Ava at 18 months :)

OMG. This sweet child is growing so quickly! Here are some lists of things Ava can do at just about 18 months old. She's learning something new every single day! This age is super fun! :) 

Words she can say:

Mama

Dada

Addie

Nonna

Papa

Katie (tae-tee)

dog

baby

milk (sign)

apple

all done (sign)

wa-wa (water)

book

up, please

please (sign)

open (oh-doe)

whoa baby (thanks, Michelle on Full House)

juice

door

thank you (sign)

hello

bye

hiiii!

bird

shoes

eat (sign)

eyes

peek-a-boo (peek boo)

fish

Doc (as in McStuffins)

out (more like "ooouuuutttt" when she wants to go outside)

bubbles (in the tub, outside, and when she sees the Bubble Guppies :)

hot

Animal sounds she can make:

dog

monkey

bird

elephant

lion

Other fun stuff:

loves to dance

loves to shake

likes to sit and put shoes on

can give a hug and a kiss

When we ask, "How big is Ava?" She raises her hands for "sooo big!"

When we ask, "Who stinks?" When she does, she raises her hand. :) ha

loves using her fork

Body Parts she can identify:

hair

eyes

nose

teeth

tongue

hands

feet

belly

ears

cheeks

neck

back

Ava's favorite things:

Addie

anything Addie does

anything Addie says

dancing/music

play doh

paint

baby dolls

push toys (popper, vacuum, stroller)

color (color wonder markers!)

macaroni

water to drink

pizza (eats the cheese off the top)

donuts

fruit snacks (slightly obsessed)

bananas

watermelon

canteloupe

chicken nuggets

carrots

green beans

biscuits

bath time

climbing stairs

climbing onto the couch

cook at her kitchen

play in the water outside

learning to play games

going to the library

"The Wheels on the Bus"

sitting in Mama's lap

playing "Where's Ava?"

sitting in her chair w/ Addie and watching a show

Doc McStuffins

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Full House

Annie

Frozen

going outside

playing at the park

the iPad

washing her hands (w/ soap and water and hand sanitizer)

slushes from Sonic

ice cream

Dislikes:

going to bed at night

when someone takes her toy

having her diaper changed

getting dressed (sometimes)

being told "no"

Sizes:

shorts/pants: 6-9 months

shirts: 12-18 months

diaper: 3

dress: 12 months

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past few months:

She loves falling asleep with us on the couch or in the recliner... some of my favorite moments. :)

She climbed up by me, opened her computer, and "worked" just like Mama. :)

Water? Yes!

Anything Addie can do, Ava can do it, too. :)

Fun playing under the table!

Dress up? Yes!

Peek-a-boo!

Ava,

Words can't express how much we love you! Your personality is amazing and you bring smiles to our faces every single day! We love how much you love us, how much you love your sister, and how much you love learning new things. We love your beautiful smile and your sweet little curls. We love your sound effects and your sweet dance moves.

We just love you! :)
Mama and Daddy

Sweet Summertime

So far, this summer has been a lot of fun! The girls are busy with outings, play dates, and games/fun at home. Here are a few pics of what's been going on:

Sweet sisters... now that Ava is a walker, Addie is excited to play with her. They get along really well (most of the time :).

We've played a LOT of dress up!

...and Ava shows that she wants to do everything just like Big Sister. :)

The sandbox has gotten a lot of playtime!

Color Wonder markers are the absolute best invention. Ava can "color" just like Addie, and we don't have a mess to clean up when she's finished! Amazing.

Ava has started to love babies! It is so sweet to watch her love on them and feed them. :)

More sandbox fun :)

Water fun has been our saving grace in the sweltering heat!

Playdate with Crue :)

Playdate with Jasey :)

Addie said, "Jasey's play room has EVERYTHING!" :)

...and lots of fun with Aunt Katie!

Ballerina Girl

Dance has always been a major part of my life. I danced from age 3-18 and on through college... I obviously don't want to "force" dancing on my girls, but I'll admit that I was incredibly slightly excited when she said she wanted to dance. Well, she had an amazing year with Mrs. Natalie... this is one of the few things that we never have to "make" her go to... she hops out of the car and runs into class. So happy that she has found something she loves. :)

This is Addie and Clara with Mrs. Natalie. During their last class before recital, they had "Princess Week." The girls got to wear their favorite princess costume and they danced, sang songs, ate cupcakes, and celebrated a great year. So much fun!

 Those eyelashes!

Addie's first recital was on June 7. She was in the "Creative Movement" class, so they performed one ballet number in the show. She was super excited!

This was Addie and her sweet friend, Clara, before the dress rehearsal. Addie loved getting dressed up, wearing make up, and being on the stage. I was worried that she'd be nervous with all of the people watching, but she was a pro! I was super proud of her... and may have cried the whole time. :)

See? Sweet girl!

Brooke, Addie, and Clara

I'm praying they'll still be together in class next year. Such sweet girls!

Love my tiny dancer!

