crawl

Ava is so so so close. she is about to get it... she gets up on all ours and wiggles her bum back and forth. She worked at it for like 4 hours today. i will let you know as soon as she does and get pictures up. Also she has tried sweet potatoes twice now.... i made them myself (thank you Kathleen for helping me through my falling apart) and well she kinda likes them and kinda gags. hummm.

first halloween.....

Ava and her friend Kaiya who is just three weeks younger went to the Halloween Carnival dressed as twin Dalmatians. It was one of the first time she has been so glitzy... thanks to my very girly friend and Kaiya's mom Koli - complete with pink bows rhinestones that we added. here are some pictures

night time story

ava likes books and jammies after dinner .... last night she sat with us (in her high chair) and ate dinner with us... i mean a slight food variation as she had breast milk with brown rice cereal and well we did NOT but we all sat together and then she needed a bath cause she was covered (we are up to 2 a day after each bowl of rice cereal there is not other option) then it was story time and she loved Harry the Dirty Dog last night.

Ava meets lamby

So when Keegan and I were first shopping for baby furniture... about the end of March (yes we were on the late side for the whole thing especially since the doctor said she would come early and did not really specify how early but with moving from nyc and finding a house and then buying a house we had very little time before then.) We fell in love with lamby. At this time we did not have anything besides a few pieces of clothing i bought on sale at patagonia kids and baby gap in the city and a diaper bag Keegans mom had given me. We decided that this lamb was crucial. When we showed people they looked at us like yea it is cute but don't you think you should be getting important essentials. Maybe but we loved this. And it is true. We payed way to much money for it but never once regretted our choice that day.

milestones

There are so many things that change as babies develop. Each new milestone seems so huge and life changing. Yes it is life changing to Ava, Keegan and me but really I am not so sure that others care that much about all the little things that seem so big. But you see it all happens so fast. I mean I really feel like time is just going ... i think of ava as my new little baby... and on wednesday of this past week she turned five months old. I feel like tomorrow i will be helping her fill out college applications.
The jogging stroller was a huge milestone. Yes to me it is a milestone. You see it is wonderful and makes me so happy. I try and time our walks or run with one of her naps. So I get to run or walk depending on my mood and she gets a fresh air nap (something that is important to me) I am sure the level of sleep might not me REM as much but it makes a much happier mommy. sounds a bit selfish but really i am a better mom. While we were in NC we did anywhere from 5-16 miles a day. And now Ava is right at home in the jogging stroller. I mean I still always have the baby bjorn in the pocket just in case but only once so far have I actually used it. So perhaps after smiling that has been the biggest milestone to change our day to day lives.
well until this morning
...
We decided to start introducing solids. They say to do this anywhere between 4 and 6 months although some people feel strongly one way or the other. At first I really wanted to wait until 6 months but the vitamins that the pediatrician suggested tasted like ass (i mean really.. i try everything she eats and i could barely stomach this and she had to do a whole ml.) so then i thought i would just skip them except lately Ava has been waking up and wanting to eat a lot in the middle of the night. So she is hungry. So it is time. We decided we would wait until we were back from our travels and this morning felt like a good morning. So dad and ava had breakfast together. here is the story:



starts with brown rice cereal (thanks Kathleen) and breast milk. it is 4 tbs breast milk to 1 of rice cereal... so it is very very runny
she sat in her new high chair for the first time
she was very interested and liked the airplane and games Keegan was playing with her. I think it is quite possible that Keegan was just as excited as Ava was.
hummm... this is fun
but i really like to chew on things... so how about i just eat the tray table.... i mean its a little milky .... what more could i want.

So milestones come and they seem huge. I mean after this morning i realized i was really sad. she is growing up. but it is also exciting and fun. she is becoming a little person and each day we see a bit more personality. and well the string between the two of us is getting longer and longer which feels good. Tomorrow I am going running with a friend, a class at the gym and to get a pedicure and keegan can deal. This is big cause let me just remind you that she will not take a bottle so i could really not get to far away from home.

this time last year

he came out of no where on the bridge... well it was the first column but i was so confused what was he doing there..... ali and i were taking a girly walk. or so i thought
blah blah blah.... he was crying, shaking and could barely talk but saying how much he loved me and stuff
then he asked... would i be his wife?
yes
oh my gosh this really just happened......

what a wonderful beginning and it was just the beginning..... it really was the best day of my life (and thanks to ali who was in on the plan it was all caught on film) i mean the wedding day was amazing and meeting ava for the first time was so incredibly special but nothing in my head compares to the day we decided to do life together.
okay that is a lot of mush for a day but i am allowed.

Cleveland

so we are here... Ava and I left NC on Saturday and headed to Ohio via Charlotte (not a direct flight which made me a little nervous but it was no big deal) ava is a great traveler and got a lot of comments. We are loving out of a hotel room which is not the easiest thing with a baby but it is really close to Corner Alley which is the place that Keegan is doing some training for Shenaniganz. It is different then Shenaniganz will be but has a similar feel and they are managed by the same consultants so Keegan is learning the day in and day out stuff .... today it was bowling machine and lane mechanics. Luckily tonight he does not have to close so he will be home by 10 but last night he crawled in bed with me at like 2:30. so what can you do with a baby in a hotel room in a new city with no car while staying in the downtown district that is dead on sundays???
well.....
Ava and I went for a long run and got lost for real (right when she started to not dig the stroller any more - special) we found a grocery store in the bottom of some apt. building and got some cottage cheese, carrots, apples and sour water melons snacks for the room since she has been going to bed early and i get kinda stuck and want dinner. The hotel room has the biggest bath tub I have ever seen (really) so she pretty much gets to go swimming, I almost do too. we took two baths today, lots of jumping on the bed, some football with dad (when he was home for a little break) followed by a little more exploring and checking out Corner Alley. Tomorrow I think it will easier although I was just informed it is a holiday. But I am thinking run, awesome bath and then Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and perhaps the Zoo on Tuesday.

more north carolina adventures

uncle wills airplane rides

grannies flowery bed

Ava meets Carol

it had been way too long.. but i had something really specially to show off this time. Carol came last sunday and spent the night with us at my moms house. ava adored her and thought she was quite funny... everybody loves carol even four month olds. they kicked their legs together
laughed
and laughed.

Ava meets Grant

We made it to Durham. Autumn is here and it is simple gorgeous here in North Carolina. We have logged a lot of miles on the Duke cross country track and jogging stroller (yes. we finally got one. Keegan got me the best of the best ( i am a lucky girl) and we brought it with us on our trip. who needs suitcase of clothes when you can have a stroller?)
But we got to see Laura (it was so nice to reconnect with her - especially since i have been stalking her since i joined facebook.) and meet her adorable little boy. Yea a new/old friend.
Ava was a fan and Grant was charming.

this is exciting