16 months- Sorry So Late!!!

So, I've been so busy doing a hundred things, and I am WAY late on updating Ava's life! Sorry!

So, she has been amazing, impressive, smart, funny, loving, loud, stubborn, and completely entertaining!! It's been a fun month, and Ava is changing and learning at a truly incredible speed! Every single day she surprises me with many new things that she knows or has picked up on. The 16 month old mind is unreal! She's added some words to her vocabulary. The only ones that I can think of right now is car ("ca") and color ("ca-ca"). Michee gave her an early Christmas present (since we're flying home and couldn't bring back any bulky things)- she got her a coloring desk that can fold up to an easel. She really loves it and uses it everyday. She's getting more and more interested in coloring....and (this is really great news!!), she favors her RIGHT HAND when she writes!!! YAY!!! She's definitely a lefty when it comes to eating, but for some reason, she'd rather write with her right hand. Hopefully, that will continue. Then she wont have to sit in that crazy looking desk at school! :) Here she is sitting at her desk...like she's all grown up or something!So, we got a Christmas tree last weekend, and since then we've been talking about Christmas and Santa and Jesus (we talk about him at night before bed)! She can pick out a picture of Santa in a book, and if you ask her what Santa says, she says, "ho ho ho!" And whenever she says it, she points to the Santa person I have next to the TV. I'm quite impressed by her! ;) Can you tell?

She just recently learned how old she is...if you ask her, she holds up one finger! Usually I'll say "one" when she holds it up...then she proceeds to say "tewuuuu" and I finish with "three!" She tries to say three, but she can't do it quite yet! She's also been "reading" books to herself lately. She's gotten into imitating us, and she'll pick up a book now, sit on the ground, and babble to herself as if she's reading the book aloud...we think she's doing it cause that's what WE do. Smart little cookie.After her bath at night, I always sing "Rock-a-bye-baby" to her while she's still wrapped up in the towel, and she's started to sing a long with me now and joins me very clearly when I get to the "down will come baby, cradle and all" part....she joins in with a very long, drawn out "aaaaaallllll" at the end. It's very sweet...and it also lets me see those little molars coming in way in the back of her mouth! She's just growing so fast!! Ava's had a runny nose on and off for about 2 weeks now, and her nose was getting raw from me wiping it...so, one night I layed her on her changing table just before bed and put some Aquafor on her face (good lotion stuff), and she was so calmed by it! She just laid there and let me rub her face for many minutes and eventually started to close her eyes and fall asleep. We've been doing it pretty much every night since, and now she gets so excited when I ask if she wants some Aquafor! She has a blanket that she sleeps with, and she sucks on the tag (which is totally disgusting, and even after washing it, the tag smells gross), and Aquafor is the only thing that she'll totally forget about the tag for! She loves it!

She's also found my jewlery drawer, and she always goes for the same thing....two stretchy beaded bracelets. She puts one on one arm and one on the other and walks around with them. Oh gosh, I can just see her in my heels not too long from now. (Oh, who am I kidding...I don't wear heels...I can see her in my....flipflops)! I need to get her some pretend bracelets that aren't choking hazards! She's been kinda a bugger lately with eating...she's such a picky little thing. And she doesn't care if she just doesn't eat...if she doesn't like it, she'll just want to get down. Seriously. How did WE end up with a picky eater!!?

During Thanksgiving we were able to go to the Georgia Aquarium with Michee, Ian, Booj, Keegan, and Emery. Here are a few pics!Well, I've got two more days of work, then we're heading home for Christmas!! Can't wait to have some time away from work! I know I'll be totally crazy busy while I'm at home since we're only there for 5 days...but, I'm really looking forward to it!

Here are a few more pictures....the picture quality is pretty low because these weren't taken with my good camera since it was out being fixed. Although, I got it back, and it's still nowt fixed...so, looks like I'll be using my little one for a while....

I love this Elmo shirt on her! When she wears it, if you ask her where Elmo is, she points to her belly!!
We had a cold snap down here a few weeks ago and actually got to try out Ava's new coat...
Hanging out with Catcher...
This was during Thanksgiving...just looking like such a big girl...and a pouty little thing!! And that turtle neck it just too much!!! Things have been so great. She just keeps me completely entertained and constantly amazed at how much she is learning. I can't wait to get home and share her with everyone!

