Dr. Suess PJs

Daddy thinks Ava looks like Cindy Lou in these PJs. We tried out pigtails but Ava's hair isn't quite thick enough for them to stay. They fell out as soon as Ava went down for a nap, or non-nap since Ava was anti-nap today.

Books, Books, and more Books

Ava will sit and flip through her books all by herself for at least 30 minutes! Although she always likes it when we sit with her and read.

Camera obsessed

It has gotten more difficult to take pictures recently because Ava wants to play with the camera. Tried to take a few shots on the sly today but Ava quickly came charging.

New sippy cups

Mommy has been on the search for a sippy cups Ava will hold by herself. She really likes the nuk trainer cups but uses them more like a bottle than a sippy cup. She also drinks well out of the Advent cup but the spout is flat on the top of the cup so she needs to tip the cup very far back to drink which makes it difficult for her to do it by herself. The born free sippy cup may be the answer. She still has no interest in the straw cup but we will keep working on it.

Kisses and Hugs

Not only does Ava now blow kisses but she kisses and hugs are stuffed animals including Mickey and Teddy :) While hugging them she rocks back and forth just like Mommy and Daddy rock Ava. Today tooth number 3 finally pooped through, soon she'll have 2 on the top and one on the bottom.

New skills

Ava has been picking things up very quickly lately. She has been waving hi and bye consistently for a while but recently she has become obsessed with it. We were driving to Nadia's this morning after dropping Daddy off at work Ava and Ava waved to everyone stopped beside us at the red light, hilarious...of course they waved back because she it too cute not to. She also is now consistently blowing kisses. This may be my favorite!

Ava's playdate with cousin Kayden

Today Mommy had a chiropractor appointment in the morning so Ava got to spend all morning playing with Daddy. They had a blast and Ava was fast asleep for her morning nap when Mommy returned home.

Then we had a very exciting afternoon because Grandma, Aunt Danielle and cousin Kayden, Aunt Alexandra, and Uncle Shannon all came to play. We had lunch and head to the pool for a quick dip. We didn't spent too much time there because it was VERY HOT out today.




Ava is having maor and more fun each time we take her to the pool. She will walk right out into the water holding your hands and she loves to play with the fountain.



We came back to the townhouse and put dry clothes on before headed to Ikea to look for couches for in Danielle's basement. We checked out their great kids section while we were there and decided it was time to eat when Ava made her "Feed me now"-face :) Kayden thought she was funny!





Kayden successfully had mashed potatoes for the first time while Ava chowed down on swedish meatballs, mac&cheese, broccoli and carrots, YUM! We then headed home to show Daddy the fun things we got and get a quick bath before bed.

What a great day! Thanks everyone for coming to visit :)

New background

We liked the old background but Aunt Danielle complained she couldn't read it on her blackberry. Hopefully we are now blackberry compatible! Can't wait to see Aunt Danielle and cousin Kayden tomorrow!

Hanging out with Chris and Angela

Ava was excited to see Uncle Chris and Angela were still here when she woke up this morning. Angela still wasn't feeling to hot from dinner the night before but she took a nap while Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Chris, and Ava did some shopping and had lunch. By the time we got back she was feeling a little better. Ava took a nap and woke up just in time to play a little before Uncle Chris and Angela headed to National's stadium for the DMB concert. We hope they come back to visit us again despite the food poisoning!

After they left Mommy and Ava made a quick stop at Mommy's work to check on a few things and they headed to Buy Buy Baby to get locks for the cabinet in the kitchen. Ava has gotten way too good at opening them so its time to lock'em up!

Parent's night out

Uncle Chris and Angela came to visit us for the night. They had lots of fun playing with Ava before she went to bed promptly at 6:45 :) Wenny, Mommy's friend from work came to stay with Ava while Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Chris and Angela went to dinner at Canyon Creek. We had egg rolls and a stuffed poblano as appetizers. Chris thought they were the best egg rolls he had ever had. Mommy and Angela share a bottle of Pinot Noir, yum! For dinner Chris and Daddy had ribs and rotisserie chicken, Angela had rotisserie chicken and Mommy had a steak salad. Angela's chicken thigh didn't seem to be quite done despite multiple protests from of waitress and our suspicion came true when Angela's tummy wasn't feeling good for the rest of the night! We feel horrible because this is one of our favorite restaurants and wanted to share it with friends!

We came home and Wenny was happy to tell us she didn't hear a peep from Ava and Rusty cuddled with her on the couch. Thanks Wenny for helping us have a night out!

