Friday, June 29, 2012

lately ...


june9
june8

this week flew by.  work has been craaazy but charlie's mom has been in town.  and it's ben so nice to see her, have avery with her, and have some help with the kid during the day.  
and now, charlie and i are off for the next week and headed to telluride for a few days.  
happy fourth!

1.  baby girl loves swings.
2.  she's a flexible one.
3.  playing.
4.  hangin' out with daddy.
5.  vintage shirt.
6.  first time down the slide.
7.  chillin' at the pool.
8.  a napping baby girl.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

breastfeeding.

avery

avery1

avery4

avery3

since avery hit the 6 month mark we've slowly started introducing solid foods.  we're doing the baby led weaning approach to introducing solids and although i can't say for sure that we won't be doing any purees, we're not starting with them.  part of why we decided to do baby led weaning was based on the decision to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months.  i never really talk about breastfeeding here because i think it's an incredibly personally decision and while i definitely have my opinions i think people get too involved in the decisions other people make about their kids.  anyway, i had a few breastfeeding goals that i made before avery was born.  the first was to exclusively bf for the first 6 months.  and the second was to breastfeed for at least a year.  while there's some control i have over breastfeeding, it's definitely a relationship that avery and i have and how long we continue will depend on whether or not that relationship is still benefiting both of us.

all that to say that looking at her fatty rolls and chunky thighs i can't help but feel a little proud that i contributed to that.  i have loved breastfeeding:  the convenience (i fed her the other day as we were shopping at ikea), the snuggles that i get during it, the extra sleep that it gets all of us, and the fact that it just feels like the natural thing to do.  i know a lot of people who have hated how tied they feel to their babies during these first few months, but personally i have loved it.  aside from all of the nutritive benefits there's definitely some physiological and phycological benefits.  i have loved having nursing as a tool to use when she's really upset or tired and that's definitely one reason i hope to continue the relationship.  it's also really nice on those days that i feel like i'm ending where i started and nothing has gotten accomplished, at least i know that she's getting what she needs and although she's tiny she's still trucking along the growth charts and doing just fine.    


Monday, June 25, 2012

lately ...


june5
june6
june7
okay i know i said this week kicked my ass, and it did, but it wasn't all bad.  i made sure that avery and i got out of the house every day after work and so we ran some errands, went to the pool, visited our (new to us) library where i got a card and checked out some books, and while i ruined one dinner i did manage to make some chocolate chip cookies.  they were much needed.  also, avery started eating food!  she had an apple one day (which all she did was chew on) and a banana the other day which made such a mess but she loved and i loved watching her figure it all out.  i wish charlie had been here but we took some videos and sent them to him which is almost as good.

1.  avery's first time in a shopping cart.  i'm sure people thought we were crazy because charlie was running all over the store making zooming noises and i was taking pictures.
2.  she's a happy kid in the morning.
3.  first apple.
4.  a tuesday afternoon at the pool.
5.  playing on dunkin.
6.  i see this face a lot when i'm trying to work.
7.  entertaining herself.
8.  i made some art.  i hate it.
9.  the library.
10.  first banana.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

6 months.

woah kid, half a year! 
as much as i can't believe you've been a part of our lives for 6 months i have to admit that i've been waiting and waiting for this milestone.   

when i was pregnant with you i used to imagine this summer:  a 6 month old baby and my favorite season.  i'm happy to say it's been just as wonderful as i thought it would be. 
ave6months

you've loved the pool and will splash around for as long as we let you in there.  we've taken you a few times this month as it's the perfect place to entertain you on a hot day.  i love those sweet, sweaty naps that you take on me when we sit in the shade after playing awhile.  you inherited your dad's fair skin (although he would argue that he's not fair) so we've been slathering you with sunscreen and making sure you always have a hat on you.  there's nothing cuter than a baby in a bathing suit and hat smelling of chlorine and sunscreen.

it's been so hot here this summer that i've actually be using the a.c. in the house.  some days i don't bother dressing you in much, just a t-shirt and a diaper, but you don't seem to mind.

you still love your playmat (as long as you are sitting up) and we finally unpacked all of our toys and got you a few others so you have toys in both the office and the family room.  you'll entertain yourself pretty well but get a little bored towards the end of the day.  you still love walks in your stroller and now we stop at the playground so you can swing on the swings.  i usually let you swing on the baby swings for a bit and then put you on my lap and we swing together for awhile.  the dogs stay right by your side, running back and forth with us.  

