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Monday, December 17, 2007
Stuff
Just like everyone else, we've been scrambling to get things prepared for the holidays...seriously, where did December go? We took a nice break, though, and had a "date" on Saturday night. We went out for pizza at Pizza Luce in downtown Minneapolis and then headed over to the Target Center to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We had tickets in the Medtronic Suite, which was pretty cool, and it was an amazing show.
Ava has been going on the potty at least once a day and pooped in it for the first time on Friday. Exciting stuff! Vicki says she'll probably start training her after the holidays, so we'll follow her lead. I'm hoping it goes well, she does seem ready.
After Thanksgiving, Ava continued to climb out of her crib all the time. Scot put an end to that by drilling some extra holes in the crib to lower the mattress almost to the floor. It has worked like a charm!
Ava has been going on the potty at least once a day and pooped in it for the first time on Friday. Exciting stuff! Vicki says she'll probably start training her after the holidays, so we'll follow her lead. I'm hoping it goes well, she does seem ready.
After Thanksgiving, Ava continued to climb out of her crib all the time. Scot put an end to that by drilling some extra holes in the crib to lower the mattress almost to the floor. It has worked like a charm!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
2 Year Check Up
Wow. 2 years??? Ava had her 2 year old check up today and passed with flying colors.
Stats:
27 lbs, 1 oz (50th percentile)
34 inches (50th percentile)
So, she finally caught up in the weight department. Must be the that big tummy she has. :-) She was great for the doctor--she talked quite a bit and even showed off a little and put her pants on by herself when she was done being examined. We almost got away without any shots, but we (well, I) opted for the flu shot. The nurse was great, though, and occupied her with a sticker and a sucker just before she stabbed her in the thigh. Ava didn't even cry! And now she doesn't have to go back until she's three! Crazy!
We've been so lucky with Ava's health. She's only ever had a few colds (nothing to warrant a doctor's visit) and we just had to take her to an after hours clinic for the first time a few weeks ago. Her left thumb was swollen to about twice the size of her right thumb, was red, cracked, and really looked quite gross. We figured it was from thumb sucking (she does it when she's tired or sleeping) but didn't know for sure and we couldn't get into her regular doctor for a few more days. And the nurse really couldn't say much over the phone without seeing it. So, the doctor at the clinic confirmed our suspicions and recommended some neosporin to put on it and some stuff called "Thumb" which is like a polish to paint on that makes the thumb taste bad. It cleared up after about a week. Ava loved having the polish put on ("Paint! Paint") but it really didn't seem to deter her efforts much.
Ava has been stringing more words together in the last week or two--it's kind of amazing what a difference it is! She says almost everything in two word sentences now and mimics us more than ever--it's pretty cute. She's also started saying little excerpts from songs. One of her favorites is "Ring around the Rosie"--She just says "Rosie" and "Pocket" and beckons us to stand up, hold hands, and circle around. She also started saying "Rocka" "Baby" "Treepop" which sums up the "Rock-a-bye baby" song.
Of course, not everything is rosy and peachy keen. Ava became quite the escape artist over Thanksgiving weekend, crawling out of her crib at our house or the pack n play at Grandma's more times than I could count. It was pretty frustrating. But, tough love prevailed. In the name of Supernanny, I simply put her back in the crib each time without speaking to her. It has worked so far. But boy, is she swift! She can hoist her leg over the top of the crib without any struggle at all and slide down to the floor. She can also open her door by herself (reminds me, we need to get some of those doorknob cover things). It's actually pretty entertaining to see her just walk nonchalantly up to our bed in the morning and announce her presence. Ugh, I'm just not ready to give up on the crib yet.
So, Scot's officially a "Guard bum" now, as they're called. He's already been pretty motivated to pick up the slack around the house so I hope the momentum continues! And I did end up getting a promotion, so the timing worked out well. It's a little scary to have extra responsibilities, but I guess I won't be bored anytime soon.
Stats:
27 lbs, 1 oz (50th percentile)
34 inches (50th percentile)
So, she finally caught up in the weight department. Must be the that big tummy she has. :-) She was great for the doctor--she talked quite a bit and even showed off a little and put her pants on by herself when she was done being examined. We almost got away without any shots, but we (well, I) opted for the flu shot. The nurse was great, though, and occupied her with a sticker and a sucker just before she stabbed her in the thigh. Ava didn't even cry! And now she doesn't have to go back until she's three! Crazy!
We've been so lucky with Ava's health. She's only ever had a few colds (nothing to warrant a doctor's visit) and we just had to take her to an after hours clinic for the first time a few weeks ago. Her left thumb was swollen to about twice the size of her right thumb, was red, cracked, and really looked quite gross. We figured it was from thumb sucking (she does it when she's tired or sleeping) but didn't know for sure and we couldn't get into her regular doctor for a few more days. And the nurse really couldn't say much over the phone without seeing it. So, the doctor at the clinic confirmed our suspicions and recommended some neosporin to put on it and some stuff called "Thumb" which is like a polish to paint on that makes the thumb taste bad. It cleared up after about a week. Ava loved having the polish put on ("Paint! Paint") but it really didn't seem to deter her efforts much.
Ava has been stringing more words together in the last week or two--it's kind of amazing what a difference it is! She says almost everything in two word sentences now and mimics us more than ever--it's pretty cute. She's also started saying little excerpts from songs. One of her favorites is "Ring around the Rosie"--She just says "Rosie" and "Pocket" and beckons us to stand up, hold hands, and circle around. She also started saying "Rocka" "Baby" "Treepop" which sums up the "Rock-a-bye baby" song.
