Done with that "game"!

 Anyone that knows Ava, is aware that she takes her time to warm up to people if she hasn't seen them in a while or isn't in the mood to talk. She can even be this way to my sister which is a surprise. Jason and I have struggled with Ava in this area and have tried to teach her to not be shy and to talk to people when they talk to her. It has been very frustrating because we have NO control over it. It seems impossible at times to have a child like this when Jason and I are the complete opposite. We on the other hand are very aggressive and outspoken.  We have some friends that live in our neighborhood that we see on a daily basis and often come over for dinner. Well... by the time they leave at night Ava is barely warming up. They left out of town and we haven't seen them all week and Ava has missed them. Ava and I had stopped at In and Out Burger yesterday and we sat in the car and ate our lunch together and she says to me....

Ava: Mom, I'm not going to be shy anymore to David and Britany.

Mom: Well thats good. What made you decide that?

Ava: I don't know, I'm just done playing that game.

Mom: What game is that?

Ava: The not talking game.

Mom: I didn't know you were playing a game. Mom and Dad would be so proud of you if you weren't shy to people.

Ava: I'm going to play a different game.

Mom: Really? What game is that?

Ava: (really loud) Hi! I'm Ava (with a BIG smile on her face)!

Then 2 seconds later as I am shoving a cheeseburger into my mouth, this truck pulls up to us ( we were sitting in the parking lot) and honks his horn. I rolled my window down and he proceeds to ask me if I was in need of some theatre equipment. I replied, "thats ok, we already have some". Ava pipes up really loud and says, "ya, we have a game room and me and my daddy watch tv in there all the time". I didn't even know she knew our game room was theatre equipment. I guess she was right, she is done with the SHY game. Ever since she has been a different child. I am glad that she is growing out of playing that "game". Although I never knew it was a GAME! 

 (Those of you who know Ava recognize that this is a HUGE step!)