Ava Noelle: 6 Month Update

I can't believe our little lady is 6 months old.  Time is flying by and as much as I hate that, I love seeing this little one grow!  She has brought pure joy with her.  She is our little firecracker and just loves to smile and play and be in on any and all action going on.  Things to remember:

• Ava is the poster child for "averages."  (on July 22) You are 16 lbs 8 oz and 26.5 inches long.  You fit exactly in 6 month clothing.  Right on track.  I believe your head size is also average.
• You are our little owl eyed baby.  Many people comment on your eyes.  You pretty much always look stunned and wide eyed.  We love it because we love your pretty blue eyes.
• You love your paci.  You have figured out how to put it back in which is great for sleep time; you can do it on your own!
• On that note, you just recently started sleeping through the night which everyone is excited about!!  You aren't perfect by no means and you don't sleep in late like your brother but in generally we are thankful for the nice long stretch!
• You have been sitting up great for a while now.  You generally prefer to sit up now to play and often get mad when you fall over.
• You are getting close to crawling.  You can push up on all fours once and a while but you manage to spin and shimmy any direction you want.  A new round of baby proofing is on the horizon.
• You are starting to get mad when people take things away from you.  You have a tight grip but when we take it away it is often a loud yell and cry.
• You generally take 3 naps but that often turns into 2 naps and 2 cat naps because we like to get out a lot in the nice weather and go to parks or friends houses.  You love being outside. So far you have most enjoyed the sand at Discovery park in McMinnville. 
• You want everything your brother has. Its's already starting.  You have your own "buddy" the giraffe because you often want to steal your brothers.
• We mostly are doing baby led weaning in terms of food (fancy name for solid foods from the start instead of purely purees).  The purees I have tried so far didn't go over well and you just seem to like to play and munch on actual food so that's what we are doing. You have had broccoli, avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and zucchini, banana, pear and plain yogurt. 
• Your hair is without a doubt red and continues to grow especially on the top and front.  We love it!
• Although we contemplating changing your name (gasp!) before the 6 month mark we decided not to.  We love your pretty name that fits such a pretty little lady.  We love you Ava Noelle!

Celebrating 5 years: Portland's 4T Trail

The 4T stands for trail, trolley, train and (arial) tram.  It's a fun and different way to explore Portland.  We also ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory for the first time and took a short break exploring parts of the zoo.  

Celebrating 5 years: Portland's 4T Trail

The 4T stands for trail, trolley, train and (arial) tram.  It's a fun and different way to explore Portland.  We also ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory for the first time and took a short break exploring parts of the zoo.  

Ariy Update

Somewhere along the motherhood "lines" regular updates become not so regular.  This is my best form of documenting the kiddos lives although I am trying to create some type of baby book for each of them but I wouldn't say it's my gifting.

What to say about Ariy these days???

He turned two on April 20th and has fully embraced the role of toddler.  I really love this age.  He is soaking in so much, learning on a daily basis, saying new words and sentences constantly and makes us laugh.  Things to remember for this age:

• "...a little bit."  I often say, "let's let it cool down a little bit" in referring to his food.  This ending has now become one of his favorite things to say.  "Go upstairs a little bit?"  "A walk a little bit?"  "Nap a little bit."  Really anything.
• Tools, tools and more tools (and lawnmowers too).  He is pretty much obsessed with Rick and especially watching him fix things.  Without a doubt, if you were to hang out with Ariy today he would talk about his Daddy fixing something or his daddy mowing the grass.  Both are his two favorite things to do along side his Dad.
• He is "all boy."  I really like to think that all the gender stereotypes are just stereotypes but whether are culture has cemented them into specific "roles" or not, it is pretty obvious that boys and girls are created a bit differently.  Most all of Ariy's closest friends are girls his age and I am getting to the point that I feel myself apologizing a lot.  He seems to be a bit more destructive kind of like a tornado but I also find his communication and discipline seem to be simpler.  I find the girls seem to understand a conversation and how to "talk through things" much earlier.  Ariy just does, destructs, creates, fixes and moves.  I love it all though.
• He is mostly dairy free.  He has always struggled with coughs and something called restrictive airway, similar to asthma and uses an inhaler on an as needed basis.  Well, after months straight of daily and nightly coughing and two bouts of croup, multiple steroid treatments we found ourselves we no answers.  We asked two different  doctors if he will ever stop coughing (he was waking up every single night coughing for 3 months straight - no exaggeration) and their answers were not actual answers.  One said he will most likely cough for the rest of his life "some people just cough."  Really?!  The other said all children have a "thing" they struggle with and his is a cough.  I started to do my own research on the internet and through some books I trust as well as some friends.  I landed on dairy as the most plausible culprit.  We tried taking him off an within 2 or 3 weeks the coughing stopped.  All in all it has been a very good and healthy decision for him.
• Other loves: parks, playing with friends, lawnmowers "cutting the grass", vegan mac and cheese, rubbing "baby sissy's" head, blankets, tools, keys and playing in cars, music, "I will wait" by Mumford and Sons is played at least once a day here, jumping at gymnastics, raisins, all breakfast foods (this morning's bfast consisted of 2 mini egg quiches with vegis and fake cheese (we call them egg muffins and 1 entire bowl of oatmeal), trains; Newberg constantly has trains going through it and we can hear them so some days we try and chase them down to see them.  The other day one stopped as it was going through the middle of town and Ariy got to touch it (big moment). He also loves to play his guitar, sing songs and play the drums.

