Easter!

Easter is big fun!

Ava was SQUIRMY all through mass, but was entertained by her buddies Trish (her babysitter), AJ (her favorite little buddy), and the entire Boyle family who sat behind us. She was making quite a racket in her new "clappy" shoes. We tried to make a quiet exit during the homily, but I think everyone heard us!

The rest of the afternoon was spend with Shelby and Selso. Ava fell asleep during dinner, but was wide awake and full of energy during her "photo shoot" with Selso. 

Sad Goodbye

Let me tell you about our friend Joe. Joe introduced our family to the MacKenzies and the Portland Scottish folks back in the early 80's. And needless to say it changed my life. It changed all our lives. For years Joe shuttled Jenny, Amy and I to Lake Oswego for dance lessons with My Marianna. He invited us to piping and drumming events. He was crazy tall when he put on his Clan Band hat. He was kind. He was kind and good hearted. He was a kind, gentle and good hearted man when I did not know that a father could be those things. Those are some of the things he was to me. A warm memory that I'll always cherish. He was a monumental figure in the drumming community. Not only extremely talented, but giving in his time and committment to the craft and to those who shared his passion. As I write this, there's a mass gathering back home of people that love him paying tribute through prayer, pipes, drums and drink. So I raise my glass to our dear friend, who bravely fought the brain tumor that took him in only 6 months, and thank you for the beautiful way in which you touched our lives. We'll see you again Joe.

The Gorgeous Gorge

Ian snuggling with his cousin Hailey.

View of Washington from the Oregon side of the Gorge.

View of the Oregon side.

Ian enjoying himself in this very fine weather.

Feedin' the fish at the Bonneville Dam fish hatchery. Also a big hit - Herman the 10-foot, 70-year-old sturgeon.

Chicken so good...

Let me recount Ava's experience with dinner last night. And I'll preface this with telling you that she's generally a pretty good eater (even if she asks for a peanut butter "samich" for lunch EVERY day.) She's a little less adventurous than she used to be, but she'll still eat goat cheese on a regular basis, which I find impressive.

Yes, we eat chicken a lot. Red meat is too unhealthy and I'm afraid the fish these days is so metal-laden it wouldn't pass through airport security. Hence, we eat a lot of chicken. Last night I roasted a whole bird, which Ava has had plenty of times before. Just recently though I started giving her a whole drumstick and letting her eat it unassisted, which she has found mildly interesting until last night, when the little carnivore within her was like a puppy with a treasured bone. She clamped on to it and wouldn't let go until it was practically bare. I had to reason with her and explain why she couldn't eat the knobby bottom end of the bone (where some of the crispy skin was still attached, for which she informed me she liked ever so much). After all the meat was gone, she proceeded to lick all her fingers, relishing every last bit. I wish I could have gotten it on video, but the whole thing happened so fast there wasn't time.

I can hardly wait for another winner, winner, chicken dinner (as we call it in our house)!

Shaggy little mop-top

Ian is 4 months old. 4 months and over 16 pounds. He tips the growth chart at 95th percentile. (That's my boy!)

What also grows fast is his hair. So Saturday night he had his first hair cut. A clipper cut for a big boy. He looks so cute. I've only trimmed Ava's hair once and cut her bangs, but now with a boy I must become more comfortable in my new role as "The Barber." He behaved perfectly. Didn't even wince. Now I have a nice, big lock of hair for his baby book.

Birdie houses

Ava, Ian and I went for a little nature walk last weekend. We have a greenbelt, complete with a creek from a natural spring, that cuts through our neighborhood. Walking through this area used to be the only way I could get Ava to go to sleep. But that was last spring and now we have little Ian to take along on our explorations. Ava and I enjoy looking for bunnies, kitties, birdies and bugs. It's big fun. After our walk last Saturday, I had her sit down at her table with her "colors" and draw a picture of what she saw. I drew the grass and bird, she drew the birdhouse. There are a few basic birdhouses along this riparian area and Ava is quick to point them out. I was pretty proud to see how much her drawing actually resembled the shape of the "birdie house" as she calls it.

Ava at school!

Here is a picture from a while back when the police came to visit Ava's school. This is Ava's class along with one of her teachers, Miss Melissa. :)

My kids are fantastic, and I'm not just saying that!

