Our Green Thumb

Here's how our garden is looking these days. Now that we finally found a way to keep the critters from eating our goodies! Man, I'll tell you plain and simply-- I despise weeding. Tammy, I promise to do it more often--but know that I really can't stand doing it. Can we hire people to weed it for us? How 'bout your kids? I bet I could bribe them! :) Kidding. I'll just throw a cheesy smile on my face and head up there this weekend to do my share. ;)

Everything is growing plentifully!

Grow baby, grow!! Our lettuce was being enjoyed upon by some grassland creatures--rabbits, I bet! So we (and by "we" I must give credit to Tammy and Dale on this one) put chicken wire fence up around the perimeter of the garden and I think that has helped.

YUCK!! Look at those weeds!! Just waiting to be pulled--they're screaming my name!!! Aahhh, I hate those things!! All kinds of bugs in there just waiting to jump on me!!

Oh, and here's some strawberry freezer jam that my sister and I made last week! It was our first attempt ever at making jam--and it's dee-licious if I do say so myself!!

8 Months of Baby Love!

Miss Ava-pie turned 8 months old--last week! I'm finally getting around to posting about the glorious occasion. She's a busy body these days!! Keeps me on my toes for sure! I love this stage--wish she could stay 8 months old forever! She's interactive, playful, cuddly, a copycat, silly, shy, boisterous, curious, and the list goes on and on! We really enjoy her--in case you can't tell :)

So, here's her rundown for the past month ...

*Teeth are coming soon--I know it! I think I've been saying this for the past 4 months, but now I truly believe we are nearing tooth eruption. All the signs have been there (for months now!) but just recently I've noticed that her bottom gum line looks swollen. Maybe by next month we'll have one ... the wait continues. ;)

*This baby girl loves her food! There for a week or so she was being so picky about her bottle and not really drinking more than 3 or 4 ounces at a time, but would gobble up her food with no problem. Well, now she's taking to her bottle again AND really enjoying her food! She L-O-V-E-S bananas. She sees a banana and goes crazy! If I get a banana for myself I better be prepared to share half of it with her. That goes for any food, really. I still have a freezer packed with food, but have been giving her finger foods lately too. She's not quite sure what to do with the food--especially cheerios! She plays with them, sticks them in her mouth, spits them out, puts them back in her mouth, and by this time they are pretty soggy and stick to everything! She loves teething biscuits and ice cubes that we put in her mesh fresh food feeders. She likes pineapple and watermelon in her fresh food feeder, too! We've also been giving her Yo Baby yogurt lately, banana flavored of course, which she loves ;) She still takes bottles too--about four 6 ounce bottles a day.

*She still does the army crawl everywhere! She scoots and rolls and shimmies herself where ever she wants to go. It's her chubby mid-section--can't quite get it off the floor and into the crawling position yet ;) Actually, I take that back, she gets up on 3 limbs...usually one of her legs stays straight and the other one lifts one side of her body off the floor--so strange--she'll get the hang of it! Or, one day she'll just up and start walking and say, "forget that crawling business!" It's pretty humorous to watch for now ... :)

*I did notice today that she has mastered going from a lying-down position to a sitting-up position. She was on her belly playing with the knobs on the coffee table and when I turned back around she was sitting up playing with her toys.

*Ava L-O-V-E-S kids and animals! She is completely content to go anywhere there are children or animals. When we pass kids in the store she's rubbernecking every-which-way trying to keep her little eyeballs on the kiddos. She loves her doggy and kitty. She's always trying to scoot closer to them, and anytime she sees Portia she starts "talking" and squealing and gets the full-body wiggles. When we say, "Where's Portia?" she gets really excited and starts looking around to see if she can find her! Pretty darn cute.

*She needs to upgrade into a bigger car seat! My gosh, I've been saying that for awhile now! Thankfully her growth has slowed down a bit which is giving me time to find a great car seat. I think we are going to go with the First Years True Fit car seat...now I just have to find it in the store somewhere!

*Pretty sure she weighs right around 19-20 lbs. She wears 12 month clothes... some 18 months. Still in size 4 cruisers ... which are still a tad big on her, but I've got boxes of size 4's so we're making them work ;)

*Ava is a chatter box. She jabbers all day long! She likes to say, "da-da", "ma-ma", something that sounds similar to "yuck", and a whole lotta other consonant/vowel combos. She copies us when we make certain sounds, and she plays the coughing game... she coughs, we cough, she coughs, we cough, and so on... and then she giggles. She's been shaking her head "no" lately too. Usually, Eric gets her started and then they go back and forth shaking their heads back and forth ... goofballs :) Her voice sounds so sweet--I love listening to her!

*Another of Ava's loves is being outside. I take her outside and sit her on a blanket and I'm pretty sure she could be out there for hours! She likes to pick at the grass, leaves, dirt--whatever she can get her little fingers on!

*She is at prime "stranger danger" stage, so being around people who are strangers to her makes her a little nervous, but only at first. She's pretty quick to warm up to people. I love how when she's introduced to someone new she buries her little face in my shoulder and snuggles up to me. She's so sweet--I will always protect her! Motherhood is more gratifying with each passing day. She smiles all the time! Just take one look at the girl and she grins from ear to ear! Love her!!

