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. :)

Ava, MD in training

We started off our Halloween with a trip to our weekly story time at the library, which was followed by a Halloween party for the kids. She loved it!



Pumpkin!





I've been asked a few times if we've started her med school savings account...



Unfortunately, we only had 2 groups of trick-or-treaters. Booo! I thought our new neighborhood would be swarming with little ghouls and goblins (or more like Spidermen and Cheerleaders...)! All of the super-churches around here had Halloween carnivals tonight, so I guess we were trumped.

Hey-wow?

Translation: Hey-wow = Hello


Things that prompt Ava to say "Hey-wow" when she puts them up to her ear:
(aka: everything can be a phone to a toddler...)

• a leaf of lettuce
• the remote control
• her spoon
• her blankie
• a light-up tire gauge
• pretty much anything she picks up

I have no idea how she picked up this desire to talk on the phone.... :)

Big (Little) Girl Bed

Look at this little mamita, just waking up from a good night's sleep in her new toddler bed! She likes it so much that she took a 3-hour nap this afternoon!

Here's a little friend we made on our walk this afternoon... the inspiration for Ava's Peter Rabbit room, which I'm starting to work on. (The animal theme will be passed on to the next baby's room!)

Something to make you smile

This stroller provided countless hours of entertainment while at Grandma and Grandpa's. Not only did the bear get several spins around the house, Ava managed to wiggle her little behind into it as well and thought it was BIG FUN being pushed around the house in the micro version of her umbrella stroller!

Dad and I headed to Bookman's in Mesa one afternoon. I was on the hunt for the last Little House book we needed for our collection. Ava got a kick out of the kids' area.

Yes, you heard it right. Ava is calling for Bo.

One more pic - Ava in her sassy outfit from Uncle Sony and Aunt Jenny. The pink ostrich boots are from the Stantons. Yeehaw!

Crazy hair

Who's that crazy baby with the big hair? Well, she is from Texas....
Ava is so happy to be at grandma and grandpa's. She never slows down for a minute. Chasing Bo and babbling at grandma and grandpa is work she takes very seriously. She just loves it here.
And yesterday about the 50th person told me she looks like Dora. Yes, I get it. She looks like Dora the Explorer.
Coming soon, Dr. Ava, medicine woman....

Thank you Aunt Ruth! Ava never stopped prancing aroud with her new outfit, hence all the action shots.

Darcy :)

I had a motherly scared-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach experience today. Before Mass, I dropped Ava off in the church daycare. This was her 3rd visit. I got my pager, she cried, I waited out in the hall till her cries subsided, then I was on my way to the sanctuary to celebrate Mass without a squirmy toddler. I made it till about the Eucharist before I decided to go get her. When I went downstairs to the nursery room where I dropped her off, I eagerly looked inside the room from behind the baby gate, but I did not see her amongst the kids. (Let me now say that I failed to see and hand-written sign taped to the door frame that said something like "3-5 years.") My heart started to beat FAST and I clumsily tried to get the unfamiliar gate open, while I was saying to the two women in the room, "Where's my daughter?" They looked at me kind of strange, but didn't say anything. I repeated my question as I still tried to get into the room. Then finally someone said something about a room next door. (The two other times I had been there the "room next door" was not a part of the childcare equation - I had no idea it was in existence.) I rushed over 5 feet to my right and tried the knob, which was locked. I looked through the small window and saw an older woman holding Ava (THANK GOD) and tapped on the window...forcefully tapped. A young woman opened the door and I said, "Can I have my daughter?" I was trying to sound calm, but in fact I was on the precipice of being terrified. The woman who was holding Ava said, "Ok mija! I'll be gone next Sunday, but I will see you soon." She was very sweet and gentle with her, which I found soothing for myself in that moment.

In the car on the way to the Waffle House, I drafted an imaginary letter to the church that said something like "establish better communication between childcare providers and parents," "don't switch the rooms the kids are in as it leads to confusion and unnecessary stress," and "I would like to volunteer as a caregiver" (so I can fix all your problems and stay with my daughter instead of have to leave her again). Alas, all of this washed away as Ava and I shared a waffle.

Yes, I will take her back to our church daycare again, but not without having a conversation with the women who run the operation. (It doesn't help that the other night I woke up in a fright after having a nightmare about my child being snatched out of a daycare....)

Ssssssssssssssss........

There was a snake in the garage a few days. It was small, but continually tried to come after us and wouldn't stay out when we put him out. The little bugger had pretty big aspirations.

Today I found another (dead) snake in the front lawn. Totally different color, but same size. What a strange coincidence. Two snakes in 3 days. Hmmmm....

Thursday I took Ava to the Harbor for the weekly concert. She had a great time running around the grass, jabbering to everyone she passed by and dancing to the music.

Today I bought her an antique toddler bed that after MUCH refinishing and TLC will be her next bed. It's really cute. I'll do before and after pics...if I ever make it to the after part.

Biscuit Basker Raider

I guess Ava is taller than I give her credit for.

