17 Months

Dear Ava,

Today, August 20th, you are seventeen months old! I used to wonder why parents would express their children’s age in number of months up until they are 2 years old or so, but now it makes perfect sense. During each month that passes, you discover new things about yourself and have many “firsts”. Not to mention, you are growing so quickly that every few days or so I genuinely believe that you have gotten bigger. Looking back at pictures and videos from when you were a newborn, or anywhere in between, brings back precious memories and reminds me of how quickly you are growing up.

What things have made this month special? Well, anything you do is special, which makes it easy to write this letter. I am always amazed at how rapidly you progress with each month that goes by and can’t help but wonder what you are thinking sometimes. Here are a few things that you have done this month:

• You climb on everything. Each thing you scale evokes a different response from your Dada. For example, if you climb on the ottoman and sit on it while pointing the remote control towards the television, Dada thinks that’s cute. Climbing on Macy for a pony ride? Dada thinks that’s funny. When you attempt to scale your high chair because you are hungry and want us to feed you, Dada moves so quickly that he becomes a blur flying across the kitchen to prevent you from falling on your noggin. Mommy has mentioned this in the past, but you truly are fearless and have a great desire to explore.

• You have the sweetest singing voice in the world. I try as often as possible to get you to sing, even if it means that I have to sing the Wonder Pets or Praise Baby songs over and again because you like to sing to it. There is something about your soft voice and how hard you try to sing along that makes it so great. I love it.

• You have just started calling out my name, saying “DAAAAA” loudly if you are trying to get my attention and to get me to come see what you are doing. I love it because I feel like you really want to show me things that you do or discover, which is always fun for me.

• You got to go camping with us this year and had such a great time. Your mommy and I were pretty anxious going tent camping at the end of July with you for the first time but you did tremendously. You enjoyed exploring the campsite, playing with the rocks, throwing rocks for Macy, smearing river clay on my face, and trying to swim. You allow me to do “Dad-like” things, which is very special to me because I want to be the one to teach you how to do things and sometimes allow you to figure things out on your own. Holding you in the river while you tried to kick your feet was a first, because you had never really tried to swim before.

• This month you have also been bringing me books more often and sitting in my lap while I read them to you. Reading to you is one of my favorite things for many reasons, but most of all I just like spending that time with you and knowing that you really enjoy it. Sometimes you grab my hand and make me point to things that you like on the pages of the book; butterflies, kitty cats, and bugs are some of your favorites.

I also love that you try and make us laugh more and more each month. You play peek-a-boo with us a lot and do things that you know are silly. You have so much personality and you are so playful. We play a lot in the front yard and I try to point out things to teach you new words. You know what “tree”, “bush”, “flag”, and “grass” are and will point to them if I ask you where they are. You love to climb stairs and are getting better at coming down stairs on your own, but still need a hand to hold for support. You are a great car traveler and the music that is most likely to get you to fall asleep in the car right now is anything by Norah Jones. Your hair is getting longer and no matter how hard I try, I am not very good at using hair clips and bows to keep it out of your eyes.

Ava Marie, you are such a joy to have as a daughter and I love everything we do together! I love catching a little peek at what the world looks like behind your eyes as you discover the world around you. I couldn’t love you any more than I already do and feel so blessed to be your father.

Love, Dada