August

August. Oh August, how I dread you every year! Even though there are still 2-3 weeks of summer days left in August, it always flies by! I swear, yesterday was August 1st and today it's August 16. I anticipate the new school year every year and have a HINT of excitement but since becoming a mommy, I also dread it like I dread WINTER---and if you know me, I HATE WINTER. On that note, I do love my job and don't really think I could be a stay at home mom, especially in the winter. I think I might go nuts. :) Not really but I think teachers have sort of the best of both worlds. We've had such a fun summer, making lots of memories...pool days, the zoo, play dates, sprinkler parks, walks, the mall, and just plain hanging out at home...And it's hard to believe that at the beginning of summer Ava was a brand new "walker" and now she is practically running. Being at the sitter is great for her, too, because she has become quite the "mommy's girl!" and she is frightened by just about everything. I guess that is just her nature, but being around other kids is good for her and something I want her to experience.

Another reason I dread August is the stress I start to feel. It always ends up working out fine (and not that I haven't been teaching long enough to know what I'm doing...) but I let myself get freaked out for nothing. I've already had one meltdown (you can ask Travis!) and then I have to tell him..."you know what time of year it is!" I also S.T.R.E.S.S. each year about my schedule but with obvious reason and this year since I am at my second school for more of my time (1.2 days compared to a half day last year) comes the sticky situation of travel time. I'm hoping and praying that it will get fixed but as of now, I have 20 minutes to get from one school to the other and be ready to teach. Not to mention I have 2 classes in a row, 20 mins to get to the other school and then have 3 classes in a row (pretty much the equivalent of 5 in a row, which I refuse to do!). I'm really hoping and assuming it will get fixed but in the mean time, I'm a little freaked out! I don't like to be rushed and stressed and I'd hate to show up for class each week and walk in the door with my purse, bag, coat, etc at the same time as the kids and have to make them sit and wait while I unpack and get ready. And honestly, I'm not sure where going to the bathroom fits in this equation---and again, if you know me, I pee more than a pregnant girl!

Well, enough of that. I'll keep you posted! Ava is off to the sitter tomorrow while I work at school (s) all day and then my mom will be here Wednesday while I work and then we are in school mode with meetings Thursday and Friday! I am so thankful I still have the half-day on Monday to prepare, as students will not come to area classes that day.

Happy August Everyone!

Summer

{Summer}...

I pretty much want it to never END!

We've been having so much fun this summer and Ava is learning new things every day, I swear...

She is starting to use a fork. You can see the wheels turning in her head and she tries really hard to get the food on the fork and then to her mouth. I usually help her with getting the food on the fork, and then it usually falls off the fork as she is putting it in her mouth. She even will pick up the food and put it ON the fork. Too cute! I love that she is starting to show interest. She still loves to eat and her favorite foods really haven't changed! She still loves CHEESE, Cottage Cheese, fruit, pasta salad, etc. I was afraid she wasn't going to be a big meat eater but she has recently began to eat more meat. She seems to like ham and turkey (ok) and she even ate some salsa chicken (crockpot recipe=YUMMY!). She loves corn dogs, which I'm not a huge fan of her eating but unfortunately a lot of restaurants really don't offer the healthiest options for kiddos (and we wonder why our country is obese???). For example, tonight we went to Buffalo Wild Wings and we got the mini corndogs but before we fed her those we gave her some grapes, cottage cheese and raisins. At least that way she had some healthy items. =)

She has also started to put the rings on the stacking toy ring (what is that even called?). She can put them all on pretty well! Not necessarily in the correct order, but hey, pretty good job Ava!

She has this little monkey (looking) toy that I got at a garage sale (imagine that) that came with these cute little balls. Some are clear with little rattle-y things inside and you put them in the mouth of the monkey and he says 'yum yum yum' etc. She LOVES putting them in where they go! So fun.

She can shake her head yes and no. Pretty cute. And I'm pretty sure she is actually saying "no, no, no" though it sounds like "no-oy, no-oy..." It sounds more like an actual word and not just the "n" sound.

Overall, you can tell she is understanding more and more every day. When you say, "Ava, do you want to take a bath?" She will go over to her chair (which blocks the stairs...LOL) and wants to go upstairs.

If you ask her if she is hungry, she will go to the kitchen, etc.

