Merry Christmas!

We had a fun Christmas this year! It was probably the most laid back we have had in years. We spent the morning just the four of us. And we opened presents at our house. Noah made these in preschool for Andy and I. Mine is a fleece scarf with snowmen that he made out of his feet. So cute!! And Andy's is very fitting, an apron. It has Noah's handprint at the top of the little stick man to make his face and beard. It's a little hard to see in the picture. What a fun idea!

Noah was very interested in opening presents for the first time. Andy assembled the work bench after the kids were in bed, so Noah would see it when he woke up. When Noah woke up Christmas morning, he stopped at the work bench ran the drill a couple times then he ran in to our room and said, "momma get up." He was very excited! Ava is a baby and didn't understand the presents, but she did like to eat the paper.

After we opened presents at our house we went to my parents house for Christmas morning breakfast...delicious milkless and soyless scrambled eggs and potatoes. Then we had a few more presents to open. Noah got a Thomas the Train movie, so of course we had to watch it. It is the Misty Island Rescue. Not bad as far as Thomas movies go.

I had to work that night so in the afternoon we took naps and I went to work. It was a good day!

Cousins

We spent a lot of time before Christmas with Crystal and the kids. It was so nice to spend that time with them. Noah has really missed his cousins and I have really missed Crystal. We don't see them as much during the school year since I work every other weekend and they are always tired after a busy week at school. Sophia was convinced that Noah needed to be in the cousin picture. So she held him in as he was trying to escape.

 

Noah's Preschool Christmas Program

Noah's Preschool had a Christmas Program. The kids from all the classes learned Christmas songs and then sang them for us. The kids were all lined up around the center of the santuary at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church. It was great! They even sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had a cake. So cute! I do apologize for the creepy eyed pictures. The lighting wasn't very good.

8 months old

Ava is 8 months old. She weighs 15 lbs, and is 26.5 inches long. She is the happiest baby in the world, and always has a smile on her face. Ava is starting to really become interested in food, she still loves her breast milk, but is also starting to enjoy to her oatmeal and puree fruits and vegetables. She will finally open her mouth for food. Since we started introducing solids at 4 months, we have had to force the spoon through her clinched lips. It's a nice change. Ava doesn't have any teeth yet (which I am most glad). She is sitting really well unassisted and is able to play with toys without falling over. I think she enjoys her new ability. It makes watching Noah much easier.

We have had a busy month of frequent dr calls and appts. And she has been a great trooper through all of it. When she was 7 months old she started on an inhaler, and that has been working from what we can tell...she coughs less and wheezes less. I took Ava up to spokane to see a Pediatric Gastroenterology dr. We were all kind of in the dumps after that appt. The dr put Ava on hypoallergenic formula (thinking maybe she is allergic to milk and soy) that is 24kcal versus the nomal 20kcal of breastmilk and regular formula, in order to help her grow. I also had to go soy free and milk free if I wanted to continue nursing her. Such a pain. It did take Ava a couple days before she would give into the formula. I tasted a drop of the formula...it was NASTY!! No wonder she didn't want to drink it. She also started taking Prevacid for reflux to see if that would stop her puking. The day after the GI dr, we went to Ava's regular dr, because she had green goo oozing from her ear, come to find out she had bilateral ear infections. We were giving Ava 3 different medications twice a day. I felt like a dispensary. I couldn't imagine having a really sick kid and having to do more than that. We are fortunate she only has minor issues.

 

Annie's home

 

Checking out the Christmas tree

Andy and Noah went out shopping tonight, so it was just us girls. I got out the camera and Ava and I had a photo shoot. Initially I put her in front of the tree. Then she tipped over and tried with all her might to touch the tree. I sat her back up, facing the tree this time. She thought it was awesome! She ran her hands through, tried to eat it, just had fun. It was fun to see her explore the tree.