Of course, not everything is rosy and peachy keen. Ava became quite the escape artist over Thanksgiving weekend, crawling out of her crib at our house or the pack n play at Grandma's more times than I could count. It was pretty frustrating. But, tough love prevailed. In the name of Supernanny, I simply put her back in the crib each time without speaking to her. It has worked so far. But boy, is she swift! She can hoist her leg over the top of the crib without any struggle at all and slide down to the floor. She can also open her door by herself (reminds me, we need to get some of those doorknob cover things). It's actually pretty entertaining to see her just walk nonchalantly up to our bed in the morning and announce her presence. Ugh, I'm just not ready to give up on the crib yet.
So, Scot's officially a "Guard bum" now, as they're called. He's already been pretty motivated to pick up the slack around the house so I hope the momentum continues! And I did end up getting a promotion, so the timing worked out well. It's a little scary to have extra responsibilities, but I guess I won't be bored anytime soon.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Big changes coming...
No, I'm not pregnant. Believe it or not, someone in our household is changing jobs and its not me. And not really "changing" jobs, I guess, just paring down to one. After working nearly eight years with Champion Air, Scot has decided to leave his full-time position as the Manager of Safety. A lot of you probably already know this, but here's a recap anyway.
A lot of things factored into this decision. In addition to both of us working "banker's hours" and taking care of a two-year-old, Scot has been very actively flying with the Guard. Burning the candle at both ends for the past several years is taking a toll, so he's making a change. Leaving Champion will allow him to spend more time with family, get things done around the house, and devote more time to the Guard. The flying schedule is very flexible, so he'll be able to pick up local flying and trips to compensate for income he would have made at Champion. Several other guys have been doing this for a long time and have made decent money, so we're hoping that holds true for Scot too.
Scot is still talking with Champion about maintaining some sort of "temporary" or "contract" relationship, where he could work occasionally in Safety or other areas on an as-needed basis. There are still quite a few details that would need to be sorted out for this to happen, but it would be better than severing all ties. We'll see what happens with that. His official last day is 11/21.
So, it's a little scary simply because it's change...but I think we'll all be a little happier as a result. And things are going well with my job. It looks like I may be getting a promotion soon to become a supervisor in my department. I've been doing a lot of training and project management since I started my new job at Medtronic, which I've really liked. Hopefully this new position will be a good fit for me too.
A lot of things factored into this decision. In addition to both of us working "banker's hours" and taking care of a two-year-old, Scot has been very actively flying with the Guard. Burning the candle at both ends for the past several years is taking a toll, so he's making a change. Leaving Champion will allow him to spend more time with family, get things done around the house, and devote more time to the Guard. The flying schedule is very flexible, so he'll be able to pick up local flying and trips to compensate for income he would have made at Champion. Several other guys have been doing this for a long time and have made decent money, so we're hoping that holds true for Scot too.
Scot is still talking with Champion about maintaining some sort of "temporary" or "contract" relationship, where he could work occasionally in Safety or other areas on an as-needed basis. There are still quite a few details that would need to be sorted out for this to happen, but it would be better than severing all ties. We'll see what happens with that. His official last day is 11/21.
So, it's a little scary simply because it's change...but I think we'll all be a little happier as a result. And things are going well with my job. It looks like I may be getting a promotion soon to become a supervisor in my department. I've been doing a lot of training and project management since I started my new job at Medtronic, which I've really liked. Hopefully this new position will be a good fit for me too.
Happy Birthday to Ava!
Ava's party was on her birthday this year--Sat, November 10th. We had lots of family and friends come over to celebrate. We ordered pizzas and had a Thomas the Train cake, in honor of it being Ava's latest obsession. We had a great time and Ava received so many nice presents. Thanks, everyone!
The big 2 year old!
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A very sweet video of Ava and her buddy Keira in what was probably her favorite toy of the day...
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The big 2 year old!
Playing with the dollhouse we bought for her
Tain!
Love this cake!
Yummy!
Opening her new tea set from Mommy & Daddy
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A very sweet video of Ava and her buddy Keira in what was probably her favorite toy of the day...
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Sunday, November 04, 2007
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Our little monkey
Ava had a blast on Halloween. I was skeptical that she would actually wear her costume as she didn't want anything to do with it all week. But plenty of candy bribes did the trick in the end. She did really well going up to people's houses and knocking on doors, but she never did say "Trick or Treat", just held out her pumpkin for the goods. We went to 5 or 6 houses on our block and then went back to our house to hand out candy. That was definitely her favorite part. She loved looking at all the kids who came to the door (we had about 40) and handing the candy to them. When each group left, she looked out the door and said "Next!"
This video shows just how much Ava enjoyed handing out candy, this time to a little girl about the same age:
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Sunday, October 28, 2007
More of the same
Well, Scot didn't end up getting Lasik surgery after all. The Air Force apparently does not have all it's ducks in a row in regards to the process (not surprising in the least). They are now requiring Scot to complete additional paperwork and go through additional vision tests before they approve the surgery. Scot made an appointment on Friday to get more contacts and will just wait for more direction.
We've had a pretty decent weekend so far, although yesterday was a little bit sketchy. We actually skipped music class because Ava has a bit of a cold and was generally impossible to deal with in the morning. Putting on her pants was a 10 minute screaming and thrashing ordeal (she was doing the screaming and thrasing, but I kind of wanted to after awhile...). No idea what the problem was, but that pretty much sealed our decision to not take her out in public. Things improved after her nap. We went out to a pumpkin patch in Afton and had a lot of fun. They offered up a large playground, a petting zoo, tractor rides, pumpkin picking, and lots of apple-related treats. That night, Julie came over to babysit and Scot and I went out to dinner by ourselves. It was a very nice treat!
This morning we went to the Lake Elmo Park Preserve to watch Scot and my coworker Adam run a 5K (The Great Pumpkin Chase). It was a good time--Ava donned her monkey costume for the first time. When Ava wakes up from her nap, she and I are going to head over to my friend Angie's house and hang out with some of my other teacher friends. I'm looking forward to it.