She stillllllllllllllll loves doggies and birds are her second fave. She loves to sit in her high chair and watch out the window for birdies (I really should get a bird feeder, I guess) and she loves to listen for the neighbors ever-so-annoying barking dog! :)

Loving life! and DENYING that it is AUGUST!

14 months...ALMOST

July 2009 (above)

July 2010 (above)

(LOVE this outfit. The shirt I actually bought new, the shorts were hand-me-downs from cousin Ella, and the SHOES----garage sale! of course).



In just under a week, Ava will be 14 months old! (sniff sniff...)


But with each passing day, she is getting funnier and funnier and smarter and smarter. Here are some things she is doing nowadays.

• Blows on her food. She has seen me blow on food that is hot or my coffee so she has to blow on just about everything even if it's a cold grape. LOL! She also wants mommy and daddy to blow on it for her.




• She tries to point to her nose. When you ask her "Ava, where is your nose?" She points to her mouth, I think!




• She did pat her belly the other day when I asked her where her belly was.




• The other night in the bath, I said, "Ava, we need to brush your teeth." and she turned her head and pointed to where we keep her toothpaste! I was pretty amazed! =)




• She still is obsessed (as the new sitter would say, haha!) with puppies. If she even hears a dog (the neighbor's dog barks all.the.time it seems), she starts 'barking!'




• She will look at one of the pictures I have on a shelf in her room and point to it and go "awwwwww...bay..." (I can't remember if I've already written this in a previous post)




• I will stand her up on her changing table to pull up her pants typcially and I'll ask her "Ava, where is the butterfly (in the painting I did on the wall in her room) and she will point to it.




• She signs "All done" "drink" and attemps "please" She still isn't really doing them on her own but she will do it after we do it usually, with the exceptoin of "All done" which she will tell you when she is done eating---let me tell ya!




• She loves the water but still cries every.time we rinse her hair in the bath. Not sure what is up with that. She hates it. I usually just tilt her head back and get it over with. I think Travis tries to be more gentle about it. :) It barely even gets in her eyes so I don't honestly know what the big deal is.




• We have a gate up in the kitchen where the stairs lead to the back door/basement but we use her little Pottery Barn chair to block off the stairs to the upstairs. It has worked just fine (and still kind of does, I suppose) but she has figured out how to move it so she can go up the stairs, which she loves to do and can do without much problem. We are still working on going down.




• She has a million and one toys (barely exaggerating) and she still loves to play with the most random things: package of diapers, remotes, phones, my workout steps, kitchen utensils...you get the point.


• She stands on her head a lot. She just decided to do that on her own. Pretty funny.

{Peek-a-boo!}

• She still LOVES music. She will bop her head in the car or anytime she hears music or (heaven forbid---I sing!)
• She is getting more into TV shows. I don't really have it on for her much but there have been a few times if she is bored or cranky, I'll turn on the ON DEMAND...soooo helpful! or her Baby Einstein DVDs.
• She still doesn't really clap correctly. When you try to put her hands together to help her, she stiffens up (???). It started out as kind of a rolling motion and now she will clap one hand on top of the other one (cracks me up!) but the other half of the time she will get it right.
• Still says "Hiiiiiiiii" to just about anyone and everyone when we are out and about.
• Seems to say "What's that..." That is what it sounds like anyway!
• She loves when I whip my ponytail around. She will just giggle and giggle.
• Is ticklish just about everywhere!

Well, that's all for now. Remember this is mostly for my purposes, but hopefully you enjoyed. :)

June 2010

Wow, what a great month it has been! I really can't believe June is winding down. Ava has adjusted to mommy being home - well, a little too much, I think! She has definitely grown a little attached. Not saying I MIND, however, it will definitely make going back to work more difficult.



