Birds, Burritos, Braids, and Ben

I've finally been feeling better the past few weeks, and we've been greatly enjoying spending time outside. Of course, every spring Ava has to adjust to the sounds of outside once again. She has always been afraid of loud noises and since we've had the windows closed all winter, she has forgotten the loud trucks and motorcycles we hear with frequency from our house. She'll be playing outside when suddenly there's a loud noise of some sort and she screams and comes running. I also hear several times a day, "Mommy, I'm scared of noises." At least I know once she's used to the sounds again, she'll be fine. Today, we were outside and the birds were chirping away. I asked Carter if he heard them and he did this:
He is so expressive and is always making us laugh. While not exactly funny, lately when he is upset (often after being told, "no"), he throws himself face down on the floor and just lies there. Good thing he can't seem me as I giggle at his antics. He also still loves to eat. Since I've been snacking all day long these days (it often helped the all-day nausea I was experiencing), he's also turned into a mooch. As soon as he notices I'm eating something, he's in front of me with a big smile, signing, "Please," and saying, "Bite?" Sometimes Mark brings dinner home from Chipotle and before he was always happy with beans and rice or a cheese quesadilla, but the one night, he pushed them away and instead asked for a bite of Mark's burrito. I wouldn't be surprised if he could eat an entire one by himself very soon.

Last week, Ava let me braid her hair for the first time ever. Every other time I've tried, she stops me and pulls it out. I finally used bribery. She asked if she could watch Cinderella and I said she could if I could braid her hair. It worked! She really hates to have her hair messed with, so I was thankful she finally gave in. I could use some more practice, but it turned out pretty good and was a great way to keep her hair out of her face.
Our friend Ben was over for a couple hours that same afternoon. Ava LOVES Ben and he seems to be okay with her, too. The entire time Ava would randomly yell, "Come on, Ben!" and he would dutifully follow wherever she led. Carter never responds so readily to her demands, so she was in heaven.
I know Ben doesn't look too thrilled with this hug, but to be fair, Ava did take him away from the truck he was playing with. You shouldn't mess with boys and their trucks.

I love this picture I got of Ava today:

Hopefully, in about a month, I'll be posting with the news of whether we'll be welcoming a boy or a girl this fall (although, I will try and update before then)! Tomorrow marks week 15 and my doctor usually schedules the ultrasound for around week 20. We have several good friends also expecting this fall and keep hearing of more. Should be an exciting time.