Learning to Tell Stories

Ava has started to 'tell stories'. It is funny to see her struggle to 'say' something, she gets so serious and concentrates so hard. She even had something so important to tell us that she woke up and talked for about an hour at midnight one night. She is super cute right now and getting more fun each day. What an exciting time! Recently, she has discovered how tasty her hands are... can't keep them out of her mouth!

She has made leaps and bounds in the sleeping area. She is now sleeping between 10 and 14 hours at night (yes, I said 14...you can be sure that I tiptoe in a make sure she is still breathing) . She still wakes up at least once or twice, but I'm not complaining. We have been working on naps this week and even though there is always crying involved, she has taken every nap in her crib (except one....which was an exception because who could turn down a nap in Aunt Annie's arms?).

I am not sure what to do with all of this extra time, but I like it. Mainly, I have started to bake. Fall is the perfect time for yummy treats. Rested assured, I will be sharing all this sweet goodness with those around me. Also, is you see me slowly gaining more and more weight, you may need to organize a baking intervention.

Need I say more?

Actually, Ava is just modeling my latest creation. I knit this hat for a friend's baby, not for Ava (although I think she is working her way towards one of her own). If you are interested in knitting it yourself (for you crafty types) here is the link. I have enough yarn to make another one, so if you think you know a little one that deserves this lil devil hat, let me know (and give me a month or so) and I can make you one....only catch is the it is sized for 3months (it is a little big for Ava who just happens to be 3 mos.).

Ode to the Mobile

My heart does sommersaults at the sound of your sweet lullabies.
I delight in your bright colors that dance through the air.
And when you play, mommy hears no cries,
Maybe she will have time to blowdry her hair.

Oh, mobile...what would I do with out you!


Well, Ava's cold is finally getting better....13 days later. She seems to be just fine during the day. Now we only to rescue her from coughing fits at night. Other than the humidifier, we are still giving her medicine and sucking out the 'good stuff' from her nose (which you can imagine how much she loves).

Sleeping is going sooooo much better now. We haven't been doing anything different yet, but I think that getting rid of the cold is the biggest help. She has been sleeping 8-11 hours at night with only one or two wakings. The body snatchers have returned my sweet little girl! You
cannot imagine how much better I have been feeling. So this week we are going to try to work on napping in her crib. Basically, she has been sleeping on my chest for naps because she wakes up after about a half hour in the crib (this does not apply when she is at Nana's where she will sleep for up to 3 hours on Nana's bed...grrrrrr.....). Finally, I see a glimmer of hope!

Obligatory Halloween Pics

Well, here it is...our first Halloween (and our first holiday) as a family. In the search for Halloween costumes, what could be better than a princess outfit? I struggled with getting the cutest/cleverest costume ever, but got burnt out really quickly. Sure I could scour the internet for hours on end, but why bother when Old Navy had this super cute (and cheap) costume? I did have a matching tiera for myself (from my bridal shower) but never got to wear it...

The "scarey" photo is how we spent about 2 hours of Halloween night. After all the trick-or-treaters had gone, we ventured over to Nana & Bampa's house just in time to interrupt their nice quiet evening with cries of sheer terror (now that is what I call scarey). Ava has been sick for the past week and let me tell you , it has been a whole lot of trick and not so much treat around here. On the positive side, she has been sleeping more at night. The trade off is the screaming during the day. More adventures in new parenthood!

So this is Ava's first cold and I thought for sure the Dr. was going to think we were crazy for making an appointment. Much to my relief, we were not the first set of totally paranoid parents he has seen. He was very nice and reassuring, gave us a presription and a lot of piece of mind. I slept a lot better that night even though Ava continued to cough :( I know she has to get sick sometime, but I was hoping she would be a little older and we would have had this whole sleep thing figured out.

Speaking of sleep, no progress since giving up on sleep training. I did go to the library and borrow 4 books on sleeping. I figure when the time is right, I'll be ready.