Ava Continues to Learn!

There is no doubt about it! Ava is our favorite granddaughter! Watching her grow up and learn new things is one of our favorite pastimes. Just look at her in the picture above. She is pulling Pop's tie out and examining the pattern. She looked at it for quite a while. Pop looks like he is encouraging her, doesn't he?

Here she is looking at her book that teaches her colors in english and spanish, along with the names of animals. See her little hand holding the book? Doesn't she look extremely intelligent? But then, Sarah and Jay BOTH have very intelligent parents.

Here is Ava with her first toy at Grammy's house. My friends kept telling me we needed a toy or two at our house for Ava. Mike and I chose a piano with moving instruments on the top. It is really fun to watch Ava with this. She really likes it. She of course wants to put it in her mouth, too. But she can bang on all the keys as much as she wants. It produces some fun music. And when she is older, you can turn that part off and she can make her own tunes.

Ava is playing with the keys here, but just after this, she pulled the whole thing up so she could put some part of it in her mouth. I know it is not very heavy, but she is little -- how did she do it?

Now, you may be wondering what this picture has to do with Ava. Jay and Sarah's church has a dedication once a year for all the children born the year before. They hold a reception before the Wednesday night service. They put up pictures of all the kids. There are several tables around, and one of the elders of the church are at each table. The parents go around and meet with an elder and receive a blessing. The elders' wives gave each child a baby's Bible. There were other gifts, but I cannot remember what they were. When the Wednesday night adult service starts, they call all the parents and kids and the elders up on stage. Basically the elders promise to pray for and help these parents raise their kids in the Lord, and the parents promise to do the same. It was very nice. If you enlarge and look real hard, Jay and Sarah and Ava are very close to the left end of the picture.

Here is the family as they headed back to their seats. Ava looked so cute!

Ava and Sarah joined me at a Ladies' Retreat at our church. Ava was very good. We had balloons there. Ava loved touching them. She looks like she has no legs in the sling, but she really likes riding in it with her legs up in a crossed leg position. She got the award as the best baby there.
Lastly for this post, Ava is now sitting on her own! Here she is sitting in a play pen at the Ladies' Retreat. I apologize for the angle -- makes her head look a little big. I wonder which cousin she looks like this time. Last weekend at breakfast with Ava and her parents, Ava sat up in a high chair! My camera gave up, so no pictures of that. I have a new camera, so there should be more shots soon. She is still little, so she really looks cute sitting. And she is eating solid food now, too. She loves her cereal and fruit.

"So we have continued praying for you
ever since we first heard about you.
We ask God to give you
a complete understanding
of what he wants to do in your lives,
and we ask him to make you
wise with spiritual wisdom.
Then the way you live
will always honor and please the Lord,
and you will continually
do good, kind things for others.
All the while,
you will learn to know God
better and better."

Colossians 1:9-10