25 Things about Ava

1. She smelled like snickerdoodle cookies. From the day she was born.
2. She knew her daddy’s voice so well and would always look around to find him when she heard it.
3. She loved being held
4. Her eyes were so big and beautiful. They were blue like mine but beautiful like her daddy’s
5.  She got mommy’s cheeks. They were massive and set delicately on a tiny chin
6. She had a smile that would light up a room.
7. Her feet were ticklish and she would pull her legs into her body when you touched them.
8. She disliked diaper changes. It usually took two people, one to sing to her, the other to quickly change her.
9. She liked to sleep with her arms above her head, just like her mommy. I think it’s one of the reasons she didn’t like to be swaddled too much.
10. She had angel kisses all over her face when she was born. One under her nose, on both of her eyelids, and in between her eyes. They all faded, but you could still see the one in between her eyes when she got worked up
11.     She was observant. Always looking around, taking everything in
12.   She spoke with her eyes. Her expressions would tickle me because you knew exactly what she was feeling.
13.  She had a great grip. Ouch
14.    She liked getting her legs rubbed with lotion, just not in between her toes.
15.   She hated being covered by blankets. If she was sleeping and you covered her, she would wake up just to kick it off.
16.   Her hair was curly and very very soft. It turned a pretty auburn color in the sunlight.
17.     She often moved her arms and legs in the same way she did in my belly. She’d kick them straight out and just hold them there for a long time. So funny.
18.    She hiccupped a lot. It started in my belly and she did it all the time after she was born. I would say almost every day she had the hiccups.
19.     She was so much calmer in my arms. I’m sure most moms could say this about their babies, but it was as if our two little souls were better together.
20.  Whenever the kitties got curious enough to get close to her she would look at them like they were hairy monsters. Which is what they were to her. I’d grab her hand and let her touch their fur and she would get a goofy grin on her face, like maybe they weren’t monsters at all.
21.     She loved sleeping on her tummy. Lying on me, tummy to tummy was the best sleep she ever got.
22.   She pretended to hate it when I kissed her piggies, but she’d always stretch them out again for another kiss.
23. She was ornery, and was sure that we did things her way, I loved that about her. She was strong willed.
24.  She was stronger than anyone thought she was. She showed it time and time again. It was why they went from thinking she had no chance to giving every resource they had to help her fight. She had a stronger spirit than body.
25.  The thing I miss the very most is her sweet little face. She was beautiful, cute, adorable, obnoxious, sweet, ornery, joyful, thoughtful, strong, resilient, and wise.