So far this month, we've stayed busy doing lots of outdoor activities. Ava LOVES being outside and playing in/with the water. I got a pool pass and we have been going to the pool a lot, as well as the sprinkler parks for playdates, etc. We attended a babytime class at the Children's Discovery Museum with friend Laura and her daughter, Izzy. Travis and I met Laura and her husband Dave at our Childbirth class and didn't exchange numbers or anything but always kind of laughed at the same things and felt like each other would be fun to hang out with. The day I was to leave the hospital, Travis was walking down the hospital hall and ran into Laura and Dave!! She was there, too, but having Izzy about 5 weeks early. We exchanged numbers and have been keeping in touch. It's been fun to have someone to hang out with that also has a 1 year old and Travis and Dave get along well, too! We also went to the Fun Run last Friday. Ava had fun and I got workout, too, since I had to carry her a LOT of the way. =)



Ava and I are heading back on Wednesday for my hometown's fair. It is tradition to meet up with my sis and my BFF Anne to go to the Queen Pageant, but mostly gossip about all of the people we used to go to high school with, etc. hehe!

Other happenings with Miss Ava:

• Walking, walking, walking. She is starting to stand up on her own without something to help her up (couch, etc.)
• Chatterbox: still says 'pup-pup,' starting to say 'bay' for baby. She will point at her baby pictures around the house and say 'oooooohhhhh bay.' And it is SO CUTE!
• She loves all of her stuffed animals and will cuddle with them
• Great eater! She loves all fruits, pasta salad, bread, yogurt, and will even eat her veggies most of the time. CHEESE is still her fave. She will find it on her tray and eat it first. She loves hamburger with ketchup ut isn't a fan of other meats so far.
• No problems getting rid of the bottle...BiNKY: that will be a different story.
• Still says HIIIIIIIII to kids and babies especially when we are out and about but is a little social butterfly to everyone.
• Such a little smarty: tries to talk on the phone (well and remotes, too...LOL), tries to put her headbands on, tries to put mommy and daddy's shoes on (well, daddy's are skis!)
• Such a sweetheart!

Life

Well, let's just say that life sometimes throws you curve balls. Summer didn't quite start out how I had hoped. We got a call from Travis' dad on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend that his grandma had passed away. She was home from Texas and staying at Travis' parents house. She came down to work her puzzle and had a stroke they think. She was a sweet lady and I'm so glad I was able to know her. She was able to come to Ava's birthday party, too, which could not have been more perfect. Lori got this 4 Generation picture and these other shots, which will be cherished forever!







We were gone from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend until Wednesday night at 10pm. YIKES! I then I had to get my house in order so I could ENJOY summer only to have Ava being a little out of sorts. There were a rough couple days when she just was not happy unless I as right there entertaining her. I couldn't even walk out of the room to throw a diaper away! I was starting to get discouraged, thinking "Oh no! Is this how my summer is going to be??" Well, I am happy to say that now she is back to her little happy old self. =) I think she was probably just needing her routine back, too. She is walking more and more and playing and getting into everything! She is also talking a LOT (though I'm not quite sure what language!). She is even playing right now as I'm typing this! Ahhhhhhh...A great feeling! She IS, however, going to be a momma's girl before summer is over, I'm afraid!

So, even when things don't always go your way, keep trucking and it will get better!!!

PASTING?

Well, I can't figure out how to PASTE (fellow bloggers...can you???). So if you are interested in what's new with Ava, check out her Shutterfly site. Let me know if you need the address and let me know if you know how to allow blogger to paste.

Peoria Zoo!

Megan and I went to the Peoria Zoo today with Reddington and Ava. It was absolutely the perfect day! Megan and I had great conversation. Well, we tried but Ava apparently had lots to say too! I guess she is going through a phase (not wanting to be in the car!). You start to think something is wrong but when we pulled into the driveway and I turned back and looked at her, she says "hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" Little stinker! Of course it was fun, none-the-less and otherwise, she was a good girl!

Megan is my cousin Nathan's wife and we hit it off right away. Gosh, how many years ago has it been now? (7ish!?) She is a teacher as well, and with Redd and Ava being so close in age, it's great! Thanks for a fun day and always being such a good listener when I have so many things on my mind. =)

Ava and Reddington loved all of the animals and pointed at them when they saw them! I swear Ava thinks everything is a puppy. Either that or she was really excited and made her little 'wooo wooo' sound when she saw something she liked.

Checking out the lions!

wooooo wooooo!

Hi there nice lions!

Ok, so I don't think I am digging my $1 garage sale glasses??? I look like a bug!?

I HEART Giraffes!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Cow! I didn't know how long their tongues are!!!!!!!! Did you?

Reddington loved the llama!

Ava was pooped! =)

The End