I really can't believe that in only one month we will be celebrating Ava's first birthday--it has gone by so quickly! She weighs 23 1/2 lbs and is wearing 18 month clothing and size 4 diapers. She sleeps about 11+ hours a night and (usually) takes a good nap in the morning and then again in the afternoon. She is doing a lot more self-feeding and especially likes to feed herself bananas, peaches, bread, green beans (loves them), and various Gerber snacks. She'll drink her afternoon juice from a sippy cup and I'm working on getting her to drink her formula from it as well but that hasn't taken yet. She gets into EVERYTHING (and then eats it!), claps her hands (especially when you put her on your lap and say, "Ava, play patty cake!"), points, waves, and says the following sounds:
Ma-ma
Da-da
Na-na
La-la
Ba-ba
(Ma-ma and Da-da are just sounds at this point, I don't think she really associates us with them). She also sticks out her tongue and blows raspberries.
What am I not thrilled with these days? Apparently, Ava has decided that 11 months is a good time to start....TANTRUMS! Why put off until two years old what you can do now? She flips out if you take something away from her or fish something non-edible out of her mouth and at first would just cry....then the crying got angrier....this morning I witness her full-on THROW HERSELF BACKWARD ONTO THE GROUND and shriek when I wouldn't let her grab at the laptop. Oh my. Since she's about to be one year of age, I fully expect that some people may start pestering me about when I'm having baby #2. And it's going to be very difficult to NOT punch them in the head.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Thanksgiving Pictures
Better late than never! And it took me forever to upload these stupid things so I hope you enjoy them! ;o)
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BubbleShare: Share photos - Easy Photo Sharing
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thanksgiving and the Big 3-0
Warning: no pictures in this post. Just words. Pictures later, when I have time to download. ;o)
As you all know--or at least as you NOW know--I turned 30 on Thanksgiving this year (that's Nov. 27th). I was not looking forward to that number, although I did tell myself repeatedly that being able to turn 30 was better than NOT having a birthday and being dead, which would pretty much stink. ANYHOW--the good thing about having a holiday birthday is that there is a better chance of having family around to help celebrate! On Wednesday evening Craig and I went to Bella Monica for dinner--I know I've blogged about it before but I've provided another link because if you live here or ever visit the Raleigh area, you have to try it! We had buffalo mozzarella for the appetizer, I got some *very* good wine (I'd tell you the name but I don't even remember, our waitress recommended it) I had a Caesar salad and then pumpkin ravioli for the entree. It was one of their specials for the night and was fabulous! I know it sounds weird but I did read somewhere that pumpkin is a very traditional filling for ravioli--anyhow, if you ever have the opportunity to try it I highly recommend it. Afterwards we skipped dessert (I wanted some of their olive oil gelato--again, I know it sounds weird but I swear it's delicious! You can trust me....I'm not a very adventurous diner so if I say something strange is good, it probably is. ;o) and just enjoyed some hot chocolate at Starbucks. On Thanksgiving day, we had the usual turkey dinner and then two desserts--the pumpkin cheesecake that I make every year, and then an oreo ice cream thing my mom made for my birthday--both were VERY good. The best part of everything was spending time with the people I love, of course. (Although the Ann Taylor gift certificates were nice too! ;o)
On a side note (I have to finish up, Craig is waiting for me, he wants to play Uno...), my mom and I took Ava to see Santa on Wednesday...and she LOVED him. We really thought she was going to cry but she was very cuddly with him and even pulled away when I tried to pick her up off of his lap! Weird kid. Oh, and I am about 99% sure that her ear infection is back, which would make it the third one in two months. LOVELY. And on a weekend, no less. We're loading her up with the numbing ear drops and if she wakes again (I should say "WHEN" she wakes again :-P) I'll give her some Tylenol. The next time we see the doctor I'm going to insist on seeing a specialist, but I probably won't have to plead my case too hard, as the doctor said he'd recommend considering tubes for her ears if it happened again. Poor baby. :-(
Okay, so on a side-side note--I'm a phenomenally horrific mini golfer. I went with mom, Billy and Lauren (Billy's girlfriend) on Wednesday and it was not pretty. At all. Oh well....