Railroad Park

Today our Family went down to Clarkston for a symphony concert. The Alpine Carillons, handbell choir from church, was playing with the Idaho-Washington Symphony. Since Andy was playing, we thought it would be fun to go. I picked up my mom after she sang with her Sweet Adeline sisters in Lewiston, and we drove over to the Clarkston highschool. The symphony was a good idea, but not practical for us. Noah was napless, so he couldn't hold still and Ava was tired and crabby. So at intermission, Andy dismissed my mom, the kids, and I. We went over to Aunt Deb's house and played with her dogs. After the concert was over, we met up with the bell choir at Antonio's for dinner. After dinner, Andy, momma, the kids, and I stopped at Railroad Park before we drove up the hill.

We had a great time! Noah loved driving the train! And although we froze, we had fun walking around and seeing the lights.

Ava and Santa

Ava and I sat with my mom at a Craft Fair all day today. The building was really cold and there weren't very many people that came, but we had a fun day with my mom. Also on the plus side Ava got free Santa pictures. He looked like a legit Santa, probably the best I have ever seen. Ava didn't mind sitting with him, she especially loved playing with his beard. It wasn't until the end of her time with him that she decided she had had enough. But she did shoot one cute smile during her time with Santa.

Sweet Faces

Ava's personality is really starting to show through. She is an absolute delight and makes some of the cutest faces! And that smile...Andy is going to have a hard time resisting that!

 

Bath tub fun!

 

 

Look how she's grown

Ava wore this dress to my cousin Nick's wedding back in June. I always wanted to put it back on her, when it actually fit, so I finally did. It barely fit! She wasn't a fan of the scratchy tulle at all and mostly cried while she was in the dress.

 

June 2011.

 

7 months old

Ava is 7 months old today. I can hardly believe, she is 7 months old already. Maybe that is because she weighs 14 lbs. 10 oz. and in 25 inches long. Yes, you read that right, she is only up 2 ounces in the last month. Still tiny, but maintaining her weight and not losing, that is what the dr said, so she isn't terribly concerned, but wondering why, as always. Wondering why she coughs, wheezes, vomits, and isn't really growing. I wish the magic 8 ball, could give us an easy answer. Since life isn't that easy we are trying her on flovent (an asthma inhaler) for a month to see if that helps anything. We will see the GI specialist on Dec 12th, and the Pulmonologist on Jan 11th.

Now as far as everything else is concerned, Ava is the happiest and cutest baby ever. Not that I am biased ;)or anything. I have decided she has officially began to sit, but only if she wants to. She will put her hands down and hold herself up, if she is in a sitting mood, otherwise she will pick up her hands and instantly roll to her side. She still rarely rolls to her belly (by choice again) and quickly gets off her tummy during tummy time. She has advanced to the gerber stage 1 fruits and vegetables, (peas, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, applesauce, peaches bananas, and prunes). She likes them all except the pears and gags on the green beans (not sure if its texture or flavor). She doesn't eat her rice cereal well, unless the nasty flavor has been covered up by one of her favorite fruits or vegetables.

Genetic run wild through all our families, and I am pretty sure our families quirks get passed that way to. Like how both my kids and I have grandma Ole's crooked toes, and the Beeson chin, and how we all carried around our blankies, and now the newest. Ava has never appreciated the pacifier, like Noah did. Which in some ways is nice, not a lot of pictures with binky smiles, but there are times when I wish she would. Instead, she found her thumb. Although I can not chop off her thumb when I am ready for her to be done sucking it, it is a welcome trait in the way of self soothing.

 

We love this sweet little girl so much!!

Ava's Baptism

Today we had Ava's Baptism at our church. It was a beautiful day outside, and Noah was in a wild and defiant mood. Made life a little difficult. We had a cake made to share with our church family after church.

 

As is tradition, well starting with Noah, Ava had her pictures taken in one of the many beautiful stained glass windows. My selections were limited as most of the windows were full of food for the Moscow Food Bank. But I think this one looks like she has angels wings.

