You aint nothin' but a hound dog!

Ava had her doctor's appointment on Thursday and had her chicken pox vaccination. I was nervous, but it wasn't bad at all. She barely flinched. I did pretty good too! She weighs 20 lbs exactly and is 30 1/2 inches long. The doctor said she looks great, he also noticed that she was an "active" baby...no kidding!! He said he could see a little mischief in her eyes--Mark says she gets it from me!

Some things about Ava at 1 year old:

• Words she can say: mama, dada, uh-oh, hot, hi
• Favorite foods: strawberries, turkey, cantaloupe, mommy's spaghetti (read previous post)
• Favorite toys: yellow giraffe, Elmo, push lawn-mower, Pretty Princess trike
• Best friends: Kaycee, Hannah, McKenna, Spencer, Nora
• Just started: blowing kisses, whispering
• Does all the time: says hi to strangers (we'll have to work on that) and dances!!...to any and every kind of music
• Loves to: swing with Opa, pet Lucy, walk with anyone that will hold her hands

Yummy!!

Ok- I do take more pictures than just of Ava in her highchair or at mealtimes...but this was hilarious! She had my spaghetti for the first time (instead of the baby food spaghetti she used to eat) and she absolutely loved it! I couldn't put it on her tray fast enough. She was shoveling it in! I grabbed my camera and she got super excited--she was cracking us up!

It's been a rough couple of days...

The last two days have been hard on little Ava. She had her first “big” owie-she was stung by a bee yesterday. She was at Omi and Opa’s (Mark’s parents) and was crawling around on their lawn. Opa saw her heading towards the brick patio and went over to turn her around when he noticed a bee on her thumb. He brushed it away as he picked her up, but the stinger was already in her hand. It wasn’t too bad, but it did swell up a bit. It’s on her “sucking” thumb, and she was still sucking it all night, so it wasn’t bothering her too bad…

She also got her 8th tooth! Yes, I’m still counting…she’s been exceptionally fussy the last couple of days, not her normal smiley self. I looked this morning, and, sure enough, a sharp little tooth had poked through overnight. It’s no wonder she cries-it feels like the tip of a steak knife sticking out of her gums!

But....Drum Roll Please....

AVA TOOK HER FIRST STEP TODAY!!

She was walking around the house holding my hands (her favorite hobby lately) and I let go to see what she would do. She just stood there for a second, not sure of what to do. She started to sit down but then stood back up and took one step! Then she plopped down on her bottom. I was so excited! I clapped and picked her up and gave her a big kiss. She knew something exciting had just happened and she smiled and seemed pretty proud of herself. All I can think now, is that we're going to be in a lot of trouble!!....