It's Potty Time!

Okay, so we've had our training potty for about 2 months now and up until last week it's mostly been used to sit on (fully clothed) and to just kind of get used to for a while. I did some reading on looking for the signs to know if Ava was ready to be potty trained and seeing how she met most of the requirements, we decided to slowly go onto the next step. She's been waking up with dry diapers for about 3 weeks now, she always lets us know when she's taking care of business, and she never likes to hang out in her diaper when it's dirty. What we started doing this weekend was just putting Ava on the potty whenever we were changing her diaper or around bath time when she was "naked!!!!!", as she loves to scream once she's in her "birthday suit". Well, low and behold, on Monday morning I sat her little tushy on the potty and she started to tinkle!!! Haha, "tinkle". She was a bit shocked when it happened, as were Curt and I. We weren't even paying attention, we just heard it from across the room! She, of course, stuck her hand right in it, purely out of curiosity. We cheered like crazy people, or, at least I'm sure that's what Ava thought. Now, she's only done it that one time and we keep going about our routine with potty. We have lots of books on hand and she sometimes can sit there for about 10 minutes. I keep reminding her, "Ava- do you have to go peepee?", so we're not sitting there for an hour and she forgets what in the heck she's trying to do. I'm all about slow and steady here, friends. The less accidents we have, the better. I know accidents will be inevitable but I'm not trying to get this done in a week, as some books suggest you can. We're just really proud of Ava and excited that she's being such a big girl about the potty!


In the midst of all this potty business we had a really laid back Labor Day weekend. Curt went into work for 2/3rd's of it so when he was home, we just kind of took it easy. Rest assured their squadron did have the weekend off, he just had some things to catch up on. We attempted to sleep in and in some ways, we were successful. Ava woke up around 7:30, which is great considering most days she's up around 6:45. We've upped her bedtime to 8pm, thankfully, now that summer is on it's way out. No more of this 8:45 business. Momma needs her alone time!

Ava is still doing better with her eating habits. She's obsessed with grapes, pizza, and cheerios right now. We've tried a variety of different pizzas but Ava really only likes pizza from actual pizza places, like Little Caesars. She doesn't like frozen pizza, at all. This is just great news for my waist line! We're still working on different things and hopefully she welcomes bread and pasta into her menu sometime in the future.

We're trying a new toddler reading group tomorrow at the local library that I think Ava will really enjoy. She LOVES books and the good thing about this group is that is for 18-36 month olds, so it's perfect for her to be around children her own age. I hope she likes it! I love having something planned for Ava at least a couple times per week. She's loving her ballet class and we're hoping to get back into playgroup. This summer made it tough for me to participate because as selfish as it was, I can't stand the NC heat. It was just too hot for the two of us to be playing outside when it was 100 degrees outside...and humid! Yuck. The 10 day forecast promises to be in the 80's for our area and I'm practically giddy. Who knew that temps in the 80's would be a good thing?!


Here's a couple funnies that Ava has given us in the past couple days:

-When I was in the shower one morning Ava came into the bathroom and said, "Hey Mommy! What are you doing in there? Taking a shower with soap?" I was speechless. It was, without a doubt, the longest set of words she's ever said to me.

-When we were playing in her toy room I heard an, "Uhoh! Uhoh, Mommy. No drawing on the mirror. Not safe." Ha! So, clearly she drew all over her play mirror and realized after the fact it was a bad idea. The "not safe" part really didn't make much sense, but still funny none the less.

-Finally, Ava has no begun to treat all her dolls as real babies. She likes to tell me to "shhhh!" and puts her finger up to her mouth, when they're taking a "nigh nigh". She lies them down on their bellies and pats their backs, then walks away from them just like I do when I put her in her crib for naps and at night time. She likes to feed them, carry them around, put them in time out, read them stories...the works. What a good Mama!!!!