6monthloves

you definitely like to get out of the house and i try to make sure we do that at least once a day, even if it's just a walk to the playground or a trip to the grocery store.  you also had your first trip to the library this month but were pretty unimpressed as you slept the whole time.  speaking of sleeping you are not a fan of naps.  you still nap best when you're in the car, the stroller, the ergo, or my arms but i'm working hard at trying to get you to nap in your crib.

at your 6 month checkup you were 24 inches long and 14 pounds 5 ounces.  still a little thing, between the 10th and 25th percentile.  this was the first time you got to sit up on the scale instead of laying down and you liked that much better.  you got some shots this time around, too and seemed to have a hard time that night.  a few days later you were back to your usual self.

these 6 months have been the best.  i told myself i was really going to savor every day this month and i hope we do.  we have more family visiting to see you and we're taking our first vacation to telluride.  i hope you love it as much as your dad and i do.  it's a pretty magical place. love you, baby girl.

6monthfirsts


the stars may fall and the rains may pour,
but i will love you evermore. 
you were born to make this right, 
you were born to chase the light.
you were born ...

Friday, June 22, 2012

to my baby's daddy ...

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this may be a little late but i think you should know how lucky avery is to have you as a dad.  i know you sometimes think that you're not the best at this, like when avery is crying and refusing to nap.  but you're pretty darn good.  trust me, she loves you.  she breaks out in a huge smile when you come home and when she sees you in the morning and when you do all of those goofy things just to make her laugh.  i love watching her with you.  watching you guys play together and you teach her things.  i can't wait for the next few years as she grows up and you guys can do even more things together.  i love that when i'm at work i know you're taking good care of her and that you guys are spending some time together just the two of you.  she's obviously gotten a lot from you, as she still looks like a mini-you and i love that she has your eyes.  and i hope as time goes on she gets other things from you, too.  like your willingness to help others,  or your enthusiasm and commitment and determination, and your moral compass.  and i really hope she inherits your inability to lie because that would really be helpful during those teenage years.  anyway, don't fool yourself.  you're a great role model and a great dad.  i've loved taking this journey into parenthood with you; it's been by far the best thing we've done.      

i figured i would write this here because we said we weren't doing cards.  or rather i said that and you said 'whatever you want' because i know you've never really seen the point in them.  but i thought you should know this.  and if you're ever having doubts you can come back and read this instead of having to dig up a dusty old card.

happy father's day.  (a week late)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

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she loves tags.  this one kept her entertained for almost 10 minutes.


i really don't know how single parents do it.  i've been on my own with avery for 5 days and this week has seriously kicked my ass.  i still have paint in my hair from saturday night that i can't get out.  i have so much work to do but this is the first night that i haven't worked until 9 pm and i honestly need a break at this point.  the house looks like a bomb went off in it or at least like four animals shed their entire coats and re-grew new ones.  i had this list of things that i was going to do this week and only about half of them got done.  we still have boxes all over the place and the garage is a disaster.  i was planning on cleaning the house today so it was clean when charlie got home but that obviously hasn't happened and the vacuum is still sitting at the top of the stairs where it was when it was when it was finished being used last.  which was last week.  by charlie.  i attempted to cook dinner last night and made the worst meal ever.  i managed to ruin couscous.  i had to throw it out and eat peanut butter and honey.  and we have no food in the house for tomorrow.  avery had her 6 month checkup today with a few vaccines and they clearly did not go over well.  she was fine for a bit but from 5 pm to 8 pm she screamed.  i'd never heard her cry like that before and she clearly didn't want her leg touched but at the same time wanted me to hold her, which is difficult to do.  we took a long bath which she liked but as soon as i picked her up to get out she started screaming again.  i gave her some tylenol which i've never done before but i think she needed something.  she finally went down for bed around 8 although i'm sure she'll wake up at some point before i go to bed.

i am so very happy that tomorrow is friday and that charlie's coming home and that we have the entire weekend to spend together.  and i hope avery feels better soon.  and (on a more positive note) i'm so looking forward to the next two weeks: two family visits with a mini-vacation in the mountains sandwiched in between.   

