Word!

This is for you, Katie!!!!

"Word!!!!!!!!"

Ava has been copying us (on top of repeating everything we say!). If we have our arms crossed, she will totally cross hers so we started saying, "Word! (to your motha!)" and she will say it, too! Sooooooooo funny! It doesn't come out quite right, but we know what she is saying. Hilarious!

ps. Check out that morning "hair!" WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Random

This blogpost is going to be really random...I'll just tell you that up front! I am super excited that there are only 2 more days til BREAK! YAHOOOOOOOOOO! It will be awesome to have time with my little munchkin, a break from the kids (though I love em) and a chance for a fresh start in 2011! I am also super excited that my Christmas shopping is done! Travis has a few things to buy for his dad - he was in charge of that one, and I do have a few birthday presents to buy people that have December birthdays but otherwise, I've been done for a while! I am having shopping withdrawals, however!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feeling like I need to get out and buy something!

In other news...Miss Ava is cracking us up!!! She is almost 19 months old and so much fun!! I don't want to forget any of the cute little things she is saying and doing! She has been called a "parrot" by numerous people lately and she does REPEAT EVERYTHING!! Time to start watching what you are saying around the little birdie! She has so much emotion, can be pretty dramatic, and is always sooooooooooo happy! Love this child! She wakes up happy, loves books, animals, Dora and giving kisses! Her favorite things to say lately are: all the kids' names from daycare...Emersyn, Ethan, Izzy, Luke (Uke); moo-cow, gross (the sitter says this...LOL!), "Dori" for Dora, Backpack, Map, Kitty (still loves her furreal kitty), "mout" for time-out...(she even puts herself in time-out), "shhhhhh," baby, away (throw or put things away), walk (she likes to walk out to the car when I pick her up...), "bless you" when you sneeze (hehe!), she will repeat "honey" if we call each other or her honey, poopin...ha!, chair, man for snowman, elf, "outit" for outfit, tissue, lotion. Those are just a few!

Funny stories:
The other night, I had the movie, Elf, in the computer because I watched it while icing my sugar cookies in the kitchen. So, the next night I decided to turn it on while Ava and I were in the living room hanging out. It got to the part when the nun is putting the baby in the crib in the orphanage (at the very beginning) and Ava starts weeping a little (here comes the drama), and even seems to have a few tears, and was saying "night-night in a very sad voice. Then a few minutes later, she was messing with the computer and the movie popped out - so I restarted it and let it get to that part and she did the same thing! It was so funny and odd all at the same time. She loves going night-night and always goes to sleep on her own just fine so I have no idea why that scene was making her so sad!?

As I mentioned earlier, she puts herself in time-out. The other day she hit me (not like it hurt...haha!) and then immediately said "mout" for time-out and marched herself over to the rug where she sits in time-out. I joked that yeah, not sure what that is saying about her!!!

She is a little faker sometimes. If she is in trouble or in time-out, she will fake cry (yes, sometimes it's real though!) which then usually makes us laugh!

We aren't really potty-training yet but we have the potty and occassionally I'll try to put her on it in hopes she'll go - and then maybe she'll "GET" what she is supposed to do. She already says potty, poop and pee, but has yet to go on it. I am not concerned with it but like I said, I'd like to keep her aware and attempt it here and there. Well, the child is the most regular person I know (she eats, she poops, she eats, she poops...all day long!) so yesterday she had just eaten breakfast, we were playing and then she said "poopin" so I assumed she was either pooping or maybe just tooting (she gets the 2 confused!). We stripped her down after I checked and no poop yet, and I was having her sit on the potty. Well, she would get up, sit back down, get up, etc. and I was watching her *pretty* carefully in hopes I'd catch her if she started to and sit her on the potty. NOT A CHANCE! I was talking to my sister on the phone - which I'm sure didn't help...haha! but the child didn't squat or give any signs and WALAAAAAA---I see poop---ON THE FLOOR! I did kind of freak out, told my sister I'd call her back and quickly realized it was too late. This all took place in the living room, so I carried her upstairs (where more poop landed...), she somehow got poop on her foot, I threw her in the tub and she did NOT like that! She was screaming hysterically!!!! We finally got everything cleaned up and she calmed down so as long as I didn't traumatize her for life, we'll try again someday!!!!! Poor thing!

She also LOVES LOVES LOVES music! Her favorite song lately is "head, shoulders, knees and toes." It was on a baby einstein video we had watched in the van while traveling back home a while back and since then I've had it in my head. She LOVES it! If you sing it, she will sign and say "more, more, more" UNTIL you sing it again. She also loves music on TV, videos, shows, etc. and will say "more, more, more" so sometimes we'll rewind it so she can see it again. Now she will say "HEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAADDDDDD" meaning that she wants you to sing "head, shoulders, knees and toes." So cute! She loves to dance and attempts to snap, too!!

