Little Mama

So, for the longest time, I promised an Ava update. But, things got crazy and life got busy, and despite my best efforts- here we are, at least 3 months later with still no Ava update.....

So, here it is! :)
So, Ava is just about 3 1/2 now- officially, next month she'll be half way through her 3rd year, but she's already telling everyone she's "3 1/2 now." :) I think when I was going to update this before, it was just after Ava turned three and all of a sudden, we sailed right through the two's into the terrible threes!! For the first 3 years of Ava's life, she was pure JOY. And I am not kidding. So, it was quite a kick in the arse when, all of a sudden, she became...dare I say...a brat!!! I kid you not, it was like 2 weeks after she turned three, and she just decided that she had things to do and that she wasn't listening to anyone about whether or not she was allowed to do them! Okay- so I think this is probably very normal 3 year old behavior, but it totally threw me for a loop. Pure joy, remember?!?

So, anyway, we went though a period of about 1-2 months of acting out, testing limits, not being a good listener, etc. It even got to the point where I was mourning the loss of the old Ava. I so enjoyed every minute of her first three years, and was truly sad that she had changed so much. Apparently, she was still quite wonderful at school as her teachers complimented on how well behaved and polite she was. I was glad to hear that even though she was being a hellion at home, she still remembered her manors at school!! But, I REALLY missed her sweetness at home. I was beginning to get so sad- that maybe Ava as I knew her was gone. But, thankfully, my sweet girl has come back to me. :) Now, we still have our moments of course, but overall, Ava is quite a wonderful girl. I'm truly thankful to have such a well behaved and great kid.
I am learning things about Ava. I've known for a long time that she's super-dooper smart. Like crazy smart. I know I'm her mom, but whatever, she's a freakin' genius. ;) But, I'm also realizing that she is a natural caregiver! A little mama. She is an incredibly loving sister to Bella. She's constantly entertaining her, reading to her, singing to her, playing with her, bringing her toys, etc. If Bella starts to cry, Ava immediately stops what she's doing and runs right to her- almost always before me- and tries to sooth her- usually shaking a rattle, talking, or singing to her. And Bella loves her so much that it usually works! Which is totally awesome for me. :)
Bella certainly is not going to have any shortage of entertainment while she's growing up! Sometimes it's even hard for me to nurse Bella when Ava's around, cause if she hears her talking (which, come on, is non-stop ALL THE TIME!!!), Bella pops right off and hangs her head all backwards and sideways trying to find Ava. :)

Here Ava is reading to Bella. She does this all the time. :) So super sweet.

Ava does things for her babies that I do for Bella. She swaddles them (better than some grown-ups can do!), pretends to nurse them (yep!- sits on the couch, pulls up her shirt, and holds her baby doll to her belly!), sings them songs, feeds them (I don't feel Bella food yet, but she somehow figured out that some babies do eat!). She is totally a natural, and I already know that she will want to be a mother someday....and that she will be great.
So, bedtime has always been such a sweet, wonderful, relaxing time in our house....until now. Now, it is stressful, loud, and usually involves crying and/or moaning (not necessarily just by Ava. Hee hee. Okay, well, I don't actually cry, but sometimes I feel like it). Ava and Bella both go to bed at about the same time- between 7:30 and 8pm. If I'm by myself, I do the dual bath, then I put Bella down first, then do Ava. That usually works pretty well, actually. When we're both here, I put Bella down while Patrick helps Ava with pj's, brushing teeth, and stories. Then when I'm done with Bella, I go to Ava for prayers and songs. Well, if you haven't noticed, Ava is a bit...shall we say...type A, OCD, crazy. Pick one. So, if there is anything that doesn't go according to her little plan, which happens almost nightly, there is a breakdown. If we take her shirt off instead of her taking it off- breakdown. If we don't use the particular toothbrush she was planning to use- breakdown. Tell her Daddy is gonna do bedtime instead of me- breakdown. Now, I think most this is because of the fact that she doesn't ever want to go to bed anymore. She wants to stay up. But, of course, I also realize that kids like to have some sort of control- since they have so little of it- and that probably has a bit more to do with it. We always regain composure eventually...but, man. What a stress! So, anyway, needless to say- I am BEAT after bedtime. Especially if it's a workday for me and I didn't even get home until close to 7pm- which is when we start heading upstairs to start the bedtime madness. But, having said that...sometimes it's as wonderful and peaceful as it used to be. Here's Daddy and Ava reading at bedtime.
On test weeks, Patrick is usually gone from morning until night and, often times, will not be home before the girls go to bed. One particular week, Patrick was MIA a lot but he made it home for bedtime one night. He got home while I was reading stories to Ava, came in and laid next to her. She held his face between her hands (one hand on each cheek), looked right at him for a few seconds, then hugged him. She loves her Daddy. :)

So, looooong ago when we first moved to our new place- we got Ava a new house present. It was her first bike...a balance bike to be exact! Here she is when she first saw it! And Patrick explaining how it works to our coordination-challenged child. :)I think she likes it. :) It's pretty cool- it's a bike with no pedals. This takes the place of a bike with training wheels. You can walk with your feet at first, and as you get better and your balance gets better, you just pick your feet up. A much more natural transition to a real bike with no training wheels. And, best of all, there's no falling!!! You just put your feet down if you start to lose balance! Great idea!!

Ava also had her very first hair cut this past fall!! It was beginning to look a little like a mullett. Actually...it had been looking like a mullet for quite some time! Here it is before.
I decided to cut it myself. I figured I could do a decent enough job for now!
And after! Ahhh. So much better!
****There is a graphic picture coming up- skip it if you have a weak stomach!

So, I know I've mentioned before that we have a very accident prone little girl. Well, we were walking into church one day and she was walking with both hands in her pockets. As we were crossing the street- she tripped over her feet and fell forward- face first into the asphalt. Busted lip and scratched nose and chin. This is her about a week after that fall. :(
And then....there's Ava vs The Banister. I think the banister won. It was a rough week.

BUT, she's all better and is slowly learning to be a bit more careful!

Here's Ava between the doggies. She's constantly playing with them. I think they will be so excited with Bella is old enough to play with Ava! She's always crawling on them, sitting with them, covering them up, bringing them toys, etc! They are wonderful with her, and Ava just loves them. :)

During our snow storm, we did a little baking. Ava loves to help....but most of all she wants to lick the batter. :)So, there you have it. An Ava update. I'm currently working on making Ava's room a little more complete looking. So I can have at least ONE room in the house that looks finished! Her mattress is now on a bed frame, she got a new big girl duvet cover to go over an old down comforter we've had a for a while, she actually has a real dresser and curtains, and we're working on deciding on a color for her walls. I'll post pics when it gets a little more finished.

PS. Bella turned 6 months old yesterday!!! That's half a year, people!!! When did that happen? Crazy. And she has pink eye x2. :( We started eye drops yesterday and they are already looking almost as good as new. But, geez. How much does this baby have to go through?? She's a tough cookie.

Okay, fine. Just one picture....looks definitive now. I think we've got another red-head. :)


Okay- you twisted my arm. One more. :)Hope you're all doing great! Until next time...