We have settled in well to life with two kids. Ava and Ian are spectacular. Ava loves her little brother very much. Ian is sleeping well for the most part, and is growing exceptionally fast. Ian is now 11 weeks old and Ava is 2 1/2. Here's a picture from a few weeks ago, and recent one to compare.

October 18th

December 9th

Status quo

We are still holding steady at 38 weeks. No more progression of labor, and actually I'm feeling pretty good. If everything stays the same, we will have the baby on Wednesday. (!!!)

Baby books and bed rest

I am 37.2 weeks pregnant, and back on bed rest. Monday I was dilated to 2cm and contracting, so off my feet to keep Ian in for at least another week. So far so good. Less contractions, although definite engagement happening. He's ready.

Last week I was working on Ian's baby book and updating Ava's. There's a section in each to document current events, important news, prices, etc. I remember when I filled out Ava's book that it was very difficult to find information to include that was not dire or depressing....the war in Iraq, fuel prices, the climate crisis, just to name a few. I find myself in the same predicament with Ian's book, if not worse. The death, pain, suffering, financial burden of the unjust Iraq war on not only the US but the entire world, the lack of urgency or seriousness by conservative lawmakers towards the environmental devastation that is happening, mostly by our own fault, around the globe, the world's dependency on polluting, expensive fossil fuels when the technology exists for clean, non-violent, American-produced wind and solar fuels, the climate of fear perpetuated by the president as a means to his own agenda, etc. etc. etc. Oh yes, and while we're at it, why don't we (that's you and me) give $10,000 per tax payer to the greedy Wall Street execs who didn't do business fairly and now say that their mistakes will create another depression, if we don't bail them out and let them continue to be fat cats. Isn't the writing on the wall? How dumb are we to sit back and continue to let this happen to ourselves?

All this makes me think, what will it be like when my children are grown and expecting little ones of their own? It's frightening. What kind of a world, of a country, will they inherit from us? For my children, for your children, it has to stop. Please join together to make it stop.

Portlanders - Check this out

From my musically-gifted dear friend Naomi and her group, Rising Violet:

This Saturday, September 6 – the Rising Violet trio will perform at the swanky Heathman Hotel Jazz Lounge.

Naomi LaViolette – piano and vocals
Bill Athens – bass
Brandy Keehn – drums

The Heathman Hotel Jazz Lounge, 1001 SW Broadway @ Salmon, Portland
8 pm - Midnight
No cover

For those of you who like to plan ahead – Rising Violet will perform at the Heathman the first Saturday of the month through the end of the year!

For more info, visit www.risingviolet.com.

Mommy's silly little girl

Toddlerhood is so entertaining. Ava'a full of energy and enthusiasm for helping. Here we are baking banana bread together, one of her favorite snacks. Notice her little apron. It was made for me by my Grandma Loraine when I was a little girl and I've been keeping it all this time for Ava. She wants to help with everything I do. It's great! She is very independent and wants to try everything herself. I can hardly wait until she is old enough to vacuum! And we all know how much she loves the vacuum!

Here we are getting ready to go for a walk with the wagon. Unfortunately, mommy is now 29 weeks pregnant with baby Ian, and although my belly is still pretty small, huffing around the neighborhood with the wagon is a little much for me in 100+ degree weather and high humidity! In this picture, we were going out for a walk at about 7:30am. She snacked on flax and blueberry waffles while enjoying the scenery of the neighborhood.

Ahhh, the tupperware cabinet. Plenty of fun stuff in there! She is great at entertaining herself in the kitchen while I'm cooking or cleaning up.

And my little one is pretty good these days at putting on her own accessories - shoes, sunglasses and, of course, any of mommy's jewelry she can get her hands on!

2nd-time-around-mother excuses

I used to be so diligently organized, but now it's a different story. But I'm making amends. I noticed that I had not printed out any photos (well, pretty much at least) from the past year. Ava's photo album was a little out of date. I've only taken one belly photo of baby Ian. Here I am at 20-ish weeks.



I've also uploaded some new-ish pics at Flickr. Photos include Ava's birthday party, as well as a hot day at the local spray park. Yes, she is SUPER cute in her swimsuit!