She will say "shhhhhhhhh, shhhhhhhh" anytime she hears a baby crying (or child) when we are out and about. It is hilarious! What is more hilarious is when she is crying, she will stop and "shhhhhh" herself!!! Then she'll cry some more usually!

More to come!!!!!!!!!!!

You Better Watch Out...

When we were little, my older sister, Tammy, used to ANTAGONIZE the crap out of me! She knew how to push my buttons and could make me CRY and POUT with the drop of a hat. Every holiday season, she would bug me and bug me and make me cry (as usual) and then she'd sing "You better watch out, you better not CRY, you better not POUT, I'm telling you why..." and I'd cry and POUT even more! Just a little story to go along with little Miss Ava's Santa pic from 2010. Her POUTY face cracked me up! She would NOT look at Santa but I was expecting some major freaking out so when she just sat there with her pouty face, I was super shocked!!!!!!! This WOULD have been an awesome Christmas card photo (I agree, Megan! =) but my card was already done. {Editing done at http://www.picnik.com/}

On that note....

Super excited about my Christmas Card this year! I used my Creative Memories digital scrapping software to make it and ordered them through http://www.winkflash.com/.

I got a great deal as the cards were on sale (and I was able to upload the card I created as my 'photo' into a blank template)...but it won't beat the deal at Sam's, I know! (100 cards for $15!). Oh well! Here's a SNEAK PEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't look if you want to be surprised!! HEHE!

I also loved how this photo turned out. It was just one I took of Ava by the tree and then edited on picnik as well. Love that site!

Don't you just love her cheeks!!!?? I could just EAT HER!! And trust me, I kiss those cheeks a million times a day!

Misc. from Nov!

I am soooooooo behind with blogging! Here a few pics from November!!!


Miss Ava snapping! She loves music! I can't wait to finally get her signed up for Kindermusik! This will be the BEST time to have her signed up anyway!!!! This was my 2nd attempt at her 18 month chair pics! Isn't that the CUTEST shirt/dress EVER!? I got it at Target for $2.88. I think it was on clearance because it is supposed to be a summer dress (it is a 12 mo size) but I paired it with some little black leggings and a long-sleeve shirt under it! >3


Happy Turkey Day 2010! This was taken the day after at Cousin Megan's house.


My garage sale $2 plate that came with the stand. =) Love that I can decorate it for each season. Since this photo, I've added a red strand of sparkly garland through the holes with a bow on top. *I just wrote "May Your Days Be Merry and Bright" with a dry-erase marker! =)

LOVED LOVED LOVED this bus stop in Chicago! Thanks Lori for taking some awesome photos of me there! (though I think my mom actually took this one with my camera).

We had a lot of fun in Chicago - as I said before, it was definitely an adventure!! (Long story short, we got caught up in the 2 million people there for the Christmas parade).

18 Months Old!

Well, it is pretty INSANE to think my little baby is 18 months old this Friday!!!

We totally love this age right now! and we TOTALLY LOVE HER!

My how things have changed in even the last month! Ava can now say more words than I can count, I think! She will pretty much repeat anything you say - and she gets most of the words out pretty well. Our sitter calls her a parrot! Here are some of her recent faves:

• Puppy
• Monkey
• Up
• Down
• Please (Peeesse) - She signs this and says it now!
• Book
• Nigh-Night
• Snack
• Cookie/Cracker
• Bella (Umbrella)
• Elmo
• Bird
• Socks
• Ish for shoes still
• More (she signs this and says it!, too)
• Hi/Bye
• Duck
• Go
• Potty
• Eyes, Nose, Mouth (and she loves to point to your EYE!)
• Kitty/Meow
• Pretty
• "Weeeeee"
• Yay!
• Nice
• Milk
• Watee for Water

Like I said, she pretty much repeats everything you say. I said something tonight about her being a silly-butt. Yeah, then she was saying "Butt." NICE! She loves to read her books and will usually just look at them rather than you reading the story. They keep her pretty entertained in the car, too. She loves her animal books especially.

Potty:

We've purchased a potty and she knows how to say potty and what it means for mommy to go potty (considering our only bathroom is upstairs, all summer long I'd have to take her up with me to go potty). I'm glad at least, that she isn't afraid of the regular toilet. I will ask her if she wants/needs to go potty and sit her on it and she then likes to put TP in and flush though she's never went on it yet. I attempted to get her to pee on the potty one night last week I think and so I took her diaper off (I read an article recently that you can have your child potty-trained in 3 days if they don't wear any pants for that entire time...LOL...) so thought I'd try to catch her anyway and she peed on the floor twice! hehe! I have NO expectations yet for the potty-training, however, I want her to be aware of how it all works and until she actually goes on the potty, I don't think she really knows. She does however tell you (sometimes) if she has poop in her diaper.

