Making Memories in Memphis: 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....