Fun Words & Phrases...some of the things that come out of Ava's mouth are just so cute:
"Oats that?" = What's that?
"Tank YOU!" = Thank you (the inflection on this one is the cute part)
"I wu" = I love you. Aww....
I know there's more, I just can't think of them at the moment...
We've had a pretty decent weekend so far, although yesterday was a little bit sketchy. We actually skipped music class because Ava has a bit of a cold and was generally impossible to deal with in the morning. Putting on her pants was a 10 minute screaming and thrashing ordeal (she was doing the screaming and thrasing, but I kind of wanted to after awhile...). No idea what the problem was, but that pretty much sealed our decision to not take her out in public. Things improved after her nap. We went out to a pumpkin patch in Afton and had a lot of fun. They offered up a large playground, a petting zoo, tractor rides, pumpkin picking, and lots of apple-related treats. That night, Julie came over to babysit and Scot and I went out to dinner by ourselves. It was a very nice treat!
This morning we went to the Lake Elmo Park Preserve to watch Scot and my coworker Adam run a 5K (The Great Pumpkin Chase). It was a good time--Ava donned her monkey costume for the first time. When Ava wakes up from her nap, she and I are going to head over to my friend Angie's house and hang out with some of my other teacher friends. I'm looking forward to it.
Fun Words & Phrases...some of the things that come out of Ava's mouth are just so cute:
"Oats that?" = What's that?
"Tank YOU!" = Thank you (the inflection on this one is the cute part)
"I wu" = I love you. Aww....
I know there's more, I just can't think of them at the moment...
Monday, October 22, 2007
Same old, same old
Not much new to report these days...
Ava and I had a weekend to ourselves as Scot went to Atlanta for a Guard trip. We had a good time without him--went to music class, had a dinner out at McDonald's and did some birthday shopping at Toys R Us. Hard to believe her party is just a few weeks away now...we don't even have a theme! Her latest obsession is Thomas the Train. In fact, it is the ONLY show she has ever watched for more than 15 minutes at a time. Ever. We've never caught it on television, but I picked up a few DVDs on a whim last week. She loves anything to do with trains (or "tains!" as she would say) so I thought it might be a hit and I was right (for once). Maybe it isn't good for me to WANT her to watch tv, but sometimes Mommy needs a break! We've watched it together a few times now and it's the pretty much the first time in a long, long time she's been content to sit and snuggle with me. So, maybe we'll do a train theme for her birthday...
No more updates on potty training...and I'm OK with that.
Scot is getting Lasik eye surgery on Thursday! He's been wanting it for a long time, but it wasn't approved by the Air Force. The approval just went through a few months ago, so he's pretty happy. Hopefully it goes through as scheduled--they've given him some grief already about the logistics/process and whether or not they'll let him do it outside of an Air Force base. The rules seem to be geared towards Active Duty and not Guard members.
Ava and I had a weekend to ourselves as Scot went to Atlanta for a Guard trip. We had a good time without him--went to music class, had a dinner out at McDonald's and did some birthday shopping at Toys R Us. Hard to believe her party is just a few weeks away now...we don't even have a theme! Her latest obsession is Thomas the Train. In fact, it is the ONLY show she has ever watched for more than 15 minutes at a time. Ever. We've never caught it on television, but I picked up a few DVDs on a whim last week. She loves anything to do with trains (or "tains!" as she would say) so I thought it might be a hit and I was right (for once). Maybe it isn't good for me to WANT her to watch tv, but sometimes Mommy needs a break! We've watched it together a few times now and it's the pretty much the first time in a long, long time she's been content to sit and snuggle with me. So, maybe we'll do a train theme for her birthday...
No more updates on potty training...and I'm OK with that.
Scot is getting Lasik eye surgery on Thursday! He's been wanting it for a long time, but it wasn't approved by the Air Force. The approval just went through a few months ago, so he's pretty happy. Hopefully it goes through as scheduled--they've given him some grief already about the logistics/process and whether or not they'll let him do it outside of an Air Force base. The rules seem to be geared towards Active Duty and not Guard members.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
23 Months
I can't believe Ava turns two in one month. Here's a trip back down memory lane of her first year...
Ava's First Year
Edited to add: I just tried to watch the video, but it was loading really slowly on my computer--I never had that problem before. I wonder if that's happening to others?
Ava's First Year
Edited to add: I just tried to watch the video, but it was loading really slowly on my computer--I never had that problem before. I wonder if that's happening to others?
Exciting Firsts!
Ava peed in her potty chair tonight for the first time! She has seemed to become a little more cognizant of her bathroom episodes over the last few days, although with it has come lots of false alarms. But tonight we had our first success--pretty exciting! We headed upstairs to take a bath and she kept saying "potty" before we went into the tub. I put her on the chair but she didn't do anything. So, then I put her in the bathtub and when she got out she said "potty" again. I put her back on the chair and she peed! I cheered and made a big deal out of it. She wanted to go on the potty chair again a lot after seeing how happy it made me :-)
I just checked my baby book over the weekend and I was potty trained at about 2 weeks after my 2nd birthday. So, maybe Ava will follow my lead. We'll see if the interest continues.
Ava also said "I love you" to me tonight! It sounded a little more like "I Wu", but I'm going to go ahead and say that she meant "I love you". She does have a little trouble with the letter v, as she calls herself "Awa". Anyway, it was awesome.
Oh, and this doesn't have anything to do with Ava, but we got new carpet in the family room today! I've been complaining about the carpet ever since we moved in--it was filthy. So, yay! But I'm not sure I like the color. It's still a thousand times better than what it was, but I think it's quite a bit darker than what I had envisioned.
I just checked my baby book over the weekend and I was potty trained at about 2 weeks after my 2nd birthday. So, maybe Ava will follow my lead. We'll see if the interest continues.