Time-Out:

She now knows where her "time-out" spot is (the rug by the front door). She is just testing us, the little booger. She likes to say "Niiiiice" and rub your face and then all of the sudden WHACK!If you say "Do you need to go sit in time out?" She will actually go sit there. At first she would pout and give you a look, but now she is starting to get a little ornery while sitting in her time-out or try to get up. It is often hard not to laugh though, she's so cute!

She is definitely soaking everything in each and every day!!!!!

Read With Caution...LOL!

Well, I've been a little MIA from the blog world. I am not really sure why. I guess it's been a combination of things. 1. My student teacher finished her 8 weeks with me and moved on---so I've been sent back into reality...LOL. 2. Busy planning for the Halloween party, getting our costumes finalized, etc. 3. Me being sick, Ava being sick. 4. Planning for my sister's baby shower.
Lots going on. =)

I did, however, have to share this little story...

We found out Ava has a double ear infection and possibly bronchitis, Dr. Emm said. So, with all of that, her poor little nose is running, running, running. At night, it runs and then gets crusted on the outside. I literally have had to SCRAPE her poor nose every morning for the last about 5 days (lovely visual, I know...but it gets better). So, we got up this morning at my mom's house and I noticed her icky nose once again and then I got to looking closer and saw that since her hair is so long, it actually had gotten down in her face (if she's had pigtails in all day, I take them out to sleep) anyway, a strand of hair had gotten down in her face and then caked in the GUNK that was coming out of her nose. I could NOT get it out for anything and was even having a hard time getting the boogie out so first step I had to CUT the hair to get it apart.
All that was left was this HAIRY BOOGER stuck to her nose. Then I FINALLY got it off...and let me tell you it was disgusting!!

We left my mom's tonight and she slept pretty much the entire 2 hours home. She did not move when I opened the van door, the light came on, I unbuckled her, carried her in, upstairs, turned on her space heater, fan, monitor, (snuck in a little rocking time) and laid her down! Hoping she sleeps all night tonight and the time change doesn't mess us up! =)

More blogging and pics coming soon...

Update on Fits

Well, I thought I better post a little update on the whole "FIT throwing" situation. =) Things have been 100% better since I last blogged. I don't think Miss A has really thrown a HUGE fit since. Now, she still has expressed her mind there or here and has started saying "Nooooooo" while pointing her finger. haha! Oh it is actually quite comical and sometimes I have to walk away or cover my face so she can't see me laughing.

She did get a little irked tonight when I needed to change her diaper and it was right in the middle of her playtime. She was really into playing with one of her toys but when duty calls!! So she kicked a little (her other thing...to kick me!). I usually say "Nooooo, we don't kick mommy." That really has had no affect on her so the past couple times I've been saying "Ow-wy!" and then usually she repeats that back to me and will stop. Not sure why that works!..and it doesn't work every time but funny. Other times, she will get that bottom lip out and give me a huge frown and even cry when I tell her no, but I guess she is kind of understanding she shouldn't be doing it.

It really has been a fabulous weekend. Ava and I went to the mall - just the 2 of us on Friday night. We shopped, had dinner in the food court and rode the carousel (another story there...later). She was such a good little shopper. Just enjoyed hanging out in her stroller and hardly made a peep, other than to say hi to people. Saturday I went on the Spoon River Drive with the Bettis babes. Travis stayed home with Ava. She had another good day and we just hung out at home after I got back til bedtime. Sunday we went to church with the Stille's. Ava went to the nursery for the first time and though we snuck out, she did great! The ladies said she played and had fun. Then we had lunch at Moe's. I made a quick trip to the mall during her nap and then we just played around the house the rest of the evening. Today was FABULOUS to have the day off!!! Ava and I slept in (til 8am almost, again!). We had breakfast, played, watched Sesame Street (she is getting more into shows but still just for a little while. She says ELMO now!), made a quick trip to Walmart before her nap. Travis worked a half day and then we headed out to the pumpkin patch with Lori and Uncle D for our fall pictures. I was really worried (with the fits...and just the fact that Ava is 1 and a half (almost!!) but she did great. She is just the sweetest thing!! The pics with the antique truck there turned out great and she had a ball playing on the inside. After our (about) hour long shoot, (in the heat no less, and 'fall' clothes), we had a snack, played in the little buildings at the pumpkin patch, and jumped on the big giant pillow!! It was fun. And she not once threw a fit. Having this long weekend was great but I am going to miss her tomorrow for sure! Oh and I actually have to teach this week as my student teacher is gone tomorrow and it's her last week with me! OUCH!

