New beginnings

Start of a brand new school year. New beginnings :)

A few pictures

Avie making a kissy face with her hot pink stripes in her hair. (It faded before we even got to the car which was ok by me!) Such a little Diva girl!!

We had a playdate recently at the pool with some coworkers of mine. Avie, Josey and Eliana and a great time swimming and splashing! I discovered that Avie loves the pool... the deeper the water the happier she is. She enjoys walking in up to her chest and putting her face in. This little girl has NO FEAR!

Eliana and Josey watching Avalynn pitch a fit because I wouldn't let her go into the deep water!

Rochesterfest is going on right now and this past Thursday they had a free kids carnival with carousal rides, games, bouncy things to jump in and more. Here is Avalynn and her friend Wyatt splashing.

A picture of Adrienne and I on our cruise, here's the view from our rooms balcony. It was great!

Miss Avalynn posing with her serious face.

Catching up

So I've been told numerous times that it is time to play catch up with my blog! I seem to have fallen quite a bit behind. So here I go!

Miss Avalynn is now 17 (almost 18)months old and is a busy little bee. Her separation anxiety is quickly fading, I am happy for her but sad for me. I miss my little baby girl who's being rapidly replaced with a busy vocal toddler. She has started putting words together. While watching Elmo on tv she'll say "Hi Elmo its me!". Her favorite words are currently "c-ya/bubye" "lets go" "GO away!" "I know, I know, I know (always in response to my asking her to do something or a question)" "stow-eee (story)" "pleeeease" and of course... "cookie". Anything edible that is circular in shape is called a cookie, including her whole wheat organic baby waffles. This is such a fun stage. Literally every day she learns a new word or phrase. Monday she learned that kitty cats say meow and she practiced her meows for a looooooong time. We'll have to find some kitties to visit. Avalynn still LOVES stories. She recognizes her books now and picks each one up with a word or two with what its about.

Avalynn is now learning more focused tasks. She's accomplished her very first puzzle and I was so proud of her. I'm amazed that she can pick up the puzzle piece, match it to the correct spot and get it fit. Its takes a lot of work and fine motor skills to figure out a puzzle!

I've discovered that my sweet little girl has a stubborn streak and the temper to boot. The word NO is now a huge part of her vocabulary. "Avie are you hungry" NO. "Avie are you thirsty?" NO "Avie do you want to play with the ball?" NO than this is immediately followed by "peeeeeease Cookie" and a starving baby girl look. There is no keeping up with her! Discipline is difficult. Its a constant internal battle for me. Did she hit me because she is frustrated and swinging her arms or because she is mad and wanting to lash out. Is she whining because she's bored, tired or hungry? Than there is always her frustration. She wants to do more than she's physically able to.

Life for me has been busy as well. I took a cruise with one of my best friends in May which was a fabulously relaxing vacation. We swam with the stingrays, dolphins, snorkeled, went para sailing, laid out on the beaches and on the boat and had a 'few' cocktails. I've never been so lucky as I was on that boat! We were magically given a VIP ticket for reasons unknown to us, we were given a better room than we expected, upgraded our massages to a massage AND facial, and all in all we had an amazing time. I can't wait for Adrienne's and my next vacation!
I leave this Thursday for a few days to go to Denver for my friend Rachel's wedding (I was QUITE honored when she asked me to be her maid of honor) and I'm applying for a new position at work (wish me luck I interview on Wednesday!). Between Avie, work, house work and play dates I haven't had much time to sit around but that's OK being its SUMMER and I love love LOVE it! The only thing I dislike are all these rotten storms we've been getting. Wishing I had a nice basement to hangout in every time the tornado sirens go off. It makes me nervous that to get to my basement I have to go outside. I'm starting to seriously consider moving so we can have more space and a safe basement.
That's the update, a little long I know but as you know I'm a chatty person!

Warning: Avie on Juice

Avalynn is slowly being switched to whole milk these last two weeks. As a result we've had a few issues with her being, as they say, backed up. I decided to introduce her to some juice to help her out with this little problem. Its pretty obvious that my child isn't allowed sugar as this video shows...

Needless to say, I will not be adding juice into her diet anytime soon!

Our lives have been so busy lately. With family, Christmas, my working, Avie's daycare, nights at grandma's, babysitters, last weeks birthday, this weeks birthday and our upcoming trip up north... Avalynn has not spent an entire day at home for about 2 weeks and will not be until next week sometime. Both Avalynn and I are EXHAUSTED. I've noticed the last few days that she's been throwing more temper tantrums and has gotten a lot more stubborn. I'm hoping once this week has passed we will be able to take a few breaths and relax a little. I'm looking forward to it. It also helps that I a switching to day shifts at work (yay!), I've been on nights for way to long. Its going to bed at 7am one day and getting up at 7am the next with my early riser has taken a toll on my sanity :) I think this change will be good for both of us. Sadly its only for the month...