Ava Ballerina

Okay, friends. It's official. We have "the dancing machine" in a DANCE CLASS. And, it comes as NO surprise to me that she absolutely loves it. This is a program that's run on base so it's all military kiddos in her group, it's super cheap, and it's being taught by a close friend of mine. How on earth could I pass that up? PLUS, they have a recital in June that is held at the community college for TWO nights to show off all their mad skills that they learn over the year. My parents already assured me that their flying down to see her "work it" in person. I don't blame them... But, back to the teacher. I used to assist in her Kinder classroom waaay back when Curt was in the B-course before we moved to England. Her hub is also a pilot that was in the same weapons school class as Curt! So, obviously, I love her. She takes on thirteen 2-4 year olds each week so therefore, she's my hero. Could you imagine? Ava alone gives me a run for my money and she's teaching 13 of them to dance, simeutaneously?!?! She must have magical powers. Ava absolutely loves it and when I go in the studio to pick her up...she runs in the opposite direction! I don't take offense mainly because it just goes to show me how much she enjoys it in there.

Here are a couple pictures that I took while we were waiting for all the other students to arrive. I put a couple videos on FB too, so, if you're up for it...knock yourself out. ;)



Ava would say, "I jumpin', I jumpin'...."

Long Time, No Write...

Hey Friends! I hate to admit this but I've been the WORST blogger this summer for a couple reasons. The top three are because I didn't have any free time, I had too much to say, and most importantly, I didn't feel like it. Just keepin' it real. This may be the most confusing post ever, but I really do have a lot to say so I'm just going to go where my mind takes me.

Someone looks like her Daddy! (or her Mommy, I guess we really can't tell even today!)


Let's start with the most important news, according to Ava, at least. Ava's doing really well as she approaches her 2nd birthday in just a few short weeks. Seriously. Seriously? How did this happen? Wasn't she just a little peanut in my belly, like, yesterday? Hearing someone tell you, "they grow up so fast!" may just be the most annoying statement known to man. Unfortunately, it's true. It may just be time for us to start thinking about planting a new seed, yes? ;) I guess only time will tell...

Ava's talking up a storm these days. Lots of questions! "What's that noise? What happened? Where'd it go? Who's that? What's that?" and the list goes on. She's an inquisitive little girl, that's for sure. On the other hand, she's also quite demanding. "Mommy! Come here!". Or my personal favorite, "Mommy! Hurry up!" and "Mommy! Move!" or the oh-so-polite, "STOP!". But, we're most proud of things like, "Thank you!", "Thanks", "Yes, please", and "I love you". (The "I love you" sounds much more like "i-of-ooo", but you catch my drift. She's also big on, "Mommy hold you?" or "Mommy show you?". Too cute... Her vocabulary is expanding daily. She knows more words than I can give her credit for, really. Any and all animals, toys, things in the house, things outside, cars and trucks, things at the store... Impressive, if I do say so myself. Her memory is getting better and better all the time. She remembers families as a whole, "Ken and Deena and doggie Ely" or "Peter and Gretchen and baby Kaylee". If we mention one person she likes to list all the other remaining members of the family. She loves her babysitter, Marissa, and asks for her all the time. As for the extended family? They are her personal favorite. She asks to go over to AJ's house at least once a day, but more like 50 times per day. She asks for her aunts, uncles, grandma's and grandpa's ALL THE TIME. Man, we live TOO FAR from home.

Just like always, Ava absolutely loves to dance and sing! I've signed her up for a ballet class on base that meets once per week and she's doing fantastic. I think we have many a dance recital in our future with this little girl. I bought her a cute ballet outfit from Target last week that I will take a picture of next week when she gets to wear it for the first time. It's ADORABLE. The singing just warms my heart. She's got quite a few memorized after the millions of sign along sessions that we've had. Music is my number one bribe for Ava. I can always get her to come to me if I offer to sing her a song. It's her only weakness!