Empty :)

Ava new trick is to empty...the tupperware cabinet, the toy box, the book shelf, her tray of food...anything she can empty she will. She empties with gusto, throwing the plastic containers of her shoulder so the cover the whole kitchen floor. Creates quite a mess but lots of fun as well.

Growing Up

Our little girl has gone through a growth spurt recently. Her 9 month pants are starting to look like waders :)

Ava has also started fighting to get in her carseat so we decided it was time to upgrade! Earl's Aunt Evelyn got us our convertible carseat as a gift for my baby shower so we were excited to finally put it into use. Ava was was excited and hasn't fought to get in the carseat since!

Testing it out :)


Ava's first ride!

Teapot

Mommy's Aunt Cathy got Ava the Fisher Price teapot for Christmas and Ava has fallen in love with it. She opens and closes the lid and pretends to drink tea from the cups and eats the cakes!

Feri's

Daddy loved it! Feri's center is a little farther from the house than Kidstop but still an excellent location. They have surround sound music, HEPA filtered air, great toys and outdoor space. They serve hot meals for lunch and the 4 women who staff the center are incredibly loving and of course are already in love with Ava. We wrote Feri a check on the spot for the deposit. We will miss Nadia but are happy to find a new spot for Ava to make new friends!

Kidstop

This morning Ava and Mommy spent an hour visiting the mobile toddler room at Kidstop. The best part of this daycare is it took literally 4 minutes from leaving the garage to walking in their front door. The 3:1 ratio was technically upheld but wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. At the end I found out we wouldn't be able to get a spot until end of September or October. Since we lost a spot here last year because a couple decided they weren't moving I hadn't been holding my breath. Plus since I had toured Feri's place on Friday and loved it I wasn't too sad. Tomorrow Mommy and Ava are taking Daddy to meet Feri. Hopefully he likes it!

Reflection in the mirror

One of our favorite times of day is the ride home from Nadia's. Ava is in a generally in a great mood laughing and smiling. She peaks at us using the mirror on the back seat!

Cow's milk

Ava has been exclusively breastfed for 11 months. However, Mommy's supply is starting to dip so we decided it was time to start the transition to cow's milk. Ava took to it right away. No problem going down and no problem with digestion! Also, tooth number 2 has poked through. Hopefully they all come in fast!

Delanie's First Birthday

Today Ava went to her first birthday party, for Delanie. Delanie is Earl's cousin Adam's daughter. Ava had a great time playing with Delanie and all the other kids at the party. She really enjoyed the cupcakes. I think Daddy even slipped her a chocolate chip cookie and a piece of Dorito.
After a long day we stopped at Canyon Creek for dinner on the way home. Ava sat in a booster seat instead of a highchair for the first time. She did really well. It was the perfect height. We stopped for a picture with the train on the way to the car. It was a long day and Ava was definitely ready for bed!

Our babies have switched places :)

Well yesterday we found out that Nadia will be traveling to India for 6 months at the end of August so we need to find a new daycare :( We are sad but also excited that Yusef finally get to meet his fmaily in India :) Today after work we visited our first daycare, a complete bust! We will keep trying and hopefully find a place Ava loves!


Ava sat in Rusty's bed and Rusty watched from a distance sitting by Ava's toys :)

Ava also played hind-n-seek around the dining room chairs. She thinks this is hilarious and is so proud of herself as she bolts away from us chasing her :)

An afternoon at the Zoo!

It has been about a month since our first trip to the zoo so beautiful weather and a free weekend meant it was time to go again. After Ava's morning nap we headed out. We got a terrific parking spot one block from the zoo right off Conn. Ave, perfect start! We first saw the cheetah, they had just feed him a rabbit so he was close to the fence right where Ava could see him, very exciting. She was much more interactive on this trip - pointing at the animals and yelling hi :) We then saw the zebras but only from a distance. The elephants however were even closer to the fence than the cheetah had been. We then made our way to the small animal house where of course the meerkats were our animal of choice. Then it was time to see the apes. One came right up and sat by the glass right in front of us. We headed to get some lunch and then home for nap. Such a great afternoon. Ava is so fun :)

Such a beautiful day!

It has been so hot and sticky that we have spent a lot of time inside lately but the last 2 days have been beautiful. Since it is supposed to get hot again on Sunday we decided to not waste the great weather and headed to Canyon Creek to sit on the patio and have dinner. As usual Ava was the belle of the ball cracking all the waiters up as they walked by.