Ava Sophia ~ 1 year

*When you smile, and I mean, really smile... your eyes disappear and your nose crinkles!
*You are still just a little bit of a baby, and I love that.
*No matter how much we encourage you, you WILL NOT say 'Momma!'
*You say what sounds like a version of brother, dada, ball, bye-bye, look, what's that, and (mom's personal favorite) cool.
*You also do a fake laugh when you want our attention and you growl on cue. Just yesterday you were crawling around and the boys were pretending you were a doggie and feeding you animal crackers and telling you to growl. You did it happily.
*You take a pacifier when you are tired and ready for sleep.
*Bathtimes are so much fun to you! You love to scoot yourself around backwards in the water. You usually fuss at me when I let the water out.

*You will put anything into your mouth... bubbles, LEGOS, bugs (let's not talk about that... it makes Mom shiver), leftover food from your brothers.
*You love to eat!! Right now, you love eggs, noodles, chicken, peas, bread... well, just about anything we are eating.
*You still have two birthmarks. One on your chest and one under your arm. We also found one on the back of your neck! It's light, but there.
*You only nurse at night, and only for a little while.
*You have six teeth and you are working on more right now, little miss grouchy pants!
*When you don't want your brothers to play with you, you hollar at them and wave your hands in front of you.
*When you do want your brothers to play with you, you follow them around and mess with whatever they are trying to do.
*You stand up by your self... you don't even need anything to pull up on. But you haven't taken a step yet. Most times, you just drop down and do what I call the SuperBaby crawl... you know, in one place one second and across the room the next!
*When you feel like it... and only then... you give the best love! I mean, open mouth with tongue kind of love!
*You like to play 'Where's Sophie?' with anyone that will do it.

*You like to wave bye-bye, except when it's Momma leaving... then it's time to cry!
*You are fast becoming a Daddy's girl, I think. At least that's what this Momma has noticed. There is nothing sweeter than seeing you get excited when Daddy comes home. You demand his attention and are only happy when he picks you up.
*I think you like to play with Bryant the best. That's probably because he will play the stuff you enjoy, like Little People, dolls, and trains.
*Most of the time, I make your bows. And you pretty much leave them alone unless you are just tired and ornery!
*When you get tired, you need that pacie, then you stick your hand down the shirt of whoever has you, lay your head down and settle in.
*You took really naturally to a baby doll. You hugged it, put a blanket over it, gave it a bottle, then threw it down on the ground!
*You like to tuck yourself away on shelves, in the corner, or in any tight place. Most of the time, we have to rescue you though. I laughed out loud when I was clipping coupons in the kitchen the other day, and I looked down to see you nestled into a corner playing with the sunlight on the wall... you were wearing your little onsie that says, "Nobody puts baby in the corner."
*We still call you Sophie, Soph, Sophie Girl, Ava Sophia (mostly when you are in trouble), Sister, A-boo, and Soapie... most of these have stuck around since you were itty bitty.
*You loves Sesame Street! Especially Elmo and Abby-Cadabe (sp?). You also love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
*Your eyes are brown, but they have just a hint of green to them.
Your hair curls up in the back, and you get ringlets when your hot.
*You will sleep in your bed, but you prefer to be between mom and dad!
*When I'm singing in the car or the kitchen or wherever, you like to sing with me... and it's one of the sweetest sounds ever. I think you are gonna live up to your name: Ava = Filled with Praise

*You are most definitely strong willed. If you want something, want to do something, or don't like what's being done... you let us know.
*When you laugh, Sophie Girl, everyone who hears it smiles.
*You let me paint your toenails for the first time the other day. I had to do it while you ate and really quickly, but it made me happy. You just can't get away with painting a little boys toes!