19 months

Ava is 19 months but just had her 18 month appointment. She did better than normal with the doctor and nurses. She is so weary of strangers! Anyway, everything checked well. She has two big teeth coming- they are the K-9s and this causes trouble on occasion. Her weight is fine and the doctor has never had any concerns about it. Personally, I really like the chunkiness! She weighs 28 lbs and she is in the 60th percentile for her height. Both girls got the flu vaccine, Bella got the mist and Ava had to have a shot. She also had one other shot. When we left she rubbed her little band-aids and looked at us like, "This hurts and I am sad!" Bella looked at me and said, "I know just how her feels." It was so sweet. Anyway, interest in the potty is around the corner and finally saying some words... Ava is growing up!

what i can remember for now of her vocabulary (but not the way she says them):
trash
bar (this is a Nutri-grain Bar)
Da Da
Ma Ma
more
baby
ball
milk (sometimes)
water
snack
all done
bubbles
poop (one of our favorites)
car (sounds nothing like car)
Bella (sounds nothing like Bella)

she still signs "all done" and "more" when she says them and has her own sign for no, but doesn't say it surprisingly...

She is giving the tightest hugs and the sweetest little kisses lately.

what goes on around here...

Bella loves to dress up. She also loves to dress her sister (and apparently horses and other animals too)!

Lately, Ava wants to climb in the car BY HERSELF and BUCKLE HERSELF and DRESS HERSELF none of which she really can do on her own except climb into her carseat (on good days). This takes us three times as long to do anything, but she is bound and determined and wants no help. It usually ends with my help and her screaming. She is still a sweetie though and doing so good and preschool!! Her teacher said she gets excited about doing everything does well sitting still during snack, songs and lunch too.

Here are a couple others: (Bella has to have all her animals with her!) (Ava loves the slides these days!)

First Day of Pre-K!

Bella had her first day today of pre-K with Mrs. Boler at CLC- the Child Learning Center at Matthews Methodist. Ava had her first day of preschool in the ones class for the first time ever! Her teacher is Mrs. Wiley. They both did great and I was able to go to a meeting at my internship and get that squared away. It will be a busy but fun fall for us this year!

(I didn't have time to fix my chalkboard to say Ava was in fact in preschool not pre-K, but you can see the "ones" I added to make it different)

Family Camp

This past weekend we went to family camp at Camp Harrison. It was a blast! We signed up back in January right after we decided we should use our Christmas money to do something together. It was through the Y and they have very resonable pricing. The girls loved it and Ava was the cutest little camper. Bella kept saying, " I am so glad we came to family camp." There were horses, target sports, crafts, swimming, canoeing, games, snacks, campfires, and even dance parties and bouncy houses and slides... Oh yes, and Bella tried and did well with tennis and I was able to squeeze in a little zip lining at the end of the trip. We slept in a cabin and that surprisingly went well too. Ava knew right where the dining hall was and thought we were supposed to eat there every we saw it! We had chapel on Sunday and there was a family talent show one night. The pool there is perfect for little ones as well, complete with water slides that we were able to take the kids on. It was quite a success!

Last but not least...

We moved!! We closed on a house in mid-July and have been working hard ever since. Our dream come true- a brick ranch in Matthews with a yard and hardwood floors. It has been almost two weeks and each day has been full of unpacking, yard work, cleaning and decorating and the expected hiccup here and there. Randy is learning a new meaning for the word "handy" and we are adjusting to the changes but overall it is heavenly! The girls LOVE being outside and exploring. We have been building fires in our homemade fire pit and walking across the street to Pine Lake Nursery for little things and advice (and fighting lots of mosquitoes)! Randy and Bella went on a little breakfast date last weekend to the bagel shop in walking distance and both girls are enjoying frequent wagon and wheel barrow rides. They have been so helpful. Bella's room is fit for a princess and she said, "It is like a dream come true," when we showed it to her for the first time. My heart melted. I have a lot of before and during pictures to post but for now, the day we closed... Randy and I drove back from Hilton Head only a day after being there and got up at 5:30 in the morning for the walk-through and closing. We were a little sleepy but like after having a baby the adrenaline from the excitement fueled us!

Beach Trip 2013

We took our regular Eich family beach trip at the end of July. We went to Hilton Head this year which meant bike rides, alligators and lots of time spent in Harbor town. The kids were in heaven having a pool in the backyard and sharing a room with lots of twin beds and trundles. There was dolphin watching on a boat cruise with Greg Russell, putt putt and pony rides. The kids also got to go crabbing one morning.