Well, anyway, don't worry, I'm not getting too excited about these fit-less days. I am sure they aren't over, but I WILL enjoy it when they aren't happening! =) She is getting her other bottom tooth now - along with one of the molars that is still coming in but she is overall in a better mood!

OK, so the carousel story (not that it's great) but she has ridden it twice at the mall and once at the zoo (just remembered).and LOVED it! So, I decide to take her on it while we are there Friday night. I am not sure if the inital music startled her, or what, but as soon as I put her on the horse, she started getting whimpery. Then it almost immediately started going (we were the only ones on it), and maybe she just wasn't ready. So, I took her off, tried again, whimpery again. So we sit on the bench and she was clinging onto me. She did keep looking at the jesters in the middle and maybe they were freaking her out! Who knows! She is over being scared of the vacuum though! YAY!

So, as my friend Amy S. said, I know it's hard to believe that THIS sweet little face could be guilty of throwing any fits!

Fits

Ava and her kitty!

Well, Miss Ava is now 16 months plus. She is definitely becoming her own little person - well, not that she wasn't already and showing her sweet, cute, funny, little personality. Lately in addition to being sweet, cute, and funny, she is showing her STUBBORN side. She is really into throwing fits - oh and I mean fall on the floor, flail, kick, cry, scream, bang your head on the tub fits (she was ticked she had to sit down in the tub). Oh, and our tub is NOT plastic - it's a very hard ceramic tub. You can bet that didn't make her stop crying.

It's hard to ignore the fit, as the dr's sheet says to do - hehe! But we are trying all sorts of reactions from ignoring her, putting her in her crib for a timeout (minus her binkie and blankie), walking away, saying no, a little swat on the leg. I can't say much is really helping. I am hoping it's just a phase or possibly a result of being cranky because of all of the teething. Her bottom tooth that has been cutting through is finally in about half-way and one of her bottom molars is also visible but not really cut through. I think there's one more in there somewhere trying to come in. Total she still has only 6 teeth so let the teething continue, huh!?

The fits typically happen when she doesn't get to do what she wants, doesn't get what she wants, has to stop doing something or has to do something if SHE doesn't want to. =) hmmmmm....can you say DRAMA!? Anyway, I hope I am not the only person's child who has started throwing fits (haha!) and I'm also hoping it's over soon! She is still my sweet, funny, and loveable lil baby - who isn't much of a baby anymore!!!!! =)

Update on Vocab

Another lil update: =)
I can't believe I forgot this one...she has been saying "hot" forever now. All summer she'd say hot when I made my coffee and also around the oven.
This past week she has been saying "up", "nigh-nigh", "papa", and attempting "cracker" more, too.
Also, surely I've put this one in but she says "HI" all the time! She is starting to say "bye" though she waves bye-bye typically rather than saying it!

Ava's Vocabulary:
*update*

Miss Ava is saying so many new things EVERY DAY! I am trying to keep track so I can scrapbook all the info later (when I finally get to scrapbook past 4 months old. haha!)

•No (one of her first words other than mama and dada)

•She used to say "pup-pup" and she still says "woo - woo" for woof woof

•"Uh-oh"!!!! (over and over and over)

•"Tick-e, Tick-e, Tick-e" for Tickle, Tickle

•"Icky"

•"Emma" (the babysitter's dog!)

•"Ish" for shoes

•"Ball"

Update:

• pretty sure she is saying "Cookie" and "Cracker" now
• Travis thinks he heard her actually SAY "Please!" awwwwwww! She still signs it like crazy
• "MOMMY" She has moved on from "ma-ma" to "mommy" and she pretty much says it all day long. NOT COMPLAINING. I love it. She has even been waking up and calling me..."mommy, mommy, mommy"
• My mom and I think we heard her say "Snack" over the weekend, too.
• Oh and she will even say "icky" and go throw her diaper away! Cracks me up every time! I just say, "Ok, Ava, Icky, go throw it away!" and I just help her lift the lid on the trash can. This might backfire on me, as I caught her trying to throw a measuring cup away yesterday! Wondering if that is where the missing blue lid is I can't find!!!!!

I have been home the last 2 days with Ava b/c she had a slight fever on Monday and has been experiencing some lovely diarrheah (me too!...TMI) so I had to miss the Baby Communication class I was going to take with my friend Brooke. Bummer. I am sure it would have been fun!

Baby Communicating

Sept. 2009




Sept. 2010




Ava's Vocabulary:

• No (one of her first words other than mama and dada)



• She used to say "pup-pup" and she still says "woo - woo" for woof woof



• "Uh-oh"!!!! (over and over and over)



• "Tick-e, Tick-e, Tick-e" for Tickle, Tickle



• "Icky"



• "Emma" (the babysitter's dog!)



