Happy birthday my SWEET and BEAUTIFUL Ava!!

Ava turned 1 on September 4th. Hard to believe a year ago I was trying every self induction method out there to get her out. She has been such a calm, sweet, easy going baby. She has taken her time on some things like rolling over, crawling, pulling herself up, but not walking. She is a pro walker now. I can now let Ava go free. She still falls every now and then but knows how to fall.
  For Ava's first birthday we were in Utah for Scott's 7th 100 Wasatch 100 miler and to see family and friends. Scott did amazing!! He broke 24 hours which is extremely difficult to do. He sewed together a shirt with pockets on the back and shoulders to hold ice while he runs between at aid stations (typically 8-10 miles apart in the mountains). Very clever idea, and it worked. He felt great the whole race.  Less than 5% of the field completed this race in under 24 hours, and Scott was one of them!!
  We spend alot of time with Tyson, Taylor and TJ. We also got to see my Bachelor brother Garret!! We had Ava's birthday party at Deer Valley resort. Friends and family came and we partied!! We wore dog hats, Clarissa made balloon animals and hats and ate cake. Ava had her very own angel food cake topped with cool whip and strawberries and dog toppers. She loved eating the strawberries off and tasting the cool whip. Ava then opened up her gifts. She got a dog book, and giant stuffed dog and a little dog in a camoflouge carrying case. As you can tell the theme was DOGS!! The Love for dogs is still there! She squeals and says "Dog" every time she sees one. She has inherited the dog-loving trait from her Aunt Hollie.

  Ava's stats: Weight: 21 lbs 10 oz
                     Height: 30.5 inches
                     Head: 18.5 inches
* Pro walker now. Miss independent and loves the new freedom.
* Can finally crawl. Will crawl to where she can pull up and to walk.
* Can pull up to standing on pretty much anything.
* Can mimmick sounds and noises
* Can say "ah ohh" in her cute way.
* Points to everything.
* Sleeps with her stuffed dog.
* Loves her pacifier at nap and bed time.
* Switched over to cow's milk perfectly.
* Loves steamed veggies; eats them like candy(takes after her mommy), grilled cheese, p&j sandwiches, spaghetti, beans, avocado, bananas, french toast....... she loves everything!!
* As of today, she repeated Mom to me when I said say MOM. She usually just says it when shes eating or upset but first time on que. It made me feel so special.
* Loves, loves loves to wave. She is constantly waving at everyone!
*Has 8 teeth, 4 on top, 3 on bottom and a molar.

We feel so lucky to have Ava in our lives. She made me a MOM and I love it. She was well worth the wait and journey. I hope all our kids are as perfect as Ava.