4th of July

Ava celebrated her first 4th of July!!!! We took her to see the fireworks and at first she didn't love the loud noises the fireworks made, but she loved watching them. She was a trooper and stayed up way past her bedtime.

She turned 14 months old on July 3rd. She is babbling all the time and now says "Dada" and points to Bruce. I have to admit I am a little jealous since I am with her all day long and still haven't gotten a "Mama" out of her yet! She is pulling herself up and moving around, but not walking on her own yet. I think we are just a few weeks away from that happening.

We have taken her to the pool several times now and she LOVES the water! I really have to watch her because she is not fearful of the water at all. Her personality is really beginning to shine thru. She loves to be tickled and teased.....she is going to have quite a sense of humor!

The girls have been out of school for 2 weeks and she really likes having the girls around. There is always somebody there to play with her!

13 months!

Ava just turned 13 months old and continues to grow (and grow!). I took her for her one year check up a week ago and she is in the 95th percentile for her height and weight. She is just going to be a BIG girl!!! We had our 6 month post adoption interview with the social worker and she was impressed with Ava's development.

So, at 13 months, Ava :

- has 6 teeth

- is eating some real food (pancakes, fruit, pasta, etc)

- can stand up while hold onto my finger

- is crawling all over the place

- can pull herself up to a standing position

- can tell us how old she is by holding up 1 finger

New teeth & new hair

Ava is standing up and holding on to things. Now that she has discovered this new skill, she wants to be upright all the time. Don't know how long my back and arms will hold out!
So I have finally entered the world of African American hairstyling!!!! I watched a few videos and gave it a try. This style is called coils. I just wet it and put some styling product in her hair. Then I sectioned it and twirled each part with my finger. Olivia says it looks like she has little caterpillars on her head! Ava was cooperative for most of the time, but by the end, I was crawling on the floor behind her trying to finish the back. Not something I would do every day, but it's fun to have hair options.

Ava's teeth are coming in quickly!!!! She now has two on the bottom, two front ones on top and a few more working their way thru.

Ava's First Birthday

Ava turned a year old on May 3rd! I think she had a good time, although we couldn't get her to smile in the photos. We did a Yo Gabba Gabba theme since that's her favorite show. She enjoyed the cake, balloons and gifts.

These past four months have gone by in a blink and she has made such huge strides in her development. On her first birthday, we are reminded of how fortunate our family is to have Ava in our lives. Happy 1st Birthday Ava! We love you!!!!!!!

Into the Streets of Ethiopia

If you click on the button to the right you will see a great blog that has been set up by another family who adopted from Ethiopia. They are working with a man named Robel who works with America World Adoption ( our adoption agency) and also has set up a ministry to help the children who live in the streets of Ethiopia.

I think everyone who has traveled to Ethiopia and experienced all that we did cannot walk away without being transformed. It's encouraging to see families from our agency getting involved and helping to change these children's lives.

David Cook Idol Gives Back 2010

11 months

Ava turned 11 months old while we were on Spring Break. That was her first time to see the ocean/beach. She really liked the sand, but wasn't crazy about the ocean. I wasn't sure how she would do on this trip because we drove to Flordia and then were on a cruise for 7 days. She was great! She is the most laid back baby I have ever seen!

She is still working on crawling. She now army crawls all over our downstairs. The other day I found her playing with the dog water bowl. She loves exploring and banging on anything that makes noise. Her top 2 teeth are just coming thru. She has been sleeping thru night for over 6 weeks and life is much better (for both of us). Now that the weather is nice, she loves going outside and going for walks in her stroller.

I can't believe she has been home with us for nearly 4 months........she is changing and growing everyday and her birthday is just around the corner. Originally, we were planning to have a big party for her, but lately, she isn't comfortable around large groups of people, so we'll just do a small family birthday.

She is just so much fun at this age and she makes us laugh everyday!