Doctor Doctor

The last 6 weeks or so have been chockful of doctors and some icky days for Little Miss.

The 18 Month Checkup was several weeks ago. Ava maintains her hold on a the 90th percentile in length, but has dropped down to 38th percentile in weight (from her previously steady 50th percentile). She weighs in at 23 pounds, and continues to fit into 18 month clothing...though that size of pants are going to be too short before long.

Little Miss has also had her first stomach bug this fall/winter. It hit her fast on a weekend morning when I was out Christmas shopping, and she was home alone with Wynston. He did a super job of cleaning her up and making sure she got rested. When I got home, he told me "Look, we even made a fire together" and showed me the picture below...which for some reason seems so odd and funny to me.

The infamous sick baby by campfire pic.

Getting some restful sleep in on the couch...all bundled up by Daddy.

We've also recently been to see Ava's eye doctor up at St. Louis Children's. After giving us yet another thumb's up on her progress, he told us that if we get one more eye exam next summer that looks as good as this one did, that he'll release us to a local eye doctor! Very exciting news for us.

Last bit...after waiting almost a year for a new tooth, we now have two brand spanking new eye teeth on the bottom showing their pointy thing tops. At the same time as we were being reintroduced to teething, Ava was diagnosed with her first ear infection. Between the teething and ear infection, we had one emotional little lady on our hands for a bit, but she's feeling much better now and we're glad to have our smily, giggley Little Miss back. :)

Sledding Adventures

A few weeks ago several inches of snow fell at our house. Like 12 inches total! It was so fun with Ava around to really experience it this year. Last year, she sat on a towel on the deck when it snowed and looked adorably confused. :p

March 2013

But this year we bought a snow saucer, I bundled her up and we headed outside. We have a yard with several small hills, and went down a few of them together, and I sent her down one small one all alone. She did not care for that! But if we went together, at the end of the ride I always got a "Do it again!", picked her and the saucer up, and trecked back up the hill for a few more rounds! We had a lot of fun that afternoon. Ava made a snow angel, which I regretfully forgot to photograph. Darn! Next time.

"What do you mean hot chocolate comes AFTER playing in the snow?!"



Blog Hiatus

I'll be back...I promise!!

I know it's been a lengthy while since I've posted on the blog. Times are busy, and I took 5 days off work to spend with Ava and get some holiday prep done. That included a week off from blogging. But I've got some new things to add to the blog...including dr visits, cute pictures and holiday updates. Yay. In the mean time, here's a funny picture to give your Monday a little giggle. :)

This makes me laugh. Every time!!

Visiting Daddy at Work

Hanging out in the lobby, one shoe on, one shoe off. Totally normal.

Little Miss Attitude.

Time to Celebrate Family and Friends

This time of year is always so great. There are so many occasions to gather with family and friends, which is really the best. We've been celebrating many things lately, including a wedding of a friend and family member, family in from California and Illinois, and Thanksgiving gatherings.

Ava loving this sucker at the wedding we recently attended.

My niece Lauren playing with Ava at Granny Max's.

Big gathering of Replogle's at Granny Max's.

Sweet twin nieces Leonnie and Evonnie.



Beautiful tiny baby girl!

Cousin Gehrig playing with Little Miss.

Ava and cousin Maddux. They have always been fast friends.

A few of the Johnson cousins.

Little Miss at the Tracy Thanksgiving, whistle and all!

Staying busy at that Tracy Thanksgiving.

Johnson cousins.



The Cardboard Adventures of Ava and Lola...episode 25

I cannot tell you how many times in the last week I've heard the term "geeeether....please!" from Ava. This always means go track down the cat, and place her in the box with Ava. I'll say it again and again, our cat is the BEST. She is so patient and gentle with Ava...the most resistance you'll get from her is an annoyed MEOW and maybe a swift exit out of whatever situation Ava has the cat in. While Lola is awesome with Ava, she also sets her up for unrealistic expectations of how cats will behave around children. Dang.

Pay close attention to the facial expressions of both Ava and Lola. You'll find some laughs in there!

California Cousins

Each Fall, some cousins of mine from California graciously make a trip back to the ol Ozarks to see family and get some hunting in. They also happen to have a little boy that is about 2 weeks younger than Ava. So it's been so fun the last two years to see the kids interact together. This year, Jeff and Randi (the CA cousins) brought not only a cute little boy, fun stories about their life on the west coast, but also some cashew chicken from Oriental Inn!! They also brought some Hot and Spicy, which I'd never had the courage to try, and it was good! I'll get it again. :)



The wagon and the jumping zebra toy were both a big hit with the kids. One and a half seems to be the age where sharing is still a foreign concept, no matter how many toys you throw at them!



The box...is still being used daily. And check out our cat Lola's face there...hilarious. She is obviously thrilled.

I have to brag on Ava's outfit...Wynston dressed her that day. Deer shirt, camo skirt. Cute and fitting.

More box shenanigans and funny cat faces.

Just for fun, here are Ava and Hunter last year! Look how much they've grown!!

Playtime

These days playtime is the name of the game. We play with wooden blocks, mega blocks, books, dolls, balls, boxes, wagons, pets, and shoes. Just to name a few things.

I'm loving the patterns Ava makes lately. She's a pretty smart cookie.

Reading to Daddy...ignore the pile of dirty laundry in the background!

Our attempt at the genius "baby + box + marker" concept.

In reality, it was less "marker + box" and more "marker + foot".

Ya, turns out that marker wasn't so washable. Opps. But who really minds some green feet.

Family Date Night

A couple weekends ago, we decided it was time for a family date night. Sushi was eaten, Christmas toys were tested/viewed at Toys-R-Us, shoes were bought. It's always interesting getting a dad's persepective on potential toys for Christmas... :)

Ava's first bite of sushi. She didn't care for any more. Oh well, more for Mommy!

Showing off her new shoes the next day.

Then and Now

This year's playing in the leaves is a bit more rambunctious!

November 2012

November 2013

Camera Roll

Miss Adventurous loves standing on the back of the couch.

Hilarious faces, while on the couch...again.

I found Ava wedged in this corner of her room, with all her books off the shelf and spread around her.

Hanging out in her trampoline.

Riding her bee in her pj's.

 

Someone fell asleep while reading to herself.