Here are a few other pictures if you'd like to see more of Ava's 16th month! I'll try not to take so long for my next post.....Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know it's a little late, but I was back home with no computer for all of Thanksgiving week! It was great! I took a few days off from work and was able to be on vacation for the whole week! Patrick and I took a quick trip to NYC sans baby for a little alone time (which was so great! We ate good food and shopped)! Ava stayed with Bobbi and Grandpa Mike and had so much fun! They went to ride the carousel at the mall, went on lots of walks, and went to the park! Any grandkid would be lucky to spend the weekend with Bobbi, Grandpa Mike, and Aunt Sarah! Patrick and I came back on Monday and got to hang out with family and friends the whole week! It was great! We took Ava to the Georgia Aquarium for the first time ever! It was a family affair- Keegan, Emery, Uncle Ian, Aunt Booj, and Michee went too! Ava was pretty interested in most of the fish. Some of the stuff there is pretty awesome! It was a lot of fun! Michee took pictures, but I don't have any yet. I'll post some when I get them!

My camera is still out of commission, but I was able to use Michee's camera while I was home! So here are just a few pics! ;)
What a sweet smile that is. Doesn't it just make YOU smile?!

Ava always loves her time with her Aunt Sarah!
Hangin' out with Pop!
Ava had rosy cheeks so much this past week. Sometimes I think it was the cold air hitting her face, but others....maybe she had some wine in her sippy cup?!?
Ava and Uncle Ian!
Ava is just growing so fast and looking older and older every second. I saw this picture and wondered where my little baby went?! Where has the time gone????

Ava and Keegan hanging out! Look at their feet crossed!!
Bobbi got Ava a little baby stroller to push around. She LOVES it. She also likes to sit in it too...she barely fits! When she sits there, we tell her to "hold on," and this is what she does! She holds on to her OWN hands! How cute!! Here are some more pics of Ava's Thanksgiving!! Enjoy!

I love popsicles!!!

15 months!

I feel like it's been forever since I've posted about Ava! Although, I do have to admit that this new I-only-post-once-a-month thing is great. I almost forgot how time consuming it is!! But, I'm glad to update you now! So, can you freaking believe she's already 15 months old!! WOW! She's becoming sweeter and sweeter in her old age. Well, actually, I don't know if you can get sweeter than a newborn, but you know what I mean. She's still so lovey with me...and she still favors me over everyone else. I know this wont last forever, but I sure am enjoying it now! Everyday when I come home from work, she runs (I mean, really runs!) to me saying "mama, mama." Then I'm greeted with a great, big hug! Many times, Patrick and Ava are standing in the front yard when I pull up, then Patrick lets her run up the driveway to me. :) I just really love it. This next picture really captures how lovey she is right now. She's constantly putting her head on my shoulder and giving me hugs....I don't even have to ask! Awwe...look at her!
Ava is doing just great! I don't know exactly how many words she is saying now (I guess I need to try and count), but there are many! Some things are pretty clear, while others are very hard to understand unless you hear them a lot and pay attention to what she's doing...then you can figure it out. Some of the pretty clear ones are: ball, up, bye-bye, hi, mama, dada, nana (banana), eye, nose, and hot. The not so clear (but Patrick and I understand) are: all done, open, Sa (Salsa), and help. There are others, but I can't remember them! ( I really should write them down)! She really likes to stack things...blocks, cups, etc. She loves to open all the cabinets and take stuff out and sort them into piles. She also likes to step in and out of our shower (stand up shower) and move the shampoo bottle in and out. She's got a thing with the drain too...she likes to stand on it! :) She still loves reading her books. She spends a LOT of time at the park...mostly on the swing, but also walking around. April (babysitter) takes her everyday at least once, and sometimes Patrick or I will take her again. She's got some friends that she sees on a regular basis there! She had her 15 month check up the other day. She got 3 shots. :( I didn't go because I had to work, but Patrick was there and said it was really sad. Up until the shots, though, he said she was perfectly happy and walked around the room touching everything (eww!) the whole time. She did great, though, and was perfect the rest of the day! No fussiness! She weighed 19 lbs 10oz and was 3o inces long. 10% for weight and 75% for height! Wow! I wonder where she got that from! Doc said everything looks great! She's been eating a little better lately, and we've re-introduced milk into her diet. She'll drink some of it...not a lot, but we're working on it! So, anyway, she's healthy and wonderful! Can't ask for more than that! We're very lucky!

Here's a series of pictures that I really love. Her skin is seriously porcelain!

That smile is infectious! I see this and I can just hear her laughing!

