Ava is three and a half years old today! She is so grown up and I feel like so much of it has happened the last 6 months. She is so observant of everything going on around her and Jeff and I have just started realizing how much she listens to us when we talk to each other. She soaks everything in and we are amazed at everything she understands! If she's puzzled she will often ask 'what or who are you talkin about?' She has a desire to know everything. Christmas and birthdays will be tricky from here on out.
She is so sweet with her brother. She has a hard time with him getting into her things some days but she spends so much time taking him toys, talking to him, playing with him and making him laugh.
Very occasionally I will take Keegan to his grandparents while Ava and I have a play date or something fun planned. Within an hour she is upset and asking when we are picking him up. She does not like to be separated from him for long.
She looks after him and tells us when he's about to get into something that he shouldn't. She has taken so much ownership of him. The other day she told me she had to go potty and asked me if I could watch him for her. She was so serious and I still laugh when I think about it. I told her I would be happy to babysit during her potty break :-)
She loves to dance even though she tells us all the time on her days of class that 'it's really hard work.' Ha! The thought of her performing in a recital in four months blows me away.
It's been fun watching her build relationships with a group of girls that she met for the first time on the first day of class 6 months ago. She treasures her friendships and talks about her closest friends all the time. I think it's precious.
She doesn't really have a favorite thing to play with right now. Everyday it's different. But I would say that riding her tricycle is probably her very favorite thing to do right now. She loves for either Jeff or me to walk along beside her while she takes the block, always on the look out for acorns, flowers and rocks. Her basket is always full by the time we make it home. Lucky for her this winter has been more like spring and she has been able to ride a lot. 
Ava loves to go to church. Jeff and I love teaching her Sunday School class every other week but when we go to 'big church' her other teachers take them to chapel. When we pick her up they always tell us how about how animated she is. She sings and dances with all her might. I always tease her about being a dancing baptist. She loves to listen and sing to her praise songs in the car and she's just recently started asking questions about them. I know she gets the easy ones like 'Jesus loves me' but last week she held up her index finger and asked me what her 'light' was. Whew.... I'm not sure I was ready for that one! But I did the best I could explaining the love of Jesus living through us and after at least a twenty minute conversation she said 'OK, I got it." But I have a good feeling we will revisit this again :-)
She is very sensitive and emotional. I think it's because she's a strong willed three year old but Jeff thinks it's because she has such a big heart. She does give all of us so much love. After I make her breakfast or lunch and I head off to do chores I'll call to her and ask her if she needs anything. Most days she yells back 'just some hugs and kisses.' I told her months ago that mommies never run out of kisses so I think she's trying to wear me down :-) But of course, I always head over to her and hold her and love her, remembering the days of tiny baby Ava and wondering where the time has gone.
