Where has the time gone?

I haven't blogged for a while because I lost my camera and was also away from home for three weeks. And also I'm lazy.

Ava is now 15 months old. I need to record what she is up to these days. But before I do that, here are pictures that we had to reenact a month after Halloween due to my missing camera. Ava ended up being a rat this Halloween. I thought it was a mouse costume when I bought it, but it is clearly a rat costume. While other moms were dressing their dear little daughters as ladybugs, fairies and other lovely creatures, Ava was a rat. Oh well. She was a darn cute rat.

This is the face she makes when we tell her to "smile"

Where's my candy?

Ava doesn't talk much, but here are the words she will say, even if she might not know what it means for sure: "Uh oh", "No", "Hi", "Bye bye", "Ball", "Coco" (parent's dog), "bad", "Papa" (Grandpa Smock),"dada" and "Maaa" (It should be Ah Ma, Taiwanese for Grandma), "go", "bubble" and "mama"

Animal sounds: meow, moo, bzzzz, some weird elephant sound we taught her, sort of a dog sound, Baa, and a roar that she uses for lions, tigers, dinosaurs, and other scary looking animals

Sign language: Ava started watching "Signing Time" videos a long time ago but really didn't pick up on signing until after age 1. She knows the signs for water, baby, milk, shoes, eat, flower, fish, book, bath, more, bird and the best of all, Jesus.

Fave foods: Trader Joe's Roasted Vegetable Pizza (it's dairy-free and totally yummy. The whole family fights over it!), Snapea Crisps, Gerber's snacks, grapes, pears and apples. One time she tried to pry open David's mouth when he was eating chocolate. No chocolate for you, Ava!

Cute antics: trying on people's shoes. Big or small, she likes them all. When she wakes up, she likes to give me a kiss on the lips if she's in a good mood. This is when she is lying next to me after a night of sleeping over in mom and dad's bed...which is every night. When she hugs people, she pats their back.

Oh yeah...and she's walking! And very proud of herself too. She kept showing off during Thanksgiving. Her Papa (Grandpa Smock) was very encouraging, so Ava put on quite a show!

Goodbye Nana

This is a picture of Nana Smock and Ava. Ava was three weeks old and Nana came to stay for a week and help us out! Nana was so helpful and loving. She cooked meals, tidied up, scrubbed our dirty shower, and had Ava sleep with her at night so I could get some extra sleep!

The time we spent with Nana for that one week was all too precious. Nana was diagnosed with brain cancer just a few weeks after our special time together. She died on November 22, 2008, surrounded by some of her loving family. She fought a tough battle, and fight she did. She was truly the best example of a patient and persevering person through this trial. But through her faith, she considered this trial a blessing. Her funeral was on November 26, the day of her 64th birthday. It was simply the most tender, inspiring, and spiritual funeral. David delivered a beautiful eulogy that showed a woman who loved life, God, and her family. During my last visit with her in September of this year, she kept stressing how important it was to live each day like it was your last. Cherish life!

Goodbye for now Nana.