Ava is 10 Months Old!

Every month we say is our favorite... and this one was no different! The baby that we knew 30 days ago was just a glimpse of the emerging little lady we know now. It's amazing how much Ava is learning and changing every day.

Our cute little "doodle bug" is adding tricks and skills to her repertoire daily. She has a few words that emerge regularly,

including mama and dada, "uh oh", "kah" (book), "hello" and "hi" (accompanied by waving), "duh" (duck), and "all done". She also claps on cue, pants like a dog when you say "What does a dog say?", plays peekaboo

(usually by putting objects on top of her head) and has a great sense of humor. Just the other day she face planted into the fuzzy bear in her touch-and-feel book and started laughing hysterically... she knows when she's doing something funny and cracks herself up (and us)! She will pick up my phone or the TV remote and say, "Dada, hello!", goes crazy for dogs in person or on TV (she starts squealing and panting), and loves music.

Ava is still primarily breast fed but is also eating a variety of fruits and veggies and has started eating more finger foods. We've tried peas, corn, broccoli, cantelope and pineapple. She still struggles with them since she's toothless (and hairless--poor baby) but she's getting the hang of it. She loves to feed herself and enjoys the independence. We are about to try dairy products, tofu and egg whites which will give more variety to the finger-food-eating. We have introduced the

sippy cup a couple of times with water--she thinks it's great until she sucks real hard and gasps for air like she's drowning! She'll get the hang of it but for now it's just a great chew toy.

Ava is standing well now and frequently stands hands-free for longer and longer stretches. She's still wobbly and needs to know there is something close by to grab onto if she needs it but she continues to

experiment and take risks. She is very mobile but still isn't usually in any hurry to get anywhere which I'm thankful for. She will also take steps while using a laundry or toy basket as a walker, we're anxious to see how long it takes her to master those little legs!

As each day comes and goes we are truly shocked that her one-year birthday is just around the corner. We marvel at our hundreds of pictures, can't believe she was ever "that small" and wonder what she'll be like when she's four, five... twelve. What an adventure. We are quite positive God blessed us with the sweetest little girl on the planet!

*Updated albums "Ava in November", "Ava in December" and "Ava in January" are to the left!

Slightly more boring details for mom and company to keep track:

Ava is still in size 12 clothes though they are getting tighter, and has moved up to size 4 diapers. Her schedule is similar to what was posted previously but she's inched it earlier (starting around 6am) and isn't sleeping as long for her three naps. I'm trying hard to hold onto all three, I don't think she's ready for two naps yet, but we'll see how long that lasts. I'm trying to move her day to start a little later but this is usually what it looks like at the moment (on a good day):

6:15am wake, breastfeed, breakfast, play

8:15am-9:45am nap

10:15am wake, breastfeed, lunch, play

12:15pm-1:45pm nap

2:00pm wake, breastfeed, play

5:00pm-6:15pm nap

6:15pm wake, breastfeed, dinner

7:15pm books and to sleep for the night