Random Sampler

Who's scared of the big bad mommy?

Those of you who know me very well know that I'm scared of many things: the dark, driving on freeways, talking to people, etc, etc...so of course it's not surprising that Ava is quite sensitive. It's funny when I discover some new thing that Ava is frightened of. There have been a couple of times when a pesky fly gets into our house. I couldn't rest until I had exterminated the flies on each occasion. When I roll up any magazine I get my hands on and start swatting against which ever glass surface the fly lands on, Ava would scream hysterically. I must look very frightening with a rolled up magazine. I say, "bring it on, flies!"

Ava likes to bust a move

While Ava nurses, she starts moving around like she is about to start breakdancing. She gets her legs up in the air like she is going to start spinning. Very impressive acrobatics. I think she is getting close to spinning on her head, even if she isn't walking yet. She even attempts to stand up. I think pretty soon I'll be getting a membership card to the Freaky Toddler Nursing Club. Don't worry, I won't turn into that eccentric and aberrant British lady who is still breastfeeding her eight year old. Sometimes I have a love-hate relationship with the whole nursing thing. I only hate it at night. Maybe her nightwakings are inextricably linked with nursing, but I feel that she needs to nurse since she has that milk allergy. Hooray for mammaries!


First dentist appointment

Ava bumped her mouth on her wagon and her mouth was bleeding, so I figured it was time to take her to the dentist to make sure no damage was done. Plus one of her top teeth was looking a little suspect, so it was time to have a professional take a look. We went to a brand new pediatric dentistry practice. Ava was the only patient there and was the star of the show. I laid her on my lap with her head in the dentist's lap. Ava screamed while the dentist took a look and Ava tried to clamp her mouth shut. Everything looked fine! Ava got her first toothbrush (with Tigger on it) and strawberry toothpaste. She has officially graduated from using a wash cloth as a toothbrush to the real thing. She's only got six teeth (four on top and two on the bottom) but these teeth are lethal. Ava comes up to me when I'm minding my own business and bites into my arm, my stomach, my leg, or whatever she can get her chompers on. What can I do but yell in pain? She always looks at me blankly or laughs at me when I say "No biting!"


Tricks of the trade (of being cute)


A toddler is akin to a puppy. You work on teaching or training them to do new tricks. Ava has a few tricks in her repertoire. She can point to many of her body parts. My favorite is when she pats her diaper when I ask her where her bum is. I also love it when she wiggles her toes when I ask her where her toes are. Ava can clap her hands on command, in particular to certain songs. She says "mmmmmwwwwahhhh" and puts her hand to the mouth when I tell her to blow kisses. This month she has just blossomed and is learning new things everyday. She isn't saying too many words yet, but she points to balls and says "Ball". She also says "babu" for "bubble ". I tried to teach her how to massage my legs and feet for my own selfish purposes but we're not quite there yet...

Mommy Mess-Ups

Hazardous french fry


Everyone talks about this instinct that mothers have. I'm not sure if I have one, or if I do, it's in its infant stages and seriously smothered by all the frivolous thoughts running around in my head. Or maybe we should just call this mommy instinct "common sense". An example of my lack of motherly instinct would have to be when I handed Ava a piping hot french fry at a restaurant. I had a feeling that even though the outside of the french fry was at a moderate temperature, the inside was probably too hot. Yet I still handed it to her. What is wrong with me? I think I was so anxious for her to consume some high caloric food. Of course she screamed "BLAH!" at the top of her lungs when she put it in her mouth and everyone in the restaurant turned and looked at us while Ava rubbed her poor mouth.



Get some gates already!


I was feeling particularly miserable one night because of my non-stop snot flowage, so as I was climbing on the kitchen counter to get to the medicine cabinet (I think I should invest in a stool before I kill myself climbing countertops), I heard a really loud thump and wailing. I ran over to wherever Ava was...and she was lying face down on the stairwell. I have no idea how many steps she had fallen, but I mean, it was a thunderous thump! I comforted her and she calmed down when she started nursing. I put her to bed and called the pediatrician's number and a nurse answered for any afterhours questions. I explained the situation and the nurse instructed me to shine a flashlight into each of Ava's eyes in the dark to see if the pupils constrict. This was one of the things on the checklist to check for brain injury. As I desperately tried to shine a flashlight into Ava's eyes while she was sleeping, she woke up and was furious and kept batting the flashlight away. I had to call David to finish the job. He was at a friend's house for a much needed session of "manversation" or "man-time" and violent movies. Once he rushed home he was able to confirm that both pupils constricted and that nothing seemed wrong with little Ava.



Sleepless Nights



I categorize David and I not getting decent sleep to something that I've done wrong along the way. Everything some sleep experts say not to do has been done by yours truly. I'm sure bringing a baby into the bed to nurse in the middle of the night isn't against the rules in some peoples' book. But all I know is, something isn't working right with Ava's sleeping habits. She's addicted to nursing at night and sometimes insists on it 3-4 times a night. It's like I'm dealing with a newborn...but a very sassy one at that. One that can throw herself backwards in protest if you don't feed her pronto. Sometimes she bumps her head on the headboard while thrashing around on the bed, thus escalating her wrath. So, I'm starting to get desperate...but not quite desperate enough to do the cry it out thing. Well, I sort of let her cry when I bring her into our room on the nights when I don't feel like being her pacifier. I try to comfort her and pat her back and not nurse her. All the while she is screaming and David leaves to go sleep in another room while Ava and I battle it out. She usually wins...Something that David and I say a lot is "with our next one, we're going to do things differently."

