I've been requested to post a new blog, since it's been almost 2 months since the previous post!

Ava has successfully adapted to our recent move. She sleeps mostly with mama and dada right now, but her crib is in our room. She's gradually weaning herself, drinking less and less milk. Thankfully, she's gone from nursing about 10 times a night to about 2-3 the last few nights. I'm hoping to have her fully weaned by 18 months.

Ava is developing quite the personality! She LOVES to make us laugh and lately one of her favorite ways to do it is to peek behind a chair or toy and giggle at us. She gives us this little mischievous look that says ---I'm funny! She understands quite a bit, including no no and is starting to test her boundaries. She'll actually run toward something (like the kitty's water dish) when we say no no. About half the time though she'll stop when we say no, so that's a start. :) She follows simple directions, like "go find a book" or "get your shoe."

She's teething again like crazy. She got in 2 molars in one month, and 3 more teeth are on the way. Yikes! I cannot keep up!

Ava's doing good with the motor skills. She walks well, runs, carries toys 2x her own weight, and wants to climb, but hasn't mastered that skill yet. She also likes to ride her little scooter, getting on and off, on and off. Recently she tried jumping. It was so funny, she saw me jump and she bent over and stood up straight quickly, never taking her feet off the ground. It made us laugh pretty hard! :)

And the most exciting development is she's starting to talk! She babbles constantly, but has been throwing out new words daily! She can say "ma" (mama), "dada", "shs" (shoes), and "mr" (more). And then she has her own little words for everything else that I can't quite figure out yet. She likes to read books with mama and dada and her favorite is when she spots a balloon or kitty in a book. She laughs so loud and points to it over and over. This whole talking process is super fun for us!

Ava's eating is getting better. She has been a pretty picky eater, digesting a variety of bananas, breads, pears, cottage cheese, pastas, and the occaisional meat. She's not so big on veggies, however with the move I have to say it's been a rare offering. So I need to get on that one again. She has ventured into eating cold cereal and deli meat. She loves to carry food around with her rather than eat in her high chair as she's soooo busy!

Socially, Ava warms up well to people. She needs some time to get aquainted with her environment, but when she does she's usually smiley and flirty. She loves to look at people when we're out--like a restaurant. And she LOVES kids! She can hear one giggle or talk a mile away and find them!

Ava's up from her nap! Gotta run!