Bathtime Chase

Avery has finally reached the point where she likes to run from us at bathtime so we have to chase her (and tickle her). I think all kids go through this stage at some point.  If you would have asked me two years ago what I thought about kids who run from their parents at bathtime, I probably would have said "exhausting" or "annoying."  But it's actually pretty funny.  She really enjoys the bath, this is more about playing a game and having fun, not protesting or being defiant.  So it's not so bad after all.

VIDEO: I'M GONNA GET YOU!

Film Frenzy

I promise I will not post every video of Avery ever, especially when she's not doing much in the videos!  But we did take a lot of videos of her this weekend, so I wanted to post the ones where she is doing something (that is at least mildly noteworthy).

VIDEO: WHERE IS THUMBKIN?

This is Avery performing the hand motions to "Where is Thumbkin?" 

She started doing this on her own one day when watching the kids doing it on the TV.

VIDEO: POKING AT PIPER

Poor Piper has taken so much abuse from Avery, I think she has just gotten used to being poked and grabbed at. But we are trying to teach Avery to be gentle, and she is getting better too.  (And Avery is wearing what Josh calls a "crazy outfit" because she tried to take a drink out of my water bottle and she drenched herself so I had to change her shirt. This kid has way too many clothes to ever be mismatched,
so I thought I had better explain myself here).

VIDEO: ONE MAN BAND

Grandma Melanie taught Avery how to bang a pot like a drum and use the lids for cymbals.  Need I say more.

VIDEO: AVERY ON THE CELL PHONE

Uncle Aaron has a waterproof/virtually indestructible phone, so he usually lets Avery play with it when he comes to visit, and she loves it.  It also has a kitty on the screen, which will disappear after a few minutes. But Avery figured out that if she closes and reopens the phone, the kitty will reappear. 

VIDEO: FLYING WITH UNCLE AARON

Aaron got a little out of breath and admitted that she is getting heavy, so we have to get as many videos of this as we can before she gets too big!

VIDEO: PANTS THIEF

Avery stole a pair of her pajama pants out of the laundry basket while Josh and I were folding clothes.  She ran around while we chased her and wouldn't give it back, and thought it was a hilarious game. 

I grabbed the camera just in time to catch the tail end of it.

Yesterday it was sunny and warm, and Grandma Mel and Uncle Aaron took Avery out to the park to play on the swings and look at the ducks in the lake.  Today however we got some weird weather, it was about 60 degrees and sprinkling, so instead of going to the park we took Avery on a long drive. We drove down to Newport Beach and back (while she napped), and then stopped at Babies R Us on the way back.  We let her run around the store and play with the books and toys in the aisles.  She was a trooper and seemed to have fun, despite the fact that we spent the day indoors. 

ABCs

VIDEO: AVERY'S ABCS



Lunch, Lists, and Legwarmers

Within the past couple of weeks, Avery has started to let us know when she wants to eat by walking over and saying "mmmm" as she pounds on her highchair.  I'm hoping her caveman manners will improve over time, but it is nice that she is starting to communicate with us more easily.  She does the same thing at Lizzy's house, and also knows where Lizzy keeps the snacks. She will point at the snack cupboard, and say "mmm."

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I also wanted to make a list of Avery's current vocabulary, more for my own records than anything else.  It seems to be expanding rapidly, so I don't want to forget all the words I have heard her say up to this point.  Then I can add to it as she says new things.  The doctor said they expect kids to have at least 5-10 words by their 18-month checkup, so she is doing well in this area.

Frequent Words

Mama

Dada

Ba (ball)

Baby

Amma (Grandma)

Mm-mm (and shakes her head for "no")

Uh-oh

Kitty

Key

Inky (Stinky)

Bin-buh (beanbag)

Oo-oo-oo (in response to "What does the monkey say?)

Tee-tee ("Tweet tweet," In response to "What does the birdy say?")

Baba (bottle, although this one is becoming obsolete now that she uses cups)

Mmmm (when she is eating, to indicate something is good)

Ooooooo (for lights, imitating me when I say "Oooo, lights")

Bubble

Buh-Bye

Si (Spanish for "yes")

Infrequent Words/Words we have only heard her say once or twice

Puh Puh Puh (up up up)

Nanner (Tanner)

Avee (Avery)

Mao (in response to "What does the kitty say?")

