Happy 10th Birthday to our Ava

23 February 2016 –

How can that be?  How is that stinking possible?? 

We now have no one in our family that is in the single digits…..as today is…

Ava's 10th Birthday!!!

Ava with the Rosetta Stone 

on the London Eye

Happy birthday to our sweet, not-so-little girl!!!!

Ava is growing by leaps and bounds this past year – literally and figuratively:

Oh my!  Look how you've grown since last December!!!

She's passionate about reading.  It more or less started with the "Harry Potter" series by JK Rowling.  She's moved on and devoured the books by Tamora Pierce and by Hannah Hoffmeister.  She tends to gravitate towards fantasy- mixed with historical fiction- books.  

She's discovered she loves science.  Lately she's been doing little science projects.  She loves playing with magnets and MagnaTiles. She's so excited because her class has started a unit of inquiry on science (specifically about matter). 

Trying to carbonate a drink using baking soda, vinegar, and a straw.

She's into watching "Doctor Who", "Psych", and "The Librarians" (television series). She still loves "Scooby Doo" though! I think it's safe to say her favorite TV show is "Doctor Who". 

She's into playing with dominos – creating domino runs.  She loves making forts with her sister. She loves riding her bike every day to and from school.

She's about to begin her journey into scuba diving.  She will begin her junior open water diving certification this week. We sincerely hope that she enjoys it!  

She's also learned to love art and creating art.  She's slowly finding her way of doing art – she has her own style. 

Acrylic painting Ava created this past weekend.

She's one of the few children who refuses to wear long pants in the middle of winter!  Ava wears shorts even on the coldest of days.  Much to the chagrin of older Chinese women.  At least our Ayi has come to terms with her clothing choice. 

She's also trying to learn the trumpet.  This instrument seems like a perfect match for her!  We hope to encourage her to continue practicing. She also enjoys singing in the elementary school choir. 

She's still into speech and drama.  I sincerely hope she never loses her public speaking passion.

She's also learning to be independent – questioning everything. So many questions!!!  

Ava, we love, love, love you!!!!

Please help us in wishing this AMAZING and funny girl a happy 10th birthday!!!!