Oh yes... before I forget. Avie got her two front teeth for Christmas.

The holiday rush.

Not sure who is more worn out, Avie or myself. The crazy, busy and exhausting week full of family and fun has finally passed. Lots of exciting presents, fattening foods and laughter. We have officially outgrown the toybox (basket). Moving might be easier than finding room for all of Avies new gifts! The new word this week is "hiding" said by Miss Avie while hiding behind mommy's curtains with a cheesy grin on her face. "Avie, are you hiding?"Auntie Amy asks after spying Avalynn behind the curtains. "Yeah... hiding" Avie replies in her little girl voice. Love her! We celebrated both Christmas and her 1st birthday this weekend. We had a small family gathering for her birthday held early while family was all in town. I made her a healthy zucchini/applesauce chocolate cake only to find it covered in frosting. Well, now I know how much she likes sugar! I love this baby girl :) who becomes a TODDLER next week. Wow.

Now that the big holiday rush has passed I find myself trying to normalize our routine. I'm hoping to not fall back into our previous cycle but instead set a new 'norm' for us. Call it my New Years Resolution. Healthier eating, more organized, more playdates and mommy/Avie time, more time overall spent being productive followed by some time spent being "healthy lazy". LoL, healthy lazy, if such a thing exists. These past few years I picked up the habit of zoning out in front of the tv during my free time. Its like a black hole and it just sucks you in, one good show leading to another. Really, I find that black tv hole rather annoying. I cut out cable a few months ago and so far I don't miss it but I still haven't had the opportunity to read much. Maybe its the holidays or stress or the fact that I've been BUSY but I'm seriously just craving a good book. Time for a trip to the library if I can ever get my card back from the baby sis.

The holidays were very good to us. Back to the grind of the real world now.

Daycare

Well Avalynn's first week of daycare was a success! She went three days this week. Rochelle, the daycare provider, stated that Avalynn is very good and well behaved (yay Avie!). She also stated that Avalynn is a good little helper by distracting and amusing another crying infant. Avie plays with the toys on Camber's (a 3 month old girl) swing which always stops her from fussing AND Avalynn hasn't tried to steal Camber's bottle... yet. She's starting to interact more with the bigger kids which is good to hear, usually she plays by herself and avoids the other kids. I'm proud of my big girl but also a little sad that she's becoming a toddler so quickly.

Mike and I brought Avalynn to meet Santa Claus on Thursday. Avalynn has always had a fear of white hair, Santa is no exception! When Santa saw the look of terror on her face he told me to drop and run... hoping we could get a snap shot before the tears fell. No such luck. Santa cried right along with her :) Santa informed me that she'll only need 2 years of therapy after this encounter. Poor Avie.

Avalynn finds the bathtub to be a fascinating toy. The bathroom door must be shut at ALL times or else she begins dropping things into it or tries to crawl into it herself. She finds the tub most amusing as I fill or drain it. I've dug everything out of that darn tub including nonwater toys, shampoo bottles, onesies, her toothbrush, hand towels and her favorite... rolls of toilet paper... As soon as I think I've picked every last TP square out of the tub and moved everything moveable out of reach, I'll discover she's found something else to drop into it. She finds this game more amusing than her mama!

I'm slowly getting ready for Christmas thanks to Avalynn being in daycare. Its amazing how fast I can move with two free hands but I find I physically have to remind myself not to go pick her up early. I figure its best to stick to the routine until Avalynn is comfortable being in the new environment. Darn... I miss my baby!

All she wants for christmas are her two front teeth!

It looks like Avalynn will be getting her two front teeth for Christmas. They are right there.... and are oh so close to breaking free. I look forward to her new smiles but will miss the gummy gums and my fang baby! As of this week Avalynn has reached the double digits with her vocabulary. Surprise? Not really, she does come from a chatty family :)

This last Saturday was Amy's baby shower with the theme Two Pea's in a Pod. It went really well! Everyone seemed to have a great time and we had plenty of food and fun. She received lots of great gifts and I'm sure she's getting anxious for these little guys to make their appearance.... in March. For her shower I made my very first diaper cake which turned out pretty well and it provided her with a box of diapers. I also made sugar cookies with green frosting (to go with the pea theme). It took THREE attempts to make the cookies before I finally gave up and bought slice and bake cookies. I love to cook but apparently I suck at baking.

