Swinging, swinging, swinging in the sheets

Sure, chores take a wee bit longer when Ava's around.  But chores are way more fun when Ava's around.

Ava's 20th Month

This month we stepped up our efforts at molding Ava into a productive citizen. We've harnessed her youthful exuberance in the kitchen by making her both sous chef and dishwasher (as we explained to her, you've got to start somewhere). In addition, we've started her Miss Manners training by taking her out to eat at honest-to-goodness restaurants with some frequency. Just when we started patting ourselves on the back, though, Ava started speaking in full sentences. Turns out, those first sentences were commands and outright refusals.

But we're hardly slave-drivers around here. Ava visits the zoo so often that she now screams "ANIMOWS!" or "AFRICA!" every time we hop on the highway. And when we're not at the zoo, we're spider hunting in the backyard and puddle jumping on the sidewalk. Here are some pictures from her latest adventures...

Movin' On Up

It's a time of transition for Ava and her daycare pals!  This week Ava, along with her ChildRoots friends and teachers, will graduate from room 7 to room 4.  Room 4 boasts a more challenging play structure and a kitchen arranged so the kids can serve themselves lunch. Yeehaw!!

In honor of their graduation, we thought we would share a few photos from the last 8 months. Recommended listening: Barbra's "The Way We Were."

Room 7 enjoys a family-style meal

Precious.  Am I right?  Ava's the one holding a bunny.

Each morning her teachers rearrange the room to keep things new and interesting.  Ava likes to destroy these creations before the other kids have a chance to enjoy them.  You've got to get up pretty early in the morning...

Peek-ing and boo-ing, and all that.

Catch ya later room 7.

Ava says a bunch of stuff

I'm taking pity on all of you and just posting a portion of this incredibly long video. Here's little Ava Kate saying some of the words she knows while doling out hugs to her pops.

Ava's 19th Month

This month in Ava's world:

• Ava continues to talk to anyone or anything within earshot. Her new favorite words are "smoothie," "nokay," "outside," and "oops," although at this point she can make a fairly good attempt at most words.
• Smoothies are now Ava's largest food group.  She requests them every time she sits down for a meal, walks through the kitchen, or during the odd occasional pause in conversation. In response, we now add all sorts of vegetables in with her fruit smoothies and she seems to be none the wiser.
• Scrapes and cuts are becoming an everyday occurrence as Ava attempts to gain the independence she feels she deserves.  We remain unconvinced.
• Ava's wild mane of hair is now completely out of control.  Month 20 holds the promise of Ava's first haircut. See for yourself in this month's pics...

Ava's Hot (Play) Date

Last week our good friend Alexander Cash (or "Aleh," as Ava likes to call him) came over to play. Ava found the idea of "sharing" to be a little much to handle but did allow him to play with two trains at the corner of the blanket, when she wasn't paying attention.

Ava is a quick study, though, and by snack time she had really grasped the concept of sharing.

Here she is allowing Alex to share his pretzels with her.

After exhausting all possible backyard activities, we moved to the front porch where the kids completely lost their minds.

The date ended with a romantic stroll to the park.

Camping! Or...How I spent my summer with yahoos shooting guns on the river

We have been talking about taking Ava camping for about a year now but were holding off due to overwhelming fear. Ava loves being outside but sleeping in a tent is uncharted territory for her. But, you can only put these things off for so long, so this July we bit the bullet (continue reading to see how apt a phrase this really is) and headed for the forest.

We started with a swim in a river. Keep in mind, this is an Oregon, glacier-fed river with a temperature of 50-60 degrees. Ava took a dip to her belly button but regretted the choice later.

Give me one good reason why I shouldn't wear ruffles camping.

Again, this is Oregon, so our trip also included a bunch of yahoos shooting guns into the forest where we had set up camp.

Ava and Brian.  Not pictured: yahoos.

At the campsite, Ava quickly learned that everyone has a job. Elliot was in charge of Ava:

And Ava was in charge of Maisie:

Drunk with power!

Not surprisingly, Ava had a tough time getting to sleep in the tent but did eventually doze off. That is, until she (we) woke up in a puddle of her own vomit. Twice. Ah...kids.

Professor Ava

Ava drops some knowledge...

Ava's 18th Month

Tar Heeled

From Savannah, we drove up to North Carolina (for the record, not all that close), making this Ava's longest road trip yet.  She seemed not to mind too much, as the road to North Carolina is paved with biscuits.

Ava's first fast food meal.  She ordered biscuits.  And got some biscuits to go.

In North Carolina, we had a mini family reunion with the other side of Ava's family.  We played drums with new cousins, wrestled the old ones, visited the zoo (99 degrees!), and Ava attended her first wedding (99 degrees! Outdoor event!).

XS and XL

Ava couldn't lift Ian--though not for lack of trying--but she certainly could pin him down like a chump.

Eating heartily

I mentioned the heat, right?

We left with some important reminders about life itself: family is great, love is sweet, and sometimes you have to drive 45 minutes to the "best biscuit place ever" to realize that the best biscuit place ever is located a block from your home in Portland.

Whilstlin' Dixie

Frustrated with the slow progression of summer in the Northwest, Ava decided it was about high time we set on down to the deep South and visit her East coast grandparents in Savannah.

