12 Months!!

Oh Ava, believe it or not, I am writing your final monthly update from this year because you are now 12 months old!!  We can't stand it, but you're growing up and you've moved out of that baby stage and into toddlerhood.  You are a constant mover and FULL of personality.  Although we have loved every single stage of this last year, this one is by far our favorite!  You are just so much fun and we can't get enough of our time with you.  You make your Daddy and I smile like crazy and you keep us on our toes because you are into everything :) We love being your parents and we can't wait for you to have another little brother or sister to play with soon!  You're going to be a wonderful big sister, we just know it.  

Here are some of your stats from this month:

-You are still a tiny little thing, you weigh 18.4 lbs and you are 29 inches tall.  Because you're still under 20 pounds, we can't turn your car seat around yet, but make no mistake...You might be tiny, but you are mighty!!  

-You wear a size 3 diaper (still) and are wearing mostly 12 month clothes.

-You have 7 teeth (that we know of!) and your smile is full of big and little teeth now!  You always surprise people when you flash them a big toothy grin :) 

-You are still taking 2 naps a day, but pretty soon we will be transitioning to only 1.  

-You go to bed around 7:30-8:00 and you sleep until about 7:30 in the morning.

-You are no longer drinking formula (praise the Lord!!) but whole milk instead.  We are working on switching you from the bottle to a cup, but it's not so easy because you seem to love your bottle!  

-You eat like a little garbage disposal :) Fruit, veggies, meat, cheese, dairy...You love it all!  Often you beg for more from Mommy and Daddy's plate too! 

-The biggest news from this month is that you are now officially walking!!  You started just 4 days after your birthday and you haven't slowed down since.  You look so much older now that you can walk and often you scare me because you can sneak up so much faster and quieter!  You love to chase Daddy around the house and you always make a beeline for Ryley too.  Whenever I open the refrigerator door, you come racing into the kitchen, as fast as you can so that you can stand in the door and check everything out on the shelves!  It's hilarious and so weird :) 

You love to play now and spend most of your day trying out all your toys.

You're starting to do more and more independent play and we often hear you having your own conversation or singing while you do it!  We know your little brother/sister is going to love watching you!

Speaking of a little sibling, you seem to have a sudden love for your baby doll!  You carry it all over with you and give it love and kisses.  For so long you didn't care about your baby, but now you look for it and love to play with it. 

It might have something to do with your new doll stroller.  Mommy found that at a garage sale and so far it's a big hit!  You push it all over and often stop to "check" your baby!

You like to take the baby out of the seat belt and carry it for awhile.   It's so funny to see those first "nurturing instincts" kicking in.

One of your cutest fascinations this month is with your clothes and shoes.  I now have piles of clothes all over the house, because you like to take them out of your drawers or the laundry and pile them up.  You like to sort through them and then carry one or two things around with you.  On Sunday, I didn't realize it, but you carried your jammies with you to the car!  Maybe you're going to love shopping like your Mom and Dad some day :) Now if I could only teach you to sort, I might be able to use your "talents" to help me with the laundry!!

Ava, you are so loud and you love to laugh now!  You get all worked up and you shriek with laughter over so many things.  Ryley and Daddy make you laugh most often, but it's so funny when you are in the middle of a gut-buster!!  It doesn't take long for Mom and Dad to join in with you!

Being outside is your favorite place to be.  You are so interested in all the sights and sounds and nothing calms you down faster than stepping outside.  You love to be on our balcony and we can't wait for it to get hot outside so we can play at the park everyday!

You are just such a little sweetheart and we love you so much.

This has been the best year of our lives because we have you!  12 months have come and gone so fast and we know they will continue to, but we love watching you grow and develop into the little girl God created you to be.  You are a delight to us and we could not be more proud.  

Happy 12 months sweet girl!!

We love you!