As you all know--or at least as you NOW know--I turned 30 on Thanksgiving this year (that's Nov. 27th). I was not looking forward to that number, although I did tell myself repeatedly that being able to turn 30 was better than NOT having a birthday and being dead, which would pretty much stink. ANYHOW--the good thing about having a holiday birthday is that there is a better chance of having family around to help celebrate! On Wednesday evening Craig and I went to Bella Monica for dinner--I know I've blogged about it before but I've provided another link because if you live here or ever visit the Raleigh area, you have to try it! We had buffalo mozzarella for the appetizer, I got some *very* good wine (I'd tell you the name but I don't even remember, our waitress recommended it) I had a Caesar salad and then pumpkin ravioli for the entree. It was one of their specials for the night and was fabulous! I know it sounds weird but I did read somewhere that pumpkin is a very traditional filling for ravioli--anyhow, if you ever have the opportunity to try it I highly recommend it. Afterwards we skipped dessert (I wanted some of their olive oil gelato--again, I know it sounds weird but I swear it's delicious! You can trust me....I'm not a very adventurous diner so if I say something strange is good, it probably is. ;o) and just enjoyed some hot chocolate at Starbucks. On Thanksgiving day, we had the usual turkey dinner and then two desserts--the pumpkin cheesecake that I make every year, and then an oreo ice cream thing my mom made for my birthday--both were VERY good. The best part of everything was spending time with the people I love, of course. (Although the Ann Taylor gift certificates were nice too! ;o)
On a side note (I have to finish up, Craig is waiting for me, he wants to play Uno...), my mom and I took Ava to see Santa on Wednesday...and she LOVED him. We really thought she was going to cry but she was very cuddly with him and even pulled away when I tried to pick her up off of his lap! Weird kid. Oh, and I am about 99% sure that her ear infection is back, which would make it the third one in two months. LOVELY. And on a weekend, no less. We're loading her up with the numbing ear drops and if she wakes again (I should say "WHEN" she wakes again :-P) I'll give her some Tylenol. The next time we see the doctor I'm going to insist on seeing a specialist, but I probably won't have to plead my case too hard, as the doctor said he'd recommend considering tubes for her ears if it happened again. Poor baby. :-(
Okay, so on a side-side note--I'm a phenomenally horrific mini golfer. I went with mom, Billy and Lauren (Billy's girlfriend) on Wednesday and it was not pretty. At all. Oh well....
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wii want you to vote....
...for Ava's baby-sitter, Christina--she's trying to win a Wii for her husband! All you have to do is follow the link and click on her name (for some reason it's listed three times, vote for the top one). Thanks! :)
In other news, my parents have been here since Saturday and Ava is having a great time playing with them. When they first arrived she was just waking up from her morning nap and was a little cranky....having people in the house other than Mommy and Daddy freaked her out and she sobbed for awhile before finally warming up to them. This morning, my mom got up with Ava and I slept like the dead for an extra 3 1/2 hours! (Complete with uber-weird dreams, I should add...) Billy and his girlfriend, Lauren, arrive tomorrow night (Craig and I will pick them up from the airport on the way home from our date at Bella Monica, where we will be celebrating my 30th birthday...or as Kathie calls it, my "second 29th birthday." ;o) Thankfully, Michael WILL be joining us and he arrives on Wednesday night!
Let's see....oh yes, Craig and I go tomorrow to pick out the granite and cabinets for the house. We have the same taste when it comes to color and style for homes I think, so I imagine it'll be pretty easy, at least on our end of it. It took us all of three minutes or so to pick out the outside colors....the realtors were pretty surprised, as they're used to seeing couples full-on battle it out over those things. I guess we just save our battles for other things, like when I threaten to throw him over the balcony if he continues to brush his teeth all over the bathroom mirror right after I clean it....
Finally, enjoy some pictures! (Or not. Whatever.) My mom could not resist buying a fairy costume for Ava (the wings are still in Chicago, they would not fit in the suitcase) and to her surprise, I really thought it was cute so we put her in it and subjected the poor child to a relentless photo session until I got a good picture to use on her 1st birthday invitations--which, thankfully, have FINALLY been ordered!
