Ava Bava

Just thought I'd post some of the recent pics of Ava. She is really growing up and become less of a baby and more of a toddler. She is really starting to become a great communicator. She started with nods and gestures and then started picking up words. She shakes her head "no" more than we like her to, and she has this overexaggerated, super dramatic head nod that she uses for "yes." Her vocabulary always surprises us. She seems to pick up multiple words at once, kind of like phrases, instead of just a word here and a word there.

Whenever I burp, she says, "xcuse you!" Or "Ah dawn (all gone)," as she tips her little bowl upside down after dinner. I thought it would be a good reminder for me, if I wrote some of her words down here:

- Guh gurhl (good girl)

- dane doo (thank you)

- Hah Hah (hot)

- Hah Hah (cold)

- ssshoo (shoe)...which she loves! She's always picking out pairs at the store and bringing them up to me and holding them up and saying "shoe?" Oh yea, and that reminds me how much she loves purses. Clint got me a new purse that is bigger than Ava, and today at church she put it over her shoulder and walked out of the chapel (in the middle of the meeting), and said "BYE BYE" as loud as she could.

- Of course she can also say the typical words: Mom, Dad, Ball, Papa, Baby, Mama (Gma), MiMi (Mia), Maaaaa (Mayah), mom (this time it means everybody look at me), Bobble (bubbles, which she loves!), mo...? (She says NO with an M and always inflexes her voice like a question. It's hilarious.), Pup (cup), Pop pop (popcorn), Bear, Gog (dog), Kitty. I'm sure there are others.

She also knows a plethora of animal sounds, and mimics their gestures:

- Monkey: she makes a cute monkey face where she sticks her fingers in her ears and wiggles her little snout.

- Lion: RAAAAWWR

- Dog: she has a ferocious little growl

- Fish: she opens and closes her mouth really fast like a fish

- Cat: Meow

- Lizard: slithers her tongue in and out really fast

- Woodpecker: she clicks her tongue repeatedly

- Cow: muuuh

- Bird: she makes little cheeps and synchronizes her hand motion (kind of like that chicken dance)

- Bee: sssss and flies her pointer through the air

- Owl: hooo hooo

Anyway, this is all I can remember right now. I think you get the picture. It's just really fun to watch her grow up and pick up so many new tricks.