again

Somehow I missed the green whiteboard marker when I picked them up and put them out of reach the last time Ava decide to draw with them. This time she decorated the wall in her room.

This used to be Thomas's room and when the girls switched with him I told Elle that someday I would paint it pink for her since she wasn't too excited about the blue. I purchased the paint about a month ago but just haven't had time to tackle the project yet. I'm thinking I should maybe wait until Ava is 5?! :)

She challenges my patience for sure and some days has me wishing we were out of the 2 year old destructive phase but as soon as I start thinking those thoughts she comes downstairs dressed up in a ballerina tutu, beads and a silly hat with an armful of books and says, 'Read stories to me?' with a cute little smile on her face. And then I realize again how sweet this stage is and that it goes by all too quickly and I'm happy to stop cleaning the kitchen for a few minutes while we sit down together and read the same books that we've read over and over. Then I lay her down for a nap and am so thankful for those 1 1/2 - 2 hours of peace and quiet too! :)

There have been so many things that she's said lately that I've been wanting to write down on the blog. She keeps us laughing all the time around here. These are a few that I can think of right now -

She went through a time where all she would call me was 'Mama Mia'. I'm not sure where she heard this but she made a lot of people smile when she'd call me that when we were out and about.

Elle often calls her sweetheart and her reply is 'I'm not Sweetheart, I'm Ava!'

Most people will say they want just one more of something. One more minute, just one more m&m, etc. Ava always wants two. Two more minutes, two more songs at nap time, two more stories...

She loves Thomas and Elle and has them wrapped around her finger. She often tells them 'We're best friends.' It's so sweet.

Two days in a row this week she has had potty training success. Yesterday she hid under the table to do her business though so I'm thinking that it's still going to be awhile before she's done with diapers. Potty training is really the last thing to do and then we are pretty much done with the baby stage stuff. She sleeps in a big girl bed, eats at the table, the highchair is no longer in the dining room. We've put away or given away most of the baby/little kid toys since she likes to play big girl stuff now. One of her favorites is playing house with Elle. She's a good little mommy to her baby dolls. My girl is growing up!