6 years and counting

So June 15th was our six year anniversary!!! David kept pestering me and asking "what should we do for our anniversary?". I didn't know what we could do with little Ava in the mix. We've never had anyone babysit her before! David went ahead and booked a couple's massage at the Ballantyne Spa. Then he said it was my job to find a babysitter. I recruited my friend Lindsay to watch Ava and hoped for the best.

Ava was sleeping in her car seat when we dropped her off at Lindsay's. While we were driving away, we looked at the back seat and realized that for the first time in 9 months Ava wasn't back there when we were in the car. I already started to miss her! But I pretty much forgot about her once we got to the spa. At the spa, I put on my luscious robe, lounged with a book and snacked on fruit kabobs while waiting for my name to be called. David enjoyed ESPN at the men's lounge. We met in the lobby and headed to our couple's massage room. I kept trying to make small talk with David while we were getting under the sheets (we had different beds that faced each other). He shushed me and said he had to get in the mood. Well, excuse me. David takes his massages very seriously.

So for the next 50 minutes we both enjoyed an awesome rub down by our respective masseuses that ended too soon. But there was still time to enjoy the sauna and steam room before picking up l'il Ava. Ava played with Gavin, Lindsay's 8 month old and went on a walk in the double stroller. I don't think she even thought about David and I!

For dinner, we went to the Melting Pot. With Ava in tow, we headed to fondue bliss. We figured leaving Ava with a sitter for a couple hours was enough for one day. She slept in her car seat at the restaurant for a while. But once she woke up, she wasn't about to just hang out in the car seat. David decided we made two mistakes regarding dinner. First, that we even brought Ava. Second, that we decided to cook our meat in oil, aka frying everything (there was also some batter to dip the veggies and meat in). I have to say that fried broccoli is awesome. But I feel like we paid a lot of money for cooking our own food. I still think the best parts of the meal were the cheese and chocolate fondues. The ambience and sexy mood lighting was great and all, but I think maybe David looked kind of frightening in the lighting because Ava was scared of him during dinner! I was feeling remorseful for eating so much and could barely walk when we left the restaurant, but unbelievably, after we were home for a couple of hours, I wanted to eat again!

The next day was Father's Day. I had taken Ava to get her footprints on a plate at a place called "Dish it Up". I also put some paint on her finger tips and made flower petals on the plate. Since I have no artistic ability whatsoever, I paid the girl who worked there to finish the job. It said "I love daddy" on it and the two footprints were drawn into a butterfly. David loved the gift!

I had asked what David wanted for his Father's Day meal and he said he wanted peach cobbler and grilled cheese and ham sandwiches. I asked him why he didn't request something more substantial for dinner and he said he wanted me to focus on the peach cobbler. I had never made peach cobbler before so I can understand why he said I needed to focus on it. The Merrills from our ward ended up inviting us over for dinner so I didn't have to make the sandwiches after all. But I made the cobbler and took it over to the Merrills. I must say it turned out quite well! I'm a regular Martha Stewart after all. Riiiiigggghhhhttttt......

So, it was a wonderful weekend. I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband, who is the best partner and father to Ava that I can ask for.

Things I've learned about myself now that I'm a mom

• I'm addicted to Googling. These are the types of things I google consistently, depending on what kind of obstacle I'm dealing with for the day:

-Infant has green poop

-Remedy for constipated infant

-9 month old won't sleep in crib for nap or at night! Help!

-Is it normal for infant to scratch inside of ears?

-Does crying it out even work?

-Has any baby ever died from crying too much?

