52 weeks old today!

I can't believe I actually made it to 52 weeks!

Ava gives a little cheer!
Goodbye kiss for Zebra.
How big is Ava?
How it all began, 51 weeks ago today:

51 weeks old today!

Ava and Ringle plot their escape.

Nothing like a picnic with a new friend:

50 weeks old today!

Today was a gorgeous day in Missouri! High of 79! Shocking for August. I just read that these colder than average temperatures may extend into the winter months (brrr!) but for now, it's fantastic! Ava and I headed outside for her photos today. One major problem with Ava's new found mobility is that she won't hold still for her zebra photos! So here's a couple photos of Ava with zebra sort of in the vicinity.

Finally, proof that mom is hilarious!

Ava's taken another leap forward toward walking. Now when you hold her hands and she's standing she starts walking forward. We don't need to pull her toward us any longer. In fact, she walked all around the outside of our house the other day. I tried to pick her up but she screamed and arched her back and so we resumed walking around her way. I'm getting a hunchback but she's gaining strength!

She's also been doing this goofy trick. She thinks it is hilarious to suddenly fall backwards into our arms or a pillow. The problem? She doesn't always check to make sure there is something behind her and the spirit moves her to fall backwards at unexpected times. Were seriously failing the "trust" game but as long as there happens to be a pillow/parent she's thrilled with the game.

49 weeks old today!

Zebra is taking a much needed vacation so Duck is standing in.
This week Ava's been saying "BAA!!" (or "DAA!!") really loud and strong while pointing to things. Those things generally include fans, lights, dogs, cats, $200 stuffed dinosaurs at toy stores, etc.

48 weeks old today!

47 weeks old today!

Regrettably, Amy's decree didn't stick. Poor Ava is sick again! I think she may have another ear infection. She has a runny nose and pleasant disposition during the day. But at night she's just been miserable. No one has gotten any sleep the past several nights. It could just be her teeth, I'm just not sure. Having just had an ear infection myself I feel for the little squirt. No fun! We'll catch up later when we've got a few more hours of rest under our belt.

46 weeks old today!

Ava's going through another phase where she's decided that naps are for babies and isn't having any of it. Yesterday she napped for just 1 hour and then stayed up late. I had to wake her up this morning for day care. She's usually the first one up but today she was sleeping like a teenager. I was even on the receiving end of some pretty mean glares between eye rubbing, stretches and grunts. Today she was again anti-nap and I think it shows in these zebra photos.

45 weeks old today!

How big is Ava?
SOOOOO BIG!

44 weeks old today!

Zebra and I were fighting with the ceiling fan tonight for Ava's attention.

43 weeks old today!

The only problem with this mindful meditation class is that the better I do at the mindfulness, the worse I am at managing my life. Sure I'm happy, calm, and "in the moment" but I realize at the end of the day that I've forgotten to check my "to-do list" the requisite 106 times and therefore have forgotten to take the zebra photo (among other things)! Whoops! Better late than never, right? Here's a sleeping Ava with her zebra (note that she's cheating on Zebra with her new friend "Horsey").
Below is a photo from Ava's first Fourth of July. The excitement was lost on her.
Finally, I can't resist uploading this photo. My aunt visited this weekend and brought a box of my cousin's clothes. Included was this gem. You may see this again in about 3 1/2 months so act surprised.

42 weeks old today!

41 weeks old today!

Look out! She's coming to get you!

40 weeks old today!

Ava was pretty grumpy tonight. I'm not sure if she's teething or what. She didn't want to be put down and was generally out of sorts. Despite my attempts to distract her she watched Al Gore's speech endorsing Obama tonight (which was hilarious by the way..."If you like a "T" in your B.L.T., then you know that elections matter").
Aside from clapping during the speech with the crowd, she had an interesting developmental milestone tonight. For the past few weeks she's had an old oatmeal container with some objects in it. She shakes it around and I occasionally take the lid off to help her discover what is making the noise. Until tonight she'd never look into the container. She'd just keep shaking it and eventually the objects would fall out and she'd go explore them as if they'd fallen from the sky. Tonight, we did the exercise again. I removed the lid and she peered into the container. She immediately stuck her hand in and started pulling the items out. It was very interesting. I'm loving watching all the changes in her development. It's fascinating!

39 weeks old today!

I almost forgot the zebra photo today! I'm taking a class in Mindful Meditation this summer. Tonight was the first class and I got home late. I was so busy catching up on snuggle-time with Ava that I nearly forgot about the weekly photo. Not very mindful, eh?
In this first photo Ava is exhibiting her new "soothing" pose. She sucks her left thumb while caressing her left forearm with her right-hand.
I'm interested to see if this class can help me "live in the moment". The last nine months have flown by so quickly! I'm terrified that I won't savor each and every moment! In the first class we inspected a raisin with all our senses and laid on the floor for 26(!) minutes (no, you were not allowed to fall asleep!). I have a list of homework items to work on throughout the week. Here is a sample:
-Choose one routine activity in your daily life and make a deliberate effort to bring moment-to moment awareness to that activity each time you do it.
-Eat at least one meal "mindfully"

Anyone out there tried this stuff before? Any success?

38 weeks old today!

37 weeks old today!

36 weeks old today!

Well Ava's been sleeping in her crib for a whole week! It's going pretty well. The first few nights she woke up several times during the night crying. The last few nights she's alternated between sleeping through and waking once or twice. I slept terribly once she left our room. I kept waking up and walking down the hall to her room to check on her. Now I'm beginning to trust the monitor (or maybe I'm just too tired to worry).

In other Ava news, she's been raising her arms a little in response to "How big is Ava?". It's very cute but shocking to see the first time. It jarred me a little that she's actually able to comprehend what we're telling her. This stage won't last long; she'll be consciously ignoring me soon enough.

35 weeks old today!

It happens every year but it never ceases to crack me up. Ringle got her summer 'do. My mom shaved her yesterday. It is amazing the difference it makes in her personality. As a long haired cat she carries herself with a certain air of confidence and disgust with humans. Shaved, however, she's a different cat! She is much more affectionate. Perhaps she's just cold.
See below for Ava's favorite new noise:

33 weeks old today!

Ava and zebra. Chillin'.

Grandma comes by and brings Ava a new toy! "This is how you do it, zebra."

"NO! Not like that zebra!" (accompanied by growling noises)

"Hm, I think I taught zebra a good lesson, don't you?"