A gift from Japan

Ryan's cousin, Misha, and her family who live in Japan, so kindly sent Ava some authentic Japanese clothing. Pardon my ignorance, but I don't know what the correct name of it is, so anyone who wants to enlighten me, please leave a comment (Misha????). Thank you so so so much for thinking of Ava!! She looks adorable in it!

She's waiting so patiently for Daddy to button it. I love this picture.

Tah-dah!!

I added this just to show you that she has more hair!

Enjoying a BEAUTIFUL day!

Today was the perfect day to go out and just play. Ava and I ventured into the backyard and sat on a blanket and I let her lead me to what she wanted to do, everything on Ava time. It was so neat. She chose to eat dried peas first, big surprise. Then, she decided she wanted to blow bubbles and loved saying "pop" when we would pop them. As soon as the wand became a chew toy, we put those away. Next, she strolled over to the swing and said "woh, woh, woh", which, in case you don't understand, means "row, row, row, your boat", or the act of swinging back and forth....hence the swing! So we did that for awhile, as pictured below. Check out her new shades!Then she got up on the overlook of her swing set and peered through the peep hole. I couldn't resist taking pictures of the silly girl.

I see you!

Lastly, came water play. I found a bunch of toys to put in there to do a sink/float experiment, but she wanted nothing to do with them. Instead she preferred to just splash away in the water with her hands, trying to climb in.

And drinking the water!

I put this picture in because you can see a wet tush! Yes, that's right, she ended up bottom down in the bucket of water. In case you were wondering, I didn't get a picture because I had to run to her rescue....that darn mommy instinct! Oh and btw, diapers are waterproof? I had no idea!

And here is the "Captain Pantless" steering the ship! Good work Ava!

Some of Ava's newest obsessions (Video link)

Ava, like most children, is a sponge and picks up all of her tricks either from reading or real-world experiences.

The other day she was eyeing this box she has that holds some little board books, and it has pictures on it. She then came over to me and starting making this noise, repeatedly.

Let's see if I can type it out......"Ssssshom......Ssssshom.......Ssssshom" and would clap her hands together rather hard.

She kept looking at me like I should know what she was talking about. I was clueless. So I went over to the box and had her point to what she was saying and she pointed to the crocodile! She was saying "Chomp, Chomp, Chomp" and using her arms and hands to chomp down. We had only done this through reading. Add this to her array of animal sounds! Unfortunately I haven't gotten it on video yet, as you can see in the following link, but there are some others to show you.

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i146/mnallen79/?action=view&current=Videoanimalsounds-1.flv

Also, she is obsessed with singing "Row, row, row your boat" and will say "Woh, woh, woh" and start rocking back and forth until you sing it over and over again. Also, "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" is a favorite and she will do hand motions to represent the spider. So. Cute.

Lastly, thanks to Daddy, she LOVES this video on You Tube. We've been watching videos of animals or babies and decided to look for some "kid-type" stuff also. We searched the Wiggles and Daddy found this song. She loves it when we do the dance too! (And I must admit that I kinda like it!)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=t8Y8ARIdAuU

Easter pics (a little late)

We had a great time celebrating Easter with Gigi and Poppy ("papa", as Ava now calls him). Of course we had the annual Easter Egg Hunt w/ and w/out Ava, as that is one of our favorite pasttimes.

Ava caught on to finding the easter eggs pretty well. After Ryan and I rearranged them a bit from Gigi and Poppy's hiding places, they were a little too hard. We had to make them obvious and in plain view. She would find one and take it back to her basket. She had fun doing that, but only for a little while until something more exciting caught her attention, lol.

Here is the fam first thing on Easter morning.

It's an egg, an egg I say!!

Got it!

Put it in the basket. There!
Mommy trying to let Ava taste her first Peep!

And she was having nothing of it! Good girl!


All dressed up.

Outside, on the crisp Easter Day.

Ava new trick, putting her arms out when she doesn't know something or when you ask her a question. "Ava, where is the Easter Egg?"

What a difference a year makes

Here is Ava last Easter, 2007And here she is this year, right before Easter, 2008

Picnic in the Park

Well, it wasn't so much of a park, as a grassy knoll with wide open spaces for Ava to literally run all over the place. She had a blast. Mommy and daddy were worn out!

Spring weather is here!

I know that Spring isn't technically here yet, but the weather here would prove otherwise. We have had such beautiful days mixed w/ rainy days which indicates it's SPRING time! Not to mention, Easter is this weekend. I thought I would share some outdoor pics w/ you.

Birthday Party was a Success!

We had so much fun at her First Birthday party! Ava just knew she was the center of attention and loved it, until we all sang Happy Birthday to her. She just gave that look, like what are these weirdos doing? We had all our family and Ava's friends from music and playgroup were able to come and that was great!

She LOVES Music Class

Not only was Ava giddy from all the excitement of it being her birthday, she was having a "ball" in music class this week! It was our season finale, we've been going since she was 4 months old, and we start again in a few weeks. I highly recommend a program similar to this one, http://www.heartsongmusictogether.com/

She loves Ms. Carey and the guitar

Obviously, she's not a big fan of sitting in my lap, or being near me for that matter, as there is so much to see and do! Here she is "dancing" on center stage.
Can you see her in there rolling around in the balls?

Having a "ball"!

Happy 1st Birthday My Sweet!

It's finally here! Ava's FIRST Birthday! It has flown by, but in a lot of ways, it seems like she has been in our lives forever. It's hard to remember life before Ava, as she is our world now.

