The First Birthday

So it's finally time. I've set aside dome time to update, with the big birthday as the subject. She's a year old, it's not like she'll remember all the fuss. But it sure is fun for us! So on with it!

First, a MAJOR surprise for me. Kim showed up, and they had it planned for so long. She was here for a week, and it was absolutely fabulous.


Grandpa C snapped this photo of the conditions on Ava's birthday. 60 degrees, a nice spring day.


Here's the birthday girl!


Getting ready to blow out the candle on her very own birthday cheesecake with strawberries.


"He he, is this for me?!"


Digging in!


Yep, she likes it. And it matches her purse!


Yeah she got cake everywhere.


"Thank you."


Time for the hose-down.


All clean and ready for presents!


I thought I'd throw in this shot of 4 generations.


I think Ava had fun with Auntie Kimmy :)

Baby Sign Language

I wanted to update everyone, but I'm still working on the birthday pics. The title will make sense in a moment, but here's the update.

Ava's doing well. We went to a fun deal Monday night. We got a free pass from our Babies R Us stuff to Gymboree. So we went to a class, the first of four. It's a great program, if not a little pricey. But we had a good time. Then it was off to the park to ducks, geese, even a raccoon! So we're trying to get out and enjoy the weather. On Saturday we went to a baseball game. Uncle Nick's coaching JV at our alma mater. So we had a nice time watching ball and seeing people.

So, here's some pictures today from a very proud Dada of a very smart little girl. Becky and I are working with Ava on Baby Sign Language. It's for a number of reasons. Babies can communicate at a very young age, but it's mostly through crying or pointing. So by using the gestures American Sign Language (ASL), babies can get their ideas, wants and such across without fits well before they can verbalize. Plus, she'll know another language as she's learning to speak. And since it's a spacial exercise, it's a very creative and right-brained activity. So it's good all around. First, here's a list of resources. It's become very trendy in recent years, especially after the movie Meet the Fockers where they were using baby sign. But I remember about 8 years ago when I took ASL in college, it was already an idea then and I knew I'd want to someday use it. Anyway, here's some resources if you have time:

Wikipedia's article

Baby Signs Program

Just look at all the books available

There's even an online dictionary. No pictures, but seems to have good descriptions.

All you have to do is Google "baby sign" and see the long list.

So, with that, on with Ava's signs.

The baby sign for "more." She usually is more pronounced with the hands, but sometimes "mumbles."


The baby sign for "all done." We use the clap and hands out for done, instead of the ASL version. It came from a co-worker of mine, and we thought it worked well.


The baby sign for "good." She likes to use 2 hands for some reason. I guess food at our house is double good!


The baby sign for "thank you." It's the same as "good" in ASL, but she is saying out loud "good" for that and "thang" for thank you.


The baby sign for "please." You can see her thumb there as she rubs her chest. It's really cute when she uses both hands on her tummy.


The baby sign for "eat." This one gets her really excited. She even says "ee" out loud.


I asked her where her ear is, and hair, and it's the same spot often.


When you ask her where Ava's mouth is, she sticks out her tongue.



There are more now, too. We taught her "dirty" for dirty diaper, "girl," "you're welcome," she does "milk," too. And we're working on "help" next. It's amazing how it makes life easier. So there's my thoughts on ASL for babies. It's probably one of the only pieces of advice I'd offer for new or soon-to-be parents. Even if you already have kids, it's a great thing for the next one.

For a lot of the signs, Ava's actually saying something out loud when she signs. So it's proof the old thought of "if they sign, they won't talk" isn't true at all. Signing is talking, and it reinforces the spoken word.

Think of it as an Appetizer

Somebody loves Ava!!! Before I get a chance to blog her first birthday pics, someone special has beat me to the punch. Enjoy this sampling, I hope to have more very soon.

Click here!!!

N&R -- love you guys :)

It's Almost Here...

I can not believe we're getting set for Ava's 1st birthday. This year has been terrific, yet quick. Working on our basement has made it difficult to spend a ton of time with her, but we've done our best to juggle it all. And now it's almost done (sort of) and we're ready to enjoy the spring. Of course, right now that means morning frost on the car windows and rain in the afternoon. But, that's how it goes in the Great Lake State! Anyway, life has been good. Ava's growing and getting ever smarter. Let's see, changes... she's talking quite a bit now, saying lots of words and half words. Coat, car, dog, mama, dada, nana, more, done. The other day she saw some girls running and said girl. Plus the signing is going very well. I'll put up some of those soon. She's not walking yet, but she does let go of the furniture and stand. She'll also stand up from sitting sometimes. And she can get down off the bed and couches. She negotiates stairs well. "Feet first!" As far as food goes, she loves fruit and fresh veggies. She seems to like spices, too. Chili, garlic, hot sauce even. In small doses, of course. She loves avocado (it's the California influence!). It's just a joy to see her enjoying all the good stuff. One of her favorite things is to be outside.

Wow, I guess that was pretty all over the place and rambling. I suppose you didn't come here to hear me prattle on. On with the show!

Yep, that's raw onion!


"Scorned Woman" hot sauce on chicken taco salad. She wouldn't eat the mild stuff that night!


And it made her happy.


Helping with the dishes. (The book on the counter is Green for Life. It's a great book, and we use the green smoothie recipes. Ava LOVES them. Check it out when you get time.)


What she'll look like in a few years, if she has my, or mama's eyes.


Such a happy kid!