Happy Birthday Ava !

It's been a long year with this little one, but we can't imagine a sweeter baby. Ava has really been through it, but teaches us so much about resilience and pure love. She is fairly quiet but constantly studying people and I know she picks up on more than we realize most of the time. She is always ready for a good joke and makes it very rewarding to joke with her because of the laughs and head shakes you get in return. She loves books! You think she wouldn't care if you read her the same books over and over, but she is always ready for a new book! She gets the idea after a while and is ready to move on! Especially Eric Carle. She has a beautiful way of moving her hands. She likes to make them dance, even with a wave. Music really calms her, there is such a light in her eyes when she hears a good song. She loves stuffed animals that are very large. She likes to pick them up and carry them around even though they are the same size as her or bigger. She is very patient. Sometimes it takes us a long time to get everything ready for a feeding, and most of the time she just sits there calmly, just waiting. She really connects to you when you look at her. She stares right into your soul. Sometimes I don't know what to make of Ava; she can be a mystery. There is so much more to her than what I understand and I am excited to get to know her more. I never get tired of Ava even though I get tired from all that I have to do for her. Morgan calls her his littlle doll, and she really is. You have to meet her and spend some time with her and then you will know and see just how great she is!

Morgan made a delicious white cake with cream cheese frosting and I decorated it. Ava is still not aloud to put her hands in her mouth, but we let her play in the cake, and she loved it! I gave her a little ice cream on the tip of her tongue and she seemed to really enjoy it. We had a party with Grandma and Grandpa Smith, Natalie and her cute kids, Allison and sweet carriemarie, Susan, and us. Ava was a little shy of all the people, but enjoyed herself when cake time came around. 

I made Ava a black apple doll for her birthday. I got the idea from Rachelle a long time ago and always wanted to make one. I like how she turned out, and Ava really liked her too!

Grandma Smith bought some balloons for the party, and Ava had never seen balloons before. She was entertained for quite some time playing with the string. 

Ava had a great birthday! Thanks to all who came to her party and put so much into it to make it special. Thank you to those who could not be here, but would if you could, and all your love and thoughtfulness!