• "Ish" for shoes



• "Ball"

She cracks us up each and every day. She is starting to have fun wrestling around. She is also becoming a bit ornery (that is the weirdest spelling for a word!). She is starting to stand up on her various chairs we have (the Pottery Barn chair, her little toy chair) and she will look at you to see if you have noticed and give you her cute little grin! Hard not to laugh.

She now religiously and I mean RELIGIOUSLY signs please now (after several days of screaming her head off when we told her to say it!!! Stubborn little booger!). She still signs "All-done" and "hungry." She doesn't mess around when it comes to food. If you even mention "hungry" or are fixing food for a meal, she gets VERY antsy to eat!

I am super excited to be taking a "Baby Communication" class with my friend Brooke at the end of the month. It is through the local community college and it's FREE!

15 Month Chair Pics...

Well, I decided to take Ava's chair pics for her 15 month mark (and then 18 month and then yearly at 2 and so on). Here's my ATTEMPT!!!!!!!!! I suppose she is a typical 15 month old.

Ok, so not sure what is even in her hand! A cotton ball?

You want me to sit in my chair? Not without my kitty!

Uh.......not so much!

Oh, I'll sit on this chair, all right!

And again, not so much! =)

ps: check out that LONG strand of hair!

15 months!

Miss Ava's 15 month stats:

Length: 30 inches - 30th percentile

Weight: 21 pounds - 20th percentile

Head Circumference: 19 inches - 97th percentile!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still a peanut!

Travis took Ava to the dr. today for her 15 month checkup. All was well. She is doing all the things 15 month olds should be doing. I also officially used my child tonight to go to the other room and get something for me. Is that on the list? LOL. We were getting ready to go on a walk so I asked Ava to go get my shoes and bring them to me. It took me a few times of asking and pointing (and then her bringing me two different pairs before she brought the ones I wanted) but she did it. I was cracking up!

These pictures were taken on Labor Day. Travis and I stopped in Jacksonville to meet up with friends Alex and Stephanie on our way home from our annual trip to Pere Marquette State Park in Grafton (I'll try to post pics soon!). Anyway, we decided to meet up with them because we hadn't seen them in forever and they suggested Nichols Park (after partaking in some DQ!), which just so happens to be where we took some of our outdoor wedding photos so OF COURSE I was thinking----photo op for Ava!!!!!!!! =) She had fun running around the gazebo and even saw a puppy. This was her reaction!

Goals!

This will, I'm sure, be a work in progress, but I wanted to post a few of my GOALS for the upcoming weeks, months, years...who knows! Just so it's in writing!

1. Get together with Laura (and anyone else that wants to join in!) to make some bows for Ava (and Izzy) so we can stop paying $3 per bow!!!!!!!!! When we know we could make them way cheaper!
2. Scrapbook, scrapbook, scrapbook! (just in general and work on Ava's scrapbooks she will keep when she is older!)
3. Work on painting for the bathroom. Either something on a canvas or paint something on the wall! We'll see!
4. Take a photography class. Gotta learn more tricks of the trade with my camera. Still loving it though!
5. Learn to sew!
6. Wait, rewind!!! Get a sewing machine!!!!!!!!!

More to come!

A little bit of this; a little bit of that...

Miss Ava is 15 months old TODAY! I will get her chair pics sometime this weekend :) I figure I will take 15 month and then 18 month and then her 2 YEAR as I'm no longer doing monthly.

Here's a little bit of what she is doing.

• She said "uh-oh" this week. She has been saying "Uh" and "Ohhhh" for a while but she is now putting them together. It is so cute. Tammy, our sitter, said she likes to drop her cup and say "uh-oh" (oh and also feed the dog!)
• Speaking of, she has adjusted to the sitter quite well. It took a little while but she was only going one day a week so now that she is going every day, she is really seeming to like it. Emersyn is a little girl there (she's 4) and they seem to love each other! Our friends from our childbirth class also take their daughter Izzy there. She and Ava are 2 days apart.
• Ava is walking like a pro and even starting to run! She is definitely on the move!
• She loves animals! I got her a "fur-real" kitty at a garage sale for $1 and she is obsessed with it---even though I think it's a little creepy!
• She loves books. She is into a few right now: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See; a little Fishy book, My Pink Purse. She loves to read them before bed.
• She can finally clap correctly!! (LOL) Tammy, the sitter, and Emersyn taught her by singing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!" It is too cute. Now, I know that most kids have already learned to clap by now, but no matter how hard I tried, she wasn't interested. She did sort of attempt it, but it was never quite right. =) Her clap is cute, too. She keeps one hand still and claps the other to it.
• She LOVES music (a beat-belt quality!). She will bop her head when she hears our fave song "Hey Soul Sister" (also my ring tone) and other songs on the radio and TV
• She LOVES being outside. Tammy, the sitter, takes them out and they have an awesome backyard. We'll often play outside when we get home and take walks over to Miller Park. The fits have already started when we make her come in. Sweet girl!
• She understands more and more every day. If we say things like "Do you want to go take a bath?" she will go toward the stairs. If we say, "Are you hungry?" she will go to the kitchen and "Ava, go get your kitty!" and she will go find it!
• She is still doing her signs. She has finally gotten "Please" but she can be stubborn and I really have to get on her to sign it.
• She jibber-jabbers constantly. Sometimes it really sounds like she is saying "What's that?" etc.
• She has started putting her hands up for "So Big!" It is hilarious! One day I was just talking to Travis and said something regarding Ava getting 'so big' and she did it! LOL. =)

