Sick, sick, sick

Prepared for your heart to break?

This is what our last week has looked like.

Tears, runny noses, coughs, and wheezes.

It's tough to see little kids sick. It just seems unfair that little innocent ones have to deal with illness without an understanding of what that even is. Avery, however, has been a trooper and has been taking naps all day everyday trying to fight off this cold.

And, if I do say so, I have been trooper by allowing her to rub her eyes/nose/mouth/any other liquidy body part of hers into my jeans/shirts/hair for comfort anytime she wants. Yup, I thought my life was glamorous as a RN, but motherhood just took me up another notch. :)

So here's to you Avery Dawn, wishing you a speedy recovery. And here's to me, wishing myself a speedy laundry day.

Indianapolis Museum of Art

First of all, thank you for your comments via blog or facebook for Avery's weight. I really am so grateful for so many ideas from friends and family. You guys are awesome!

One of the cooler things about Indianapolis is that the city’s art museum is free.  And to add  to that coolness, there is a 100 acres of park, lake, outside artwork as well surrounding that museum that is also free. AND to top it all off, we have had a grand total of 5 days of winter. I know, it’s amazing. I don’t know if global warming is as bad as people try to make it seem…

Alright, so what you are looking at is the trajectory of a bouncing basketball on the court.  Notice the white backboard.

Pretty cool idea, right? Plus, you can climb around on this thing. I'm betting you could have a pretty wicked game of tag here.

And these fancy shmancy rings are aligned so that their shadows will coincide during the summer solstice.

They are 30 feet wide and are attached to telephone poles and trees.

Again, what an idea! 

And to be honest, I'm not sure why this tree is here, but I remember there was some big project they were going to use it in.

And these are called "Funky Bones." I believe I'm sitting on top of a fermur.

And Kyle is apparently getting eaten.

This little number is one of the 15 "benches" that surrounds a leg. It also doubled as a nice slide.

 

Actually, either side you slide down was enjoyable.

 

A pleasant afternoon with this girl.

 
And this guy. I think this is one of my new favorite pictures of Kyle.



Although, it might be a tossup with this one.

 Yup, I've got good people to spend my Saturdays with!

Help!

Alright, I need some advice from all the smarty pants out there. Be you parents, nurses, babysitters, or people who just know more about raising a baby than me, I would love any of your thoughts! So please put on your thinking caps now and share your infinite wisdom with me at the end. :) I promise I will appreciate anything you have to say! 

Well, it finally happened. My daughter is no longer on the growth chart for her weight. She's always been in the 5% until now that she is 9 months old. She's 50-75% for height, and her head has consistently been in the 10%, but that weight issue is back once again. Since January, (which was when she had her last appointment with the pediatrician) she's only gained 5 ounces, even though she has more than doubled the amount of baby food she eats since then.

Now, I think can explain the slow weight gain by the fact that Avery never stops moving. She is crawling across the floor, constantly standing herself up, and is always finding new things to get into (no matter how much I baby proof, this baby keeps proving that this job is yet to be done.) I love that she is getting mobile and independent, and I'm glad she has a strong body to do it with.

But the question of the day is, "how do I fatten this baby up?" The pediatrician wants me to come back in for a weight check in a month to see what kind of magic I've worked. If she doesn't bulk up, we'll start doing some tests to see how her thyroid is functioning (which it was working just great at her newborn screen.) 

 

I currently feed her every two hours. I nurse her four times a day (I'm planning on weaning her at the year mark) and then three times a day I do baby food/cheerios/sippy cup of water. So what's my new plan of actions? I'm thinking I'm going to feed her lots of avacodos (high calorie/fat), whole fat cheese, whole fat yogurt, maybe some carbs like bread and pasta. I've heard using olive oil when I scramble her eggs is a good way to add some calories too. Any other tips I should be aware of?

As you can tell, she's a happy baby! She eats well, sleeps well, rarely cries, and is simply fantastic! So I'm really not too worried, just hoping that we can put the pedal to the metal on this weight gain! Again, any ideas you have to share with me would be awesome!

Take 2

I've said it once and I'll say it again.

Dad's play differently.

Mover and a Shaker

Well, it's about that time for some video updates on the Avester.

First of all, she no longer swims on the floor to get places. She is one efficient locomotive nowadays. Dragging her belly on the ground is a thing of the past.

(I have a feeling most of our videos are going to start ending in similar ways.)

And when she gets tired of crawling, she then starts to work on her standing!

(I just got that same feeling that our videos are often going to end this way too...)

Yes, yes. All those are tricks are impressive, but I have yet to show you her most impressive accomplishment.

 

I have yet to find on babycenter when most children meet this most important milestone, but I'm hoping we're on track... ;)

Simple Joys

It's amazing how many hours of entertainment one red balloon can contain.

I don't think there is another toy that can take a beating like this.

Plus, when your right hand gets tired of hitting, you've always got good ole lefty as backup.

Yes, a good smack can result in the balloon escaping...

But that only adds to the magic of this toy!

Look at at how mesmerized she is with this thing!

Maybe balloons are like hippogriffs. Y'know, proud creatures that require a bow before you approach.

And really, nothing shows true humility like a good face smash.

 

And that's when Avery chomps onto the tie. Yup, that balloon is going no where.

 

Best. Babysitter. Ever.

Late night visitor

Kyle and I used to be avid "checker uppers" on Avery at night. After we would lay her down around 7:30, we just had to peak on her at least once before we went to bed.

So one night Kyle pokes his head into Avery's room to make sure she is still performing the necessary activity to sustain one's life (ie breathing.)

I watched Kyle about jump out of his skin and race into our bedroom crying, "There's a raccoon in Avery's crib!"

Confused, I hustle out of bed and peak into her room myself.

And although I did not see any type of rodent, I did see two eyes from Avery's crib reflecting the light from the hallway staring at me.

That, my friends, was the night our daughter learned how to situp by herself. Unfortunately, she would do it in her sleep, which would then wake her up, and lead to her crying because she did not know how to lay herself back down.

 
After this would happen several times a night for over a week, Avery did master how to lower herself back down and is sleeping like a beauty once again.

I still giggle at Kyle's claim that a raccoon had broken into our daughter's room.

And I'm a little concerned that his initial reaction was to tell me there was a varmint in her crib opposed to him rescuing her from it.

I mean, how could you mistake this little one for a vicious, food stealing raccoon?

Needless to say, Kyle no long checks in on Avery now.