18 Months!

Yeah, I'm running a bit behind schedule ;)

So, Ava turned 18 months last Tuesday, an age I've been super looking forward to! Not that the rest of the months and milestones haven't been wonderful, but when I've nannied, I've found that 18 mos - 3 yrs is such an amazing age. They're getting increasingly verbal and interactive, and they start to engage in pretend play, which is one of my favorites.

Anyhow, we had A's 18 month appointment Tuesday morning, and all is well. And by well, I mean aside from the fact that she screamed through the entire appointment. For as chill a kid as Ava is, she goes rogue at the doctor, I tell ya. In fact, as soon as we crossed the threshold of the building and the automatic doors slid open, she hightailed back towards the car - haha!

Here are her 18 month stats:
33.5" tall (90%)
26 lbs. (50-75%)

Tall and lean, that's my lady! Unfortunately, she had to get five vaccinations (three actual pricks), and that didn't go over too well, especially seeing as how she was already giving Dr. H the point-at-the-door-and-say-bye-bye routine. Aww, like I said. Such a cute age.

Also, A's vocab has exploded. She can say upwards of 60 words, including "octopus" and "hippo" (wth? she won't say dog or cat - she makes the noises instead - but she'll say oc-pus on a regular basis?!) She also says "thank you" and "welcome" regularly, including to Dr. H when he gave her her post-vaccine balloon and sticker. She may have been telling him to get the f out of the office, but she darn sure was going to thank him like a little lady for her treats.

Hmm...what else? She can jump with both feet off the ground, and likes to pull some dance moves out, ballet style, like balancing with her hands on the table and standing with one leg behind her. She can also somersault completely on her own, and walk across a thick balance beam without holding hands! Such a little gymnast :)

Happy 18 months, my love! I adore you beyond words, and have never found anything in my life as fulfilling and worthwhile as being your mother. I love you, baby bear.

15 Months (and 1 Day...)!

We are fresh from Ava's 15-month well check, and I'm happy to report that she is a healthy as can be! I'm less happy to report that her lungs are the healthiest part of her, having gotten a (screaming) workout for nearly the entire duration of the appointment. This kid, for being so mellow generally, really HATES to go to the doctor.

Without further adieu, here are A's 15-mo stats:
Weight: 22.5 lbs (50%)
Height: 32.25" (!!!)(95%)
I never remember to get a head measurement, and they don't do it regularly...oops! Rest assured, she's got a nice noggin :) Otherwise, she's tall and thin...future model?

It's been a while since I've done a "what's A up to?" type post, so here we are:
-She runs like the wind. EVERYWHERE. Why walk when you can sprint?
-She is a great eater, though she seems to be getting pickier. Her faves remain black beans, mandarin orange, strawberries, broccoli, and - the newest addition - french fries. Homegirl loves fries!
-She doesn't eat a ton of meat, following suit with her mommy at that age (and now).
-She still cannot have dairy, and is starting to tolerate eggs better. Mommy can have dairy, though! HALLELUJAH, hallelujah.
-She's so insanely tall, and her ability to reach things is getting her in trouble! She is starting to be able to open doors, too! EEK!
-She can go up and down stairs holding hands, and can jump with both feet off the ground if holding on to something. Too cute!
-She loves to be outside, and we spend some time out there every morning and evening. In the evening after dinner, we eat popsicles and water the garden together, stopping to play on her trike and in her playhouse too. I love it!
-She says a handful of words, including "mama", "dada", "baba", "bapa" (for backpack...how I know D lets her watch more Dora than he lets on), "uh oh", "num num", "hi", "up" and a few others. She uses them sparingly, though. I can't wait until she talks more!
-She's obsessed with my hair still, and likes to fall asleep at nap and bed with her hands in my hair.
-She still sleeps in our bed, and I'm 100% ok with this. David and I were just discussing the other day how we're not ready to make the move yet, and may not be for several months still at least.
-We've still only ever had breastmilk! Yay for 15 months of nursing, and all the benefits it has provided us both, including during our recent bout of illness. She nurses on average 4 times per day :)

Happy 15 months (and 1 deays - oops!) baby girl! You are the biggest joy in my entire life, and the past 15 months have been the best I've ever experienced!

