FIRST POST OF 2013

Such a Stinker...

What a little stinker we have on our hands! This is day four without sassy, thank heavens! On Tuesday night, I decided to take Bava to Wal-Mart to pick up some school supplies and buy her a baby for being so good. Thankfully, I decided to search for the doll last because it was quite a performance when Ava set her eyes on one particular baby. She pitched a fit that was just unbearable for me. I threw the doll in the buggy and steered straight for the check-out line. While in route, Ava insisted that she sit in the big section of the buggy so she could hold her baby in the box. I had also threw a doll carrier in there and she believed that she should sit in it while holding her boxed baby:) When we get settled in the car she insisted that I remove the doll for her and of course I was at her beckon call. We started flying down the road, and things became awfully quiet in the back. I turned my head to observe Ava removing all the baby's clothing. I was like...oh fantastic! What is this about?!?!?! I went a little further to turn around and capture Ava nestled in her seat with that baby's paci stuck in her mouth! That little sniglet didn't want to hold the heavy doll so she took her clothes off, so she could better navigate that sassy. I couldn't help but giggle and smile. The poor baby was in the floorboard and I realized that the fit for the doll was because she had seen that paci attached in the box. I should have known!

I am beyond relieved that she didn't care for the hard plastic object. She does however love the doll but the carrier is ultimately her favorite. She puts it up in the recliner beside me and sits in it. She gets upset because she can't buckle herself in and pretty much continually makes me do it. Chad informed me tonight that Ava rules me. All I could do was grin because I know its true and seriously LoVe every second of it:)

GOODBYE SASSY...

Geez...long time, no write! SOOOOO much has changed around the Thompson household. Ava is a growing little weed and the adventures continue daily with her. A few nights ago, I was holding her in the recliner (a bedtime ritual) and she reached up and touched a boo-boo on my face. She said,"mommy's boo-boo" I replied,"yes, baby." She leaned up and kissed it with her perfect little lips. As she laid back down, she whispered,"all better." My heart is still fluttering from that precious moment. It's like three weeks until Ava's 2nd birthday and so many changes are going on in her life. Sassy officially went to be with a baby this morning. I explained to her that she was a big girl and this baby needed her sassy. When I picked her up from school, she immediately started grabbing in the cup holder for it and continually said,"sassy!" As we were flying down the road, she kept saying, "mom, sassy!" I would respond with,"we gave it to that baby." Eventually she started yelling,"baby, I want sassy!" On our way back home for the grocery store she didn't even mention it nor when we got home. I knew the meltdown was coming when we got in the recliner to unwind, but it never crossed her mind. She actually fell right to sleep without it! As I looked at her sleeping without it, I completely realized that it has been me hanging on to Sasser more than her. I am really having a difficult time adjusting to her growing up. It's like you keep anticipating that next step in their life such as: the first word, crawl, walk, etc. It seems like all those milestones have come and now I'm having to give up small parts of her life thus far. Don't get me wrong, I can't WAIT until these diapers are completely gone, but realistically I will probably be crying the blues when they go as well:)

Bava is talking non-stop! Her vocabulary is amazing and she knows all her ABC's and can count to five. We are so proud of her ability to put puzzles together and we love to listen to her singing ability. She sings the barney song, old-mcdonald, abc's, and wheels on the bus... all the time. I honestly believe that the music has had such an impact on her learning as well as the numerous books daddy reads her each night:)

TO THE MOON...AND BACK!!!

What an awesome day I had with my little smunchkin. It's so wonderful how I love her more and more each day. Her developments each day amaze me. Just over the past few weeks her language skills and motor skills have improved tremendously. Tonight, Chad looked at me and said, "I can't believe how smart she is." This was after she watched me fold some laundry in the living room then began trying her best to help me. It was so cute. She folded a little sock for me:) I love having her throw trash away or turn the t.v. on or off. What is really incredible is her ability to work the i-phone. She seriously presses the round button, slides the arrow, and starts trying her best to crack the passcode:)

I tried to video her quite a bit today. I captured her dancing on the coffeetable, trying to potty, and picking up toys for me. Okay...I might have caught a bit of her watching Barney as well. I just can't get over how much him and Baby Bop grab her attention. What's humorous is to hear her say, "Baby Bop." For sixteen months old...she is such a bright little girl.