Ava also said "I love you" to me tonight! It sounded a little more like "I Wu", but I'm going to go ahead and say that she meant "I love you". She does have a little trouble with the letter v, as she calls herself "Awa". Anyway, it was awesome.
Oh, and this doesn't have anything to do with Ava, but we got new carpet in the family room today! I've been complaining about the carpet ever since we moved in--it was filthy. So, yay! But I'm not sure I like the color. It's still a thousand times better than what it was, but I think it's quite a bit darker than what I had envisioned.
Our jaunt to Wisconsin
Everyone survived the trip to Madison that Scot and I took a few weekends ago. We really had a great time catching up with my family, milling about the city, sleeping in, eating meals in peace, watching the Badgers beat Iowa, sleeping in, eating meals in peace, reading, sauntering around (when was the last time I sauntered?), etc, etc. Oh, did I mention sleeping in and eating meals in peace? My uncle Bill was able to get 4 seats in the alumni suite, so Bill, my mom, Lynn, and I sat up there. It was a pretty fantastic way to watch a football game! The rest of the crew had seats on about the 30 yard line and 25 rows or so up.
Of course, I still missed Ava a ton despite the positives mentioned above. Julie fared well herself, although her final report of extreme fatigue leads me to believe that she won't be saying yes to another weekend babysitting gig for quite some time. Law school? No problem. Taking care of an intense toddler? Not so much.
Here are some pics from game day:
Gus sporting all of his new Badger garb
The Gang at the beer garden before kickoff
Lynn and Mark
Greg and JoAnn
Big smiles from the temporarily childless (and somewhat drunk) couple
Of course, I still missed Ava a ton despite the positives mentioned above. Julie fared well herself, although her final report of extreme fatigue leads me to believe that she won't be saying yes to another weekend babysitting gig for quite some time. Law school? No problem. Taking care of an intense toddler? Not so much.
Here are some pics from game day:
Gus sporting all of his new Badger garb
The Gang at the beer garden before kickoff
Lynn and Mark
Greg and JoAnn
Big smiles from the temporarily childless (and somewhat drunk) couple
Thursday, September 20, 2007
She's not always happy
I've had people who look at all of Ava's pictures and videos remark on what a happy child she seems to be. They can't IMAGINE why we call her our little "freakshow". Well, she's an intense child. Yes, she makes us laugh all the time, but she also causes us to shake our heads and throw up our arms in surrender.
Here's a sample of a conversation we had yesterday (and I use the term conversation VERY loosely):
Me: Ava, do you want something to drink?
Ava: No
Ava: No
Ava: No
Me: Aren't you thirsty?
Ava: No
Ava: [Changes her mind and starts sobbing] Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk!
[I open the refrigerator door and pull out the milk]
Ava: No!
Ava: [Keeps sobbing] Water! Water! Water! Water! Water! Water! Water!
Me: You'd rather have water?
[I make an attempt to pour water into her cup. Her head nearly explodes in dismay, causing her to sob harder]
Ava: Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!
[I put the milk back into the refrigerator and pull out the juice, while tears begin streaming down Ava's face]
Me: I'm getting you some juice.
Ava: No! No! No! Juice!
[Ava then throws herself onto the floor into a crumpled pile and cries and screams. Scot and I exchange looks that both read "Why on earth did we have a child?" I pick Ava up from the floor and give her a cup of juice. She takes it and drinks and walks into the living room like the last minute and a half never happened]
This picture is not from the described episode, but if you've seen one tantrum, you've seen them all, I think:
Scot and I are headed to Madison for the weekend. My family is gathering there for a Badger football game on Saturday night. We're really looking forward to a weekend away...although it's still hard for me to leave Ava (even after episodes like the one above). Scot's sister Julie will be coming over to stay with Ava. I'm working on list #3 for her. Everyone will be fine, I'm sure...
Here's a sample of a conversation we had yesterday (and I use the term conversation VERY loosely):
Me: Ava, do you want something to drink?
Ava: No
Ava: No
Ava: No
Me: Aren't you thirsty?
Ava: No
Ava: [Changes her mind and starts sobbing] Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk! Milk!
[I open the refrigerator door and pull out the milk]
Ava: No!
Ava: [Keeps sobbing] Water! Water! Water! Water! Water! Water! Water!
Me: You'd rather have water?
[I make an attempt to pour water into her cup. Her head nearly explodes in dismay, causing her to sob harder]
Ava: Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice! Juice!
[I put the milk back into the refrigerator and pull out the juice, while tears begin streaming down Ava's face]
Me: I'm getting you some juice.
Ava: No! No! No! Juice!
[Ava then throws herself onto the floor into a crumpled pile and cries and screams. Scot and I exchange looks that both read "Why on earth did we have a child?" I pick Ava up from the floor and give her a cup of juice. She takes it and drinks and walks into the living room like the last minute and a half never happened]
This picture is not from the described episode, but if you've seen one tantrum, you've seen them all, I think:
Scot and I are headed to Madison for the weekend. My family is gathering there for a Badger football game on Saturday night. We're really looking forward to a weekend away...although it's still hard for me to leave Ava (even after episodes like the one above). Scot's sister Julie will be coming over to stay with Ava. I'm working on list #3 for her. Everyone will be fine, I'm sure...
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Gross
Ava puked for the first time ever today. At Vicki's. Vicki was thankful Ava did it while she was in the highchair. So, I left work early and picked Ava up. She was VERY mellow and just kind of sat around when we got home. We snuggled on the couch, read a few books, and then she puked all over me, herself, and the couch. Chicken quesadilla. It was just about the most disgusting thing ever.
Little pukeriffic is in bed now...hopefully she's healthier tomorrow!
Little pukeriffic is in bed now...hopefully she's healthier tomorrow!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Ava @ 21 months
Thought I better jot down a few things...before I know it, she'll be TWO!
