A better view

Ava found the best way to look out the front window...she pushed her tractor up to the window and I found her standing on it's steering wheel. When I grabbed the camera she had moved down to the seat. I think this is just the beginning of Ava's climbing adventures!!!

Tormenting Bode

Ava truly loves her doggie, "Bee." As you can see, he has learned to love her, too. Or maybe just to tolerate her crawling all over him and stealing his toys! We are so fortunate to have a dag who is so gentle and patient with our baby.

CHEESE...I mean BLUEBERRIES!!!

Someone LOVES her blueberries!!!

Cutie Pie

They took the words right out of my mouth...

Sand Box!

Ava got an awesome new sand box for her birthday from the Miller Family (thank you Amy, Joe, Mason and T!) and she LOVED exploring the new toy in the driveway. She thinks the best way to get in is to climb up on the picnic table and go over the top that way. Smart girl, huh?

Thank you Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Scott

I love this so much. It fits perfectly!!

What is this stuff?

Ava discovered grass and dirt today, and she may have even tasted some. Fun!!

The PARTY!!!

Ava had an awesome 1st birthday party and received really wonderful gifts. We have to thank everyone for sharing such a great day with us!!! I will make sure she knows that many people care about her and love her. She really had a blast!! So far she loves her new toys, she can hardly decide what to play with first! My sister got her this beautiful photo frame with a quote that melts my heart, but I haven't found the perfect photo to put in there yet. I will show it off when I decide which picture is the one!

An update on Ava's activities...she is walking better and better each day. She LOVES to climb on anything that will (or won't) hold her, she jibber-jabbers all day long, talking to anyone and anything that will listen, she has a new phone that she holds up to her ear and says "HI!" to when it makes noise, and she now has 12 teeth. FOUR molars seemed to appear out of the blue sometime this past week. She has a rash on her face from the overwhelming drool that came with these teeth, but it is improving with diligent application of aquaphor!

At her 1 year appointment she weighed 17 pounds and was 28 inches tall!! (Still 3rd percentile for weight, but 10th for height!) Her head has been and continues to be in the 75th to 80th percentile. We just say it is because she has so many brains in there!! She is just amazing and wonderful and perfect. We love her so much!

We had her pictures taken for the 1 year milestone and I will post the link as soon as I receive it. I am sure the photographer did a wonderful job!! I can't wait to see them!!

The CAKE!!!

Ava absolutely loves frosting, but the cake wasn't too bad either! She was actually really neat about eating her first cake!! We got her to make at least a little bit of a mess!!

Happy Birthday to Ava!!

She is ONE YEAR OLD today! It has been so hard for me to believe that she has been with us for a year already. Time has gone by in the blink of an eye. Really, it is unbelievable. Ava is wonderful; she is walking and talking, playing with her toys with real determination to figure out what they do, getting into anything she can, and basically just bringing utter joy into our lives. What did we do without her? I have to take a moment to thank God for blessing us with such an amazing little girl. Happy birthday, sweet girl.

Outside with Grandma

What a beautiful day! Ava had a great time in the swing and the wagon at Grandma's house!!

HAPPY

No matter what it is, she makes me smile. She started walking this week, still wobbley but she is doing it! She can stand up on her own and go. What a difference a few days makes!!!! No pictures of that yet...I have been too excited just watching her!!