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In other news, my parents have been here since Saturday and Ava is having a great time playing with them. When they first arrived she was just waking up from her morning nap and was a little cranky....having people in the house other than Mommy and Daddy freaked her out and she sobbed for awhile before finally warming up to them. This morning, my mom got up with Ava and I slept like the dead for an extra 3 1/2 hours! (Complete with uber-weird dreams, I should add...) Billy and his girlfriend, Lauren, arrive tomorrow night (Craig and I will pick them up from the airport on the way home from our date at Bella Monica, where we will be celebrating my 30th birthday...or as Kathie calls it, my "second 29th birthday." ;o) Thankfully, Michael WILL be joining us and he arrives on Wednesday night!
Let's see....oh yes, Craig and I go tomorrow to pick out the granite and cabinets for the house. We have the same taste when it comes to color and style for homes I think, so I imagine it'll be pretty easy, at least on our end of it. It took us all of three minutes or so to pick out the outside colors....the realtors were pretty surprised, as they're used to seeing couples full-on battle it out over those things. I guess we just save our battles for other things, like when I threaten to throw him over the balcony if he continues to brush his teeth all over the bathroom mirror right after I clean it....
Finally, enjoy some pictures! (Or not. Whatever.) My mom could not resist buying a fairy costume for Ava (the wings are still in Chicago, they would not fit in the suitcase) and to her surprise, I really thought it was cute so we put her in it and subjected the poor child to a relentless photo session until I got a good picture to use on her 1st birthday invitations--which, thankfully, have FINALLY been ordered!
BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Using the Sippy Cup
This is for Grandma Cathy, who is afraid of having a granddaughter who still carries around a bottle when she's a toddler:
The reason we don't use it more is because 1.) I hate the mess, and 2.) she usually has her snack at the baby-sitter's house and I want her to be more used to the cup before I have her using it at someone else's house (more for their sake than Ava's!). So don't worry grandma....the bottle is on its way out before too long! :o)
The reason we don't use it more is because 1.) I hate the mess, and 2.) she usually has her snack at the baby-sitter's house and I want her to be more used to the cup before I have her using it at someone else's house (more for their sake than Ava's!). So don't worry grandma....the bottle is on its way out before too long! :o)
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Stolen from Emily (I have nothing much to say right now...)
If someone liked you right now, would you want them to tell you?
No, it would kind of weird me out.
What's something you eat or drink people would think is nasty?
Craig HATES that I love cheese-flavored snacks: cheese popcorn, cheesy pretzels, etc. Sorry! I love cheese!
How many people have you really loved?
In a romantic way? Three.
Do you enjoy late night phone conversations?
No! Let me go to sleep!
What’s your hair look like today?
A rat's nest, which is par for the course. A somewhat tamer nest though, since I did have it cut on Friday.
Is there someone you'd like to fix things with?
Nope. People are either my friends or they are not.
How's your heart lately?
Very emotional, lots of ups and downs.
What are you doing tonight?
Watching football with Craig (sound familiar? ;o)....messing around on the laptop.
Do you think you can last in a relationship for three months?
Long relationships were kind of my thing back in the day. I've been in one now for 7 1/2 years so I'd say so!
Could you go out in public looking like you do now?
Not without scaring people.
Have you ever made someone so mad that they broke something?
Probably one or both of my parents. I'm usually the one with anger management issues though.
What kind of mood are you in?
I'm a little down, actually, but generally not bad.
Plans for tomorrow?
Work, as usual.
Where did you get the shirt you're wearing?
Motherhood Maternity. Yes, I still wear a few of my maternity tops...they're comfy! Plus it's just a plain white t-shirt and it's fitted (well, on a pregnant person it's fitted).
What would you do if you won the lottery?
Right now? Give notice at work and then finish out the semester, totally deck out the house that we are building (or build an even better house on that lot), pay off student loans, pay off Craig's student loans, and buy some winter clothes....I am in desperate need since all of my funding last year went for maternity crap.
Do you regret anything from your past?
Nah....I didn't make mistakes, I had "learning experiences." ;o)
Do you pay any bills?
Yes...generally it's frowned upon to NOT pay them.
Have you ever made a mistake?
Nope....remember? "Learning experiences"
Are you shy?
In many situations, although with the right people I'm sometimes way too comfortable!
In the past week have you smiled?
Of course!
Have you told anybody you loved them today?
Yes!
Do you think too much or too little?
Definitely way too much.
Do you put shampoo in your left or right hand?
