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!