23 months

This month Ava has once again experienced an explosion of growth and is showing all signs of turning two. Illustrated in part by her wardrobe--with only about 3 shirts and 2 pairs of mismatched pants that fit her now--Ava's growing inner-dictionary and monologue have also reached new heights. Though a translator is often needed, she is speaking in longer sentences now, beginning to add smaller words like "the", "to" and "and", and her vocabulary continues to expand daily. Frequently heard semi-sentences around the house are things like, "Show mommy?", "Mommy come in!", "Ava do it, self", and "Baby's crying". Just a few days ago Ava was fussing and I asked her what she wanted. She paused, thinking hard, and then pointed to the remote in my hand and said clearly, "To push the buttons!" as if I should have known all along. She didn't get to push the buttons but she got a big kiss for being so darn cute and putting such a great sentence together.

With her growing vocabulary we've welcomed an onslaught of song lyrics, nursery rhymes and other books that she's memorized to her daily play. It is beyond adorable to watch her sing songs to her baby, "Jesus suv me, dis I know, Bible... so" and use lines from her books as dialogue while she's playing. She has also started to "read" books to herself from memory and fill in many words while we are reading to her before bedtimes.

A couple of months ago you might remember the introduction of the toothbrush into Ava's language and routine. She enjoyed sucking on it and splashing in water with it. However, this month I excitedly presented her with her very first Thomas the Tank Engine toothpaste and she will have none of it. We've tried multiple flavors and she is adamantly opposed. I've continued to make brushing with water a part of our routine (though she also will not let me brush for her so the actual brushing that takes place is minimal) and have set up a goal. I keep telling her that after her birthday party, when she's a big two-year-old, we will start brushing every day with toothpaste. We'll see if a months-worth of mental preparation spares us from having to hold her down for teeth-cleaning time! As for the number of teeth in her mouth, I'd estimate about 13. She has definitely made up for lost time and has three of her frontmost molars and almost everything in between.

Ava has struggled for many months with separation-from-mommy-anxiety but this month we made a breakthrough. She previously has not done well with saying goodbye to me if I am leaving her with a babysitter or even Blair, but in the last couple of weeks she's done much better. I think it is partly due to her age, but I've also made an effort to explain to her that I'll be leaving, say a clear goodbye, and then leave. This helped immensely, as opposed to our previous sneak-out-of-the-room tactic, to limit anxiety. The first few times were hard but just a couple of weeks ago I dropped her off at a friends house and left to a, "Bye mommy. Toys!" and the pitter patter of scampering feet off to enjoy her play date. Success!

January and February have marked a new love for Ava--the love of dresses. We went to try on dresses of the bridesmaid and flower girl variety with Blair's sister Emily a couple of weeks ago and ever since, at the sight of a dress, Ava will shiver her fists and whisper, "Dresses! Exciiiited!" Ava has also begun to have an interest in dressing herself, so here is a picture to illustrate both.

I put off potty-training, mostly because I wasn't ready and Ava's interest died down a little, but we still regularly sit on the potty when she asks to or makes mention of the need before it happens. A week ago she asked to take off her diaper, to which I obliged with the direction to tell me if she needed to go potty. When the time came, she sat quickly and peed on the potty with excitement! She has yet to show any fear of the process which is a huge relief and I pray that continues.

Ava has gone through two major growth spurts this month and has outgrown almost all of her winter clothes. I thought we could last until spring but after multiple episodes of her pulling at her pants and saying, "tight, tight!" and my making her cry while trying to fit her head through a tshirt, I figured it was time to make a few purchases. She is now wearing 2T in most things and 3T in anything that is remotely fitted. Her belly has yet to slim down from her infant pudge so she can't really wear any pants that aren't elastic at the waist and I have to be very selective with her tops, searching for things that fit loosely and are extra long. I am very interested to see where her weight is on the charts at her 2-year appointment next month!

Despite having this month bookended with stomach bugs and the flu, it's been a great one for our little munchkin--growing like a weed and talking up a storm! What fun it is (and what energy it takes) to be the parents of an *almost* two-year-old.