New tricks, sort of

I think spending the last ten days with Ainsley has shown me how fast she grows and changes. I always keep in the back of my mind something many parents have told me-that each stage gets better and better and they are right. She is doing a couple things now that she wasn't doing when we left and they are all cute and amazing! I attempted to capture the tongue wagging and waving on video. Of course, she barely did it when the camera was in her face at grandpa Bill's place yesterday. She is also walking when holding our fingers which I will get next.
The cell phone will be the default video camera until I can figure out how to uplaod the camcorder on to the Mac again. Ugh!

An Easy Breezy Traveler

We just returned from Henderson, Nevada to visit Nana and Papa Avers. Our daughter was enthralled with the experience, start to finish. She made friends wherever we went -- waving to all on the planes, in restaurants, on trails in Red Rock State Park-- she had people melting from Illinois to Nevada. We were spoiled by Kathy and Jerry and enjoyed quality time together. Ainsley will surely be bored without her grandparents kissing her constantly, waving back, changing her diapers, and ready and willing to take her anywhere at anytime. Before we left for NV, Ainsley had us gasping as she pulled herself up for the first time in her crib and cruised around the perimeter. At Kathy and Jerry's, she took to Scott's old rocking chair, pulling herself up and looking for our approval. It was a great vacation!

More St Patty's Photos

Babies love a parade

Hi Everyone. We are hopelessly behind on our blog postings around here, but here's a quick video from last Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade in Elmhurst. This is easily one of the most fun days of the year. It was exciting for Ainsley and Ellie as you can tell.

The School of Hard Knocks

It happened. She is safe and fine, but she did fall off the bed last night. In my attempt to protect her from the heater vent and metal trash can she was grasping, while I was opening the pack-n-play to keep her safe but near me last night (while dad was away), I set her in the middle of the bed for what seemed 1 second. The next thing I know, kah-boom -- sweet baby Ainsley is face down on the rug. Poooooor baaaabyyy! She was hysterical but calmed down fairly quickly. I stripped her down and looked for bumps, scratches, tested her for pain by placing pressure all over , gave her some Tylenol and a teething tablet (her favorite)...and she just giggled and made faces. PHEW! I kept checking on her through the night to see that she was breathing and no bumps emerged.

This morning, I confessed my sin to Valerie, who calmed me and assured me that these thing happen. As our friends the Sundstrom's commented, "babies are hard to break." Even so, the guilt is MASSIVE.

Just this afternoon, Valerie phoned to let me know that she had "one up-ped me" and that Ainsley took another spill, this one while confined in her pack-n-play--apparently knocked her head through the netting against the nearby wall. Valerie said she has a small red bump -- to which she applied a cold compress. Again, after initial crying, Ainsley was transfixed by the compress and in good spirits.

So this is the beginning, eh? Help, more seasoned parents! Do they make baby helmets and body casts? I'm hoping her self awareness soon catches up with her increased mobility. Poor thing! And in the meantime, we adults will try to monitor her more closely. Eeeeks!

No Puke in the Pool to Slow us Down this Saturday

This weekend was big for the Avers. The pool at our new gym was all clear, and Ainsley took to the water like the little crab her zodiac sign suggests she would. She eyed the other kids, giggled, looked to dad and mom for reassurance, and then grabbed at the water, kicked her feet, and tried to launch herself to the nearest kick board. Upon grasping the kick board, she proceeded to hold onto the sides and tongue-dive the wells of water pooled up on the board's surface. No fraidy-cat here...

Among other fun tricks as Ainsley met her 8 month birthday:

• scrunching eyebrows and breathing quickly only through her nose (like a little bull) -- seems to be associated with frustration or to get a laugh -- she will mimic when interested in performing
• interested in solid food; we're moving slowly here, but we did present her with a teething biscuit earlier this week, and she was in seventh heaven, moving her jaw rapidly and testing out her two bottom teeth
• mimicking when people make funny faces (she really likes to perform for Alex)
  
• uttering momma or um-mah and meaning "I want momma now"
• trying to drink from a cup (she really likes it when grandpa VH lets her at his ice water)
  
• pulling herself up alongside the crib railing or against the ottoman--standing strong with little support from furniture or adults

In other news, our friends Andrew and Carrie Beredo babysat Ainsley Saturday night. Scott and I enjoyed a great dinner, and Ainsley performed for the Beredo's and showed no signs of missing her parents. Of course, we like to think that this means we've fostered a well adjusted child; though, in reality, it's likely more attributable to the fact that Carrie and Andrew are natural baby-pleasers and adept at all that they do. They even managed to keep everyone calm when our over sensitive fire alarm went off when they were cooking pizza.

We'll put a pic up soon of Ainsley in her swim suit...too cute for words...

In like a...

(lion-get it?)

Happy March everyone!

