Playing Handsies

Avery is 3 months old tomorrow...

...and so far her hands are her favorite toy.

A Blog of One's Own

I just finished reading this essay by the ever feminst, Virginia Woolf. She talks about how women back in the day were not really allowed or expected to write. And if they did, they would have to invent a pseudonym that was boy-like (George Eliot). Women needed money and a room of their own in order to truly write.

If she could see us now! I don't think in her wildest dreams would she have thought women would be able to cavort the way we do using a blog as a medium. Sure a lot of our post are about cooking and cleaning, but at least we have a blog of our own to write whatever our little hearts desire!

And I desire to write about my little Avery. She's the best.

Toys

If you look close, you will see the remains of what was once a Nerf dart. About once a week, our neighbors' kids throw toys over the fence...and this is usually what becomes of them. Sometimes we are able to save the toys, but don't know from which house it came from. It could belong to the house next to us, or across from us. Most of the time Piper claims the toy, and it becomes a mess on the fake grass.

One time Piper ripped up some yellow ball and left a littering of "dandelions" across the lawn. I made Jimi delay the clean up because I liked the look of it. Real "flowers" growing in our yard!

And here is the newest toy that we have somehow managed to stuff into our living room. Avery loves to be sitting upright, so thanks to the Child family (who also lent us the beloved swing), she is able to do so in style.

Which leads me to my newest "mom guilt" dilemma. Sometimes I feel like Avery's mom is the swing, jungle toy, and now this. They put her to sleep, entertain her, and sit her upright. She loves them, and I know they don't replace me, but once in a while I feel like she is being raised by Fisher Price.

Of Impostors and Cornbread

If you're interested in the mundane, here's a post for you:

My 5 dollar impostor sunglasses finally broke the other day. First my 5 dollar Dolce and Gabanna sunglasses, and now these. And only 24 hours after Jimi told me, "I like those sunglasses." I believe there were a few of us that purchased such said sunglasses. Anyone's still holding up?

Cornbread. I eat it all the time! I don't know if it's because of breastfeeding or what, but I crave it and love it. I usually cook it up around 9:30ish p.m. after Avery has been put to bed. I have the recipe memorized. Kim, you eat cereal before you go to bed, I eat cornbread muffins. I use whole wheat flour, so I've convinced myself it's not that bad for me.

And finally, I love the smell Avery leaves on me. Sometimes she pukes and sometimes she just sucks on my shirt. But after I have been holding her, I'll shove my nose into my shoulder attempting to inhale her.

(P.S. she kind of laughed today. it was more of a grunt as she was imitating my laugh.)

Hanging Out..

...on the table at Lucille's Barbeque

...at Oakley's house

...with the cool kids

I Love My High School B-A-S-I-C

Imagine a black boy rapping those words, and there you have the intro to Basic High School's morning announcements.

School starts in a week, teachers go back to their classrooms on Wednesday, and for the first time in 6 years I won't be one of them. If you know me at all, you know about my strong pride in Basic High School. I am often seen wearing Basic Blue, and even my dog dons the color on her collar. In some ways I am really sad to not be going back. I will miss the camaraderie with my fellow teachers, and I will definitely miss meeting and bonding with another round of students.

• Here are some quotes I will miss saying over and over and over:

"we don't say that in here" (usually following 'shut-up', but any word is possible)

"put that in a warm, safe place in your binder"

"we seem to be in freshman-ville and really need to return to larsen-land"

"fight the pocket!" (upon seeing students try to shove papers in the front pocket of their binders after i have lovingly hole punched each and every one)

"do you want me to warm up your baby bottle?" (in response to whining)

"we are done talking now"

"pass them up and over"

"sit down until the bell rings"

• I am really, really good at locating a student text messaging. My average confiscation of cell phones is 3 a week.
• I am not so good at spelling. This tends to hamper my credibility at first. I blame spell check...
• One of the most memorable days in the classroom was when a student brought her pet rat to class and was petting it in her pocket. She was the dark, silent type (the girl, not the rat).
• One of the most memorable days on the soccer field was when we beat Silverado for the first time ever, therefore making it to the playoffs.

I plan on returning to the classroom eventually, but until then, I am amped to teach and nurture and spend time with my new favorite little pupil.