Pipah (diaper)

Ojo (Spanish for "eye")

Otro (Spanish for "another")

Poop

Anana (banana)

Gurgle (turtle)

Mickey (Mickey Mouse)

Piper (for our cat Piper, not for "diaper," although they sound similar when she says them)

Bear

Kih (kids)

Hi

Ba (box)

Cookie

Lamp

Ha ha

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And last but not least, some pictures of her this afternoon wearing her awesome legwarmers made by Auntie Jennifer:

Another Park Day

Avery was a little better today, so my mom came over and we went to Yorba Park to get her out of the house for a little while.  We walked for about three hours and gave Avery some time on the swings and slides to wear her out.

VIDEO: SWINGS WITH GRANDMA

It's Been a Croupy Week

Poor Avery came down with a little fever on Monday. By Tuesday, she still had a low fever and was sounding congested.  I was concerned about her because she seemed to be having a hard time breathing, so I left work early to take her to the doctor.  I had heard her cough a few times, and several of the coughs sounded like the tell-tale "seal barks" of croup cough.  As soon as the doctor walked in and I told her my concerns, she said, "I already know she has croup, I can tell by the way she's breathing. But I'm going to check her anyway."  

Sure enough, we were both right.  Avery was prescribed a steroid to help with the swelling in her throat.  Her fever went away on its own, and she seems to be improving, but she was banned from daycare for the past 2 days since croup is extremely contagious to other children.

Josh and I have been switching off staying with her and going to work.  It is so easy to tell that she isn't feeling well; she hasn't been acting like herself at all.  She won't let me set her down, even for a minute. She only wants to be held.  And typically we can put her in her crib when she gets tired, and she will lie down with her sippy cup and take a nap.  But this week, she would only scream endlessly when we left the room.  Yesterday I let her scream for almost 30 minutes (twice) before I finally got too worried about her little throat and went to her rescue, and she promptly nodded off on my lap in the rocking chair.  Today we went through a similar experience, but I didn't let her scream as long.  After a few hours of whining and eye-rubbing, she reached to get into her highchair but was not interested in eating.  I put a cartoon on for her, and the next thing I knew she was in dreamland. Poor thing!  She is just out of sorts.

Gibberish

VIDEO: Avery's Gibberish Part 1

VIDEO: Avery's Gibberish Part 2

More Park Pictures

We had another park day today. We keep going back to the same park (Box Canyon), because they have rubber turf instead of sand or wood chips, which is easier for Avery to navigate.  When she is better at walking, we plan to enhance our park repertoire.



Kristen vs. Chicken

Ten and a half years ago, I read this book. 



It is written by John Robbins, whose family started Baskin Robbins/31 Flavors ice cream shops.  He was to be the heir to the business, and to the family fortune.  However, once he discovered what the dairy cows must endure to produce the milk which in turn is used to make the ice cream, he declined all the riches he was to receive, and opted for a very different lifestyle than the one in which he had been raised.

In the 1987 he wrote the Pulitzer Prize-nominated Diet for a New America, and later, The Food Revolution.  This book is one of the most interesting and eye-opening pieces I have ever read.  It is so compelling, that after reading it I vowed never to put the flesh of an animal into my mouth ever again.

On our first date, Josh and I were discussing where to go for dinner, and after he suggested hot dogs, I of course had to tell him that I didn't eat meat.  (Whenever I have to break this "news" to someone, an awkward conversation generally ensues, with lots of questions, and sometimes critical, defensive remarks from the inquiring party.  It has something I have come to accept, and learned how to handle over the years).  I'll never forget the look of shock on his face!  Apparently I was the first vegetarian he'd ever met.  I think I was as surprised that he had never met a vegetarian as he was surprised that I didn't want a hot dog. 

But Josh took the "news" rather well, especially after I told him there were many vegetarians in my family and circle of friends. We ended up at CPK that night and had a great dinner.  Many months later, I asked him if he would be willing to read The Food Revolution before we got married.  I wasn't trying to change him, his roots, or his beliefs, I simply wanted him to look into the lens through which I see the world, to understand where I was coming from, and to have many of his questions answered.  I assured him, "Once you read this book, you will never again ask someone why they are a vegetarian.  You will know why. You will know more reasons than you thought existed."

  Josh read the book, and while he is still a meat-eater, he eats considerably less meat, makes healthier choices, and is very considerate about things like using separate tongs for the meat and the non-meat items on the barbeque, which I so greatly appreciate! He respects my choices and I respect his, and it works out very well.

