daddy is funnnnnnnny

yes i have a bald sweat band...... check it out
oh daddy
your crazy dad
but you are pretty funny sometimes

new skills

check out how high i can hold my head up.... and this week i rolled over for the first time... mom is working on getting a picture but can not seem to get the camera fast enough...
i like to sit up and be a part of the action with a little help from my trusty red chair
i am trying to hear what dad and mom are whispering about
oh ha... it is funny

a case of the wiggles

Ava is discovering that she can make herself move. She has been watching her hands for some time now but yesterday she was mesmerized by her feet (she did have cool socks on I must say) but she can roll on her side and push with her feet so she scootches around when she is lying on her back. So in the mornings I put her in the bouncy seat while I took a shower and well I don't believe in strapping her I guess i think it would be annoying if I was her and well until now it has not seemed to be a problem. Well she had a great time.... and slid down and kept pushing her feet off the bathroom floor. So i took a pile of dirty clothes and surrounded her just in case she managed to slide out.... this new game of hers is much more fun then being strapped in and just looking around and I can take longer... like shave my legs and get out and dry my hair.

happy baby

ava loves to be naked.... uh oh. please dont be a stripper when you grow up

Team Teagle: Udderly the Best

we are having our own Ripp Olympics..... it includes, bowling, scrabble, bocce ball, catch phrase, putt- putt, Trivial Pursuit and a tie breaker if needed of pick 10 football. Justin (keegan's brother) and his girlfriend Lindsey are the Daybreak Lizards (Daybreak is the street he lives on) slogan "killer lizards" and we are the Teagle Udders (Teagle is the Street we live on) our slogan is Teagle: udderly the best. No idea why Keegan named us the udders at all... i mean why in the world...... okay okay okay i get it ... i do feel like a milking cow often.
but here is Keegan and Ava in their shirts we made:
so far we are not doing so well .... lizards won scrabble and today we began bowling lets just say K and I need to play really well next time to win that point for bowling.

tummy time

so I am feeling almost better. Still not 100% but about 80% and that feels like the difference of night and day. I was out of commission for a good week plus and still feel very sleepy all the time. I have been really missing NYC and wishing we were still there but also know how that is not really possible and would be very difficult with Ava and Keegan and My jobs. But I nurse Ava and imagine walking around on our street, our funky apartment, the smell of our building, the energy, and the subway but then I think yea subway - rush hour- ava - not fun or i think 5 flights of stairs - ava and groceries or no washing machine and tiny apartment. I know we are doing the right thing but being sick made me sentimental or something.
But some new things going on..... tummy time. This is apparently something very important for new babies deemed by pediatricians and I have been pretty lax about it as she really liked to kick her feet while lying on her back so very much and well my philosophy has been pretty much let her do what she wants. Eat when she wants, play when she wants, nap when she wants ( i know i may sound crazy but I thought she should learn what she likes and set her own rhythms) But she also can not get to her tummy by herself from her back quite yet so this morning I helped her and she seemed to enjoy it and well i realized how much stronger she has gotten. Look at her hold her neck up.



oh yea... and last night Keegan decided for our nightly walk he would give "daddy's shoulders" a go... yea ah no.... she tried to rip out his hair the whole time so he carried her in front of his as usual.

so here are a few of the pics taken when The Ripps did their family photo. Ava was just 4 weeks old at the tie.. Don't know why some are so small . At the time I was so mad to get my picture taken... tired and fat but now that ava is almost double that big I am so glad we have them.

.

"mom, dad.... get a room"




we love her....

mommy is sooooo boring these days

... did i mention highlighter green stuff too in my description. Back to the doctor tomorrow to see that I am making progress. I have not been this sick in a long time. Poor Ava... all I want to do is lie in bed so Ava is very happy when Daddy gets home and can play although she has been a great snuggle and nap partner.

so I think probably my mom, Keegan's mom and maybe Kathleen would know what this is right away..... and it is quite possibly too much information but this is what I have been working on for the past month. Yes this has been my little project two times in the middle of the night. And it was all for nothing:( :(.
This folks is frozen pumped breast milk. Yes bags and bags of breast milk so that I could leave Ava with Keegan and she would have plenty of food to eat while I was the maid of Honor in Arwen and Aaryn's wedding in New Mexico. However, Ava still refuses a bottle. Completely. No prefers mommy or nothing. She forgot about them and now has developed a very strong preference unfortunately. Not only that but because I have pumped so much and confused and exhausted my body I got a very very nasty infection. I will not give you the details okay I will..... it has included a fever, chills, bleeding, and honestly the worst pain I have ever felt.... I am not one to complain or I try not to do it too much but this was bad. Therefore after going to the doctor she has said no to going to New Mexico and the wedding no matter how we do it.... leaving Ava here or taking her and all of us flying. Stinks. So this weekend I will be so thinking of Arwen as she gracefully walks down the isle and looks stunning. I know that it will be a beautiful affair and as a best friend should be there beside her as she was for me but sometimes babies change peoples plans.

ahhh mommy feels awful

mastitis is the worst thing ever....
all i have to say
more painful than labor itself