Since the last post, I uploaded some of the pics from Emme's visit with Avalyn on 4-11-10.
That week, of the 12th, was a short one for Bran, as he was getting ready to head to Oak Ridge, TN for SIRAs (southern championships for crew) on Wednesday. That Wednesday was a busy one - we have been planning and getting ready for Brandon's co-worker's baby shower that was at the school on Wednesday at 3:00pm. I made the diaper cake for the shower and Bran helped plan it with his team at work.
Stephanie, "mommy-to-be" with her shower spread
The diaper cake I madeAfter the shower Brandon headed right out to leave for TN and I headed over to UCF to give a presentation to the School Psychology students on Pre-K assessment (basically what I do every day), while my dad and grandma (his mom) watched Avalyn. This was actually the first time my Grandma Wysocki has met Avalyn, her 6th (I think) great-grandchild! Since she lives in Michigan, it was very special to have her over and bond with Avalyn, since she obviously won't be able to see her very often.
Since Bran was in TN till Monday morning, my mom came over to spend the night with me on Thursday night, and then my dad joined her for Friday and Saturday nights. It was nice to spend some time with my parents and not be alone for so long. Here's a video of Avalyn playing with her Grandpa :)
I introduced mangos to her on Sunday, the 18th (she actually really liked them!) and Bran got home around 12:30am.
Monday was the last day of her antiobiotics, which she had actually been taking like a champ! She no longer made a fuss and spit it all out when given to her, which made my life and Nana's a whole lot easier! She actually smiled and clapped for herself!!! What a big girl :) We went to visit Bran at work since he hadn't seen her since Wednesday, and we visited some of the other teachers too. That night I realized I didn't really have any pics of Bran and Ava doing their bedtime routine, so I whipped out the camera and got some cute shots!
Hi Mommy!!
Storytime with Daddy
Hi again Mommy! (Yes, I'm taking your picture!)
Getting some lovin' from Daddy!Tuesday, April 20, was Skate Night at Semoran Skateway for Lake Silver Elem. (where Bran works). Yes, this is the same place that we went to as kids, and I assure you, it looks and smells the same as it did 20 years ago! We debated on going since it was from 6:30-8:30pm, but Avalyn took a good nap before and we decided to go for it. We got there around 6:30 and Brandon strapped on some skates and went to town while we watched. OH my goodness, Avalyn had a BLAST!!! She LOVED the loud music, lights, and constant activity!!! She stood on my legs and watched everyone go by and was SCREECHING (happily) at the top of her lungs! It was SOOOO OO funny, I wish I could have gotten a video of that!! Here's the best I could do for videos :)
Wednesday, April 21st, I had a psychologist meeting/training from 12:30-3:30, so Nana came over to watch Avalyn for me. After my meeting I actually headed to my friend Stacey's house to chill before going to the Magic game for a girl's night with Stacey and our friend Megan (who's in my mommy group). Brandon had a nice father-daughter night and watched the game from home. Since it was a playoff game we had a lot of fun - the place was packed and the energy was high!
Girl's night!!! Go Magic!
Thursday, was another busy day. Work has been busy for me, but Brandon's birthday was coming up so I was trying to find any extra minute to make/buy stuff for his birthday. I got off work early that day since I had a meeting on a day I don't work, so I ran to Target, got hime Avatar on Blu-Ray and some cake supplies to make him a cake. I got home and made the icing for the cake, and finished the DVD I was making for him from Avalyn (a slideshow of pictures of the two of them since her birth). Then Bran got home and we had to get ready to go to Hot Olives for the crew banquet at 7pm. Diana watched Avalyn while we were out and we got home around 9:45pm I think....
Friday was Brandon's birthday!! It's also Rex's birthday, and Amber's boyfriend's birthday! What a day to be born :) Brandon got his presents in the morning, but for some reason the sound didn't work on his DVD on the TV - it works in the computer, but not a regular DVD player :( So I'm not sure what's wrong with it. After work that day I had to make the cake and finish it up while Bran was at practice. He got home and we went right out to Habanero's for dinner for a little celebration. When we got home we put Avalyn to bed and enjoyed the cake, which Brandon had no idea I even made (supposedly) :)
Happy Birthday Bran!
Ok, so there's only 20 candles on the cake, but they spell out "29"!Saturday was Diana's birthday!! AVALYN FINALLY CUT HER SECOND TOOTH TODAY!!!! (or last night..) We also had Bonnie's wedding (a friend since I was 4 years old!) to go to out in Mount Dora at 11:00am. Bran had morning practice, so he got home at 9:55am, and we were out the door by 10:05! Surprisingly, we got to Mt. Dora with 5 minutes to spare :) Diana was watching Avalyn while we were gone and we got back right around 3 pm. I forgot to take my pump with me so I could pump in the car while gone, and man.. that wasn't fun! I was about to burst by the time we got home! We went out for sushi that night with Diana and then watched the first hour of Avatar when we got home before hitting the sack at 9pm! We were so tired!!
