M&M's

..what the??? M&M's? Yes, as I sat for a second to try and decide what to name this post I looked down and realized that my silly bowl of candy has actually followed me upstairs and is now next to me as I type! Okay okay, I'm currently going through an M&M obsession. It's unreal. I don't even care for chocolate that much, so what gives? Well anyway, the minor OCD in me eats them one at a time and I use my teeth to bite off the candy shell before I let the chocolate melt in my mouth. I'm so weird. I think I might start letting you all in on my weirdness little by little so I don't scare you off. It's a lot of work being inside my mind, trust me.

As I mentioned in my last post, I have some fun new pictures of the one and only and I wanted to get them up while she takes in the first leg of her 10 hour sleep. Sounds great but when she's up after a couple hours wailing for me...for food...for whatever, it feels like I just laid my head down on the pillow and my tired body needs to get right back up again. Thankfully her second half of sleep is much longer. Speaking of sleep...I did it. I "feber-ized" Ava. Kinda. We took it realllly slow. Dr.Ferber does is it in 3 days. I'm taking about a week. Baby steps people. Ava is now sleeping in her crib for 3 naps a day and all night long in her OWN ROOM! What a big girl! PLUS, she has moved past her 45 minute mess of a nap and now does a 60-120-60 minute set of naps. I'm pausing to "knock on wood" because I feel like I have cursed myself in the past and I don't want to have a set back on what we've worked so hard on. So, stick with it Ava! I know you can do it!!! I grilled the poor pedi at her 4 mos check and I think he was right. Ava wanted a routine and I could "train" her to do whatever I wanted in 3-5 days. Sleep well Baby Ava!

Some other goodies from the pedi were that we got the green light to start Ava whenever we wanted on some cereal and veggies. So fun! He did warn that her digestive track will take some time to adjust to her new diet and the not-so-smelly diapers we are currently getting due to me nursing will make a drastic change to super, SUPER smelly. Blah. Well, it was good while it lasted. Even though Curt took off the morning to come to Ava's appointment his short stop in Canada prevented him from dealing with the nightmare that was her shots. Man, I'm still recovering. All in all Ava is growing the way she should and our Doc was feeling pretty good about what he saw. I'm psyched to start some "solids" when Curt gets back home. Of course we will video it but my track record on posting these clips has obviously been pretty crappy so I'm not sure you'll get to see it. :-)

What else...

We're beyond excited to get back on U.S. soil in a few weeks. Man-I can't wait! I took my pre-Jordan classes in preparation for Ava's baptism and I'm just so looking forward to being home with all my family and friends. It's going to be fabulous. My awesome family, wonderful friends, great food...and great SHOPPING. The economy is in the crapper so retail stores are practically GIVING things away. I have been taking some serious advantage of these amazing deals. We are also having a b-day bash for Mariel and I has we take on the big 28. Wow-28 years old!!!! Geesh...

Okay, I need to take advantage of the fact that Ava actually went to sleep at 9pm tonight and get some shut eye myself. She'll be up soon for her mid-night snack, which by the way the doctor told me she absolutely DOESN'T need due to her weight gain, but I'm a pushover still. If she wants a lil bite to eat, I'm gonna give it to her. For now at least. Like I said, baby steps....

Check out the pictures below! I will give you a little note with them to let you know what they're all about!

Well, Curt was away for a while so Ava and I shopped a bit to pass the time! "Mommy and I love to Shop!"


So Ava LOVES this chair (for an hour tops, but hey-I'll take it!) and she is desperate to grab that frog that goes up and down on the top of it. He's practically taunting her as he is just a finger tip out of reach ("you can get me, you can't get me, nah nah na nah na na!").


So close, yet so far away. I say she grabs him in the next few weeks for sure. She's growing like a weed! (I mean that in a sweet way, of course...)


She's at least got the waterfall covered. I'm pretty impressed with her efforts!


