Countdown to...

...the big day! Ava is almost 1!!

We are getting close to the big day! Ava Joy is almost one and is changing everyday.  She is getting so independent and boy is she ever busy.  I have never met a lil' one who is on the move every waking moment of the day. We wouldn't have it any other way though. 

Here are a few of Ava's new tricks:

• Books, they are the only thing that slows her down for a few minutes, she even "reads" them the right way and loves turning the pages
• Throwing things and chasing after them
• Learning to stand
• Climbing on everything, i.e, fireplace, dishwasher, couch, etc.
• Chapstick, thanks to Aunti LiLi.
• Clapping 03.01.11
• Shaking her head no
• Pickles
• She took a step for her Big Pop at the beginning of the month
• Drinking with a straw 03.03.11
• Balloons

Some of her least favorite things:

• Having her diaper changed
• Not getting her way
• Being trapped in half of the house
• Getting dressed

We have already had a busy month so far. Mommy had her appendix out on Wednesday and it has been hard cause she can't hold Ava for 2 weeks. Daddy is busy taking 18 hours of school and Daddy is currently at Drill this weekend.  We will hopefully slow down during Spring Break as we are taking Ava to the beach for the first time. We are excited to just get away and enjoy some family time.  Soon after our trip, we will putting the finishing touches on Ava's 1st Birthday. 

Bubbles, teeth, and stairs...OH MY!!

Wow...where has the time gone??? Ava is 10 months old today.  It's so hard to believe that soon we will be planning a first birthday party!!  It makes Mommy so sad to see her baby grow up, yet it is so much fun to see her learning and growing everyday.  

One of Ava's favorite parts of the day is bath time.  She loves a bath...wonder where she gets it from?  Here are a few pictures of her first bubble bath. 

I know someone else who makes this face? 

Ava got her 4th tooth this week.  She now has 2 bottoms and 2 tops and boy are those think like razors!! She has taken to biting whatever she can, your pant leg, the remote, a shoelace, Momma...basically, you name it and she'll attempt to bite it! I am praying this is due to teething pain and not that she enjoys biting.  

If you look closely, you can see all 4 of them!

Another new trick Ava has learned is climbing the stairs.  Okay, so if you ask Dada, he'd say that Momma taught her. She absolutely loves to climb them and giggles with excitement if you pretend to chase her up the stairs.  She is so proud to do it by herself.  I have a feeling we are going to be hearing that a lot soon...she wants to do EVERYTHING by herself!!

In addition to loving bath time and climbing the stairs, some of Ava's other favorites at the moment are:

• feeding herself with a spoon
• getting all her toys out of her toybox
• climbing on the fireplace
• getting into things she knows she not supposed to be getting into, i.e. pantry, going through the baby gate, taking the remote or cell phones, etc.
• whatever we are eating, especially pizza
• watching herself on videos or looking at pictures of herself
• Sesame Street's Abby Cadaby
• Anything Elmo related
• she is learning to do puzzles
• shaking her head side to side to say NO!
• she likes to mimic faces or sounds that we make
• fake coughing

Her not so favorite things:

• cutting teeth
• sitting in her carseat
• being fed by someone, she wants to be big and do it by herself
• whole bananas

It has been such a busy month!! Mommy left for the first time EVER, it was a long 4 days away from her baby...her coworkers probably think she is crazy for crying so much at the convention.  Dada and Aunt LiLi held down the fort.  Aunt LiLi and Ava surpised Momma at the airport and it was such a thoughtful surprise.  Thank you Lin!!!  Dada's school semester also started so he has been busy taking 18 hours.  These last few days home due to the snow storm have been great to just take some time to slow down and enjoy being a family. 

9 Months!!

Today, I am sad to say that our baby girl is 9 months old! Where have these past months gone?  The better question is, how do I get them to slow down?  If anyone has the answer, please let me know!

This month has come and gone faster than any month this far. Ava had her first Christmas and New Year's celebration.  Dada was off from school almost all month and Mommy had almost 2 weeks of vacation that she used. It was so nice being home and getting to spend time with one another.

This month, we had family pictures taken. Last time we had some done was when Ava was 9 days old, I  guess we were overdue. We had a wonderful time, despite the terribly cold temperatures. I believe it was in the low 40s and boy was it windy!  We braved the cold and it was SO worth it. Our photographer, Ann Bennett, did an amazing job. She has a more hands off approach and just captured our normal quirks and the silly things we do with Ava on a regular basis. Here are a few of our favorite shots:

Here what's going on with our baby girl.

