picking peaches

Things I will miss about Arizona:

 -picking organic peaches at a local farm (in May!)
-hiking in the desert
-trader joe's and cafe rio
-swimming 6-7 months out of the year
-good friends
-being close to family
-warm weather

Things I won't miss:

-scorpions

Yes, we are moving. To a much colder state. One that neither of us has ever lived in before. Those that know me well know that I am not a fan of cold weather. I am one of the few that actually like hot weather. Living in Arizona is like having a free sauna. Just think of all the detoxing that goes on in the month of July...not to mention all the vitamin D! But I love to experience new things and visit new places.  So, I am putting on a positive attitude and looking on the bright side. And extending an invitation to anyone that wants to come visit...

18 months

Ava is 18 months old, but don't tell her that. She thinks she is four or five. She is full of enthusiasm, excitement, and opinions. Lots of opinions. "No, mommy! Deeeeez pants. Jeans!" She is already trying to usurp control of her wardrobe, and it makes me sad. She likes jeans (skirts, shorts), "jammies", and anything lime green. She has one pair of lime green leggings, and a pair of lime gingham shorts and always requests them.

She copies everything her brothers do. She always wants a red plate, because that's what Max asks for. If I give her a different color, she screams "noooooo! red!". She loves to look for letters and yells out "H!!!!", etc. She only sometimes guesses correctly. She surprises me with her vocabulary everyday. Today she told me her hands were "dirty" and wanted to "wash". I didn't realize the water was hot until she yelled "hot mommy! burn!". Her favorite things to say are "watch out!" (when she pushes her brothers around), "jump down!", "sit down, mommy...nurch!" (yes she is still nursing), "read book", and many more. She is a little parrot and is constantly repeating everything she hears. My favorite thing she says is "oh". She says it so adult-like. If I tell her that her purse is cute, she replies "cute?...oh." Or she will ask me where Max is, and when I tell her he is in his room she says "room?....oh." Her intonation is funny, as if she were saying "huh, ok, I get it".

She loves Dora, and can spot her from a mile away. If we pass anything "Dora" in a store she hyperventilates, flaps her arms, and yells "DORA!!!!!". After we pass said Dora paraphernalia, she puts on a sad face, turns, waves, and says "Bye-bye Dora!!!! Bye-bye!!!!". Sadly I don't share her enthusiasm for Dora, and the only Dora item that has made it into our house is a toothbrush purchased by her father. J-P has a huge soft-spot for his little "sugar plum".

Her 18-month well-check went well. In contrast to every other appointment, she was a perfect angel. She happily let the doctor examine her, and when it came time for the shots she didn't even flinch. No tears at all. The nurse yelled out "Wow!!! You didn't even blink! You get two stickers!! Tell them to give you two stickers!!"

Here stats:

height: 32 3/4 (75%)
weight: 22 lbs 3 oz (25%)
head: 18 1/4 (50%)

I get so many comments about how tall she is so I was wondering if she would be in a higher percentile, but I think she must look tall because she is lanky. She definitely has her daddy's body.

More pics here.

cilantro

I did some editing/transplanting in the garden this week. It was long overdue. I harvested lots of giant beets and dug out the cilantro that had gone to seed. Cilantro grows beautifully all winter long here, but it goes to seed with the first hint of hot weather. I thought it was so pretty, and I couldn't bare to throw it away. I stuck it in mason jars all around my kitchen. It has been making me happy all week. My kitchen makes me happy too, now that it is as white as can be. It puts me in a good mood, which is good since I spend most of my day in it. I will be very sad to leave it when the time comes.

take two

We tried another round of pictures in Easter outfits tonight. We still didn't get any where they are all looking at the camera at the same time. And in the majority of them they are giggling, sticking their tongue out, or running away from me. At least there was a little more light. Here are a few more on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chezscoville/

Oh, and can anyone tell me how to change picture size in the updated blogger? I am so not good at figuring this stuff out...