When Ava hurts herself, she will shove the affected body part in your mouth and prompt you with a big "MmmmmWAAA!"...meaning, "Kiss this, please!" Not only is it cute, it's helpful for the times you aren't able to witness the tragedy.
Her first set of top and bottom molars are in, putting her grand total of teeth up to 12.
She says only 2 names besides "Mama" and "Daddy". Much to Grandma's dismay, neither of them are Grandma. She says "Mike", who is our next door neighbor, and she just started saying "Keira" yesterday. It sounds more like "Kia", but Jess and I decided that's what she said.
She's pretty lazy with pronunciation and doesn't typically say the last parts of words, although we can still interpret them. She refuses to say "Yes" (I think it's a control thing), but will nod her head for yes at least. She still doesn't have much interest in learning letters or numbers, but seems to make it up with her motor skills. She loves to buckle, put things together, and climb ladders at the park.
She still sleeps like a champ. Vicki finally gave in and often tries to put her down for 2 naps again. She was getting frustrated with Ava's behavior and we suggested that she just might not be getting enough sleep. Very few kids at this age seem to need 2 naps, but Ava is the exception. She gets pretty tuckered out (maybe due to her extreme intensity?) after 3-4 hours of being awake. The first thing she does is pop a thumb in her mouth. That's usually quickly followed by a "Nigh Nigh". Get the bear and blanket and she's down for the count.
That's about all I can think of right now. Other notes...
We had a really bad storm on Friday night, with wind gusts up to 70mph. I was scared that one of our huge trees was going to fall on our house, so I woke up Ava at about 4 am (she was quite confused but rolled with it) and we went in the basement. We cuddled for awhile, then she played for awhile, but periodically came over and asked "Nigh Nigh?" I lucked out and she fell right back asleep after we went back upstairs. Thankfully we didn't have any damage, but a HUGE tree (about 2 feet in diameter) just a few houses down came completely uprooted and fell across the street and landed on a parked car. Our neighborhood got hit pretty bad--there's fallen branches everywhere. I walked around and a few streets over a house had quite a bit of fire damage, I presume by the lightning.
Scot interviewed for a different job--Director of SOC--at Champion a little over a week ago. It would involve supervising the SOC dept (where he used to work before Safety), Dispatch, Crew Scheduling, and something else which I can't remember. Something to do with Operations anyway. They only interviewed internal candidates and on paper he seems to be the best fit. It would be a pretty big step for him, as he's never managed people before. We'll update when we get word.
And yes, I'm still at Medtronic. Almost 6 months now! :-)
When Ava hurts herself, she will shove the affected body part in your mouth and prompt you with a big "MmmmmWAAA!"...meaning, "Kiss this, please!" Not only is it cute, it's helpful for the times you aren't able to witness the tragedy.
Her first set of top and bottom molars are in, putting her grand total of teeth up to 12.
She says only 2 names besides "Mama" and "Daddy". Much to Grandma's dismay, neither of them are Grandma. She says "Mike", who is our next door neighbor, and she just started saying "Keira" yesterday. It sounds more like "Kia", but Jess and I decided that's what she said.
She's pretty lazy with pronunciation and doesn't typically say the last parts of words, although we can still interpret them. She refuses to say "Yes" (I think it's a control thing), but will nod her head for yes at least. She still doesn't have much interest in learning letters or numbers, but seems to make it up with her motor skills. She loves to buckle, put things together, and climb ladders at the park.
She still sleeps like a champ. Vicki finally gave in and often tries to put her down for 2 naps again. She was getting frustrated with Ava's behavior and we suggested that she just might not be getting enough sleep. Very few kids at this age seem to need 2 naps, but Ava is the exception. She gets pretty tuckered out (maybe due to her extreme intensity?) after 3-4 hours of being awake. The first thing she does is pop a thumb in her mouth. That's usually quickly followed by a "Nigh Nigh". Get the bear and blanket and she's down for the count.
That's about all I can think of right now. Other notes...
We had a really bad storm on Friday night, with wind gusts up to 70mph. I was scared that one of our huge trees was going to fall on our house, so I woke up Ava at about 4 am (she was quite confused but rolled with it) and we went in the basement. We cuddled for awhile, then she played for awhile, but periodically came over and asked "Nigh Nigh?" I lucked out and she fell right back asleep after we went back upstairs. Thankfully we didn't have any damage, but a HUGE tree (about 2 feet in diameter) just a few houses down came completely uprooted and fell across the street and landed on a parked car. Our neighborhood got hit pretty bad--there's fallen branches everywhere. I walked around and a few streets over a house had quite a bit of fire damage, I presume by the lightning.
Scot interviewed for a different job--Director of SOC--at Champion a little over a week ago. It would involve supervising the SOC dept (where he used to work before Safety), Dispatch, Crew Scheduling, and something else which I can't remember. Something to do with Operations anyway. They only interviewed internal candidates and on paper he seems to be the best fit. It would be a pretty big step for him, as he's never managed people before. We'll update when we get word.
And yes, I'm still at Medtronic. Almost 6 months now! :-)
Monday, July 30, 2007
A little guy with a lot of impact
The only connection I have to the Gentry family is through my message board. Susan has a little girl Lauren who was also born in November 2005 and two older children, Nathan (7) and Julia (5). Nathan was diagnosed with cancer in April 2003, when he was only 3 years old. He has endured almost every type of treatment available and came out disease free twice. Unfortunately, his cancer came back about a year ago and progressed much more rapidly this time. Nathan passed away on Sunday, July 29th just a few weeks after he turned 7.