We're continuing to wait for spring and yet it seems like it is getting farther and farther away. Yesterday was super cold once again. I went for a run and the bank clock at Oak Park Ave. and 290 said 20 degrees. Sure it was sunny, but it was super windy and snowing! What is up with that.

Ainsley continues to crawl faster and faster. It's turned in to a full fledged army crawl now. She has both the arms and legs in motion. I feel like things are really changing fast lately. She can't stand to be on her back during playtime or for diaper changes, which creates extra fun. Up until now she is relatively easy to contain but now that she wants to move all the time I feel like our level of effort has to go up to match hers. (Everyone in unison-You're surprised by this, Scott?) She's also much more responsive and every once in a while will say "mamadada" when you say it to her!

We did something to change up our routine this weekend. We joined a new gym! It is right in Downtown Oak Park and it is very nice. The reason we joined is that they have an onsite daycare facility, something our old gym (which I liked very much) was lacking. Now either Jen or I can drop Ainsley off for up to two hours and get a nice workout in, get a massage, or even just sit on their sundeck (weather permitting). We can even watch her on nursery cam channel on the TV's attached to all cardio machines!

The other good part about the new gym is that they have Family Time from 1-5 on the weekends. Great! We figured this past Sunday we would take Ainsley swimming for the first time ever. So we all get our suits on (we need to send pictures of her in her swim suit-so cute!) get ready and head out the door about 3:45pm. (We all fell asleep after a delicious morning brunch at Ben, Michelle and Benamain's house. Benjamian, for those of you who don't know, was born two weeks after Ainsley and the two of them had a future together until Tiger Woods baby was born. Have you seen that baby? Ainsley is in love!) Anyway we get up there, sign on the dotted line and excitedly walk in to our brand new gym only to learn that the pool is temporarily closed because some little kid threw up in the pool. Awesome! Hasn't anyone in this town heard of the "wait 20 minutes after you eat before swimming" rule? Ugh.

Crawling progress, part II

I love to watch our baby continue get her legs under her. Here's the latest progress captured on well, digital video (can't say film anymore as there really is no such thing-right?).




Little sweetie has had a runny nose for the past few days. She's in good spirits but not sleeping for very long stretches at night before waking up and needing her little nose wiped. I still can't believe that there is no easy cure for the common cold! Why is it that we can fix so many things that go wrong with the human body but get a COLD and you're out of luck? I will never get that. Oh well. Any and all mom remedies to make baby a little more comfortable are welcome in the comments section of our blog.

Is Your Baby Turning Orange?

Valerie, Scott and I, protective of anything to do with Ainsley, assured some observers that Ainsley was not jaundice, but Sicilian....After a friend of Val's, a pediatric nurse, suggested Ainsley might be ingesting lots of beta-carotene, and hence a slight orange-glow, we all decided to take notice. And yes...given Scott's best intentions-- one food for a week or so, we realized, the poor kid has been eating nothing but beta-carotene for the past couple of weeks (even the spinach and potatoes had trace amounts). So yes...we turned our baby slightly orange -- a Johnny Depp-as-Willy-Wonka-oompa-loompa orange. Poor baby. So we've omitted the beta carotene for a while and she seems to be returning to her rosy hue.

Attempting to Crawl

We've developed a modified crawl until we get to the real thing. Take a look...

Fun with Photo Booth

Come to learn that our Mac has this cool app called Photo Booth. Ainsley and I had some fun with it before she went to sleep two hours ago at 6:30pm. More to come on that...

Pre Groundhog Day walk-gasp- out of doors!

We actually went outside the house for a bit on Saturday other than back and forth to the car! We took a walk up to Walgreens to enjoy the mid-40 degree day we had and pick up the latest round of Ainsley pictures. It was great to get a bit of fresh air. There is still a ton of snow on the ground but it was exciting to see some of it melting as we inch closer to spring.

Ainlsey was happy to be bundled up in the bjorn with mommy as you can see. She really didn't know what to make of the sun in her eyes-that is really a new sensation as we kept her (as everyone recommends) pretty much out of the sun when it was warm enough to be out in it this past summer and fall. Soon she will be slathered up with Coppertone WaterBABIES on a daily basis. Can you tell I have cabin fever and can't wait to get outdoors?

Hope everyone has a great Grounhog Day! Spring is indeed coming-I don't care what that furry rascal says!

Teeth, already?

