Easter!

So, it's a little late, but here are some pictures of Easter weekend. Here's a picture of a not-very-amused Ava and me just before leaving for church. (I was able to trick her into a bow ....but not for long)!
A quick family picture...notice, no bow! :)
Bobbi (Barb) was able to come visit for several days since she had a week away from work for spring break. They had so much fun together and Ava completely adores her Bobbi! They spent almost all their time outside (which Ava can't get enough of)! Here's a quick picture (all pictures are quick these days with this busy body!) of Ava and Bobbi.
Bobbi made Ava an Easter basket with all sorts of fun things in it. Here's Ava kissing her new "Mommy dut" watering can. She's got a few other small little rubber duckies that she calls "baby duts." She loves these things. I cannot tell you how many times a day we hear, "mommy dut, baby dut" and "beat" (for 'beak')!! Her ducks are constantly with her!!
We also dyed Easter eggs that weekend. We stripped her down so we didn't ruin her clothes. She LOVED this!Sometimes she was really good at being gentle and carefully placing the egg into the water....we also ended up with a few broken eggs!Waiting for her eggs to dye. Bobbi got stuff for an Easter egg hunt for Ava the day before Easter. We weren't sure if she was going to like it or understand it, but she LOVED it and did great! Bobbi got regular eggs and we filled them with goldfish. She also got some Elmo eggs, and we put special M&M's in those. She was pretty excited about the regular eggs at first. As soon as she realized there was something in there, she would open each one as she got them and eat the goldfish. Well, as soon as she saw an Elmo egg...she was no longer even remotely interested in the regular eggs! Here she is before she saw the Elmo eggs.... Still interested in the regular eggs....loved to eat the goldfish right away. Many fell on the ground when she opened them, but that didn't stop her from picking them right up and eating them!
I think my favorite part was when she saw the first Elmo egg, she said, "Lala egg, Lala egg" over and over. You probably remember that she calls Elmo "Lala." Well, for the next few days, her Lala eggs were all she wanted! Once she found all the Elmo eggs, we just kept re-hiding them so she could keep "finding" them. We must have re-hid and re-found Elmo eggs for at least an hour! It was really a lot of fun. After a while, she left the basket behind and just decided to carry them all on her own. No need for a basket....she'll just hold her Elmo eggs!

We hope everyone had a great Easter! Bobbi, thanks for making this Easter so memorable and fun!

Here's a video of our egg dying fun! It's a few minutes long and the quality isn't that great since we had to make it so much smaller to upload. Enjoy! :)

Pool Weekend!

We visited the pool (and got in!) for the first time this past weekend! Patrick got Ava's floaty crab from the garage, and when she saw it she could barely stand it!! She knew that meant we were going to the pool...and she was ready!

Ava is starting to get a few freckles. I'm a little sad because I know that she had to get them from being in the sun (and I try to hard to protect her)! She got one on her nose, her cheek, 2 on her forehead, and one on her forearm. For a while, I kept thinking the very first one (the one on her nose) was dirt, so I kept washing it extra good in the bathtub. And about a week later...it was still there! That's when I realized that her perfectly porcelain skin was a thing of the past. Now, it'll be porcelian skin with polka dots. :) So, naturally, I had to slather her in 60 SPF sunscreen and put her swim shirt on to protect those perfectly white shoulders! And off we went!She loved the pool. Her favorite part by far was watching all the other "babies" jump in the water. I kept telling her that they were kids, not babies...but she insisted. :) She found a basketball there, and kept bringing it to Patrick in the water. Patrick would throw it and Ava would fetch! Such a fun game. :) On the second day, she found a different kind of ball. She squeezed it and water would drip out. Every single time she did that, she'd say "pee pee." :) Hilarious.

