Ninja Catch!

Andy has been asking... no, no, begging me to blog about this. He's convinced Ava is a Ninja. Just last week he was giggling to himself about how clumsy she is, now, he's sure she's got special powers.

So, the other night I was organizing a small sampling of our enormous photo collection, when SURPRISE! Ava sneaks downstairs with a well-thought-out excuse for why she's out of bed. However, in the middle of giving said excuse, she notices pictures of her from babyhood and excitedly asks if she can look too. Usually, I'm strict about schedules and bedtime, but, I thought this a good opportunity to spend some quality time with my little girl and simply reminisce. She and I begin shuffling through pictures, I tell her about the full head of hair she had when she was born, how she loved to eat peas and butternut squash, about the first time she giggled and how after that Mommy and Daddy would do anything to make her laugh. During this process, I came across several in which I could see such a close resemblance between Ava and Jax, but one in particular was uncanny. I tossed it to Andy (who was sitting on the couch), he gave me the typical guy response, "Oh, yep" and then tossed the picture back to me frisbee-style. At the same moment, Ava was looking at a picture in her left hand and lifting her right hand to, I assume, brush the hair out of her eyes. But, at the moment, a magical force in the universe rained down upon our little girl and while still looking at the picture, she caught (between her index and middle fingers) the photo Andy had just sent sailing through the air. She then stops, looks at the newly acquired photo like it was nothing, set it down and began looking at others. Unbeknownst to Ava, her Daddy was staring at her dumbfounded. I don't think he's ever been more proud in his life.

So, now, Andy thinks our daughter is a Ninja. Either that, or she has amazing luck. Not only was there the Great Photo Catch, but more often than not, if she drops something -- a cup for example -- it lands right-side-up with no spill. At church Sunday, Ava had a Ziploc baggie full of snacks. As she was wiggling around, she launched the open baggie off her chair and behind her. I was sure I would see galaxy of fishy crackers covering the floor. I turn around, not a single fishy hit the ground. Amazing. But, on the other hand, she tripped over her feet twice today and fell right on her booty. Maybe she's a part-time Ninja.