Ummm...

Feet in the air, bottom on the pillow, head on the floor... Comfy? Ava seemed to like this and was just chillin' and chewing on her sweater. I don't think that the picture does it justice because it was pretty darn funny. She's getting so big and seeing her relaxing on the floor is unusual because she's such a busy girl. Today she showed me that she can stack blocks up and make a tower. And then she showed me that it's even more fun to demolish the tower! We're working on words but so far it's just "mama" and "dada". Oh, and she said "Aba". Hopefully someday she'll be able to pronounce the "v" in her name.

Our Snugglebug

We used to let Ava sleep in our bed when she was smaller, especially when I was still nursing. We have learned that she is no longer a good bedmate. She's sure sweet but not still. Waking me up at 12:30 last night with her cry, I went in to check on her and held her for a little while. I didn't want to give her a bottle so I figured I would just bring her back to bed and let her sleep with us for a bit. She tossed around a little but soon was fast asleep. The only trouble was, I couldn't sleep with her arms wrapped tight around my neck. When I tried to scoot her away from me she turned right over and wrapped her arms around Daddy's neck, resting her head on his pillow. It is the sweetest thing and I hope she's always a cuddler like this but it doesn't make for very restful sleep for her bedmates. Two weeks ago was the last time she slept with us and Jeff had no idea she was in our bed until he woke up at 2:00 am to her arms, once again, tight around his neck. He said he can't imagine a better way to wake up, even if it is the middle of the night.

Infectious wiggles and giggles

Ooh, what's that good music I am dancing to? Is that a commercial for laundry detergent? I like it! Dance, dance, dance! Oooh, what's this good song? Advertising for allergy medicine?! Fun! Let's dance! Now they're clapping on Regis and Kelly, I can clap! Look, I'm clapping! I'm drinking my bottle but will you just hold on to it for a second so I can clap and drink at the same time? Thanks, that's perfect! Clap, clap, clap! Can we watch Ellen now? I like Ellen. They dance and play great music and play funny games. Yesterday that marshmallow game was so funny that I laughed and laughed. Maybe I was laughing because Mommy was laughing or maybe I thought the people were really funny, I don't know. But I was sure laughing and laughing!

The crappy "firsts"

There are lots of "firsts" that Ava has had in this first year of her life. First smile, first laugh, first step, first trip, first birthday... But there are also those "first" things that are a real bummer. Last week it was her first big fall. We were at Greg and Wendy's and she climbed up two or three stairs in their house and then turned around and fell head first down onto the floor below. Bump! She bonked her noggin, ending up with a little bump on her forehead and by her eye. I'm not sure who felt worse, me or Ava. To make matters worse I had to leave and go to class so I couldn't keep a paranoid eye on her first bump. I did call Wendy later and she sweetly reassured me that Ava was napping and no, she was not unconscious and was recovering just fine.

Yesterday for the first time she broke something big, that being the other crappy "first". What did she break? Two ceramic bowls that my Aunt Marion made and gave to us for a wedding gift. They were on the bowl rack in the corner of our dining room and Little Miss thought she needed to move the rack away from the wall so she could climb behind it. I realized what was happening in time to stop the entire rack from toppling over and caught one of my brother Grant's bowls before it, too, crashed into bits on my floor. To add insult to injury (no, no bodily injury) the bowl put a lovely little gash in my floor. Fritz! Ava went into her crib while I cleaned up the mess and when I went in to get her after cleaning it up she was very apologetic. (Apologetic means giggling and clapping her hands at me, right?)

Ooooooh, laundry!

Front loading washers are just one more great way to entertain a toddler! What a bigger helper she is as I put clothes in and she pulls them out and runs away with them. She really likes to help with the sorting process but that's not her favorite part. What Ava likes best is to watch as I turn on the machine and the water starts to run down across the window in the door. Not fully understanding that she won't be able to play in the water, she taps on the glass hoping to get through. When the clothes start turning she'll watch a little longer but then its on to something new. But not the vacuuming, never that. Ava HATES the vacuum and will start to cry when you even pull it out of the closet. The vacuum sits right next to the washer and I'm surprised that she'll even get that close to it. That closet is the one place that is safe from Ava because it is where the vacuum always sits.

Baby Zander

This is Baby Zander. He's my Great-Nephew. That's his official title, yes, but its also a description of the little peanut because he's a real sweetie. He was born on February 19th so just barely missed sharing Ava's birthday with her. I had meant to post his picture before and I guess I just forgot. So here he is with his dad, Wade, and then all by himself.

Snow Day

We had some beautiful snow this afternoon and I tried to catch it on video for you California folks. Ava didn't want to hold still and be in the video but you can hear her the whole time, talking about those big snowflakes outside her door.

Funny Kids

The following quotes I took from a forward that my Mom sent me. I thought they were too cute not to put on the blog. :)

1) Nudity

I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat, “Mom, that lady isn’t wearing a seat belt!”

2) Opinions

On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a note from his mother. The note read, “The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.”

What a napper!

Something has clicked within Ava Reese and she's decided that she likes to sleep. How awesome is this? She'll be moving around the house, fussing and whining and I know its time for bed. So I pick her up and cuddle her close and take her to her bed and usually she fusses for a little while in her bed (five minutes, usually) and then falls asleep. But the last five times that I laid her down (that's three naps and two nights) she curled up on her side, grabbed hold of her blanket and gave me a sweet smile that seemed to say, "Thanks, I needed this." Without a whimper, she's asleep in minutes. Wow. I know the chances are not great that this will last but I am loving it while its happening. She is not sleeping as long in the mornings as she had in the past but that's okay we can get up at 7:45 if we have to. :) I'm spoiled, right????