I'm not sure why this story has hit me so hard. I haven't met these people, but their story bears so much strength. Even on the most difficult days, Susan seemed to be able to find something positive to say. And maybe it's really Nathan who deserves the credit. Even while enduring the pain that he has day in and day out, he managed to smile and say "please" and "thank you" to his family. Looking at his pictures from May and June, you'd really never know this young boy was dying of cancer.
Sometimes I get caught up in taking care of Ava and the challenges a toddler brings to our home. And then after reading what this family has gone through for the past 4 years, it makes my complaints seem so trivial. This little guy has taught me to cherish every moment I have with my family. I know I won't always follow this lesson, but if I do it more than yesterday then I have Nathan to thank. Hug someone you love extra tightly today. And be thankful for your health and happiness.
Here is Nathan's website, if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.caringbridge.org/co/nathanmichael/
I'm not sure why this story has hit me so hard. I haven't met these people, but their story bears so much strength. Even on the most difficult days, Susan seemed to be able to find something positive to say. And maybe it's really Nathan who deserves the credit. Even while enduring the pain that he has day in and day out, he managed to smile and say "please" and "thank you" to his family. Looking at his pictures from May and June, you'd really never know this young boy was dying of cancer.
Sometimes I get caught up in taking care of Ava and the challenges a toddler brings to our home. And then after reading what this family has gone through for the past 4 years, it makes my complaints seem so trivial. This little guy has taught me to cherish every moment I have with my family. I know I won't always follow this lesson, but if I do it more than yesterday then I have Nathan to thank. Hug someone you love extra tightly today. And be thankful for your health and happiness.
Here is Nathan's website, if you'd like to check it out:
http://www.caringbridge.org/co/nathanmichael/
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Old School
Ava has really taken to 2 books lately. They are books I had when I was little. The first is a strange 3D version of Little Red Riding Hood where the wolf is dressed up kind of like a Beatle. Not only does the wolf have bad fashion sense, but he eats Little Red Riding Hood and the Grandmother. The gruesome tale ends with a woodcutter coming along, slicing the wolf open to release the victims. The final picture shows the slaughtered wolf with his tongue hanging out, a dog barking at the carcass, and Grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood in an embrace. At least it has a happy ending...I checked Amazon and it doesn't look like they market this version anymore.
The other book she likes is The Little Red Caboose. It's a classic tale about teamwork and self esteem. I'm surprised she sits through the whole story--it's the first book with lengthy text that she really pays attention to. She wants to sleep with it and requests a reading at least once daily.
The other book she likes is The Little Red Caboose. It's a classic tale about teamwork and self esteem. I'm surprised she sits through the whole story--it's the first book with lengthy text that she really pays attention to. She wants to sleep with it and requests a reading at least once daily.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Ava feeds giant baby
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Our friends who live in Phoenix, John and Suzy, were visiting MN and stopped by on Sunday. Their baby girl Nara is 9 months old and weighs 23 pounds. Ava is 20 months and weighs about the same.
Friday, July 06, 2007
The funny things she does...
19 months is a pretty fun age...Ava is certainly developing more and more of a personality as time goes on. She does quite a bit of stuff that gets Scot and I laughing out loud.
She loves to spontaneously point to and name her body parts. Her current fave is "knee". Sometimes she will stop right in the middle of a crying fit to point out her knee.
She will give us "the look" (see The Look post) when she feels the need to exert her independence.
She will offer you her sippy cup and make the sound "Gulp, gulp, gulp" so that you can pretend drink.
She is organized! She will always put her toys away if they're the kind that belong in a box (like her giant legos) or her musical instruments that go in a bag. (She definitely didn't get this "pick up" gene from me).
Whenever you talk about something smelling (like her feet) she will do an exaggerated "sniff", but she exhales instead of inhales.
She'll do a little dance anytime she hears music, dips her knees and sways back and forth.
She always wants to help me water outside, so I will fill her little watering can. She loves it, but usually only waters herself and if we're lucky she'll get part of the sidewalk.
We seem to always be scolding her for throwing food on the floor (which she continues to do all the time no matter how many times we tell her no). Yesterday Scot was eating with her and brushed some crumbs off his shirt, so she said "No!" and pointed to the floor where the crumbs fell. Daddy got a taste of his own medicine!
She loves to spontaneously point to and name her body parts. Her current fave is "knee". Sometimes she will stop right in the middle of a crying fit to point out her knee.
She will give us "the look" (see The Look post) when she feels the need to exert her independence.
She will offer you her sippy cup and make the sound "Gulp, gulp, gulp" so that you can pretend drink.
She is organized! She will always put her toys away if they're the kind that belong in a box (like her giant legos) or her musical instruments that go in a bag. (She definitely didn't get this "pick up" gene from me).
Whenever you talk about something smelling (like her feet) she will do an exaggerated "sniff", but she exhales instead of inhales.
She'll do a little dance anytime she hears music, dips her knees and sways back and forth.
She always wants to help me water outside, so I will fill her little watering can. She loves it, but usually only waters herself and if we're lucky she'll get part of the sidewalk.
We seem to always be scolding her for throwing food on the floor (which she continues to do all the time no matter how many times we tell her no). Yesterday Scot was eating with her and brushed some crumbs off his shirt, so she said "No!" and pointed to the floor where the crumbs fell. Daddy got a taste of his own medicine!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Out of the woods...finally
After a week of battling some kind of bug, Ava seems to be back to 100%. She had a fever of 102 last week Thursday and was very lethargic and acted nothing like herself (ie: crazy monkey). I ended up staying home with her on Friday--her temperature went down, but she was still kind of out of it and remained this way for the next several days. She kept wandering around the house saying "Nigh Nigh" and sucking as much comfort as she could out of her thumb. She slept a ton. This was really the first time she was sick with flulike symptoms. She's only ever had a few colds before, so I guess it was time for her to catch something a little more serious. Anyway, it's nice to have our real baby back!