Ava had two very important visitors this month! Michee came one weekend and Bobbi came another!! They had so much fun! I wish Ava could see them more often, but it's nice that they come down pretty regularly. Just 7.5 more months left...then we'll be home...with all the grandparents!! I wasn't able to get any pictures with Bobbi :( but I got a few with Ava and Michee. Here's one of them being silly!Patrick, Ava, and I went to visit our friends in Tampa for a quick overnight trip to watch the Georgia/Tennessee game. We were able to make it to Tampa bay for a few mins to let Ava check out the beach! She loved it!
She likes pinecones. Even though she moves her fingers around and I can tell it kinda hurts her hand. She doesn't drop it...just keeps carrying it!
"Wanna see my hands? Here they are!"
So, my camera has been giving me some problems...so, I've sent it off to have it looked at. I have no idea how long I'll be without my camera...it's been almost a week now. I don't usually miss it so much during the week...but it'll be hard not to have it during the weekend! So, I'm not sure how many pictures I'll get this month, but if it's an emergency picture, then I'll use my little dinky one. But it doesn't take that great of pictures, so I don't really like using it too much. I think camera places usually are pretty slow...so, I'll keep you updated!

Click here for more pics of Ava's 15th month!

BraceFace

So, yeah. I got braces. Again. Many of you already know, but I wanted to warn you before I just started posting pictures with these hideous metal things on my teeth. I look like I'm 12 years old, and it really changes the way I look. I'm trying not to be too bothered by that, though. You probably think I'm crazy, but I decided to do it again because I've had some of my teeth shift because I didn't wear my retainer, so I'm fixing them once and for all! I've had them for a little over a month. My orthodontist said he thinks I'll have them for 9-12 months!! I'm REALLY hoping for and pushing for 9 months! Blunted roots, here I come! (A little dental humor). Hopefully, I'll have them taken off right at the end of my residency before I start private practice! Keep your fingers crossed! So, that's that! Here's a shot of Ava and me. The first time she saw my braces, she stared and touched them for a few minutes...then she was over it. :)

Stacking blocks with Daddy

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

So, Ava's first Halloween (that she actually participated in) was really fun...but before that...of course, it was chaos. :) Ava's babysitter (April) came to see her all dressed up, and right when she got here, Salsa escaped out the door and down the street, Patrick went running after her, Catcher was trying to run after Patrick, April's boyfriend (who we just met 30 seconds earlier) was given the job of holding Catcher by the collar so he didn't run after Patrick, I was trying to dress Ava (who was pretending to be a slippery noodle), Patrick had returned to get his bike to continue looking for Salsa- asking everyone if they'd seen a crazy golden retriever running around, April finally came back with Salsa (although, Patrick didn't know this and still looked for another 10 minutes), then I gave April the job of videotaping the chaos so I could get Ava in her costume (which she was trying to rip off), trick-or-treaters were ringing the door bell, which made the dogs bark, Catcher was still looking out the window for Patrick to come back, I finally got Ava in her costume (minus the hat- she ripped it off so fast I couldn't even take a split second picture!) and was trying to take pictures of her in the front yard, but she just wanted to moan and get out of her costume. Ugh. (If you click on the next picture and look at Ava, you'll get an idea of what these first few moments were like)!

BUT, we finally decided to put her in her red car and started walking around. Well, she was MESMERIZED by everything!

Patrick snuck the hat on while we were pushing her around, and she just left it there! For the rest of the night!! She had a little Elmo basket for her candy that she held the whole time....dragging him on the street out the side of the car. Poor Elmo got a little street burned.

This is Ava trying to eat her very first piece of candy...it still had the wrapper on, and she didn't quite get it, but she sure was getting excited about the whole thing!

At the end of the night, about about 30 mins of trick-or-treating to about 5 or 6 houses, we got back to out house. She got out of the car and actually walked up to the door, holding onto her Elmo basket. SOOOO FREAKIN' CUTE!!!

She's really concentrating here! Check out those TIGHTS!!!

The very last house...Ava knocking on the door. I mean, COME ON!!! It DOES NOT get cuter than this!!! We had such a fun time....after the way it started, I just figured we'd go to one house and be done with it, but she could have done it for another 30 minutes!! We had a blast! Next year will be so fun at home with everyone!!!

Here are more pictures of Ava at Halloween!!

So much fun!!

We're having such a fun time with Ava these days. She's so animated and is very easily entertained! Patrick and I play 'hide-and-seek' and 'chase' around the living room, and she will laugh, and laugh, and laugh! She's started to do this funny laugh. I'll try to catch it on video. She doesn't really do it in this one, but she comes close. Here she is playing chase with Patrick....



Lately, she has really liked going to the neighborhood park. There is a swing set there and a little playground with a slide. She goes at least once a day to play....with her babysitter or with me after work...or both!! She has come, in the last 2 weeks, to completely LOVE the park! She gets so excited when we ask her if she wants to go! Here's a quick video of her on the slide!

Ava's One Year Pictures!

