A post in which we celebrate Ava's second birthday

I was up even earlier than I thought I would be – 5:30am. I tried to go back to sleep, but that wasn’t happening so I just got on up. It was actually kind of a relief since I had been dreaming about being eaten by space squid all night. I had plenty to do this morning. I ate a weekend breakfast and wrapped Ava’s present in addition to regular morning stuff. Althought I hate to wrap gifts, I made a bow and everything for Ava's so there would be something pink on it. She loves pink. I was at Dick and Eve’s early.

They were actually on their best behavior today and the ride down went well. Dad asked me to drive, which was frankly amazing. I then, of course, got turned around getting out of town. I’ve been leaving from the south side for the last 12 years now, and they live on the northeast side. But we got there.

The party was a fairly typical family gathering. Lisa had gotten me some veggie burgers since they were having a cookout, which I found very thoughtful. Carl's mother Miss Paulie was there. I like her. She's still got a bit of the devil in her. Mom was there with Rod, looking much restored since last weekend. She and Rod got along very will with Dick and Eve - they sat together at lunch, and actually spent a good amount of time talking afterwards. That's been a long time coming. But Dad kind of feels sorry for Mom now, and they know many of the same people. Plus they are going through similar things with their parents.

After lunch Ava opened her gifts. She's just a hair young to really know what was going on, but by the end of it she was really starting to get in to it. She got a ton of stuff. The big hits were some shoes that Eve got her that squeak like a dog toy when she walks. She really liked them. Dick and Eve also got her a play vacuum/cleaning set. It had a little mop, broom, dustpan, etc. The big hit though, was that the vacuum turned on and made noise. She turned it off and on a lot.

Carl and Lisa got her a bunch of Dora the Explorer stuff - she's heavy into Dora right now. But she actually spent most of her time playing with the shoes and the vacuum - and the whoopie cushion that Carl bought. Lisa has been trying to break her of announcing when she breaks wind where ever they happen to be, but Carl either didn't think about that, or thinks it's cute. Whatever the fallout, we all took turns blowing up the whoopie cushion and her sitting on it, gleefully announcing "I poot!" every time. Yes, these are my relatives. I was right in there with them. I wasn't going to be a wet blanket. Plus, Ava really is at the age where everything she does is cute. I'm amazed at how quickly she's learning to talk. She's gone from a few words to a pretty broad selection just since I was down last month. Interestingly, the words she does best are simple commands. She's quick to let you know what she wants done.

Ava with my present. Note the bow.

Ava opening my present.

Ava blowing out her candle. You see Cole in black socks and the infamous whoopie cushion in the background. I think Lisa was relieved when Dad stepped on it and popped it later in the party.

My present, since it didn't make noise and she couldn't wear it, wasn't as big of a hit as I had hoped. But among such a plethora, I guess a poor ole sock monkey doesn't stand a chance. But she did enjoy the card. At that age, you just never know what they're really going to want. She kept wanting to stop and play with things when she opened them, but of course everyone was waiting for their gift to be opened. It still took a while to get through all the gifts. But that was better than it being over in minutes.

Carl playing with Ava's sock monkey. I think we actually enjoyed it more than she did

After lunch and presents and cupcakes, it was almost four. We needed to get on the road. The ride back was pretty pleasant, actually. Dad drove. We talked about Cindy and Paul for a bit. I told Eve that I was trying to identify the pattern of BB's Wedgwood, but hadn't had much luck with help from Cindy. Eve told me she could recognize it, and that if I brought a Wedgwood book to her house, she would identify it for me. I was happy about that. When I get that pattern, I can start collecting my china.

We actually talked about plates and glass collecting for a while without Dad nodding off. When we got back to the house though, I was ready to get going.

I checked in with Russ and Billy to see what they were doing, and amazingly they were at home with no plans. That just never happens. So I invited myself over there. We visited for a while, and I caught them up on the last week, and then we went to dinner at El Matador. Russ wanted Mexican, and I was going to choose that place since they asked me. Russ was in the mood for chilaquiles, and even though they aren't on the menu, he asked if they would make them. I was kind of embarrassed because it turned into a big production. The waitress went to get the owner and stuff. He's a really nice guy, but Russ wanted me to explain how they are made, and I was kind of in the spotlight. I wouldn't have asked them to make something not on the menu for me. But the owner, as usual, was super nice about it, and made them. Since he was making them for Russ anyway, I had him make a plate for me too. They were absolutely delicious - some of the best I have eaten.

After dinner we just went back to their place and hung out and visited. Russ and I made plans to go to Duncan tomorrow. It was a very nice and relaxing evening.