A Beach Weekend

Thanks to grandma for getting (almost) all of us together with "the girls" and having a great weekend! It was Ava's first time at the beach and she LOVED it even more than we imagined that she would. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Running on the boardwalk, so excited to see the beach!Her first steps into the sand. Taking it all in before she dives in. Didn't take long for her to run in.
The sunrise.

Collecting sea shells, her newest words.
Everyone back at camp.

Our lovely beach house
Silly cousins have a splashing/screaming match.

Wordless Thursday: Concentration

Inside the Mind of Ava

Take a look at the object below and decide what you think it is....

Yeah, I have no idea either.

But, Ava found it somewhere and is obsessed with it. It's anything from a walking stick to a broom. But, today's imaginative play was so cute I had to share.

She picked up said object and held the top of it, like she was holding someone's hand. And she ever so gently swung it and said, clear as day, "1-2-3-weeeeee" and swung it forward. She was pretending to swing it like and arm, like Ryan and I do when we both have a hand and swing her. It. Was. So. Cute!

Then, as I'm doing something else, I notice that Ava is being awfully quiet. I glance over to see what's up and I see her concentrating so hard and doing her shape sorter on the ground. She put EVERY SINGLE one of those shapes in the correct spot, all by herself. I was blown away!

10 Things I LOVE about Ava at 18 months

1. I love how much her vocabulary is growing and growing. "silly mommy" and "help please" are her newest that just make me melt.

2. I love how she screams when she plays with Mimi or Abigail.

3. I love her facial expressions when she's telling Ryan and I "all about it." She's so serious and we aren't really sure what she's saying, but we play along.

4. I love how when I ask her if she's ready to be gentle (after hitting someone or something) she shakes her head yes and gives a hug.

5. I love that she needs to feed and give her babies drinks while she plays when them. And I know I've said it before, but when she makes the slurping sound for them, I have to turn away to giggle b/c it is the sweetest thing ever.

6. I love that daddy taught her to put her hand out the window when the windows are rolled down and she is learning to enjoy the cool breeze. She'll close her eyes and take it all in.

7. I love that she makes one-to-one correspondence when counting objects. Although many get counted multiple times, she'll still point to it and give it a number. AND I love hearing her count all by herself.

8. I love when she "tells" me stories from events that happened that must have had a big impact on her because she can recall them from weeks past. Her favorite one is about "mimi", "scream", "car", "elmo", and "head" (shoulders, knees and toes). We we took our friend, Mia, in our car and they happily screamed back and forth to one another, on our way to My Gym, to see Elmo and he sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. Whew, that was quite a sentence!

9. I love the song medley that we sing when we go to bed, all conducted by her. We'll get halfway through "Twinkle, twinkle" when she wants "If you're happy and you know it" ("clap, clap she calls it), and then decides it's time for "Row, row", and as we've just begun we should sing "clap, clap" again.

10. I love that I have a happy and healthy year-and-a- half-year-old. What a blessing!

18 month stats and status

I just wanted to document where Ava is at a year and a half.

Weight: 22 lbs. 13 oz. (probably 23 by now) (25%-she's remained her since about 9 months)

Height: 31 inches (25%- again, staying consistent, yay!)

Head Circumference: don't know the exact measurements, but she's 25% also.

Her newest words and phrases:

Hi Boo-Boo (the cat)
No, no Boo-boo
OOOOOOO-U! (Boomer Sooner already!)

Her "verbs": What she says and does:

walk
run
hop
jump
sit
up
down
drink
stop
go
hit (yes, yes, she does)
bite (in reference to Boo the cat)
kick (the soccer ball)

She's a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n roll

I've said it before, I love how Ava is a good mix of being a little girl and a tomboy. She'll be rough-housing with daddy and kicking a ball around one minute and take a break to put on a necklace and apply "lipstick" (chapstick) the next. She hasn't any idea that these activities are "associated" with any gender in particular, which is so perfect, and I hope she never does.

I saw this picture and it reminded me of my Ava, wearing a headband and sporting her new Puma's (they are so freaking cute!). She gives me a "smile", which looks like a glare, in the second picture.

Thank You Thursday!

As usual, I was unable to sleep last night because my mind wonders and wonders. But, last night's thoughts were this: I thought about how I am not very good at letting the most important people in my life know how much I love them and are grateful to have them.

My first Thank You Thursday is dedicated to MY MOM!

Thank you for giving me such a normal and happy childhood. Only now that I am a mother, am I able to look back on my childhood and realize how dedicated you were. A mother of four kids! That alone is enough to make me thank you more than ever. Every morning there was breakfast on the table as you made sure we ate the most important meal of the day. You were able to balance a career and have, like I said, FOUR kids! I now see how amazing that is. You were always there for school performances, soccer games and recitals. We went to bed having our favorite Shel Silverstein poem read (Sarah Silvia Cynthia Stout, is that it, I get the names confused?). What is important about all these things is that you made us feel safe and loved, two of the most important things children need to have. So, thank you.

I am grateful to be able to instill that same benefits of being raised with such dedication and love and apply it to my own role as mother, to Ava.

So when you compliment me on being a great mom, like I've said before, I learned it from a good role model. You. I love you! Thank you for everything you've done and do for us!

Wordless Wednesday: The One Dimple

Where IS she?

The other day, for a split second I couldn't locate Ava. Nothing frantic or anything. I just figured she was playing in the cat's water or pulling out the roll of toilet paper because it was TOO quiet.

After searching all her normal "quiet" places, this is where I found her before bedtime....sitting alone reading a book. You can tell how serious it was by the look on her face.

This is a girl after my own heart! You make mommy so proud.

(Oh, and notice the headband, her latest obsession. Keri said I needed to post pics of her looking oh-so-eighties!)

Happy 18 months, my love!

A Year and a Half.

I

Can't

Believe

It!

Oh, how far we've come....

From paci's to potty's,

And from swaddle's to beebee's (blankies).

From night feedings to sleeping through the night,

And from jumparoo's to jumping on two feet.

From spontaneity to routine (for the most part, lol),

And from homemade baby food by mommy to homemade (and make-believe) food by Ava.

From sedentary to mobile,

And from dependent to independent.

From coo'ing to talking,

And from learning to love to loving to learn.

And it all happened in the blink of an eye.

Enjoy your special half day, love!

And to commemorate...the many faces of Ava!

Wordless Wed: Big Girl, Picking Out Her Own Clothes

Takes my breath away

A friend of mine from a message board I belong to, who also happens to be local, saw my original photo of Ava and asked if she could play around with it. When she sent it to me, I got chills. I love this picture. Thanks Staci!

The fine art of manipulation

Ava has learned that if she wants something she knows who to ask and how.

She'll run over to daddy and give him a kiss.

At first he was pleasantly surprised, "Thank you for the kiss, that was so sweet of you".

It didn't take us long to figure out that she wanted something b/c she will then say "up, up, up" (like get up!) and takes him over to want she wants.

She's only a year and a half and already has daddy tied around her little crooked pinky finger. I love it!