We have previously visited the south in the middle of summer so we were prepared for the smothering heat but Ava claims no one warned her about the humidity.  Lacking the proper hair products, she quickly became our own human weather barometer.

Perhaps the most exciting surprise for Ava was her new set of wheels, courtesy of Aunt Paula and Uncle Joe, who made the drive from D.C.  In no time at all, Ava was carpooling with teddy bears and driving into glass curio cabinets.  In a stroke of genius, someone (ahem, Gary) taught her that you fill up the gas tank by placing your hand inside.  I'm sure that won't come back to haunt us, right?

The rest of our time in Savannah was full of great family time, including placing Ava's head in a gator's mouth, swimming, more tickling than you would imagine, nightly feasts, a birthday celebration, and generally staying out of the heat as much as possible.

 

Ava gave this gator a high five.

Savannah ticklefest

Next up...the southern experience continues with a biscuit-fueled trip to North Carolina.

Ava + humidity =

1.21 Gigawatts

Ava's Seventeenth Month

Tragedy stuck our world this month as one of Ava's friends tested out their new teeth on her face. Two bite marks and one course of antibiotics later, she's good as new. Out of respect, we've tried to lay off on the "You're so cute, I'm gonna eat you up" jokes.

Earlier this month, we started putting together a dictionary of Ava's words for all of you to ooohh and aaaahh over, but it's growing too quickly for us to keep up. Rest assured, Ava is quite a verbal young lady and she knows, like, a million words. What she can't say through words or signing, she easily finds a way to communicate through sharp staccato yelps.

Highlights of this month included losts of playground time (we've made it to the big structure), continued harassment of poor Brody, some long-awaited weight gain, and a new Ava-sized table for monkey tea parties and the like (thanks Rodders!).

Silliness

Here at the Rabold house, the fun doesn't stop until Ava passes out cold on the living room floor.

Ava's Sixteenth Month

This month was totally lame. No forts. No sunshine. No giggle-monster dance parties. Skipped Mother's Day altogether. Every day was not a new adventure. Don't let the next 62 pictures fool you.

25 Things About Ava

1. Ava brushes her teeth by holding her toothbrush still and shaking her head back and forth.
2. Ava loves playing with Brody. Her favorite game is stealing his bone and throwing it at his skull.
3. Brody is scared of Ava.
4. Occasionally, Ava sings. She sings under her breath as she sways back and forth.
5. Ava's never met a carb she didn't like.
6. Ava has taken it upon herself to become the human hand-towel dispenser at school. You will often find her by the sink, waiting for someone to wash their hands.
7. Ava is crazy about birds. When she sees them she points and says, "burrr." When she doesn't see them, she points to where she thinks they should be and says, "burrr."
8. A couple of weeks ago, Ava took her longest walk. She walked to a grocery store 7 blocks away from our house.
9. When Ava needs a nap, she crawls over to Brody's dog bed and lies down on her tummy.
10. Ava has seven teeth. Her front two are a little shorter than the outside teeth so sometimes she looks like she has fangs.
11. One of Ava's favorite words is, "okay." It is most frequently employed in the phrase, "Okay. Bye."
12. Ava is already demonstrating some musical prowess with her harmonica skills. This is especially impressive given her parents' musical abilities. Exhibit A: Ava on harmonica and Brian on recorder and drum.
    
    
    
13. Our little lady started off angry but now she is happy almost all the time.
14. When Ava isn't happy she lets you know it. Her daycare providers call for backup when she lets loose. True story.
15. When Ava sees horses she says "Wow, wow, wow." Same for swings.
16. Ava commutes by bike.
17. Ava hates her bib more than she desires food. In response to our new bib-required-for-eating rule, she is staging a hunger strike.
18. Ava feels hygiene is very important. She requests to wash her hands more-or-less constantly.
19. Ava eats dirt. She's a complex woman.
20. When Ava sees a dog, she says "dog." When Ava sees two dogs, she says, "dog. dog."
21. If Ava were a dog, she'd be a pointer.
22. Ava has a serious mullet.
23. Ava can drink from a cup. When she is no longer thirsty, she turns the cup over, finds a rag and cleans up her own mess.
    
    
    
24. Ava can now turn the front door handle. This will present a new set of problems with our flight-prone dog, who is keenly aware of Ava's new skill. We are quietly monitoring the situation.
25. Ava's current nicknames: Sweets, Aves, Goobs, Mava, Bunny, Buns.

I Like to Move It Move It

 Safety gear? Check.

Good attitude? Check.

 Yes. Our family really is that cute.

Ava's Fifteenth Month

Tower-building maniac

Are you kidding me with this?  Look at this tower.  Clearly advanced, right?  Seven blocks tall and counting.

Check out the design aesthetic.  Very avant garde.

Suzy Homemaker

On Ava's first birthday we sat her down to have "the talk" about her freeloading ways.  Now that she's upright, we expect her to pull her own weight.

Oh man, was she upset.

We were hoping she would start taking out the trash. Instead, she took it upon herself to become mother to her stuffed animals.  Here she is tucking them in for bed.

With more than 20 stuffed animals, there are a lot of mouths to feed.  Some of them are larger than Ava and it can be a full-time job keeping their bellies full.  On this particular occasion it took her 15 minutes to feed the sun bear.

With so many house chores, Ava has little time for recreation.  When she does set foot outdoors, she always finds there's more work to be done.  Here's our little green thumb in training.