Ava & Mila

Our little Ava is now 49 weeks old and looks pretty good for having a fever of 102.4 last night. Oh great… these smiling pictures are going to get me trouble at work. She was sick during my sick day, i promise.

Here is Ava at the beginning of the week… feeling fantastic.

On Saturday, Ava helped celebrate Grace’s 2nd birthday by playing with Grace’s doll house. For some reason, I thought she was a bit too young to play with a doll house but I guess I was wrong. This thing kept her attention for most of the party.

And when all the kids helped Grace open presents, Ava sat with her back to them and played with a slinky. Don’t worry, she got into ripping open presents on Christmas.

Instead of dragging blankets around the house, Ava upgraded to a teddy bear this week.

Drag drag drag.

At her Nona and Dida’s house, there are these three ceramic dogs that sit on table. She loves them. She spends many free moments trying to get them into her hands. She loves it when someone makes them dance and say woof woof woof.

Since Rudy’s dog bed was not around, Ava decided that this little green pillow was a suitable substitute.

But if she laid down on it too quickly, she would bounce right off of it and land on the carpet instead.

Ava also got into lounging this week. She would lay down on the carpet, kick up her legs and take a break from all the running.

Sometimes she imitated Yoda and took breaks under the dining table.

Ava got to spend some time with her cousin Nathan again. Here they are chatting about all the presents under the tree.

Ava did pretty well ignoring the Christmas tree and ornaments but she couldn’t take her eyes off of this banner. She kept grabbing the bell at the end and walking away with it until it fell of its hook.

Ava ate a lot for Christmas Eve. She began her first course of peas and yams all alone…

…and ended with swordfish with the rest of the family.

Here we are just before all the wrapping paper got shredded on Christmas Eve.

Ava took a liking to this cute little present from Carrie. It was her very first present, a little quail finger puppet. Her reaction to it was priceless. Dan will have to post the video clip very soon.

She loved this talking book from her Nona Dinka… and it looks like Dan liked playing with his new Hungry Hungry Chicken game too.

Someone is ready for more presents.

She was frighten by one of her gifts… a glow worm. Here she is running away from it. Save me Uncle David.

When Ava woke up Christmas morning, she found this cool little bike in her stocking from good ol’ Santa.

And when she opened her gift from us, Ava practically stuft her whole head into the present to get a better look.

Clap. Clap. Clap. My first pink car.

Yeah!!!!!!!

Then on Christmas, Ava spent some time playing with her Nona Vinka…

… and looking for more presents with Nathan.

Alright, soccer practice just ended. Time for our karate lessons.

Hi-yah!

Our little Ava is 48 weeks old!

Ava spent a lot of time this week staring with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

She was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to pull the Rudy ornament off of the tree.We luckily caught her in just in time… so no ‘baby stuck under the tree’ pictures for everyone this week.

The battle between Yoda and Ava continues. At first, Ava thought the cat toy was silly and laughed as soon as she saw Yoda jumping for it.

But this week, she joined in the swatting fun.

We just purchased a toddler car seat that came in this great box. As soon as it was empty, it was a race between them on who was going to occupy the space first.

And as always, Yoda shot laser beams that caused Ava to giggle.

But then in the evening around 7:30pm, just before we say good night, Ava sits on my lap to drink her final bottle of the day… and Yoda waits under her crib for the perfect oppurtunity to jump up and snuggle with us. This routine happens every night. Yoda will stay her distance from Ava during the day in fear of being touched by her menacing fingers… but at night, she purrs and purrs as Ava massages her with gentle and not so gentle pats.

Remember the good old days of crazy hair? Well, they sometimes creep back after a good nap….

…and sometimes on purpose after a good bath.

Basket rides are still a big hit in the household especially since Ava has a thing for laundry.

As soon as she sees a blanket or clean laundry, it is guaranteed to go over her face as she prepares for…

…PEEK…

…A…

…BOO!

Ava also instigates this game at school with her friends. But now that she is the oldest in her class, she sometimes plays alone in the corner alone since she is the only mobile one. Also at daycare this week, Ava has been crying every morning. She will follow us to the door as we are leaving and as the door closes, she sits on the floor and cries. So sad. So next week, we are going to transition her to the toddler classroom where she will be with her old friends Max and Ava R. She spent a few hours this week at the new classroom and loved it. There is so much more activity there and more outside time too. She had so much fun that when she returned to the infant room, Ava started crying. So, it sounds like next week’s transition should go pretty smoothly.