 

Ava Leigh, I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Our attempt at a family picture. Like I said, Noah was wild and defiant. Nothing we bribed Noah with would make him cooperate for a picture.

 

Becky and Ava.

 

What is Noah up to?

These days Noah is mostly just playing his days away. He still loves his cars, trains, and unearned motorcycles (potty training incentives).

His newest excitement however, is that we are working on potty training...enough said. He is actually doing quite well. I am now assured he won't be starting kindergarten in diapers. I finally found the incentive that works for him. We have tried cars, candy, and stickers. All of which he lost interest, but the motorcycles and monster trucks are working like a charm. We have our good days and our bad, like everything in life.

Last week I went to put Noah on the waiting list for Emmanuel Preschool for next fall, then I spoke to the teacher and we talked about next semester. However, when we got to the school, and saw how great Noah did with the other kids, she asked if we wanted to start on Thursday. I said yes!! Noah's first day was a little rough getting started out (he was just a little clingy), but after circle time he went and played with the other kids, and didn't even mind when I left him. I will tell you, the free time to go to the grocery store was awesome. It took me 45 minutes start to finish. Normally it takes over an hour because Noah likes to walk and run and be a boy.

Noah LOVES his sister. Every night before bed, he kisses her and says, "Goodnight, Eva." He talks to her in a high squeaky voice and makes her smile. Most mornings when she wakes up, he comes with me to get her out of bed. He loves her and that makes my heart glad, even when he is driving me out of my mind.

Update to Ava's 6 month appt

So the Zantac we have been giving Ava has done nothing for her, she still coughs, wheezes, and throws up. It was mostly just a pain in the butt for us, as she hates it, and spits out as much as she possibly can. So the latest plan is for her to see a pediatric GI specialist in Spokane and have them do a work up of some kind of her. We just keep adding to her list. Man, she will have seen every specialist in Spokane by the time she is 5, jk. I really hope I am kidding!!! I will keep you posted what we find out.

Almost Sitting

I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Noah was an early sitter, I expected Ava to be too, but I was wrong. Ava can finally sit long enough for me to take a picture, so not longer than a couple minutes yet, but she is getting closer every day. Yahoo!

 

Hello thumb!

Ava has started sucking her thumb which I love. If she is tired, she just puts her thumb in her mouth and goes to sleep. No more pacifier attempts for this girl! She loves her thumb instead!

Ava was laying on the living room floor, just playing, and all of a sudden, she is sleeping. So sweet!!

 

Leaves and Halloween

This evening we went to the Harvest Festival at the church. Noah was pretty much a watcher. There was a lot of noise and bigger kids running about, so he stayed back and watched. But before that we took the kids out into the leaves to play, Noah loved running through them but Andy practically had to tackle him to get him to sit in the leaves. After they started throwing leaves at eachother, they were okay. I sat Ava down in them for a minute and she fell over which made her furious. So her and Noah sat together. She enjoyed putting leaves in her mouth and sucking them.

 

After the Harvest Festival, we went to Tom and Denise's house so they could see the kids in their Halloween costumes. Sophia's beautiful Rapunzel dress was made by her Grandma LeAnn, then Ava's little ladybug outfit was Sophia's when she was her age, Noah is an airplane (although he looks like he crashed) and Eric is one of the Transformers (a very popular costume this year, I am pretty sure their were at least 5 different ones at the Harvest Festival).

 

 

 

Baby food smiles and Pumpkins

Ava has recently started eating fruits and vegetables. She seems to enjoy all of the ones we have tried so far. She doesn't have much of an appetite for pureed food like Noah did. It takes her about 3 days to eat a small container of food, where as with Noah he would eat 2-3 containers each meal.

 

We carved our Greenbluff pumpkins. Noah got very involved in digging out the seeds, but once we started carving them, he went off and played with his cars. The pumpkin with our names took Andy 2 hours from start to finish. He said he would never do it again, but I think it is the coolest pumpkin ever!!