School....with mommy

Two weeks ago, we spent the week at VBS at our church. I volunteered to head up the nursery with a friend of mine. We had a really great time. We had 20+ kids under the age of 3, but had plenty of activities and crafts to keep them entertained and happy. Ava had a fantastic time, especially since her favorite buddy Kaden was there to play with. She loved going to "school" everyday, so much in fact that we are considering a pre-school/mother's day out program this fall (only a half day twice a week). Check out pictures of VBS fun at Flickr.

Future soccer player

We are 24 weeks pregnant. I say "we" because little Ian (yes, we decided to name him Ian!) is our baby. I'm trying to instill in Ava that taking care of the new baby is a team effort and she gets to help in every aspect - bathing, snuggling, loving and nursing. It's already such a joy to see her embrace the concept of a little brother. She enjoys patting my belly, giving it hugs and kisses and saying hello to baby. And does this little boy like to kick! I've felt him since VERY early, but it's fun to see the movements from the outside and feel the differentiation between different baby parts as they dance inside my belly.

Ava continues to amaze and entertain us daily. Toddlerhood is full of precious and also silly moments....too many to describe. She is talking so well, putting 2-3 words together and comprehending even detailed instructions. Her and I are so attune to each other and are so closely bonded, even while she is becoming more independent than ever. I'm so deeply in love with her.

Did I mention Ava loves Mexican food?

Ava's new buddy

Rock-a-bye

So many excuses why I haven't added any new info here lately. Ava's turning 2, mom and dad getting settled, busy, busy, etc., etc. But the real reason is that my "free time" (I use the term VERY loosely, as free time usually constitutes dishes or other household work) at night is slowly dwindling away. I used to get an hour or two after Ava would go to bed before I would head off to sleep, but these days it's not untypical for me to fall asleep on the floor next to her bed while I'm waiting for her to drift off to sleepyland, only to awaken late at night and stumble into bed myself. Once weaning was fully intact, sleep times became a bit more of a drawn-out event. Nursing my child to sleep was a quick and predictable process, leaving me plenty of "me time" (again, me time usually translates into more stuff I do to keep the house running... or at the very least checking email, which I still have many replies that need to be written!). Bed time now takes a bit longer as there is much more reading and snuggling involved, NOT THAT I MIND ONE BIT. In fact, I love it. I dread the day when Miss Independent doesn't want mommy that close. And now since the weaning is a few months behind us, I was safely able to bring the rocking chair back into her room (before, it was too much of a reminder of "nursey-bys", aka nursing to sleep). So tonight, for the first time in a very long time, Ava drifted to sleep in my arms while being rocked in our special chair. She's so big I can barely cradle her in my arms without her entire bottom half hanging over the edge. My belly's already significantly protruding, making long-term rocking a bit difficult, but fortunately she was out in just a few minutes. It was a very precious moment that made my heart flutter. I can't imagine holding my son in that chair. I can't imagine any child except Ava. But then again motherhood seemed quite surreal in the beginning and now my baby is quickly blossoming into a little girl. Someone please slow down the clock.

Little piggies

These little piggies can hardly keep their shoes on these days.
Here is Ava enjoying lunch at Grandma's, where she happily runs around barefooted,
chasing after the puppy Brady and seeing what she can get into to explore!
Hurray for Grandma's house!

Puppy love

Ava's new favorite word....PUPPY! Here is mom and dad's new little puppy, Brady. Ava, of course, adores him. They are too cute together. She especially likes his little doggy bed and tried to take a nap in there today. Everybody say "Awwwww!"

Sweet treat

Ava enjoyed sharing her first ice cream cone with mommy (and a little from grandpa too!) this afternoon. Dad used to take me to Baskin Robins for a treat when I was a kid. Lucky for me my dad likes ice cream so much! So to keep the tradition going, we took Ava for a scoop today. Big fun!

THANK YOU!

Mom, Jenny & Sony, Jose, Cindy, Betty & Neil, Lori and Shelby.....

Thank you so much for your donations to our Relay for Life efforts. Your kindness and generosity means so much to me. I'm getting closer to my goal! And thank you to everyone that has pledged their prayers and support for our family. I am so grateful.

