It's getting closer

She was playing with her shopping cart and just let go (as she has
been doing) but this time, she stood there for 30 seconds. Long enough
that I could grab my phone, fire it up and take a pic before she sat
down. She has the best balance and I'm sure her first steps are
imminent. Amazing.

Messy mac n cheese

Time for naps

Playdate

We had a playdate with Ryder this afternoon. I love it when Ava gets to interact with other babies and kind of wish that she had more exposure to other kids (but then, on the other hand, i'm more than happy that she's not in daycare - not that it would be the end of the world - just glad we get to have her 24/7). Ryder is 2 months younger than Ava, and of course Ava is much bigger than he is, but man, that little boy is one solid piece of muscle. It's so different just picking him up than with Ava. She's so mushy and he's so rigid. Anyway, I found it fun to play with a baby that was SO physically different than Ava.

She was pretty good with him. Definitely not completely into him being there, playing with her toys, but a far cry from when she was younger and just cried with a new baby in the room. She kept stealing the toys he was playing with, but i he didn't seem to mind. Overall, it was a fun afternoon. I'll leave you with some pics.

Our baby has been a no-napper for the last two days. After weeks of being a little atomic clock with her naps. Being a "data guy", it makes me wish that I had tracked her sleep/nap/eating patterns since she was born. If I could have a spreadsheet with all of that data, I could graph out the trends and not only see the history of her patterns, but prepare for future ones. I'd love to see the cycles approaching (if they are even cycles at all) and know if her sleep patterns are about to change, or a milestone is on the horizon, or if she is due to hate this food and try a new one, etc.

Haha. I know. Ridiculous. But I can dream, right?

Tiny Dancer

She has been dancing a lot more recently. She just bobs her butt up and down. Super cute.

mobile musing

Ava's so close to walking. I'm trying to give her as much practice as possible, and she absentmindedly stands with no hands for a few seconds on her own. I don't think that it will be in the next month, but maybe by 13 months she'll be on the bipedal move.

Before she could crawl, everyone said that once they start being mobile, life would be a bigger pain in that they'd be into everything and you'd have to be on the constant lookout for dangers/hazards. where i guess that's true (for crawling) i have found that her mood elevated significantly after she could crawl/shuffle to the places in the room that the wanted to get to. therefore, even though i must be ninja-parent-cop to thwart her hurting herself (of which there's very little if any chance in our house) i don't mind the extra attention. i like looking at her move around. i like watching her face and hearing her voice as she explores. so it's not that big of a deal to make sure she's safe basically every waking minute of my day.

that being said, i don't know if the walking milestone is going to be the same. she can crawl pretty fast now. and she shuffles along the ottoman/couch to her destination VERY fast. i'm really worried that the walking will turn to running and the 1.5 seconds i may have to react right now will be cut down to half a second once she can RUN towards danger.

though i'm sure it won't be a big deal and will just be another skill to master. if anything is true of parenting a baby, you're learning almost as much as they are. new skills, new lessons, new challenges. and i really love that we get to grow together.

Mmmm. SPs & Bluberries...

I eats them all.

Concentration face

Looks like trouble

Sleeping Baby

We were talking yesterday about how Ava seems like she already "knows" a lot of things but can't DO everything she "knows" how to do. This condition is really illustrated by her body. She seems to know that she can walk. that she can talk. but she tries to accomplish the simple task of walking from here to there and she can't. she tries to tell us what she's thinking, but can't say it right. and it frustrates her to no end. you can see the look on her face saying "c'mon body. you can do this. let's do this!" and her body just can't keep up with her developing mind. and i think sometimes it really pisses her off. i think that half of the times that she is upset about something revolves around her believing her mind and body should be at the same point in development - and they're not. I know it's totally normal, and i'm not concerned or complaining. i only mention it because i find it interesting that this little beautiful baby truly is a small person growing into herself. it's fascinating to watch the development unfold.

Mondays

Historically, Mondays have been a bear at the Fantastic household. Ava's so happy on the weekends, having her family around that come Monday when Momma kisses her bebe head and walks out the door, she knows something is amiss. We (Ava and I) normally have a good time of playing and eating, but there comes a point in the day where she's just sick of me and wants the boob.

I have to admit that it makes me feel more than a little useless when i know exactly what she wants, but i am unable to give it to her. Though, i also have to admit that it is MUCH LESS of a problem now-a-days than it was in the past. She's able to play and entertain herself on her own and i think that all of the new information gained by her mobility distracts her from the fast that her bewbies are not in the house and won't be for several hours.

i guess i'm just mentioning the past in order to better describe the present - in which she has been in an extremely good mood as of late. even on Mondays. Right now, she is sleeping, with her big legs flared out, rainbow leggings keeping her warm and pretty lips dreaming of milks. She's simply perfect.