I am a "girly-girl" and I would love for Ava to be one too. However, I try to vary her wardrobe a bit in hopes that she won't defy me and be a tomboy just to spite me. People sometimes tell me what a cute little "boy" I have. I realize though too that none of my reverse psychology means a thing...Ava will do whatever she wants! Anyway, she's digging for cookies in Mommy's bag after swimming here.
And finally, the last picture in the vacation series. This was actually taken at home, but I thought it was a good end to the story. Ava was so exhausted from the trip that she fell asleep mid-dinner. We had a GREAT trip and can't wait to go again!
These bath time pictures were just too cute to leave out. For some reason Ava would not sit down in Granny's bath tub, she stood the whole time. This standing business also helped to confirm what I had always suspected...Ava uses her own means to warm the water, if you know what I mean. ;)
There's been a recent fascination with bellies, so she got a kick out of washing her own belly (and everyone else's).
Ava also loves playing with the water as it comes out of the faucet. Here she is searching for the optimal temperature.
And now we're on our way home; we are parked at restaurant parking lot in Missouri waiting for the little princess to get her beauty rest.
Taking a dip in the hotel pool. 
Granny took Ava + Mommy to the Gainesville, Texas Zoo...too bad we didn't have time for the Dallas or Ft. Worth Zoos. It was small but pretty nice; however, we didn't get there until around 4pm, so it was REALLY hot!!!
Ava tries to stay cool while looking at some giraffes and zebra, but it's hard.
We finally found some monkeys...sort of, I'm not really sure what they were but they resembled monkeys...good enough for us. Poor little thing, look how hot she looks!
Mommy + Ava ready to leave the zoo! 
While in Oklahoma Ava got to see REAL horses!!! She was so excited, she was clicking her tongue (our horse trot imitation) like crazy!
Her new "big girl" lunches; no more baby food here!
Ava had lots of fun playing in Granny's kitchen drawers, lots of cool stuff in there!
She also had fun pulling out all of the paper towels!
And Granny let Ava walk in the sink. She had so much fun at Granny + Papa's house!
Ava got to play with her friend Kiley too! She had lots of cool toys, and Kiley even shared them with Ava. They were so fun to watch together.
Kiley took such good care of Ava, kind of like a big sister; she held Ava's sippy cup for her and pushed her in her stroller...wish I had pictures!
Kiley even gave Ava a hug....too cute! Can't wait to visit Mel + Kiley again soon; sorry the Dads missed out on all of the fun.
Ava + Mommy got to visit with the bulls at Uncle Finley's + Aunt Sharon's place...they were huge! Ava roared at them as we approached.
Aunt Jo holds Ava as she leans in for a kiss to her little cousin, Cooper, held by Granny.
Ava finally gets to play with her cousin Jack. Doesn't it look like she's sharing?...Look again in the next picture.
Ava is actually taking her toy from Jack; good thing Jack is so easy going, he didn't seem to mind one bit as he digs for more toys.
Naked baby! Apparently swimsuits are optional at Granny + Papa's place. 
Ava snuggling with her dog, paci and blankie. She stayed on her normal nap schedule, surprisingly.
Ok, so we cheated a bit...we put the luggage on top of the car and made a little play area for Ava + Mommy in the back. With a 13 hour road trip (which turned into 15 hours) ahead of us I just couldn't see keeping her in her seat the whole time; so we took a couple of play breaks to stretch our legs. Actually on the way home she was happier in the car seat...well, with a couple of DVD's (books only go so far when you're one year old).
Swimming at Granny's + Papa's house! Boy it was hot!
Good thing Granny was there to hold the shade!
Doing some swinging...a favorite for Ava. I just love this picture with the tractor in the back, it really tells the story of our surroundings.
