Busy as a bee

We have a new-found love for Halloween.

Ava's Ninth Month

She talks! She dances! She has teeth (2, on the bottom)! What an amazing little person.

Our Baby's Got Mad Skills

Reading this blog may give you the impression that Ava's life is all fun and games. However, over the last 8 1/2 months, Ava has been hard at work improving some core competencies. Here's a review of her most recent achievements:

Pulling herself up
Ava is wreaking havoc on all of our furniture by using our coffee table as her own personal drum set. She's been pulling herself up for almost two months now and is currently working on "cruising" (using furniture to walk herself around a room).

"Walking"
Brody is still adjusting to an upright Ava, so it's taken us a few weeks to capture this skill on tape without Brody looking and sounding like a menace in the background.

Climbing Stairs
Yesterday we placed Ava in front of the stairs and she started climbing them, just like that. She's a natural. This gave her confidence to turn around and try to climb back down unaided, an area in which she is not quite as adept. This makes us rather happy to live in a one-story bungalow.

Standing
Ava can stand on her own, but not long enough for us to get out a video camera. We'll let you use your imagination with this still shot. Shake your head slightly as you look at this photo for 10 seconds--that's what the video would look like.
Pommel horse
Ava continues to break down barriers with her achievements on the pommel horse, traditionally restricted to male gymnasts. This video is actually from June, so you can only imagine how accomplished she is now.

Bassist Wanted

For the first time in six years none of our adjoining neighbors are in a practicing band, so Ava has taken it upon herself to fill the void. Marking an unofficial Portlander rite of passage, she has started jamming with her friend, Alexander Cash. Granted, they practice in a church school room rather than a basement, but let the record show there's no discernible difference between her drumming and that of our former neighbors.

Next up, a gig as a barista--when she's not on tour.