Little Pterodactyl

My little birdie is not a baby bird anymore (or pterodactyl for that matter). She is One. The day she came into the world I looked at her for the first time and didn't know quite what to think. I loved her immediately. But that immediate connection wasn't there the way it was with Riley. I can't put into words how I have grown to be connected with her now. I love that I feel a different, yet equally deep connection with my daughters. I look back at pictures of Ava in that first few months and it is unreal how much she has changed. She is the sweetest thing. She is funny and energetic, scoots like a gremlin on a lightning bolt. She bites. Oh does she bite. She has the hugest two front teeth I have ever seen on a baby. She is fascinated by her older sister. Riley makes her crack up in laughter. She is petite, in the 20 something percentile for height and weight, but her head is in the 70th. She is always bonking that thing and getting little bruises on her forehead. Silly girl. She still has a set of lungs on her that can be confused for neighborhood birds, except when you are indoors. I am sure the people trying to enjoy their meal in restaurants with us love the sound of a happy little baby squawking with delight through their meal. It is SO loud. She doesn't walk yet, but she scales. She can climb up slides, sets of drawers, onto ledges that are almost as tall as her. I like to "spot" her and let her do her thing and see what she can accomplish. Her climbing ability is quite fascinating. She loves swings and can get pretty upset if we take her out of one when she isn't finished. She doesn't like to be fed. She has to take it in her own fingers and feed herself. I'd call her fairly independent. But when she sees mama after a day without her at work, or even just a couple of hours, she immediately loses her little mind until she's in my arms. Even when wearing pink, she is assumed to be a boy by strangers. I get it when she's wearing neutral colors. But pink and purple? C'mon. Ava, you are adorable. You are beautiful. I cannot imagine my world without you. You make me laugh and smile. Thank you for sleeping better than your sister and giving me hope. Thank you, thank you, thank you for that. Oh, my Av, I am so excited to see you grow. But I also want you to be my little baby forever.  Happy first birthday my sweet little bird. 

Defiance

It wasn't until I was a parent that I heard that the "terrible two's" aren't that terrible. It's the Three's that are rough. Rough? That may be an understatement. Riley. That girl. She's rounding the corner to three and she just gets more wild by the day. She is too smart. If I ask her a direct question, she will go into this secret language where she shouts weird made-up words like "hootie" or "toca." She knows exactly what she is doing when she ignores me. Here's one odd-ball example: we went on a boat in Alaska and she would not tell Robby or I which animals we saw that day. The next morning she met my friends niece on FaceTime and when their family asked if she saw any Alaskan wildlife, she simply said "Yeah, Whales, Puffins, Orcas..." She is unbelievably defiant. I have tried disciplining her with soap and she says "more soap please" when I take it out of her mouth. I tried taking her favorite toys away. Her response to that was to push Ava, look at me, then hand me her favorite toy. Attempts at Time-outs of all kinds? She requests them. She'll do something naughty, then look up at me, tilt her head and say "Time out please." Take away her iPad, no problem, she'll find something else to entertain herself. Smack her hand, she'll say "do it again!" Or she'll whack our hand back. Listening and following directions is not her forte. 

While I am on the subject of how curious this little creature is, let me also note a few of the things she has asked for in the middle of the night. And I really mean the middle. These are 2 AM requests. Cheese samples, for the tags in her pj's to be cut out, for her nails to be cut. And of course the standards - a soft blanket followed by a not soft or "cold" blanket as she refers to it, ice water (it must have ice), a specific stuffed animal that she has not played with or shown any interest in for months. These are just some of her nightly requests. Anything to get us back in to her room for some social time in the odd hours of the night. This girl is crazy.