She still makes each new toy go through the ever so tough "taste test" to make sure it's worthy of her play time. If she can successful get it into her mouth, it's a keeper. I do have a couple toys that are reluctant to fit in her mouth and with that comes frustration...therefore they are tossed aside. For now, at least.


Ava is still doing well under her gym and I hope she doesn't get sick of it anytime soon. We're constantly rotating toys on that thing and she still seems to be intrigued by all the dangling objects above her head. Oh, and the more noise it makes when she shakes it, the better. Anyway, she likes to explore all ends of this thing and in order to do so she rolls and scoots her body on the mat in order to get around. She gravitates to this side, for whatever reason, and a couple times she has used the coffee table to pull herself closer to the end. Brilliant! (Man-I can already tell I'm gonna be one of those Mom's that I can't stand. Her poor teachers...)


There's that hand by the table. Clever, I must say...


Yes. She is STILL trying to escape this chair. She will hang out for like a minute or so. I wish you could hear the grunting that comes with this move. (VIDEO!!! Just upload the VIDEO!!!)


She's trying to escape and grab a toy at the same time. No luck on either attempt. Oh, and isn't it amazing how many toys out there have stood the test of time? I mean, I SWEAR that I played with this exact same toy when I was a baby. It's right up there with the plastic key ring with the keys in all the primary colors hanging on it.


Teething much? Of course she hasn't "cut" any teeth yet, but based on the amount of drool she puts out and th constant desire to "gum" anything she can, I think her little chompers are just itching to come up. Her fingers give the pacifer a run for its money and most of the time she would rather calm herself with her hand instead of the nuk. I think in the long run that might be a good thing. She's excellent at ripping the pacifier out of her mouth but is far from getting it back in without my help.


Yummy fingers!


She has some busy hands. With her growing confidence in her hands comes a strong desire to grab, well anything! She usually just throws her whole body in the direction of whatever it is she wants to touch and the days of keeping MY things within her reach are long gone. (ie: soda cans, earrings, camera, food...you get the idea) She pretty much feels that if it's within her reach it's fair game.


Well hello there baby blues! I hope they're here to stay!


So, I hated the Austin Powers movies. Too vulgar for me. Plus, he's gross in those movies. Ick. Not a fan. But, I must say that she is doing her very best "Dr. Evil" impression and it's pretty much dead on.


Ava is still doing her best to complete this back-to-belly roll, but her silly arm is getting in the way. She's doing it often enough, but in this particular picture she was about to start her fussy tantrum because she felt that gym time was over, but on her way to her belly she saw that television was on so her motive to roll instantly changed. She wanted to watch a little Entertainment Tonight! (OKAY, I was trying to catch up on my celeb gossip because I have a stack of Us Weekly on my nightstand that I haven't been able to read!)


Rolling her way to the TV. Oh well, a roll none the less.


FEET!!! PIGGYS!!! TOOTSIES!!!
Ava is just loving her toes and feet these days. She uses them in a variety of ways which includes kicking, or pushing off of me (nice...), managing to get her heel right smack in her dirty diaper when she's getting changed (my personal favorite), and climbing up her gym...just to name a few. She does grab them here and there but she's not quite long enough to hold them for too long. I'm sure this will change but for now, they're still a bit new and they're just fascinating!






She's a "smily" baby and I love it. I crave that grin and she really lays it on me when it's time for her to sleep. It's just hard to resist that lovin'!


Contrary to popular belief, Ava isn't a red head. I think the pictures tend to make her hair look like it's coming in a pretty red color but it's actually her skin, or scalp, that is covered in dry skin. It's slowly coming off and I gently exfoilate her teeny tiny head when she gets a bath but it's pretty tough to remove. The pedi said over time it kinda just takes care of itself and goes away. She's got her Dad's hair color (among many other things...) and I think she's beautiful!


PS: I am aware that this post of probably littered with errors but it's midnight and I'm exhausted. OH-and the spell check isn't working, so there. ENJOY!

