(16 &) 17 Months Old

Ava is 17 months old!! I somehow missed writing a 16 month update for Ava with getting tubes last month but here we are and she's already 17 months old!! 1 more month and she's off to nursery and will be 1 1/2!!! How is this possible!

She's talking a LOT more since she got the tubes in her ears. I keep track of her words and phrases in my phone and its AMAZING to see how many shes developed just since getting tubes! I honestly think she said about 5 or so words before she got tubes. That day we got home she said 2 new ones and has been adding tons since.

I'm writing this list for me for future reference so enjoy lol and this is about the order she learned them... but not totally

Words:
Dada
Mama
Wow
Hi
Num
Ya
Bye
Kenji
No
Uh Oh
Down
Thank You
Up
Nice
Eyes
Nose
Go
Papa
Night
Share
Baba
Whose there
Hello
One

Has said before but not as easy to get her to repeat:
Lisa
Dortha
Yes (ya-sss)
Ya I do
Doggie
Grandma
You
How are you
Food
Two

If you ask her want a snake says she says "SSSSS" Its cute, she'll sometimes do kitty right and we are working on what a dog says now :)

Ava is wearing 2T and even some 3T clothes now but I haven't had the heart to put away ANY of her 24 month clothes... I need to though. She is wearing 5/6 in shoes. We went and got her shoes the day she turned 1 and those were a size 4 and now her 5's barely fit, so I think we will be in 6's full time here real soon. Why can't she stay tiny!!! We have a ton of clothes we have been storing and I have even more stored coming up for her to wear... Girl has way too many clothes!

Ava has 6 teeth now, and 5 or 6 more coming in soon! She's got 5 teeth in front and 1 molar on top :) Everytime I try to get my finger in her mouth to feel she tries to bite me! Thankfully she doesn't bite otherwise.

She is such a well behaved little girl. Ava and I traveled 4200 miles in 3 weeks through Az, Ut, Id, Wy, Sd, Nd, and Mt. She was perfect the entire time. She sleeps, she eats, we get out a couple of times when we get gas, she plays with some toys, she doesn't whine or fuss or cry. Its sooo nice to travel with her! If she didn't travel well I'm sure I'd never make the drive anywhere because I hate driving!

I'm really impressed with how easy she is. She loves other kids and is such a sweet heart. I am so grateful for what a blessing she is in our life. I've wanted another baby in our home for 9 months now. Unfortunately we know the wait to have one is going to be a lot longer. Its hard for me to think that getting pregnant with Ava was so simple, if this 2nd child was like Ava I'd be giving birth in a week.

This already shows me that every child is different and although my plans were to have another child already, that's not necessarily gods plan for us. I've learned a lot in the last 9 months, and 17 months for that matter. I am looking forward to the day that we find out that I'm pregnant again and pray that it all works out and our battle with secondary infertility will end soon enough. I need to go back to my doctor and talk about some more medical options because so far I haven't seen much changes with the meformin I've been taking.

Here's to more exciting updates in the future :)

My 2nd job

I started an Etsy shop last fall... but I am just now starting to add stuff to it. I kept putting it off, but I am fully addicted to making hair bows and since Ava doesn't need 5 million, I figure it would try and sell some.

I also started a new craft blog to keep track of all the stuff I've made. Until I put it together I had no idea how much stuff I have made this year. I can't wait till I can have a craft room someday! Aww that would be heaven!!

Breast is Best

I am in a wonderful Womens Health class this semester taught by Stephanie Fugal! She is such an amazing teacher filled with so much passion! On Thursday we were discussing Breastfeeding! Seeing as three of my friends became new Mommy's (or for the 3rd time!) and I have quite a few pregnant ones still out there, I found this interesting and important.

There are many reasons why people don't and can't breastfeed and I understand that however I found this lecture enlightening and made me a little less fearful for breastfeeding my children (once I have them!)

"By breastfeeding your babies, you will give them the very best that money cannot buy."
Breastfeeding is however under attack in our nation. People see a breastfeeding mother and can feel uncomfortable and at times may question her or ask her to stop or leave. Something our professor asked us was "Is breastfeeding a Right or a Choice?" Do breastfeeding mothers have rights? Well they do! Currently, 25 states have laws protecting the right to breastfeed in public (including Utah). No one has the right to tell a mother how to feed or where to feed her child!

Another problem mothers are being faced with is "the bag" that they are often given at the hospital upon leaving... the one thats full of formula to last them a few weeks! Breast milk is the best because it offers your baby immunity that they won't otherwise receive. Hospitals honestly feel like they are doing new mom's a favor by giving them these bags but with the high cost of formula, even just doing a few supplemental feedings can cost hundreds if not thousands in a year. There is a new program called Ban the Bag, they found that in Utah 97% of the hospitals are giving out these bags!

Our class is trying to create nursing stations on BYU's campus so that nursing mothers can feed their babies and store milk if needed for husbands to come pick up and feed babies between classes. Utah County is the baby center of the United States and BYU does not have nursing stations. Utah State has upwards to 6 or 7 nursing stations! We are trying to fix this problem!

Breast is best! I also had no idea that giving a baby cows milk within the first year can help them develop allergies to milk! I am so not ready to have a baby, I have lots to learn!

Congratulations Kate & Ben!

I had the pleasure of getting to know Kate my freshman year at BYU and I lived with her my sophomore year before she married Mr. Brady! Kate is so outgoing and loving and it has been so fun to see her get married and now have her own little baby! I remember when she told me they were trying to get pregnant, little knowledge to them, they already were! Archie Bernard Brady was born November 7th! He is the third baby to be born to one of my close friends this week!!! I can't wait to meet him!

Congratulations Amanda & Zach!

Amanda is one of my best friends from high school! She and her husband Zach got married in 2004 and now they have (as of Nov 3rd) three Beautiful boys!!! Brayden, Noah and Alex! Zach is currently serving our country in Iraq for the Air Force until early next year! Amanda and Zach have been stationed in Anchorage, Alaska for the last 4 years!

Congratulations Ashley & Don!

My friends Ashley and Don had their first baby November 2nd! Her name is Layla Bouge! I am so excited for them! I have been friends with Ashley since I started high school and Don since I started working with them at the bank!

Congratulations Lonna & Shane!

My BEAUTIFUL friend Lonna who I have been blessed to know since just before my 8th birthday had her first baby! Drake Hunsaker!! Drake held out until August 8th, 2008 (almost 8 am!)

I was fortunate enough to be their the day Lonna started her secret crush on good old handsome Shane Hunsaker! We were 13 turning 14 going to be freshman in high school and were doing PE during summer school and there Shane was! Thanks to a few friends linking them up they dated all through high school, she waited for Shane while he was on his mission and now they are the cutest family!