4 and fabulous

*I'm posting Ava's birthday post a few days early. I know we'll have a ton of birthday pictures to post after the weekend, and I wanted folks to have time to enjoy a look at the Official Birthday Post.

Ava J, Jamie, Bava, Lulu, Lulabelle, Lady, Ladybug, AJ, Sweetie Pea, Princess, Ms. James, Little Josh, The Bave, Stinker, Little Lava, Sweet Baby James
These are a few of our many names for Ava. Each day with her is truly a gift, a blessing, and always a surprise. She is strong, helpful, silly, smart, serious, loving, sensitive, careful, in control, artistic, a reader!, and the highlight of our lives. Sometimes our mouths are agape at her maturity, other times we shake our heads and wonder how to address her behavior - mostly when we see glimpses of ourselves in her. When I have friends who are expecting their first baby, I often describe the moment you meet your baby like the part in How the Grinch Stole Christmas where his heart grows three sizes. Our hearts continues to grow with love and admiration for our darling girl. Enjoy some of our favorite pictures of Ms. Ava and some stories of our adventures in raising her. Stories will be strewn throughout the pictures, in no particular order.

Ava James was born on a Monday night, January 22 at 9:13 pm.
She weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce and was 23 1/2 inches long.


Ava has learned to conjugate most verbs correctly, but she's coined her own gerund phrase 'make suring' as in, "Mommy, I was just make suring you were okay."




Ava can pop her right shoulder in and out. It makes a horrible snapping sound, which she thoroughly enjoys. When we first discovered her special popping ability I exclaimed, "Oh my goodness Josh, I think she's double-jointed!"

She responded in a very serious voice, "I think I'm magical."



Ava calls exercise 'extrasize'. I guess you 'extrasize' to get rid of your extra size.



When Ava had a stuffy nose we would use a NetiPot squeeze bottle to irrigate her sinuses. She loathed it. We switched over to a more kid-friendly saline mist and things are much happier. She called the old method the Nose Sploge. For weeks after her sinuses clear she'll ask with a shaky voice, "Do we have to do the Nose Sploge?"




Ava has decided that she wants one sister and two brothers. When asked about the specifics she says, "I want a sister, then one brother for me and one brother for her. You know, like sharing."




There was a phase when Ava would say, "Oh no, here we go again" all the time. Each time it resulted in an eruption of laughter from all three of us.



This Christmas Ava sang rounds and rounds of "Is the season to be holly?"

The other morning Ava James sat up in bed, demanded "beans, rice, tortillas, and cheese boopboop" then promptly went back to sleep. Any doubt that she's actually my kiddo has now been cleared.

Ava: Why doesn't Daddy sleep with a shirt on?

Me: Well, because he doesn't have bops.
(Ava has called breasts bops since she could talk. We think it's because of the Boppy nursing pillow, but who can really know?)

Ava: Yes he does, I've seen them.

Me: He has bops, but they're not special. Girls have special bops so we have to keep them covered.

Ava: Oh. *running into the other room yelling to Josh* Daddy, I have special bops and you don't!






Actual conversation the other day:

Ava: Mommy, what does 'sessy' mean?

Me: I'm sorry, what?

Ava: 'Sessy', what does 'sessy' mean?

*A show she was watching had ended and Say Yes to the Dress had just come on. The bride was trying to find a dress that made her look 'sessy' because classy and elegant are evidently passe. Luckily I overheard the bride saying 'sexy' just as Ava asked me for a definition the second time.*

Me: Well, 'sessy' is when a Mommy tries to look really pretty for a Daddy.

First of all, normally I correct her when she pronounces something incorrectly. It didn't seem that important that my 3-year-old be able to say 'sexy'. Also, I wasn't sure what to tell her. I started to tell her that 'sessy' meant pretty, but could just see her complimenting a friend in Sunday School, "Grace, you look so sessy today!"
Josh and I always ordered Ava chicken when we ate sushi. This year she started asking to try our bites, and now she's completely chicken free. Her favorite food in the world is edamame and an avocado roll inside out with masago, maybe some smoked salmon inside if she's especially hungry. When we asked her what she wanted to eat on Saturday after her birthday party her quick response was, "Sushi." We have explained that most of our family members do not enjoy sushi. Jury is still out on where we're heading for that birthday dinner.


If you ask Ava who she wants to marry she always says, "I'm going to marry Mommy." Now she talks endlessly about how she never wants to leave and hopes she can live with us forever. We are so okay with that.



More than anything in the world Ava wants a pet squirrel. My response has always been, "You can have one if you can catch one." So far we remain petless.



When Ava first saw her cousin Nolan she walked right up to his blue bundle, extended her right hand and said, "Hello, I'm Ava James Lockett." We have been practicing this polite greeting for almost two years and this was the first time Ms. Shy has ever used it (not even with Daddy to practice).


Ava is most excited about turning four because it means that she gets to pick 4 books at bedtime instead of 3. I think we're going to pick three books for us to read to her, and one for her to read to us. The most exciting thing that happened, in my eyes at least, is that Ava started reading this year. Books have always been my best friends, and I cannot wait to introduce them all to my little reader.


Thanks to Nate and Hannah for this great idea, if you have a fun memory with Ava please post it as a comment. Thanks!