Look who is doing all sorts of grown up things

Arden is sixteen months old now. Here are her fifteen month stats from the doctor's visit last month:

Height: 32 inches - 9oth percentile

Weight: 20lbs-10th percentile

According to these stats (90th for height and 10th for weight) Arden should look like Olive Oyl or something but she's still got her cute little pot belly.

Arden started walking a couple of weeks ago and she absolutely loves walking! I am relieved that she is walking now because crawling around on a NYC playground is very problematic. I adore her drunken sailor walk and hope it lasts for a while.

Due to David's awesomeness Arden is now sleeping through the night in the other room. After my sister Michelle left after her visit (oh geez, I still need to blog about that), David was determined to end Arden's incessant night wakings/nursings. We moved Ava into our room and David put Arden to sleep every night. There wasn't a whole lot of crying it out needed. But I have to say I have grown some thicker skin the second time around. A crying baby in her crib doesn't quite faze me as much.

Arden is a great little eater. But I've discovered she is allergic to peanuts (she got hives from peanut butter). Can I just have one child who is not allergic to something please? I'm still nursing her but I think I want to wean her soon.

A few of Arden's tricks:

-She can ride Ava's scooter

-Grunts whenever I say the word "poo". There is a lot of random grunting in our household since "poo" is a word I seem to use a lot. Not sure why.

-Arden says "Ow!" a lot. Especially since Ava is constantly torturing her by pinching, pushing, choking, and biting her. Seriously the bane of my existence right now.

-Arden can say one of the most essential words in the English language: "Elmo"

-Arden loves her daddy so much and gets so excited when he gets home. She shouts "Dada!"

-Arden loves her Ava too but calls her "Aya"

-Arden likes to play a coquettish game of looking at me and then turning away and I do the same

-shivers while clenching her fists and her teeth when eating sour, cold or hot things

-likes to fling her food off her high chair. She'll hold a morsel over her chair and give me a look while I say "no!". Sometimes she will listen but most of the time she looks at me like I am chopped liver.

-dances by shrugging her shoulders and wiggling around

-says "up" when she wants to get out of the high chair

-says "whoa" when she goes down a slide

-says "hi" to people all day long, says "baby", "hello", and "ball"

I've realized by going through old posts about Ava that Arden is getting jipped because Ava knew her animal sounds and Arden doesn't know any! Ava also knew some sign language and all Arden can do is "more". So obviously I am slacking on teaching Arden the necessary education of what a cow says. I hope I can make up for it soon!

I love these two pictures of Arden but they are the worst quality. I've caught up with the rest of the world and got an iPhone. So I've basically gone from taking lame pictures with a regular camera to taking crap pictures with my iPhone. But it's the best way for me to capture the moment!

Arden discovering her nostrils. She has forgotten about them since but I'm sure she will be a solid nose picker in no time (just like her big sis)

Arden scootin' around. Cutest thing ever.

3 and 3/4 going on 16

I started working on this post months ago and never finished it until now. Better late than never. How do you really capture what someone is like in a blog post? I have to try, because I just can't rely on my memory. I think about how quickly Ava is growing and it makes me feel like the time I have with her is already slipping through my fingers! It sounds strange and I don't really know how to describe it.

Here are some tidbits about Ava:

Ava truly is a girly girl. She loves dressing up and adores finding clothes to try on at any clothing store we go to. One time she made sure she was ready to get her fashion on by asking, "Where is the dressing room?"

Ava is obsessed with the concept of age, getting older and growing bigger. She likes to ask nice old ladies who talk to her "Are you an old lady"? Pretty embarrassing.

Ava likes to give me random kisses on my hand, arm, and leg. She says "Mommy, I want to go home and snuggle on the couch."

Ava always wants to go on Daddy-Daughters dates. David and Ava have an anthem when they go on one that goes something like this "Daddy-Daughter Date! Woo-hoo!" They've been on a couple, with their trek down to the Doughnut Plant being the most memorable one.

Ava will say one thing and say the complete opposite thing in the next sentence. So basically she's saying a lot of cute nonsense.

If David and I are having a disagreement (usually about the dumbest stuff ever), Ava will stop us and say "Why are you not being nice together?" Good thing Ava is around to keep us in check.

A few notable quotes:

"Thank you, cow, for this milk!"

"This is not good for our bodies, but it is so yummy!"

"Mommy, why are you still in your PJs, you should change into your day time clothes!"

While shaking her bottom, she'll say, "I don't need to go pee pee, I'm just shakin' my booty!"

"I'm not pretty because I'm not wearing a dress." She usually says this when we go to the playroom and she's not dressed up like she wants to be.

I opened our front door and Arden made a dash for the hallway. Ava called out "Arden come back! You are family!"


So Ava is for the most part a sweet, well-behaved girl, but I find myself losing my patience with her a lot these days. Ava likes to pick on Arden when she is bored or tired. Ava doesn't like to listen to us when we ask her to do something and I find myself raising my voice a lot. I know I need to work on myself a lot and just remind myself that Ava is three!

