The Pate Potpourri: Ava At 20 Months!!!

In 4 months, my baby will be 2! I just can't believe it! In my mind, she is still a newborn, snuggled up in my arms.

Last month, I posted so late about her 19 month milestones that I really don't have much new news on the homefront. Ava is continuing to grow and amaze me with her vocabulary. She is so smart! I am happy to not wish away any of my time with her, but I will be really excited when we start homeschooling. I really think she will be a fun child to teach!

Here are some things about Ava at 20 months:

Size 5 diaper
Size 5.5-6 in shoes
Size 18-24 months in clothes. Some 2T.
She has had two ear infections in the last 2 months.
Her little incisor that is coming through the gums is still just poking through the gums. I wish it would come all the way through!
Sleeps 12-14 hours at night with a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoon.
She can repeat almost everything that I say. I asked her pediatrician about her speech (because I don't have anything to compare it to, and because I am also paranoid that she will have speech problems) Dr. Roberts reassured me that Ava's speech is perfectly fine. She said that parents should understand about 50% of what a 2 year old says. And a stranger should understand about 75% of what a 3 year old says. She said that she could understand about 75% of what Ava says (and Ava still has 4 months before she is 2) this made me feel better. I am still going to continue to work with Ava on speech and pronunciations. Right now, though, I am just trying to do vocabulary building. We work on this during bath time with her foam rebus tiles, and throughout our day. I try to be very conversational with her. Hopefully, she will be skilled in the art of conversation! :)
She has recently showed an interest in books. From the time she has been able to pull up to a standing position until about a month ago, all she wanted to do was pull books out of the bin and throw them on the floor. Lately, she has wanted me to sit down in the rocker and read her 100 Words book with her. I am so thankful because I have not done my best to read to her like I know I should. I really have concentrated so hard on helping her meet her physical milestones that I have neglected helping her reach some intellectual milestones. It is a really hard balance sometimes! Anyway, she likes for me to say the words so that she can repeat them.
Her favorite song is "B-I-B" (B-I-B-L-E) We sing this song at least 10 times a day. Her second favorite song is "Little Boy David" she loves when the stone goes into the sling! :)

Routines:

We have some routines set up so that Ava will learn about God. Ever since Ava started solid foods, we have taught her to pray before eating. We have continued this practice to this day. Ava now folds her hands and bows her head before her meals. She knows that she can't eat until we pray. Sometimes, though, I will catch her with her eyes open, looking at her food! Little stinker!! :)

A second routine that we have just started with her is devotional time before she goes to sleep. Whatever parent puts her to sleep will lead a few songs and pray with her. I can't wait for the day when we can do this as a family, but it is hard right now with two babies.

A Funny Moment:

The other night I was giving Ava her bath and I was reading her tiles to her. I said, "fish" and she said, "No, it's shish!" Ha! She corrected my pronunciation! I guess we will have to keep working on this!!

Here are some photos of Ava this month:

She does not like eating at Kobe. :( Too bad, so sad. It is one of our favorite places to eat until Hokkaido opens up again. So she will have to get over it!! :)