Underestimation

My new, typical Sunday consists of driving in to work to prepare for Monday's flying. Today, I decided to let Ava tag along for some "mommy/Ava" time! The plan was to finish work prep, and then we'd head by the store to pick up Stevie's valentine's for school on Tuesday. Then maybe, JUST maybe I'd treat her to something special if she could behave herself.

At work, she quickly ran out of patience for what I needed to accomplish. So I put her at a desk and gave her a notepad and a pen and imagined up some important work that she needed to help me finish. 95% of my attention was on what I needed to get done, while I portioned off 5% to the nods and smiles that usually keep Ava happy.

Ava: Mommy, look... I drew my name!
Mommy:  Mm hmm, that's nice honey...
Ava (from across the room): See, there's my A, V, A... Ava!
Mommy:  Yep, that's a great job love!

I was convinced my child had scribbled "her version" of an A, V, A onto that paper. So you can only imagine that heart-swell moment I encountered when I looked down at her paper that she brought to me and I saw her name, in plain English. A... V... A...

So proud of her, I had her take a marker and draw on the board on the fridge for daddy when we got home. Another first for my Ava Ryan...