When I got pregnant with Avery, many of my co-workers would see me preparing my lunch in the break room, and say things like, "Well, you're going to eat meat while you are pregnant, right?  For the baby?"  This question always killed me, and I got it a lot.  I would usually answer with a simple, "Nope," to avoid getting into a debate.  Sometimes I would add in, "You can eat a perfectly healthy, balanced diet being a vegetarian, and I have known many vegetarian moms that have had healthy babies.  My doctor is not concerned about it."  (And I have to admit, I kinda wanted to throw it back at them later when Avery came out big and healthy, with a perfect Apgar score).  The whole first year of Avery's life, she got pretty much nothing but formula, breastmilk (with no "meat" protein in it obviously), and Gerber (non-meat) food, such as (primarily organic) fruits, vegetables and rice cereal.  And she is still as big and as healthy as ever.

At Avery's last appointment, I asked the (carnivorous) doctor about his opinion on raising a vegetarian child. (Josh and I had discussed this and he said he would leave it up to me how we would raise her).  I knew I would have to accept the possibility of her making the choice to eat meat later on, or enjoying meat, and that has been a tough pill for me to swallow.  I do think she should be able to make her own choices, but I also am opposed to filling her tiny body at this stage with hormone-injected chicken and beef.  The doctor did tell me that he wanted her to at least eat chicken, to make sure she is getting enough iron. (But he also said that we could still give her formula - which contains plenty of iron - instead of milk, it would just be expensive so he recommended milk.  I don't care about the cost, because the formula is fortified with vitamins, so I like knowing that she is getting a balanced "meal" just from a cup of that).

This is all still up in the air, and I'm sure will be an ongoing issue. I guess at some point I will have to accept that she will eat some meat here and there, and just do my best to make sure she is getting a good balance of other enjoyable, healthy foods.  After all, she is not the same person as me, and I will have to respect her choices too. 

So long story long, yesterday I gave in to the doctor's orders, and popped open a jar of ground-up (baby food) chicken.  It pained me endlessly to think that I was tricking her; that she didn't realize that the "chickies" I have been showing her in colorful children's books were now about to enter her mouth via a spoon, after having lived a miserable life of suffering in the confines of a cage, with other chickens whose beaks had been melted off on a hot metal panel, and died a cruel death, all so she could enjoy the taste of their flesh for a few gratuitous moments.  Against every moral fiber of my being, I lifted the spoon to her lips.

I never in my life thought I would be so happy to see my baby dry heave.

Pictures

Since I am a little behind, here are some more pictures from the past week.

Playing with the doggy from Grandpa Dave and Melanie:

Funny faces with Uncle Aaron

(on the lid of the drum from Auntie Brandi, Uncle Matt, Bo and Zac):

Flying:

Reading the (awesome) T-Rex book from Grandma Sheila:

Hhmmm.... Avery's pigtail looks an awful lot like the tail of the T-Rex....Coincidence?



Goodbye Old Friends

Yes, tonight Avery said goodbye to her very near and dear friends,
Mr. & Mrs. Bottle and family.

The weaning process is something we have tried several times, unsuccessfully.  It has caused me a lot of stress and worry, and has prompted me to do research online, read textbooks, and talk to many other parents, as well as the doctor.  Of course the main concern was her teeth (decay from sucking on a bottle at night, and the shape of her front teeth from having the bottle in her mouth too often.  She has not shown problematic signs of either yet, but I have seen these results on other children and I am determined to spare her from these complications). 

It is a huge weight off my shoulders to have this bittersweet milestone behind us.

To our great shock, she used the sippy cup all day today AND at bedtime without a fuss!  She is able to say "baba" and did ask for it several times during the day, but we would give her the cup instead and then redirect her attention, and it seemed to work.  She did get one last "baba" today at Lizzy's.  Lizzy had given her a sippy cup and given Madelyn (10 months) a bottle.  As soon as Lizzy turned her back, Avery took Madelyn's bottle for herself and replaced it with the sippy cup!  What a sneaky little stinker she is.

Here we are this evening, rocking to sleep with the sippy cup

(although she got distracted by the daddy and the camera):

Shortly after this picture was taken I placed her in her bed, and I watched on the monitor as she briefly searched for her water bottle (which is routinely in the corner of her crib to drink at night if she gets thirsty).  All she could find was a water sippy cup, so she gave up and went to sleep without a peep.

Josh and I had braced ourselves for a long and tumultuous night.

We are still in awe at how painless that was!