Ava started crawling just before her 8 month birthday and is now cruising around happily. She is a very curious little girl and loves to explore. She is very sweet though and before she touches anything new she looks back at me to get the "ok". One of her favorite activities is emptying our TV cabinet and basking in her homemade pile of DVD's and videos. I have noticed that she is rarely in a hurry to get anywhere or move on from something--she will carefully take one thing at a time from a shelf, is a great observer, and has a very long attention span. She can do almost anything as long as music is playing, even if I hum a little tune (she LOVES upbeat Christmas songs) she will start bopping to the music and dance her little heart out. Sometimes even when no music is coming from a toy she'll dance and say "eh" until I make it play again. I've tried teaching her how to press the button herself but I think it's just more fun when mommy does it for her!
Ava's most recent and most favorite thing now is to pull herself up on anything that will hold her weight (and some things that will not). Just a couple of days ago we went in to get her from a nap and she was standing in her crib waiting for us! What a cute moment to see the little nose and eyes peeking over the side of her crib, so proud of herself. She is a daring (or trusting) little girl, she assumes we will always be there to help her stand so she frequently lunges for us, ready-or-not. Consequently, she regularly has little bumps and bruises on her head these days but she wears them proudly! It is so exciting to see her personality come out in her risk-taking, discovering a new world at standing height, and trying new things.
Last week we went to get a Christmas tree and had Ava all bundled up. Despite the fact that she was coming down with her first bad cold and ear infection (we'd find this out the following day), she was a good sport. Above is a photo of her on that day, her pudgy cheeks overflowing her pink hoodie. It's been so fun to celebrate Ava's first Christmas season, to see her eyes light up when she saw our Christmas tree and experienced her first big snow. We can't wait to watch her tear into (and eat) her Christmas presents in a few short weeks!
Since our last post Ava has also switched to a four hour schedule successfully and is taking three 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps each day. She sleeps about 11-12 hours at night, though she never really adjusted to daylight savings time and so our day sadly starts around 6:30am. She eats solid food three times a day and has now tried 10 different fruits and vegi's. Her favorites are sweet potatoes, bananas and mangos and she dramatically gags up anything green. She is very skilled using her pincer grasp to pick up small pieces of cereal and though she has no teeth yet, she would love to get her hands on more big-people food!
We just had Ava weighed at her doctor's appointment a few days ago (when we got antibiotics for her ear infection) and she's holding steady at 19 1/2 lbs. Though she hasn't gained much in the last month the doctor was happy with how much she'd gained since her 6 month appointment. Clearly she could live off her own cheeks for a few weeks if need-be so there's little to be concerned about there!
In the last couple of days Ava has grown immensely and keeps surprising us with new things. I hear that's to be expected at this age and it's so exciting! Yesterday she started playing Peek-a-boo all on her own and today I think she said her first word! Time will tell but while she was playing with a toy that plays music, I would say "more?" and she would press the button again and dance to the tune. After a few minutes she started saying "Ma" and then it turned into "Mo", a new sound for her and it really seemed as if she was trying to say "more". She is all of a sudden interested in words, pays attention when I tell her the names of things and often tries to mouth the first consonant (sometimes silently when she thinks I'm not looking--it's very cute).
Once again we are in awe of how much we love this little bundle of cuteness and that there's a whole little human in there--learning, growing and taking in so much information. We were not prepared for how much she would change our lives and our hearts and had no idea how awesome it would be to love our own little baby. A baby that we MADE! Ha! It's incredible. That joy continues to grow and there is nothing better than having your own little one see you, smile at you, crawl over to you and put her arms out so you'll pick her up and give her a squeeze. Needless to say, we love love love being Ava's parents and can't wait to see what the next month brings!