He is also really into taking a good "selfie"

A spoon and some PB often serve as a nice treat

Big win with the $5 Grocery Outlet battery operated tootbrush

One of his best buds char

His favorite CSA find; fresh strawberries

Ariy attempts his first Vlog!

In the blogging world, I believe video blogging is called "vlogging" unless you are Lara Capuano.  Needless to say, our son has taken to the world of vlogging at a very young age.  In his first vlog, I believe he gives a tour of our living room from his perspective.  I added in a few words so you can better understand what he is saying.

Mother's Day Reflections

This day has become a really special day. I think once you become a mom a lot of things fall into perspective.  I imagine all the grandma's find some satisfaction looking on watching their daughters go through what they went through in the process of raising them.  They know that maybe now they understand just an ounce of what it was like to pour your heart into another human being and constantly hope that your best will pay off in the end.

I don't actually know who reads this blog so I don't know who my audience is but for now this will just be for the purpose of getting these thoughts out.

My mom passed away 8 years ago.  I can't even believe it has been that long because I don't feel that "far" away from her.  Although, my friends and family on the east coast know her well.  It's hard to forget a character like Ernestine; many of my new friends and the family I have on the west coast know very little.  I will freely share when questions are asked but I think when people realize that you don't have a mom they quickly become careful as to where to navigate the conversation.  I love my mom a great deal.  Even writing that makes me tear up.  I want to talk about her, I want to remember her and I want her to be a part of my childrens lives. I hope to carry on her spirit which is so memorable as long as those memories are spoken of. She was a mess and had her fair share of baggage that may or may not of caused permanent scars but she loved like a mad women.  Without a doubt, I know that she was crazy about me and she would support me in anything I did or became.  She just chose to love me unconditionally and I have not felt love like that since.  It's a mothers love.

I am so happy to now experience what it means to have a mothers love for her children.  It is so intense and scary but awesome and exciting and fun all at the same time.

Today I couldn't help but read every mothers day post that went up on facebook and I couldn't help but tear up to every message written for all the moms.  I love that we get to celebrate the lives of our moms this day and appreciate the great sacrifices they made.  My mom passed away just a couple weeks after Mothers Day in 2005.  I think that was the first mothers day I fully showed her how much I appreciated her.  Our relationship was pretty tough at times but I am still so thankful for her and the positive impact she has made on my life.  I loved seeing everyone freely expressing their love and appreciation for the moms in their life.

I personally know a small handful of folks in my shoes who have lost a mom or maybe a dad.  We have a bond and I am thankful that I know others who can enjoy this day and the messiness of emotions that can come with it.  Thank you friends.

I have wanted to do this for some time but today just feels appropriate.  There have been a number of other "moms" in my life that have supported me and shaped me like a mom would.  I am so thankful for these ladies and I often fail at telling them that they have made this kind of impact in my life.  Thank you moms.  Thank you Soraya, Amy, Georgeanne, Kim, Lynne, Aunt Barbara, and Granny or Bev (my MIL).  You have all blessed me and supported me at different times growing up (and still) and I appreciate you all greatly.

Four month old Ava Noelle

I can't believe Ava is moving out of infancy and into full baby mode.  She is trying to sit up, smiling a ton, talking lots and is awake and alert a good portion of the day.  We are pretty smitten with her.  She is a pretty happy baby.  She loves attention and smiling with a big open mouth.  She is so excited about life, she has yet to make some seriously good progress sleeping at night.  By this time with Ariy, we were lucky to be able to sleep through the night (10 to 7 or so).  Ava is still feeding 1 or 2 times a night.

She is in the 50% for weight (14.1 lbs) and shot up to 75% for height which really surprised me.

A few pics of her today (3 days before she is officially 4 months 5/11) plus a bonus pic of Ariy playing his friend Sage's drums.