I'm finally also back in the swing of things with school. I have my two classrooms set up and have seen almost all of my students. Tomorrow and Monday will be my last "first" days. With that said, I miss Ava a LOT!!!!!!!! I am luckily too busy during the day to really think about it, however, I soak up every single second at night with her. I am a little emotional about it too. I cried the other night putting her to bed because I had curriculum night and only got to see her for a little bit after school and at bedtime. I do really really enjoy teaching and so far, things are going well. Tomorrow is my first day to travel so we'll see how THAT goes!

August

August. Oh August, how I dread you every year! Even though there are still 2-3 weeks of summer days left in August, it always flies by! I swear, yesterday was August 1st and today it's August 16. I anticipate the new school year every year and have a HINT of excitement but since becoming a mommy, I also dread it like I dread WINTER---and if you know me, I HATE WINTER. On that note, I do love my job and don't really think I could be a stay at home mom, especially in the winter. I think I might go nuts. :) Not really but I think teachers have sort of the best of both worlds. We've had such a fun summer, making lots of memories...pool days, the zoo, play dates, sprinkler parks, walks, the mall, and just plain hanging out at home...And it's hard to believe that at the beginning of summer Ava was a brand new "walker" and now she is practically running. Being at the sitter is great for her, too, because she has become quite the "mommy's girl!" and she is frightened by just about everything. I guess that is just her nature, but being around other kids is good for her and something I want her to experience.

Another reason I dread August is the stress I start to feel. It always ends up working out fine (and not that I haven't been teaching long enough to know what I'm doing...) but I let myself get freaked out for nothing. I've already had one meltdown (you can ask Travis!) and then I have to tell him..."you know what time of year it is!" I also S.T.R.E.S.S. each year about my schedule but with obvious reason and this year since I am at my second school for more of my time (1.2 days compared to a half day last year) comes the sticky situation of travel time. I'm hoping and praying that it will get fixed but as of now, I have 20 minutes to get from one school to the other and be ready to teach. Not to mention I have 2 classes in a row, 20 mins to get to the other school and then have 3 classes in a row (pretty much the equivalent of 5 in a row, which I refuse to do!). I'm really hoping and assuming it will get fixed but in the mean time, I'm a little freaked out! I don't like to be rushed and stressed and I'd hate to show up for class each week and walk in the door with my purse, bag, coat, etc at the same time as the kids and have to make them sit and wait while I unpack and get ready. And honestly, I'm not sure where going to the bathroom fits in this equation---and again, if you know me, I pee more than a pregnant girl!

Well, enough of that. I'll keep you posted! Ava is off to the sitter tomorrow while I work at school (s) all day and then my mom will be here Wednesday while I work and then we are in school mode with meetings Thursday and Friday! I am so thankful I still have the half-day on Monday to prepare, as students will not come to area classes that day.

Happy August Everyone!

Summer

{Summer}...

I pretty much want it to never END!

We've been having so much fun this summer and Ava is learning new things every day, I swear...

She is starting to use a fork. You can see the wheels turning in her head and she tries really hard to get the food on the fork and then to her mouth. I usually help her with getting the food on the fork, and then it usually falls off the fork as she is putting it in her mouth. She even will pick up the food and put it ON the fork. Too cute! I love that she is starting to show interest. She still loves to eat and her favorite foods really haven't changed! She still loves CHEESE, Cottage Cheese, fruit, pasta salad, etc. I was afraid she wasn't going to be a big meat eater but she has recently began to eat more meat. She seems to like ham and turkey (ok) and she even ate some salsa chicken (crockpot recipe=YUMMY!). She loves corn dogs, which I'm not a huge fan of her eating but unfortunately a lot of restaurants really don't offer the healthiest options for kiddos (and we wonder why our country is obese???). For example, tonight we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and we got the mini corndogs but before we fed her those we gave her some grapes, cottage cheese and raisins. At least that way she had some healthy items. =)

She has also started to put the rings on the stacking toy ring (what is that even called?). She can put them all on pretty well! Not necessarily in the correct order, but hey, pretty good job Ava!

