First Birthday Party

Ava attended her first birthday party yesterday. Baby Julian (Mike and Tanya's little one) turned one yesterday and we celebrated with him on the beach. It was a little windy but it was much nicer than having the heat bear down on us. The kids had a blast and Ava even got her own party favor!

sandy piggies

Julian's sandcastle cake!

Ava's first party favor!

the birthday boy

The Bad Guy

Lately I've been the bad guy since Ava's been sick. The weapon of choice? The nasal aspirator!


Oh she just hates it. She will cry and throw her whole body back. But its been just a tremendous help with getting all that gunk out of her nose so she can breathe or not have those nasty green booger bubbles (great mental picture right?).

Sleep Diaries

Ok, last night was a little rough. The good news? Ava has been sleeping in her crib for a good month now. The bad news? She is still not sleeping through the night. For the past few weeks when she wakes up she will flip over on her stomach and she buries her head in the corner of the crib. My OCD self can't handle seeing this on the baby monitor so I get up every time to turn her over and get her back to sleep. People I have talked to said I should let her flips and see if she'll go back to sleep. This makes me super nervous.

I'll try it tonight but i am already feeling anxious about it. But I'm going to have to relax at some point and let Ava put herself back to sleep on her own.

And if I can't do it I know this part won't last for too long because eventually she will sleep through the night and we can all sleep peacefully.

If you are one of the lucky moms that have kids that sleep through the night consider yourself VERY lucky and that I envy you like crazy and kind of hate you a little. Well hate is a strong word and I don't really mean it....

I Survived!

So sorry it's been so long since my last post. I was super busy last week being a single parent but Noah came home on Friday and life went back to normal. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Thinking about it was the worst part. It also helped out with my family living so close. My brother stayed over a couple nights and we hung out at my mom's house every night. She was a huge help because I didn't have to rush home after work. I came home to let Paxx out and take him on a walk, then ride over to mom's where she always had dinner for me. Ava would wear herself out and by the time we finally came home everyone was ready for bed.

This whole deal was okay for one week. On Noah's last day his boss asked him to stay another week. Noah told him he couldn't. Thank goodness he did because I would have had a meltdown.

We took it easy this weekend. We have a busy next couple of weeks. Next weekend is baby Julian's first birthday party. Then we have a wedding to attend in Virginia the following weekend. The weekend after that is Lauren's bachelorette bash and two weeks after that is her bridal shower in Augusta. Busy. Busy. Busy. But Noah's mom is watching Ava overnight the weekend of the wedding so Noah and I got a hotel room so we could have a good time at the reception and not worry about driving home from Alexandria. I just hope I can relax enough to enjoy myself and not worry about Mimi getting up in the middle of the night. Noah is watching Ava all weekend when I am down on Tybee for Lauren's bachelorette weekend. I am looking forward to hanging out with the girls and actually enjoying the beach (taking the baby to the beach doesn't allow much sun bathing to take place, I am the palest I have ever been).

Anyway, since my last post Ava has turned 5 months old! I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She isn't crawling yet but I give it about a month and she'll be moving all over the place. Did I mention how much I love being a mommy? It may be tiring at times but it all I ever dreamed it would be.

That seems like a good note to leave this post on. Goodnight Moon!

Single Parenting

Alright! I found out how to post a blog using my iPad!

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I am dreading next week. Noah's work is sending him to DC for a week meaning it will be just me, the dog, and the baby. I know I'll be okay but it does raise my anxiety level a bit. Noah was gone for a week last month but his mom was staying with us so it helped out a lot. This will be the first time I'll be by myself. Listen to me, I should have more confidence in myself but I do hate when Noah leaves in general.

I don't know how single parents or military wives do it. I'm definitely not looking forward to it.