Ava still has her recent obsession with her binky. We try to hide it from her in the house and use it only during car emergencies but every once in awhile she outsmarts us…

…and brags to her friends about it.

The pointing continues.

She even points to a picture of herself painting with her eyes closed during her skinner days.

Babbling also continues.

And saying mama has returned this week.

Check out Ava’s Christmas gift to us. Thanks for the glittery handprint Ava!

Did you hear that? Merry Christmas!!

I’ve had a weird week. It all started with these stickers… for something called Christmas.

And then we put socks over the fireplace instead of on our feet.

These lights sure are cool.

Especially when my dada hung them on our porch.

Later that week, we drove around the block to the ‘forest’ to bring a tree home. It sure was hard to balance on these wood chips.

Ohoh. Can someone please pass me the toilet paper?

When I woke up from my nap, there were lights and animals and angels on our tree. Look!

Hmmm. What’s this?

Hi Rudy. I love you.

And at daycare, we also had a tree with ornaments on them.

Check mine out. It’s the blue one.

Christmas time is not all fun and games. There is nothing jolly about Santa.

Bah-humbug.

Ahhh. He found me at Pick Up Stix. I’m so outta here.

Our quickly growing Ava is now 11 months old… and just got her 7th tooth. (bottom second on left)

At 1:34pm, just as she was turning exactly 11 months old, Ava was fast asleep in her crib…. face down with her knees bent and her behind facing the ceiling.

At daycare, Ava walks all by herself from the infant room to the front door of the building. It sometimes takes a neck crack or two for the long journey.

Along the way, Ava will sometimes do the chicken dance.

And on a really good day, she will bust out a rhyme or two… Yo yo yo, Ava raps.

This past weekend, we had plans to got to Big Bear for a little relaxation… but our plans changed last minute because Storm 3000 hit our local mountains. Visibility was poor, chains were required and our car was yelling at us because the outside temperature was dropping below 32 degrees. Agreeing that Ava’s safety is our number one priority, we headed to the desert.

At first, Ava was a little mad because she wasn’t going to be able to wear her new snow pants. She was so mad that she channeled Chuck Norris. She even told us that there is no chin under Chuck Norris’ Beard. There is only another fist.

But her attitude quickly changed when we got to the hotel and they told us that they have free happy hour. Free happy hour? Yes, free happy hour. And they had free breakfast which included a short order cook.

So if you are ever stuck on a scary mountain and have to head to the land of nutcrackers, look up the Embassy Suites in Palm Springs… the have free happy hour. Did I already say that?

While enjoying our stay, Ava and Grace turned their dresses into dresses with built-in hats…

…played peek-a-boo at the window with Dan…

…sang ring-around-the-rosy with scary gold kid statues…

and shopped until they dropped… gently into their strollers.

Ava loved running around while we shopped.

Run run run.

All this running made the grown-ups tired. Hey guys, come run with me!?!

Eating out with Ava got a bit easier this week with these disposable Dora the Explorer place mats. Dan and I have no idea who Dora is… Nicole was kind enough to fill us in that she has a magic map to guide her on her travels… I hope Ava remembered the other part of the story.

This week, Ava played cards with her talking puppy friend. But when their strip poker match went a little too far, Ava said game over to her talking puppy and decided 52 card pick was a much better game. Hello Kitty was too embarrassed to watch. Don’t worry, we got an excellent poker tutor for Ava. Classes start next week.

Ava is pointing crazy this week. She points to everything and says ‘da?’. Here she is pointing while we were standing in line to meet Santa for the first time. We will be posting her Santa picture in the near future. You are just going to have to wait.

And if you say ‘ring ring ring. hello?’ to Ava, she responds by putting her play phone to her ear. I wonder who is in her top five?

Here we are enjoying a walk in the afternoon.

She loves it when I point out objects. Cats, cars, trees.

But I don’t love it when she wants to let go of my hand and walk independently. Stop growing so fast Ava.