Sunday, the 25th, was a day to catch up and try to get some stuff done around the house. I made some food for Avalyn while Bran cleaned out the fish tank so we could get it out of the house and try to sell it (any takers??) We started her on GREEN BEANS today, which she actually ate no problem, and got ready to go to Ryan & Kelly's later that afternoon. Avalyn's trying to crawl more, which is really just her getting on her knees - and MOSTLY in her crib!! It's rare to see her on her knees outside her crib, but we actually caught it on camera today!
You go girl!!
That's it - move your arms!
Good pic of her tooth (the one that's been in for awhile now)
Hi!!
Don't lick her nose!!!
Avalyn and Skye, up close and personal :)We headed to Ryan and Kelly's around 3:30 and cooked out with them and Shawn and Dena (and of course the kids - Bella, Sloane, and baby Gemma).
Avalyn in the ball pit at the Santurri's house!
Sloane, Bella, and Avalyn playing!A big storm was approaching so we headed out around 7:30pm, and man, that was awful. We hit the storm on the way home, but that wasn't the worst of it. We got home at 9:00pm!!! We hit a TERRIBLE backup on the 408 right at Semoran (so, like, 5 mins from home) and were at a stand-still to creeping for about an hour!!! We were stuck; no place to get on or off... so we just had to wait it out! I had to feed Avalyn in the car (which yes, is not safe, but we honestly weren't moving) and she went right to bed once we got home... fortunately she slept from like, 7:30-8:30 in the car, and then I fed her and we were moving shortly after she was done eating.. but man.. what a long drive home!
Today is definitely a low-key day! I need to do some serious laundry and just basic cleaning around the house - it's a mess! I've been so busy trying to get birthday stuff in order, which is a lot harder when you have a baby, that I just haven't had time to do much else.. and we've been sooo busy each weekend too.. hard to catch up! I'm just thankful I have Mondays off to recover a bit!
Milestones: She officially has 2 teeth now! It was over a month since the first one cut (March 12), but she cut that second bottom tooth on April 24th. She waves hi and bye, points really well with her index finger, claps appropriately, and is starting to accurately identify "mommy" and "daddy" in pictures by pointing (when you ask, "where's Mommy?"). She works really hard on getting on her knees and rolling all around in her crib, but still makes minimal movements on the floor when you're 'watching' her. She is starting to make more attempts to get on her knees when on the floor during playtime. She really loves to stand and pull to a stand when sitting on your leg (so she's up a little off the floor) and can balance really well on her own while holding on to furniture. When she 'falls', she sits on her bottom and then reaches to pull up again. We're working on her walking, and she's beginning to really take good steps now when holding her hands - like, she's actually lifting her legs/feet on her own instead of being so straight-legged while we pull her arms up to twist her body to take a 'step'. She clearly sits up very well now, and rarely falls back or over when sitting. We're working on the signs still and I think she's signed "more" a couple of times spontaneously (not meaningfully) but also a couple of time purposefully while eating... I think :) It's so hard to tell! She's still saying the same basic sounds (d, b, g), but seems to blend more together (daba, baga, etc)... longer strings too, or more babbling. And yes, she still screeches like a bird. Her skin still is dry and we work very hard to moisten it before putting cream on so it actually absorbs into her skin. She has a couple of the worst patches on her tummy/chest area, and some on her back (which I think is a result of the sunscreen from our trip to the beach). Her legs and arms aren't too bad - just dry patches, but not red. As for her separation from me during independent time, it's all good now! I'm not sure if it was solely due to the fact that she was sick, or that we tried to break her from that habit of crying to be picked up (b/c Nana and I both let her fuss it out a bit/redirect her to toys before we picked her up) or what. But, she's all fine now and can play for about an hour a day (in two sessions) by herself with you out of her sight. This is VERY helpful for me so I can get things done around the house and she can play safely in her playpen with her toys! It helps her to figure things out on her own (cause/effect) and become independent, and not rely on me for her sole entertainment! Win-win! Otherwise, she's very social and friendly - doesn't have that stranger-danger=cry with new people. She checks you out/observes for a bit, then warms up and smiles/talks. She is a big flirt :)
Sample schedule: (this is more for my own records)
7:00am - nurse, cuddle/songs play
8:00am - breakfast solids - cereal and fruit (about 1.5oz of milk/cereal and 1-2 oz of fruit), then independent playtime for about 30 mins
9:15am - nap (typically 1.5-2 hrs)
11:00am - nurse/bottle, playtime
12:00pm - lunch solids - veggies and fruit (about 2 oz of each, 4 total)
1:15/1:30 - nap (typically 1-1.5 hr)
3:00pm - nurse/bottle, playtime
4:30/5:00pm - catnap if needed (around 30-45 min), otherwise playtime, some independent play
6:30pm - dinner solids - cereal, veggies, fruit (2.5oz cereal, 2-3oz veggies, 1-2oz fruit)
6:45/7pm - get ready for bed - bath, jammies, storytime
7:15pm - nurse and in bed
Ok, that was a lot!! Thanks for reading!!
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