In the past week...

Ava turned five months old. J-P finished school. Everybody but Ava got pink eye. I almost died of exhaustion.

Here are a few shots of Ava. At five months she...

-loves to make loud noises with her tongue
-has discovered her toes
-gives the sweetest, tightest hugs
-does not sleep well at all
-loves to jabber

motherhood

If there were an award for world's worst mother, I would definitely win it this week. Here's a snippet...

I was in the backyard weeding on Friday while the boys were playing and Ava was napping. Max brought it to my attention that he needed to use the bathroom, and disappeared into the house. He came back out, and the next thing I knew he and Ian were sitting in the grass giggling. I continued on my weeding rampage--a much needed stress release after a crazy week. A while later J-P came out to see how we were doing. He loudly alerted me to the fact that Max was holding an almost empty bottle of vitamins and both boys were happily chewing away. After a lengthy conversation with poison control, it was determined that they would probably be ok. Although they can't have any more vitamins for at least a month. The nice lady at poison control congratulated me for buying all natural, dye-free, iron-free vitamins. Thank you Trader Joe's.

Part of the reason the week was so rough was because I got zero sleep. Ava cried all night long just about every night. She didn't have a fever and didn't seem sick. I had no idea what was wrong. Her reflux/gas was worse than normal, but I knew there had to be something else. In the middle of the night on Friday I racked my brain as I tried to console her. The thought came to me (inspiration to-be-sure) to look into the new prescription toothpaste that I had just started using this week. I commenced with a google investigation, and on the company's website it said "Do NOT use while breastfeeding." Bingo. I quit using it and she slept much better last night.

While I am grateful for creative, busy, curious, resourceful, problem-solving children, I am not so happy that they can open child locks on cabinets and child safety lids on medicine bottles. There is no resting or blinking around these parts. There is, however, lots of crafting. I don't really have time to make things, but it is a great distraction from all the hoopla, and has proved very therapeutic. This morning I made Ava's orange headband and a couple of brooches to wear to church. Inspired by the lovely video on katespade.com. Tutorial for the flowers here.

torture

I finally broke down and put a big huge flower in Ava's hair today. I call it conformity. J-P calls it torture, child abuse, and mean...among other things. He had to work today and I was left to brave church with all three by myself. As a result, I could inflict said torture without getting the child abuse lecture.

Oh, and as soon I set her down to take a picture she blew out of her cute white ruffle skirt. It is sitting in the sink with oxyclean...

daddy time

I really love having a husband that works from home. When Ava wakes up every hour of the night, he gets up with the kids in the morning and I don't have to roll out of bed until 7:45. When I need a bathroom break or have to change a diaper, I pass the babe to him and they work together until I'm done. As long as he's not on a conference call. He will be done with grad school in two weeks, and I am not ready for him to get a different job. If only I had a magic wand to make student loans disappear.

rockin' out

(ian getting some air)

Yesterday the boys decided to start a band. No doubt inspired by their new favorite show 'Phineas and Ferb'. I probably shouldn't let them watch it, but they don't care about any other shows and I like to know that they aren't burning down the house while I'm cooking dinner. Believe me, they are capable. It was cute to see them singing and dancing their hearts out, and it helped me forgive max for "painting" an entire tube of his brand new toothpaste all over the bathroom with his toothbrush.

four months

Ava at four months:

height: 26 inches (95th percentile)
weight: 16 lbs 6 oz (90th percentile)

She has rolled each way, but does not roll on a regular basis. She laughs hysterically when I am in a serious conversation with someone, yet gives a wide-eyed stare when someone is performing a song-and-dance routine to get her to laugh. Although she did do some pretty serious giggling when the doctor rolled his tongue at her.

She never spits up, despite some lingering reflux. She does lose her voice after about 30 seconds of intense screaming. It is really sad to see, and only happens when we are driving and I can't pick her up.

Time is flying too quickly. I can't believe she is already growing out of some of her 12 month clothes. I suppose it's almost time to start planning her first birthday tea party...

toothpaste

If there were any pimples on Ian's face this morning, they are gone now. If there is any truth to that old wives tale. Sadly, one of his front teeth is turning gray. He fell and got a fat lip a while back and he must have hit his tooth as well. Has this ever happened to your kids? We are really wishing we had added him to our dental insurance this year, but he wasn't even two at the open enrollment in the fall so we thought we could wait another year. Oh well.

trouble

Today I am taking deep breaths. Counting to ten. Cultivating patience. Biting my tongue. Learning to appreciate abstract art. Tracking down every last marker in this house. Destroying them. Counting down the hours until bedtime.

To be fair, today was actually a great day. I would say 97% great, 3% crazy. The boys were very well behaved at Sprouts, and at the outdoor mall while I ran a few errands. Ava slept the morning away while I indulged in a dark chocolate truffle blizzard and watched the boys play on the toys. The weather couldn't have been more perfect. Some cute conversations that took place:

(as max and ian were holding hands and walking into sprouts)
ian: hi max, how are you doing? do you like to play with toys? and dinosaurs?
max: yep. i do.

(ian found an umbrella in the car)
ian: look max! i found a cinderbrella!
max: no ian, that's not a cinderbrella, that's an underbrella. mom, tell ian it's an underbrella.
ian: no max, that's not an underbrella, it's called a cin-der-brell-a!