Water Baby

My kid LOVES water.

She has since she was two weeks old.

She loves baths and now she loves pools.

And now I will force pictures of a baby in water upon you!

 Our new baby pool (which in not that baby 66*33 for $20)!  She looks like she is crying, that is her I am trying to make you happy by smiling SOOO big smile.

 Here she is in her big girl bath.  Why is she not just in the bathtub you ask, because Mommy just isn't ready for that.  And this is so cute, so why not?  I mean, let's get real, her first bath not in the sink was this past weekend.  Baby steps people, maybe she'll bathe like a real person by the time she is 3.

Clinging to her toys, because when she puts them down we spray her with them.

Side note- This really was her first bath not in the sink.  Look at the pics from her first sink bath to her last.  Wow what a difference 8 months makes!

Some things never change, the washcloth goes straight to the mouth!!!!

Growing Up

My little girl grew up in a day, ok not a day, but three weeks.

Three weeks ago I was crossing my fingers she wouldn't start crawling until after vacation.

And now . . . . well now she is crawling, crawling to sitting, pulling up, cruising and cooking dinner.

In case those didn't make her look like a big girl . . . .  here are a few more

But then every once in awhile, she does something sweet and baby-like.  How does this just not melt your mommy heart?

Baby Beach: Planning and Execution

Because, let's be honest it is tough to plan a week long vacation with a baby!'

A few people have asked to comment on tips and tricks and lessons learned from our beach trip . . . . .so here goes!

'Reminder, Avery was 8 months for this trip, so things may be a bit different if your babies age is too far from this!

Things we did right . . . . .
driving through the night (amazing)
on the way back we drove during the day and though it was harder it was manageable.  At every stop we pulled out the beach blanket and played with her and let her get some energy out (we didn't look real classy picnicking in front of Waf.fle Hou.se, but it worked)!
brought two play pens (one for the bedroom, on the 3rd floor, and one for the beach and second floor for naps).  This was sooooo important.
bring her sound machine, I think this helped for night time
bring lots of toys
just bring diaper covers for hanging out
baby float is a must
sun hat that didn't flop on her face (it was more like a cowboy hat)
tons of sunscreen
pack books to continue night time routines.
bring her bath toys so she can use them in the pool while in her float

Things we should have done differently . . . . .
brought bigger blanket for her at the beach
Avery was just learning to crawl and the floors at this place were all tile, so bringing a foam floor cover would have made life sooo much better.  I know that sounds ridiculous, but we couldn't put her down anywhere, except the play pen.
Bring a big blanket to hang over the curtains to keep the sun out for naps and mornings.

I think that covers the non obvious stuff.  I hope this helps!!!

And plan plan plan because if you are missing something (like a favorite toy) it could result in this angry face!

8 Months

Whoa this is crazy, 8 months?  (Sorry I am 1 full week late, the trip has me sooo off)

A is getting so big so fast, and though I love every new milestone and each new skill it does seem to be going very quickly!

Firsts
scooting
crawling
prescription (just for a small infection in the diaper area)
long car ride
trip to the beach
swimming in a pool
full week with mommy and daddy since maternity leave
pulling up (we walked in to her room and there she was standing in her crib on her 8 month birthday)!

I am sure there are tons more, I just can't keep up

Sleeping
Overall Avery is still a champ with this and she is putting herself to sleep most of the time.  She goes down between 7:45 and 8:30 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7:15, with no wakes ups!!!!!!  A few days this past week she has been sleeping until 7:30!  Amazing!

Her naps are up and down.  She usually takes two, one is an hour and the other is between an hour and 3 hours.  Totally depends.

She is exhausted from all of this crawling!

Eating
Since Avery just started crawling in the last week of her 7 months we hadn't changed her eating much.  Bottles of 6-8ounces at 7, 11, 4, and 7:30.  She will eat a tub of veggies at 11 and a tub of fruits and oatmeal at 4.

We are going to have to add to that soon!

Toys
Her favorite toys are her ball, purse (complete with keys, bracelet, money, and mirror), her learn and play puppy and her blocks.