Monday, June 18, 2012

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this picture sort of sums up how i spent sunday morning.
the end result was a dead rabbit, a scratched floor, and a busted fence.  
also, we will no longer be leaving our door open again.  
i woke up sunday fed all the animals and let them out and was sitting on the floor playing with avery when toby trotted inside with a rabbit in his mouth.  i couldn't tell if it was dead or alive but when i yelled his name he came over to me and dropped the rabbit, which turned out to be fine and started running across the floor.  henry heard me scream at toby and came inside to see that a rabbit: his favorite thing! was inside his house! 

i picked avery up off the floor and tried to find something to catch the rabbit in and put the cats in the basement.  at this point henry had the rabbit cornered but he couldn't quite get to it and when tried to put a box over the rabbit it got away, henry ran after it and grabbed it in the laundry room.  at this point the rabbit was screaming, i was screaming at henry, and avery was screaming.  i finally got the box on top of the rabbit and dragged it outside to the deck.  after a while it hopped away.  a few hours later i finally let henry outside where he stayed for a while.  i didn't pay much attention to him until he started barking at a rabbit on the other side of the fence, and i tried to get him to come follow be inside and when i turned around i saw that he had gotten through the fence and had something on the other side.  i put avery down and ran out there.  he had gotten the rabbit and at this point it had no hope but i literally had to drag him inside.  so now we have a broken fence, a rabbit crazed dog, and a cat who is apparently a good hunter.

and i'm really looking forward to charlie coming home so i don't have to deal with this stuff alone!

Friday, June 15, 2012

lately ...

june3june4junejune2

1.  sassy water.  this stuff is amazing.
2.  we got avery a high chair!  i think she likes the view.
3.  my mini coworker. 
4.  chalkboard door.
5.  new floors!
6.  my favorite pjs.
7.  she fell asleep listening to zbb.
8.  happy kiddo.
9.  she loves the swings.
10.  cats playing outside.
11.  after putting the baby down for a nap i found charlie like this.
12.  baby sunglasses.
13.  silly sleeping positions.
14.  dunkin's figuring out what the deck is for.
15.  a crib skirt for avery!
16.  chunky baby legs.  

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

it's the little things ...

A

...  avery's eyelashes.
... when the dogs share a bed.
...  finishing little things around the house.
...  clean diapers.
...  clean laundry.  this almost never happens.
...  when avery doesn't wake up again after i put her to bed.
...  drinking a beer. 
...  with charlie.
...  baths.  i'm so in love with our huge bathtub.
...  the huge grin that avery gives the dogs when they walk into a room.
...  how henry is my new buddy and never leaves my side.
...  busy work days that fly by.
...  when avery gets upset and i start singing the wheels on the bus and make her world alright again.
...  nursing + book reading.
...  family dinners.
...  when charlie grills (because otherwise we don't eat).
...  family walks.
...  when avery sleeps past 7.
...  letting the dogs out in the backyard. 
...  baby toes.
...  seeing how chunky my daughter is and knowing that i had a big something to do with that.
...  avery splashing in the bathtub.
...  a sitting baby.
...  running errands with avery in the ergo.
...  my first clothes shopping trip in over a year.  avery came & got some clothes, too.
...  curtains.
...  hardwood floors!
...  sassy water.
...  ice tea.
...  apple cinnamon bread.
...  fresh herbs.
...  our chalkboard door.
...  pinterest.
...  family visits.  two coming, so soon!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

avery updates.

hi

ears

ready for your weekly avery update? here goes.

can i just say again how amazing it is that she can sit up on her own? it has made my life so.much.easier. it has let her entertain herself for huge chucks of time which has made working from home with her much less stressful.  during the work day she'll typically take two naps while i'm working, one in her crib and one in the moby and then will usually take a third nap just when i finish working (go figure).  

she's in love with her feet and has even managed to fit both in her mouth at the same time.  she's also grabbing anything and everything but she's so strong that peeling her off of things is getting hard!  she loves sitting in her crib, on the table, and in my lap.  walks with the dogs are still a big hit.  she also loves her ears as evidenced above.  she's been my little buddy these past few months, helping me work, running errands with me, and tagging along with everything these past few months.  i can't believe she's almost 6 months old!   

