Clapping.. Finally!!

We've been waiting for Avah to clap since her 6 mo appt.
Dr- so she's sitting up, playing patty cake, sleeping through the night?!?
Me- uh sleeping through the night?!?!? What do you consider through the night?

Later at home telling daddy about the appt, yeah so I already felt like a failure bc I hadn't taught her to " put herself to sleep" so I wasn't even going into the patty cake discussion. ( I knew she didn't have this down and I didn't want them to tell she needed to do it so I just said oh yeah she does it all the time)

And guess what she did it at 11 months an she is completely normal! One thing I have learned don't always believe all these milestones people play into, all babies are different!! :)

11months!

Our little one turned 11 months on the 8th. Hard to believe we've had this little bundle of joy for almost a year! She has truly blessed our days in more ways than we can count! We are getting really excited to celebrate her first birthday and I am just cherishing every last day of this "infancy" period. Seriously her clothes now say 12-18 mo toddler?! Whaaa?!? My baby is NOT a toddler already...
Avah's current words are Mama, Dada, hi and hello. She waves bye bye, loves to give high fives and has the biggest grin ever! Her new thing is climbing, loves to climb chairs, doggies etc. Shes had quite a few head bumps because she likes flopping her body on anything soft like the dog beds and frequently misses :( ouch!
Favorite foods continue to consist of blueberries, lasagna, peas, cheese, eggs and apples.
Every night we read the same 2 books before bed. One page has a yellow bee so I always make the buzzy sound and say bee. I noticed last week she would turn her head around when we got to that page, she was waiting for me to buzz!!! I couldn't believe it, we of course think she's a genius lol.

Weekends are the BEST.

First our weekend started with some yummy breakfast made by the best husband and daddy in the world. Avah and I are so lucky to have him. Seriously sometimes I forget how much he helps until I hear us telling someone and I'm like WHOA he does an amazing job! Daddy's should do what he does tough.. Carry the family. He plays with Avah everyday 7-4pm at which point I come home and he works till 10ish. Not only does he entertain our little one he prepares dinner, laundry and takes Avah out and about. So Go Daddy you rock!!! He's also the one who is sooooo good with money. Without him we would not have our house, be debt free or have a savings. So just felt like I should point out all his wonderfulness haha he makes us happy.
After breakfast we headed to power of play for Isabelle's birthday party. Avah loves it! Her new favorite trick is climbing! Last night she climbed into her chair and there she was climbing the ladders! So now everything she comes to she hikes up her leg and tries to pull up like the couch and edge of the bath tub! Fun!
She cobbled up cauliflower mash and blueberries last night. Cleaning up is quite the chore now.
We've got birthday invites ordered! :)

Lol on the self pic, I really need a full length mirror!!!

Walking?!?

Avah started walking this week!! She used to take a few steps at a time then fall, now she walks across the house!! She giggles the whole time with excitement, it is the cutest thing to watch. I had a 5 day weekend last week and we had some good family time which was needed. Every other break we have traveled or had company so it was nice just to be on our schedule all weekend! We took Avah to fit for Fun in Wilmington. She was a little sleepy from missing morning nap but she was still a trooper. She spent a lot of time in the pink car..(1st birthday present # 1) we celebrated Daddy's 32nd birthday with Aunt Suesue and the boys. Then we spent everyday outside playing at the park.
Avah favorite food currently is blueberries, she loves string cheese too! She doesn't really eat much baby food anymore as she likes to pick up food with her fingers. Now it's time to start planning the first birthday party, I have narrowed it down to "high tea" party, really girly and shabby chic!
The last picture brings a tear to my eye. She is growing so fast it makes me sad when I look in her room and she's jut happy as can be playing by herself. Where did my baby go, the one that needed me to sit behind her or shed topple over?

10 months!

Avah at 10 months, oh soooo much fun!!!

Likes (in no particular order...)
swings
tickle monster
peas, blueberries, string cheese, scrambled eggs
pasta, all kinds..true Italian girl.
water in her sippy cup
anything in a cabinet

She is sleeping 6-6ish most nights, sometimes I can stretch it to 7 but this little girl loves to fall asleep early and wake up at the crack of dawn!

We have been pretty successful at weaning so far. During the week no problem she takes formula from Dada all day. I nurse her before bed and once at night. On the weekend I have pretty much cut out nursing during the day too, although sometimes I still give in..I love it just as much as she does so sometimes she needs the comfort. :)
I've started converting the "man room" into "Avah's palace" as you can see from the picture. This summer I want to add some cool black/white photos of her, window coverings and a rug.

Now its on to party planning time. Thinking of going with a theme rather than just colors..and keeping the invites "light" I dont want to overwhelm her. Plus there will be MANY more birthdays she will remember so thinking of saving the "big" parties with blow up houses and ponies for later-haha!
We've had some amazing weather in January, 70 degree days brought us lots of beach, park time & stroller rides. I cant wait until its here to stay. Avah loves to be outside and crawling around the beach.

Christmas!

A few of my favorites from Christmas. This was the best Christmas yet, seeing Avah & the kiddos excited over gifts was the best! We celebrated a few days early at our home so we could travel to Ohio on the 21st. She opened her Christmas eve gift which was the DVD player for the car. BOY was this a life saver on the trip! Avah slept the entire time or watched a little Baby Einstein. :)  Thanks to Nana. Her favorite gift from Mimi was the ball pit or the shape box. Little puppy mojo enjoyed the ball pit too. The photo of Avah in the puppy bed makes me laugh...she LOVES sitting in anything that she isnt supposed to-boxes, serving trays, cabinets..or dog beds to name a few.

9 months!

Avah's 9 month well check is Thursday, cant wait to see how  much she has grown. These days she does not stop moving!! She started walking with a push walker yesterday...walking by Christmas? Thats everyones prediction..

Shes been eating a lot of finger foods. She likes scrambled eggs, toast, french toast, chicken, string cheese, fruit..just to name a few.