Baby talk and birthdays!

I love the fact that Ava has started really communicating.  Her first "words" were ba ba (not sure if she was actually referring to her bottle or not) and ma ma.  It became clear that she was in fact saying mama when, on more than one occassion, someone other than me was holding her, she leaned forward and said, "mama," desperately trying to get back to me:)  Her new favorite word is da da.  She says it ALL day (usually with one hand in the air waving), with or without daddy actually being here.  Sometimes she'll even whisper it, for no apparent reason.  Today, I realized that no matter what I said or asked her, her reply/answer is daddy.  There is ONE exception to that, though:  nigh-nigh.  When she's tired and I'm taking her for a nap or bedtime, I'll ask her if she's ready for night-night, and her reply is always nigh-nigh.  So sweet!  She loves her daddy and night night.

In other Ava related news (what other kind is there? ;) ):

I've tried holding off planning her first birthday as long as I can.  I told myself early on that I didn't want to plan it too early because I truly want to savor this first year and not rush it.  Well, now she's 9 months and I think it's time!  I've just now really started thinking about it and am getting a lot of inspiration from Birthday Girl Blog and The Sweetest Occasion.  They are both incredible (and draw from each other).  I even made my first inspiration board.  I don't want to break any copy right rules so I won't display it here, but it was fun to make.  I'm bad about trying to keep up with ideas in my head, and don't want to leave anything out for her birthday.  I'll be making my first birthday related purchase tomorrow (2 white scalloped cake stands).  This is definitely needed for her birthday AND my kitchen- can't wait to display her birthday cake and future cakes on them. 

I'll leave you with a few pictures of my growing girl....

Moments before nigh-nigh time, Daddy reading her our favorite night time book. 

The next morning, trying to get on the couch with mama. 

I wonder if this is her version of a fake smile?? :) 

Short and sweet

It's Wednesday night, Ava's asleep, Jason's at worship practice, and I'm sitting on the couch listening to the rain (and a movie on Oxygen).  I've been opening the kitchen windows a lot because of this beautiful weather... such a comforting sound.  And now comes the thunder.... ahhhh.  Ava has a musical lullaby CD I play for her every night and in addition to the lullabies you can hear nature sounds here and there.  I remember one of the first times I played it... sitting in her dark room rocking her and I heard the gentle rain and thunder on the CD.  I was in HEAVEN.  I could have sat there all night rocking her.  I was just thinking tonight, as I was rocking her at bedtime while she took her last bottle, "How much longer am I going to be able to rock her at night?"  My girl is growing too fast! 

Ava Rae at 8 months

I've seen a lot of Mommy bloggers do monthly updates of their babies so I've decided to finally do one!  I'm doing a baby book for Ava, but there's only so much you can write on 2 1/2 lines. :)

So let's start with the basics... sleeping.  Jason and I are VERY blessed in this area.  Ava goes to sleep at 6pm, and sleeps until about 6:30 the next morning (sometimes she sleeps past 7, and rarely will she wake up before 6).  Once we put her in her crib at 4 1/2 months, she has basically been an amazing sleeper.  She takes between 2 and 3 naps a day, but I pretty sure that's about to be ONLY 2.  Her morning and noonish nap go without a hitch everyday, but her afternoon nap (usually between 2 and 3) haven't been as easy.  I've been pretty "strict" on her naps (and by strict I mean trying to be home so she can nap in her crib) just because I know how much she needs them (i.e., red eyes, cranky, yawning, etc....), but the past few days she's actually been ok without that last nap.  I've read a lot that at 6 months babies have longer wake times, but at 8 months that's just now becoming a reality in our house.  Every baby is different! 

Eating... she gets between 4 and 5 bottles a day (one first thing in the morning, after every nap, and at bed time).  Along with the bottles, I'm feeding her other food 3 times a day (and taking that bottle from her half way through to give her something else is NOT easy!).  This week we've discovered that she loves yogurt.  Other new things that she has enjoyed lately have been strawberries, blueberries, diced up turkey, eggs, baked tilapia, and steamed veggies.  She's been turning her nose up to the typical baby food purees, so I'm trying to go with the flow.  As long as she's eating the diced up "table" food, I guess we're ok. 

Ava loves exploring!  Whether it's around the dining room table or my bedroom, she loves new sights.  Taking her to the grocery store almost guarantees a giddy, smiling baby!  Everywhere (and I mean just about EVERYWHERE) we go people comment on her BIG, blue eyes.  She definitely takes everything in with those beautiful eyes. :) 

Pre-crawling, it was hard for me to get basic housework done during the day.  She, as most babies are I'm sure, is very attached to me, so getting up to go to the kitchen wasn't an easy task without her in my arms.  Now that she's completely mobile for 2+ months, I try to include in her the few chores I do while she's awake.  Take laundry... Like I said before, she loves exploring in my bedroom.  So as she's doing that, I can be gathering laundry.  The laundry closet is just outside our bedroom, up one step, so she follows me (even up the step) and what happens next brings that giddiness out again.  She's amazed when I turn the washer or dryer on.  She sits on her bottom and stares for a few seconds, then I close the doors the closet (and try to wave and say "bye bye" everytime) and we move onto the next thing. 

She also loves the dishwasher.  When it's time to put away the clean ones, if she's not already in the kitchen with me, she races over and pulls up on the open door and reaches for whatever she can (usually only gets to touch plates or cups). 

One of MY favorite times of the day has become story time.  I've said in a previous blog that she loves the book, "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?"  This week she has started turning the pages while I read!  Now, she's always grabbed for the pages to try to eat them or just hold them, but now she simply grabs the lower corner (always with her left hand, too), and waits a few seconds to turn the next page.  As her mom, I'm SO impressed by this new talent!!  Yesterday, after Brown Bear, I picked up a n ewbook to read, and about halfway through she "got up" from my lap and started digging in her toy chest.  lol... I guess she's a picky reader. 

I'm the most blessed mommy to have Ava as mine!  She's growing WAY TOO fast, and as much as I'd like to rewind and do the past 8 months over (and over) again, I love watching her develop and learn new things.