Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yesterday was Rafael's birthday! He had a very relaxing day! He got to sleep in. When he woke up, he came downstairs and picked up Ava and she gave him a big kiss!! He opened his birthday presents (with Ava's help). He got a pair of jeans, a shirt, a new belt and some modeling clay! He has been wanting to make Ava some little sculptors. He is SO talented with that stuff!

I am in love with my husband! He is absolutely perfect in every single way. I would not change a single thing about him. He makes me so happy! He is so easy going... I talk to him about everything and he really listens to me. He is full of advice and understanding for everything I am going through. He lifts me up whenever I am down. His smile and laugh are completely infectious and an instant mood lift for me. I have so much trust in him. He has never let me down, and when he tells me everything will be ok, I believe him. He is a perfect father to Ava. He loves her so much. He would walk to the end of the universe for either one of us. He offered to work 2 full time jobs... day and night so I could stay home with Ava. I would never, ever accept that offer, but I can't believe he would be willing to give up so much for me. He is an incredible man and I will be forever thankful to God for allowing me meet someone so incredible!!

Ok, now that I am crying.... I will finish my blog post. :)

I decided to make Ava some homemade Plato of her own yesterday. She played with it (threw it and watched Mommy pick it back up) for about 2 minutes and then got bored. We will try again when she gets a little older. :)

I made waffles for breakfast. After that we laid around a didn't do too much until last night. We went to Red Robin for dinner. Ava ordered her first menu item! (Well, I guess Mommy ordered it). She got a grilled cheese sandwich with mandarin oranges and some apple juice. She didn't even touch it! I think she was pretty distracted with all the noise, the crayons to color with, and all the fun stuff to grab on the table.

Ava is changing every single day! She makes us laugh so much! When she falls down or drops something she will look at us and say "OK". She doesn't even wait for us to ask her if she is ok. It is so funny. Her newest word is elephant. I don't think I realized how many elephants are all over the place! In books,tv,everything! She is always saying "elephant" and there is always one she sees when she says it! Yesterday at Red Robin there was a picture of an elephant from the back. You couldn't see his trunk or ears, just his rear and his tail. Ava was all excited and kept talking about the elephant! I have no idea how she could tell what it was from the back! Maybe the gray wrinkles?

She says "Eat" when it's time to eat. She says "Water" perfectly! She pronounces every letter!

She has a thing for shoes lately too. She calls them Joosh. A few weeks back we told Ava we were going bye bye to the park. She ran to the front door. Raf went into the restroom and I was grabbing the keys. When I walked to the front door she was standing there in Daddy's shoes. We laughed so hard! Daddy wears size 13, so they looked HUGE on her! She was ready to go! Whenever there are shoes laying around she will step into them and stand there very proud! :)

I love Ava's pronunciation on some of her words. It is so funny.

Shoes-Joosh

Puppy-Uppy (that's my favorite)

Milk-Goke (Like Goke with a G)

Bunny-Buh-ee

Juice-Jooch

Lion-Rawr

We picked up a thermometer and potty last night. The thermometer we have is one of those armpit thermometers. It is very inaccurate. I have no idea how we lasted this long with such a bad thermometer! The new one we got is one that goes in your ear and it takes the reading very quickly!

We haven't decided whether or not to start potty training Ava. I am thinking we are probably going to introduce the idea and see how she does. She has been telling us when she poops for months now. Just last week, she told me BEFORE she went! Wow!! She is so funny too... when she poops she will walk up to you and get really close and whisper "Pee pee". She will say it over and over again until you follow her to her room to change her. I love that she keeps it quiet and personal to let you know when she has gone.

Sorry if all this is too much information... my blog is my journal. :)









This picture cracks me up!! Ava puts our phones to her ear and just blabs away!! She is even using hand gestures to explain what she is babbling about! Where did she learn this? The funny part is... if there is someone on the other end talking, she wont even say a word!

Big girl seat!

Ava has a big girl seat now!!  She loves to kneel or sit on our chairs and doesn't like her highchair much any more.