*And our last topic--sleeping. She's been sleeping great lately! No complaints here (knocking on wood). She typically takes 2 naps a day--one around 10 and another around 4 or 5 and then hits the sheets by 8 usually. Ava has a couple favorite blankets that she really likes going to bed with. They have a tag and she goes to town sucking on the tag and that puts her right to sleep! Bizarre. We lay her in her crib for naps and almost as soon as she gets ahold of her blanket she is asleep! It's pretty sad to me that I don't HAVE to rock her before her naps anymore ... that phase went by way too quickly!! Now she almost prefers that we just lay her down with her blanket to go to sleep. I love just watching her sleep though ... at least she can't outgrow that!

*I think that covers the major stuff ... there is a lot more to mention but I don't have the gumption for it right now--dinner awaits!

*By the way, Ava's tear duct is still clogged! It gets pretty bad some days--especially with all the allergens in the air! Her eye waters and waters and waters and we keep wiping and wiping which isn't the best thing for it sometimes because the wiping action can irritate her skin. She doesn't seem to be bothered by it. I was talking to an ophthalmologist at work and asked him if I should be concerned that it still hasn't opened on its own, and he said it's really no big deal and it will eventually open on its own, maybe even after she's a year old. Well, okay doc!

Playing on her boppy ... she has always loved that thing!

She's about due for some big girl toys!

Ava loves Portia ...

I do love a messy baby face ...

Momma and munchkin

A messy combination of teething biscuit, cheerios, and corn on the cob that she snatched off my plate. Lil stinker!

Swiping daddy's bright yellow hat off his head to investigate!

"Okay dad, I don't want this thing on anymore!"

Our Sweet Boo Bear O:-)

Daddy's 1st Father's Day!

Wow, sorry for the lag in posts lately. I'm finally getting around to posting about father's day and such! Thank goodness for days off, right!?

Father's day for Eric was not just a day but an entire weekend filled with fun with friends and family, love from his baby girl and wife, delicious & nutritious meals, and some much needed and well deserved rest & relaxation!
We went boating with some of Eric's friends on Saturday. We had a blast and Ava survived the whole day without getting grumpy! Yay! I was worried that without her afternoon nap she would become a monster by the end of the day, but she did fantastic. She is always totally content watching people and taking in her environment, which seems to keep her a very happy baby! Eric took his jetski along too and played on the lake like a little kid. He does love his toys. ;) On Sunday, Eric got his real father's day pampering with a huge brunch of his favorite dippy eggs, thick sliced bacon, and whole wheat toast with homemade strawberry jam. Oh, and Ava conveniently decided to sleep in til 8:00 or so as well ... which just made our day! :)
To show our appreciation for Eric's awesomeness as a daddy, we got him what every man needs--a new grill. Ava picked it out, heehee. So, we had a dee-licious dinner for father's day as well complete with filet mignon--perfectly seared on daddy's new grill ;) , corn on the cob, grilled lemon butter asparagus, caprese salad, and some of the best carrot cake Eric & I have ever tasted!
Now, my real dedication to Eric on father's day was expressing my gratitude and appreciation to him for being a truly fantastic, devoted, caring, loving father to our daughter and husband to me. I appreciate the love that he showers our daughter with and the support he provides to me. There is nothing like having that pillar of light in your family to lean on for support, seek out for advice, and rely on to pick you up when you are down. First father's days are always the most special. O:-)

Biter Biscuits, Mango Pops, and a Mischevious Baby!

I bought these vanilla flavored teething biscuits this week, and since Ava has been gnawing away on everything from her spoon to her bottle nipple I thought she might like these little treats. I gave her one the other night while I was making dinner. She was totally silent, just gumming away on the biscuits...then I turned around and saw what a lovely mess these things make! I completely forgot that they would be messy--hence, no bib on the baby:) She loved the biscuit and I loved looking at her messy little face and hands. Who gets joy out of a messy baby--that would be me! :) However, next time I will remove her clothing!

She's also really been into these mesh fruit feeder thingamajigs lately. We've been putting ice cubes in them and she just goes to town! I put a piece of frozen pureed mango in it this time. She thought she liked it at first ....

Still liking it...the mango hasn't quite melted enough to get the full effect yet ...

...and then BAM! Looks like mangoes are a little sour ... :)

Okay, this little girl finds the strangest places to "shimmy" into. The other day she shimmied herself under her crib while I was hanging her clothes up in her closet. I turn around and she's gone. I thought,"Now where in the world did she go!?" Then I see one of her blankets being pulled under the crib...I crouch down on the floor and peak under the crib to see her bright smiley face looking back at me. Goofball. So today, I sat her down in the living room to play while I unloaded the dishwasher. I come in the room and again she's nowhere to be found. "Aaava, where are you my little munchkin?" She hears my voice, gets excited, and starts slapping the hardwood floor like she loves to do. Sure enough, I peak over behind the couch and there she is. Now honestly, you choose the strangest places to explore! What a little monkey!! Gonna have to keep a close eye on this one ;) Good thing she's not crawling yet...although one would think by the way she gets around that she must be!! The funny thing is, she goes backwards everywhere!