• I still hate cleaning and am still not in love with cooking. I need to get with the program.
• I'm okay with not showering for a day or two. Hey, sometimes I don't even leave the house or change out of my sweats. I'm not really offending anyone if I smell like a hobo (right, David?).
• Hanging out with other moms is like dating. You have to find people you have chemistry with. I don't like asking other moms "out". I'm still plagued with fear of rejection.
• I like making up my own stupid baby songs. Even Ava has started tuning me out.
• I work just a few hours a week from home. I take Ava into the office for free lunch Fridays sometimes (I know, I'm ghetto). My home is my office, so when I actually go into the office, I see it as a social scene. However, people at work pretty much forget about you if you're not there all the time.
• I don't miss my old life at all. Despite losing the social aspect of work, I feel like I have the best of both worlds.
• Going from being a DINK household (double income no kids) to just a semi-single income household takes some resourcefulness and frugality. Packing lunches for David, cooking more and basically not leaving the house are some of the tactics of provident living. I've learned that I don't want to be more resourceful. I want mo' money.
• Although I now weigh the same as I did before I got pregnant, my body looks like it's been in a war zone. I've got the stretch marks to prove it (my battle scars). I've got the loose abdominal skin and the spare tire. Am I painting a pretty picture here? But the thing is, I'm okay with it.
• Some moms don't have a lot of time to eat during the day. I find that all I tend to do is eat all day.
• I like to watch movies with the volume turned low and the subtitles on. I'm not talking about foreign movies here, I just don't want to wake up the baby! It drives David insane.
• I wonder if I could ever love another baby as much as I love Ava. I guess I'll find out. No, we're not making an announcement here.
• Sometimes when I hold Ava, I feel truly happy and blessed.
• I was so nervous about becoming a stay-at-home mom. Honestly, I wouldn't trade it for the world!!!!

Outtakes...

Ava is a party animal

Ava loves jamming to music., especially with her dad. David turns up his techno music (it's all out in the open now, David) and they have a good time. She sits on the floor or on the couch and waves her arms around when she gets really happy, in a repeated "wax on"motion. Simultaneously, she makes sounds in a sing-songy "eh eh eh eh eh ". A couple of days ago, she decided she could make very deliberate movements with her mouth, like an open mouthed biting motion. Shortly after said discovery, she started saying "da da da da da". She's so adorable when she babbles and moves her mouth like that. These same deliberate mouth movements have been applied during nursing and it's not quite so cute then.

Ava isn't crawling yet. She is quite content to sit and hang out. She doesn't really like to roll over much either. I kind of prefer Ava taking her time with doing tricks. I'm sure I'll be chasing her around the house in no time, so I appreciate these last few weeks/months of her being laid back.

Ava takes on the month of April

Nothing better than Oprah and a toe in the mouth

Getting ready for a nice snack

Lovin' the big toe

Toolin' around in the exersaucer

Look mom, no hands!

Ava is serious about her hair

Ava doing her best Rocky Balboa 

Playing footsies with dad

Ah, guys - enough with the photos, I'm freezing here

Ava loves bath time

Get some clothes on me, stat!

 Fl"ava" Flav!

Rocky Balboa down for the count

I don't know what I am doing

Well, who knew motherhood would be so tricky? Ava is about 7 months old now and I thought I was getting the hang of things...until something new pops up and kicks me in the butt. Ava was sleeping for 8-9 hours straight at night until about a month and a half ago. Half the time she ends up in our bed at midnight, at which point I am relegated to the edge of the bed and she kicks David in the back all night. Then I started her on solids and her face got all scabby and crusted from who knows what. So she's off solids completely for the time being. It just breaks my heart when I catch her scratching her face. She needs a straitjacket. I got a cortisone cream from the dermatologist (who was completely dismissive of my ramblings about Ava's skin, by the way...hasn't she met a panicky first time mom before?). Even changing Ava's diaper is a challenge. I've come to dread that rancid, sour smell that emanates from her sweet cheeks. As soon as I get a whiff, I know I'm in for good times. Poop somehow has travelled up halfway up her back and you have to be Houdini to take her clothes off without the poop smearing all over her. Then it's time to hose her down!!!!

Nervous mom talk aside, Ava and I are having a blast. We take walks in the afternoon, go to music class, and enjoy going to playgroup. Some days we don't even leave the house. I've been trying to cook more, which I believe has been possible only because I discovered Trader Joe's.

Alright, Ava is blowing snot bubbles right now. I better attend to the little snot princess.