Here's my big news of the week, I made the splurge and purchased an SUV today. I always thought I'd be fine with a car until I got stuck. Then I slid and then I slid some more. While thanking the lord once again that Avalynn was not in the car with me as I slid around the corner, I came to the conclusion that I wanted something much safer than the little Mazda. I'm sick of being in cruddy weather with a light little car while riding cramped and practically on top the steering wheel (the carseat requires the front seats be pushed WAY forward). Also, as a single mom, I've become rather independent. I have absolutely no desire to sit and hunt down people to help me move big items (example, a tv from my sisters house to my house and a baby swing from my house to her house). So I started hunting for an Impala. From there I found an SUV and than I met the newest addition to our family. An Equinox. I will pick it up today around 4pm... I will start my cursing over its gas mileage around 6pm I'm sure. This could get interesting. Wish me luck.

I am getting really, and I mean REALLY, excited to cook Christmas Dinner. At some point I'll attempt cookies... but after the disaster of Amy's baby shower cookies I'm rethinking Christmas treats. I hope everyone is well!

A quick catch up!

Miss Avalynn is eleven months old now. The days just keep going faster and faster... It may have something to do with Avalynn moving faster. She's learning how to run now and its quite funny watching her body try keep up with her little legs. We've had a few bumps and bruises but after she learned how to walk she thankfully taught herself how to fall. All of those bumps and bruises made this mama sad.
Avalynn's 2nd eye tooth came in right after Halloween... She sure is a cute little vampire baby. Currently, her two front teeth are working their way out. It doesn't seem to bother her mood as much this time around but she has all the symptoms of teething. The drooling, runny nose, and occasional cough. Her nose is turning red from being wiped so often. Hopefully these teeth make their appearance soon.
Avalynn and I made an unexpected trip home over the Thanksgiving weekend for my grandmothers funeral. We were sad for the reasons to be home but thankful for the opportunity to see so many family members and friends. I was able to plan a 5 day trip home which gave plenty of time to visit. I am always amazed at how well behaved my daughter can be. She was a happy girl despite all the new people and places. It wasn't until the very last day that she started becoming grumpy and that was the same day that her teething process started again. What a good little girl I have! I am so happy to be her mama :)
We had a play date on Thursday with 3 of my coworkers and their daughters at the House of Bounce. Avalynn loved all the bouncing, exploring and she discovered the wonder of slides. She would go down them laughing only to turn around and try climb up again. Rarely does she have the opportunity to be around a lot of kids so she is nervous and quiet around them still. I'm sure that will change quickly being she starts her daycare this month!
Its been a very busy month so far and its only going to get more and more hectic as the holiday season and birthday season continue!

Visiting with Auntie Tena

Going down the slide all by herself!

Playing with Josey

3 of the 4 girls crying when we tried to get a group picture LoL

A Britta picture of Avalynn eating her new favorite toy, a bead necklace.

My little vampire baby!

Sick Girl

Well Avalynn is finally on the mend. We had a rough 4 weeks of her being ill. The coughing, runny nose, unhappy child and really REALLY high temps having finally passed... thank goodness. I almost forgot what she was like when feeling well! These last few days she has been bouncing off the walls, full of energy and just plain happy. Its so much fun. Today while getting ready for work ran in circles from Mike, to the couch and than to me while laughing so hard she was screaming. Pretty darn cute, made it difficult to leave her for another long night shift. Things have been going pretty well in the house now that she's feeling well. She's actually sleeping almost through the night! She'll wake up once or twice but put herself back to sleep quickly so I can do the same. She's starting to eat better as well. Me on the other hand, I'm happy to finally have made the big desision to put her into a daycare. The babysitter is to expensive to use as often as I need and I'm to tired to keep this up much longer. Hopefully we find a good, safe and fun daycare soon. Not looking forward to future illnesses though...
I'm starting to get into the Christmas mood. Contemplating setting up my decorations this coming weekend but I worry that Avie will tear them down and try eat them, worse yet she might break glass bulbs and hurt herself. I'll figure something out I'm sure. I'm sad that I work Thanksgiving but I was lucky enough to have Christmas off along with New Years AND her birthday. I am looking forward to a lot of fun!

