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. :)