There's a possibility her misery was teething related as well. We're up to 10 teeth now--6 on top and 4 on the bottom. She got one of the new top teeth a few weeks ago, but I think the other one poked through just recently. It's so hard to tell, though, as looking in her mouth is a huge battle.
We started up swimming lessons a few weeks ago. We're all having fun, although the water is awfully cold so we're all pretty anxious to get out of the pool once the half hour is up.
We've been picking up lots more words too, too many to count now I think! It's crazy to think that she's almost 20 months old!
There's a possibility her misery was teething related as well. We're up to 10 teeth now--6 on top and 4 on the bottom. She got one of the new top teeth a few weeks ago, but I think the other one poked through just recently. It's so hard to tell, though, as looking in her mouth is a huge battle.
We started up swimming lessons a few weeks ago. We're all having fun, although the water is awfully cold so we're all pretty anxious to get out of the pool once the half hour is up.
We've been picking up lots more words too, too many to count now I think! It's crazy to think that she's almost 20 months old!
Monday, June 18, 2007
In the drink
Ava has been digging her slide/swimming pool combo over the last week, especially as the mercury has tipped 90 degrees.
Ready, set...
Go!
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Pointing out a plane overhead. "Mane!"
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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
What does a monkey do?
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We took our old dining room table over to my friend Adam's apartment and he captured this primate interpretation.
Operation Getaway
Scot and I left for Duluth last Friday for our B&B stay. The weather was amazing when we arrived--sunny, calm, and in the high 70s. After checking into our room, we enjoyed complimentary wine and cheese in the mansion's first floor. Then we ventured out to Canal Park, walked around the boardwalk, and had a wonderful dinner at an Italian restaurant.
This is the interior staircase, located in the center of the mansion. Our room was actually the open door on top of this picture. There were 6 guest rooms on this floor. The owners of the mansion lived on the entire 3rd floor, which alone was close to 4000 square feet of living space.
This is the sunroom on the first floor where we enjoyed wine and cheese in the afternoon and coffee in the morning.
This is the dining table we sat at for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning with the other guests. On both days, breakfast began with an elaborate fruit plate, then we had stuffed french toast on Saturday and eggs benedict on Sunday.
This was our room. Our private bathroom was to the right of this shot.
The weather took a huge turn for the worse on Saturday--I'm not sure it got above 40 degrees. We had hoped to take a harbor cruise in the afternoon, but nixed that idea. We went out for lunch, did some shopping, and made the best of it. It only got worse on Sunday--there were actually snow flurries in the morning! None of it really mattered, though, we had such a wonderful time and left completely relaxed.
Ava's report from Grandma Diane was "perfect"--I think they enjoyed their weekend together just as much. Grandma took Ava to music class on Saturday, they went out to Culver's for supper (where she apparently became a local celebrity with all of the compliments she received), and had an all around good time. I think Grandma probably could have done without the early wakeup calls (5:30 and 6:30), but that's the nature of our beast...
Here are a few more pictures of us and the shore of Lake Superior. Notice the savage tan Scot brought back from Afghanistan. :-)
This is the interior staircase, located in the center of the mansion. Our room was actually the open door on top of this picture. There were 6 guest rooms on this floor. The owners of the mansion lived on the entire 3rd floor, which alone was close to 4000 square feet of living space.
This is the sunroom on the first floor where we enjoyed wine and cheese in the afternoon and coffee in the morning.
This is the dining table we sat at for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday morning with the other guests. On both days, breakfast began with an elaborate fruit plate, then we had stuffed french toast on Saturday and eggs benedict on Sunday.
This was our room. Our private bathroom was to the right of this shot.
The outside of the mansion.
After breakfast on Saturday we each had a massage--the massage therapist came to the B&B to do them! Not a bad start to the day...
After breakfast on Saturday we each had a massage--the massage therapist came to the B&B to do them! Not a bad start to the day...
The weather took a huge turn for the worse on Saturday--I'm not sure it got above 40 degrees. We had hoped to take a harbor cruise in the afternoon, but nixed that idea. We went out for lunch, did some shopping, and made the best of it. It only got worse on Sunday--there were actually snow flurries in the morning! None of it really mattered, though, we had such a wonderful time and left completely relaxed.
Ava's report from Grandma Diane was "perfect"--I think they enjoyed their weekend together just as much. Grandma took Ava to music class on Saturday, they went out to Culver's for supper (where she apparently became a local celebrity with all of the compliments she received), and had an all around good time. I think Grandma probably could have done without the early wakeup calls (5:30 and 6:30), but that's the nature of our beast...
Here are a few more pictures of us and the shore of Lake Superior. Notice the savage tan Scot brought back from Afghanistan. :-)
Thursday, May 17, 2007
18 Month Stats/Obsessions
Ava checked out great at her 18 month appointment yesterday. She's still tall and skinny!
22 lbs, 13 oz (20th percentile)
32.5 inches (75th percentile)
Ava is completely obsessed with shoes. When Diane watched her last week she said Ava spent the better part of the day trying on shoes--her shoes, Di's shoes, my shoes...it's finally sandal weather here so she was having a ball with my wedge sandals. She can now put most of her own shoes on herself, it's pretty cute. And I just love how she says shoes. It's so exaggerated. "SHHHOOOOOes!"
At least once during music class on Saturdays she also runs over to the shoes and puts somebody else's on. It's kind of embarrassing.
And her latest obsession is buckles--like on high chairs, shopping carts, etc. She has figured out how to snap them together so she will do it over and over and over and over again. Keeps her entertained!
Also, when I go to get her from her crib in the mornings, she says "mil, mil, mil, mil" over and over again, while signing milk until we go downstairs to get some. It's like somebody who desparately needs coffee in the morning. "I need my milk fix!" Then, more often than not, she barely drinks any of it. Oh well...
He's Home!
