Only in Oklahoma....

Only in Oklahoma would these pictures be taken in the same week. Ava in her red coat and also in the same week getting her feet wet enjoying the warmer weather! I remember this time last year we had a freak snow storm toward the end of March that post-poned her baby shower. You never know what spring in Oklahoma might bring you!

Ava enjoyed more zoo time. Aunt Amy played hookie from work and joined us for some fun in the sun.

The have a great kids area with a pebble creek and splash pond for the kids to enjoy.

Wonderment

I love the look of wonder in her eyes in this video, we've been spending time at the zoo with our zoo pass and still by far her favorite seem to be the sea lions. God must smile when his children wonder and look on in awe at his creation in this way. My bible class lesson on Sunday was over the scripture where God said let the children come to him, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Seems to be a theme these days (ah how I love a good theme!) as I reflect on this last year of getting to be her mom, God is using her to teach me so much. Just when you think you've conquered 18 years of school, professional licenses and are officially an adult, the deepest learning and growth is just beginning...

**Warning you may get alot of reflective posts this month, as her first birthday draws near, I find myself engrossed in it**

happiness is...

Inspired by a recent post of my new favorite blogger here are some reflections on happiness of this season of my life. I've been pondering and collecting them this week, which has been good, looking for the joy in the smallest of His blessings in your day helps foster an attitude of contentment which can sometimes get lost in the day to day business. I've been thinking about contentment this week and have decided I use to think it's not a destination to be reached but a journey and process but actually in some ways it is just that a destination that can be reached, It's a warm, comforting and peace filled place to come too again and again. Some days I can stay there all day and some days I come and go and some days I don't make it there much at all. But I will keep coming back again and again and hope to stretch my stay there to longer and longer because I'm always glad I came. What is your happiness these days?

Happiness is....

... long snugly Sunday afternoon naps cheek to cheek with my baby girl

... that warm my heart feeling I still get when I see Ryan's truck pull up

...the sweet little pats I get on my back these days when I'm just holding her

...the sounds of laughter and playing when they are suppose to be doing bed time

...her playing at our feet while we start our day together

... the grin she gives when her daddy kisses each of us goodbye in the morning

...he is thoughtful enough to buy the bigger sonic blast so he can share it with you

...planning first birthday fun

...sharing the joy of an answered prayer with a loved one of their precious and wonderful baby news.

And I couldn't leave you hanging without some Ava pictures, so I bring you Ava and her monkey. These two are joined at the hip these days. It's pretty cute to see her trying to crawl and play one handed because they other one often has monkey firm in grip. She also loves to rock and pat monkey randomly, its about the sweetest thing you've ever seen.

11 months!

Ava turned 11 months old today! She seems to have new tricks every time I turn around! Some of her developments over the past month include:

• She said her first kind of word! She will drop something and say "Uh Oh". She just all the studden at Hobby Lobby dropped something over the side of the cart and said "uh oh" clear as day. She's repeated it many times since!

• She went on her first trip to the zoo! We went during spring break, so it was packed, she watch the other kids as much as the animals. She LOVED the sea lions swimming, here she is glued to the glass watching them. We have a zoo pass so we will be there lots this summer!

• She has mastered one sign consistently, using sign language to tell us "more".
• She's still so tiny. The onsie she is wearing in the picture below is still one she can fit in that is a 3-6 month size! Only certain brands can she wear that small still.
• Despite her tininess her appetite has picked up and I see a glimpse of toddler coming out as she prefers to feed herself rather than have me feed her. She loves finger foods she can feed herself.
• More glimpeses of toddlerhood: we've started working on the meanings of the word "no touch", a work still in progress.

• One of my new favorites, She does a monkey crawl when she gets to the tile floor but doesn't use it on carpet, cracks us up. Here's the monkey crawl in action:

They tell me this her last month of babyhood and officially at 12 months she enters the next phase, toddlerhood. I see her so in-the-middle this month, some toddlerness starting to bud and still so much of my baby there too. My aim this next month is to be even more purposely present, soaking up these last days of official babyhood.

Summer lovin'

Ava and I enjoyed a nice morning together, we went to the library and heard a Western Africa folk music group, that Ava loved! She bopped her head and clapped her hands and it had a little feel of Caribbean flare to it and this being another cold day, while I'd like to say I basked in the present moment, finding joy and contentment in the here now throughout a nice quiet Monday like today. A big part of me, that inner child of mine is yearning and dreaming of warmer weather and summer days that are just around the bend. I've always loved summer the most, mainly because it houses so many great memories of water, slower days, lesser demands, relaxed time with those I love, the smells of chlorine, coconut sun tan lotion, snow cones, ice cream, sprinklers, cook outs, bare feet, late nights out at the movies, I could keep going and going. My love for all things summer goes so deep at the end of last summer I bought Ava two swim suits and a cover up on clearance already excited for the next summer of fun we will share together. So we will try to slow down and at least enjoy spring first but secretly we are scheming and planning our summer fun!

Ava's first swim last year:

Ebb and flow...

Ebb and flow, at least during daylight hours she's back to her old self the past couple days. Here's some play time pictures and the bottom pic sporting her two teeth!

Ponderings on Parenthood Vol. 4

I have a few those days recently where all I can say is "I don't know." Ava has been very clingy, fussy and not sleeping well the past several days. I find I can get through one of these days with patience intact but a few in a row start a steady decline in that category, especially when you add lack of sleep. Here's the short list of what I don't know: If its the busy week we had last week, if its more teeth, it its some days dropping that morning nap and other day's needing it, If she's having tummy troubles or needs to eat more during the day, or the phase of moving from baby to toddler....as you can see. I. Don't. Know. and its hard for me to be in the place. I think as parent's we want to know, we want to make it better, we want to feel in control and in charge to know how to respond but sometimes we just don't. I do know this is yet another way to be challenged to grow in patience, kindness, selflessness. Remembering that this season of my life I am especially called to serve my family and doing so with a Christ like attitude at 2:00am is just plain hard. I re-read several friends blogs on their 10 & 11 month old posts of their babies today and found much comfort in familar descriptions of our life this week. Of course I still love her to pieces and as her favorite books says, "I love your silly sad and your mad side...I love you through and through yesterday, today and tomorrow too!" (though I sure hope tomorrow brings more silly than mad!)