All of our family came to see Addie. Once I get those pics from my mom, I'll have to post them. Addie loved having them, and Eric and I were appreciative that they all took time to come. :) Addie is already looking forward to dance this year... she gets to take ballet and tap! :)

Lately. Random. Life.

The Jackson household has been very busy lately. We have been very blessed with lots time with family and good friends. Here's a little of what we've been doing:

This sweet girl is preparing for her first dance recital. Needless to say, Mama is super excited! Here she is on her way in for pictures. I am so jealous of those eyelashes! :)

Addie has loved being in class with her sweet friend, Clara. :)

We have also done a lot of this. A stomach bug hit our household and it. was. rough.

Pitiful.

LOTS of this going on in our house these days! Ava is learning more each day, and, thankfully, Addie is getting better at sharing with her. :) I have no doubt that Ava will be able to hold her own, though... :)

The girls love their Daddy... and you can see that Ava is entering the "baby doll" phase. It's quite adorable. :)

My girls :) This was at my Mother's Day dinner. Such a great night with my family!

The girl that made me Mama :)

This sweet thing is moving everywhere these days! She is quite the cruiser... she will take a few steps every now and then from one person to another. She's very close to walking! If she's not cruising, she is scooting just like her sister did (crazy!). She says "da-da" and "ah-oh" all the time... and her favorite word is "Ad-eeeee!" She says it all the time! It's so sweet, and Addie loves it! When she's really sleepy, she'll say "mama" (awesome, right?). We're working on baby signs. She knows what "more" means because when we prompt her to say it, if she wants more, she nods yes... if she doesn't, she shakes her head no. Same with the "please" sign. Stinker. :)

 

This is Addie with the hand-stitched quilt that her Granny (Eric's grandmother) made for her. So, so special.

This is such a fun age with Addie! She LOVED preschool this year. She went two days a week to The Academy at WellSpring. It just opened in January... I love that she loves it... she is making friends, learning new things, and--my favorite part--learning about Jesus. :) She is learning how to read now, always asking us to read or asking to read one of "her" books (decodable readers). She can figure out sounds in words and use pictures to help her (this teacher mama is super proud!). She loves practicing spelling using the magnetic letters on the fridge/door. She can count to 100 and is learning to skip count. She asks questions all. day. long. We constantly remind ourselves that it is great that she is so inquisitive. :) She loves playing outside on her playset (with new sandbox!) and trampoline, riding her bike and scooter, bubbles, princesses, Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, puzzles, the library, the park, ballet class, pretending just about anything (school, house, family, store, etc.), dress up, days spent with Katie, going to church (especially when Mommy teaches), bathtime with Ava, playing upstairs, "Annie," singing songs from the iPad, Daniel Tiger, Sid the Science Kid, Boz, sitting through Mommy's classes online, and much, much more! One of my favorite things about Addie is her heart. She is so sensitive... she loves to make sure everyone is "okay." For example, every time she has a snack, if there is an orange piece, she saves it for Eric. If there is a blue one, she saves it for me... skittles, jelly beans, fruit snacks, you name it. :) If she hugs one person in the room, she makes sure to hug everyone. She worries about Ava all the time and makes sure to hug and kiss her (even though Ava is not always on board :). I pray she always has a heart that is sensitive to the needs of others.

We had a fun Cinco de Mayo celebration at home this year. We had gone out with friends the weekend before, so we spend the 5th (a Monday night) at home. We had tacos and queso... Ava was quite the fan as you can see. Mama and Daddy enjoyed margaritas. We played outside and watched a few "dancing shows" put on by Addie. Precious memories.

This one. Oh, my little daredevil. Ava is quite fearless!

Ava is so full of personality these days! She does the cheesy grin you see above quite often. It makes me laugh every time! Her loves: anything Addie is doing, blocks, "reading," hugging baby dolls and stuffed animals, cruising anywhere she can, "cooking" in the play kitchen, the library train table, chicken nuggets, any fruit (esp. bananas, cantaloupe, and honeydew), cinnamon sugar toast, fries, Ritz crackers, puffs, ANYTHING outside, bubbles, sitting on the trampoline while Addie jumps, swinging, the sandbox, her play table, dancing to music, "singing" along when there is a long note in a song (hilarious!), "brushing" her teeth (only when she can do it!), water, milk, cheese puffs, carrots, green beans, pizza, cheese dip, ketchup, and any food Addie might leave behind. :)

Oh, and ice cream :)

She has four teeth on top and four teeth on bottom... with two more breaking through on the bottom. She answers to her name, scoots veeerry quickly to the bathroom when she hears the bath water running, can follow simple directions (bring me a book, clean up the puzzle, bring this to Addie, stir up the food, etc.), and can successfully climb onto the couch. :)

Always ready to say "cheese" for the camera :)

  

I love this collage... you can see how much they love each other! I always knew it would be so sweet to watch, but I didn't know how much it would tug at my heart each time I see it in real life... gees. I just love them.

My Addie :)

My Ava :)

More to come soon! :)