My Belly Is Cuddly

I was in the kitchen cleaning a couple days ago with Ava sitting at the kitchen table eating. She said, "Mom! Mom! (she's starting to call me "mom" now) I want a hug!"

That's usually her way of saying, "Pick me up. Carry me." It used to be a simple "hug! hug!" when she was smaller, before she could form sentences. Anyway, she was in the middle of eating and I didn't know why she wanted to be picked up or carried...especially now she knows I won't (really, I just can't) carry her anymore.

"What, Ava?"

"I want a huuugg." Then Ava looked at my belly. "I want to hug your belly."

Um, okay. Is my belly looking cuddly or something? I helped her up to stand on the chair and she planted her arms around my nonexistent waist and gave me a squeeze. The random, fleeting moment was over and she was jabbering away about something else...who knows what.

A conversation relating to my belly:

A: "Mommy, is your belly getting bigger?"
Me: "Yes, my belly is bigger than yours and Daddy's. It's getting bigger because the baby is growing big."
A: "What's the baby doing in there?"
Me: "Probably sleeping."
A: "Oh..." (losing interest)

Another conversation:
A: "Is the baby kicking you?"
Me: "Yep."
A: "The baby goes kick kick kick and he hit hit hit and you go aaaaaaahhh (doing a mock/falsetto scream)."

I think Ava thinks the baby is going to come out ready to play with her.