Here's Patrick and Ava being so sweet...Before we went to the pool on Sunday, we took a trip to target to get Ava a noodle and a pool toy. (She wanted everyone else's noodle the day before)! She picked out a $1.25 boat and a pink noodle. She held on to those things like they would fly away if she let go! Ava gets very repetitive when she's focued on somethig. Since we got those things, she's been saying, "nu nu, boat, poo, cold" .....for "noodle, boat, pool, cold!" (The pool is cold)! So freakin' cute.

Here she is looking SO super cute with that pony tial and hat!!!She had so much fun but got so pooped! Here she is takin' it easy.So, today, she went to go to the park (which is right next to the pool) with her babysitter, and she about had a breakdown when she couldn't bring the noodle with her. Apparently, she stood at the gate to the pool saying, "poo, cold, nu nu." Such an emotional girl...

Looking forward to this weekend and more family pool time with Patrick and Ava!

20 months!

So, it's been a very long while since I posted last! I've had such good intentions of posting several times in the past month since we've had so much going on with Ava. But, I feel totally 100% busy to the max, and when I have an extra minute (although I really need an extra hour!), I just don't have the energy to be cute and witty on this thing. So, forgive me for the massive post today...and for not being cute or witty!

Ava is growing so fast now and is truly amazing us everyday with the amount of stuff she knows! Her vocabulary is growing by the day. She'll pretty much repeat just about anything we say, and it usually only takes us telling her one time before she's walking around the house repeating it to herself! It's such a fun time with her, but I do find myself getting a little sad that she's kinda almost (but not quite!!) a little girl. :( Here she is already stealing my money!
We've been trying to get the house ready to be put on the market, and one of the things we're fixing up is the yard. Planting flowers and laying mulch and stuff. We, when we were done, we ran the sprinklers...and Ava hasn't really seen the sprinklers since we don't run them in the cooler months...well, they turned on and she walked right into the darn thing and was totally caught of guard and ended up completely soaked! I scooped her right up and told her it was water and she recovered quickly...but here's the aftermath!
We went to a place called Paines Prairie here in Gainesville which is a huge nature preserve with wild horses, buffalo, alligators, birds, and other wild animals. It was really cool, and Ava LOVED looking at all the animals. (I can't wait to bring her to a zoo)! Here are her and Patrick checking out a small group of wild horses!Ava's starting to eat a little better lately. She's finally starting to do a good job eating meat. She mostly likes hotdogs (which she'll ask for by name now!) and chicken. She discovered that she likes pudding too! :)A week before Easter, our neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt. Ava had a great time...she got one egg. It had a balloon attached to it. You can see her blue balloon sitting in her car in the picture below. She was so fucused on that one egg that by the time I was able to get her to leave the balloon behind, all the other eggs where gone. But she didn't care! Here she is with her Elmo Easter basket and the hat she picked out all by herself! :) In her egg was a lolly pop which she lovingly called "pop!"
Catcher is a very good sport! The balloon is tied to his neck! Sweet Catcher and AvaAva carried the balloon around with her all day. We tried to tie it to her wrist or her belt loop, but she wanted nothing to do with that. So, she was in the backyard carrying the balloon around hours after she got it, and all of a sudden we heard, "help, help, help." I went outside and she was pointing to the sky....and there was her balloon floating away. I told her that the balloon went bye-bye into the sky, and she looked at me and said- "down." She wanted the balloon to come back down. Well...we watched the balloon until we couldn't see it it anymore, she took a nap, and after her nap she went right back outside and said, "down." She got upset and almost cried since the balloon couldn't come back down. So, what did we do?? We went to publix and got a new balloon. :) Then Ava's world was complete once again.

So, people still think Ava is a boy when we're out in public. I mean, I guess I can understand when she's wearing semi-neutral clothes with that straight hair that hangs straight down her forehead....but COME ON, when she's wearing pink ruffles?!?! I'm telling you, it happens all the time. Usually with older people. So, I wanted to get her some bows. However, Ava is kinda the anti-girl. She doesn't want any bows, rubber bands, headbands, etc in her hair. She loves to hold all of those things and put them in my hair...but the second I try them in her hair, she grabs them and says, "no bow, no bow" in a very pitiful voice. So, I have to try to sneak them in, and sometimes she doesn't realize they're in there....here's one of those times! So freakin' cute!
The MacMaster mouth! I love it!
Mommy and Ava just after I tricked her and got a hair clip in there! (This is the kind of shirt she wears when people say, "Oh he's so cute!" I mean, really??!?
Salsa is so wonderful with Ava, and they spend so much time together. Here, Ava is about to share her rock collection with Salsa. Very sweet.
So, everything is going so great! Ava is developing at lightening speed...it's really amazing. She completely understands everything we say. Sometimes we spell words out around her, and she's gotten to the point now where she freaking knows what we're spelling! (example: "B-O-W")! She says so many words that are truly understandable and clear. She recognizes many letters and will tell me what they are when I point. She's starting to know her colors...so far, yellow ("lello") is her favortie, but she also can pick out red, blue, and purple. Amazing. I've got some videos and I'll post some soon of the letter stuff. She's just doing great, and I'm pretty excited that I'll soon be able to spend more good, quality mommy time with her (10 weeks and counting)!! I have a billion pictures of Ava during the last month, so here's more if you're interested!

Pure Sweetness

So, as I've mentioned before, Salsa and Ava hang out together a lot!! They constantly keep each other company, and I am starting to think that they have a special bond. I can see them being best friends for a long time. Ava will basically grow up with Salsa around, and I am sure Salsa's love for Ava will continue to grow as well! Ava will spend hours in the backyard with Salsa just walking around, picking up sticks, and looking for birds. Today, I was doing some things around the house and Ava and Salsa were out back. I walked past the door, and this is what I saw!!Can you even stand it!?!? It was close to nap time, and I think she was getting a little tired...
And here's a sweet little video of them...oh my gosh...SO freakin' sweet!


Also, I forgot to mention that Ava is being baptized tomorrow, March 15th. We're gonna try to get someone to take pictures, but it depends if any of my co-residents come. If so, I'll have pics for you (hopefully) next week!

In other news...I got a new haircut! Not crazy or anything, but I love it. :) Here's a few pics! Sorry for the weird, no-smiling face...but the braces really just ruin the cute hair! ;) The back...I asked her to thin it at the end....and here it is! :)

19 months

Hello!! :) Here we are at freakin' NINETEEN MONTHS OLD!!! So crazy! Ava is growing and learning and developing at the speed of light. She surprises me everyday with something new. She's SO much fun right now! I feel like I've got a billion updates, so I'll try to make each one really quick! (Is that possible)? :)

Ava had her 18 months check up a few weeks ago, and MAN was this visit different than the rest! She was great in the waiting room, but once we went to the back, she cried from the time they measured her head to the time we walked out. She's remembering what happens to her when she's there...and she let everyone know it! She cried so hard and loud that I asked her doc if it was normal. Her doc is too sweet to ever say anything bad....but basically said that some kids react this way at this age. :( But, when Dr. C left, I was holding Ava with her head on my shoulder and asked her to say bye to Dr. C...she waved and said "byeeee" through her crying. It was really cute. Dr. C was very touched. That was the last time we'll see her since we'll be back in Georiga for her next visit. Kinda sad. :( She cried all the way to the front. The thing that made her stop crying was her Elmo and My Little Pony stickers. Then she was all good after that! This visit should be her last round of shots for quite a while. She weighed 21lbs 12oz (~10%) and was 32 inches long (~50%). Still a little thang. :)

Speaking of My Little Pony, Bobbi brought Ava one when she came to visit, and she wouldn't let go of it! Ever! Even for her nap!!! Bobbi also got her a broom (since she's been stealing ours), and here she is with both of these!
And more My Little Pony!
We had a cold snap here for about a week, and getting anything on Ava's head is a challenge. But, she managed to flash a smile just long enough for me to snap this pic! What a CUTIE!!Speaking of getting things in her hair...here she is with a little pony tail! You have no idea what it takes to get stuff in her hair! The only way it's possible is to distract her with Dora!