We took her to the recreation gym on Thursday to get her out of the house. There were actually a few kids there and we were surprised. At first, I thought we might need to leave because she was so little and would want to run around. I also worried she would be frightened by all the basketballs and players running around on the different goals. What was I thinking?!?!? My brave, independent, girl went right after a ball, and never looked back. She really is fearless. I got some really cute pics of her trying to shoot. We will definitely be venturing to the gym more often. Thank goodness!! I've been away from basketball for far to long:)

I am trying so hard each day to enjoy the little moments with her. In the past, I have been trying so hard to be the perfect parent and do EVERYTHING just right. I have found through experience, and a few parenting books, that it just doesn't exist:) Before I had Ava, so many people would tell me that time passes so quickly (they still do) and it is so true. Even though I get so tired of reading the same books over and over (because she LOVES them) I'm realizing that it won't be like this for long so I'm going to read them till they fall apart, and soak up every sweet moment I can. I love this kid to the moon...and back:)

More Snow...

According to the weather channel, we can expect six plus inches of snow tonight. I'm so sad because we have already lost four days of school and anymore could possibly interfere with Spring Break:( My fingers are crossed that they are wrong, and school will resume tomorrow as it should. On another note, Ava is beyond bored today. She took a two hour nap and acts like she could lay down again and its only 5:00. We didn't go anywhere because it is sooooo cold outside. I took her yesterday to have her Valentine pictures made. She cooperated okay thanks to some bubbles and lipgloss:) She is sixteen months old and her vocabulary amazes me. The words she says now are: mama, daddy, "UH-OH", Bo-Bo, ball, hello, juice, duck, dog, kitty-kitty, see-ya, apple, bye, hey, book, Sassy, hot, cold, papaw, Alli, Baby Bop, baby, and anything else you ask her to say, you just can't understand it that well:) She also hold her hands up in the air and says, "Where did it go"and its so stinkin cute!! Thanks to her daddy, she also likes to point her little finger and say, "No" and "Stop." He thinks its hilarious, but of course I'm not that fond of the idea (Guess its the teacher in me.) I love bathtime with Bava. She now has three bathtub crayons and loves to draw with them...and a tendency to try to eat them! When its time to get out, she lines them up on the edge of the bathtub and tells them bye. It is seriously the cutest thing ever!! Once I get her diaper on, we get out the lotion. She loves to rub it in on her legs and tries her hardest to rub it in good. I love how once she gets her jammies on, she prances into the livingroom for daddy to see. Of course he brags about how clean and pretty she is and Ava beams. I absolutely love every aspect of having a little girl. I love how she twirls her hair when shes tired, how excited she gets when the phone rings, and how she stomps her little left leg and pats her leg when the song "Stuck Like Glue" plays. It is so funny. We got her a tv for the car and Barney is all she wants to watch. I'm not a fan of him but its what intrigues her and as long as its educational, I can deal. We also feel like we have a little bookworm. She is constantly wanting us to read to her and at times tries to read her books to Boden on the couch. I'm loving each and every moment. My only wish is for time to slow down!

Long Time...

I realized tonight that I have completely neglected our poor blog I had vowed to keep up to document Ava's little moments. I guess it's better to write some than none, right?!?!? Chad is in the recliner right now reading "Smile for Elmo" to Ava and I just giggle inside listening to the expression he uses. She is completely loving every minute of it, and I am beyond grateful that they have such a great relationship.
It snowed last night and school was out today and is tomorrow as well. I plan on taking Ava out to make a small snowman. It's amazing how much she has grown since her first snow last year. I finished addressing our Christmas cards today! That is seriously the only productive thing I accomplished. They are super cute and I can't wait for everyone to read/see them.
Ava is such a big girl now. She is almost sixteen months old and is the most curious little person ever. Her vocabulary consists of Mommy, Daddy, Bo-Bo, Papaw, Hey, Bye, Juice, Hello, Ava, and Hot. If you tell her to say certain words she will attempt it but these are the only ones she can clearly say. Her new hobby is putting on her shoes and mine and clomping around the house. The other night I came into the livingroom to find her naked as a jaybird with one cowboy boot on. All I could do was laugh and appreciate her personality. She had an ear infection this week and only weighed in at 20.5 pounds. I worry to death because she is so small and still wears 12 month clothes. Her pediatrician assured me that she was healthy just very active.
I'm so thrilled about this Christmas season. We have bought a few things but are going shopping next weekend for her. Hopefully, we will be able to find the things that we have decided she needs:) I will leave with a photo from Ava's fitst time in the snow. She was five months old!