She's been napping really weird this last week.  When we put her to bed at night she spends forever just playing in her crib before she falls asleep!  It makes me feel so bad that she is in there playing all by herself for so long!  She usually takes two naps a day, but we decided to just try one.  Since we went down to one nap, she has fallen asleep almost instantly at night.  It seems to be working. However, when Raf has picked me up from work the last few nights, Ava has fallen fast asleep in the car. When I carry her inside I just have to let her sleep on me for a little bit!  It feels so good!!  Ava never just sleeps while you hold her, so it has been a treat to get the snuggles!

We moved our piano inside from the garage!!  I have been wanting it inside for a long time, but we couldn't figure out where to put it.  We finally decided on a spot.  Ava has really been enjoying it!  I am hoping she will get bored of it so I can play it.  Every time I sit down she wants to come help Mommy play a song.

Heidi's celebration!

Heidi's celebration/memorial was today in Seattle. It was so fun to see everyone! Most of the people I have not seen since high school! There was a slide show of Heidi's life. It was very emotional for everyone. I will miss her so much. We took some silly pictures in memory of Heidi.... :)

Bunny

Ava loves her bunny!! She started this attachment about a month ago. It is the cutest thing…. When we get her up in the morning or up from her naps, she always brings her bunny with her. When her nap time comes we ask her if she wants to go “nigh nigh” and she will go find her bunny and run to her bedroom! She definitely doesn’t fight naptime… I hope that will last! Sometimes when she gets tired, she even asks for it! I think it is so cute that she loves her bunny so much. She carries it all over the place and smothers it with kisses! It already has a tiny hole in it that I need to stitch up!

Ava started saying “Oh no!” a few days ago. It is so funny! She sounds genuinely concerned when she says it too! It is hilarious!

She also has been a great little helper lately. When I unload the dishwasher she grabs the utensils one at a time and hands them to me to put away. She is such a little angel!






Helping Mommy! I want to get Ava a toy laptop. She loves mine! Usually when I get on the computer, I will put her on the bar stool next to me and she will just watch me. Daddy gave her an old mouse to play with too!

Charlie's Safari!

We took Ava to Charlie's Safari today! It is kinda like chucky cheese. She had SO much fun! She wasn't too sure about the bouncy houses at first. She just sat down and didn't move. Once the other kids came inside and started jumping around, she realized what to do. We had such a great time! Ava was enjoying herself so much! She spent most of the time laughing... it was great! The more little kids jumping, the more fun it seemed she had. We stayed for a couple hours. When we left, she fell asleep in the car almost instantly! Took a lot of pictures!!













Milk break!

Day off!

We had a day off together today! Comcast is recognizing MLK day today instead of tomorrow. It was nice to have a day to spend together! We didn't do much, but that is what made it nice. We headed over to the park for a bit this afternoon.

Update!

Wow! Lot's of updates!
Ava has been making lots of fun changes these last few weeks. I am so proud of my girl! She can eat with a fork now. Sometimes she needs a little help stabbing the food, but for the most part she has it down! She has been saying just about every word you can say, and even a phrase! Her little brain amazes me. We only have to tell her what something is a couple times, and then when you ask her what it is, she will tell you! She also says "Uh oh, are you ok"? The "are you" part is usually a little babbled, but the "uh oh, (babble) ok" part is down pat!
She has all 4 top teeth coming in now too. I noticed this morning that the other front tooth had broken through. I can't believe how well she is dealing with it. She hasn't really been fussy. She is just a little extra clingy, which is ok. :) I love the cuddles!
We started watching my neighbors little baby a few days a week. The first several day's were a real challenge for us. Ava didn't quite understand that you have to be careful with a little baby. She was trying to share her toys with him and tossing them toward him. I think we have worked through that. Today she is doing MUCH better! She likes to rub his soft head, and she is very gentle about it. Today Aidan was in the swing and Ava brought over her bunny and sat it on him. It was so cute!! She is pretty attached to her bunny lately, so I thought it was very sweet of her. I have forgotten how much work a newborn is! Aidan is a very good little boy, but juggling holding him most of the day and a teething toddler has been a challenge! Rafael watches Aidan on Monday's, and I on Wednesday's.
Here are a few pic's from the last week or so.