Relay For Life

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR?px=5271757&fr_id=6311&pg=personal

Just a reminder, I'm in the last few days of fundraising for the upcoming Relay for Life event for the American Cancer Society. If you can spare a few dollars to help me reach my goal, click the link above and follow the instructions to make a donation online. Thank you!

Dad arrives Saturday at noon! Lots of updates and pictures to follow!

Chat with us!

Here are Ava and I, just taken a second ago, sitting at our laptop using our new Web cam. We were chatting with Auntie Jenny using Skype (although the sound connection was BAD!). If anyone wants to chat on Web cam, or has advice on reliable VOIP, let me know!

Baby Baby!

Here he/she is..... Due October 17th.
Some of you may have heard a little about my experience early on. The hcg levels in my blood dropped A LOT, indicating that I was going to have a miscarriage. At 6 weeks, I started spotting and my OB was unable to detect an embryo via ultrasound. He said I most likely had a blighted ovum, when the fertilized egg implants and a sack grows, but no baby grows inside. By 8 weeks my levels were back up to normal and we saw a healthy baby on ultrasound. GO FIGURE!
Here is my little one at 12 weeks. I am happy and grateful, more than words can say.

Easter!

Easter is big fun!

Ava was SQUIRMY all through mass, but was entertained by her buddies Trish (her babysitter), AJ (her favorite little buddy), and the entire Boyle family who sat behind us. She was making quite a racket in her new "clappy" shoes. We tried to make a quiet exit during the homily, but I think everyone heard us!

The rest of the afternoon was spend with Shelby and Selso. Ava fell asleep during dinner, but was wide awake and full of energy during her "photo shoot" with Selso, an amazing photographer. See all the pics at Photobucket!

We are weaned!

At times I thought this day would never come. We made it almost 22 months. My little nursling is a nursling no more. We were down to only 2 nursing sessions a day, but with a little effort, we dropped these last 2 and we're mommy-milk free. She still says milk when I'm changing and she catches a glimpse of a breast, which I find pretty funny, but I've been reminding her that it's all gone now, so she drinks her milk from a cup. When I embarked on this breastfeeding journey when Ava was born, I had my own (mis)conceptions of nursing, but I always felt strongly that it was something I wanted to do. And boy did I have to work hard at it in the beginning...wincing in pain and trying not to let my little precious baby see my discomfort. Cracked nipples, engorged breast, pumping malfunctions, galactocele (lactating cyst). But I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I'm very proud of the quality and length of our nursing relationship and the closeness and relaxation it imparted to us.

Bunny hop

Today Ava and I went to an Easter party. She had a great time watching all the crazy kids, making crafts (or helping mama make the crafts!) and hunting for eggs. Here she is in her cute bunny ears.

And here's a bonus picture of her napping last weekend. It's usually pretty hard to see her face amidst the mass of messy hair when she's asleep!

Thanks Auntie Shelby!

Ava was treated to almost a full weekend of fun with "Auntie" Shelby. In fact, she barely wanted anything to do with mommy! It was all about Shelby! It's really fun to see Ava so happy and comfortable with her. She was giving her kisses and snuggling her head on her shoulder. It was so adorable.

Stealing mommy's shoes...

Happy happy, joy joy

She's so domestic, she even loves helping with the laundry....although her favorite part is playing inside the basket!

Just a BRIEF note

Hee hee hee. I couldn't resist. Check out Ava sportin' some briefs! Her first pair! They're kind of like girly versions of boys briefs.... so cute. And any chance she gets she's into my shoes and flopping around the house in them. I'm suprised how proficient she is at walking in high heels too!
Today it was gorgeous here...sunny and in the 70's. After mass we took her down to the harbor district for lunch and walking along the waterfront. Boy oh boy does she love to be outside. We also went for 2 walks in the afternoon. Tank top weather if you can believe it.

No Grandpa in Texas this week....

I'm sad to report that the move is not going to happen at this time. The buyers for mom and dad's house have had to back out of the deal, because the buyers of their house lost their financing. So that means that mom and dad have had to back out of the deal on the house here in Texas. It's really a shame, but hopefully they will have another contract soon, one that won't fall apart in the end. Unfortunately, it's just one of the things that can happen in real estate, especially in such a delicate market as this. Mom is going to try to get her job back, all the plane tickets have been suspended, and dad will be getting his caregiver back. We'll be patient and remember that what matters most is that dad is still doing ok. Everything will fall into place when the time is right.