4 Month Stats

So, as I sit here and type with one hand, I continue to have a growing respect for single Moms...and all my friends who are doing this "single parenting" for 4 months while their hubby's are deployed. Curt is still stuck in Canada from what was supposed to be a 3 day trip and has now become 8 days and counting. He was taking a jet to Georgia and encountered some problems over the Atlantic. Nice-like I don't worry enough. Thankfully it was minor and he safely landed in Canada. We are still unsure when the plane will be fixed, so for now we just wait. Don't worry about Curt, he's filling his days with sight seeing and skiing.

Ava had her 4 month appointment this morning and-bless her heart-screamed ten times worse with her shots then last time. After I picked her up she fell asleep within 2 minutes in an effort to calm herself. Poor baby... Ever since we've been home she has been cranky and napping. I honestly can't help but spoil and love on her all day. She's taken all her naps in my arms and I've carried her most of the afternoon. She doesn't want anything to do with being alone or put down and I'm a sucker for her whimper when I know she doesn't feel 100%.

I have loads of pictures and fun updates but they will have to wait for now. I'm busy loving on Ava and I wouldn't have it any other way. Here are the updates from her appointment!

Height: 25 inches (75-90%)
Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz (50-75% weight for length---weight for age 75-90%)--we guess she's starting to plateau on her weight!
Head Cir: 17 inches (90-95%)

More to come soon!

Baby Cooker

Okay, so I think you all know that I am NOT domesticated at all. (You'll notice that I didn't tell you how my first pot roast turned out...) Anyway,I was talking to a friend of mine who mentioned that she was making her own baby food. Impressed as I was, I figured that there was no way I could safely do such a thing...until she revealed her "secret". I bought this over the weekend and sent it to my parents house mostly because I won't need it until Ava is 6 mos, but I'm so excited to use it. It's from Williams Sonoma and it's freakin' great. You literally give your baby the freshest foods that you make. No preservtives...additives...just wholesome goodness. Check out the link because there is a quick demo video on how it works. So, maybe I can be domesticated...with a little help of course!

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/ (it's under electrics and called "babycook")

ps: check out my other new post below!

Bad Blogger!

Can you believe that I only managed to get out TWO posts last month? Sad Moe, just plain sad! Well, here is the latest! We are offically in a countdown until we go back to PA for a visit with the family and friends. We seriously can't wait to get Ava around all our family and friends. She's so fun these days and her personality is finally coming out. I honestly think we were blessed with such a happy and laid back baby. Seriously. I would let you know if I thought otherwise. She's also so smiley! She loves to ichat with her grandma, it is so cute. She gets all giddy and squirms all around when she hears her voice. I LOVE IT!
Life for Curt and I has been the usual. Work all week and then our weekends are filled with Ava time and napping. (Curt is usually working a bit too, but we go with him to make sure we're all spending time together.)
We're also looking forward to finally baptizing Ava in my hometown church. It's special for two reasons: (1) because it is the same church that Curt and I were married it and (2) we are baptizing Ava and her cousin A.J. together. I love that my sister and Steve waited for us. It's going to be great!