Happy Birthday my love!

A Few of My Favorite Baby Things

From our first year:

Ava's first belly laugh - I will never forget the sweet sound

After bathtime - the smell of sweet, clean baby

Awaiting daddy's arrival home from work everyday - if you want to know what pure, sheer excitement looks like, that's what I'll always remember

Of course, the first time Ava said "mama" - melts my heart

First steps - the look of determination in Ava's eyes. I have a feeling we are going to see that look A LOT

The look on your face as Ava would come running into our arms

The way in which Ava wants and needs to learn about everything around her and her ability to retain it. I was blown away at how much of a little sponge she is. It hands-down is the most amazing thing I've seen in her.

Our days together, being able to stay at home and being the most fulfilled I've ever been. I'm so fortunate (Thank you Ryan!)

Reaching my goal with breastfeeding - knowing I've provided Ava with such valuable nurishment is rewarding

Open-mouth kisses - especially when they are spontaneous and given for no apparent reason, only she knows why she gives them

Footed jammies - OMG, she looks so cute in these!

A letter to my Daughter on the Eve of your 1st Birthday

My Sweet Ava,

I'm blown away right now at the thought of my baby girl turning ONE year old tomorrow. I'm going to try to express a few of my emotions, but there are so many. For one, I'm ecstatic that we've (you, me and daddy) have made it through a whole year together. Trust me, for awhile there, time seemed to be going by so slowly. I now know that it was due to sleep deprivation and insecurities on my behalf that those first few months were so hard. But, oh, what I'd give now to do it all over again and not change a single thing. Nope, I wouldn't and do you know why? I wouldn't have the same baby that I have right now. Perfection. Ava, you are the most perfect and beautiful child that anyone could ever ask for.

Just watching you grow and change allows us to get a sneak peek into what you're personality is going to be like (or for the most part--already is) and we love the person that you are and will become. You are so inquisitive and thoughtful, silly and sly, smart and sassy, stubborn and loving. A perfect recipe for a well-rounded girl.

On this Eve of your birthday, I also find myself sad. Sad that I no longer have a baby that I can cuddle and rock, feed and burp. But realistically, you cannot stay a baby forever. My sadness turns to joy when I think about how much you've grown and how proud I am of you. Daddy and I are so proud to call you our baby girl.

I wish you nothing but happiness on your first birthday. I love you so much! Thank you for being you! Happy Birthday, Ava!

With all the love I have,

Mommy

"Nigh, Nigh"

I couldn't resist getting a video of Ava going down for a nap. She just finished saying "Night, Night"(without the "t" at the end) to me so I ran and got the camera for her to do it again. As you can see, she said it again but I got her all riled up when I left....Ooops!

Not sure what I was thinking....

...doing a DAILY countdown? Between all 3 of us being sick and Ava walking everywhere, I don't have time to update a DAILY picture. So, I'll just have to sporadically add a fave picture here and there.

Today's pic (11 days??? til her birthday)

23 days and a favorite photo

Where's Ava?

There she is!! Being her usual silly self. She crawled into the exersaucer and stood up.

24 more days until she's one

One of my favorite pics from this past year.....

I walked into her room expecting to find her laying down and saw this! She was sitting up all on her own before she was even 6 months old. In hindsight, that is incredible! She has always been so strong.

The countdown continues....25 days

Here is today's favorite pic of my twins! Ava was about 3 months old here.

Time for a video

Ava is obsessed with animals and their sounds. She mostly picks them up when we are reading and is such a fast learner, that it only takes one or two times to hear what an animal does or says and she starts showing us. It's hilarious! She is a true genious, people.

http://s71.photobucket.com/albums/i146/mnallen79/?action=view&current=Videoanimalsounds.flv

26 days til the BIG ONE!

I had just fed her a 3rd bite of pears and after trying to tell me she was not a fan of them, she finally got the point across!

27 days (A little behind)

I love, love, love those little thighs! They're still there at 11 months, but not nearly as chubby and scrumptious!

28 Days and counting....

My favorite pic for today is.....

She was almost 8 months old in this pic and working on those fine motor skills. Obviously, she got them down pretty early!

The countdown begins....29 days!

Ava has officially hit her last and final month before turning ONE YEAR OLD!! I can't even believe it you guys!

So, to borrow an idea from our good friends Paisley and Melissa (http://www.paisleypigpress.blogspot.com/) I am going to try to post a favorite picture from this whirlwind of a year everyday up until Ava's one year birthday, March 4!

Here is my first favorite: There's no explanation needed for this one. This is the day our we met our beautiful baby girl.

This one's for the girls...

This post is gonna be all about Mama!

Stop reading now if you are looking for an Ava update.....this is not the post for you.

Last night I went to Mommy Monday (a.k.a. girls night) w/ our playgroup, minus the babies. We had such a great time just chatting about everything from tantrums to thai food. I managed to drink A. Whole. Beer. Woohoo! That has happened in a very long time.

Here is a picture of the 6 of us!

From left to right:

Keri the "Creative Confidante"

Melissa the "Confident Fashionista"

Sherrill the "Spanish Vixon"

Nikki the "Rockstar SuperMama"

Carissa the "Brave Heart, Gentle Spirit"

And Moi! Below is a very important picture because.....

Are you ready?

I'm sporting my favorite PRE-pregnancy jeans! Man, I feel like a whole new woman!