1 Year Stats & Milestones.

Since I forgot in the post below, here's a brief wrap-up of Ava at one year old:

-First and foremost, she's awesome.
-She weighs 21.5lbs, and is 30.5" long.
-She not only walks, but runs circles around me. Literally. It's like training for the Austin marathon every. single. day.
-She says "mama", "dada", "baba", "hi", "bapa" (for backpack - too much Dora when A's with daddy...), "dora" (no joke. it's like she's tattling on him...).
-She can tell you what a doggie says ("oof"), what a monkey says ("ooh ooh ah ah") and what a kitty says ("ahhh"). Apparently our kitty has tonselitis judging by her kitty noise.
-If you ask her where something is in her favorite books, she can point at it.
-She LOVES books. She'll sit there and pretend to read them, turning the pages and pointing. This melts my heart.
-She nurses 4-5 times a day, with 1 of them falling in the middle of the night. Wah wah.
-We made it an entire year on breastmilk only. Not even a drop of supplementation. I'm proud of this :)
-She eats three meals a day, consisting of any number of solid foods.
-She still cannot tolerate dairy. We're uncertain about eggs.

I'm sure there is more, but I am here and, since David is off work, she is there, and my mind is blanking after a year of interrupted sleep.

I cannot wait to see what the next year brings!

These Aren't Baby Steps.

OK I promise this is the last video of her walking I'm going to bore you with, but I finally got some decent walking on camera and just had to share:

Baby Steps Part II.

A's walking is really coming along, and I'm so insanely proud I just had to share more video footage:

Baby Steps.

Not the best footage by any means, but at least you can see some evidence of her emergent walking skills! She's taken 3-4 steps by herself at once, but I could only get a couple on camera!

Ava's Big Girl Car Seat!

Part of the reason we went to San Antonio was to give back Ava's infant car seat that we'd borrowed from a close family friend. As such, A's now in her big girl car seat - so exciting!

(Don't worry, we strap her in - this was as we were getting out of the car!)

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!

Happy (Belated) 9 Months, Ava!

Yesterday was B-U-S-Y! Between A's nine-month appointment, grocery shopping, running errands for the D's, working and so on, I barely had time to do anything. We did, however, manage a trip to the park to celebrate A's nine-month birthday! Can someone please tell me how it's possible that my baby is NINE months old? She's not been out and about as long as she was in my belly! Wowsers!

At nine months, A is:

- 20lbs, 7oz. Whoa!!!
- 28.75" long - again, whoa!
- Has made a major transition to table foods this month, and though she still eats pureed things (since they're in our freezer still and will NOT be going to waste after I put that work into it!), she's starting to develop a real taste for...whatever is on mommy's plate! She now eats black beans (whole), whole-wheat bread, tortillas and english muffins, brown rice, broccoli, sweet corn, cantaloupe, watermelon, apples, pears, avocado, bananas, shredded pork and chicken pieces and - sucker that I am - little pieces of nilla wafers, teddy grahams, etc. occasionally. All things are broken/cut up into manageable bites, obviously.
- Has six teeth, four added in the past week on top! It was a rough week, friends.
- Wears 6-9 or 6-12 mo tops, depending on the make, and 12 mo. pants.
- Is obsessed with all electronics (aren't they all at this age?), and likes to rile her daddy up by touching the x-box, computer, tv. That's what he gets for not putting things where she can't get to them, right?
- Sleeps inconsistently. Her naps have gotten so much better, with her taking a good morning nap (1.5-2 hours usually), a medium afternoon nap (~1 hour) and a 30 minute snooze on our drive home from work on weekdays, but nighttime sleep varies. Some nights (like last night - thank you!!!) she only wakes up once, some nights it's three plus times! Eek. I talked to her doctor about it and he said that it may have a lot to do with her teeth, as well as her milestones. Babies tend to have regressed sleep when they're about to hit a big milestone, and homegirl recently took her first step, and is on the brink of walking. So we'll be patient a bit longer before we look into other solutions.
- Can crawl like a speed demon, has taken ONE step THREE times, wants to walk so bad, can walk while holding onto her push car, loves her activity table, and loves all things Dora (books!).
- Little A thinks she's a big girl now, and we're retiring the swing (for a while now), the exersaucer and anything that restrains her, since it seriously ticks her off. We're keeping "baby jail" aka the playpen, obvs. Mommy needs a safe place to keep her when I need to grab lunch, etc!
- Loves her binky, but loves mommy milk more! I think it's adorable how she spits her bink out when I undo my nursing bra. So sweet!
- Says "baba", "mama", "dada", "geegee" (no clue what this means!), and "eeeeeeeee" when she sees Dora. Hahaha.
- Is learning the signs for more and all done, though her version is barely recognizable.
- Prefers her Alphabet Pal, books and activity table to any other toys.
- Has only had breastmilk for NINE months! YAY! New goal: 1 year :)
- Plays peekaboo by putting a blankie/her dress/whatever is around over her head and then taking it off and laughing. OMG I die!

Happy Wednesday, all! I have some writing to do, but will be back with a Wordless Wednesday post hopefully at some point!

Eight Months!