I'm still a teacher at heart and the first person that tells me I'm running a "hot house" will be on the receiving end of...nothing good outta me. Ava's a sponge and I'm all about teaching her whatever she wants to learn. So far, she can count to 15, name all the colors in the rainbow plus some, she knows all the basic shapes plus some, and she knows about 6 numbers and 10 letters in the alphabet. I'm so proud of her! Lately she's all about labeling things with their respective color. Like, Black car, or red shirt. We label A LOT. Most car rides she's yelling from the back seat, "Green rectangle!" or "yellow diamond" as we pass the road signs. She's got Curt's overachieving brains. Hopefully she gets my fashion sense. ;) Ava is my life, guys. I'm overly impressed by how much she can do each and every passing day. Soon enough she won't even be able to get help from me. We all know high school math and science wasn't my strongest area. Curt, on the other hand, smart as a whip. ;)

She's working on getting undressed on her own but the shirt proves to be quite difficult. She usually gets her head stuck half way through and gets mad enough to just quit. It's actually kinda funny. She can follow directions and helps out with things like laundry and cleaning up her toys.

Last but not least, Ava has finally broken her food boycott and she's trying more and more things each day. Praise the Lord! I knew she'd open up some day and realize there is life outside of goldfish and chicken!!!! Her new favorites are pizza and grapes. She eats more pizza and grapes, oh man, it's non stop. I'm just happy she's let her guard down and doesn't completely shut down when we present her with a new food. She's growing up!!!

Okay, without blabbing on and on for too long... I've got about a zillion videos on FB so feel free to hop on over there and check them out! Ava and Daddy videos are my favorite!!!!!

I've spent most of my summer in PA and we all had such a great time visiting family and taking vacations whenever we could. I managed to visit an old friend from school in Pittsburgh, go to the shore for a week, catch up with hs friends at home, and most importantly relax. We had a fantastic time and I have loads of pictures to prove it. I'll try and give you a little something with each picture I post...

Curt's been super busy at work, flying nights, going in early. Man! Life as a weapons officers comes with some serious commitment. Thankfully, Curt's all about it. He's doing a great job at home, too, whenever he's here. He practically begs me to go out and do things on my own after a long week is over so I can have some free time. He loves spending his downtime with Ava so he can catch up on all she learned that week. Sometimes her new words and phrases make him seriously grin ear to ear and laugh out loud in amazement. He gets bummed sometimes that he misses out on some things but as you can see, I'm the VIDEO QUEEN, so nothing goes undocumented. We, no kidding, have a wedding in the northeast every month until December. Will he be able to go to all of them? Of course not. But we will make it up there for as many as we can and we really value those trips we can take up to see family while we're living so close.

My house is about 90% complete. Curt keeps joking to me that even though we're supposed to be here 2.5-3 years they're going to change they're minds and move us early. Me? I don't think it's quite as funny as he does... I honestly love this house! I love the layout, I love the look, I love the decorating. LOVE. I have yet to take pictures and hopefully I'll get to do that in a separate post. I've had a great time adding my own personal touch to a place that we can finally call our own...

On a more sour note, I must say. I HATE, yes, HATE the weather here. Evidently it's one of the hottest summers EVER and I am melting. Yes, melting. It's been in the high 90's to low 100's all summer long. Um, NO thanks. I don't like to be in the sun, I don't like to sweat, I don't like summer clothes. I mean, I'm just over it. Ava and I have spent most of the summer in doors because it's honestly too unsafe for us to be running around outside in 100+ degree temps when I know it's impossible to keep her out of the sun and hydrated. For your skeptics out there, we play at daybreak and in the evening outside. We're not complete shut-in's. For all my England buddies out there, do you remember when we used to joke that for every sunny day we got in the UK it rained for the next two weeks? Well, here it's the exact opposite. For every rainy day we get it's a blazing hot, sunny mess for a MONTH. I mean, enough already. I've already made a mental note: Must retire somewhere north of New York. I need a mild summer with a long winter. Yes. LONG winter.