"UH-OH"

Unfortunately, Chad had to be sick with the stomach bug this afternoon when we got to witness (together) Miss Ava Bava's first sounds!! We were at my Aunt Carol's house getting Chad a haircut and I was holding Ava in my lap. Earlier on our way home from work, I had stopped in at a store and actually had to leave because the little Sniglet was making such loud, sharp noises. She fell asleep as we drove home, but was back at it once she had a diaper change and a little afternoon feeding. It was hilarious listening to her try with all her might to say, "UH-OH!" I know its just a sound but it was music to our ears. I've been waiting so patiently just to get a glimpse of what her little voice might sound like. Now, I will continue even harder with my quest to make her first actually words be...MAMA:) Daily, I am looking in her eyes mouthing mmmmm!! However, Chad is consistently mouthing dadadada...so who in the world knows what this little independent, growling pookie will say. Whatever it may be, I know they will be the most precious, innocent words ever spoken in our world:)
On February 20th, Ava had her six months pictures taken in Atlanta and they turned out soooo awesome. In a few weeks, I will have some up for viewing. Until then, I will post a few of her seven month Easter pictures I had taken on March 17th. Before Ava, I always thought I loved pictures. However, nothing compares to looking at my sweet baby girl in these priceless photos each month. She continues to look more and more like her daddy as time passes. She still has my nose and lips but other than that she is a Mini-Chad. I know he eats it up:)

Valentine's Day in Asheville

For the past few months, I have been longing for a little getaway. Before Ava Bava, Chad and I use to be on the go constantly. Well...I drug him around on all my whimsical adventures:) But...life is full of changes, and the changes in our lives over the past six months have been pure bliss. Okay, those first few weeks of sleepless nights were not so blissful, but when I look back on it now, it doesn't seem that bad at all. Our little family has faced reality and some bumps in the road, but these challenging situations have brought us closer than ever. So with that said, we decided a night in Asheville was just what we needed. Earlier in the week, I had asked Chad's mom if she could come stay the entire day with Ava at the house. She had planned to do so, but as usual we came up with another spontaneous revelation despite the weather. On Saturday afternoon around 3:00, we decided that we could not leave our sweet little smunchkin behind. So we threw all our stuff in luggage and headed out to that little town where we got engaged a few years ago. The ride up was great... Ava slept the entire way and the road conditions were fine. Before we decided on dinner, I asked Chad if we could go to the Grovepark for a walk down memory lane:) It really doesn't seem that long ago that we were there for New Year's celebrating our engagement. We ate dinner at a quaint restaurant called the "Corner Kitchen." It was sooo scrumptious and Ava didn't make a peep. When we go back up, I will definitely eat there again. Little expensive but well worth it. Once we made it back to the room, all three of us were pooped. We talked and played with Ava for a bit, made some pics of her enjoying the hotel bed and called it a night. Little did we know, Miss Priss would decide at 4 a.m. that she was ready to play. I seriously thought we were going to get asked to leave. She was so excited and happy. You couldn't help but laugh at her kicking around acting silly. I remember Chad was feeding her while I sat in the floor looking at them and he said, "This might just be your first and last trip for a while little bit." I thought that was humerous and she did as well. I layed down with her and she finally fell asleep around six. The next morning (Valentine's Day) we made our way to the Starbucks right beside the Inn. I was so excited to get my hands on a skinny latte from there:) We took the tour of the Biltmore around noon and it was so informative. Thanks to my tour guide (Chad) who had purchased the audio guide and felt the need to explain every detail to me...I learned quite a bit of information about the history of that gigantic home thanks to him:) We left Asheville around 4:00 and headed back home. I was a nervous wreck because the snow was falling and we had heard that it was sleeting in Hiawassee. I was so nervous about crossing Franklin Mountain, but everything was fine. Ava slept the entire way and seemed so happy to get back. Can't wait until our next adventure together!!