Little helper

Cold Days

It's been in the 30's here, so we've been having fun stay-home days. See how Ava entertains herself....this was after she helped with the laundry of course!

And observe what happens at dinner time when Ava resists any sort of nap all day long....


Could barely keep herself awake long enough to finish her TVP mock chick'n nuggets (slathered in ketchup) and whole wheat macaroni and veggies. What a champ.

Apple, agua, mom, Bo...

Here's a little sample of Ava's favorite words:

Vacuum (of course)
Bo
Mom
Agua
Apple
Please
There she is!
Hello
Woof

List of what she understands: EVERYTHING

It's amazing that I can tell her to do something and she does it. She seems to completely understand everything I say to her. She follows commands really well. In fact, she already has chores that she eagerly does! She unloads all the silverware from the dishwasher (yes, I've been using the dishwasher because it's a great activity for her and she loves it!) and plops it in the right drawer, she helps me put away towels and she helps me fold the laundry. And of course, she is right by my side whenever I vacuum or sweep. What a little helper!

In other news, she is using the potty daily and looks forward to getting a sticker after each successful potty, she is sleeping like a champ and getting pretty close to being totally weaned. Her favorite foods right now are oatmeal, blueberries, cheese, chicken, bean broth, tortilla, granola bars, yogurt, apples, peanut butter, pasta, and crackers. Can you tell I'm a proud mama?!

Baby Molly!

I just got word (via cell-to-land-line text message) that baby Molly has arrived! Congratulations Lucy, Andrew, Carter and the rest of the Lankford family!

Vacuum!

Just for fun....

Ava loves vacuums.....she loves saying "vacuum," she loves following me around when I vacuum, she loved identifying them in the store and in the Sunday ads. But most of all, she loves playing with her very own Ava-sized vacuum from cousin Linda!

A little treat....

She loves mommy's shoes... :)

Merry Merry, Happy Happy!

Ava now knows how fun Christmas is! Last year she was too little, but boy oh boy did she have fun with the wrapping paper and presents this Christmas! As soon as she saw the packages Christmas morning, she went right for them, picking off the bows faster than I could keep up with her!

Gifting started out early when my Grandpa's antique child-size roll-top writing desk was shipped from my Grandma in Idaho. What a special gift.

We had a nice time relaxing and watching Ava have all sorts of fun. A big hit was a play cell phone from daddy and the Baby Emma baby doll from Grammie! The doll came with a bottle, and Ava, a breast baby unknown to the ways of the bottle, quickly unscrewed the nipple off the bottle and fed Baby Emma as if it were a cup! That's my girl!

Ava's best buddies!

Here is Ava with her "Auntie Shelby & Uncle Selso," two of our greatest friends. Ava is SO happy whenever she gets to see them and last weekend she got a good dose of play time. She was all smiles! She even cried when they left and tried to say Shelby!

Here is Ava and her buddy AJ. They had a lot of fun entertaining each other while the moms gabbed and hit the garage sales. Fun fun fun.

It was a long day for us. Later in the day, Ava and I hit a farm co-op produce sale, and by the time we got there, she was pretty tuckered out.

More cheese please!

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear Turn Around...

Every Wednesday Ava and I attend toddler story time at our local library. Ava loves her "teacher" Mrs. Miller, the children's librarian. She gives out stickers, and Ava has figured out the protocol. As soon as the activities were over, she headed straight over to Mrs. Miller with her hand out, ready for her sticker. (Never mind that she usually tries to eat it by the time we get home...!)

Night-night!

Ava's been waking at night again. She gets out of bed and stands at the doorway and cries till I come get her. So, in an attempt to get her back to sound sleeping all night, we have enlisted the help of little Charlotte, her soft, curly-haired dolly from her grandma. Tonight we put Charlotte to bed in the dolly crib, tucked her in and gave her a kiss. I told Ava that Charlotte will sleep in her bed all night, just like Ava will sleep in her bed all night long. This will be our nightly ritual.

