Snuggles and Bathtime

Two things worth mentioning this month that didn't seem to make it into the '16 Months' post. Ava is going through a phase, two actually, one which I never want to end and one which I hope ends as soon as possible.

The last couple of weeks Ava has entered the long awaited stage where she again wants to cuddle into my shoulder before she goes to sleep or when she is scared or tired. When she was an infant I thought there was nothing better but really, she had no choice--she could barely hold her head up. Now, she wants to snuggle mommy! Ahh, it melts me. The only drawback is that she weighs 25 pounds so I can only hold her for so long before my back begins to give out. I wish I had a picture of one of these moments but they are almost always right before bed and I'm sure she would lift her head as soon as the camera was in sight. Maybe I can get someone to snap a few when she is no doubt exhausted during our beach vacation next week!

The second phase (that I am praying really is a phase) is Ava's hatred of baths. She has never really enjoyed them but they've now turned into me holding her in a sitting position while she screams and I do a barely passable job at cleaning her. It takes ten minutes to get the bath ready and approximately 8 seconds for her to be soaking wet, wrapped in a towel in my arms and screaming for her ducky. Some days I can calm her down enough to be distracted by a toy while I wet her down but most times I'm not that lucky. I thought all babies loved water but that's not the case with this one! I've resorted to pouring water right over her head--she's going to cry anyway, may as well get it over with fast! Poor girl. Did no one tell her that bathtime is supposed to be fun?

16 Months

Our baby girl is growing up. Yet another month has gone by and has been filled with many new accomplishments.

New words: down, boom, no, oh no, "sh" (shoe), poo poo, up, yes, yeah, Bible, amen, puppy, brush, and her first real sentence-- "do that"!

New signs: Ava does all the signs in her book now but the newest one that she actually uses is for "help me". This was an exciting mastery for her because now she can run around the corner into the kitchen at full speed signing, "help! help!" and then lead me to the box on which she'd like to precariously balance, or point to the toy she's managed to lodge somewhere unreachable. My favorite use of the sign thus far was when we put Ava in her new big-girl carseat for our latest trip. She hasn't really seen the whole back seat since she's used to being cocooned in her infant seat. After about fifteen minutes of driving and checking out her new digs, she starts to fuss, then points to a big black smudge on the ceiling of the car... her eyes get wide and she looks at me through her little mirror and signs furiously, "help me!". Oh my sweet, OCDish little baby.

This month has marked a new stage in our communication with Ava as she's begun the inevitable "yes" and "no". Though I've yet to get used to hearing, "no no no!" from my compliant girl, it is so much fun to actually be able to converse with her and have her not only answer my questions but see her eyes get excited at the prospect of going outside or eating a treat and hearing, "yeah!". You can hear these yeah's in the video I posted of Ava eating yogurt just below this.

Some other new motor achievements have been getting up and down off of things by herself and being able to use the stairs with much more confidence. Today for the first time we caught her going down the stairs by herself... yikes! Now we know that gate can't be left open! She is also very good at holding on to me and lifting up one leg and then the other in order to step into pants or put shoes on.

Ava has visited the pool a few times this month and we have a new addition to our outdoor play: a little pink inflatable pool that is not much bigger than a large bowl but gets the job done. Ava is definitely not a water baby, she hates baths and is not one of those who loves spashing around. But, our little pool with one inch of water in it is just enough to cool her down on these hot days and still allow her to play outside. She's also started trying to drink out of a cup! This is a drenching operation but she LOVES it and I love watching her learn, cool off and be such a big girl!

A couple weeks ago we got Ava a little froggy potty and an Elmo potty book which she loves. We aren't beginning the potty-training process by any means, she is definitely not ready, but we are trying to get her interested in and familiar with the concept. For now she is learning the words, likes to stand in her potty and put her dolls on the potty!

The sweetest thing that has happened this month is Ava has started to pray. I have had a difficult time since Ava was born with my own spiritual life, finding time and energy and ways to grow in my relationship with God. Little did I know, God was providing the motivation I needed through my daughter! In the last few weeks, Ava has learned to pray and often four or five times throughout meals will cross her arms over her body and look up at me, "Peecum?". I say, "Do you want to pray?" and she says, "Yeah!". So we pray. Usually for our food, thanking God for mommy, daddy, Ava and whoever or whatever else we think of. And at the end we get a cute, "Amen" from the little squeaker. I thought it was adorable and didn't think much of it until I realized that I'm actually feeling closer and more connected to God simply by thanking him for a few small things throughout the day! It isn't a lot, but God's so blessing that time and drawing me closer to him. I am so grateful and I am even more in awe of how he's continuing to bless and surprise me through Ava. What a darling, sweet little heart, who doesn't know who Jesus is but still loves to read her Bible and pray to him all the time. It is magical to watch his name become a part of her vocabulary and to watch the whole revelation of Jesus from start to finish.

We give God all the thanks for our beautiful family, our precious girl and for blessing us so much!

Feeding herself Yogurt

This is probably one of those videos that I think is a lot more adorable than it actually is, but, here you go anyway! I still am amazed at the amount of pride I feel when my baby girl does something that non-parents would consider mundane, but to me is absolutely magical! She speaks! She eats! She puts things away in the right place! And in that moment I have the best, smartest, most beautiful baby ever to walk the earth. Really.

In this video, listen for two of Ava's favorite words, "yeah" and "yum" and witness her skills (or lack thereof) using a spoon to feed herself yogurt.

Frozen Waffles and Strawberries

I have been saying for months that Ava has been teething but with no teeth to show for it yet! This week we've had one of our worst episodes yet-- 101 fever, screaming through the night and wanting nothing but mommy to hold her during the day. Motrin only begins to take the edge off.

Of course, this round of teething happens to fall on Blair's two busiest work weeks of the summer and he has been gone for up to 16 hours a day. So, leave it to mom to pull out any and every option for calming the fussy baby. During a past teething week, I got a great tip from a friend and it has been our go-to remedy. Frozen waffles! When badly teething Ava refuses to eat most things, she will always welcome a frozen waffle to gum with her sore little mouth. Add in some frozen strawberries and you've got a perfect meal for a teething lady!

Plus, the secret ingredient for soothing my crying girl? The theme song from "The Office"! If I sing it or play it from iTunes, she is a happy camper for those thirty seconds and then says, "gain! (a)gain!"

Now if only all this energy would produce even just one tooth! I'm beginning to think they will never come...