Valentine's Day Pageant

All week long my friend Stacy has been onto me to put Ava in a pageant that the Junior class from school was sponsoring. I had kept saying no because of this pageant last time - http://rogershouselife.blogspot.com/search/label/pageant and because earlier last week Ava had said, "I no want to do a pageant, Mommy." (This was said after an emotional episode of the TLC show Toddlers and Tiaras) So I stopped there. But Stacy was no quitter and she called me a little before 10 and wanted Ava to be in the pageant, but she had to be there by 10:45. Now at this time, Ava hadn't bathed and I had just showered. I asked Ava if she wanted to go to the pageant and she agreed because she wanted to see JonThomas who was helping with the trophies and crowns. So in a little over 20 minutes, we bathed Ava and got her ready, I got ready, and I even printed off a picture for the Miss Photogenic pageant. It was very rushed, but we made it with a few minutes to spare. Since we hadn't talked about it, I just told Ava when she was onstage to smile, and just have fun.



So this time around, Ava got to be escorted on stage by JonThomas and she did great. She smiled at the judges, but was more interested in the balloons than the judges. She was hilarious. Her is a rundown of her announcement.


"Contestant Number 2 is Ava Rogers. Her favorite food is chicken nuggets (?) and her favorite color is red. She enjoys singing, dancing, and coloring. She is described as silly, funny, and high-strung. Her future goals include learning to use the potty."



Yeah that is totally what I wrote and I got a kick out of it! The second time she went out, she went out with a fellow teacher who told the little girls to blow kisses to the judges, which Ava did while proceeding to very loudly tell the judges, "I blow you kisses!" It was hilarious. She stole the show. All she cared about was the balloons!


In the end, she won Most Photogenic, Best Smile, Best Hair, and 1st Maid. She received some certificates and a trophy which she loved. Best of all for her, she got a balloon (which she popped a few minutes after we got home). It was so funny because all Ava wanted was a balloon and all the winner wanted was a trophy. She didn't want the crown she just wanted a trophy! It was cute.


But for us, I don't anticipate this being something we do very much. I did this one to support the school, but in my heart, I know my little girl is the most beautiful and I don't need someone to tell me that. I did this for fun and Ava enjoyed herself and had fun with JT and that is what mattered. Oh, and that she got her balloon too!


Special thanks to Jonathan for taking these pictures and Stacy for doing video. Since this was so rushed and last minute, we didn't have any family with us. Bradley and his dad were working on cutting some limbs in our yard, so it was just Ava and I. I appreciate them documenting this for us!

See, she wanted balloons!

Look closely at Ava, she is blowing kisses.

And back to the balloons. (Her back is obvously on the judges too much! LOL!)

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