Her shoes aren't made for walking

Taken two months ago...shoes weren't used for walking then, and nothing has changed since.

lil' entree for a lil' sweetie. She dug her grubby little hands in and tossed the whole plate on the floor. Should've known...

This Radio Flyer walker wagon was Ava's first birthday gift. She doesn't really like to push it on her own, but she enjoys getting pushed around.

David and I take turns pushing. It can be hard on the backs of us old folks

You talkin' to me, or the monkey?

All this monkey business is making me sleepy. Plus being so gorgeous is exhausting

And the culprit is...dairy

At Ava's one year check up, she weighed in at a little over 16 pounds. I was quite dismayed that she was not even on the growth chart in terms of weight. She is still at the 75th percentile for height, though. Ava is always very traumatized at the doctor's office, and cries as soon as the nurse or doctor gets near her. Needless to say, the MMR shots she got made her scream bloody murder. Only a little frog toy that the nurse gave her calmed her down. I decided after the appointment that it was time to fatten Ava up. Her skin had miraculously cleared up a week ago. I thought we could say good bye to eczema for good and decided I could start stuffing my face to my heart's desire. I went crazy at the Greek festival during the weekend. I ate cheese, walnuts, almonds, probably some butter and her skin is still looking fab. Here are a few pics from the Greek festival:

Ava had a piece of bread in each hand while we were having dinner

Her feet are always on the table, without fail

The Greeks got it right with this cookie..the amytholota or something like that. Every year I have to stock up on the cookies during festival. The festival was a mad house this year. Way too many people in my way when I was trying to buy my baklava and other delights.





Back to Ava's story...I always get sidetracked when I think about food. So I had already set up an appointment with an allergist a month prior. I almost cancelled the appointment because I thought Ava probably didn't have food allergies after all. The day before the allergist appointment, I bought a whole pack of yogurt. I fed Ava a spoonful and she expressed her distaste immediately. I kept shoving spoonfuls into her mouth, determined to get some bovine goodness into her, despite her protests. All of a sudden, she started getting hives all over her face and neck. I just nursed her to sleep and when she woke up 45 minutes later, she was fine. I didn't give her any Benadryl, for fear of messing up the chance of getting tested at the allergist. The next day, at the allergist, she was pricked with the usual suspects and out of all the food types they tested, it only showed she was allergic to milk. She's also allergic to mold and dust mites. I guess I should start dusting, or cleaning in general for that matter. The skin prick test wasn't too horrible for her. The nurse was trying to prick her really quickly and may have jabbed her a bit too hard at a few spots. I can't believe I may have to jab Ava with one of those crazy Epipens if she ever has an allergic reaction again. And give her Benadryl, then call 911. I told the allergist that this seemed like an extreme measure if she just had hives for a few minutes. His reply was, "This is not the gospel according to me. Any other doctor would tell you the same blessed thing." Alright, 'nuff said. Any answer with the words "gospel" and "blessed" needs to be heeded most seriously. I'm not going to gamble with Ava's life here...

More birthday pics

Ava got nice and dirty

Ava ate it all! Just kidding. I helped Ava eat the cake. Actually, I ate most of it, but had to throw the rest out. Too much temptation for me. Even if it was a little weird tasting, being egg free and dairy free.

All hail to dirty Queen Ava. Off to her royal bath. Doesn't she look regal?

Ava turns 1!!!!

Ava turned 1 on September 5. We didn't really celebrate it until two days later, on a Sunday afternoon. I was feeling really guilty about not throwing her a real party. I'm not cut out as a party planner. If my mom was here, I'd put her to work and throw a great party with some yummy food! But I think we'll throw Ava a real party when she is old enough to understand what is going on.

Sad, droopy balloons. David the Science Guy was surprised when I couldn't figure out why the balloons were so droopy. He said "It needs helium, silly!"

We made a dairy-free, egg-free cake for Ava (from a box, of course).

Get this hat off of me

Ava thought that I should look like the dunce in the hat, not her

This cake needs a good lickin'

Ava likes pillow fights

The Smock family made a wonderful trip to Utah to visit Nana and Grandpa Smock. Here are a few photos of our fun-filled days in Utah.

David and I put our beds together so Ava could sleep safely in the bed with us. Half the time she ended up in the crevice. She liked to flip through books with her butt in the crevice

Ava loved playing in Nana and Grandpa's pillows. She loves a good pillow fight

Nana got Ava a quiet book for church.

Ava likes to hold onto my legs a lot...she is a timid little china doll

Any time Ava gets a straw in her hands, she has to put it in her mouth and looks hilarious

This is actually in Charlotte, but she did the same trick in Utah

We got to walk around Temple Square a little

Ava and her "papa"