Sunday, October 31, 2010

A Day at the San Antonio Zoo!

Yesterday, David and I took Ava the 80ish miles down to San Antonio to the outstanding San Antonio Zoo. I'd been before, both with my oldest little sister (some 10ish years ago!) and also in the course of nannying, but it had been quite a while - at least 5 or 6 years! Anyhow, the zoo there puts the Austin Zoo to shame, and David had never been, so we hopped in the car, grabbed some coffee, and away we went! Ava was a perfect little saint, napping the entire way down and the entire way back, even though we got caught in game traffic and it took us over TWO HOURS to get home. Sweet, sweet baby :) Here's picture overload! Enjoy!

My "sister", Vanessa and I and our kiddos:

Our secret plan to actually become family:

Flamingos!

Gazelles:

Five porcupines "snuggling":

This Black Bear was pacing back and forth, seriously contemplating us for lunch!


Ava & Daddy

Grizzly Bear

Look at those claws!!!!

If there is anything creepier than a piranha, I'd like to hear it!

HUGE turtle! I thought it was a rock at first! (same with the hippo!)

Outbreak?

Getting into the Halloween spirit:


Scarlet Ibises - aren't they beautiful?

I may be making this up, but pretty sure I'd never before seen a real, live hippo!


In a while, crocodile:

This is a super rare Okapi, a giraffe-meets-zebra African anomaly:


African Wild Dog:

I love elephants, and A got a kick out of seeing a real one!

A & I posing on the baby elephant:

Black Rhino:

White Rhino:

I love cats, but geeeeeeeeeez the cats at the San Antonio Zoo are LAZY!



Kangaroo:

Friday, October 29, 2010

Halloween Party.

Ava and I attended a Halloween Party for kids in my mom's group on Wednesday morning. It was a GREAT time, despite a bit chaotic. That's expected when 25 moms and their kids RSVP, right?!

Happy to be a bee:

Little superheroes:

Cuteness:

Storytime:

Finally got one of her standing, and some woman decided to try to tickle here and put her finger in the picture. Had the shot been taken 30 seconds later, she'd be crying. She doesn't like strangers tickling her...

Playing:

Lovin' the swings:

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Happy 10 Months, Baby Bear!




Ava is 10 months old today! Double digits! Two months from the age of 1! AHHHH!

I know I say it every month, but time is flying. Seriously, can someone commission researchers to check and see if time seriously accelerates while moving forward? Because even my childless friends say this is the fastest year to date. I mean, it's November on Monday, my friends! How in the world?!

This has been a great month around here, unless sleep deprivation is causing me to remember it wrong. Yep, that's right. Still having sleep issues. Woe is me. Seeing as how I'm still dedicated to breastfeeding to at least a year, and I feel like weaning, the transition to her crib and therefore sleeping through the night will most likely go hand in hand, I'm just dealing with being tired for now. Thankfully I don't have to wake up at some ungodly hour and head off to work before the sun comes up, so it's workable. But man, oh man, I would really just like a solid six hours straight of sleep. Why is that too much to ask? Anyhow, moving on.

At 10 months, Ava is doing so much. SO much. Here's a glimpse:

*She can take one step and maintain her balance, but that second step throws her every time. She took her first step on 9/24, and has done it about ten times since? It's definitely getting more frequent, though, and she'll be full on walking before we recap this next month, I'm sure. EEK!
UPDATE: As of 10/28 at 7:30PM, Ava took two full steps together!!! AHHH!!! Having a hell of a time getting video, but working on it :)

*Ava is a fantastic eater. She'll eat anything you give her, which for us is what we're having at that particular meal. Faves include pulled pork, turkey bacon, waffles, all beans, strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, pineapple and mandarin oranges. She seriously can eat a full cup of mandarin oranges - they're her faves!

*Ava is saying "mama" all day long this week, and this mama loves it! Also in her repertoire: "hi", "dada", and "baba", all of which she seems to understand the meaning of. The other day she tossed her babydoll, which has quickly become her favorite thing, over the baby gate and then yelled "babababababa" at the top of her little baby lungs until I picked it up, alerting me to this very upsetting situation :P LOVE IT!

*Ava loves loves LOVES to swing. We try to make it to the park every other day, if not every day, because she loves it so much!

*Ava claps and waves and high fives - too cute! Now if only she could throw the hook 'em (intentionally)....

*Still no babysitters, even family. Wah wah.

*Ava has gone from pulling up on things to standing on her own. She can even squat down and stand back up with no assistance!

*The cutest thing ever: Ava dances! She can't take steps consistently, so half the time when she manages to stand, she shakes her booty. I attribute this to my non-stop Madonna singing/dance parties :)

*She still weighs 20 1/2 pounds. That's right. Despite all this eating, she gained 0 lbs this month. That's normal, though, seeing as how her growth is starting to level off, and it's not like she's not a healthy size :P

*It's impossible to get the squirmy wormy's height, but I'm working on it, friends!

Happy 10 Months, little A!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Whip Em Out!



Thanks, Ashlie, for sharing! This video is awesome.

And believe me - these ladies aren't lying. I've lost 30 lbs and haven't had a period in over a year and a half!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Book Exchange.

Alright, ladies! Who wants to build their child's library, and connect with other moms and babies? How can you say no to that? ;)

Thanks to Rene over at Just Jack, Ava and I have gotten involved with a book exchange train. It's a great idea and I'm hoping you'll join us as well! I'll send you a letter that looks like this:

Dear __________________________________,
Welcome to our book exchange! That’s right, a book exchange! Send 1 book to the child listed as #1 below , then send 2 copies of this letter 1 filled out and one blank one to 6 friends. Move my child’s name to the #1 spot and your child’s name to the #2 spot on your letter. This is not a chain letter- only fun

It will be great to see where all the different books come from around the country!
If you cannot complete this in 1 week (give or take a few days) please notify me as it is not fair to the children who have participated and are waiting for their own special books to arrive. A manila envelope will work well to mail the book and you can save on postage by requesting media/book mail service. Soon, your child will receive 36 books! That’s right all for sending out one!
Be sure to include your child’s name and address. Seldom does anyone drop out because as you know, children love to get mail! Why spoil the fun?! You should start receiving your books in about 2 weeks if you get your letters and book out right away.

Thank you for your participation and happy reading!

Remember, if you cannot send out a book let me know as soon as possible!

Send Book To:
#1 _______________________
_______________________
_______________________
Age:_____

#2 _____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Age______

Rene's adorable little man, Jack, will be in the number 1 spot and Ava will be number 2. You'll send a book to Jack, and then send letters to 6 other people, moving Ava to the number 1 spot and putting your child's name in the second spot. I'll send you 2 forms - one filled out and one blank for you to use and forward. Let me know if you'd like to join in on the fun! If I already have your address, just tell me you want in. Otherwise, e-mail me your address at unexpectedlyexpectingbaby(at)gmail(dot)com. Because there is personal information and children involved, please only forward this to other mom's you know and trust. We so hope you'll join us :)

Pemberton Heights Picnic.

OK, so this was actually from last Sunday, but I'm running about a week late these days on average when it comes to getting things done, so no surprises here! :P

This first one is one of my absolute favorite family photos of us :)



Saturday, October 23, 2010

Ava's First Longhorn Game at DKR!

Today we took Ava to her first of many Texas Longhorn football games. Unfortunately, unlike last season when she attended all games from her deluxe, warm, comfy womb seat, we lost this one. Not the start we hoped for. We did get some semi-decent family pics, at least!




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