I have loads of new pictures but I weeded through them to get the good ones! Ava is growing up so stinkin' fast. She's rolling over now, belly to back and back to belly. We are always working on her tummy time and it wasn't until I set her on the bed (in the middle, of course) and went into the bathroom to wash my hands. When I returned she was face first into the covers. I was so happy for her...and so upset that I missed it! She as also learned how to get out of tummy time by pushing up and over so she can roll onto her back. QUITTER! :) But seriously, girl is strong! We often perform these tricks for my parents on the ichat and she looks at us like we're loons when we cheer and clap. She's grabbing anything and everything. I feel bad when she tries to grab the letters on my sweatshirt and then gets confused when she can't lift them off. Poor baby... Most of her toys end up in her mouth. I think that's how she decides whether or not she likes them or not. Most get the green light. She loves to dance with her Dad and if I'm feeling emotional that day I ususally cry. I'm such a sap! Hormones... Our napping has been quite a roller coaster. She still only sleeps for about 45 minutes and then has the worst time getting back to sleep. We have her 4 month appointment next week so I'm going to get some advice from her pedi and see if she has any insight for us. Thankfully she always puts herself to sleep. Sometimes I think I prematurely put her in there and she just talks to her sunshine until she does fall asleep. Like I said, she's pretty laid back. Love it... This past week she's started waking up in the middle of the night for a little snack. I'm sure I could try to hold her off but a part of me thinks it might be a growth spurt. She's already in her 6 mos clothes so that could be interesting if I'm right! We have her 4 mos appointment next week and with that comes the shots. I have Curt coming to this appointment so he can look like the mean-y that lets her get poked. ;)
Finally, Miss Ava is finally taking after me with one thing. She is CHATTY! She's really chatting, squealing, and oohing and aahing like crazy. We especially love it when she wakes up in the middle of the night for a 10 minutes chat with her sunshine. LOVELY!

K, so this post if totally rushed. Oh well, it's done!
Pictures below...Enjoy!


Desperately trying to get out of the bumbo. She's screaming as well. :)


An expert at "tummy time". She's happy to see her sunshine there and I think it buys me another minute or two while she's on her belly.


And some more...


She is great at going from her back to her belly now. I think the bed helps with this move. She can ALSO go from her belly, or crawl position, to her back. Man, pretty soon she's going to be on the go...she's growing up FAST!


Yes, this is how Curt gives Ava a bottle. She's pretty happy taking food from anything, any way, any time, anywhere....you get the idea.


Ava and Curt spending some time together post work. He's quite the multitasker.


Ava on her first playdate with Emily. Even though they both napped more than they played, Missy and I had a great time catching up!


Ava not as mobile, but she still had a great time!


So I had another picture to go with this one but I have no idea where is went off to. Anyway, this is Ava prenap. When I go up to get her when she wakes up the blanket is usually completely open. Muscles!


If pictures had the voices that went along with them (oh wait-that's a video clip!) you would be able to hear Ava squealing while Curt kisses her. He's the ultimate kissy monster.

Christmas!

No matter what Ava's current mood, if Curt holds her up above my head she smiles. LOVE IT!

Our first Christmas as a family of three!!! A little late, but what can ya do? Curt, Ava and I had a wonderful Christmas this year-just the three of us. Of course in a perfect world we would have been in P.A. with our families but I am thankful for what I have, so we will just have to look forward to NEXT year, when we will all be together (finally!) to celebrate the holidays. Anyway, we spoiled Ava with a toy and nursery furniture, which she will be getting once we finally move back to the states. I bought her an alphabet drum, I guess it's the teacher in me. The girl has more toys that she hasn't used yet (because she can't-darn motor skills!) so we only bought her one thing. Sounds pretty bad but I assure you next year will be a different story. We all know Mom loves to shop and she loves her Baby Ava so you can only imagine the result---SPOILED! As for us, Curt is getting some new golf clubs once we head back to PA this spring and me, well I wanted another purse. Imagine that?

Curt thought it would be cute to have Ava "walk" to the tree and he was video taping it from her perspective. I have no idea how to upload video and Curt said he would help me with it today. It turned out pretty cute!


Curt helped Ava open her presents seeing how her fine motor skills aren't finely tuned as of yet. We're getting there!


Here is a cute "blankie" that was sent from Grandma Dougherty!


Ava and I at the tree, she's about spent!


For any purse junkies out there like me, here is my new bag! Of course eluxury doesn't ship to APO addresses (thanks for lookin' out for the military!) so I sent it home to my parents. It's okay, it's a Summer bag anyhow... CUTE!


