Holy cow...Arden is one!

This post is so overdue. I feel like my blogging skills are deteriorating along the same path of decline as my brain cell count. I honestly feel like I am getting dumber with each successive child, so maybe I should stop having kids while I'm ahead.

I'm not sure how this happened, but Arden is one. She is so cute and smiley all day long. She has grown leaps and bounds but she is still the cuddly little baby she always was. She has a great disposition and will smile her squinty smile at anyone. She is so irresistible when she smiles and her four top teeth and two bottom teeth are showing. She does get a little shy sometimes and will shrug her shoulders up and tilt her head sideways.

One year stats:

Weight-19 lbs (10-25th percentile)
Height-29. 5 inches (50-75th percentile)

Arden was acting like a crazy baby during her one year check up. She did not want to go near the nurse or the doctor and she was frantically trying to climb off the scale. At least she didn't pee on the examination table like she almost always does. She had to endure a chickenpox vaccine and finger pricks but bounced back pretty quickly after that. She had to endure all of this on her actual birthday.

So no good news on the sleeping situation. In fact, her sleep habits have gotten worse. She still naps twice a day around 9am and 2pm. Now I have to lay her on my chest after nursing her to put her to sleep for naps and at night. Sometimes this process can take up to 45 minutes! Sometimes I ask myself why I spend so much time trying to get her to nap when she might only nap for 45 minutes. But I do it anyway and hope that we'll figure it out along the way. If I just let her hang out in her crib without laying her on me, she will just babble to herself or cry and not sleep at all. I can't nurse Arden to sleep anymore and just put her in the crib and walk away like I used to. Now she'll finish nursing, sit up, give me a sweet little smile, and crawl onto my chest. How can I resist her? But my patience wears thin by the third time she wakes up in the middle of the night. Not sure who wins "worst sleeper ever" title-Ava when she was under 2, or Arden.

These days Arden and I are roomies while David sleeps on an aerobed in Ava's room. So far it has worked alright but David has discovered that Ava has some weird sleep habits like standing straight up in the middle of the night. Ava also likes to sleep on the aerobed until David transfer to her own bed.

Arden doesn't take a bottle or a sippy cup very well. Somehow the "Teen Moms" on MTV can get their babies to sleep and take bottles but I can't do either. These days when I struggle with some aspect of parenting, I just shrug my shoulders and think "this won't last forever". Someday Arden will sleep, right? Somebody please tell me yes.

Arden does the cutest things, like growl. But if I growl at her, she gets a little scared. She likes to play peek-a-boo by putting her hands over her eyes, and she is an excellent clapper. She will blow kisses if we ask her to do it. She walks alongside furniture like a champ but has not taken any steps at all.

Words: she has mastered "dada", and her version of "uh-oh" (sounds like "hmm-mmmm"). I think she might know "dog" because one day we got in the elevator and she said "doh" at the dog in there. "Mama" comes out once in a while but it could just be a coincidence.

Favorite foods: chicken apple sausage, vegetable beef pilaf, baby mum mums, ribs, Indian chicken, salmon, tofu, and pasta.

Sometimes Arden likes to wave her arms around to music, with her hands looking a bit like pincers. This is not a perfect depiction of her "rapping lobster" look, but it is pretty close.

The sisters are starting to play well together, if by "play" we mean Ava sitting on Arden or pulling Arden's legs when Arden is crawling

Arden giving me a shy glance

This looks like the lamest first birthday cake ever but Arden enjoyed her carrot cake enough to smear it in her hair

Arden at her one year check up--before she knew what was coming

Arden and Henry in the playroom. Arden getting dolled up for her birthday. Too bad I didn't get a party together for her.

That is Arden's sleepy face. She sucks on her bottom lip and puts her fingers to her mouth. She is so cuddly!!!

Living it up with St. Patty's, Martha and The Strokes

David decided to take his birthday off (St. Patty's Day) as well as the day after. It was wonderful to walk down to 5th Avenue and 79th St. to enjoy the parade. We loved how patriotic it was, with a lot of policemen and soldiers walking down 5th Avenue while bagpipes could be heard in the background.

David had a great birthday (except I messed up the icing on his cake--apparently sour cream chocolate icing is not his thing). During one night on his birthday weekend, he and I were able to walk to the Metropolitan museum and enjoy some religious art right before closing. Then we walked through Central Park and enjoyed the breathtaking evening views while we were on our way to Gennaro, a cozy Italian restaurant. We ended the night with some gelato from Screme. David kept asking me all weekend, "How could anyone want to leave this city?"

Ava had the best view of the parade

Arden and David in green. For once David's neon green jacket wasn't an eyesore (just kidding, babe, you know I love your jacket)

I couldn't get enough of men in kilts

Hanging out with the Foss family and Colvin family during and after the parade

Alice in Wonderland statue was close by so I climbed on after the parade. Ignore my pirate look.

Enjoying brunch on David's day off. Check out David's hot new birthday jeans.

Isn't this baby cute enough to eat?

Ava waiting to slap on some strawberry butter.

I was able to enjoy some activities lately sans kids. My friend Tiffany and I have been swapping babysitting services and it has been awesome! Now that the weather is better, I am really excited to explore my big back yard. I don't know if it is because I have two kids now that I really feel like I need to go out with my friends and go on dates with David. I never really felt like I had to "get away" when it was just Ava. But then again I didn't live in NYC before!

Martha! We are the lucky ladies who got to see a Martha Stewart taping. We scored some free Minwax. Just watch I'm going to get all crafty and Minwax it up...not.

David and I scored some box seat tickets at Madison Square Garden to see The Strokes (he got tix through people he met at work). This is my way to see a rock concert--away from the crowds and with an arm's reach access to food. Here's to more good times in the city!