Busy Week!

I've been off work since last Friday but these last 5 days have flown by! It's amazing how fast time goes when your days are filled with playtime, naps, and lots of eating! Eric has been in Indianapolis since last Friday as well...sort of unexpectedly. He and a couple other guys (well, his dad & uncle) are working for some Indy car team (don't know the details)...it sounds like they are repainting one or a couple of the Indy car garages. He is in heaven--being the huge race fan that he is! Anyway, I say "unexpectedly" because he thought he was going to be home on Sunday, but due to weather and other circumstances he won't be coming home until tomorrow sometime. SO, Ava & I have gotten some serious mommy-daughter time!! Since she's getting older she is also getting easier to entertain, which makes Eric's out of town trips go a little smoother... and I can maintain my sanity for longer periods. :) Not saying I won't be due for a nice day out with adults though when he gets home!

We spent one day at the pool--which Ava loved. Not so much the outdoor pool because the water was FREEZING--she put one little toe in that water and clung to me for her dear life!! So we went indoors where the water was much more pleasant. There were kids all over the place--there is no doubt that Ava loves watching little kids play...or do nothing at all for that matter.

We went to my cousin's graduation party on Saturday where Ava's stranger anxiety was tested out. She is a momma's girl, that was clear, but was pretty quick to warm up to everyone. I brought my niece home with us to have a 'girl's night' and watch Strawberry Shortcake movies and eat lots of popcorn. We had a blast--Torie even offered to take a bath with Ava.

Sunday was my grocery shopping day--have I ever mentioned how much I despise grocery shopping these days. Ugh. Maybe it's the hauling of all the groceries into the house and putting them away that I really despise, but either way Lord knows I can't leave the job to my husband--we'll be eating cream puffs and bratwursts for weeks if I do. (Love ya, hun:) Sunday was also my baby food making day. Ava's trying some new foods this week... Mangos & Apples :) I don't know why it has taken me this long to give her apples--I think I forgot about them--anyway, they pureed nicely and she had some for lunch today--gobbled them right up! She's been a wimpy formula eater for the past week or so, too. Not sure what that's about, but she drinks about 3-4 ounces and pushes the bottle away. When I set her in the highchair she gets so excited and eats up whatever food I have for her. I always offer her the bottle first but haven't gotten her to take the whole 6 oz for a few days now. Who knows... I suppose she's healthy and growing--I take one look at her chubby thighs and know that much is true!

Well, that's what we've been up to for the past couple days. Here are some pics--enjoy!

Gardening

We planted our first garden yesterday!! Let's see...we planted lettuce, broccoli, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, cantaloupe, green beans, eggplant, zucchini, sugar snap peas, carrots, a MILLION ONIONS, pumpkins, potatoes, and green onions... I think that's it? Still need to plant butternut squash, asparagus, and sweet potatoes as well!! We are looking forward to freezing a bunch of veggies and making some delicious salsa, tomato soup, and pasta sauce later this summer. I'll tell you...planting a garden is harder than it looks. :) My sister and I have decided that gardening is the reason our mom always stayed so thin when we were growing up--its a serious workout! Here are some pictures of the hard working bunch (remember, I was the photographer, so although these folks are the only ones pictured here they didn't do ALL the work! haha) ... enjoy!


Dale & Max tilling the ground.


Max hammering stakes into the ground.


Torie--ready to garden with her Dora gardening gloves!


First row done ...


Torie keeping Ava entertained.


Ava was a TROOPER all day--perfectly content playing in that pack-n-play!


Hard-working couple.


Okay, so she traded in the gardening gloves for a princess dress.


Putting the older boys to work ... they were thrilled :)



Getting advice from the expert-- Mom. :)

The Simple Things in Life

In the evenings, after Ava goes down for the night, Eric and I find the most serenity in sitting on our front patio...we like listening to the fountain splashing in the water garden and watching our fish Bobby & Chloe (who survived the winter, woohoo!!) swim around. It's our time to relax and unwind from our busy days and do some catching up with one another. We light some citronella candles and bring Portia out with us. The concrete is always nice & warm from the sun shining on it all afternoon. Sometimes there is a nice breeze that picks up the scent of the water mint plant and wafts it in our direction. We can usually hear kids laughing and playing in the distance until the sun completely sets and they go in for the night. There isn't much traffic... just a couple people out walking their dogs. Lately, we've been frequented with a visitor during our evening patio rendezvous. A noisy little critter--we call him Tommy. Tommy is a toad who has found his way to our water garden and has decided to stick around...at least until after mating season is over. He sits out there on the rocks faithfully every night ... making his mating call ... waiting on his own rendezvous with a lady toad. It's pretty entertaining--he hops in the water occasionally and swims a lap or two--then hops back onto his favorite rock and starts doing his throaty call again. We love it ... we sit outside almost every night ... it's entertaining to watch these lil critters. I guess we are delighted by the simple things in life. o:)