 

6 Month Appt

We had Ava's 6 month appointment today. She weighs 14 lbs, 8 oz. and was 24 1/4 inches. Ava got an A+ in everything except her range of motion in her hips, they are a little stiff, and she still coughs and wheezes regularly still. The Dr wanted us to do and xray of her hips, which was normal. We also started her on Zantac to see if th cough and wheeze are because of acid reflux. She got her shots and also Noah got his flu shot. Not a brilliant plan since I had two crying kids. Oh well, Live and Learn!

A Day at Greenbluff

We went up to Greenbluff to play for the day. We met Aunt Kris, Cody and cousin Joel at the pumpkin patch. Noah loved riding in the wagon with the pumpkins, but Joel was more interested in pushing the cart. W bought 172 pounds of pumpkins. Wow! Noah RAN through the straw maze. I could hardly keep up! And he rode his first horse. Last year he was afraid of the little pony but this year he chose to ride the big horse. My baby is growing up. Ava was very interested in touching the leaves of the pumpkins and was very happy when I let her out of the front pack. Every year will get better and better!!

 

6 months old, Grandma Doris', Swimming

Today we went to Grandma Doris' house in Postfalls. Since it was also Ava's 6 month birthday, we took her pictures there. This month Ava has started squealing, the best sound ever. On occasion you can get a small giggle out of her, though it does sound like a few connected grunts. She has become fascinated with her feet, but still adores to stare at her hands. When she is upset, she says, mum, mum, mum, but I don't think she knows the meaning, its just a sound to her. But I can pretend, right? She is starting to become interested in objects besides her toys, like spoons, bibs, paper, and pretty much anything she can get her hands on. Another healthy and happy month, for a sweet baby girl!

 

At Grandma Doris' we (me not included, I wore around Ava) did all kinds of things for Grandma like fixing the chimney, splitting wood, picking up sticks, and playing with the kitties. Noah loved driving Grandma's farm equipment, the tractors, little red, and especially loved sitting in the jeep playing with the Tonka machinery (which we got to bring home).

 

After we were done at Grandma's house, we went to dinner at Red Robin with momma, Becky, Gretta, and Corey. We had a great time! Since we planned on going to Greenbluff tomorrow. We didn't want to drive home and then back to Spokane, so we stayed in Spokane. Once we got to our hotel, checked in, and got the luggage upstairs, we went swimming. We had a lot of fun. Both kids were really tired, but enjoyed themselves. Ava loves swimming, but she got splashed as we were taking the picture and got mad. A man in the pool offered to take our families picture. It was super nice! We had a fun time!

 

We had a fun but LONG day! We all got to bed by 10 o'clock and slept like logs!

Best Buds

 

 

The cutest dress on the CUTEST girl

 

 

 

U of I Homecoming. GO VANDALS!

Today is the U of I Homecoming Game, Parade, and all things Vandals!! I was able to take the night before off so I could enjoy the festivities. Andy headed to the fire station early, so Corey spent the day with the kids and I. We started out by heading to the Fire Station on Main St for a pancake and sausage breakfast, before the parade. Noah was fully aware that he was going to drive the fire truck with Andy, so he inhaled his pancakes, then RAN down Main St, so we didn't miss the fire truck. As we ran down Main St, everyone googled at how adorable the kids were, especially Ava in her vandals dress and matching korker (made by yours truely). We took pictures on the fire truck of the 3 cousins, then our family on the truck, Noah is wearing Keith's battalion check helmet (which he HATED), and then Noah was holding Ava and almost through her off the fire truck, because he was done being in front of the camera. Before the parade started, the Vandals Marching Band, went by us playing the fight song. After about 15 seconds of that Ava starting crying histerically because it was so loud, then proceeded to cry for the duration of the hour long parade. We had a great time, minus the crying baby.