She likes:

• cell phones
• remote controls (yes, she knows difference between a toy and the real thing!)
• whole green beans
• computers
• Elmo
• orange juice
• bath time
• her Belle doll from Beauty & the Beast
• books
• staying in her jammies all day with Dada
• pulling on Lola
• Grandma Betty & Grandpa Al's cat, Lexi
• pulling ornaments of the Christmas tree
• shredding paper
• brushing her teeth
• cruising and walking along EVERYTHING
• the buzzers on Family Fued

Not her favs:

• changing clothes
• diaper changes
• cutting teeth
• being buckled into anything: car seat, stroller, shopping cat, etc.
• being made to do something she doesn't want to do...sounds familiar to someone, huh?

Our big girl now has 3 teeth, 2 bottoms and one top! She wears size 12-18 months mostly. She can also say, "ball." We go tomorrow for her 9 month checkup so I'm not sure of her stats. I'll post those later.

I wanted to give a SHOUT OUT to Ava's amazing Dada. Thank you for taking sure great care of her during the day. You are an amazing Daddy and we are so thankful and blessed to have you in our lives. WE LOVE YOU, DADA!! Your wife and Barnacle

Ava's first Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! This was Ava's first Christmas and it was a great one. We started the Christmas weekend off by going to the Christmas Eve service at church. Ava got to go into "big church."  She had on her Christmas dress (mad that I didn't take a picture of her) and beautiful extra large bow. We sat near the back, in case we needed a quick get away. We were on the end of the row and ended up being the welcome committee...every person that walked by commented on how prettyAva looked and then she had to smile at everyone. We had a nice time at church and then came back to our house for a slumber party with Nono, Big Pop, LiLi, and Unca Matt. We all woke up Christmas morning and opened presents...we all wore matching jammies which was so much fun.  Later that day, Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Whit came over too.  It was so nice spending the day with family.  Here are a few pictures from the day.

Ava's first gift to open, a walker/shopping cart (Thanks Aunt LiLi)

Her big gift, not sure if she likes it.

OOH, an Elmo remote.

Unca Matt's new shoes.

Electronic storybook from BP and Nono

Scarf from Aunt LiLi

Nono's hint to BP that it's time to shave the beard!!!!

Even Lollie got some gifts

Bet they are already gone...

Dada's new jacket from Mommy & Aviator

Pictures from Ava

LiLi's new coat, very much needed!!

Ava's favorite gift, a silver stick on bow

Momma's new coat from Dada & Ava

Love their matching jammies!

Ball pit from BP and Nono, her most used gift thus far

Give Thanks!!

 Mommy is a little late putting this up, in fact, since Mommy went back to work, there have been no blog posts. :(

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by our family. Big Pop, Nono, and all Mommy's siblings and Aunt Whit were here. Daddy's side of the family was here too, Grandma and Grandpa Vetter, Aunt RoRo, Uncle Eldwin, and all Ava's cousins.

Dada, Ava, & Momma on Ava's First Thanksgiving

Ava ate:  sweet potato, mashed potato, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and rolls. I believe some did manage to make it in her mouth!!

Someone looks like her Dada!!

Her favorite time of day...BATH TIME!!!!!

 Being silly with Aunt LiLi

Our BIG 8 month old:

You love:
Bath time, you splash and kick your arms and legs
Crawling all over the house, especially under tables
Cruising along the couch or around your Leapfrog Learning Table
Burritos
French fries with ketchup (thank you Big Pop!!)
Singing I'm a Little Teapot
GLEE
Key lime pie yogurt
Smacking your lips
Her "poon" (spoon)
Making the "buh" sound
Bread, waffles, buns, anything full of carbs
Vacuum cleaner and cord
Slapping her hand on everything

Dislikes:
When someone sings in a deep voice
Laying still to have her diaper changed
Dada spoils you during the day so sometimes you are a cranky-fuss when you don't get your way! (Dada says he doesn't spoil her during the day but Momma knows he does. He says, she is smart enough to know what she is doing and already working people.)
When someone changes their appearance, i.e. takes off glasses, hat, you get upset
Eating baby food

You are wearing size 12-18 month clothes, they are a little big but Mommy doesn't want to waste money on buying you winter clothes twice this year. You are in your first pre-walker shoes from Stride Rite, man those things are expensive, and you wear a 2 1/2 wide. You had your first double ear infection around Thanksgiving and had to take an antibiotic for 10 long days. You weighed around 22 pounds at your appointment. You are not gaining much weight now that you are so busy and active. Momma thinks you are getting too skinny!!!