Monday, May 14th was a day I had circled and starred both on my calendar and in my mind for 7 long weeks and it finally arrived. After working half a day, I picked up Ava from Vicki's and we sped on over to the Guard base. All sorts of family members (all smiling) gathered in the Operations building while we waited for the plane to arrive. Just before they were scheduled to land, we headed on out to the field just next to the runway to watch them come in. They did a low approach and a "wave" to the crowd, then circled around again to land. Then there was an excruciating wait of about 30-40 minutes while they checked in with customs and tied up everything they needed to do. Ava had a ball playing in the field and watching the other planes at the airport take off. She pointed each time and yelled "sssshuuuuu!"
Their plane finally came back to us and the troops began to exit. Seeing Scot again for the first time was amazing! Ava was a little bit leery and gave him a shy smile, but didn't cry when he held her. She seemed genuinely happy to be in his arms again. And of course, I was too.
Then it was back to business--the troops had to in-process and do some medical things so Ava and I waited around for another hour or so while Scot finished up his tasks. We grabbed Olive Garden To Go on the way home and had a nice family dinner. It is so wonderful to have him back home!
Scot and I are off to Duluth for the weekend to stay at a B&B, while Ava stays home with Grandma Diane.
Scot showed us most of his pictures the other night. Thanks again to those of you who sent him mail--he got the most letters/packages by far out of anyone in his crew. They also passed on some of the goodies to the guys on the ground in some of their air drops. So, those goodies went a long way in helping the morale of everyone.
Their plane finally came back to us and the troops began to exit. Seeing Scot again for the first time was amazing! Ava was a little bit leery and gave him a shy smile, but didn't cry when he held her. She seemed genuinely happy to be in his arms again. And of course, I was too.
Then it was back to business--the troops had to in-process and do some medical things so Ava and I waited around for another hour or so while Scot finished up his tasks. We grabbed Olive Garden To Go on the way home and had a nice family dinner. It is so wonderful to have him back home!
Scot and I are off to Duluth for the weekend to stay at a B&B, while Ava stays home with Grandma Diane.
Scot showed us most of his pictures the other night. Thanks again to those of you who sent him mail--he got the most letters/packages by far out of anyone in his crew. They also passed on some of the goodies to the guys on the ground in some of their air drops. So, those goodies went a long way in helping the morale of everyone.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
10 More Days...
I sent off what will be the last package to Afghanistan yesterday. YAY! Things are going well for Scot...or at least it seems. I haven't talked to him for almost a week, but I've gotten a few messages and emails. He flew the last 2 days and those might be his last 2 flights. Tomorrow his crew starts something called "duty crew" for the next 4 days. They will stay at the base, man the phones, drive people to and from the runways, etc. It's very comforting to know that he is pretty much out of harm's way for the remainder of his time there. They leave on the 11th and are scheduled to arrive in Minneapolis on the 14th. It can't come soon enough!
As for Ava, she's doing well too. Her new favorite thing (and word) is bubbles. She's a big fan of giving kisses these days too. It's very cute! The weather has been pretty nice, so she's been outside at daycare the last few days. Our next big purchases will be some kind of climber/slide and a sandbox. Should be fun!
As for Ava, she's doing well too. Her new favorite thing (and word) is bubbles. She's a big fan of giving kisses these days too. It's very cute! The weather has been pretty nice, so she's been outside at daycare the last few days. Our next big purchases will be some kind of climber/slide and a sandbox. Should be fun!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
No Fear (Part II)
Here we are at a park in Woodbury--our music class meets nearby. The one thing I wanted to point out is the blue ladder to the right of the slide. Ava climbed up that ladder all by herself!
Baby Keira (4 months) chills out:
Baby Keira (4 months) chills out:
Best Buddies! (Ava calls her "baby" over and over and over again)
No Fear
I'm pretty sure that's Ava's mantra and she takes after Daddy in that regard. No slide is too high, no sidewalk too hard...
Here's a look at her little nose with a big scrape after a faceplant with the sidewalk last week:
Here she is at the park at Beaver Lake (about a 10 minute walk from our house). She loves this swing, but doesn't like to hold on to the chains. Doesn't always make for a great combination.
Here's a look at her little nose with a big scrape after a faceplant with the sidewalk last week:
Here she is at the park at Beaver Lake (about a 10 minute walk from our house). She loves this swing, but doesn't like to hold on to the chains. Doesn't always make for a great combination.
Navigating the tunnel:
She loves this entire playground. She can get to the tube slide on the left all by herself by scaling a ramp that you can't really see in the picture, going through the tunnel, walking across a "bridge", etc, etc. All of this does not equal relaxation for Mom ;-)
Enjoying a rock snack after playing hard. And no, I don't "let" her eat them, but I can't always prevent them from getting in her mouth.
Ava is 17 1/2 months.
She likes:
- Giving kisses
- Putting on shoes (hers, mine, anyone's)
- Playing outside
- Milk
- Music class
- Looking at pictures of Daddy
- Pointing to her body parts when asked
She dislikes:
- Going out to eat (B-O-R-I-N-G!)
- Veggies (still)
- Coming IN from outside
- Leaving playgrounds
- Being in shopping carts
Some new words:
- Cookie
- Kicki (Vicki)
- Socks
- Down
- Whee! (does that count as a word?)
- Coat
- Clothes
- Please
- Arm
- Toes
- Diaper
- Bath
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Pictures from Afghanistan
C130s from MSP and Peoria, IL
Old Soviet equipment
The outside of his RLB (relocatable building). 
RLB courtyard
View from the RLBs
Pat Tillman USO
Scot's crew (he's 3rd from the right)
Scot and Andy (navigator) in Bagram
Scot and Jeff (flight engineer) in Kabul
A view of the cockpit through NVGs (night vision goggles)
A view of the mountains through NVGs
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