Ham Central

Every since Eric left for Iraq, Ava and I have succumbed to a semi-typical weekend routine. On Saturdays we start the morning off with breakfast together and then we take a long walk with the over-anxious and by this time, hyper dogs that are more than ready to stretch their legs. By 8:30 we scratch are heads wondering if we should head to the Y (short for YMCA) or Wegmans (local grocery market) or tool around the house. Since the Y opens the kiddie pool at 10 a.m. we take off a bit early so I can get a workout in (the Y has daycare) before we hit the pool. Ava loves swimming but hates going to daycare at the Y. As soon as we step into the "PrimeTime" kid area she takes one quick look around and gets into panic mode. I do my best to drop her off with her back turned to me and I quickly try to sneak out of there but since they have those odd shaped plastic kid-proof devices on the door knob I can't quite escape without Ava noticing. WAHHHHH!!!! I hear- uh-oh - sigh. I pause only to hear the volunteer daycare person say "go on--- she'll be fine." Without looking back I rush out of there and get in my quick workout.

Anxiously, I return back to pick up Ava and she is being held by the volunteer... well now I feel bad. I ask "how did she do?" and they give me a weak smile and say "she did great." Onto the kiddie pool. The first time Eric and I brought Ava to the pool we had no idea that babies had to wear diapers in the pool and that there is a special kind of diaper..which I suppose makes sense but no one ever tells you these things beforehand. Getting myself and Ava dressed in our swim suits is of course a challenge. Putting her in a waterproof diaper and then squeezing her into her tiny swimsuit, with built in underwear (what's that about) takes quite a bit of time. Once she's done I balance her on the changing table while I jump out of my clothes and throw on a bathing suit in all of 2 seconds. I suppose I could place her on the dark carpeted floor but the dank wet mildew-ish smell in the air makes me think otherwise (I doubt they clean the floors since they are always wet). Now we are finally ready- I pack up all our stuff and pick her up only to realize that she just did #2. Ugh! Should I just go in the water? The diaper is supposed to be waterproof after all -right? After a second I come to my senses - sigh loudly - and dig through my backpack searching for another swim diaper but of course there is none to be found. Since she already did #2 I decided to let her wing it..and wow did it make a difference in her demeanor...she usually loves being in the pool but this time she was all smiles and laughs - splashing away- did not want to get out of the pool. How free she must have felt without a mushy wet diaper clinging to her. What attention she drew to herself. Many kids and parents came up to remark how happy she was. Little kids offered their pool toys for her to play with and she soaked up every bit of the attention.

Afterwards, we showered, changed and headed to the local grocery giant - Wegmans. This by far is Ava's favorite trip. Being able to sit in the front of the shopping cart (as opposed to being stuck in her carseat) and watch all the people bustle and clamour around her is such a treat. Many people today stopped to wave, reach out for her hand, and/or stop to talk with her. Each time she beaming with her big baby smile - showing tongue and three tiny teeth. She received several "high fives's" and tasted many free samples. Each time I gave her a bite of food she would shout "Moe" meaning "more" but she can't quite pronounce the "r." I think she would shout "more" because she knew passersby would hear her...and yes - they did and would stop to comment on how smart she was. Because of all the extra attention she was getting our 20 minute stop lasted almost an hour. She has become quite the social butterfly...and a big ham...I wonder where she got that from?