Left.
When you take a drink of something, do you hold your pinky up?
Sometimes. Then I realize I'm doing it, feel like an idiot, and put it down.
What's the most dominant color in your room?
Pale sage green.
How many times do you knock on a door?
Five
Does anyone completely understand you?
I think Craig probably understands me more than I realize, but nobody really completely "gets" me. That's okay.
Do you write how you speak?
Yes.
Do you understand football?
Yes!!! Love it! GO BEARS!
What’s the greatest thing that happened to you today?
Just spending the day with my little family.
Does it take a lot to make you cry?
I don't know. In situations where you'd think I'd be bawling, I'm fine. Then sometimes I cry for little to no reason.
Last time you wore the opposite sex's clothing?
A few days ago, I'm constantly stealing Craig's pajamas.
If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yes....which is why we're moving to a new house in Youngsville in the spring!
Do you ever think "what if" about anything?
Yes. Like, "what if I won the lottery?"
Are you happy with the way things are going?
Mostly!
In the past week have you cried?
A few times.
Do you have a reason to smile right now?
I have many reasons to smile. :)
Has anyone said they love you in the last week?
Yes
Do you think you would be a good parent?
I don't know...I hope I don't screw Ava up too much, poor kid...! I try my best.
Do you usually have weird dreams?
The WEIRDEST.
Do you like your bed?
I love it! I wish I got to spend more time with it!
Is there anybody you wish you could be with right now?
Well, my family, but they'll be here soon.
Did you get a full 8 hours of sleep last night?
Well, six straight hours before Ava cried out at 5am...one more hour until she woke up at 6am....and then two more after she went down for her morning nap. So I got about nine hours but not all at once. I'm not complaining!
Why did you kiss the person you last kissed?
Because I felt like it. Being married is pretty cool. :)
What do you usually do right when you wake up?
Try to think of ways I could cut corners in my morning routine in order to be able to stay in bed a few moments longer.
Do you find the opposite sex confusing?
Nah, I actually envy their simplicity.
Tattoos?
No way.
How long does it take for you to take a shower?
At least 15-20 min.
What's the last thing you ate?
Tarragon chicken with rice, and zucchini in cream sauce. Yay for having time to cook on the weekend!
What time did your alarm clock get you up today?
No alarm, just Ava.
How did you feel when you woke up today?
Tired.
Is someone on your mind right now?
My family.
Do you curse a lot?
I'm going to have to plead the fifth on this one...let's just say I'm trying to watch what I say these days....
Are you too forgiving?
It really depends on the situation. In some cases I'm very forgiving...in others, not so much.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Ava Unplugged
So last night, the kid woke up around 11:30 doing the coughing-fussing thing. Inevitably it turned into crying so at midnight I gave her a bottle (I would not have been so quick do this but she hadn't finished her dinner bottle, so I figured she was thirsty). Afterwards, she went RIGHT down to sleep but there was still intermittent coughing, occasionally followed by a whiny, fussy noise. This is normal for when she's sick and usually that stops when she goes into a deeper sleep but I was DYING....after two hours of sleep the night before and only being asleep about 1 1/2 hours before she woke up, I was at the sleep deprivation breaking point. So, I took a big step and I opened up both of our bedroom doors and unplugged the baby monitor. That way if she cried for real I'd still hear her, but I wouldn't be getting coughs/fusses amplified directly into my bedroom. It took me about a half hour to fall asleep (even though I was dead tired) because I've NEVER gone without the monitor, but then I slept until the alarm woke me! And obviously Ava is fine--so from now on, unless I am worried about her for some reason, the doors will be open and the monitor off once we are all in bed. She's almost a year old, anyhow...not like she's a newborn. We'd been talking about doing this recently but just hadn't taken the step, so I had to do it out of necessity and it worked just fine! It was probably harder than anything just to have my bedroom door open--I have a thing about doors, I always have to have them shut. I can't teach in my classroom with the door open. I can't sleep (well, I guess I can now) with the door open. That includes bathroom doors and closet doors. When Craig is out of town, I close off all of the rooms that we're not using--he's gone right now so the only door that's open upstairs is my bedroom door. I know, I'm a freak, and now I'm definitely going to have to get over it if I want to keep off that stupid monitor. :)
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