11 months old today!

Here's a good photo of Ava in her soothing pose. Model life is hard.
A new trick! The sippy cup!
What better way to celebrate being 11 months old than going for a swim with your favorite duck?

New trick:

10 months old today!

Ava is 10 months old today! Mike and I can't believe how much she's changed over the last month. Not only has she said her first word (phrase? utterance? sound?) but she's also started to sign back to us. We sign "more?" when we're feeding her or giving her water from a cup. Now when we're feeding her and we say the word "more" she'll do the sign. We can't tell for sure if she's actually asking for more food or water but she gets some anyway! She's also started pointing at lights and fans when we ask where they are. In short, suddenly she's able to communicate to us that she understands much of what we're saying. It's exciting! I guess it's time to start spelling when we curse...or perhaps purchase some thick, woolly earmuffs. Think we can find them in July?

9 months old today!

Hard to believe it but Ava is 9 months old today.
For this birthday Ava didn't get a fraction cake. She had to settle for a little bit of the frosting off Daddy's birthday cake.

She's getting the hang of this frosting thing. Maybe she has a future in cake decorating...or perhaps cake undecorating?

8 months old today!

We've had a very busy week! As you can see from the photo, Ava's had a bit of a cold! I never thought I'd be in the pediatrician's office as much as I have. It's hard not to take it personally when your baby continues to fall ill. I can only hope she's getting a wealth of exposure to germs that will keep her healthy later. For now though, it stinks! I've been very worried about Ava this week, she just looked and sounded terrible. She's had a nasty cough and runny nose and eyes. She hasn't been too feverish. I took her to the doctor on Thursday and they confirmed she just has a viral cold and she'll recover. I was relieved. She looked so pathetic! She's doing much better now. The worst was Wednesday/Thursday of last week. By Saturday evening she was chatting and smiling again. She even started doing "so big"! We're still working on it but we've made progress. Her arms raise up a few inches...perhaps she's humouring us. Her thumbs look better too! The doctor pointed out that it looks like she's about to get her two front teeth so that likely caused the blisters. They didn't pop, thankfully. I think she's just getting a callous.

7 months old!

Last month Ava couldn't keep her hands off the bow. This month she couldn't keep her hands off the camera! She kept reaching for it!

The last month was an exiting one! She learned to sit up, she discovered that her feet are both tasty and ticklish. She started eating solid foods and learned all about the Easter bunny. What adventures await us this month?

6 months old!

I can't believe it, but Ava is now six months old! That seemed impossible to me when she was born! Six months seems SO grown up!
It was really hard to keep her hands/mouth off this bow long enough for me to snap a photo. It'll continue to get more interesting over the course of this year. The bow may be a little worse for wear by the time we get to her 12 month photo! Saliva is rough on paper bows.
I made another fraction cake. I think this will be her last fraction cake...we'll gain way too much weight if we have a cake for every 1/2 and 1/4 birthday. I do, however, think that it is quite possibly the best way to learn fractions. Maybe she won't be a fraction flunky like I was.

5 months old today!

Ava is 5 months old today! I can't believe how fast five months has gone by! The next few months will surely be filled with many "firsts" such as sitting, rolling, teething and eating solid food.

A couple of milestones from the past month:
-Started grabbing her feet during diaper changes. Now she assumes the aptly named "happy baby" yoga pose during changes.

-Has decided she's too grown up for naps but sleeps through the night.

-Endured her first full month of day care and has had to fend off offers from her sitter to adopt her.

-Has memorized all the details of her right hand.

-Has started noticing her fur-sibling, Ringle Dinglestein III.

-Has started to grab at water being poured out of a cup.

-Has fully mastered the fine art of raspberry blowing!

4 months old today!

13 weeks AND 3 months old today!

Big day today! Ava is both 13 weeks and 3 months old today! It also happens to be Mike's 1/2 birthday too! Because we were iced in the house this weekend, I was inspired to make a cake for them. Here are some photos:

Here is evidence of said ice.

Ava's 13 week week photo.

Ava's 3 month photo.

Here is Mike's cake! 31 1/2 today! I was pretty proud of this cake. I made it from scratch. Like I said, we were iced in so I made the cake and the frosting out of our pantry. I've never done that before!

Here is Ava's cake!

Ava watches as my sister Megan licks the beaters. Yum! Can I have some Auntie Megan?

Here are the birthday kids.

Happy Birthday Ava!

2 months old today!
Nothing too exciting to report here. I'm putting plastic over all of our windows today to keep us warm and in the black throughout the winter. I'm more than a little bummed to forgo natural light through the blinds all winter long but I suppose that is all the more reason to continue walking during the day. We took Ava to the library for her birthday and checked out some more baby music and baby books. She enjoys the bright colors, lights and big windows there. It is a beautiful day in Columbia, MO and when she wakes up from her nap we'll go out for a long walk to enjoy this crisp Fall day.

In other news, I seem to have lost my mind. We were at the grocery store the other night and I was trying to pay with my debit card. The machine kept saying "incorrect PIN" but I hadn't entered anything in! I kept trying again and again to cancel and start over. The cashier was confused and asked why I kept cancelling. I told her what was happening. Mike leaned over and looked at the machine and pointed out that it said "input PIN" not "incorrect PIN". I was mortified. I use that very same machine every week to purchase groceries and have never been stumped by it before. Mike said perhaps my brains are leaking out with my breast milk. It is ironic that I'm working so hard to facilitate Ava's learning while my own intellectual health appears to be declining.

Happy Birthday Ava!