She's Three!

Considering Ava's birthday was nearly a month ago, I'm clearly behind! But I didn't want to let a major milestone (or update!) go by, even if it's delayed, so let's get to it!

It's hard for me to believe that my sweet baby girl was born 3 years ago and that she has gone from this...

 ...to this!

Lining up her toys, just like I did as a girl

Ava has really blossomed over the past year. A year ago, she had maybe two words, and was signing a lot of things. And now? Man, she says it all! She has become quite the chatterbox and has no problem speaking her mind. She is still my shy girl around others, though. Ava is an awesome big sister. She loooooves Hunter, and will do anything for him. I definitely look forward to watching these two grow up together. She also loves Asher and idolizes him to pieces. However, we have seen an exponential increase in bickering between those two over the past few months, and oh boy, that is no fun at all.

She continues to be Daddy's girl! Oh yes, she can't get enough of him. She prefers to cuddle with him over me, and I try to not take it too personally....but I do get some Ava love at times! Ava recently started weekly swim lessons. She loves it! So much so that I hear about it pretty much non-stop. She'll talk about her teacher or what she did during the class, over and over! She is such a fish anyway, so this is a perfect class for her. And I think she also really enjoys having her own thing since she goes to all of Asher's activities.

Ava is definitely a 3-year-old, which I define as being difficult and full of tantrums/meltdowns! Ages 3 and 4 have been rough in my experience, so I've been bracing myself and getting glimpses of it coming. Last week, there were three days in a row of tantrums during breakfast, and I was starting to pull my hair out! The worst part is that sometimes you have no idea what in the world is even upsetting her, and it's often a tiny detail that you have to figure out and then decide if you are willing to give in if it's an easy fix or put your foot down and ride it out. And, of course, sometimes there is just absolutely nothing you can do about it anyway because it's a developmental stage. It can really be beyond frustrating! Like when I had taken all the kids to Chick-Fil-A for a playdate, and I had to drag a screaming Ava out the door. Luckily, she makes up for it with a lot of sweetness in general, so I'll just take some deep breaths and pray....

Ava became fully potty trained in January! I am still so elated! I really need to do a separate post about this, because I had a hard time this time around trying to figure out what would work for her to get her to make the leap. And when I finally did, it was such a relief! She stays dry day and night, so having only one in diapers is the best. And also, little girl underwear is so cute! 

Ava requested a princess party for her birthday, and I was happy to oblige. I even decided to go waaaay out of my comfort zone and make my very own princess cake. I was really happy (and relieved!) with how it turned out.

Birthday girl

 

I love that as Ava gets older, we can do more fun mommy/daughter things. She already loves trying on clothes when we're out shopping, and I love that she told me when I made her cake, "Thank you for making me a beautiful princess cake, Mommy!" Awww my heart melted on the floor. Even though we struggle in the hair department (she hates anything in her hair, but sometimes I can keep in a hair clip for a few minutes - at least she lets me comb her hair I guess), she is a girly girl in a lot of ways, which is a lot of fun. She also is great at kicking the ball, so I wouldn't be surprised if she became a good soccer player, too. She often gets talked in to playing football, basketball, or soccer with big brother, and I love how hard she tries to keep up with him.

I'm so excited to see what this year brings for Ava. One thing is for sure - she brings so much joy and sweetness into our lives, and we adore her so much!