Avery's curiosity is off the charts. She's into everything, and I've stopped trying to keep up with the trail of toys. She also gets funnier by the day. Her ability to communicate is growing by leaps and bounds. She can repeat after us if it's just the right word, but once she starts saying it, it sticks. Puppy is her favorite word of the moment (puppeeee exclamation point), and "mommy" is finally sticking although she still calls me daddy just as often.
Recent vocabulary additions include Elmo, uffs (for puffs), apple, bubble, eye and green bean. Just today she started "ho ho ho" and she's been saying "owie" dramatically about a teeny tiny scratch on her foot. Avery loves herself a magazine and the First Lady is on the cover of Reader's Digest, so now she'll say "ah-ma." She can also sign hat and shoes and can sign and say "eat eat," so she lets us know when she wants food or milk, often by going to the fridge and trying to open it or sneaking the pack of raisins out when I'm grabbing food.
She knows how a lot of animals go, and for a dog she'll whine, "brp brp" and snort like Marti. When Marti licks, Avery does the same. Pigs snort, cats "meee," lions roar and donkeys go ee-ah.
She's getting so smart and often blows our minds. She'll do something or respond to us with her actions and we're just floored—where did she pick that up? She can follow simple directions, which may be totally handy here in a few months.
Kisses, hugs and affection are becoming more frequent, and she'll come running over for a hug or give a doll a kiss. It's so sweet. She "kisses" Alan by pretending to feed him. Not sure why, but it's pretty adorable.
She's also increasingly aware of her bathroom business so we bought a potty chair, which she thinks is the best toy ever. We're not really potty training in earnest (we're of the mindset that having to go to public restrooms all the time will be just as much work as diapers), but we figured if she's telling us, we'll listen. If we pay really close attention we can get not-even-half of a poop experience to hit the pot, thus getting to deal with the diaper and the toilet. The best of both poop worlds, truly.
Figuring it out.
I finally moved the dog bowls into the bathroom, so now I have to try to balance Marti's perpetual thirst with Avery's perpetual desire to splash in the water and play with the dog food. Now Avery has figured out how to open the bathroom door, so my days are numbered for that defense. And of course Avery is almost never far from my side, so when I'm in the bathroom, I'm stuck trying to pee while stretching out to keep Aves from the dog dishes. It's a glamorous life.
Planning their escape, I'm sure.
Most of the house is fairly well baby-proofed but there are certain baby-proofing difficulties, like the cabinet with the lazy susan. The door shifts, so while there is a latch, the door moves enough so that Avery can still easily open it. I don't mind her playing with cans and such, and sometimes it's easier to let her stay occupied in the cabinet while I get five minutes of cooking done. The other day though I heard a noise so loud that I thought I would look over and see her arm caught in a blender. Luckily she had just overturned a box of very loud pasta.
I even play defensive dish-washing. I can usually only get one or two dishes loaded or unloaded before she's on her way, attempting to play in food grime or stand on the door.
She's definitely formed attachments recently to her blanket, a doll and Goodnight Moon. She loves all three and will grab her blanket out of her crib to roll around with it. The book is an all out addiction, and Alan and I have it memorized. I hated the book at first but have come to love it as it's both simple and has so much going on to look at and middle finger point to.
Her middle finger is her favorite. For pointing and flipping people off.
She doesn't yet like anything in her hair, and I need to get her a little trim because her hair is always in her face. She does like to brush hair though, and if you're lucky you can get through a whole hairbrushing session without her smacking you upside the head with the brush.
Her first ponytail.
Our sweet little girl just gets sweeter by the day. We still go in and check on her each night. And now she's such a good sleeper that we don't worry so much about waking her. Our little Stinkerbell, Puffy Pillow Cheeks, sweet little miss Avery is always sleeping soundly, gearing up for a new day of tornadic activity.
