Today's Forecast? . . . Rain

Bathtime for Ava

One of our favorite times of day with Ava is bath time. We love to watch her splash in the tub, smile, and slather her with moisturizer. Most likely, we also love this time because it is the last "happy" phase of her day, before she hulks out while being strapped into her monitor and wisked away to crib. In any case, here are a couple pics of Mom and Ava from this evening's bath . . .

Cereal Moustache Ava

The many faces of Ava

Ava meets Kobi

Our friend Paula recently adopted a shih tzu named Kobi. So we decided it would be fun for Ava to finally meet a puppy in person, rather than just see pictures of puppies in one of her many books that we repeatedly read to her.

So after a nice little nap, Ava opened her eyes to the bright sunlight of the afternoon and fixed her gaze upon Kobi . . . to which she began to cry. But alas, the crying did not last too long, and before we knew it, Ava and Kobi were becoming close friends. Mostly this friendship rested on Kobi enjoying licking Ava's lint-laden toes, while Ava continued to explore her hands by enjoying a tight-fisted grip on Kobi's fur. Ava has not yet realized that she can't pull on everything like it's a toy on her playmat, that when released vibrates in reverse.

We're not sure who tired out who more, but we're pretty sure this won't be the last these two see of each other.

I am 'The Houdini'

Watch me disappear. . . .

eh. . . eh . . . where's my binky?!!!!

4 months going on 4

Moving past the 3 month mark seemed to bring a huge change in Ava. While Chris happily enjoyed her cuddly "leisure-suit Larry" babyness, she's quickly become an independent free-thinking lady. Gone are the days of snuggles and sleepers. Now she would rather explore than be held. Not that Emily can complain much since this allows for more time to get things done around the house without Ava crying to be picked back up. As long as she can see you, she's fine. We purchased a bumbo (by suggestion of Tiff...thanks!) and she seems to like it. (Well, for about 15-20 minutes then she needs to move on to activities that allow her to move about.) Some milestones this month include rolling over from tummy to back, first bites of cereal (loves it...if only she could better control her tongue), and holding her head steady when pulled upright. She LOVES to talk. Thank God her squeals sound more like stridor at this point. (She hasn't figured out quite yet how to make them noisy.)

However happy we are for these milestones to be reached, there are other 'no no's' that we could do without. First, since Emily returned to work, Ava refuses to breast feed unless it's her 5 am feeding. So, Emily has been pumping 5-6 times per day to keep up with Ava's demand so we don't have to start formula. Emily figured out that she's pumping or feeding Ava for a total of 6 hours per day. In fact, she's pumping so much that the motor broke on her pump. (Thank goodness Medela sent a new one free of charge.) So, we're not sure how much longer we'll continue with breast milk.

Second, Houdini seems to visit Ava in the middle of the night and help her out of her swaddle. On Emily's last week of night shifts (hurray) she managed to break free nearly every night at least once and on one occasion every 2 hours. This wouldn't be a problem if she could fall back asleep on her own. But, she wakes us up, needs to be re-swaddles and then rocked back to sleep with the Binky. We luckily figured out the problem. It's been hot so since our only swaddles are fleece, we've been putting her in it in just her diaper. So, her slick little arms are able to work their way out of the velcro strapped sides. We've ordered some lighter weight ones that will hopefully arrive this week so that we can put her in a onesie when it's warm outside. For now, we're thankful this last weekend was cool.

Third, she's taken to hair pulling. It doesn't matter if it's head hair or chest hair, any will do. And once she's got a handful she'll then attempt to put it in her mouth. Needless to say it becomes a battle of strength vs tenacity. Ava usually wins. Maybe this is why Emily's hair has suddenly been falling out by the handfuls...

She's around 13 pounds and 25 inches long. (Yes, she's tall...Chris is just hoping she's more the volleyball playing tall vs. the shot put throwing tall.)

Goals for next month...getting rid of the binky during sleep and hopefully loving the boob again.

Loving the music

Every Iowa girl needs bibs

Life and Death of the Sock Monkey

On saturday we headed over to the Farmer's Market downtown to get outside and enjoy the nice weather with Ava. Afterwards, we grabbed a bite to eat, while Ava proceeded to cannibilize her friend (make that ex-friend), The Sock Monkey. It's a good thing no other undergarments have been made into stuffed animals . . .

Escaping The Rain

Online Ava

From time to time Ava will get bored with the mundane activities of a typical 4 month-old: playing on her activity mat, avidly suckling her binky while being bounced in her bouncer, or going for walks. When not doing these activities, she likes to check her Twitter and Facebook status, monitor her stock portfolio, watch Glenn Beck on Fox News (fair and balanced . . .), check her favorite blogs, and watch Iron Chef episodes. Next on her list, reading Barnyard Dance on her iPad.

Out For A Stroll(er)

Easter 2010

Last Sunday we headed to Mitchellville to spend Easter with Emily's family. Ava had fun socializing with everyone, and continues to amaze everyone with her unimpeachable behavior. Of course, she continues to have a strong disdain for church-organ hymns, and cries every time they are played. . . almost on cue. We understand your pain Ava, we understand. As Emily has stated before, she's more of a Radiohead girl.

Vamsi Visits

Last weekend, amidst a brief reprieve from New York to come home to visit family in Chicago, "Uncle" Vamsi made a quick jaunt to Iowa City to introduce himself to Ava. Without being to verbose, we'll just say that the two of them hit it off right away. Vamsi was enthralled by Ava's every move and sound, while Ava was more fascinated with using Vamsi's nose as a jungle-gym set. She could quite possibly just be confused, as normally when she grabs her toys on her bouncer, they play songs, and as you can guess, Vamsi's nose does not come with batteries nor interesting sounds. We were glad that the two of them got acquainted, and look forward to them seeing more of each other soon. We'll let the pictures speak for themselves . . .

Prelude to a smile