Ava still loves to read books. She actually started trying to repeat words after we answer her ‘da?’ question. It started while we were reading her bath time book. She tried to say crab, star and alligator. I know you think I am making this up but I heard it. And if you saw the way Dan’s eyes bugged out of his head, you would really believe me. hehe.

Here she is listening to her dada read about hats.

So sweet.

Here she is about to slap her dada silly. Ava’s new thing is to slap our faces, like she does when she splashes in the bathtub. Ouchie.

Silly Ava.

Our little Ava is 46 weeks old and loves her Patka (duck) book.

Look who made her first birthday card for her Mama! Those crayon markings truly showcase her artist side.

Ava had a chance to help open presents with Grace. Well, Ava did a lot of staring, but Grace was a seasoned pro.

The three of us enjoyed a sushi dinner after the gift tissue explosion. Not sure if she was more mesmerized by the candle flame or the green tea ice cream.

At dinner, she started to reach the ‘putting things into containers’ milestone. I’m hoping by next week she will be able to help me clean the house with this new found ability. Can’t wait.

Putting keys on her head is just as fun as putting them in containers.

If the front door is open even for a second, Ava wants out.

When I do take her to the front lawn, she refuses to walk on the grass. Ava now wants to crawl on it. A big change from not wanting to touch the grass just weeks before when it forced her to take her first steps. Maybe she thinks she will find her rocks hidden between the blades.

When not looking for rocks outside, she likes to hunt for socks in the house still.

Ava now likes to carry a blankie around the house. She ends up tripping over it most of the time.

So we made a questionably safer game with the blanket…. Blankie Rides….Weeeeee!!

Ava loves to run to our bedroom and lie her head on Rudy’s head. She usually waits for us to see her before her head hits the pillow. She thinks its hilarious. If you say ‘ahhhh’ to her and motion your head sideways, she will also lay her head on random things around the house. Like plastic bins…

…and Olie…

…and her rocking chair. Hmmm, I think we need to get out of the house more.

One of the suggested games for this week from her baby book is to put articles of clothing on the wrong part of her body to make her laugh. No laughing here. Little Aunt Jemima did not laugh one bit.

Nice try.

Jeremy was kind enough to make the trip with Dan to pick up our new trailer. Ava rewarded him by taking a big dump in his new car, which ended up all over her back. Hopefully the new car smell has over powered the baby on solid food smell.

The workers at daycare really like Ava and I think she likes them too. She giggles and laughs with them often.

At daycare, I told Ava about the toy give away bin. She thought I was nuts.

While we were out shopping for camping supplies, I swung by the toy department and Ava’s finger did a lot of pointing.

I want this one for Christmas. No not that one. The one with the lead paint. I can’t wait.

Someone get a step stool.

So close.

I spent the weekend at El Capitan State Beach.

Where I found the best rock ever.

Oh wait. Or was this the best rock ever?

Nevermind. I like them both.

I also had fun sitting on the grass near the beach…

…picking up rocks.

But to tell you the truth, I also liked trying to pick up sand. This is my first sand drawing.

I even sang a song about rocks.

I guess I should mention something about camping. Here I am with my new Tab Trailer.

We took it out for our first camping trip as soon as my Dada brought it home. We threw a bunch of stuff in for a trial run up at El Capitan State Beach, just a few miles north of Santa Barbara… pretty close to where my Mama and Dada got married.

We had an awesome view from our campsite. Yes, I said awesome.

We went for a lot of walks and practiced walking up these wooden stairs.

Why am I standing alone in the dark? With those laser beam eyes hiding in the bushes!?!

Oh yeah. I was posing with my new rain jacket.

And check out my new jeans. I’m not sure why I am wearing size 18-24months now even though I am only 10 months old. That’s strange. Where did this belly come from?

No camp trip would be complete unless there was beer involved.

Why am I clapping? Because the cops didn’t arrest my parents for the previous picture. Clap clap clap.

Here I am being artsy. I guess Mama and Dada didn’t get the memo.

And here I am being silly.

And here I am birding. Those little shore birds sure run fast.

There a down side to camping. Hats.

I spent a lot of time trying to take mine off.

If I didn’t try to take it off, it would get dark all of a sudden and someone would start giggling. That someone was not me.

Enough chatting. Let’s go look for some more rocks.