What is Ava up to?

I just thought it would be good to jot down some things going on in Ava's life right now, as it can change so quickly.
Mornings:
Ava usually wakes up around 7:00ish a.m.
Then, she must watch elmo's world.

She must eat breakfast in the living room and not in the high chair, this is the only meal that she insists on not eating in the high chair.

We brush our teeth together. She has figured out how to turn her electric toothbrush off and on and thinks it's the coolest thing ever. Oh, and she gets to use a dab of mommy and daddy's toothpaste.

Special Events:
She gets a special treat of having daddy work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We are still doing Heartsong Music Together class on Tuesdays.

Some other activities we like to do are go to the park, to the duck pond, go to Target, go to Jungle Java, or Ready Set Play, visit our friends, do arts and crafts at home, go to the library, go to Barnes and Noble bookstore, or just play outside.

Every other Friday, Ava and mommy have a girl's lunch at Chick-fil-A and play on the indoor playscape. Ava's favorite meal there is the 4 piece nugget kid's meal with fruit and some of mommy's fries, and plain milk.

Favorite foods:
pineapple, granola cereal w/ milk, grapes, fruitabu's (smooshed strawberry fruit), turkey, cheese, mushrooms, soybeans, kiwi, veggie booty, annies graham cracker bunnies (hop hop's), chicken (bok, bok), chicken rice soup, black beans, chips and guacamole, and Amy's bean and cheese burritos. And who are we kidding, she LOVES anything sweet, just like her mommy and daddy. We enjoy our family trips to Sonic every once in awhile to get ice cream. She's obsessed.

I have found that with Ava, I can't really say she "doesn't eat this" or "she LOVES this" because it totally changes depending on the day, her mood, the brand, the taste, etc. For example, at first she didn't like pizza. But since she eats what we eat, we would continue to offer it and just let it be up to her if she ate it, no big deal. YUM, for now, she loves it, especially Amy's black olive and mushroom pizza. She doesn't even know that it's healthy pizza either, hehe. She pretty much will eat anything. However, she adamently said "no, don't like" to cucumbers the other day. She's also very iffy on beef. She'll eat turkey and chicken, but not beef.

Favorite Children's Songs:
The Wheels on the Bus
Where is Thumbkin?
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
The ABC's
Old McDonald had a Farm
Anything Music Together, but especially "Open and Shut", "Shoo Fly" and "My Bonnie"

Favorite Books:
Silly Sally ,Ava loves to anticipate what animal Sally picks up on her way to town.
No, David , she likes to see what silly things David does that he is not supposed to be doing.
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? , Ava is in love with Dinsaurs right now, and this has great rhythm and illustrations.

Interests:
Like I said, dinosaurs
Rocks
Nature and the outdoors
Collecting items and putting them in one container to another container (cheerios, playing cards, felt pieces, cookie cutters, etc.)
Felt board
Pretend food and grocery shopping
Elmo's World
Blues Clues
Other children, especially older ones like her cousin Abigail. She and her friend Mia actually play together now and get along really well.
Playgroup with all of her friends. She loves playing in a group setting now.
Playdough

My Latest Favorite Ava Stories:
1. Ava was playing with her MegaBlocks and picked one up to pretend like it was a camera. She holds it up to her eye and points it at me, "Cheeeeeese", she says. "Cheeeeeeeese", I say back. She then looks down at the camera to 'see' the picture she has taken (like we would do w/ a digital camera) and goes on to say "Good One!". I about died! She said it with such exclamation! I had no idea I said that when I took pictures, but then realized it later when I was taking pictures of her.

2. We were at music class and all of sudden Ava looks at me and says "potty". I'm embarrassed to admit that I take it with a grain of salt and only take her to the potty b/c I don't want to discourage her telling me IF she really had to go. We aren't potty training, but I do it anyways. So we get stripped down and she sits there. Grabs the toilet paper, wipes, and is just having an all-around fun time. Triple that fun when Mia walks in and talks to her while she's sitting there. I kept asking, "Are you all done?". "No". It was just too much fun and the silliest sight to see those girls in. Oh, and of course she never pottied.

3. I've said in several posts, but the way this girl shakes her booty is HILARIOUS!

Nighttime:
After taking a bath, Ava must play chase with Daddy. He has to carry the towel and act like he's going to get her. She loves this game.

Once things have settled, we put on jammies and all three of us go in and get ready for bed. We read three books and then turn off the lights. We turn on her star turtle and tell "tory's". I love sitting in her room with her at this time. She is so sweet and cuddly and wants us to lay on the floor with her and rub her arm. She has to have her "bee-bee's" and her favorite animals in her crib (giraffe, penguin, lollie, babies, and elmo). She drinks the rest of her milk, brushes her teeth and then has water. We put her in the crib, though she won't lay down, and tell her we love her and sweet dreams.

She often falls asleep between 7:00 and 8:00 depending on her nap.

That's about all I've got for now. I love this age and all the stories and quirks that accompany it.