Before writing this post, I looked back through pictures and read through the journal I kept while I was pregnant. It all seems so long ago, yet at the same time, just like yesterday. I found these words I had copied down from Psalm 139:13 - 16 (adapted from The Message version). It seems a fitting way to start out...
Oh yes, you shaped this baby, first inside, then out; you are forming her in my womb.
I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, this new life is being marvously made!
I worship in adoration - what a creation!
You know her inside and out, you know every bone in her body;
You know exactly how this baby is being made, bit by bit, how she is being sculpted from nothing to something.
Like an open book, you're watching this new life grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of her life are spread out before you,
The days of her life all prepared before even one day has been lived.
These words take on new meaning now that Ava has arrived and we're celebrating her first birthday. What a blessing! I
am truly amazed at God's creation - she is marvously made! We feel incredibly blessed to have had such a sweet first year with Ava. She is a joy! This Top Ten List is an attempt to fill you in on highlights of the year and to capture glimpses of her emerging personality. Enjoy!
First, a look back to her first week... I couldn't resist starting out with a few of her newborn pictures.
Mommy and Daddy's Top Ten List for Ava
1. One of the things we remember most about Ava's arrival was how alert she was. From the moment she was born, she was looking around, taking everything in. She even looked right into our eyes. What a surreal experience to look into the face of the child you've carried the past nine months. A miracle!
2. Laughter! Ava has brought such joy to our home. She is such a happy baby. We never get tired of her giggles and laughter. It's hard to imagine what our home was like before Ava! I tried to attach a video clip of her first laugh at 3 months old, but it wouldn't work. We have it attached to a posting from January 2009.
3. Ahh... Ava sleeping. Ava has never been a good napper (which has driven me almost completely crazy), but she is an awesome nighttime sleeper. She's slept at least 8 hour stretches since she was 12 weeks old, and for the past 5 months, she's consistently slept 12 hours at night! For the first four months, we swaddled Ava up nice and tight. We used to call her our little "Ava Burrito." My dad thought it looked like we were putting her in a straight jacket. :)
4. Bathtime is one of Ava's favorite times of the day. She loves to splash everywhere and play with her toys. Now that she's eating a lot of food on her own, bathtime is a must at the end of the day. We often times find food from throughout the day stuck in the most unusual places!
5. Probably Ava's most stricking feature is her big blue eyes. They are so full of life. Thanks, Daddy, for the long eyelashes! How in the world are we going to resist these eyes?
6. Ava takes after both of us with her love of reading. She loves to pull the books of her bookshelf and go through each book, turning the pages and pointing at things. During diaper changes, which happen to be one of Ava's least favorite things, the one thing that will often distract her is a book... forget the toys!
7. Animals... Ava LOVES all animals from birds to dogs. She gets so excited she can hardly contain herself! Where she got this love, I do not know. For those of you who know me, she did not get her love of animals from mommy. :) When we went to the zoo with my mom in September, her favorite was the aquarium. She kept trying to reach out and touch the fish as they swam by.
8. Ava is always curious about the world around her. She often crawls over to the window, which hapens to be at the perfect height, to watch what's going on outside.
9. These next two picture will look familiar to those of you who have kids. Into everything! Gone are the days when I put Ava on a blanket and she would play with her toys without going anywhere. Trying to get dinner ready is a whole different experience now! We can hardly leave our shoes out, or they might get "eaten." :) It's a little crazy at our house with Ava mobile, but it sure is fun!
10. The hair! Ava was born with a full head of dark hair, and I don't think she's lost a single hair! We had to trim the back when she was just a few months old to avoid a mullet, and just last week Ava finally had her first official, real haircut. Nothing fancy, just a little trim. She did great! She was totally enthralled with the blowdryers and cool lighting that she didn't even notice her hair was getting clipped.
Happy Birthday, sweet Ava! We love you!
Here are a couple of video clips... Ava practicing her walking skills, which is sometimes not so graceful! :)
Ava loves to sit up on chairs and on the couch to read books. She points to everything and knows the names of lots of things. Her vocabulary is growing daily!
The week before Valentine's Day, Connor, (Ava's best bud who spends the day with us every Tuesday and every other Wednesday), and Ava helped roll out and decorate sugar cookies. I had imagined a fun and engaging activity for these two active toddlers, but I would definitely recommend trying this with older kids! :) Ava did like eating the dough, and Connor loved rolling it out. 
Getting ready to decorate!
Yummm... frosting!
Nothing goes better with a cookie than milk. 
Getting ready to enjoy our family Valentine's breakfast: french toast with raspberries and lots of whip cream!
Ava's first time trying whip cream... the face says it all!
Sporting her NNU gear from Grandma Rodes. :)
Our outing at Kent Station
