Lovin' Dora

Man, Ava is seriously obsessed with Dora! Whenever you mention the name she gets a HUGE smile on her face and says, "yeah, yeah, yeah" and shakes her head as if she's saying "yes!" Even when you mention a Dora book...she runs and finds one and usually runs it back you me to read it. So freakin' cute! Here she is after getting one of her favorite Dora books and taking a seat on her new Elmo chair from Bobbi!

Bed-head gone worse!!

So, Ava's been waking up with some serious bed head recently! Poor thing....she's got no idea that she looks like she stuck her finger in a socket!!! This was one of the best mornings! Check it out!This weekend, Bobbi is visiting, and she decided to try to blow-dry her hair to help decrease the craziness tomorrow! So, we'll see how it works. At first, Ava didn't like it, but after Bobbi gave her many make-up items to hold, she was very distracted! It was pretty freakin cute! Here's a little clip!

18 Months

Man, I feel like it's been AGES since I've posted on here. I do have to admit, though, that keeping up with the blog is much less stressful when I only do it a few times a month! Anyway, things are going great, and Ava is just SO MUCH FUN right now! She's totally a little person with her great big personality shining through in everything she does! She knows just what she wants pretty much all the time now. And she's pretty good at communicating what that is! She'll say "yeah" or "no, no, no" when you ask her if she wants something or wants to do something. She follows basically every direction we give her....she'll even go to the back door and let Salsa inside when we ask her too! She actually goes to the back door, slides it open, lets Salsa in, then closes it! I mean, COME ON! Does it get cuter? I don't think so! (Well, I say that every month, yet she always continues to get cuter and cuter)! ;) Last night, she was getting out of the bathtub, and she turned around like she always does to I can put the towel on her head and wrap her up...but she was too far away. I told her to "back up" and she DID IT! I really didn't think she would know what that was...but, she surprised me once again!

Here she is with a little clip thing in her hair. She HATES things in her hair or on her head, so I had to trick her by doing it really fast while she was watching Dora and then distracted her right away (with Dora) when she instantly started grabbing for whatever it was I put in her hair!At night, when we go in to get the bath started, she runs into the bathroom and opens the drawer with her toothbrushes and toothpaste and brings them to me! She doesn't normally have access to the bathroom, but when she hears the bath running, she knows she can get in there! She's letting me brush again...she went through a stage for a few weeks when she didn't want to brush...then I had to lay her on the changing table and make it happen! But, now she helps me and it's atraumatic! ;)

She's imitating everything we do and say now. She's starting to do things with her baby dolls that we do with her....like covering them with a blanket, patting their back, and saying "night night." It's very sweet. I laid on the ground the other night doing some back stretches, and she ran up to me, laid down right next to me and lifted her legs up and down as I did it! She's totally such a sponge, and it's quite amazing to see the amount of information she's understanding and taking in everyday!

She loves to wrestle with Patrick...he makes her laugh so hard she has to take a break to breath! And she's so willing to give kisses!

Michee and Pop came to visit for a few days last weekend, and it was great! Ava has started to know them (and recognize them) better because we recently got a web cam to use with our Skype. So, she usually gets to talk to both sets of granparents once a day! She has started to walk to the computer, point, and say "Bee-Bee" (for Bobby) or "Pop." (Those are her best grandparent names right now- sorry Michee and Grandpa Mike...she'll get there)! So, when Michee and Pop got there, she only took a few minutes to get warmed up and lovey with them. I love when people see Ava at her own house...I think her personality is totally uninhibited here! So, we had a great time while they were here...it went by so fast! They're gonna come back for another visit late February. Can't wait!She got a baby stroller for (I think around Thanksgiving) from Bobbi (who I think got it at a place like CVS for $12)...well, let me tell you! This is the perfect gift for this age girl. She spends ALL DAY pushing that thing around! She puts her sippy cup in there, her babies, her stuffed animals, and she even tries to sit in it herself (which is pretty funny watching her try to do that without it rolling away)! So, thanks Bobbi....who knew it would be such a hit!

This child cannot get enough Dora! She would sit for HOURS and watch this show if we would let her! She is totally in a trance when it's on...Dora and Nemo must have magical powers over kids!

Her eating is still totally annoying and she is the pickiest thing EVER! We try to trick her into drinking milk...we even got chocolate milk! Patrick tells her it's "chocolate juice," but it doesn't fool her one it. She sees that sippy cup on her tray, and off it goes...onto Salsa's head. (Salsa probably has brain damage by now! She sits under her highchair to catch the food Ava disaproves of, but has to pay the price with a random clunk in the head of Ava's "chocolate juice")!! She basically eats yogurt, oatmeal, eggs, hotdogs, and spaghetti. And that's about it...I hope she branches out soon! This was spaghetti night...So, things are really great. We had a cold snap for a week or two, but we're back to our beautiful weather again...so, we're enjoying our time outside again. I could live in this weather forever!I know I always say this, but I'm just loving my time with her right now. She makes me laugh and surprises me everyday.
So, that's about it. I hope all is well. Here are some pics to enjoy!