Ava is 2!

Can you believe that Ava is 2! She is getting so big. She is a smart little chic. I love how much more she is talking lately. She is much more understandable and her thoughts are so much more complex. Like today, I laid her down for a nap (she has been fighting naps lately) and started a movie for Chase to watch. After about 5 minutes she comes down. I told her it is nap time and she needs to go back to bed. Her reply, "Mom, I went to sleep and then I woke up. Now I watch a movie too."

Ava and Caden. Caden loves Ava. At night Ava is often grumpy and does not want to be hugged or kissed good night. This does not stop Caden from trying every night to give Ava a kiss good night.

Ava opens her present while Chase and Caden excitedly look on.

Yes, Ava loves being the one who gets to open all of the presents.

Hugs from Caden.

Package from Grandma and Grandpa Jones.

The stroller from Grandma and Grandpa J was a huge success! She takes it everywhere...it even sits next to her while she sleeps.

With a little encouragement she even blew out her candles.

I love this little girl's smile and laugh. It is the best thing!

A little about Ava (according to Mom)

Favorite color? ???? she is starting to try and pick out colors, she is actually right a lot of the time

Favorite food? what food doesn't she like. This girl loves to eat. She loves chocolate (and I swear can smell it from a mile away), loves yogurt, fruit leather, strawberries, waffles/pancakes/french toast/German pancakes

What do you want to be when you grow up? be like her brothers and sisters that she constantly copies

Favorite thing to do? she loves to go anywhere, she loves to be outside and is constantly trying to sneak out when her big sisters or brother go anywhere, she also loves to torment Chase

Who are your friends? I don't really know why but she loves Kailyn's friend Anna W. and gets so excited anytime we see her (she even knows her by name)

What is your favorite toy? the toy her brother Chase is playing with

Favorite Story/Book? she actually loves to read stories (she is not normally the one to initiate), she especially loves to read if she can sit on your lap and/or if it is one on one. She loves lift the flap type books.

Where do you want to live when you get big? she is going to be with us a long time yet

How many kids are you going to have? ???

Favorite song? any song she can dance to, she loves to dance and has started to even dance when there is no music playing. We do a thing called Music Makers every Friday and she loves the song we sing every week that has the kids sing "la, la, la" in different ways. In fact she will ask if we are going to "la, la, la."

Favorite movie? she loves Dora even though she has only seen it a couple of times

What makes you happy? chocolate and being held by mom

What makes you sad? when she can't eat when/what she wants, when someone is leaving and she can't go with

How do you know mom and dad love you? they put up with my frequent 5am, 3am wake up calls; they snuggle with me; they kiss my owies better

Some more about Ava...
Ava is a little snuggle bug. She doesn't just want to be held she wants to have as much body contact as possible. She sleeps on her stomach with her hands under her stomach. She is good with names. She can name a lot of the kids' friends' names and anytime there is someone she doesn't know she asks "Who is that?" She is a good little runner and loves to run. She loves her baby (which is a doll that has been through Kailyn and Jordan and definitely shows it). Definitely, in the 2s. She doesn't tantrum because we can't understand her but because she doesn't get what she wants when she wants it. She has bitten poor Chase a few times now. It normally occurs when they are fighting over a toy and they start yelling and then Ava gets frustrated and bites. I hate bitters! it is such a hard thing to break. She is very polite and is constantly saying 'thank you' for every little thing others do to help, she also says 'excuse me' all the time, and uses the phrase 'my I please..'.