Bryson and Ashley: Ava {23 months}

AHhhhhhhhhhhhhHHH...

This is it...

One more month,

...that's 31 more days, in case you were wondering...

until my BABY,

that tiny little, chubby little, rolly polly little

baby girl

(who really is in no way, shape or form a baby at all anymore)

turns the big T-W-O.

How did I get to this point?

It honestly and truly feels like yesterday that the doctor laid her on my chest for the very first time.

I remember so vividly...

The look of bewilderment on both our faces as if to say, "Excuse me, but what just happened?"

as we stared at each other for the very first time.

The intense and overwhelming LOVE I felt for her instantaneously,

the happy tears that sprung to my eyes every time I held her in my arms.

And that love has only grown and multiplied enormously over these last 23 months.

(That's right, I still have one month to refer to her age in months!)

I can't tell you how many hours since that first day that I have spent starting at her, just amazed by her.

I love her and feel blessed every single day that she is my daughter.

So here's to a fantastic month, the last month of being a "1 year old."

Here's to my sweet, smart, happy, cheerful, funny, beautiful "not-so-baby-anymore" Ava Sophia.

Ava is talking so much these days, it's impossible to keep track of all the words she knows. She has started talking in sentences, so here are some of my favorite phrases lately:

"I did it Momma! High five!"
"I love you!" (I wuv ewe) or "I love Momma!" "I love Daddy!" "I love Baby!"
"No baby, stop! Mine!" (Whenever Gavin has something that she wants/thinks is hers)
"Look Momma! Ava's car!" or "Ava's bed," "Ava's shoes," etc
"Where Momma go?" "There she is!" or if I ask her where something is, she shrugs her shoulders and says, "Where is?"
"Momma, shoes...on" or "Momma, bow...off," etc when she wants me to put something on her or take it off.
"Oh cute, Momma!"
"Oh...my...gosh!" when she sees something she thinks is cool.
"Hold her" - she says this with outstretched arms when she wants me to hold her.

Fun things she did this month:

Moved to a "Big Girl Bed!" Ava started climbing out of her crib a while ago, so when we were in North Carolina at our hotel, I put her in one of the beds. She slept the entire night, so I decided to just stick with it and we have never looked back. She loves sleeping in a bed - we took the one side off her crib and added a toddler rail so she won't fall out at night and she has done great!
Rode on a jet ski, a boat, a water tube, a paddle board & several rides at Busch Gardens
Went to Brad and Kelsey's wedding in North Carolina.
Went to Myrtle Beach! She loved the sand!
Spent a week at the Brock's lake house in North Carolina.
Spent a week in Virginia with Granny, Papa, Aunt Kaitlyn and the Jorgensens.
Not fun - but Ava got all her 2 year old molars this month! Yippeeeeee (not!) - but really, that means she is done teething for good! Whoop whoop!

Things Ava loves:

Singing! She is constantly singing. She really surprises me by how quickly she catches onto the lyrics of songs. She knows the ABC song, Twinkle Twinkle and Bubble Gum almost perfectly. Most of the other songs she loves she knows the last word of every line and sings that single word very loudly and proudly.
Counting - Ava can count to 10 almost perfectly - usually she needs help with seven. She says, "one, two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten!" And then, "eleven, twelve, eighteen eighteen, eighteen, eighteen!"
Dancing - Ava danced the night away at Brad and Kelsey's wedding. My Granny said, "If you came to the party not knowing Ava, you definitely left knowing her!" She didn't miss a single song all night long and was out there on the dance floor dancing with any and everyone, all night long. She loves to dance!
Anything "daring" - We joke that Ava is a "thrill seeker." But really, I'm not joking. She will do anything, ride any ride, climb anything regardless of how tall - it scares me half to death sometimes! When we were in North Carolina, she rode the jet ski with Bryson and Maddie and at one point it all three of them got thrown off into the water in the middle of the lake (Ava had a life jacket on). Well, you would think a little 20 month old would be scared - nope! Ava laughed her head off and said, "Mooore!" She also rode the tube pulled by the boat and was saying "More" hoping to go faster the entire time.
Swimming - she's a little fish and is actually a good swimmer! She can kick her feet and puts her face in the water and can actually get to where she wants to go in the water without any help from me!
iPhones, iPads - Ava can navigate the iPhone and iPad like it's nobody's business. She opens music, movies, plays her apps, can navigate between apps, finds certain apps in certain folders...really, it's amazing.
Her pacifier - she is still VERY addicted to her "mammy." That's the next thing on my list - get rid of the passy!
Her favorite show is called "Bo on the Go." She usually watches one episode before nap time every day while I am trying to simultaneously feed and put Gavin down for his nap. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Ava has that show memorized. She knows the theme song and all the little idioms and common phrases. It's so cute to hear her trying to recite all the words and act out all the motions.
Taking pictures - but only on HER terms. It's actually almost impossible to get her to sit still long enough to take a picture. Just ask anyone who has ever tried. So, when I am able to get a good picture, I get really excited. Lately though, she has walked up to me, handed me my phone with the camera open and ready, put her arm around Gavin, smiled and said "Cheeeeese." I have also taught her how to "pose" hahaha. She puts her hand on her hip and turns her head to the side and says, "Cheese." Train em young!!