2nd Place!

Today was The City of Crowley's Celebration of Freedom. The morning started with a parade and was followed by various activities throughout the day. It was a festival to honor those who are serving our country, as well as those who have served in the past.
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One of today's activities was an All-American Baby Contest. Children ages 1-3 were allowed to participate, providing they met the guidelines and wore red, white and blue attire to the contest.
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About a month ago, I turned in Ava's registration. When we went to Louisiana a few weeks ago to visit Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw, Maw-Maw made Ava an outfit for the pageant.

After I confirmed her registration, I started telling Ava she would have to walk (not run) on the stage and smile at Daddy and Logan. I told her that they wanted to see her teeth. It was working.
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On Thursday, my Mom, Dad and Luke surprised Logan and Ava with a knock on our front door. They drove here to see Ava in the contest! On Friday, Kristi, Byron and Kate came to visit, too! (They couldn't stay for the pageant, but it was nice of them to come visit anyway!)

Yesterday afternoon, I spoke with the 'lady in charge' of the contest who informed me that some of the children may be professionally trained. Professionally trained? In no way was Ava trained, and I had no idea what she would do once on stage: Would she cling to me? Would she even smile? There was no official practice what-so-ever, so all I could do was hope for the best. Last night, I told her she would have to blow her Paw-Paw a kiss. Byron showed her how to blow a two-handed kiss.

This morning, we arrived at the festival. It am sure the temperature was 150 degrees outside, but the thermostat in my van read 101. It was hot. We had about 20 minutes to wait and mingle with the other contestants before the contest started. Some of the children were there with props: waving flags....wearing sunglasses and holding a bucket....one child brought her puppy. Another child had gotten her hair professionally styled and wore lots of make-up. They were all very cute.
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At 12:00 PM, The Star Spangled Banner was sung and followed by a 4 jet fly-over. It was a great start to the contest.
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One by one, the children were called on stage, and the announcer announced their names, ages, and described their clothing. I think there were 28 contestants.
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Ava's name was called, and we walked up the stairs to the stage. Ava proudly walked to the front (by herself), waved to the audience, and blew the biggest two-handed kiss to her Paw-Paw! She was soaking up the moment and the smile on her face was like no other! She loved it!


We then joined the audience to watch the other children and waited for the results. The children were judged on Appearance, Stage Presence, Smile, and Personality. First, second and third place prizes would be awarded.
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The announcer awarded third place, and a little blonde hair girl appeared on stage.

Second place was announced, and the announcer called Ava Monroe! She won! What an exciting day for her! It was even more special because her Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw were there to share in the excitement! Ava (followed by Chad and Logan) walked on stage to receive her prize, which was a $50 Pre-Paid Master Card!


(First place was a little boy dressed as Uncle Sam.)
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Below is a picture of the three finalist:



After the contest, Paw-Paw gave Ava a rose he had bought her this morning. Since he left the rose in the van during the contest, it was having a hard time surviving the heat without water. Ava didn't mind. Her Paw-Paw gave her a flower, and that was all that mattered! She held onto it on the way to the restaurant. After we ate, she asked to hold it again. The rose was hers! She fell asleep holding it!