***ADVICE*** the best dollar(s) I have ever spent on this kid are the bath books in the dollar spot at target.  They are sesaeme street and they are made for the bath.  We let her chew the crap out of them, put them in the bath and the pool with her.  They are a dollar each and I own every one of them.  Diaper bag, purse, toy box, play pen, everywhere.  Anyways, just a pass along!

Talking
She is starting to "talk" more and more.  We have found that she talks more when she thinks she is alone.  Car seat, crib, on the floor in the living room while we are making dinner (note, I have an open floor plan, I am still watching her)!  Ga is her new favorite!  And she still is a grunter.

Personality
She is still very aggressive and goes after what she wants.  But she is starting to show a bit of a softer side.  She is showing some separation anxiety (only when I leave the room, but when we drop her off at babysitters).  And she seems to want me above everyone else, it's pretty nice!  But I will say when that was the case at the beach all week, it made my arms hurt.  I love holding her, but wow, I am not used to it as much as I did there!

She is also a bit more cautious this month.  Things she used to love (being thrown around, airplane, "drop the baby") are no longer fun for her.  I think she has figured out that things do drop and that she doesn't want to.

Side note on the drop the baby game, I acknowledge that that is probably not the best name, but it is very I hole her VERY tight and lean forward.  She used to giggle and snort her little head off and I loved it, because after each "drop" she would snuggle soooo close.

Things I don't want to forget
how when she is tired, she will hit herself in the head to stay awake
how she rubs the soft side of her lovie in her sleep
how she sleeps butt up
that changing her diaper is now a cardio workout, for both of us

 "Riding" her new toy!  (Thanks Kristen)

The blankets are up, because when she is fighting sleep she will climb above the mesh bumper pad and stick her arms and legs through it, because she knows we will pick her up if she does that.  Too damn smart.  And she is crying because when we saw her doing that instead of picking her up, I went to get the camera!!!


This has been a fun month and probably the one with the most changes, it is so fun to watch her grow and change!!!!!

Baby and The Beach

Wow, it has been a few days since we have been back, but holy crap traveling with a baby requires a lot more effort and time before and after the trip!

So we left on the 11th and drove through the night (best idea ever with a 13 hour trip and a baby).  She fell asleep an hour after we got in the car and woke up an hour before we got there!  Amazing!

We basically went shopping and then took naps and then hit the beach!

 First time in the sand.

 Baby toes.

 First time in the ocean!

She is a bit overwhelmed by the wind and the noise of the ocean!

The next day we spent most of out time in the pool and hanging out, She was sooo excited, she woke up really early, yay for Mommy!  Avery was awesome with the pool though!!!!

The sun hadn't really come up yet.

Exhausted by the time it was up!

 Enjoying her bathing suit and waiting for her food!

 She has the best smile!

 Modeling another suit!

She was a bit timid on the first day, but got really into it as the week went on.

 This is our Mother's Day picture, what a great day!  Ray and Avery both got me cards and a Kindle.  And a sapphire band (her birth stone)!  My parents also got me nice cards!!!

 Soooo big!

 Lovin the pool, such a water baby!

 The ocean was calm and warm, though I only went in a few times, just not my thing.  I like lakes and pools!

 She looks s little and innocent!

Isn't this the cutest beach bag?  My friend Kate got it for my shower, we used it a ton!!!


These are of Avery in my favorite bathing suit of hers!!!  Just too cute!

Our view from the balcony!

 Having fun!

 We had to put her in a chair, because she kept trying to eat the sand!

 That heart says A.R.K. '12

Daddy is her protector!

 Wearing mommy's hat!

 Loving grandpa!

 Loving grandma!

 Wearing the flowers Daddy gave his girls!

Overall it was a great trip, I have some videos, but they are a pain to get off my camera.

The things I will remember most were
Avery's firsts (pool, ocean, sand
What a fun swimmer she is, she kicks her little feet and thinks she is swimming
How much she loved being around so many people
this is when her mommy anxiety kicked in and I couldn't be in the same room without her wanting me to hold her (I knid of liked it, even if my arms hurt)
how she still sleppt well, exceppt for waking up a little early
playing in her playpen and in her raft

Overall it was a great vacation!!!!