Ava got all dressed up for the Royal Wedding party that Lesley threw. Lesley did a great job celebrating Will and Kate's big day. The crepes were delicious!

I had to throw this picture of Arden in. She was enjoying herself at the Royal Wedding party too.

Ava all decked out in her rain gear. Thankfully we don't have much use for the gear these days.

The city girl riding in a "taxi". These mosaics are so cool at Grant's Tomb.

Ava with one of her best friends-Jan. Jan lives next door to us and has been a special friend to Ava since we moved to NYC. She used to take Ava to the park a lot, but lately she does story time once a week before bed.

Ava, the diva, and I at Highline Park.

Easter and fun with grandparents

My mom and dad came to visit us and we had a blast taking them around NYC. The funny thing is, now that we live in a place where we seem to attract more visitors, it's such a tight squeeze in our apartment! Thank goodness Mom and Dad are good sports and don't mind sleeping on the couch or an aerobed.

Ava and Grandpa had tea parties all the time. Cutest thing ever. Ava seems to have the white glove thing and pinky finger up in the air down pat.

At the Metropolitan Museum. I love that it is a nice walk through Central Park from our apartment.

Brunch at Cafe Luxembourg. David was on the phone a lot taking care of work stuff. Ava looks less than thrilled but she seems to like posing that way now.

At the Reservoir in Central Park. Seriously you can spend all your time in Central Park when you visit NYC. Mom and Dad fell in love with it and want to move here!

At the church across from Ground Zero.

Brooklyn Bridge-unfortunately it was a bit foggy

Ava chowing down at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. Thank goodness we were one of the first people in line before it opened.

Ava and Arden's Easter baskets. I actually got it together this year!!!!

Arden with Ah-Ma at the Conservatory Garden. Loved the tulips.

Arden doesn't get mistaken for a boy when she gets all dressed up!

I try so hard to get good pics of the girls together but it never works out.

Easter Egg Hunt at the Todd's.

Dying Eggstravaganza

Ava and Daddy raising the roof while waiting for the eggs to finish. It was so adorable. My sole purpose of blogging is to embarrass David.

Ava with her finished products. Princesses on the bottom, and tiaras on top.

Ode to the Playroom

So this poem is so cheesy but the playroom in my building deserves an ode. I take the girls down there at least five times a week and we have met some great friends there. I don't think I would have survived our first year in NYC without it!

Ode to the Playroom

A life-saver to a mother when
a measly apartment of eight hundred and ten
square feet simply will not suffice
and outside is rain, snow or ice

A room full of possibilities and fun
a chance to dress up as a princess or nun
A place to look forward to after afternoon naps
before mommy starts pulling her hair out and snaps

The meeting place where friends big and small
all nationalities, genders, come one come all
Enjoy the slide and build a sweet fort
and children, nannies and parents cavort

This is a simple ode to a playroom
a beautiful space that dispels all gloom
where kids rule and imagination runs free
and lucky for us there's a potty for pee

Ava and Nathan in the playroom-these two are so sweet together

Ava and Aidan are always chasing each other around

Ava is pretending to be a princess patient

Arden loves crawling through the tunnel

Arden can't walk yet but she sure can climb up the big slide

Arden getting jiggy with the toys

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!

Fun in February?

Sigh...a huge relief that February is over. Not only was the weather less than desirable, three quarters of the Smock family got sick. Ava missed two days of school, Arden was a serious mess, and even I succumbed to some kind of debilitating virus. Arden and Ava both had fevers, and Arden went on a nursing strike. She wouldn't nurse for about three days and everytime I tried she sharpened her chompers on me. I was so stressed out about it because Arden doesn't take a bottle or a sippy cup. I tried to feed her liquids through a syringe or pouring breastmilk/water into her mouth from a cup. I wondered if my nursing days were over with Arden, but she got back on the wagon when she started feeling better. Thank goodness that ordeal is over and thank goodness David stayed strong. We did manage to eek in some fun. Here's the proof (albeit the pictures after the first two aren't stellar quality because I took them):

Playdate with Lillian J and Ella. I can't think of a sweeter picture than this one, where they are holding hands and all smiling so sweetly. All the girls ever want to do is dress up like princesses.

Lesley (Ella's mom) took these two princess pics. I want to remember Ava like this forever. I constantly stare at this picture.

David and Ava sledding in Pound Ridge


Squinty smiles


Robbie and David's joint birthday celebration. That's Ava in the leopard suit

Ava the clown with cousin Lily

Ava with Lillian F and Ella outside of Alice's Tea Cup

Ava drinking her fruit tea (by this point she had broken a tea cup already) and devouring her pumpkin scone. Kelly Ripa was across from us at the other table.

Ava waiting her turn to be sprinkled with fairy dust. We love Alice's Tea Cup!!!!

Cousin Grant's birthday party

Such a fun party with Grant

Valentine's Day party at Ella's house after ballet class

Ava and Lillian F frosting cookies

Sweet Arden likes to sit at the door of Ava's ballet class and watch the action. I will post pics of Ava's beloved class when I get some good ones.

So long February!