(Ava's determined to get in that dolly crib!)

Ode to my dishpan hands

Those of you who know me best know that I have OCD tendencies, which have now invaded my dish washing.

I mentioned some time back that I'm more into hand washing than dishwasher washing because it forces me to put the dishes away in a timely fashion. (If I use the dishwasher, I'm much more apt to let them stay there for some time, then it's not available for dirty dishes, so I end up hand washing them anyways!) My inner environmentalist/conservationist has driven me to old fashioned dish washing, and I love it. Let me tell you why you should convert (back).

1. The dishwasher uses a lot of water and energy....and if you're like most people you give the dishes a pretty good rinse under running water before they go in there anyways, increasing the water used in the overall cleaning process.


2. Hand washing the dishes under running water can use just about as much water as running the washer.
   
3. Filling one side of the sink about half ways provides enough water to wash the meals' dishes. Filling the other side of the sink about half ways provides enough water to rinse the dishes. I then dry them on a dish rack on top of a dish towel on the counter.


4. Then (well, at least in theory) I quickly towel dry the dishes and put them away.


5. I use the rinse water with a dish rag (the ones my grandma makes!) to clean the counters.


6. Let the water out and....voila! Dishes done, little water consumed and calories burnt, not electricity!

(On top of this, I've also taken to sweeping the floor daily, instead of vacuuming it. Elbow grease to the rescue!)

(Oh, and I also put away the answering machine, because the only messages I get are from mom.....part of my recent adventure in cutting back on unnecessary energy usage!)

Messy, messy baby

Ava ends up wearing whatever she eats now. I had to strip her down after each meal. She's been covered in milk, yogurt and split pea soup today. :)

Check out loads of my new pictures on Flickr.

O-tay

Ava now knows how to say ok. Sometimes (most times) it comes out as "o-tay." Adorable. Very Buckwheat. Or at least Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat.

Notable accomplishments:
* Can crawl up in bed by herself, even when I tell her to
* Is eating more, and is eating a bowl of yogurt by herself as I type this
* Is having fun with her new puppet theater (and it's even more entertaining when mommy crawls inside!)
* Has learned that when she's unhappy she can lay face down and on the floor and have a mini temper tantrum (usually her tactic of choice when I get in the shower)
* Has developed an interest in the stairs and can get up them pretty quickly, hence the baby gate is now being used at the bottom of the stairs
* Has all 4 1st molars
* Is nursing less, but still craves that special mommy snuggle time

This weekend I also spent most of the day Saturday rearranging her room. We now call it 'Ava's Apartment' as it's complete with her own table and chairs and Ava-sized plush rocking chair. She has always enjoyed playing in her room. I'll sit in my rocking chair and read to her while she busies herself with her own books and other goodies. She's such a good girl. :)

We are already preparing for Thanksgiving, although I'm a little sad not to be celebrating with any family or guests this year. But I'm still making my lemon-roasted 16 lb. turkey and all the fixins', just for good measure. I'm going to try to create a stuffing-inspired root veggie dish, hopefully with the same flavors as traditional stuffing. (Yes, mom, I'm armed and ready with the Crasins!)

WD-40

Mom has told me several times over the years about how when I was a baby she would have to crawl out of my room on her hands and knees after putting me to bed in order to avoid waking me and enduring my screams. Ok, I get it now. I think Ava has ESP. She will be totally asleep in her bed (at least I think she is) and I'll creep out of the room but as soon as she hears this tiny little creak from the door hinge she's up and crying for me. Mental note: tomorrow WD-40 that door....

A week of firsts

What an exciting week! Monday was our very first mommy-and-baby swim class. She loves the water! By the second class she was already trying to paddle around and put her face in the water. When she's 3, she'll have her first "real" swim lesson, but for now she'll get comfortable in the water in the arms of mommy. Here is her cute swimsuit and cover-up.

She also went to The Little Gym for a bit of free play time. The other kids were running around screaming, which she found quite entertaining. We might have to go back and try one of their structured classes.

The big news is that this week she stayed with a sitter! Wednesday, our new sitter came over and watched her for a few hours while I was at home (so it wouldn't be too much of a shock for Miss Ava!). I am pretty excited to have a sitter that I feel so comfortable with. :)