Happy 3rd Birthday Princess Ava!

Ava the Ballerina (thanks for my dress up clothes Meme!)
Thanks fo my teeter totter Gigi and Papi!

Birthday Girl is ready for summer camp
She got to hold the flag in Chapel, it was a big deal :)

15 weeks



Daddy's happy little girl (Thanks Auntie Sara for my cutie head band)



Tummy Time with Minnie

I don't need no stinkin swaddle



Party in my swing!



Sister Ava strikes again

Too little for juice boxes

In the mornings when Ava wakes up we lay in my bed and watch cartoons and talk. This morning Ava was talking to Brynn and asked her if she wanted a juice box or a milky, but then promptly told her that she was too little for juice boxes and couldn't have them until she was big.

Ava's last week as a 2 year old

Looking back at just earlier this year, I can't believe how much my baby has grown into a little girl.  No longer a toddler but more of a preschooler.  She dropped the baby fat and doesn't even look like a baby anymore :(  I get so sad at how fast it goes, but at the same time we love watching her blossom.   She has grown so much in height that she looks like a little bean pole now.  Our neighbors often comment on how tiny she is and we tell them that we have her on a diet.  (just a joke people!)

One night we told them we were going to go in and eat dinner and Steve pointed to Ava and said "oh but not her, just lettuce for her.  Maybe a carrot if she's lucky"  LOL!

Tonight Steve put Ava to bed and shortly after she came out with a scowl on her face and scolded Steve "Daddy!?  Why didn't you ask me if I needed to go potty?  You have to ask me if I need to go potty, okay daddy.  Don't forget next time daddy okaaaay." 

Ava's year as a 2 year old at a glance:

• She learned her name was Ava and not Eeya
• learned to put her shoe's on and dress herself
• became a daddy's girl
• Spent most of the year referring to herself in the 3rd person
• became potty trained!
• Moved from her downstairs room to upstairs
• went from a crib to a big girl toddler bed
• went from being rocked to sleep for naps and bedtime to being put in bed and saying night night
• discovered her obsession with pediasure
• shake that booty, shake that booty, shake what your mama gave ya-loves to dance!
• Pretend play
• ABC's, numbers, colors, shapes
• learned to ride a tricycle
• Started gymnastics
• Grasps the concept of time- tells us that it's time for her nap (when it actually is!)
• Discovered she loathes messes and being dirty. 
• discovered her love of puzzles and cooking
• Only got sick one time during Christmas with a stomach bug
• Got her 2 year molars
• Mastered the temper tantrum
• Learned the word "why"
• Lost interest in Elmo and became more interested in Princesses, Minnie & Mickey Mouse, Clifford, curious george, and Dora the Explorer.
• Became a BIG SISTER!!!

1 year ago



Today- can you say Cindy Brady??



1 year ago: Still in her crib and still loving Elmo

Another comparison

 



Ava

Brynn

13-14 weeks

My little dumpling now has major stranger danger....sigh....
Anytime someone other than Steve or I try and hold her that little bottom lip sticks out and she breaks into a tears.  Who says babies don't have tears??   It breaks my heart because this child rarely cries, but she gets really upset when someone else holds her now.  It's worse when she's really tired.  I'm beginning to get really scared for the day I return to work.  I hate the thought of her having one or more distraught days. 

She is able to grab toys and everything goes straight into her mouth.  It's so cute to watch her little face when she's trying to get her hands to do what her brain wants them to.  You can see her little brain just going as she's trying to grab stuff. 

She is talking and talking, smiling and chuckling.  Music to my ears.

She watches us intently while we're eating so I'm sure when we start rice cereal she'll be gobbling it down.  No surprise to any of us I'm sure...haha!

She's still trying to roll her little tootsie roll all the way over from back to tummy and usually gets stuck on her side.  Ava get's frustrated and starts pulling on her onesie to get her all the way over.  Also I put toys there for her so she can be coaxed to practice and Ava takes them for herself.  I can already tell this sharing business is going to be a real pain in the hiney. 
By the way.. what is it with toddlers wanting to do the indian rain dance and gymnastics routines within inches of their baby siblings?  They have an entire room to take their little wobbly not completely stable bodies and try all their new tricks, but no that's not fun.  They must do it where they have the possibility of causing serious bodily injury to their loving sibling....sigh again. 

Sweet moment:  waking up yesterday morning and Ava had just woken up and came in my room.  Brynn was just waking up and Ava hopped into bed and said "look Brynn, your big sister is here, are you so happy?"

In other news we are all just patiently waiting the arrival of our newest baby cousin Cole.  Courtney is ready to pop any day now!!

My little blessings

Typical day at home with my girls

I fold laundry and Ava's having a picnic with her dolls and her baby sister while watching Gnomeo & Juliet AGAIN!



Helping mommy make dinner



Living the good life

Updating her facebook while watching Gnomeo & Juliet

Hey Y'all, I'm 3 months old!

Holla!

Yep yep my baby girl is already trying to roll over.  Caught her on her side fussing and trying her darndest to roll all the way over.  She's also grabbing toys and bringing them to her mouth.  She's a damn genius...yeah I said it.

<---Genius

Here's something you rarely see...a picture of me (the mother) with my child.  Is it sad that I had to take it myself?

I guess Steve felt sorry for me because when he saw me taking my own pictures with our giant camera, he offered to take a picture of me and Brynn.  Enjoy it because it's probably the last one you'll ever see (darling husband just isn't as sentimental as I am.  He doesn't feel the need to obsessively document every time one of our child passes gas like I do).

Yay Blog!

Steve and I have spent some of our evening going back in the blog and reading some of our old posts about Ava.  We were laughing at all of her little antics and so thankful that we decided to start and keep up with this blog!!  I can't tell you how many times since Brynn has been born that I've gone back to Ava's age to see if they are doing the same things, or when Ava did what.  It's crazy how fast you can forget the little things that they said or did.  It's hard to remember a time when Ava didn't talk!  It makes us want to go and break out all of the video's we took of her :)