Happy Halloween

10 months

Really!! I cant believe it has been 10 months already. Ava is at the cutest little stage right now. She is so active & keeps a smile on our face.

Clothes size: 12-18 months
Shoe size: 3
Diaper size: 3-4
Bottles per day: 4 - 6oz bottles throughout the day. I have noticed she wants less. We have started to put water & juice in her sippy cup for dinner. She has the hang of it, just needs help sometimes lifting it up once at her mouth.
Solids per day: great little eater. Still eating little Gerber Toddler foods, but very interested in what we are eating. If our dinner is simple I will give her some. Ex: cut up grilled chicken breast, green bean, etc. She loves table food. I gave her daycare the ok to give her some of their lunch items
Health: She had a runny nose right before we left for Jamaica. Doc said just a virus that will pass. Still only has 2 bottom front teeth.
Routine: same as usual. Is starting to take only 1 long nap from about 11-1ish
Sleep: The CIO method is still going strong. We do the usual night time routine…then 8pm bottle & put her in her crib sleepy. After a couple minutes of crying she finds her pacy & goes to sleep. Lately she has been waking up in the middle of the night. We let her cry for a little, but if it persist I put her in our bed.
Milestones: pulling up on everything & trying to walk along them

@ Ava:
Super fast crawler
Getting brave about pulling up on everything
Waves bye-bye
Claps her hands at everything she does
Bounces up & down (dances) when her toys make music
Will hold her play phone up to her ear when we tell her to call Mimi
Loves to ride on her pink pony
Chases (crawls fast) after the dogs
Finally goes forward in her walker.
Enjoyes shopping & sitting in the grocery cart
Starts to act silly when she seeing other kids
Is shy when strangers try to talk to her
Saya da-da all the time. "Still" waiting for her to say ma-ma, mommy, mom...anything
Her daycare said she is "The Boss" of the class room. Not sure if I should be happy about this or not.
New nik-names by Ryan- princess, Little P & LP
We started changing her on the floor on her room. She was getting to long for the changing table & moving too much.

We are back

….and so glad to be reunited with Ava. It was the longest 6 days ever! Ryan & I had an amazing time. We forgot what it felt like to be without Ava. It was nice to relax & spend time together, but never will we go that long again. I cried a tad the 1st night. Then when we got back to my parents house all we wanted to do was hug & love on Ava, but she was a little confused and wanted my parents. Broke my heart. She warmed up to us after a little while & was back to her normal little cute self.

We are all trying to get back into our normal routine.

Bittersweet

Ryan & I are leaving for Negril, Jamaica on Saturday for 6 days. I'm super excited about our trip & celebrating our 3 year anniversary. But, on the other hand I'm starting to get a tad sad about leaving Ava. I know she will be in the best of care with my mom, but I just cant imagine not seeing her for 6 whole days. I'm going to miss her so much.
Ryan said he doesn't want to see a tear from me while in Jamaica. I told him not sure I can promise that. I will let you know how that goes.......

CIO

We have let Ava cry it out a little before she goes to bed. It really has not been that bad. She has slept in her crib the past 3 nights. We put her to bed tired & after her night time bottle. She will cry for no longer then 20 minutes then falls asleep. It actually seems to be getting a little easier. The past 2 nights she slept the whole night, not a pep. I hope this continues while she is with Mimi.

Ava Update

Well we have been super busy. Ava keeps us on our toes at home. I find myself either following her every where or telling her "no". She is getting so brave. She will pull up on everything & get into everything (cabinets, closets, laundry basket...everything). Now her favorite thing to do is dump all her toys out in the living room. It's a huge mess, but it keeps her occupied & in one place for awhile.

Her little personality is definitely starting to show. Very type A: demanding, stubborn, intense, not easy to please....we have our hands full with her. I swear I tell her at least every other day she is going to be the only child if she keeps up her attitude. As of now, I know she wont get a sibling anytime soon. ha!ha!

9 Months

9 Month Stats.
Doctor appointment went well. She got the flu shot & check up.
Height: 28.11" (73.30%)
Weight:21lb 3oz (87.84%) still a little chunk
Head: 17.91" (89.12%)

Clothes size: 12 months
Shoe size: 2
Diaper size: 3
Bottles per day: we offer 1-4oz bottle before daycare & 4- 6oz bottles throughout the day. She typically drinks about 24oz a day.
Solids per day: we are trying to add more soft table foods to her meals. Our pediatrician said to try more. By 1 year she should be on all table food. I was super concerned because Ava still only has 2 bottom teeth, but the doc said she can mash with her gums. So I went out and bought every Gerber Toddler meal for Ava to try. We will see how it goes. I know Ravioli's were a hit (see picture).
Health: perfect health!
Routine: Weekdays - Ryan takes her to daycare by 7:30. She has breakfast by 8:30. Am snack & bottle. Then long nap @ 11 for 1.5 to 2 hours. Lunch about 2. Bottle about 4. I pick her up by 4:30. She takes a nap on the way home, sometimes until 5:30. Dinner. Bath. Bottle. Bed @ 8pm. We just pick up & go on the weekends. We let her lead. If she want to stay up later we let her & don’t mind. Just means she will sleep in later & that is great for us.
Sleep: sleeps with her mama! My mom is going to try & break this habit mid-Oct when she babysits for us while we are in Jamaica for a week. I can not do the CIO method. I'm a sucker & don’t like to see/hear her cry if she really doesn’t have to. She sleeps so good with me, but I know I need to get her in her crib. I will just let Mimi do all the hard work. We shall see….
Milestones: full blown crawler. Now trying to pull up on everything.

@ Ava:
I can finally clip a very small bow on her mohawk
She knows her name & will turn to you if you call her
She will look for the dogs if you ask her where they are
Will clap her hands. Loves "If you are happy & you know it"
Loves Peek-a-Boo
Likes when you read or sing songs to her
Is taking her pacifier less & less
Officially hates her bouncer. We packed it away.
Enjoys running with me as long as I have snacks (Gerber Puffs)
Screams, squeal, roars & grunts
Hate to get her diaper changed. It’s a battle now how fast we can change it or how much we can do by the time she rolls over & tries to crawl away from you
Can have such an attitude (aka Ava-tude) when she doesn't get her way. Will throw herself back or scream & clench her fits.
Her favorite toys or things are: stack-able rings & pink shoes. Will carry them everywhere. Tries to crawl with them too.
Gets into everything. We are in the process of child proofing everything.
We are letting her practice from a sippy cup. She thinks its pretty funny. Will put it to her lips & laugh. No luck yet.