She has this little monkey (looking) toy that I got at a garage sale (imagine that) that came with these cute little balls. Some are clear with little rattle-y things inside and you put them in the mouth of the monkey and he says 'yum yum yum' etc. She LOVES putting them in where they go! So fun.

She can shake her head yes and no. Pretty cute. And I'm pretty sure she is actually saying "no, no, no" though it sounds like "no-oy, no-oy..." It sounds more like an actual word and not just the "n" sound.

Overall, you can tell she is understanding more and more every day. When you say, "Ava, do you want to take a bath?" She will go over to her chair (which blocks the stairs...LOL) and wants to go upstairs.

If you ask her if she is hungry, she will go to the kitchen, etc.

She stillllllllllllllll loves doggies and birds are her second fave. She loves to sit in her high chair and watch out the window for birdies (I really should get a bird feeder, I guess) and she loves to listen for the neighbors ever-so-annoying barking dog! :)

Loving life! and DENYING that it is AUGUST!

14 months...ALMOST

July 2009 (above)

July 2010 (above)

(LOVE this outfit. The shirt I actually bought new, the shorts were hand-me-downs from cousin Ella, and the SHOES----garage sale! of course).



In just under a week, Ava will be 14 months old! (sniff sniff...)


But with each passing day, she is getting funnier and funnier and smarter and smarter. Here are some things she is doing nowadays.

• Blows on her food. She has seen me blow on food that is hot or my coffee so she has to blow on just about everything even if it's a cold grape. LOL! She also wants mommy and daddy to blow on it for her.




• She tries to point to her nose. When you ask her "Ava, where is your nose?" She points to her mouth, I think!




• She did pat her belly the other day when I asked her where her belly was.




• The other night in the bath, I said, "Ava, we need to brush your teeth." and she turned her head and pointed to where we keep her toothpaste! I was pretty amazed! =)




• She still is obsessed (as the new sitter would say, haha!) with puppies. If she even hears a dog (the neighbor's dog barks all.the.time it seems), she starts 'barking!'




• She will look at one of the pictures I have on a shelf in her room and point to it and go "awwwwww...bay..." (I can't remember if I've already written this in a previous post)




• I will stand her up on her changing table to pull up her pants typcially and I'll ask her "Ava, where is the butterfly (in the painting I did on the wall in her room) and she will point to it.




• She signs "All done" "drink" and attemps "please" She still isn't really doing them on her own but she will do it after we do it usually, with the exceptoin of "All done" which she will tell you when she is done eating---let me tell ya!




• She loves the water but still cries every.time we rinse her hair in the bath. Not sure what is up with that. She hates it. I usually just tilt her head back and get it over with. I think Travis tries to be more gentle about it. :) It barely even gets in her eyes so I don't honestly know what the big deal is.




• We have a gate up in the kitchen where the stairs lead to the back door/basement but we use her little Pottery Barn chair to block off the stairs to the upstairs. It has worked just fine (and still kind of does, I suppose) but she has figured out how to move it so she can go up the stairs, which she loves to do and can do without much problem. We are still working on going down.




• She has a million and one toys (barely exaggerating) and she still loves to play with the most random things: package of diapers, remotes, phones, my workout steps, kitchen utensils...you get the point.


• She stands on her head a lot. She just decided to do that on her own. Pretty funny.

{Peek-a-boo!}

• She still LOVES music. She will bop her head in the car or anytime she hears music or (heaven forbid---I sing!)
• She is getting more into TV shows. I don't really have it on for her much but there have been a few times if she is bored or cranky, I'll turn on the ON DEMAND...soooo helpful! or her Baby Einstein DVDs.
• She still doesn't really clap correctly. When you try to put her hands together to help her, she stiffens up (???). It started out as kind of a rolling motion and now she will clap one hand on top of the other one (cracks me up!) but the other half of the time she will get it right.
• Still says "Hiiiiiiiii" to just about anyone and everyone when we are out and about.
• Seems to say "What's that..." That is what it sounds like anyway!
• She loves when I whip my ponytail around. She will just giggle and giggle.
• Is ticklish just about everywhere!

Well, that's all for now. Remember this is mostly for my purposes, but hopefully you enjoyed. :)

June 2010

Wow, what a great month it has been! I really can't believe June is winding down. Ava has adjusted to mommy being home - well, a little too much, I think! She has definitely grown a little attached. Not saying I MIND, however, it will definitely make going back to work more difficult.



