Books are Fun

There is a Barney song that goes "books are fun, books are great, is it book time yet oh I just can't wait, to read a book!" Well, books are not fun and not great when you have read about 16 of them out loud - some of them twice in a row. I never thought I would discourage my child from reading, but she is nutso with the books. She loves to be read to, and sometimes she is downright demanding about it. At this rate she should be reading by the age of 3.
Right now poor baby has a cold, which she got from Max. I feel so bad for her, and at the same time I hope I don't get it. I missed her so much while I was in MS, but she was totally fine. I came home and it was as if I'd never left. She has been very clingy the past couple of days though. The MS trip was okay, but I was very uncomfortable going with my boss and being with all those managers. The good thing was we got to eat at fancy restaurants and go to a casino. I didn't actually gamble, but it's just fun being in one because you really feel like you're on vacation. I might be going back in July, but we'll see if that happens. Honestly, I am still so torn between staying at this job or being a teacher. I checked the county website today and there are so many teaching openings, and I might actually have a shot at one. Ava is really the reason that I don't want to teach right now, just because of the whole day care issue. I hate saying that because it sounds like I'm blaming her, but that isn't the case. It is my own personal struggle and decision. I just want to do what's best for her.

Home Sweet Home

I just got home from Mississippi tonight. I was feeling really sentimental and introspective last night while I was in my hotel room, and I wanted to write a blog. But the Magnolia Plantation in lovely Gulfport, MS has a weak wireless connection, so no internet for me. I would write one now but it is late and I'm tired. I am very happy to be back home with my baby girl.

Just a Little...

...Patience. Lately that is my mantra. Being the parent of a young toddler takes a lot of it, sometimes more than I have. I consider myself to be a pretty patient person, especially with Ava, but there are times when I have to take a deep breath and think "patience." Meal times are the worst. At dinner she makes a big mess, when I give her utensils she just uses them to play with her food and make a bigger mess. She hates sitting in her chair and tries to get out, and usually starts fussing while Brent and I are still eating, so it's rare that we get to sit all the way through dinner.
While I love the fact that she is getting so big and learning to do so many new things, I remember how nice it was to be able to put her down somewhere and know that she couldn't move! I remember back then thinking it was so hard having a small baby, but honestly, once you get the sleeping stuff down, the rest isn't so bad. Keep them full and clean and your good! Now I am constantly chasing after her, making sure she isn't getting into anything (which she almost always is) and trying to entertain her. She gets bored pretty easily, and I would describer her as being very impatient.
One of the hardest things we are dealing with now is discipline. How do you discipline such a small child?
Today I went and looked at a couple of pre-schools for her. One was really more of a day care than a school. The couple I work for are about to have another baby, and their son Max turns 2 next month. They were thinking it would be a good idea if Max & Ava start pre-school, and they will pay for them both. The school they chose is the best in the area. It is a school that focuses on the arts - they have dance and gymnastics, art, spanish, music, just like a school. Max would go 3 mornings a week, and Ava would go 2 mornings, and they would be in the same class. When I walked in today it was nap time, and there were only 6 or 7 kids in the whole place. There was soft music playing, and it was so quiet and peaceful. It is the kind of place where parents put their kids not because they have to work, but because they want their kids to start school early. Most of the kids only go part-time, and I would bet that a lot of the moms don't work or own businesses.
The other place I checked out was a day care, very typical. It was dumpier, and seemed like it had less structure. The teachers seemed less trained. The one cool thing about it was that it had webcams so I could watch Ava during the day. I think that would be both good and bad - good because I could peek in on her, but bad because if I saw her get hurt or another kid be mean to her, I would want to jump through the camera.
My sister left yesterday to go to Spain for 7 weeks. She texted me this morning at 7:45 to let me know that she arrived. It took her almost exactly 24 hours to get there. She had to fly from Tampa to JFK, from JFK to France, and then to Spain from there. To say I am jealous would be an understatement.