Oh my goodness, Ava is EIGHT months old today! She's grown by leaps and bounds this month, and is doing so much more than I ever expected she would at this age. Here's a bit of what she's up to:



-Ava weighs 19lbs even, and is over 28" long! Holy moly!!! Somehow, though, she's able to wear her 3-6 month onesies still, so perhaps she is short-torsoed and long-legged, since she needs the 12-month length pants! She's even wearing 12M PJ's!



-Ava eats (and eats and eats) so well! She's tried cauliflower, broccoli, tangerine, plums and blueberries this month (the last two may not have been this month), as well as jars of Earth's Best chicken, turkey and lentil mixtures (I cannot bring myself to puree meat either, A.Lee!!!) that we were given with some baby clothing a friend had outgrown. She's also started on a few table foods, eating cheerios, apple strawberry gerber puffs (which are too sticky once they mix with saliva/hands, so not quite a hit yet), banana and avocado chunks. She hasn't quite figured out the whole feeding herself thing, at least not since they stick to her hands like crazy, but she loves the textures if you give her a little help!



-She learned how to drink from a straw, how to wave bye-bye and how to clap this month, and also says "mama" and "baba" with consistency now. "Mama" she likes to reserve for when she's fussing and wants me, "baba" is constant, and sometimes almost seems directed at her binky, which we sometimes call "baba". D is a bit hurt that she hasn't decided to say "dada" yet, but it's only a matter of time now...



-A can crawl SO fast. I'm talking super lightning speed from one side of the room to the other, tummy well off the ground. Yikes! This has made for a big month of babyproofing, including new baby gates, corner and edge guards for the coffee table, outlet plugs, and - if we can get our act together - cabinet latches soon. We've also purchased a flat screen TV lock, but I need D to install it (I do everything around here EXCEPT hardward installation - sorry buddy, but you're it!), so hopefully he'll do that this weekend!



-A pulls to standing on EVERYTHING, including now the wall. Yep, somehow she can get her balance well enough with her hands flat against the wall to pull to standing. The other day she actually let go and stood for about 5-10 seconds before falling. Mommy nearly had a heart attack. I give it 4-6 weeks before she's walking....holy crap!



-In honor of her eight-month birthday, A finally grew enough hair to put a bow in it! What. Up.




Happy weekend, and happy eight months, Ava!!!!!!!!!

Our California Vacation!

We're back, and boy did we have a great trip! It was, I'm almost ashamed to admit, D's first time to meet my family, with the exception of my mom, who came out both for my baby shower and also to meet Ava when she was a week old! Anyhow, I was nervous traveling with Ava, but she was AMAZING. I'm talking...just such a good girl!





She slept for an hour or so at takeoff, having been pulled out of bed at 5:45 (and this is my lazy baby who likes to sleep until ~9), but then was up and at 'em for the duration. She cooed, she played peekaboo, she charmed the pants off our seat mate. In short, I was stressed for nothing. From the airport we hopped directly into my mom's car and headed back on the road for the three plus hour trip up to the mountains where my family lives. A was a trooper for the drive as well, barring a bit of fussiness the last hour. She was SO ready to get out when we finally arrived at our destination, and SO WAS I!

We stayed with my aunt and uncle and four cousins (13, 11, 8.5 and 2), seeing as how they had the most room and also baby stuff so we could travel light, and this was an excellent choice. Definitely having access to a high chair/playyard/baby toys/bibs/etc was a lifesaver, and kept A on schedule better than she may have otherwise been. It was also great that she comes to work with me everyday, seeing as how she was around a ton of kids the entire time (not only my cousins, but my three little sisters - her aunts!).

Representing:


After we settled in and A met her great-grandma (nana) and great-grandpa (papa), as well as her aunt, uncle and cousins, we let her take a little snooze while we got ready to head up to dinner with my parents and grandparents and let A meet her three aunts. They're 10, 9 & 6.5. Crazy, right? I was an only child until I was 16, when my mom and step-dad decided they wanted to start over again. Nutjobs.... ;)



Dinner was great, and we were able to spend some great one-on-one time with everyone and let them get to know A, who played happily on the floor with the girls, crawling everywhere and getting into everything!

The next day we went to Columbia, an old historic state park set up as a gold rush town. This place is pretty cool, though definitely smaller than I remembered, and all the buildings are either the original buildings or restored to their original condition.



We got some great pics there, and then headed into downtown for lunch at a Mexican restaurant. Mommy may have had a bit more to drink than she's had in a while, citing "vacation" as reason enough for midday booze, and may have cracked some inappropriate jokes in a children's toy store afterwards...one can't be sure :)

After we got back to my aunts for the afternoon, we went swimming and then took a slight nap until dinnertime rolled around, when we grilled some delicious BBQ chicken and sides. We were all exhausted from a combination of the time change, altitude and busy schedule, so we passed out early, ready for the next day!