My days will most likely go like this:

5:00 am- wake up, let Paxx out and feed him
5:10 am- brush teeth, put on make-up, do hair, get dressed.
5:30 am - let paxx out again
5:45 am- wake Ava up and change her
6:00 am- leave the house to drop Ava off
6:30 am- 5:00 pm - work
5:30 pm- pick Ava up
6:00 pm- get home and let paxx out
6:15 pm- fix and eat dinner. Feed Ava.
7:00 pm- put Ava in stroller and walk Paxx
7:30 pm - play with Ava
8:30 pm - bathe Ava
9:30 pm- put Ava down for the night
10:00 pm- clean bottles and re-pack diaper bag
10:30 pm - shower then let paxx out
11:00 pm- sleep
3ish am- feed Ava
5:00 am- do it all over again!

I am already exhausted just reading that over to myself. I am pretty sure I will get no me time in there at all. Oh well. Wish me luck.

Home Sick

I am home sick with pink eye. well pink eyes. Monday night my eyes were irritated and red and by Tuesday morning I looked like a blood thirsty vampire. My eyes were completely bloodshot and they were burning badly. I was thinking it was allegies since my throat was itchy too but when I got to work I could barely see. I went to urgent one and was diagnosed with pink eye and was sent home so I could not spread it around the office. ugh. I felt gross all day yesterday.

I did manage to clean my house and take a nice nap though so that's the one good part out of all of this. The bad part is I've wasted two more days of my already skimpy vacation time I have left since having the baby this year, I didn't get to cuddle and kiss all over Ava last night, and I felt like absolute crud all night long constantly wiping my goopy/teary eyes and washing my hands like a mad woman every other minute.

I felt better once I got Ava down to sleep and I got some shut eye too. I woke up this morning but my eyes were still red. They are better than yesterday so I hope to go back to work tommorrow. It's been so busy there so I feel extra guilty for leaving my co-worker hanging.

Again, I feel productive today. I unpacked some more boxes from the garage and I'm almost done with laundry. I'll work in a nap and rest a bit today too but I don't get many free moments to really do some heavy duty cleaning since Ava pre-occupies my time.

I hope I wake up looking normal and not like I just got stung by a million bees.

Designer's Block

I am on a roll with posting today. I don't get the chance very often anymore because I have mommy duties but my princess is taking a nap so it's the perfect time to catch up. I apologize for the blogging overload.

Anyway, we have lived in our house since November and my house still seems so blah. I mean, we have the basics but I think it could definitely use some vavavoom. However, everytime I want to decorate, I get designer's block or an overload of ideas that clash. I need help.

I think I need to work on one room at a time. Maybe a small room first, like my bedroom.

I'll let you know how it goes....

Daycare

I signed Ava up for daycare this week. Right now she is being watched by a family friend but twice now she's given us a day or two advanced notice she's taking vacation and we've been frantic about getting arrangements made for someone to watch Ava. Don't get me wrong, she's a great babysitter and I love the individual attention Ava receives, but I want something more stable.

So I have a friend who told me about the daycare her daughter goes to. It is close to Noah's work and the price was not much more than I pay now. Also, the best part-- she gets to watch her daughter anytime she wants via webcam! That is such a plus for so many reasons. It helps my anxiety about leaving Ava all day, I get to see that she is safe, and anytime I need to smile I can just log on and see her sweet face.

Noah and I took a tour of the place this past Thursday. It looks like a great place for Ava. It looks like a well-run facility and they are meticulous about germs (another plus!).

I'm going to still be nervous dropping her off that first day, but I think I'll be okay. It will be good for Ava to interact with other kids and to have structure. It will help her to be okay around other adults too. I don't want a clingy, shy child.

Anyway, she starts in September. Woo Hoo.

Giving In

Okay. I broke down. I gave in. The iPad is just too cool.

I have been beating myself up for the past month about spending so much money on something I want. But I have a personal payment plan in place to help with the guilt. Plus, Noah and I agreed this would count as my Anniversary (which we just celebrated our 2nd blissful year of marriage this past Monday, August 2nd) and Christmas present combined.

I'm so excited to play with it. Noah is on his way now to pick it up!