Ava's Story Time (and Another Cute Story)

Yesterday, as I was playing with Ian in the family room, I heard Ava's soft voice coming from the dining room.  Her little voice was rising and falling in a rhythmical fashion, although I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying.  So I got up and tiptoed into the dining room, peeking around the corner to see exactly what was going on.  What I saw was something truly precious: Ava reading to her stuffed animals.  She lined them up against the wall, and sat between them, so they could all see the pictures.  She had a small pile of books beside her, as if she was planning to read the whole lot to them.  Ava had her favorite book, Over in the Ocean, and she was reading it aloud, just as I do when I read it to her.  At first she didn't see me, so I watched from a distance in silence for a moment, filled with both pride and guilt.  It's during these times that I can physically feel my heart breaking - not just with sorrow, but also with love.  My least favorite part of being a mother of two is that a lot of times I have to choose between children.  I can't be in two places at once, so much of my day is spent running back and forth between kids.  It's something I am still learning to cope with, and I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of it, especially when something like this happens.  So I ran to get the camera, and I quietly went back into the dining room, where story time was in full swing.  I raised the camera to take a picture of our little bookworm in action, and as soon as I did, Ava stopped reading, looked up and said "Cheese!"  So I didn't get any good action shots, but I did manage to get a cute picture regardless.

Ava, as she finishes story time with her stuffed animals, Mickey & Bunny.

And today, during lunch, Ava clasped her hands to pray and began reciting a prayer song we've taught her (actually, it's a prayer song my sister taught my nieces, and we have picked it up along the way):

God our Father, God our Father

We thank you, we thank you

For our many blessings, for our many blessings

Amen, Amen.

On most days, Stefan and I sing the prayer while she listens, although some days she does try to sing along.  But today, Ava took the lead and sang the song all by herself.  When she got to the final line (Amen, Amen), she pronounced it "Oh Man! Oh Man!"  I giggled at this but immediately praised her for her efforts.  Oh Ava, you're just too cute for words right now.  Please don't ever change.  Please don't ever grow up.  Please stay just like this.  Forever.