Sweet baby girl

Avalynn loves books and she loves to be read too. Today she was putting together my words so that when I would say 'turn the page', she realized that it was time to actually turn the page. One of her favorite books is Skippyjon Jones, when I get to the part of the story where the kitty sniffs near and far, she always sniffs her little nose. Its great! She's also started hunting for her blanket when I ask her where her blanket is. When she spies it, she goes to get it, picks it up with a huge smile on her face and is so proud of herself. I love it! It's so amazing watching her soak in the world around her. I know that babies grow and learn so much in their first year but I didn't actually put together how it would happen. I didn't realize you could physically watch the information 'click' in their heads. One minute she has no idea what 'turn the page' means and than all of the sudden BAM she's turning pages and is moving on to the next thing. I'm amazed by how much and how fast she is learning and I love being here, seeing it happen and being a part of it. Couldn't ask for a better baby girl than the one I have :)

Reading her stories. She tells her own story and turns the pages as she goes! Super cute :)

Playing in her 'fort'.

10 months old today!

Avalynn is 10 months old today and had a great time at the park! Here is some video...

FOOD!

Its been awhile again, I apologize! Life just keeps me busy these days. Esp now that sweet girl has learned how to walk. She's pretty busy and I love watching her toddle across the room. Each wobbly step amazes me. I can't figure out how she maintains her balance as she lifts foot and her whole body weaves back and forth before placing it down again. Somehow she's figured out her own method and can make it across the house all on her own. Crawling is still preferred for speed but not for long I'm sure.
As she's getting older I'm slowly starting to give her some table foods. She's getting things like banana's, rice, avocados, tofu, Cheerios, potato's, pea's and ect for finger foods and she loves it. No 'tastes' of pop and ice cream... she is MUCH to little for that. So far my method has kept her healthy. No eczema, asthma or allergies all of which are linked to foods being introduced to early. Other things can cause these problems I know but I'm not taking any risks with her health. Luckily she's been healthy, in fact she is sick with her first bug ever right now at (almost) ten months of age.

As I introduce more foods into her diet I am starting to have to eat healthier myself being she is tasting things off my plate along with her baby food. No chicken nuggets for my kid. I'm experimenting with new recipes that are yummy for both of us along with easy on her tummy. Here is what I'm making for supper tonight... yummy! http://www.sophistimom.com/spaghetti-squash-soup/

Music Baby

My daughter adores music. She LOVES it! Today we've been listening to some of moms favorites, everything from Yael Naim, Ani Difranco, Joshua Radin to Jack Johnson and Colbie Caillat along with a little of Taylor Swift for good measure. A little variety LoL. My little peanut sings and dances to it right along with mom. Its absolutely a riot to watch.
Yesterday I shot some video of her watching the Little Mermaid. Now I promise I don't allow her to watch a lot of t.v. but there is something about the Disney movies that make me feel that its not REALLY t.v. Maybe its just that I love Disney movies and she gives me the perfect excuse to watch? She doesn't really pay attention to the movie but once the songs come on she either goes completely catatonic....




or she sings and dances right along! This isn't the best example of her dancing and singing but she gets so distracted by the camera that its the best I can record.



I apologize for not knowing how to turn my videos. :(

8 months!

I believe its time for an update. My computer crashed awhile back and I have yet to take the plunge and purchase a new one. One of these days I'll get around to it.
Sweet girl Avie is now 8 months old. That's right EIGHT MONTHS! I can't believe my baby girl is growing so fast, she is getting wiser, bigger and more beautiful every single day. Each day she's learning and than practicing newly acquired skills right in front of my eye's. One of my favorite parts of being her mama is physically watching her learn and explore. Just a few months ago she was newly in my arms peeking out through her squinty eye's at this world and today she's touching, holding, feeling, tasting and experiencing it. She is learning about things, places, words and making friends. Avie has no fear. Good girl!
As she has gotten older she has started to show her affections. She tries to share her toys with me by pulling them from her mouth and trying to put them in mine. She'll sit by me, rest her hands/head on me and climb into my lap just to be close. She gives big wet kisses, she'll reach when she wants to be held and after putting me through a cuddling freeze she's starting to cuddle again. I missed her snuggles. She loves reading stories (she fits right into my family!) and LOVES music. She dances and 'sings'. She mimics words now, her favorites are UP and ALL DONE! She doesn't quite understand what they mean yet but its so cute, I really need to record that. Who knew being a mom would be just this wonderful?

