the one where Ava is 8 months old

Ava Estelle

Eight Months

 

Size:

Ava is 18lbs 9oz. My little chunk is wearing 6-9 months clothing comfortably.
 

Health:

Ava is still battling her cough and it also has added a runny nose to the picture. I took her to the doctor again yesterday for it as the cough/runny nose has also made her so much more irritable. The Dr had the same news as last time.. its viral, she will pass it. The end. Ugh.

 

Feeding:

8 months breastfed.
She is still getting food once or twice a day and also water in a sippy cup. She hasn't mastered the sippy cup and pretty much bites on it to get the water out but occasionally she will figure out how to suck on it and she gets so excited. Baby girl loves cold water. Her favorite foods so far seem to be green beans and pears. She is still nursing every 3-3.5 hours. I'm getting a little anxious for that to spread out a little more.

 

Sleep:

Ava is waking up once a night but doing well other than that. She goes down around 7pm and then wakes up anywhere from 2-4 am... eats, then goes back to sleep to around 7-8ish unless of course her big sister decides to wake up early and gets the whole house up at like, 6. That was fun, you know, after Ava had just gotten up at 4 to eat so I was barely back to sleep over an hour.. oh man. Why kids aren't born with the innate appreciation for a late morning, I will never understand. 

 

Extras:
-She is getting better and better at sitting up.
-She is finally more regularly putting weight on her legs.
-She can share headbands with her big sister (she has a huge head haha)
-She has been lifting her hips up off the floor, I think shes getting ready to crawl.
-Loves to take toys from her big sister
-Loves to pull on Daddys beard
-Is shy
-She is being more needy and doesn't want to be sat on the floor, in her bouncer, or pretty much be anywhere that isn't with me
 

the one where I am getting my mojo back

Here we are, 8 months into life with two kids and I am finally feeling like ME again. Less stressed, USUALLY less tired, doing things I love again... and lastly: caring about me again.
I have always been a gym goer. That never changed through two pregnancies but other than working out, I haven't been spending much time on myself.
Haircut? Probably had been 6 months. Pedicure? Probably two. Shopping for clothes that don't look like a Mumu? Over a year.
I have been a throw on an old t shirt with shorts kind of Mom for much longer than I care to admit. I guess since having Ava, getting dressed and doing my makeup has just been about being quick and easy. I have needed to wear clothing that is easy to nurse in & clothing that can be spit up on. Now that we are 8 months into nursing, it is so much easier so I don't have to be as worried about what I'm wearing (as long as I can get a boobie out we are good to go).
Fast forward to the past month or so and I have really taken on a new outlook about my appearance. First of all, old t shirts.. they are meant for the gym. Not running errands in. Second, I have more than lost my baby weight. I do not need to wear clothes I was wearing in the early months of pregnancy lol. It is more than ok for a Mother to care about her appearance. Its actually important for a mother to care about her appearance.
I cant get over how much more confident I feel when I have makeup on (I don't wear a lot) and actually make myself get dressed. I'm like a whole new person.
So anyways- my point- new Mommies, don't forget about yourself! Do what you can to make yourself feel beautiful. Take time for yourself! It is so needed and deserved!

the one with cold brew coffee

Its been awhile since I have shared a fun recipe on here.. and what better way to make up for it than with a COLD BREW COFFEE recipe.

Parents, teachers, nurses, accountants, chefs, maids.. whatever it is that you do with your time-you know that caffeine helps you along the way. I like my coffee either super hot or cold. No in between. I find that I drink my hot coffee much faster than cold because I cannot do room temperature coffee. As a mother, I have had a time or two where I have had to use the microwave to reheat it and well, that just doesn't always cut it. Over the summer, iced coffee is my go-to. I also prefer Dunkin Donuts over Starbucks (judge all you want). The people who work at the DD right by our house are so, so nice... and almost every single time we go-they give Tori a free Donut because she says hi and well, she is cute as hell. Once I realized that it may not be normal for the workers at DD to know me and my children by name, I thought about the cost of a medium iced coffee and figured there has to be a cheaper way to do this. And like (most) things home made, iced coffee has been added to the list of cheaper to do at home.

