Pageant Movies

Video 1 - Ava walking onstage. Listen to her crying right before she comes on.



Video 2 - Ava getting her trophy.

Ava's Pageant Debut

Today we entered the realm of child pageants. Dummy me thought that surely a local pageant won't be too stressful. Boy, was I wrong. Ava was entered in the 0-23 month age division of the Ms. Depot Days pageant. When we got there, there weren't too many kids, but after being there a little while, they all started rolling in. In Ava's category, there were 11 contestants. Some moms like me were just playing it cool and some moms were going extreme over this little local pageant. You would have thought it was Ms. America, especially the older kids.

Ava did great waiting backstage until it was time to line up. The room we were in had gotten unbearably hot and she was tired of waiting. At this point, we experienced some Ava hysterics. She was having a fit. Nothing made her happy, not a paci, not juice, not her Backyardigans doll, and not Stacy's cell phone which Ava had taken over. She was beating her head on the wall, the bleachers, and screaming so loud that on tape that is all you can hear while the other contestants are walking out. But the pageant lady said they don't count off for babies that are crying. I know those other moms wanted to choke me, but what could I do?

Anyway, after our turn on stage, I was ready to go. I was so frustrated and sweating so much. I took my number off and was packing my bags because there was little to no chance of a win. Imagine my surprise when our number was called. Turns out that Ava was names Prettiest Eyes (don't know how they could see them through all that crying!). Let's just say that before we left the trophy was thrown multiple times and has sustained a few chips. And fat pageant mommy of the year was backstage complaining because "her daughter got nothing and that baby who was crying got something and she better get to see the judges scores." So much drama. Anyway we have had our fill of pageants for now. Ava is just at the age where she wants to walk where she wants and play with what she wants and that just doesn't work for the pageant circuit. I am just so happy that Ava got a trophy and it wasn't a total loss!

Front Row : 2nd Place, Winner, 1st Place - Back Row: Prettiest Eyes, 3rd Place, Prettiest Smile

Ava at the Fair

We took Ava to the Dyer County Fair last night. This is not her first time there, she went last year when she was 3 weeks old. Of course she slept the whole time then, but this time she stayed awake to experience it. We really didn't do much while we were there. We browsed the business exhibits and the building full of photography and arts and crafts. After that, we headed to the petting area of the fair and Ava was very amused by the goats that were there. Bradley and I fed them while Ava watched and she had a ball. It was so funny watching her look at the goats and try to pet them. They were so friendly, especially since we had food.

After the fair, we had a family dinner at Applebee's. Let me tell you, the Garlic Shrimp Alfredo dish is so good. Ava even had a kids meal of chicken strips and fries (and a jar of peas on the side to get those veggies in). We had a great time and hopefully next year Ava will be ready to ride those rides!

Pics from Ava's Birthday Swim

Thanks to Aunt Bethany for letting me download her pics. She is also the one who bought Ava this fun pool. These were taken on Ava's birthday during her first pool swim.

You can see that even in a pool, she still loves her paci!

Ava's Fort

These pics are from a couple of weeks ago. Ava had been into everything and her Nana had been trying anything to keep her entertained. So she built her a fort. It is still set up in our parlor which we are getting ready to convert into Ava's playroom. The other pics are from Ava crawling into the dog bed and then a couple from after church a few Sundays ago.

Hope you had a great weekend and Labor Day. Have a great week!

Rogers' Family Reunion

Today was the annual Rogers' Family Reunion. Bradley and I switch reunions every other year and this year was his year. His family meets at Reelfoot Lake and eats lunch at Boyette's. After that, we always head over to Aunt Mary's house for dessert. This year was the first year Ava attended the reunion and she was antsy. Since she has started walking, she is so independent and just wants to get down and run around. She was getting fussy so we left the lunch early and took a stroll around Reelfoot Lake. If you have never been, it is a very beautiful place. It was definitely hot today and the water level was very low, but it was still pretty. It was Ava's first time there and she just kept looking around taking it all in. After a walk around the dock, we went into the museum to cool off and they had an owl in there. Ava just kept looking at him but was very unsure. She was really cute though!

After that, we headed to Aunt Mary's who had some delicious homemade banana pudding and Ava just went wild for it. She was like a little dog running from person to person begging for pudding. She slept most of the way home and then I laid down on the couch for a nap and she laid on Daddy for a nap.

This upcoming week will be extremely busy because it is fair week. Bradley will be working most nights at the fair booth, so I am not sure how much blogging will be done. I am hoping to catch up on some older pics and the remaining birthday pics. No promises though because I will pretty much be a single mom this week. Anyway, have a great Labor Day!

She had just noticed the owl in this picture.