We finally (two months late!) got Ava's professional one year pictures done! This time, the photographer came to our place instead of us going to the studio. It went really well, and Ava was very cooperative. I think she liked it so much more since she could run all around and be outside! Here's the link to the site. The password is: ava1year

You can actually look at all the pictures we've taken so far, from newborn to now! But, I just really love her one year shots! These will be up until October 27th!

Click here for the photos at Capturing Real Life!



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Fun at the Park and Face Forward!

So, I weighed Ava again the other day....well, she was 18lbs, 12oz! I'm not sure, but I think she may have lost weight since 13 months!! So, I called her pediatrician and asked about when we could turn her car seat around since her legs are almost at a 90 degree angle and all smooched. They asked me lots of questions about head control, 5-point harnesses, and other stuff. Basically, she said that it would be alright if I went ahead and turned around her seat.....so, here she is! All happy and facing forward! It's so nice to see her in my rear view mirror!
We had such a fun day yesterday! We went to the park in our neighborhood twice and Ava was so excited. She pretty much ran the whole way there while talking and babbling and pointing and squealing! When we got there, she really liked the swing (especially sitting on my lap), and she also discovered the wonders of the slide! Every time she slid down, she got right back on and tried to climb back up! It was super cute. Here's a little video of her walking to the park!

14 months!

I am definitely loving this 14 months stage! She is so lovey and cuddly and wants her mommy to hold her, kiss her, hug her, and love on her all the time. And I, gladly, oblige. :) (By the way, she puckers for kisses and hugs on demand)! Just in the past few days, she's started to tug at my pants when she wants to get my attention. She says "me-me-me-me" for "mommy" and I am LOVING it! Every night we get ready for bed...take a bath, PJ's, tooth brush, then we always go out to the living room to say good night to Patrick. He usually takes her from me to try and give her a hug and steal a kiss....but the whole time, Ava just reaches for me saying, "me-me-me-me." I have to admit that I secretly REALLY love this....well, maybe not so secretly! I'm her favorite. ;) Which is good....cause she's mine! :)

Ava is starting to say lots of words (at least she's trying really hard). She has added many animal sounds to her repertoire.... horse, dog, cow, and "baaaa" for a sheep! Also, she's getting pretty good at "all done," "Salsa," "Pop," and "nah-nah" (banana). Ava absolutely LOVES to go outside, and she gets really excited anytime we talk about going out. Sometimes she'll sit down on the floor (waiting for her shoes to be put on) as soon as we say, "Do you want to go outside?" She's goes to the mailbox almost everyday....if you mention the mailbox, Ava walks to the front door! She carries the mail out and the new mail in! Lately, Ava has been really liking birds! Her babysitter, April, takes her outside almost everyday to watch the birds. If you ask her what a birdie does, she flaps her hand up and down and says "ffffffie" (fly). Very cute. :) She opens ALL cabnets, thows and kicks balls, puts shapes into her shape sorter, stacks her cups and building blocks, puts her puzzle pieces together, and LOVES looking at her Elmo balloon that Patrick got her her 2 weeks ago (it's still floating stong)! She's got a pink sequenced purse that she has her little animals in....she likes to carry that around!

She's really changing so much and becoming so grown up! (Although, she's still my little baby....not ready for her to be a little girl yet). Patrick tried to weigh her today and she was 19lbs 3oz (but she was very wiggly, so who knows how accurate that is! I'll try again this weekend)! She still faces backward in the car (she's supposed to be 20lbs AND 12 months....we've only met one of those requirements)! But, she's getting longer, and it's getting harder and harder for her to sit comfortably cause her legs have to be so squished aganist the back of the seat. I'm going to weigh her again this weekend....maybe we can get a better weight and finally turn her seat around! I know I probably say this everytime, but I just love her so much it is un-REAL. I enjoy her tremendously, and she keeps me smiling, laughing, and feeling full of love. I still get so excited when I pull in the driveway and know I get to see that smiling face RUNNING to me to say hi! It just can't possibly get better than this. She is my life, and what a wonderful life it is!

Here we are on one of these Georgia Bulldog weekends!
Oh, our little bunny is just so freaking cute!
Hanging out with Daddy.
Every now and then, she gets a treat for dessert! She gets mad when she eats it so much that she can't reach it anymore. We have to push it up for her again, then she's happy again!
Look at that little hiney in thos boot cut jeans!!
This is what she does when I ask for a hug..... awe.
Mommy and baby.
This is something Ava does all the time when she's in her high chair. She either does this and we immitate her, or we do it and she immitates us.
The eyes.
Here are more pictures of Ava's 14th month!