So there you have it. Hopefully I get around to uploading some New Year's pictures today. I am kind of preoccupied today because I will let you know that I'm slow roasting my first pot roast today---big deal! I can kinda cook and although my Mom taught me how to do this over the summer, this is my first solo attempt. Curt and I actually like to cook together so we tackled this meal while Ava was taking her morning nap. I will let you know how it turns out. Either way, we're pretty proud of ourselves! It smells delish!!!

Warning: Rambling Ahead!

Well it's been a while since my last update and I definitely have some things I'm excited to share! I apologize for the lack of common ground a lot of the information in this post will hold. Oh well!



First off, Curt and I are buying some tickets today to go back to PA to visit my family and friends. We are super excited about heading back to the U.S. with Ava because so many of our close family and friends have yet to meet her. We are also going to do a baptism in my hometown church where Curt and I were married! The best part is we are doing it with my sister and her hubby and their little boy A.J. They are waiting for us to get home so we can share this super special day.

Second, I think I have managed to get a grip on this whole napping business with Ava. It's a huge breakthrough for us and I am overly excited about the whole deal. Basically, Ava had been taking her naps all over the place like in my arms, on Curt's belly, in the boppy, on the couch...I mean EVERYWHERE. Well, now that she sleeps about 8 hours each night and the fact that she's starting to become more mobile I needed to get her little butt used to sleeping in her crib all the time. Not that I'm bragging, because trust me...I'M NOT, but this little bug of ours soothes herself to sleep in her crib for most of the naps she takes now. We have a quick routine to let her know it's nap time and I put her in there awake and she just chills until she can't fight it anymore, and goes off to dream land. Awesome. We're on Day Three of Operation Nap Time and she's crushing it. Now, the one major flaw (and I'm not really sure it is major one) is she tends to wake up prematurely and then has some issues getting back to sleep.It can take her 30 minutes of whining and moaning her way back to bed. However, her first morning nap is crazy long, like 2 hours, so a part of me thinks maybe her 45 minute to an hour naps for the rest of the day is all she needs? I dunno... It's so hard to walk away from her too because she's so cute and smiley so you think she's "done" but after 40 minutes of shut-eye I'm pretty sure she's got more in her---or does she??? Oh well, it's a work in progress.

Curt is flying tons with Red these days. Busy Busy Busy. Someones gotta be the bread winner so whatcha gonna do? I still have my fellow Bolar ladies and their families in my heart as they begin a couple months of separation and hope that it goes fast for all! (I'm sure it will...)

OH-we went to the doc the other day for Ava because I wanted to make sure her dang thrush was a thing of the past (and it is-yahoo!) and she is now weighing in at 14 pounds 14 ounces at 14 weeks. My Goodness. We are now transitioning into 6 month clothes! My sister Mariel responded to that with, "What are you raising, a linebacker?". Nice...

OOO-kay, here comes the pictures. I will try and update you with each one as they go along. Of course, some are just for fun! Enjoy...

This Einstein Gym has been awesome all along but now that Ava is using her hands to grab things (like my hair-ouch!) it's taken on a whole new level of excitement. Ava discover her hands about a week ago and sometimes that's really all she needs to entertain herself. She holds it in front of her face and it's just fascinating to her. It's so cool to see her use her hands now no matter what she's grabbing.


Here she is chilling with Curt before he heads off to work. She loves that sleep sack, it keeps her nice and warm at night and her arms are free to do what they please. She really only likes to be swaddled during the naps. Weird, but whatever. I'm here to please! We still put the socks on her hands at night for two reasons. The first is because just like her Mommy, she has cold and clammy hands at night so we keep them warm with the socks. Second, she scratched the crap out of her cheek one night at 2am and it was pretty bad--blood and all! So, the socks are staying...for now at least.


Ava has also found that the spit in her mouth can be used for FUN!!! She blows spit bubbles with the best of 'em! The doc also told me the other day when she was looking in her mouth that her bottom gum was a little swollen and in addition to the increasing amount of drool she is putting out that we can expect her to start "teething" shortly. Fun!


