"mom...that was super fun!"

Took my lovely sledding for the first time.
Or so she says.
We got a new sled from Santa and this slippery snow was perfect for zooming right on down the same hill my sister and used to sled on when we were younger.
I used to hate sledding when I was a kid. For various reasons. Mainly because it always seemed like so much work for such a short thrill.
But with her....I could do it for hours. I love seeing how she lights up.
Totally worth coming inside with snow packed into the back of my jeans.
<3 br="">

quips

my monkey is getting funny.


toooooooooooooooooot!
mommy: Avonlea! did you fart??!!
avonlea: I sure DID!!!

************

av: Mommy...I eat Merlin kitty?
mommy: no! you can't eat merlin! what are you talking about??
av: (rolls eyes) mommy....i was bein' funny!


************

Av: Give me more melon!!!
mommy: How do you ask mommy?
av: Give me more melon NOW.....damn it!!!

disclaimer: i have no idea where she got that from. no idea. at. all. nope.

************

speaking about our lawn guy, Dave.

av: mommy...Dave has sharp teeth.
mommy: Dave has no teeth.
av: sharp teeth! he will bite you!
mommy: no. dave will not bite you......i don't think.
av: (emphatically) he's MEAN! like a troll!
mommy: no. he isn't mean.
av: (considering it) he's a nice guy.


*************

:)

embarrassing story #1

I knew that it would happen.
My parents have a slew of stories about my sister and me and how much we embarrassed them out in public. Truth: most of those stories were of Sarah doing the embarrassing....actually....I'm fairly certain ALL of those stories were of Sarah.

I digress....

I always knew it would happen. I have been blessed with a mostly very happy, very friendly, coy and flirty little babe, especially out in public. And so, I haven't really had a terrible we-are-leaving-this-store-right-now meltdown, and she just started stringing words together enough for her non-mommy and non-daddy relatives to finally understand. Thus, I thought I had a little more time. Just say'in. Wrong.

Cue story #1....

We are out to dinner at a favorite pizza place...my parents, my sister, and the babe and me. It is 2 hours post-bedtime. Babes is bordering freak-out mode, and after one injury-induced meltdown, and mommy's scolding about how we can not, in fact, leap from her high chair to her grandmother like a little flying squirrel, I attempt to distract.

mommy (wide eyed and feigning excitement): Avonlea, would you like to take a bath tonight or a shower with mommy in the morning???
* internal dialogue: please say shower, please say shower...its so late and (mommy needs a break) you need to go to bed. *

avonlea (thoughtful):..... hmm...shower...mommy.

m: good answer! remember the last time we took a shower, and we played with your alphabet letters in the tub?

a: yes.
*pause*
*pause*
and i wash mama's BUTT.

m: *blink...blink*
yes.
*pause*
yes. you did wash mommy's butt.

a: and 'gina!

m: *huge blink, stifling laughter as Avonlea beams with pride*
yes. yes, you did wash mommy's vagina. thank you. and thank you for sharing that.


there was a lot of oh-my-god-i-cant-breathe-from-laughing-so-hard minutes after that little gem.

let the fun begin!

and oh we will be a'bloomin'....

The babe is getting bigger. Soon, I wont be able to call her "the babe", and she will become "the girl". My heart already breaks for that change.
Things have been....I don't even know what to call them. Let's just say that we have all been getting used to things and this new way of life. And in the sadness, I haven't felt like taking many photographs.

Until spring came and whispered it's warm breath upon us last week, even with the sleepy snow still on the ground.
So, the babe and I went outside, sans jackets, to splash a bit in the puddles and revel in the sweet smell of wet earth and emerging crocuses.

When I uploaded the photographs tonight, I realized that I still had christmas photographs that I hadn't even looked at yet. And so I will share my two favorites of the babe, although there are some fine family moments on that upload. Maybe we will save those for another day.

We need a little spring in these parts... it's time to wash away the winter and melt away the snow and ice.
It's time for new beginnings.
New roots with gorgeous blooms.

*and oh, there will be some gorgeous bloomin' going on in these parts*

It's time.

We're getting there. We are holding our own, don't you worry about us.
And we feel these soft winds of love that you keep blowing our way. And it gets us through the hard days. And it gets us through the amazing days. So, thank you.

And so I say goodnight...it's time to get some sleep....I hear there's some sunshine coming our way.

:)

oh she speaks....

i know i am ridiculously overdue on a newsletter....i have one partially written, but just cant get my act together long enough to finish it off.

so i thought i'd give some satiating stats.....

avonlea is 18 months old.

which means she is basically 2 years old, because that's how she acts now. :)

she is smart and stubborn, and a little ball of sweet love.

last week at the doctor, she was 31.25 inches long, and 22.25 lbs. she has thinned out, and gotten taller, and still fits in her 12 month clothing. i must admit, her 18 month clothing is ALMOST perfect for her but for the huge gap at the waist.

she is a picky eater. for only mommy and daddy. and eats everyone else out of house and home.

she loves elmo, and the muppets, and You're Baby Can Read videos. and books. good goddess, that girl loves her books. and being outside. she will run, and swing and slide all day if you let her.

here are all the words she knows:

hi/bye

yeah/no

muhma/dada/love you

baba/gaga/gramma/grampa

auntie

kitty/owl/octopus/elephant/duck

more/milk/water/eat/book/ice cream/waffle/egg/apple/hot/cold

elmo/cookie/oscar/count/big bird/telly

feet/sock/shoe/hat

i know there are more....but i can't seem to think of them right now. if you ask her to repeat a word, she will repeat almost anything...but these are her every day words now.

edit:

also, add these words to the every day list:

ernie/right there/up/down/thank you/bless you/stinky/nose/eye/ear/cheek/hair/head/hot dog/all done/toes/buns

she knows the animal sounds to-

dog/kitty/owl/snake/elephant/cow/monkey/duck/lion (and anything else that looks vicious enough to rawr)/cookie monster :)

i know this is a poor excuse for a newsletter...but it's just a little update. :)

i hope you enjoyed it as much as i am enjoying her....she is too delicious to share blogging time with. :)

Edible....edible i say!

I will admit...this isn't her best work, JUST before this she got ALL of her animal sounds right on the money.... but man...I could eat her up!

Birthday Bliss

I know. It's been an ungodly amount of time. I just couldn't pull my head out of my bum to post. and then i started getting all this anxiety about how i haven't posted in 10 years. so, i'm gonna do some drive-by posts in pictures to get us all caught up and back to the present day!!

We had a little party for the birthday girl....(way back in april)....

Lots of balloons...lots of friends....lots of food...and lots of presents....what more could we ask for?

I think this is the most sugar she's ever had in her life! She actually made a dent in that cake!!

All pooped out....she slept like a rock that night!

It was a busy, but love filled day. Thank you to everyone who came, helped us set up and break down the party, ate all the wonderful food cooked by my MIL and husband, and brought wonderful gifts for Avonlea to love!!

Getting Back To Good

"honey....honey! wake up! I just went to take my medicine, and spilled them everywhere....I found all of them but one....can you look for it? Watch the baby really good....I love you, bye"

That's what I woke up to thursday morning.

Avonlea decided that she didn't want the eggs and sausage I made her for breakfast. Or the yogurt. Or the waffle I made her. Or the toast. And when she refused the mandarin oranges, I knew something was up. And when she started furiously rubbing her eyes and face, I plopped her in the tub thinking she had gotten pepper in her eyes from the eggs.

And then she was all mottled and blueish.

And then she was acting like a crazy person, scratching her body, pulling her hair and her ears, shaking, and screaming like she was on fire.

I let her run around naked in her room, her feet weaving her around the sand-colored carpet, and I called my friend Amy to pick her brain. We decided I should call the pediatrician. So I went downstairs, and that's when I saw it on the floor.

The Missing Pill. Laying in a drool soaked puddle.

The Missing Pill is a high dose, extended release Ritalin derivative. An amphetamine.

That's right, say it with me.

FUCK.

Poison control said I needed to take her to the Emergency room, so I packed up the babe, inconsolable, and brought her to my hospital. They were waiting for us, had a room all ready. Some bloodwork, an IV, a few EKGs, and a bottle of bubbles later, we were admitted to the med-surg floor for monitoring. She had had some EKG changes, and her heart enzymes were elevated. By 6pm the inconsolable-ness had worn off, and she was literally running around like she was on speed. Well, that's because she was. We had a rough, sleepless night of flying around the unit saying "hi! hi! hi! hi! hi!" to everyone/everything we could.

Our morning labs were not improved, but the repeat EKG was. They wanted to keep us another night, but this Momma had had enough. And so we packed up the babe and brought her home to her own toys, her own tub, and her own bed.

She's back to her normal self, no Speedy Gonzalez anymore, and despite a few nightmares that needed some momma hugs and kisses, she's back to good.

Might take Mommy a little longer. The guilt on this side of the fence is overwhelming. But I guess all those times that I told all those Other Mommies who walked into my unit "it could have happened to anyone".... guess I wasn't really lying. Because it happened to me. In a minute.

So, I'll work on the guilt. And I'll hug through the nightmares. And I'll get back to good, too.

A special thank you to all the souls who brought needed supplies, gave advice despite the unpredictable outcomes, treated, cared for and loved my little one and me. And for the night crowd who tip-toed and kept me going through the long night with texts and visits, kisses and kind words. You are loved and appreciated more than you could ever know.

11 Month Newsletter

Avonlea,

You are 11 months old. Holy cow! I can't believe that in 4 short weeks, you will be a year! Where did this year go?? We were so wrapped up in you that we hardly even noticed the changing of the seasons, the increase in grey hairs, and the newly emerging fine lines around our sleep deprived eyes.

You have had another growth spurt since our last newsletter, suddenly out growing all of your 9 month clothes and fitting perfectly into 12 months clothing. As we speak, we have just returned from a shopping spree at our favorite baby consignment shop in town, grabbing tons of great summer finds for you for our trip to Martha's Vineyard. Daddy can't wait to show you around his favorite little island, and I can't wait to go there for the first time with you, my love!

A month ago, we started taking Saturday morning swim lessons at our local pool. You weren't as interested in the "swim" part of swim class as you were in the "class" part. You waved and dove at the other babies, smiling and saying "heeeey!" while waving your arms furiously. Eventually, we got you to focus on the task at hand...and now you LOVE to swim, and will even put your face in the water to blow bubbles. We have one week left of this swim class series, and then we plan on definitely signing up and continuing this great class. We have made some good friends here, and have fun every saturday! We know that you will love the water when we head to the vineyard, and if you are anything like your mommy and daddy when we were kids, we will have to beg and plead to get you out of the water!

You started this month cautiously standing at furniture and letting go, crashing to the floor only to giggle and get back up again. And now, as I write this, you walk all over the house. The transformation from "crawler" to "walker" has been amazingly adorable. And tonight, at Grandma's house, as she stomped behind threatening to "get you", I do believe I saw you begin to RUN to get away! You now prefer walking to crawling, and I imagine it is because crawling just takes far too long now!

When last we left, you were giving us a run for our money in the sleep department. And With great persistence, great love, and of course, the Sleep Lady Shuffle, you now go to sleep all on your own, easily, and without tears. You surprised the both of us with how easily you taught yourself, and made us realize that it wasn't really YOUR fault to begin with. We taught you to need our help to go to sleep, and we had to teach you to learn to fall asleep on your own. If I only had a dollar for every time we have said "well...now we know for next time!".

(don't get too excited....."next" time is years away....) :)

February was a very challenging month for our little family, and with great sadness, we have all gained another guardian angel. You did not know your Daddy's Nana, but we have learned of her great love for all of her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and her incredible culinary skills. Although it seems that we have been surrounded by loss in this past year, you have shown us that when we fall, we get back up. I know that our angels, our Nana, our Babci, our Marge, are there holding your hand as you take your first steps, and I know that you are surrounded in their love.

Earlier in the month, we went to your friend Sara's first birthday party, where you got to eat your first cupcake. I love seeing you with other babies, especially Kylie, Cailin, and Sara...it is amazing to me how different you are with each of them....which personality traits emerge depending on who you are spending time with. I love how you buzz around, and barely have time to stop and give your momma a kiss, because you are far too busy playing with your friends. I love that when you see them, you toddle over to them and give them big sloppy kisses. I am excited to say that in september, you will have a new little friend, and we can hardly wait to meet them...until then, I know that you will share your guardian angels....not that we could keep them away! Congrats, D&D!

This week begins the furious party planning for your first birthday....and like your amazing personality, it will be fun, bright, and full of smiles, cuddles and sloppy wet kisses.

So, let the party planning begin!

We love you, muffin!

these boots were made for walkin....

this video was taken with my phone, so it is grainy and terrible. but, enjoy the frankensteinian walking! it's her preferred method of getting around these days. ;)