Last but not least, let's talk about ME. I've been trying to plan out the next few years of my life. Well, guess what? That's next to impossible to do if you're "married to the military". I'm so thankful for Curt and his awesome career, but it makes life a tad bit difficult for me as far as careers are concerned. I need to go back to school to finish my masters. Last time I checked, I was half way there. I'm not ready to put Ava in daycare or with a babysitter so as far as a job is concerned, I'm technically out of luck. Sure, I could get a job tomorrow in NC working in a public school. Not to toot my own horn, but those of you that follow education in America know that schools in NC are struggling and will really take anyone they can get. I'm just not quite there yet. I want to expand my family and raise my kids the way I want them to be raised. Do I wish I could have both? Of course. Is that possible. Of course not. Curt is our provider and he does more than enough to keep us afloat. It would a personal satisfaction making my way back into the classroom and someday, I will be back where I belong.

For now, here's some pictures of our summer!

Enjoy!

Not a care in the world, these two. Must be nice...


Um, kinda scary! Ava loves her a good ol' jump in the bed!


Sunbathing. But really, I think it was around 730 pm. Like I'd ever let her sunbathe in a diaper. No thanks. ;)


Swimming in my clothes?!?! So fun! What happens at Grandma's house, stays at Grandma's house.


Tearing it up on Mimi and Poppy's back deck. "I runnin'...!"


Where's Ava?!?!?


Peek-a-boo! Yes, this game never gets old. NEVER!


Here ya go, Maggie. I'm all finished so you can have it. Maggie was at Ava's feet pretty much constantly waiting patiently for her to pass off her "leftovers".


So happy!


Ava emptied this cabinet at my parents house DAILY. Everything out!


If Maggie could talk she'd say, "Drrrrrop it. Just drop it! Please?"


Ava LOVES when Poppy reads her books. She prefers him over anyone else when it comes time to read...anything!


Ava has now turned the table on all of us and SHE is now the tickle monster...


Best Friend, Poppy.


Ava and Aunt "Coal-een"


I smell TROUBLE! Of course, they get away with it ALL because of their high levels of cuteness...


Best buds. Snacks on the swing in the middle of summer. Life is bueno...


Colleen once said, "When they come at me at once I feel like I'm being attacked by pigeons! ;)


AJ! Always RUNNING!!!!


Don't they look like they're up to no good? They're conspiring to do...something. ;)


First boating trip! She was NOT a fan of the lifejacket.


First attempt on the tube with Daddy? Epic fail. She hated it!


Snacking on the boat while spending the day with our other families, the Yule's and the Madsen's at Buckhorn Lake!


My cousin John's wedding in NEPA. I finally made it home for a wedding! I sure missed a lot while I was living overseas.


Curt and his sister, Angela. Drinks while out one night in AC!


Angela and her hubby-to-be, Warren. Heidi and Spencer 2.0, right? Although, much cuter...and nicer...and down to earth.


Curt and I, sans Ava, for a night out in Atlantic City. (I need to lose like, 10 pounds, and the botched bang trim isn't helping. )


This is where you'll find cool people like Curt and I who have sworn off the sun. Be jealous.


My one night out with some of my favorite girlfriends from PA. So fun!


Ava's first day at the beach this summer! Contrary to her happy smile in this picture, she HATED the water. We need swimming lessons, now!


Beach Bum.


Ava and Daddy, strolling on the coast.


Hi, My name is Ava and I LOVE Swedish Fish. A lot.


Gummy worms? Don't mind if I do!


Riding the elephants with Daddy! So cool that she was able to go on the rides at the boardwalk this year. She LOVED it!


Merry-go-round with Mommy. She refused to get on the horse. Too scary!


Hating the pool. Not sure what that was all about. Maybe it was too cold? Either way, she refused to go in all week. Bummer...


Our first surrey ride! So beautiful first thing in the morning on the boardwalk.


Our navigator. She did great!


Wiped out after spending the morning in Cape May.


Daddy? Toys, Please?


Making wishes!!!


Random: How cute is this shower gift that I gave to my great friend, Deena, for her baby that's due this week?!?! Obviously, her hubs is a pilot too. Just perfect.