I had one of those days at work where things just kept going from bad to worse. I seriously could not catch a break. Therefore, my mood only went from bad to worse.

I make every effort not to not bring work home with me. That includes my mood, but it was tough to shake off today.

Queue Ava’s singing. My Little Princess hardly has the voice of a Disney Princess. But she thinks she does. 🙂

I was driving her to gymnastics this evening when the song Take Me to Church by Hozier came on the radio. I wish I could have recorded Ava singing this song. She sang it with such heart and emotion even though she got 90% of the lyrics wrong. It was so dang cute. It made all the stress of the day melt away. I couldn’t help but giggle to myself and tell her how much I love her singing. Especially today, I’m so grateful for it.

Ava has been very giggly lately.  It is so ridiculously priceless, and infectious.  After a long work day, her delightful giggling is a welcomed reprieve.  I’m so grateful for that little laugh. 🙂

If you’ve ever planned a child’s birthday party, then you know how stressful it can be. There’s searching for locations, getting invitations out, putting together party favors, ordering the cake, balloons, etc.

Ava’s birthday is a little over a month from Christmas. Planning for it gets pushed to the new year (now). So, of course, I’m always scrambling.

Today, however, I secured the location, the first big step. I feel like a small weight has been lifted. I know it’s small, but I’m so thankful that My Little Princess Ava’s party has been booked. We’re having it at one of those indoor trampoline places, and she’s ecstatic! The smile on her precious face when I told her where her party will be was priceless.

Now, on to the rest of the planning….

Tonight Ava and I talked about our favorite things – our favorite color, favorite food, etc. During our little conversation, I told her that one of my favorite things was her hugs and kisses. Ava’s hugs and kisses make everything better. I love getting hugs and kisses from Ava and I’m so very thankful for them.

Ava’s gymnastics class is every Tuesday at 6:00 PM. By that time of day, the last thing I want to do is sit through a 4-year-old gymnastics class, but when I’m there I really enjoy it.

The last several classes, Alexa has come with us to watch. She and I get to talk and catch up while Ava’s in class. We also watch Ava and her progress together. It’s a really cool bonding experience for us.

And Ava is loving gymnastics. It keeps her so focused. She really works at each skill and technique. And she loves to demonstrate a new skill for the class. It’s absolutely precious.

So, on Tuesdays nights, I’m grateful for Ava’s gymnastics class and all the tiny joys it brings.

I’ve been promising Ava that I would paint her room for weeks now…Really months if you count the first time I mentioned it. So this weekend was finally the weekend. If I didn’t do it now, with the holidays upon us, I realistically would not get to it until the new year.

So I’m thankful that I set out to paint Ava’s room and finished today. More than that, Ava helped me paint and I enjoyed her company as we painted together. She was actually a lot of help despite there being a bunch of paint that I now how to clean off the floors.

We had a great time together, and she loves her new room colors. We’re waiting on new curtains and a new lamp to be delivered, and her “new room” will be complete. I hope this weekend goes into her memory bank under “Good Times with Mommy”. I know that it’s definitely a memory I will hold dear forever.

There’s nothing more peaceful and sweet than a sleeping child. I’m thankful for my sweet sleeping baby.