Ava at 27 months

1. Ava has fairly extensive conversations with us now.
The other day I was going to clean her up from dinner and said, let me get a wipe. Ava said, "No mommy, you use a wet paper towel to wipe my face. You use a wipe when I go potty."
2. Ava has a very long prayer list at night. She starts with "Dear Jesus. Thank you for daddy, mommy, Ava, baby sister, Elmo, Big Bird, Dorothy, Abbie, Cookie Monster, names the toys she played with that day, my house, mommy's car, my ears, daddy's nose, my feet, chicken, raisins, milk, Avery, Hudson, Bryce, Audrey, Remi, Ronan (these are her classmates)....but also anyone else we've played with that week. Then she names a couple of her friends parents. Grandma, Papaw, Grandma, Papa.......sometimes all of her aunts & uncles & cousins. Mommy adds to help her be a sweet friend and listen to mommy and daddy and grow up to have a heart for Jesus. AMEN."
3. Ava LOVES to watch TV. I usually only let her watch one Sesame Street DVR'd show or Elmo video per day or every other day is even better. She will sit through the whole video and respond to the questions in the show. She prefers for me to sit next to her on the couch and pay attention as well.
4. She wakes up around 8:30 most mornings, now that she gets up early 2 days a week for school Every once in a while she will sleep in until 9 or 9:30 when we have stayed up late the night before.
5. She recently started having a harder time falling asleep at naptime. About half the days it takes her 20 minutes - 1 hour to fall asleep and she lays in her bed and talks or sings or plays with animals during that time.
6. She likes to sit on my bathroom counter while I get ready. She puts on chap stick and all of my jewelry.
7. I was trying to dress her the other day and she said, "Mommy, do NOT pull on my leg." I don't even know where she learned that.
8. She loves taking a bath in the "big bath" which is mine & Clint's bathroom downstairs.
9. She eats more raisins than anything else. Every meal she asks for colored cereal, raisins, waffle and milk. I try to limit these foods to breakfast only, but she would eat them all day if I let her.
10. She has really enjoyed helping me get her baby sister's clothes and room all ready. She loves playing with the newborn shoes and clothes and toys. She thinks having a baby sister is going to be very fun.
11. When I put her down at night, she says, "Mommy is so sleepy. She is going night night too. Daddy is so tired. He is going night night too."
12. She loves to sing songs. She sings along with me at nap and bedtime now.
13. When I get dressed up she will say, "Oh mommy, that shirt is so cute." or "Mommy, you look so pretty."
14. When we go shopping, she points at clothes for her and says, "that is cute!"
15. She talks on her cell phone while she plays and the other day I heard her say, "Oh hi! How was your weekend?" and "Yes, my name is Gina Christopher. Gina Christopher" ha!

16. Ava likes to question Clint & I about every object in her book, similar to what we do with her. She will point to each item on the page and say, "What's that?" and if we respond correct, she says, "That's Right!". If we respond incorrectly, she will say, "No, mommy that is a horse."

17. I am talking up what a great helper she is going to be with her baby sister. We talk regularly about her helping me give the baby a bottle and rocking her and dressing her and even that Ava is going to change her diaper.

18. The other day Ava was having me name my body parts and when she pointed to my belly, I said, "Mommy's belly" and she said, "No, Mommy. That is my baby sister." Then she raised my shirt and gave her a kiss.