Birthday Blowout

I had a great birthday weekend. Friday night Brent, Ava and I went out to dinner. Ava has officially outgrown a high chair. She can technically still fit in one, but she hates sitting in them, so now we get her a booster chair. She sat in it about half the time, and the rest of the time she stood in the booth or climbed on me. It's okay as long as she's not holding a fork. At home, we stopped using the high chair and use a little booster chair too, and I just bought one for her to use at work. Now she is sitting at the table like a big girl. Once she learned she can climb up on a chair, there is no stopping her. She can climb up on the bed now too. Today she said her first 2 word sentence - "bye doggy." We were leaving work today when Bear (the neighbor's dog) came running over. Ava was waving at him and said it. She is really telling stories now, when she is babbling you can make out some words, and she goes on and on. She sings sometimes too. I love it. When I say "one..." she says "twooo...bee!" Today she learned the word circle and can pick out the circle from other shapes. I love watching her learn. I have to remind myself that she is now a little person, and absorbing so much. I have to talk to her like a little adult, and I make sure to explain things to her.
Today she was back to more of her normal self. No melt-downs at work, and she was in a great happy mood all day. We went to Walmart and she randomly waved at a bunch of people, and said bye to some of them. I hope this is a good sign!
Saturday we spent the day together and then Ava went over to Grandma's for the night. Brent and I and a couple of friends went tarpon fishing on my brother-in-law's boat. It was really fun. Unfortunately, I did not catch my birthday fish - however, I two good bites. On one of them I probably would've had it but my line got tied up with my friend's. Brent is the only one that actually caught one and brought it to the boat. Some people thought it was odd that that's what I wanted to do for my birthday, but I really enjoy the tarpon fishing.
Sunday, we pulled ourselves out of bed (we didn't get in from fishing until 3am) and drove to Tampa to go to the aquarium. Although Ava slept the whole ride up there, she was still pretty cranky. We had one melt-down. She loved it though! She ran from tank to tank, and her head was spinning. The aquarium has a kid area where they can play in water and we let Ava play in it for a while. She does really well around older kids. She mostly just stares at them and then tries to copy what they are doing. She got knocked down once accidentally, and she's a trooper about it. She just pulls herself back up without a whimper.
I am a little nervous about next week, I am going on my first ever business trip. I get to go to beautiful Jackson, Mississippi for 2 days, with a co-worker that I have never met before. It is a recruiting event, and a bunch of managers and directors will be there, and we might have to give a presentation. Brent will be dropping Ava off at my work as usual, and Ashley will be watching the kids. His Mom will then pick her up when she gets off of work. I know she will be fine, she is there everyday so it won't be anything new. It will just feel weird knowing she will be there all day without me. One thing about not having your child in daycare is that there is a very strong attachment between the two of you. Leaving her is hard, even when I know she will be well taken care of. She is used to me being there, and I am used to being there with her. Oh well, baby steps.
Pics from the weekend:
Here fishy fishy

So I think Ava is going through what is known as a "First Adolescence." It is basically the terrible twos, but can start as early as 1 1/2 to 3 years old. She has not been good this week, and even brought Ashley to tears almost. One minute Ava is sweet as can be, and the next minute, she is screaming. She was so good when we were up north, this is very unlike her. I don't think it's her teeth because she doesn't seem to be in pain or anything. It usually happens when we want her to do something or we take her away from someplace she wants to be. Most times she lets out a full on scream, and cries, and even sits down on the floor. When I try to put her in her car seat she kicks her legs. Other times she performs a half-hearted tantrum - not as big as the usual ones, but just a protest. If I am in the room when one of these happens, or even if I am the cause of it, she usually comes running to me crying "mamamamamamamama!" She wants me to hold her, and if I don't pick her up she clings to my legs and cries. I really don't know how to handle this. I try to keep my calm, and I don't pick her up. I feel like if I do, I will be giving her the wrong message. I try to calm her down by talking to her, because literally she freaks out for every little thing! It isn't bad at home, it mostly happens as work too. I will be working and I can hear her having a meltdown. If I go out there to try to help, she will run to me and cling to me. If she is eating lunch, and I go out there to say hi, she will cry to get out of her high chair for me to hold her. If I try to put her down, she wil start fussing again. It is very hard to walk or get anything accomplished when you have a toddler clinging to both of your legs. I am praying that this is just an independance thing, and something that will pass as fast as it has come on. According to Dr. Greene, it will!

On to something happier - I passed my exam today, so I am now a licensed life, health, and variable annuity agent. Yippee. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be in this line of work, but here I am. I have been studying all week, so I am glad to have it over and done with. It was pretty hard. I don't actually sell insurance at my job, but our company manages and recruits agents to sell for Humana. It lets me keep Ava with me so I don't have to pay for day care, and it has a flexible schedule.

Ava will be 17 months this month. Here is what she is up to:

Favorite foods: Cheese (of course), macaroni, macaroni & cheese, spaghetti or ravioli, any kind of fruit, carrots, corn on the cob. We've been trying to expand her diet, and I've let her eat a few bites of a brownie (she loved it, calls it cake) and even a potato chip. She will sometimes eat chicken nuggets or lunch meat, but not often.

Words: Mommy, Daddy, kitty, doggy, bird, bubbles, soap, juice, banana, apple, chicken, cake, clock, phone, book, elmo, big bird, sleep, nose, eyes, toes, belly, Ashley, Papa (refers to any Grandpa), Uncle B, please, no. She will try to mimic just about any word we tell her to say, and she learns a new word a day. She is really doing great with the vocabulary. She can also sign the words "please" and "more."

Favorite song: Ring Around the Rosy (she loves to spin)

Favorite Activities: Blowing bubbles, picking flowers! She will sit in the grass and pick the little tiny purple flowers (weeds). She also picks real flowers, our hibiscus gets picked everyday! Spinning, playing on the couch or bed, reading books or getting read to, watching Barney or Dora, and trying to play with our cat. She also loves playing with phones (they have to be real - she knows the difference). Climbing on everything - the couch, the bed, chairs, the cofee table, whatever.

Sleep - she goes to bed around 9, and sleeps until 7:45 - 8:30am. She takes 1 nap a day, usually around 1 or 2pm, and only for about an hour. I am thinking some of her tantrums stem from being tired, but I can't get her to sleep longer.

First time eating Chinese food:



Looking cute:


I put her to work early: