10.5 months!!

It's just amazing to me that Ava is 10.5 months already! She is so wonderful and so much fun and amazes me daily! Or should I say DAZZLES me?! :) She has been on the go- running everywhere! All she wants to do is walk, walk, walk! She loves to walk into all the rooms in the house....and she absolutely loves my closet! If ever our bedroom door is open...that's where she'll go. She's just in awe of everything in there. She actually loves her closet too! It's so colorful, and when we open it, she just stares with her mouth open! :) Very cute. She's been doing so well since her cast has been off. We had another appointment with the foot doc this past Thursday- they said everything looks good, it's healing well, and she can get in the pool and take a regular bath!!! YAY!! Wrapping her foot for bath time really put a damper on things, so I'm glad we're back to normal! This is when her cast was still on...longing to float in the pool! I guess this was the next best thing! She continues to really love books and reading! Now, she will go pick out a book, carry it to you, and want you to read to her. Bobbi is here visiting for a while, and Ava brought her close to TEN books...one after the other! She sat there for each and every one! She's got lots of "peek-a-boo" books that have textures and flip-up pages, and she knows just where to go and what to touch for all of them. She is so smart!! :) Here she is with Patrick.
Michee came for a visit a couple weeks ago, and they did a lot of reading then too!Ava is advancing so rapidly now! Her mind is amazing and is soaking everything up! I can tell she understands so many things now! She knows when we ask her to bring us a book, she knows when we say "that's the doggy's water," and just today....my most favorite of all...I was trying to get something out of her mouth, and I said "open big" (which is what I say when I brush her teeth)....and she FREAKING OPENED HER MOUTH!!! I thought, this has got to be a fluke! But, I said it again...and there she went...AGAIN! Then I told Bobbi to get the video camera...we tried it again, and HOLY COW, she did it!!! I just couldn't believe it. Her little mind has been working for so long, and now we're really starting to tell that she's been absorbing things all along! SO awesome! I can't wait to see what's in store next!!

So, she said what sounded like possibly her first word! Well, we're not going to officially call it that yet until it gets a little clearer...but we're pretty sure she said "bubbles!" She's got a Nemo book that plays sounds and things, and one of them is the word "bubbles," and out of nowhere, she just mumbled it. And she did it over and over! So, we'll see!!

She still does the Monkey Face all the time and she's got the funniest noises to go along with it. I'm still working on getting a good one on video!
The day before her cast came off....Mommy and baby hanging out!
She spent a lot of time riding around in her car during those 8 cast days! Apparently, we're boring her here!
Didn't slow her down, though. Aunt Sarah is helping her walk here, but she did just fine on her own! Cute outfit from Michee!
Complete sweetness hanging out with her cast.

Here's Bobbi and Ava....Bobbi was washing the curtains and Ava was all over the place....so, this was the solution! Worked pretty well!Just another of Ava's faces that we completely love! What a cute little outfit too! The skirt is a little big (size 6-9 months!!), but I couldn't resist!
Daddy and Ava having fun. Ava thought this was just so great!
Her teeth continue to come! She's got two more teeth on the top that are coming in...you can see them peeking through a little here.
I'm sorry, but this is just the sweetest picture of the most perfect baby, and I had to share it with you!
She seriously is so happy. We're so lucky to have such a wonderful baby!
We've had to start barricading her from getting to the kitchen, otherwise, she makes a beeline for the dogs' food! She now tries to turn her body sideways to squeeze through and sometimes gets irritated when she can't! Although, she is pretty easily distracted with some other fun activity! We don't have baby gates yet, but we made due with some dining room chairs!
When I found out about her surgery, I ordered a few pairs of new shoes for Ava....they are SO cute! These are pink camo, but she's got a few others that are super cute too!
So cute in this sweet little dress. Since she's walking all the time, she can finally wear dresses, and they are ridiculously cute!
Grandpop Mike came for a quick visit while he was in Florida on business. It took Ava a few minutes to warm up to him, but after that, she couldn't get enough! She loved listening to him read, and he even put her down for her afternoon nap!
Ava is so perfect. I love her so much it is unreal. Everyday, being a mom gets better, and I just love my life. I am so fortunate...I have the most wonderful baby anyone could ever ask for....and she's all mine. I am one lucky mommy.

Lots of 10.5 months pictures here!