I had made turkey chili and biscuits for dinner and she especially loved the biscuits, of course. (Yes, Auntie Caroline, Ava likes "white dinners" too!) My new goal is to forgo the dishwasher and wash all my dishes by hand, dry them and put them away after every meal. (Only because I'll run the washer, then I'm not motivated to unload it so I procrastinate, and then I have to hand-wash dishes anyhow...) So as I was preoccupied with my dishpan-hands, I notice Ava walk into the living room with what looked like a biscuit in her hand. "That can't be," I thought. "I had set the basket of biscuits up on the counter out of her reach." Just then I spun around to find the basket on the kitchen floor and the biscuits scattered about. I don't know how she did it, but somehow she got the basket off the counter, pilfered a biscuit and ran off to the living room to enjoy it, and leave enough crumbs for the vacuum to dine on. Remarkable.

Commence tooth grinding...

Big news - we have a molar! Tonight I spotted the tip of her first molar erupting. She doesn't seem to notice (for the time being...), but I caught a glimpse of it when she was screaming because I was putting her in her high chair. (Side note- this is why she generally doesn't eat in her high chair anymore!) I reached in there for a little feel and my finger confirmed what my eyes had seen. You can't stop progress!

Today Ava enjoyed her second story time session at our local library. The childrens librarian is just wonderful and Ava enjoys her stories and activities, and especially likes checking out the other little kids. She was pretty shy the first time we went, but today she was more curious and let down her guard and had fun. It was really sweet.

I finished her reading nook today. I made a pink curtain and hung it to separate the area and make it feel special, and I finished making flannel pillow cases for the plethora of pillows that she enjoys flopping on. She loves to get a book and sit up against a pillow and read to me in her reading voice, much like her phone voice, which is loud and babble-y. I'm reading her Little House in Brookfield and while I read to her she pretends to read along from another book. Cute is an understatement.

Sunny Days

This past weekend we enjoyed the (somewhat) cooler weather. This picture was taken at an outdoor mall. This was also the day that Ava discovered she likes ice cream...although she still won't eat it from a spoon....she won't eat anything from a spoon, only a fork. But she dipped her finger right in it and decided it was something she was interested in. It was pretty cute to see her sneaking in her little finger for progressively more ice cream.

Ava loves to carry around her little Fancy Pals from grandma. It's a little pony in a denim purse, so perfect for her new life out in the country in TX. "Fancy Pals" was on the tag, and the ring to it is so cute, I can't give it up and call it plain old pony bag. I snapped this picture of her today as she was meandering around the house.








This is wet baby, all curly-haired and dewy post-bath. The tattered old bear on the chair was the teddy bear mom and dad gave to me on my first Christmas eons ago. I think I stole that little sailor dress off one of Jenny's bears. Sorry Jen. Oh, and the Winnie the Pooh was mine too. He still has one of my original diaper pins on his shirt. Once he was lost and I recovered him years later, rescuing him from a room in a house that was full of...... well, mom you probably remember the story. :)


And just in case word hasn't travelled fast enough yet, Lucy's having a girl. I'm spillin' the beans Luc!

Rainy Day

Today we spiffied up the house to prepare it for a proper photo session. I had just realized that mom and Jen have not seen what our new house looks like, with the exception of a few weird pictures that were online when the house was for sale. The previous owners apparently had an affinity for all things weird...namely a sarcophagus in the living room. Yes, you read that right. It was on the virtual tour of the house. We got a great laugh out of it.

I took this picture of Ava during a fierce thunderstorm that popped up this afternoon, drenching our yard with lots of (free) water and filling our eardrums with some pretty loud thunder. She had a few, short curious moments gazing out the window. I was lucky to capture this shot since it's hard to get her to stay still on her own for a posed photo.

I just found out that Flickr only allows a limited amount of uploads per month unless you subscribe, and since my photos on Snapfish are only viewable if you are sent an invitation email by my, I'm uploading photos and videos via photobucket.

Draw, draw like the wind!

Thanks Lorie for suggesting this little desk set. It's perfect for my budding little artist/writer/educator/doctor.

Amidst the cloud-to-ground lightning, we ventured out and found this superb little table and chairs. They now sit in our kitchen where she can create her masterpieces and I can make dinner without worrying about her trying to dismantle anything.

More pics at Flickr.

Today I found an interesting group to join called the Rockwall Preschool Association. The have activities for kids, moms and parents, plus they do fundraising activities. Sounds like a good fit. Ava and I need some interaction with the locals!

Con mucho amor- Darcy

Potty Party

I'm not committing to potty training yet, but we did make an attempt to "christen" the potty today...and it worked. So we had a little party in the potty. Besides the tinkles that ended up on the bathroom floor, it was a success. We celebrated. Confirms my belief that I have an amazing daughter. :)

Mom- She cuddled with the soft dolly (we named her Sarah) you got her for her birthday while we read Little House In The Big Woods before bed. She even was trying to give her little kisses. It was so precious.

How about some cheer....

I always thought blogs were kind of silly, then I saw the value in starting the blog for dad to keep everyone updated. I know how happy it makes my mom to see pictures and videos of Ava, so I thought I'd start this blog to keep friends and family updated on the antics of Miss Ava, because she is my source of joy and we could all use a little more joy right now.

Tonight we took her down to the Harbor District for dinner and a walk around the fountains. She had a blast! Check out the link to Flickr on this page for more pictures.

Tomorrow I'll work on uploading some video.

Much love - Darcy