So far this month, we've stayed busy doing lots of outdoor activities. Ava LOVES being outside and playing in/with the water. I got a pool pass and we have been going to the pool a lot, as well as the sprinkler parks for playdates, etc. We attended a babytime class at the Children's Discovery Museum with friend Laura and her daughter, Izzy. Travis and I met Laura and her husband Dave at our Childbirth class and didn't exchange numbers or anything but always kind of laughed at the same things and felt like each other would be fun to hang out with. The day I was to leave the hospital, Travis was walking down the hospital hall and ran into Laura and Dave!! She was there, too, but having Izzy about 5 weeks early. We exchanged numbers and have been keeping in touch. It's been fun to have someone to hang out with that also has a 1 year old and Travis and Dave get along well, too! We also went to the Fun Run last Friday. Ava had fun and I got workout, too, since I had to carry her a LOT of the way. =)



Ava and I are heading back on Wednesday for my hometown's fair. It is tradition to meet up with my sis and my BFF Anne to go to the Queen Pageant, but mostly gossip about all of the people we used to go to high school with, etc. hehe!

Other happenings with Miss Ava:

• Walking, walking, walking. She is starting to stand up on her own without something to help her up (couch, etc.)
• Chatterbox: still says 'pup-pup,' starting to say 'bay' for baby. She will point at her baby pictures around the house and say 'oooooohhhhh bay.' And it is SO CUTE!
• She loves all of her stuffed animals and will cuddle with them
• Great eater! She loves all fruits, pasta salad, bread, yogurt, and will even eat her veggies most of the time. CHEESE is still her fave. She will find it on her tray and eat it first. She loves hamburger with ketchup ut isn't a fan of other meats so far.
• No problems getting rid of the bottle...BiNKY: that will be a different story.
• Still says HIIIIIIIII to kids and babies especially when we are out and about but is a little social butterfly to everyone.
• Such a little smarty: tries to talk on the phone (well and remotes, too...LOL), tries to put her headbands on, tries to put mommy and daddy's shoes on (well, daddy's are skis!)
• Such a sweetheart!

Life

Well, let's just say that life sometimes throws you curve balls. Summer didn't quite start out how I had hoped. We got a call from Travis' dad on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend that his grandma had passed away. She was home from Texas and staying at Travis' parents house. She came down to work her puzzle and had a stroke they think. She was a sweet lady and I'm so glad I was able to know her. She was able to come to Ava's birthday party, too, which could not have been more perfect. Lori got this 4 Generation picture and these other shots, which will be cherished forever!







We were gone from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend until Wednesday night at 10pm. YIKES! I then I had to get my house in order so I could ENJOY summer only to have Ava being a little out of sorts. There were a rough couple days when she just was not happy unless I as right there entertaining her. I couldn't even walk out of the room to throw a diaper away! I was starting to get discouraged, thinking "Oh no! Is this how my summer is going to be??" Well, I am happy to say that now she is back to her little happy old self. =) I think she was probably just needing her routine back, too. She is walking more and more and playing and getting into everything! She is also talking a LOT (though I'm not quite sure what language!). She is even playing right now as I'm typing this! Ahhhhhhh...A great feeling! She IS, however, going to be a momma's girl before summer is over, I'm afraid!

So, even when things don't always go your way, keep trucking and it will get better!!!

PASTING?

Well, I can't figure out how to PASTE (fellow bloggers...can you???). So if you are interested in what's new with Ava, check out her Shutterfly site. Let me know if you need the address and let me know if you know how to allow blogger to paste.

Peoria Zoo!

Megan and I went to the Peoria Zoo today with Reddington and Ava. It was absolutely the perfect day! Megan and I had great conversation. Well, we tried but Ava apparently had lots to say too! I guess she is going through a phase (not wanting to be in the car!). You start to think something is wrong but when we pulled into the driveway and I turned back and looked at her, she says "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Little stinker! Of course it was fun, none-the-less and otherwise, she was a good girl!

Megan is my cousin Nathan's wife and we hit it off right away. Gosh, how many years ago has it been now? (7ish!?) She is a teacher as well, and with Redd and Ava being so close in age, it's great! Thanks for a fun day and always being such a good listener when I have so many things on my mind. =)

Ava and Reddington loved all of the animals and pointed at them when they saw them! I swear Ava thinks everything is a puppy. Either that or she was really excited and made her little 'wooo wooo' sound when she saw something she liked.

Checking out the lions!

wooooo wooooo!

Hi there nice lions!

Ok, so I don't think I am digging my $1 garage sale glasses??? I look like a bug!?

I HEART Giraffes!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Cow! I didn't know how long their tongues are!!!!!!!! Did you?

Reddington loved the llama!

Ava was pooped! =)

The End