Things you'll need:
-Strainer
-Coffee grounds
-Coffee filters
-Mason jars or pitchers

To Do: (told exactly by what I did)
-Put 1/3 cup of ground coffee and 1 1/2 cups of cold water in a mason jar. Close lid and let sit overnight (somewhere between 8-12 hours)
-The next day-your goal here is to get the grounds out of the water. I took the strainer and put it on top of an empty/clean mason jar. I put the coffee filter on top of that and then took the mix that was sitting overnight and slowly poured it into the clean mason jar. The coffee filter and strainer take care of getting the coffee grounds out.
-After you have done this, you will have an iced coffee concentrate. So when you are ready to drink it.. you will take the concentrate and pour some into a glass (I don't have a measurement for this because it is really just however you prefer the taste).. then you will add cold water, sugar, creamer.. pretty much whatever it is that you like to flavor your coffee with. Stir and add ice. ENJOY.

the one where you tell Tori your name

Hello friends. It has been awhile that I have posted anything other than an Ava monthly update. Let me start by saying, thanks for sticking around. Frankly, we have been having so much fun with Daddy home this summer that I am just too busy to blog. Or actually-too busy to remember to take pictures and blog right away so a lot of the fun we have been having I have forgotten details of before I can blog about it. Oops.
Today, Ill be honest-this post is a bit about bragging about my Tori and a bit about something I think every parent should do. And I mean that in a not bossy or that I know everything sort of way. But it has proven to add some happy.

Tori loves to know peoples names. It is how she connects. When we are at a restaurant, the grocery store.. pretty much if she locks eyes with you or wants any sort of interaction, she will ask you what your name is. Sometimes if she is feeling shy she will ask Mommy to ask for her but then I always tell her "its ok, you can ask him/her what their name is"...
People love it. I cant even tell you how many times people have told me they think it is just so sweet that she wants to know their name. This girl, already connecting and touching people in such a sweet and simple way. Its pretty awesome.

Rewind to a couple of weeks ago. We are at a birthday party and there is a family there with their two daughters. Their younger one has special needs. Tori notices she is playing with some toys that look fun and Tori heads over and asks the little girls mom "What is her name?".. The mother replies "This is Kayla.. thanks for asking Tori, you are playing so nice". Simple. Simple. Simple.
Before Dan and I are leaving the party.. the mother of the little girl says to me, "You are doing a great job with Tori..., she came over and played with Kayla and asked me what her name was.. a lot of kids see that she is different from them and cant play the way they do and they lose interest in her or pretend shes not even there. Tori just asked her name and played with her so sweet. Shes such a good girl".
I left the party and cried. Ugly cried. Like couldn't tell Dan why I was crying because I would cry harder cry. First, I know Tori is only three, so to her-she probably didn't see anything was different about this girl to begin with.. but regardless, she connected. She took her little bit of understanding about how happy it makes people when she asks their name and she rolled with it. She played with her. She shared with her. And her mom noticed. The little girl, Kayla didn't have a clue what was going on. No clue that she is different. But her mom, her mom does. Her mom knows that kids don't play with her. Her mom knows that she looks different and that people do sometimes make assumptions about her not being able to play. And in that moment, my sweet little Tori.. the one who loves to make people feel special.. did that for this mom. She made her so happy with just the most simple gesture. Ok, now I'm crying again just thinking about it.

Anywho, I guess my point is to not underestimate the power of a simple hello. A simple what is your name? A simple smile when you make eye contact. Your children are watching. They watch how you treat everyone you come across. Be someone that you would be proud of your child becoming.

 My little photographer who has the most pure heart

 

the one where Ava is 7 months old

Ava Estelle

Seven Months

 

Size:

Ava is 18lbs 7oz. My little chunk is wearing 6-9 months clothing comfortably.
 

Health:

Ava has her first sickness right now as I type. She has developed this nasty cough for about 5 days that just wont go away. She does not have a fever or any issues with eating so when we took her to the Urgent Care at the beach (the cough was worse on vacay) they told us it is probably just allergies or something viral that would pass in a few days. Its Tuesday and the cough is still nasty enough that it is waking her up in the middle of the night so this afternoon we are taking her to see her pediatrician. Fingers crossed they have some answers and it is something easy and will pass asap.

 

Feeding:

7 months breastfed.
Once or twice a day I try to give her something else like applesauce, sweet potatoes or carrots. She likes them but definitely still prefers Moms boobies. 

 

Sleep:

Ava is waking up once a night but doing well other than that. She goes down around 7pm and then wakes up anywhere from 2-4 am... eats, then goes back to sleep to around 7-8ish. Or here and there she will totally surprise us and sleep in until 9 like my WHOLE HOUSE DID TODAY. It was amazing! 

 

Extras:
-She is all but sitting up on her own.
-Loves to pull hair. Mommys hair is great but Daddys beard is her favorite.
-Her hair is getting more blonde
-She loves bathtime with her big sister and loves to splash Mommy which then gets big sister so excited and big sister splashes mom and pretty much I look like I just showered after they are done their bath.
-She has a freakishly strong grip.
-She is the happiest girl I know.

