancing on the balance beam, monkey bars, rock climbing, parallel bars, cart wheels, somersaults, stretching, skipping, crab crawls, climbing bars, hand stands against a wall, climbing ropes and of course jumping into the foam pit at the end of class. During the summer a lot of families pull their kids from their yearly recreational activities because of vacation trips and participating in other sports, ie swimming. We are keeping Ava in her class for as long as she enjoys it. During the month of July she will be participating in a dance class. It will be 1hr / 1x week, but only for the month of July.

Ava at 3 yrs 7 mo old

Ava is now 3yrs 7 mo old. I have noticed that when talking to new older children she tries to speak clearer and forms more complex sentences. I believe she's trying to make a greater effort to be understood by the old children because she's very eager to play with them. She is getting better at following directions from mom and dad and sharing with her little sister. We recently went to the pool and she is super excited to learn how to swim. Right now she is wearing new floaties and is enjoying doggy paddling around the pool. She was doggy paddling last September completely by herself for about a week. But once summer ended we didn't spend any more time in the water. I am hoping this summer we can improve her doggy paddling and see if she can hold her breath underwater. She practices plugging her nose and closing her mouth in the bath tub, but actually dunking her entire head underwater is an whole other obstacle for her. We are taking it slow and trying to be safe around water and having her enjoy being in the water in the first place. 

Here are some snap shots of Ava within the last month. She weighs about 32lbs and is 40 inches tall. 

 

Charlotte at 20 mo Old

Charlotte turned twenty months old on June 20th. She is still sucking her left thumb and pulling on my hair when she's tired and ready for her nap. She recently started saying "Come Mama/ Dadda/ Ava", and  "I did it!" (sounds like "I did dat"). She says this after figuring something out or climbing our bed or top of a stool. She loves to sing Elmo's World and Bob the Builder.
Other words she regularly says are:
Apple
Airplane
Ava
Banana
Ball
Blanket
Bread
Cat
Cheese
Arrff ( for Dog)
Come
Go
Out
Milk
Turtle
Pillow
Poo-poo
More
Hair-bow
Toothbrush
Brush
Shoes
Socks
Hat
Book

Charlotte also LOVES and can say balloon and bubble bath. As soon as I say 'bath time' she's off running to the bath tub and taking her clothes off begging to get in. Bath time usually takes 45min to 60min because of play time in the water. I usually bathe Ava and Charlotte after dinner time around 7:30PM.

Circus Vargas

It was Ava, Charlotte and Ryan's first time at the circus! We got 50% off tickets online ($12.50 for ages 3yrs and up). Circus Vargas was close by at the Irvine Spectrum so we were excited to see the two hour show on Monday, June 18th. The 6:30 PM show was a traditional performance, but sans animals! So, no need to worry about PETA or cruel treatment of any animals. I was personally looking forward to seeing some elephants, but really I don't fee like we missed out on much without the animals' participation. The performers, clowns, lighting and music were entertaining enough and we felt got a great show, especially for the price.

The opening act was a starry lit tent and ballerina dancing on top of a music box with the ring master welcoming the audience.

                                                               The hula hoop girl!

Ava said she doesn't like clowns. I am not sure where she gets that idea from, but the two clowns in this show were actually pretty nice looking and silly. They didn't have such crazy make-up to intimidate young children which was a good change.

                        The trapeze artists!We have some great video. We only took two photos.

The motor cross performance was awesome! It was a father, mother and their 10 year old son.

                                         The End! Had to get some pink cotton candy, too!