Monday, June 11, 2012

a few avery pictures and some house progress

blue eyes
this is a classic avery face.

blueyes2

blue eyes4
as always, here are a few pictures of my daughter because lately i don't take pictures of anything else.  
i really need to start taking some pictures of the house because i feel like we need to document some of the things that we've done just to make ourselves feel better about the little things we've done.  

we spent the whole weekend getting some of the little things done around, which felt nice since when we've been painting we've gotten nothing else done besides that and baby watching.  so this weekend we managed to clean like regular people, charlie cut a bunch of the overgrown bushes outside the house, we painted even more trim, we hung a few curtains, replaced the towel rack in avery's bathroom with some hooks, replaced the hardware on the doors upstairs, and started painting our pantry door.

oh, and we also spent some time playing with this little one.  

Thursday, June 7, 2012

play


play1

play2

most days avery spends a lot of time on this blanket on the floor.
i dump a bunch of toys out for her and she'll happily play for 20 minutes or so at a time.  
i had to take a few pictures of her today because she's so cute.  also, i love this outfit which i got her on monday when she came shopping with me.  it was the first time i went clothes shopping since about a year ago.  it's not that i've been worried about bringing her places this is just how infrequently i actually go shopping.  i got 3 t-shirts.  not exactly an exciting shopping trip.  but i did get avery 2 outfits and they're both much cuter than my shirts.

i always have a hard time getting accurate pictures of her eyes.  they usually come out much darker than what her eyes actually look like.  i swear they're really blue! they came out a little better in these pictures, although i still think they're lighter in person. 

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

aandh

"if your dog doesn't like somebody
maybe you shouldn't either."

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

life lately.

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1. avery all ready to head to the pool.
2. she loves her feet.
3. henry's been so good with the baby.
4. an afternoon nap with the baby.
5. a walk before some storms.
6. playing.
7. painting all day sunday.
8. toby decided he wanted to take a nap with avery.
9. this is how she plays now.
10. we finally hung some pictures.
11. a newly painted wall and some white trim!
12.  weird napping positions.
13. sometimes i just can't put her down.
14. strawberries!


Monday, June 4, 2012

june.

trying to figure it all out.

i always look forward to june.  it's the first month that really feels like summer, it's hot but not too hot,  and the days are still getting longer.  but this year i was looking forward to it even more because i knew that by june we'd be done with the packing and moving of april and may.  and while we still have so much to do in this house, i have hope that it will someday feel like home.  the other day as i was making a quick sandwich i had this vision of us cooking thanksgiving dinner.  it'll be slow, but i think by then it'll feel like home here.  i will say that i'm glad we moved in time for summer.  we've been grilling, throwing the ball for dunkin in the backyard, and when it's cool enough we'll eat on the deck.  all things that we've been looking forward to for a long time.  

relaxing saturday morning.

when i was pregnant with avery i used to think about how fun this summer was going to be.  i was happy that she was a winter baby so by the time summer rolled around she'd be old enough to enjoy things like picnics, the pool, the reservoir, and lots of walks.  i also have always loved babies around 6 months, since they're still in that cuddly baby stage but they're also old enough to notice things around them, and are developing their own personality.  

so.cute.

avery's definitely at that stage right now and i have to say that i was right, i'm really enjoying it.  and she definitely is slowly turning into her own little person.  she can be a pretty serious kid at times.  but i think she's also a pretty strong one.  she may be small but she's pretty determined and tough.  i hope she doesn't lose those traits as she gets older because i think they'll serve her well in the future.

but for now, i just brewed the first batch of iced tea for the summer and i'm looking forward to the next few months of grilling, pool time, open widows, some family time, and a growing baby.