Friday morning my dad came to get us and let us borrow the Yukon so I could take D around to do some exploring. I grew up in this teeny tiny town (until I was 13 when I hauled a$$ to Texas!), so I was eager to show him our old house, the school I went to, the lake, etc. We even managed to stop by and pay a visit to my best friend Katy's family, and managed to catch her brother, sister and sister-in-law as well! It was so great to see them and for them to get to meet D and Ava!!! AND...as an added bonus, Katy's mom makes seriously THE BEST chocolate chip cookies ever, so much so I hadn't had one in like 15+ years and still think about them, and she had some that she gladly let us take!!!! I'll admit I cheated on the dairy-free and ate some, and Ava hasn't reacted as of three days later!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!


After we left there, I took D and A for a walk on the stream that runs behind my house and stretches many miles each way, showing him where my grandpa taught me to fish, the fire station he used to work at (and I used to play at!), and all the "sights", and then we went to pay a visit to my grandparents.




That night was the big lakeside BBQ my mom had planned so that everyone could meet Ava at once, seeing as how our visits tend to be short ones, and so around 4:15 we headed out to the lake to meet up with everyone. A lot of my moms friends were there, as well as my entire family, and it was nice to get to sit and chat with them. The only major issue we ran into was that dinner wasn't ready until after 6:30 (8:30 our time) and A was starting to meltdown, which I knew would happen. Between that and being passed around, she was over it.

The next day was the trip back to the airport, and we stopped en route to see my best friend Katy and her boyfriend in Pleasanton, near where she lives. It was so great to see her - it'd been nearly FOUR years!!!!!! We miss you, Auntie Katy!


All in all, we had a great time, barring the transportation time. I just HATE the drive that follows/precedes a long flight - we end up traveling about 9 hours each way AT LEAST, and that's just...insane. Hopefully we'll see them soon in Austin!!!!!

Standing!

Look what A did this past Monday (I've only just now had time to upload pics from my camera I keep with me at work - aka the cheapy camera!):

7 Months!

Holy moly, my baby is seven-months-old! That's insane. I mean, seriously, how has it been seven months since this day:


(On a side note, don't judge me for the worst photo of me ever taken. I'd just had a baby, ya know...)

???

How are we closer to Christmas than not? How is it that in five short months, Ava will turn 1! Oh my goodness...

At 7 months, Ava:
-wears size 3 diapers
-weighs 18lbs, 12oz (!!!!!) and is inches long
-wears 3-6 month and 6-9 month onesies (she apparently in short torsoed with long legs?), and 6-12 month pants/pj's.
-crawls further and faster every day, though still is a bit of a slowpoke (thankfully!)
-rolls both ways and has started using this as a means of transportation
-pulled herself to standing on mommy the other day!!
-has had sweet potatoes, green beans, sweet peas, pears, applesauce, banana, mango, squash (this is the only one she hates!), peaches, pumpkin, carrots, oatmeal and prunes. She's a terrific eater! Peaches, pumpkin, applesauce and bananas are her favorites, though!
-eats two cubes at breakfast, and then two cubes and oatmeal at night
-has decided sleeping through the night is overrated, and continues to wake up at least once nightly :(
-and the big news: As of Monday, SHE SAYS MAMA!!!!!!!!! Now I know I may sound delusional, but I'm 100% certain she's saying mama, clear as day. D didn't believe me at first, but I went for haircut Monday night, and he said from 7PM on (normally when she gets out of the bath and nurses) she said "mamamama" while fussing. Awww!
When I called my mom to find out if I could believe my ears, she said that I was an early talker, and by eight months said "mama", "dada", and "baba". By one year, apparently, I was using two-word sentences. Looks like A will be following suit!

Here's some seven-month-pics from this morning/earlier this week:

Ava's Gone Mobile.

I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have teared up a bit. Or not. One really can't be sure...

Uh Oh.

Someone's learned how to pull up onto her knees....


Someone's learned how to pull up onto her knees....

What We Did Over Our Holiday Weekend.

First, we tried on hats and went for our first cart ride at Hobby Lobby...

...where I bought the supplies to make this adorable onesie*

*it was actually supposed to say "wipe me booty", but I used the wrong iron-on because I'm tired...

worked on the garden I've managed not to kill (yay!)


planted a garden of sweet corn, sweet peas, tomatoes, basil, mesclun and green beans:

tried desperately to crawl(!!!)

Can you see both teeth in the picture above?



..and last but not least, laid around in our comfy PJs!