Curt has one job. Okay, he has a lot more than one but I have tasked him with "tummy time". For those of you that know Curt is doesn't "half-ass" much of anything and I can really give him most, if not all, of the credit for the fact that Ava has some serious head control going on these days. They used to do "tummy time" in the bed room or on the floor but one day I came in and she was LOCKED on the T.V. in this position. Curt proudly exclaimed, "Look at our new Tummy Time! It's awesome!". Granted it is pretty clever and it's really helped, but I'm not a big fan of Ava watching T.V. yet. I NEVER let her watch television so this is clearly why she is so fixated on the boob tube. Her head control is pretty freakin' impressive though, I must say, Daddy done good!


I have about a million of these, but you get the idea...


Ava loves going for walks in the Bjorn. We just bought the Bjorn Cover the other day from 'babies r us' to help keep her warm outside when we go for strolls on the weekend. She loves to take it all in and I sometimes forget that the world is still so new to her so you can imagine how exhausted she gets. She pretty much looks around her as long as she can but the warmth of Curt's body and the rhythmic motion of his steps are an instant recipe for her to zonk out, which is what she usually does about half way into the walk. SO CUTE! (I also have LOTS of these...)


Thanks to her ability to hold her head upright we have been taking lots of advantage of the bumbo. I LOVE IT. She and I eat together every morning and at then again at lunch and it's perfect. She just chills with her arms on the side, so funny! I can do dishes, make a snack, clean the bedroom...I mean anything really. Who comes up with this stuff? The bumbo=awesome. She looks less than thrilled in this picture, but believe it or not she's happy! (I think it's the camera she's sick of...oh well-get used to it girl, it's here to stay!)


Hangin' with Mom on the couch. What a BIG GIRL!


Ava is like her Grandpop Quigley. This means, she likes a routine. The swing is the place she goes when I'm in the shower or cleaning her toyroom. She can sit in it for about an hour while I get stuff done and now that she's older, it's been more entertaining. There is a toucan bird and a spotted frog that hang from a leaf above her head and they are best friends. She tells them stories or just stares them down. Love it...


Yes, Ava...we took a picture of you NAKED! Her expression is clearly saying, "OH MY--I'm naked! No pictures, please!!!" Ava's Grandma Quigley gave me some pretty sweet advice about the bath towel. Put it in the dryer for about a minute or two and then wrap the baby up inside of it as soon as you take her out of the water. MIRACLE. Ava absolutely loves bath time...and the warm towel she gets wrapped right afterwards. (SPOILED! Where is MY warm towel once I get out of the shower...Curt?!?!) :)


Curt and Ava looking happy and cutie patootie!


Um, no real explanation needed. I just thought she looked pretty... ;)


We LOVE gas drops...yum yum. I have tried to modify my diet many times in order to avoid a gaseous baby, but to no avail. Oh well, we love those yummy gas drops!!! (oh, and there's me looking me finest!)


As I mentioned before Curt's squardron is doing what they do best and to show is support to them he shaved is head the day before they left. I call this look, "High School Curty". Sorry about the "Curty" callout, but that's his nickname that started with his family and like "Moe", it sticks. Anyway, when I started dating Curt he had a buzzed head so I always think of our high school days when he looks like this. He was happy to show off their matching hair styles and it's now or never. I'm kinda hoping she never does opt for a shaved head later in life. Britney, anyone?


Another look:


I have loads of pictures and videos to get up on my blog but they will have to wait until the "big nap" tomorrow. Just a preview: We have Ava's first Christmas, including her walking into the tree from "her" perspective. Curt thought that one through. We also have video of the "Kissy MONSTER". She talks the most when she's being attacked by her Daddy, the kissy monster. So cute. Okay, I'm off to my FIRST playdate ever. So fun!