28 Months

I just felt like doing a little update on Ava's life these days.

She's just over 28 months old now (how did that happen so quickly?) and she's a steady walker and even a speedy runner! She's still a bit clumsy though and often bumps her head or her legs on objects around the house.

She has two friends that she sees from time to time and she really likes both of them. Aimee, who is 6 weeks younger than Ava, and Cody, who is also 6 weeks younger.

We see Cody and his mum Isabelle more often than Aimee and her mum George, because Cody and Isabelle live one street away from us, whereas Aimee and George live a 30 minute drive away on the other side of Guildford.

Her favourite toy is Teddy Bear and he is never far away. She goes through phases of having a second favourite toy but that changes weekly.

She loves watching CBeebies (UK young children's television channel) and she gets annoyed if I put anything else on because the other channels have commercial breaks.

She is now completely potty trained and hasn't worn a diaper in over a week! She has had some poo issues but we're making progress this week now that she's on some medication to help.

Ava is really trying to be the boss these days and it can make discipline very difficult. If she throws something on the floor and I say 'Don't throw things on the floor!' She'll reply with a smile on her face 'Yes I can throw things on the floor!'

We still have the "Naughty Step" which she gets sent to if a verbal warning doesn't work. She doesn't like that step and she sits there the whole time saying 'Mummy that's enoouuuggghhh!' over and over again.

Going out to the shops with her is getting harder and harder. I can't let her walk because she tugs her hand out of mine and will run around the shop like crazy. To her it's a game of hide and seek and I end up getting angry and flustered and she just laughs. If I put her in her stroller she just shouts and cries and whines the whole time. I'm failing miserably with this one and I need to fix it soon before she gets completely out of control.

Anyway. Her bed time routine is going well. She no longer has milk before bed and once she has changed into her jammies she climbs into bed and I'll read her a story. Sometimes we have to read it twice, depending on how wide awake she still is. After the story is finished, I turn out her light and tell her to watch her night light change colours while I go downstairs. I always tell her that I'll be back in a minute because it's the only way she'll let me leave the room. I don't go back in until I head upstairs to bed, and that's just to check on her.

Her eating habits are better than they used to be, but sometimes when she's not interested in her food she'll just let it sit there. When this happens we have to bring out 'The Hungry Mouse' The Hungry Mouse is just our hand running quickly across the table saying 'The Hungry Mouse is going to eat your dinner!' and she grabs some food and pops it into her mouth before the mouse can get to it. She thinks it's funny and it helps her eat so hopefully it will continue to work for a little while longer.