14 Months... came and went!

I am a little shocked that Ava's 14 month birthday came and went and I have yet to update our blog. We have had a very busy month and Ava's been even busier! We have a million new pictures (stay tuned, I will get them posted eventually) and much to report of our growing girl.

Here are some new things Ava is doing:

1. Cleaning One of her new favorite activities is to ask for a tissue/wipe/cloth and go around "cleaning" everything in sight. We've known of her love for cleanliness for a few months now as she regularly comes over and hands me little "fuzzies" to throw out, but now she likes to throw things away herself! She will pick food off the floor, sometimes eat it, sometimes throw it out, and will take over to the trash anything else she deems worthy. We are working on the selection process as I've caught her throwing away tupperware and taking yogurt lids off the top of the trash to play with...

2. Cooking She also spends much of her time stirring in whatever bowl or pot she can find and then eating and offering up whatever delicious imaginative food she's made!

3. Climbing There will be pictures to follow documenting this new hobby. Ava loves to empty out baskets and bins and climb inside, and then out, and then back in, turn over anything that might get her higher and then climb on top, use her step stool to look out the window or hop up onto a chair. Pretty much anything that her wobbly little legs can climb, she has tried! She'll even turn over a puzzle and hop on top in triumph, a quarter of an inch higher than she was before. Ta da! Surprisingly she hasn't succeeded in climbing out of her crib yet and for that we are grateful.

4. Babbling In the last week or two Ava's babbling has really picked up and she now strings together sentences of incomprehensible words. It must be so frustrating, trying to get her point across so adamantly and not knowing why we don't understand! She takes it all in stride though and thankfully we can usually figure out what she means in context. I look forward to there being more real words to listen for! She is now interested in trying to say words though which is very cute.

"Ava, say strawberry"

"Bobetty"...

"Close, say STRAWberry"

"Blubunam"

"Good try honey..."

5. Walking and Jumping I know this has been a post topic for months now but we can now say that Ava is a 100% walker and very good at it! Not yet a runner but she loves walking and exploring her independence. This has made her much more gregarious in public, going up to strangers at Starbucks, picking gift cards off the rack at Giant and handing out merchandise to shoppers at garage sales we visit. Ava has also started "jumping", though her feet never leave the ground. It is the cutest thing you'll ever see, "Ava, can you jump?"--the fists clench by her sides, she squats and then pushes up with all her might and a big "Wooo!".

6. Animal Sounds These are the things we pull out and show off at parties. Ava can growl like the Nittany Lion, moo, meow, pant, and the newest addition is the cutest little monkey "ooh ooh ahh" you ever heard.

Here are some pictures of our precious girl, so proud of her new talent!