Night Shifts

I have found that there are a lot of pros and cons to working overnight shifts with a little one at home. Pros include being home during the day to see the things she learns, to spend time with her over breakfast and supper and to work while she sleeps. All in all, I miss less of her baby years. Cons include working overnight, missing our time together when I put her to bed (which right now I could probably put onto the pros list being she fights bedtime like a champ) and here is the biggie... sleep deprivation. Yes, I get to spend all this quality time with my baby girl during the day but how much of this time with her is actually "quality time"? I'm awake all day, work all night, sleep 3 hours and repeat this 3 days in a row. I really start to wear out. After that first day I find that I just can't be as relaxed/excited/playful as I would like to be with her. I find myself thankful she can amuse herself and than later I'm sad that she's having to play by herself. Obviously her learning how to amuse herself is a very good thing. I just wish I had more energy to spend time bonding with her while I work my 3 overnight shifts. On the otherhand, I'd probably feel just as guilty (if not more-so) having to put her in day care 3 days a week for twelve hours at a time. How do you decide which is the lesser evil???? On a happier note I traded my schedule this week so I will have Monday-Thursday off to catch up on energy and all those bedtimes I missed this weekend.

Busy Bee's

(Two blogs in one! I didn't post the one I wrote yesterday.)
As Miss Avie practices her crawling I am forced to reassess our living situation. Our house is suddenly appearing a bit smaller as Avie acquires the ability to disappear from the spot she is set in and magically reappear with her hands on the glass TV cabinet doors (which I will be removing tomorrow). Now that she's becoming more mobile I will be blocking off hallways and rooms so I'm sure it'll soon be feeling even more cramped. Although my home will be feeling a bit smaller in these days to come I find myself having no desire to find a new place. Sure, someday I'd love to buy a HUGE house with a perfect location, but until I can afford the mortgage I think I'll stick to my current place. Its warm, cozy and homey. With my crown molding, angled ceilings, large bathroom and perfect kitchen I can't really complain. Besides, its home. We can easily wait on finding a new one.
Summers somehow always seem so busy to me. Maybe its because we try to pack so many activities into such short Midwest summers. I find myself falling behind on things easily during these months. To compensate I try catch up and get a little ahead all in one day. I sometimes get a little to much zest in the process. Such as laundry, when I fall behind I tend to go overboard in catching up. I'll do ten loads in one day. A few loads of clothing of course, than I'll start with all the heavy bedding, rugs, curtains, and pretty much anything that can be washed in the washing machine. On other days I go crazy cleaning closets. I've been known to spend entire days cleaning my closets and throwing stuff out. To bad these days are few and far between!! Good thing I'm not a pack rat... Today I find myself preparing for a baby day. I will be spending my entire day focused on finishing baby proofing, packing up small baby clothes, reorganizing her closets and hopefully work on her baby book. Oh yeah, can't forget keeping the actual baby occupied and happy :) Looks like a busy day ahead!

The evil scale

My scale and I have a love-hate relationship. I hate it and it loves to make me hate it. I must admit to being lucky enough to have not gained much while pregnant and to have lost the weight quickly. My problem is that my butt and thighs seem to have shrunk and that weight went straight to the belly. So I would LOVE to lose about 5-10 more pounds just to feel at my best and a bit more confident. Its petty I know but well, don't we all want what we can't have? Reading my friend J's blog always cheers me up. She has such a great personality and just following her updates gives me a bit of motivation to keep working towards my goal. Thanks J :) Starting tomorrow morning I'm gonna push myself a bit harder so I can look in tip top shape during my vacation to Boston... or where ever I end up going. I still need to plan that out. I'm going to start keeping a food diary and take daily walks with Avie in hopes that being more conscious of what I'm eating will make me eat a bit less unhealthy. Hope it works!

My Shrinking Peanut

So Miss Avie is 6 months old... woo hoo!! Time just goes faster and faster. My big girl has hit a few milestones this week. She started laughing uncontrollably at her silly mommy (she laughed before but never randomly to the point where its hard to sit), she woke up yesterday morning and somehow during the night figured out how to do the army crawl, and than she had her 6 month checkup which included a weigh in and THREE shots. Poor peanut. It was her dads first time seeing vaccinations and it just about broke his heart. I had to pry her out of his arms so I could get some snuggle time in with her. I had a few tears again, as always.

At her check up we learned that she's slowing down on the growing routine. She moved from the 80% mark for weight and length to 50% for weight and 28% for length. She's slowed down a little but I was always in the 20% range when I was a wee one (or so my mother informed me when I called her all worried). So we will watch her to be sure she's eating enough and growing properly.

Tomorrow I finish baby proofing the house. The way she's moving I figure in a week or two she'll be all over. She's a little spitfire these days and in her eye's there is nothing off limits! Oh yeah, the cloth diapers worked their magic. Her butt is soft and peachy once again. Its official... Miss Avie is allergic to her diapers. Glad we got that problem fixed up!!

My sleeping princess after her shots!

Our backyard friend... Dori the Deer. She was across the street in the neighbors yard for this photo.