 

the one where I am terrible with updating lately

Summer is here, my husband is home, life is good and I have been so very bad with updating my blog. Ill attempt at a weekend-ing post :)

This past weekend started off plain old terrible. I woke up at about 4am feeling super nauseous. Like "is this morning sickness" sort of nauseous. Spoiler Alert: It was not morning sickness, I am not pregnant lol. Throwing up and other sorts of terrible and disgusting body things were happening. There is nothing worse than being sick and having kids. Especially when your husband then wakes up feeling sick and all of the kids' grandparents work so there was literally no one available to help. Dan and I spent the day resting in shifts. I would nap, he would nap, I would nap, he would nap. That was pretty much our entire Friday. I was supposed to be having a joint birthday party with my friend Madelyn Saturday so Friday was supposed to be food prep day. Dan had two pork butts marinating and no way in the world was smoking that going to happen. We ended up having to cancel hosting it and I was so bummed! I love birthdays. I love June. I love day drinks. I love being outside. This party was going to be all of that and more. So really, bummed was an understatement.
I ended up going to sleep right around 8:30, after both girls were asleep for the night and Dan was shortly after.
Fast Forward to Saturday morning and both Dan and I were feeling better but still not quite right. Dan was feeling better than me at that point so he decided to smoke the pork so it didn't go to waste. I told everyone I would try to stop by the party at Chris and Madelyns if I felt up for it and around 4ish I thankfully was. Ava and I trekked over and enjoyed saying hi to everyone and I got spoiled with multiple bottles of wine, a new purse, gift card, beach towel. My friends are the best! I went home and got the girls ready for bed and then ended up going out for an hour to Tellus in downtown Lancaster. I have only been there once and it was so Hipster I could hardly stand it. I gave it a try this time and was so happy I did! They had the rooftop bar open and it was such a beautiful night. It still had a hipster feel to it but it wasn't too intense.
Sunday- We decided to invite people over for my birthday/Fathers day to make sure the pork was eaten and that we did something fun for the weekend. My mom, Mammy, Summer, Iz, Madelyn, Chris and Dave all came over and we ate pork bbq sandwiches, chips, baked mac and cheese. Lots of good stuff. The pork turned out awesome. Dan did a great job.
To my surprise that night, Dan had planned for his dad to come over and sit at the house for a couple of hours so we could go out just the two of us while the girls were sleeping. I was really excited to get out for a little and go on a date just the two of us. We went to the Bvelvedere downtown. The food and drinks were SO delicious. We really loved everything! We sat outside on their swanky little porch that had hanging plants and beautiful lights everywhere and sipped our fancy drinks and ate a late dinner and dessert. Cannot beat their grilled chicken ceasar salad. That is not an entrée to be missed.
Thank you to everyone for the calls, gifts, texts, etc for my birthday. I am so excited for another year of continued health and blessings. Life is so good.

the one where Ava is 6 months old

How did a half year pass already?! My baby. My little itty bitty baby is now 6 months old. The fact that she was born over holiday season and that shes my second, wow.. its a blur.

Ava Estelle

Six Months

 

Size:

Ava is 17 lbs 6 oz and 26 inches long. 65% for weight, 72nd for height and her head... 98th percentile. Big head just like her big sister. Tori grew into it so I'm sure Ava will have no problem lol.
 

Health:

Healthy baby girl. The only thing we have to work on health wise is more time on the floor to exercise those legs. She isnt a fan of putting weight on her legs which the Dr. was not concerned about, she said she is just a little lazy! I blame her thighs. They are no joke!

 

Feeding:

6 months EBF. I have only given her "real food" twice. Both times she had a belly ache so I stopped. The Dr. said that was normal and her belly has to get used to eating food. She said to start giving her anything she wants that isn't a choking hazard. When I had Tori they said no strawberries until age 1, now they say Ava can start them now. The Dr. also said to just jump into table food. Puree whatever we are eating and feed it to her. I made Tori's baby food so I'm on board for that.

 

Sleep:

Ava's sleep is killing me a little. She goes to bed somewhere between 7-8:30 and sleeps until 12 or 1am. Then after that she gets up about every 2 or 3 hours. The pediatrician said there is no reason at her age that she is doing that. She does not need to eat overnight. She said a baby her age can definitely sleep somewhere between 8-12 hours a night. She suggested I officially move her into her own bedroom so she cant smell me and that I let her cry it out a bit. She said about 3 nights of torture and then she should be good to go. We will see. I think I am going to wait until Dan is out of school for the year (on Tuesday).. and do a little sleep training.

 

Extras:
-She grabs at anything and everything, especially hair.
-She still smiles and laughs at everything.
-She loves bath time with her big sister.
-Loves to look at herself in the mirror.
-Loves to grab Daddys beard.
-Wearing size 6-9 months clothing.
-Can move herself around on the floor.