I'm slow, I'll admit it (and family will concur). After Ainsley struggled to sleep last night without being nestled to mom (and my overworked bosom), woke many times, fussed more than usual, and toot-ed like a steam engine....it finally dawned on me -- SHE IS TEETHING. We had noticed a sharp nub on the bottom of her gum a few days back and also noted some change in mood, but did Scott and I put it together?? Not really. Needless to say, sweet lil' Ainsley Frances had a rough night and this morning, upon a more thorough mouth check, we noticed two, that's right two ridges starting to come through her bottom gum. Our sweetie is growing up! Advice from other mommies about how to soothe an achy gum is welcome. We're using the homeopathic teething tabs, have some teethers for her to chew on, but other ideas are welcome~

Inauguration Day

I swapped Inauguration Day for MLK Day this year, and Ainsley and I watched CNN, Google and other channels all day and most of the night (okay -- I kept her away from the screen) -- but basically she, I and Kristen (AKA KROB) celebrated all day and enjoyed the festivities. Valerie and the kids came over, and we quizzed each other about left handed presidents, the last largest attended inauguration (LBJ with 1.2 million), and other fun civic facts. Auntie Barb also swung by and then the Swanson's and Ahring's came over to watch the 4 + hours I'd DVR'd during the day. We even had a visit from Terri (Brad Roback's wife) after her yoga class. Spirits were high. Scott finally convinced me to turn in when I realized that at 10:30 p.m., I'd only viewed inaugural ball 4 of the 10 Barack and Michelle were to attend. How did you celebrate? Share your comments with Ainsley and me.

No Silent Movie Here

So somebody has found her voice recently. This is pretty much what she sounds like all day. It's a lot like being at a zoo. I should charge admission.




In case you're wondering, my mood is "ugh" right now. My job is trying to suck my soul right out of me. School is a real grind too. Quick-can you tell me how to convert an APR in to an EAR? Yeah I can't either. Well I could if I focus and study but that's not easy. The carrot on the stick is that it is only nine weeks until we to to Vegas! Plus I think I'm getting the hang of iMovie, so I can get videos up here much faster and easier than ever before. Enjoy.

Cookie Jar slam dunk and six month update

This basically silent movie was taken on Sunday. You've got to wait for the dunk, but it is worth it!




Six month checkup results are in!
Ainsley weighed in at 13lbs, 10 oz and nearly 25 inches. Doctor said she is doing great. He gets a real kick out of her and often uses the words "cute" and "bright". So we've got that going for us.

She had a quiet weekend after her latest round of vaccines and we took advantage of it and GOT HER TO SLEEP IN HER CRIB! Very exciting. Friday night was the toughest as she cried for nearly 35 minutes but fell asleep after many rounds of soothing by mom and dad. Put one more set of parents on the list of parents that swears by the "Faber method". It is really nice to have her sleeping in the crib again. She is also sitting up unassisted for maybe 15-20 seconds at a time. The quick changes continue to delight and amaze us.

Uncle Jim is Funny

Ainsley gets a big kick out of dancing with her Uncle Jimmy...

When Daddy Dresses Ainsley...

Here is an email excerpt from our Super-Duper ChildCare provider and friend, Valerie. Scott dressed her in what we thought was a one piece dress and jeans (a "teen look" as Scott said). Valerie wrote me today about Ainsley's outfit:

"Anyway, Scott's choice of outfit was perfectly fashionable. But we noticed this extra piece of fabric inside her dress and we were thinking, "what is this a cape or something?" But then I realized it was the bloomers that go with the dress, still attached with those things they use to attach tags. I cut it out, but it was SO FUNNY! We were cracking up! Scott's taste is fabulous, no worries there."

Vegas Glitter for an Illinois Baby's First New Year's Eve

Nana and Papa chez Nevada provided Ainsley with the perfect New Year's Eve celebration attire. Glittering from head to toe, Ainsley wowed friends at the Swanson's in Woodridge; then had a costume change for the ride to Grandma Van Howe's to meet up with cousin Ellie, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Farah.

At the Swanson's, we all remarked at how old we are getting; babes in tow; bedtimes to keep; and everyone bringing crock pots of soup and savory meats to the party; Colleen kept us snappy with her salmon, cheese, dill, spicy corn bread and more. Between the Wii mambo revolution and foursome tennis with Jim and Farah, Jen is still sore...pitifully out of shape -- I make yet another resolution to work out just enough to competitively win various Wii games.

A First Christmas

It was the first time we admired our very own Christmas tree; the first time we hung our stockings with care. Grandma VH came in and stayed for 4 days, showering us with gifts, yummy food, and assisting Scott with his breadmaking and me with my fondue aspirations.

Colleen visited us Christmas Eve and Scott and Tracy Hochstadt joined us for dinner and Catch Phrase. Grandpa Van Howe, Barb and the kids came by on Christmas for home-made pasta, meatballs, and more. We even drove out to Lisle to see Great Grandma Van Howe, and Saralea, Lisa and Holly Holstrom swung by. It was great to see friends and family, and Ainsley was lavished with adult attention. Scott and I decided that a 3 adults to one baby is the best ratio.

Coming up on 6 months, Ainsley is pushing herself up, standing nearly unaided, jumping like Michael Jordan (assisted of course), and making new and sometimes unattractive noises. We've been visiting with Nana and Papa on Skype, and we can't wait to see the Swanson's and then the VanHowe's of Davenport on New Year's Eve. Love to all -- it truly was a glorious holiday.