 

Freedom

Ava used to love her hands, now its her feet. The instant her pants come off, her legs are in the air and she is holding onto her feet.

 

Korkers

Ava is modeling the first korker I made for her. She is getting to the point where, if she doesn't want to wear it then she won't. She pulls many fashionable hair accessories off her head. One day she will learn to LOVE them.

 

Juniper update

Our juniper bushes are about 1/3 of the way gone. And this is probably as far as they will get before it becomes to cold to cut at the retchid bushes.

 

Silverwood

Back in August, Gritman took ALL its employees for a fun day at Silverwood. Unfortunately I was working, so we missed the hot, overcrowded day at Silverwood. But fortunately, they gave those working tickets to use anytime for the rest of the open season. So we got a free, fun day at Silverwood. It wasn't hot, or crowded and all the souvenirs were 50% off because we went the second to last weekend it was open. We had a BLAST!

Noah was forced to be a brave, big boy and ride on the helicopters and airplanes by himself, since Andy and I were too tall to ride. He loved it!! And by the end of the day, had figured out the levers to make the helicopter and planes go up and down.

 

Andy and Noah, did most of the stuff together. They went on the train roller coster, a giant swing, shot balls at the mini tanks, and shot water at people in the bumper boats.

Ava and I were connected all day, by choice I might add. She hung out in the front pack and just watched everything. I am not big into rides, so we just watched. We did go on a train ride (the four of us) and Ava cried for quite a bit of it. She was tired and instantly woke up when we boarded the train. But for her lack on sleep was a very good baby.

 

Thank you Gritman!! We had a great day!!

Back to Belly

Today the kids and I were over at Crystal's house. Ava was laying on the floor, while the rest of us were eating lunch, and suddenly she rolled over and was on her belly. I let her stay that way to see if she would roll from her belly onto her back again. She didn't. She just got very mad that she was on her belly and started screaming. It may be a while before she doesn't that again. She now has the potential to be a mover if she choses. We may be in trouble!!

5 months old

Ava is 5 months old. She is such a sweet, and happy girl!! Ava weighs 13 lbs. 8 oz. and is 24 1/4 inches long (very petite for her age). She smiles all the time. She is quite the little vocalist; she coos, sings, and squeals. There is nothing better! Ava is facinated with her hands, she stares at them when she is laying on the floor or in her chair at the table. This month she tried rice cereal, and is becoming interested in toys. Her first top knot was attempted this month and is now my favorite hairdo. She is growing up so fast!!

 

Mikey doesn't like it!

Ava has decided the rice cereal is nasty. She will open her mouth for bites, but frequently gags, shivers, and spits out her daily few bites of rice cereal. She will be so excited when she is allowed to eat something else!!

 

Cindy Lou Who

Ava is sporting a pretty amusing hairdo these days. She has some hair right on the top of her head (all of which is pretty long), a tuft where her pony tail is, and another tuft at the base of her neck, And bald on the sides. Part of me wants to shave her silly do, but I can't, and now that I can do pony tails. She is just going to have to sport wild hair. She is still adorable, even though she is lacking evenly spread hair!!!

 

What a day!

I worked the night before, so I slept most of the day. But once I woke up and found out I was able to be on-call, we had a great evening. Ava got to try rice cereal for the first time. I kept waiting for the "that's gross stuff mom" look, but it never came. She liked it, she just just very good a eating it. Instead of opening her mouth she trys to suck it off the spoon. More practice and she will be a chow hound, just like her brother was with baby food.

 

Andy put air in our clearance inflatable whale pool. When we read the box, it says 8 foot whale, well it is 8 feet including the head and tail, but there is only about 4 feet of actual pool. Oh well, Noah enjoyed himself. I got in too, but it was too cold, to stay in for long.

 

Noah won this t-shirt in a wet t-shirt contest, a little too big. But he will grow into it. He was dancing around, singing, and directing to our "Tangled" soundtrack.

 

I love the fun evenings we spend together!!!