Calling All Moms

For the past week or so, Avery has reverted to sleeping 2-3 hours like she did when she was a newborn. This is frustrating because for a couple week she was sleeping 4-5 hours.

Getting her to sleep is no issue...we have a bath, I cuddle with her for a while, then she goes to sleep in her crib. Cut to 2 hours later, she is awake. I feed her and change her, and she falls asleep again, no problem. 2 hours later, same thing.

So here is the question: Should I feed her or let her cry? She is 11 weeks old; she knows how to sleep longer. Is she just wanting to be with me? Or is she really hungry? (She doesn't necessarily look like she's wasting away...) What would you do?

Signed, Tired at Lazy Saddle Drive

The Elf Ruler

The name Avery means "Elf Ruler". I think I can see some elfish in her.

And here's a little fun fact about me in the middle of the night: When I get up to feed the little elf, I usually repeat words over and over in my head. In my half-sleep stupor, it's like my brain is obsessively keeping itself busy. The words are either hard to pronounce or fun to pronounce. Here is a sampling of some of them:

ardtornish (a street name on the way to Jamie's house)

Guy Fieri (a dude on Food Network - the "r" is pronounced as a "d")

mendocino (a line of fabric from Nettie's quilt blog)

Weird, I know. But when you are up with a little elf ruler at 3:00 in the morning, what do you expect?

Blessing

Avery was blessed by Jimi this weekend. I loved it, and I loved having all our family together.

Avery's dress was made by Grandma Cook. The blanket was made by Grandma Larsen. We didn't really need the blanket in this heat, but I just had to include it in the pictures.

my family

if anyone knows how to get a baby to not cry during the blessing, let me know...

Jimi's family

the twins...so handsome

my sweet little family

cabbage patch doll or Dana's baby? Avery is so annoyed

preisthood holders that stood in the circle

the after party - olympics watching

the after after party

The Tomboy

Lately Avery has been watching baseball with daddy

and driving her imaginary Harley

We think she might be a tomboy.

Rubbing Me Wrong

Now that I have this new medium of communication, I can vent about an advertisement that has really bothered me for about a year now. I usually go by the mantra - to each his own - and try not to let things bother me too much, but this stupid commercial just makes no sense to me. And I want to see if it bothers anyone else:

I'm pretty sure bears don't use toilet paper...

So, If Me and You Had a Baby...

Probably once a week Jimi says, "so, if me and you had a baby, this is what she'd look like?"

Piper the Brave, Red Dog

If you've met Piper, you know she has some quirks about her. Things like - furniture moving, the wreath on wall, or anytime Jimi gets into the freezer, send her upstairs to her safety zone.

But she is not afraid to stand up for herself or the ones she loves.

On Sunday Jamie and Andy came over with their new doggy, Oakley (yes Jamie is still making me dinner). Oakley was sniffing around, exploring her world as puppies are wont to do. When she came over to sniff at Avery in her swing, Piper sat in front of it, actively blocking Oakley from any view or sniff. She didn't growl or show her teeth, she just stood guard over Avery (like Cesar Millan simulates). It made us so proud.

On the other hand, whenever Avery poops (which is uncommonly loud), Piper gets really frightened and runs upstairs. I think it's because Avery's pooping sounds like rolling thunder.

No Bows For Me Please

Both my dad and Jimi aren't big fans of babies with wrap-around-bows in their hair. So this may be the only time you see Avery in one.

I think she looks sweet, but I hate the indentions they leave on her skin.

We Dress Our Dog

she didn't like it at first

but she's gotten used to it - even comes to expect it around Halloween

the soccer player

she totally wants to be like Jimi when she grows up

Coincidence?

The day before Avery was born, Jimi and I were sitting around the house, twiddling our thumbs, watching some dog hunting/retrieval show (we are also known to watch the Westminster Kennel Dog Show in its entirety) and this - was the sponsor! But there's more...you won't even believe me, (and I couldn't find the real advertisement to prove it) but on the show the spokesman would say,

"Brought to you by: Avery. Welcome to your life".

We just looked at each other open mouthed! Did we have any other choice but to name her Avery? I don't think so...