Ava - 18 Months Old

Happy 18 Month Birthday beautiful little lady! Actually, you turned one and half yesterday. I can NOT believe you've blessed our lives for a year and a half now. Life without our Little Miss seems like such a distant memory. Ava brings joyful smiles and prayers of thankfulness to me and Wynston daily. She is sooo smart and such a funny little thing. Here's some fun facts about Ava right now:

• Ava weighs 22-23 pounds. Her weight hasn't changed much in the past 6 months. She has grown quite a bit though, so she's losing some of her cute baby legs and belly.
• She still wears 18-24 month clothing. I LOVE buying her outfits right now and they all look so darn cute on her. She wears a size 6 shoe. Ava is especially funny when she wears her squeaky shoes, since she enjoys jumping around in them to make them squeak.
• Little Miss is a pretty good sleeper these days. About a month or two ago, we experienced some sleep regression, but those days are (thankfully) over. Ava takes two one-hour naps a day, and bedtime is 8 pm(ish) and she wakes up around 7. We recently went through Daylight Savings Time, which was obviously NOT created by someone with a small child. :)
• Ava is also a pretty good eater these days. She eats more during the day, and less at night. She has started some pickiness, but that goes in phases. She loves crackers and pretzels, and anything sweet. She also really likes the word PIZZA, and eats it pretty well too. Her all time favorite though seems to be Ice Pops. On almost any day, its the first thing she asks for in the morning.
• We have begun preliminary potty training. Ava is still in diapers (size 4), but we have purchased a potty and it has been used! Since Little Miss is so aware, and at times vocal, about her...umm...bodily functions (!), we decided to buy a potty. The plan was to just have it out, where it could be seen and talked about. However, Ava brought it upon herself to use this potty three times now; all on her own! We still have a LONG ways to go, but there's no rush since she's still so young.
• Ava talks. A LOT. Her vocabulary is pretty impressive for her age. I won't even try to list out all her words. She is now up to 3 word sentences (I got you! I want pizza! Lily go outside!). She knows LOTS of names, and has a good memory. Ava can sing part of her ABCs, Row Row Your Boat, parts of You Are My Sunshine, and a Carrie Underwood song with lots of "Ohh Ohh Ohhs" in it. She can count to 10 as well. This kid is smart! :) She will repeat back just about anything you say to her, so it's time to start being aware of our conversations when she's around.
• Little Miss is becoming more handy around the house. You can hand her items and ask her to thow them away, and she'll take them to the trash. You can ask her for a towel from the kitchen, and she'll bring you one. She understands soo much.
• Ava loves to play. She is affectionate with her stuffed animals, enjoys her play kitchen, still loves being outside, will sort and count her toys, is constantly building things with her mega blocks, and wants to watch Despicable Me several times a day. "Watch MOOBIE!" is heard around here often. She'll get the remote, hand it to you and make her request. :) Ava is also pretty fluent in her animal noises.
• Ava still has 10 teeth. We haven't had any new teeth in a LONG time. Like almost a year. This is something I'll ask the doctor about at her next checkup.
• Ava is BRAVE. She is a climber. She loves standing on the back of the couch (against the wall) and can climb into her high chair all on her own.

In honor of her one and half year day, I thought Ava should wear a cute big girl outfit yesterday. I dressed her up and took her to a Pampered Chef party, where she enjoyed playing with lots of other children. I almost died from the cuteness of her in her little leather jacket. I also wish those leggings came in my size.   :)

Waiting patiently for our Oriental Inn, which is almost a guaranteed stop when we're in my hometown.