Archive for October, 2005

Ava went to her first Halloween party tonight and as you can see, she was a bumble bee and I was a flower. Dave was gone, or else he would have been the bee keeper. The party was lots of fun and Ava enjoyed looking at all the bright costumes. She was a real trooper being out past her bedtime…promtply falling asleep in my arms at 8pm. She woke up later and we headed home to meet up with Dad and put her to bed. Happy Halloween!

All our friends with kids have been telling me about the “exersaucers” and how fun they are. So, I bought one for Ava today. She was overwhelmed at first, but warmed up to it and then seemed to love it. As you can see, there are about twenty different toys that she can play with and spin around and look at. Crazy huh? Who knew they made such things? (And who knew we would buy them?)

It feels like fall here in Columbus. The leaves are gorgeous this week and we have enjoyed a couple nice days where we were able to get out and walk the dogs. Ava is always bundled up so her little face is the only thing poking out. She loves to look around at everything as we are walking. She is so much more alert these days, it is really fun.

Ava finally got to meet her Grandpa Coddou this last week. Mom and Dad came out for a short visit to help babysit Ava while I went to a work meeting all day Friday. Aunt Ginny drove down from Pennsylvania to visit as well. We had a great weekend. We just missed having Aunt Sara here! We’ll see her soon though.

Looks like Ava is going to be a thumb sucker. We thought she would from the beginning. When she was born she kept trying to fit her thumb in her mouth. We tried to keep her from it (Dave had a little problem giving up his thumb as a child so he didn’t want her to start the habit). However, she clearly prefers it over pacifiers or anything else. She has discovered her hands now, and with that comes the thumb! I guess the good thing about it is that we don’t have to worry about her losing a “binky”.

Ethan is helping give Ava a little push in her swing. Sometimes Bella thinks she needs to get in on the action as well. The two kiddos are really getting good at playing with each other. Well, Ethan is good at playing and Ava is good at watching him.

It is getting colder here, and that means breaking out the winter clothes. Ava got this little suit as a gift. It is so soft and cuddly…and she looks like a little doll in it (I think). The nights are getting chilly, so when we take the dogs for a walk we have to bundle her up.

Ava rolled over for the first time today. She kept getting hung up on her arm and side…but after a little while she finally made it all the way over. Of course, she was immediately mad because she was stuck on her belly. I guess she will have to learn to roll the other way!

Ava loves to stare at her hands and feet. I am not sure she realizes that they are attached TO her. I have a small little rattle toy that fastens to her wrist and shakes when she moves her hands, but she doesn’t seem to make the connection yet that she is controlling it.

Ava loves her bath time. Our evening routine has become pretty simple. When she starts to get fussy around 7:30 we get the bath ready and lay out her PJs while she watches her mobile in the crib. Then comes the bath…she loves to kick and splash and gets really thrilled when she manages to splash the water on her face. It is pretty funny because I don’t think she realizes that SHE is responsible for getting the water in her face. She just thinks it is funny. After bath comes a bedtime snack, and then sleepy-head goes down for the night. She is pretty good about falling to sleep on her own by now. She still gets up for a 2 or 3 AM feeding, but at least I get a few hours sleep in there.