As for things that she's doing now...I could go on and on! She's changed to calling me Mommy instead of Mama. But, it's more of a Mommeeeeeeee...which I totally love! She's still imitating things like CRAZY! Everything that we do or say is repeated by Ava...we've got to be very careful! She's getting really good at brushing her teeth...she's quite willing these days and seems to like the ritual we have with her rinsing her toothbrush and tapping it on the side of the sink! Sometimes I'll start her bath a few minutes before I do teeth, but she hears the bath and therefore knows that the door is open, and a few seconds later...here she comes- all excited with her toothbrush and toothpaste that she helped herself to from the drawer! In the mornings, she hangs out with me in my bathroom and watches me do my makeup. Well, of course, she wants to do it too! She reaches into my makeup drawer, gets the brushes, and brushes them on her face. :) Very cute! And smart! She's really starting to say, "no, no, no." We're trying not to pay too much attention to that, but there's no denying that she's got a mind of her own and I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of that to come!

Ava LOVES to be outside. I swear she'd sleep outside if we let her! Here are a few pics of her outside!Constantly sitting with Salsa...she loves her!There's a few more things she's saying now....when we play with bubbles outside, she hates to put them away. She'll get upset and say, "no, no bubbles all done" over and over. (The total cutest ever, even though she's really sad)! She says "bye bye (insert name here)" all the time now. Bye bye Pop, Daddy, Mommy, Bobbi, Michee, etc. When ever someone leaves the room or the house, she says it. Even on Skype (the online video conferencing that we use to talk to the grandparents at night), she'll say "bye bye, Pop" when he walks out of the background! By the way, Skpye makes a huge difference with Ava recognizing her grandparents! They've both come for visits this past month, and she took no time to get acquainted!

This particular morning, Ava (for some reason) didn't want anything to do with her highchair....so, this is where she ate breakfast!
Waiting for me to fix breakfast...getting to be such a big girl, isn't she?!She calls Elmo "Lala" and her Nemo "Moomoo." I'm pretty sure that "Lala" came from Aunt Sarah who taught her this past summer that Elmo sings "la la la la" (all you mommies out there know how it goes)! She calls pineapple "Appu" (like apple, but app-oo). She blows on her food if it's hot and says "hot, hot, hot" about a million times before taking a bite! (She also says "hot" while pointing to the grill- Patrick taught her that one). She calls water "wa-wee" and will say "all done wa-wee" when the water runs out in her sippy cup!!Probably the thing that I've been most impressed with is her ABC's and 123's. She'll say the alphabet A-E by herself and then repeat most other letters after I say them. Pretty freaking crazy. She counts pretty well too...sometimes she gets them out of order, but she gets several of them right! We stop at 10 for now. She gets so excited when she's done, clapping and saying "yay!"

Those may be the things that I'm most impressed by, but my favortie new news is this: When Michee was visiting, Ava was playing in the back yard and stepped in dog poop. Weeeeell, Michee told her that they had to clean Salsa's poop and that it was yucky. So, they proceeded to clean Salsa's poop. Ever since then, every single morning when I get her out of bed, she points to the window and says "Salsy poop, Salsy poop, Salsy poop." THEN, when she's walking around outside, if she steps on anything (a pinecone, a leaf!) she says, "uh-oh poop" and holds her foot up. I always check it, and, of course, there's nothing there! But, it's everytime! And pretty darn cute!
Ava discovered Thin Mints. She loves them. It must be genetic. :)
I have TONS more pictures this month...but they're all really good! Take a peek!

Jumping Fun!

Ava loves to jump...this was just too cute not to share! :)

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!