Ava: 18 Months

ALREADY? Seriously? Is she seriously one and a half? I was looking at some pictures on my Mom’s computer from when I was living in PA last April and I can’t even believe how much Ava has grown over the past year. She’s such a little girl now. I can’t even believe it.

Well, we had Ava’s 18 month check up this past Friday and it went really well. I love her pediatrician, which makes visits super great, and we learned that she is doing quite well! Some of the biggies were that we knew she was right on par with all the developmental milestones that are set for her age. Gabbing away with new words coming out all the time, climbing, running, breaking rules, pushing her limits...all the good stuff! She’s in the 95% for her head, the 50% for her height, and she’s in the 75% for her weight coming in around 26 pounds. I’m happy to say that her doctor wasn’t too pushy on our food problems that Ava is having at home. She’s clearly getting the nutrients and calories she needs so as far as her willingness to try new things, he said don’t push her and she’ll do it when she’s ready. We continue to offer her new things daily and while sometimes she shuns it immediately, other times she willing to give it a small taste or a quick lick to see what it’s all about. We’re working on it! The other night she ate a couple bites of pizza and I think I ran outside and did a few cartwheels in the yard due to my extreme excitement. Aaahhh, the little things. For her head issue, both of the pediatricians on base have expressed to me how unconcerned they are with what I’ve described to them. They basically said that if it were something serious she would do it all the time, it would be getting progressively worse, she would have major side effects that would have shown up by now, and it doesn’t help that every time I take her to the doctor’s office she’s not doing it. Oh, and did I mention she hasn’t done it for the past few days? So weird... I’m going to keep my eye on her and I have to say, I was surprisingly okay with the reasoning and explanation that our doctors had to give us regarding my concerns. I can’t help it, I love her madly!!! I was actually excited to get her all up to date on her immunizations but of course her records were never updated in the computer to show all the shots she received while we were her in PA. Because my sister was coming into town that day I didn’t have time to wait for them to go through all the paperwork so even though I was going to try and come back later on that afternoon, we just simply ran out of time. Yuck! We left for PA the following morning so it looks like we’ll have to wait until we go back to NC in a few weeks to get Ava current. No yucky illnesses for us, thanks!

So, I’m here in PA for a few weeks while Curt is off training for work. I’m really excited to be home and I can’t wait to catch up with some friends and go out on the town with my sisters. I miss PA so much and I often find myself cruising around Chester County daydreaming about when Curt and I will pack up our family and head back north for good. We usually find ourselves planning our future dream house and all the wonderful things it will have inside. It will be just the right size with all the small details that we love throughout the house. One thing is for sure and that is when we do settle down, we’ll build from the ground up and make sure we’re nestled in a quiet neighborhood with big yards and lots of trees. I’m all about the privacy and a space to call my own. Someday...

Unfortunately someone hit my car the other day and I’m super upset about it. I mean, I finally get a brand new car at 29 years old and some jerk hits me in a parking lot and doesn’t even own up to it! RUDE. I can’t even explain how angry I was when I saw it. Just wrong...

Our drive up from NC to PA was pretty uneventful. Oh wait. That’s a lie. While approaching Baltimore Ava drank too much from her juice cup and then her goldfish got swallowed funny...which means we had an “upchuck” incident on 95 north. She was pretty freaked out after it happened and because I was driving and couldn’t help out, I had to pull over (scary!!!) and move to the back seat to I could attend to her screaming and smelly clothes. Good times. Mariel AND Colleen were both in the car with me so that made the drive way better. Colleen surprised me with her trip down because I only thought it was Mariel who was helping out that weekend. It was a great surprise! They got to check out my new house and visit with Curt some before we left the next day. Our family is ALL about the surprises...

We already miss Curt tons but we get to talk to him a few times each day. We like to call him and leave him silly messages while he’s at work and he said he really likes to hear from us even if he’s away from his phone. We’re big on the kisses and the “nigh, nigh” so we make sure that we at least leave Da some kisses on the phone even if he’s not around. Makin’ it work, people!!! Makin’ it work...

I’m hoping to be a good blogger while I’m here so hopefully more stories and pictures come soon! Ava adjusted well with her sleeping here but I still need to be prepared for an early wake up! I’m off to bed, my friends. Until next time....

(Sorry for the lack of pictures but they’re all on our home computer...and most are already on FB!)