Welcome to Toddlerhood [officially!] Ava is officially a toddler according to our state standards although she's been acting like one for quite a while :) I'm not sure why these months keep flying by but I don't like it. Every month she is doing more and more and I feel like I can't slow down fast enough to take it all in! On to the updates:
Just in the past month Ava's self-help skills have improved in so many ways. When she is ready to eat she'll go get her plate and bring it to you. She'll also grab her bib and try to get it on and get a spoon too. It's so cute. She knows where everything is kept so when you open the fridge she'll grab a yogurt, go get a bowl, spoon and bib and bring it to you. When she is done she throws the container away and puts the bowl and spoon into the dishwasher after we open it. It's so great to see how proud she is of herself! We let her help load and unload the dishwasher too [once we take the knives out] but we have to watch her because she's thrown away a plate or two before. It's amazing to watch her take out the plates and put them on her shelf. Of course it's all messy but they are all on her shelf and balanced so we can't ask for much more! Once we are home Ava helps take off her hat and coat and puts them away in her room. She very carefully puts them on her rocking chair and leaves it there until we go out again. I'm so thankful she likes to clean up!
Of course we are at that age where Ava likes to test her boundaries. We don't allow her to stand on the couch or her anywhere chair because 1. it isn't safe and 2. it's rude. Ava knows this and will usually sit after we remind her. But then she gets that glimmer in her eye. And as she is looking at us she'll stand on the couch. We give her three chances before we take her off the couch completely. She just grins as you come over to help her and stands right back up when we walk away. She's learning and knows it's a battle she just won't win. My favorite is when she pushes herself up so she's leaning on the arm of her anywhere chair. She isn't standing but she isn't sitting either so she just looks at you with this big grin. Trouble!
Munchy has gotten great at following 2 step directions which is a lot for a little brain to follow! We have to repeat them a few times as with all toddlers at this age but she does great remembering them and following them. At our school rooms with infants are shoeless so when we walk out of Ava's room together she stops me and picks up my shoes and hands them to me. She loves being such a helper and is so into following her routine. I love watching her process what should come next. One of Ava's favorite things to do is pick out her socks every morning. I open the drawer and she gets so excited and points to which one she wants. Then she tries getting them on herself and hands them to me. As I'm putting them on she is already pointing to the shoes she wants to wear. She's a pushy little thing! She knows if the gate isn't up and will point to it to let you know it's not on. She also tries to re-latch the cabinets if the safety lock is off. Maybe she'll be a future hall monitor? :)
Ava's receptive and expressive language skills are great. I'm always blown away by what she understands and follows. Ava is very into her routines and knows what is supposed to happen next. She won't let you forget a thing! At school they wash their hands before eating. Ava knows that once they clean off the table and pull out the chairs it is time to eat so she'll wait by the sink with her arms up to wash them. She also has a nice little habit of bringing us a diaper and a wipe when she needs to be changed---not that we need to be told! Ava loves handing out the mail to people. She waits anxiously by the mail pile to find out what piece goes to what person. She does great identifying everyone in her extended family. Ava can identify a lot of her body parts and can identify them on us and her dolls too. When she wants to watch Elmo, she takes the clicker and points it to the tv. She also loves chatting on the phone and pushing the buttons and holding the phone up to her ear. She holds it up backwards which is just too cute. She loves her tubby time and as soon as I mention it she runs into the bathroom and grabs her bath wash. We added in a small toddler pillow to Ava's crib. She was always sleeping on her dolls or stuffed animals so we figured a pillow would be a little more comfortable.
Ava still loves music and dancing. She knows the dances to
If You're Happy..., spins around for the
Hokey Pokey and gets her spiders out for the
Itsy Bitsy Spider. I love watching her dance and participate more in finger plays. She's gotten really good at puzzles and loves filling and dumping containers. She does great with her stacking cups but loves knocking them over even more. Of course, she still adores her baby dolls. She is always feeding them and burping them. Ava also shakes your hand when you say "nice to meet you". She learned something from her elmo video! :) Ava does really well with her fork and spoon. The fork is a little trickier at times but she is always so determined. Three of her molars have popped through [well the corner parts] She's done really well with the molars---a lot better than I thought she would. Those things hurt! She is just so fantastic and I can't believe how much she has changed in just one month!
hamming it up for the camera [she's silly @ 6am!]
