Lunch at the Academy

We secured a coveted spot at a top-notch in-home daycare with an adorable British couple. They send us cute video updates of his day, like this one.

Weights and Measures

The numbers are in...

James at 4 months:
Length = 27 inches (99th percentile)
Weight = 18 lbs 13 oz (99th percentile)
Weight for length = 70th percentile

February 2012

Leap Year or not, this February was particularly busy.

Visitors! Boy did we have visitors. Grandma Rabold,Tom, Emily, Ian, and Caleb all came to Portland, and we had a great time introducing them to James. Layne gets the Sixth Man Award for taking care of an 18-pound infant for two weeks while we were away at work. Ava had fun combing Ian's hair and violently hugging Caleb. Ava also enjoyed four successive sleepovers with Ian. Turns out the secret to getting Ava to go to bed in the evening is to wake her up for the day at 5 a.m. Thanks to Ian for that tip.

Milestones! Boy did we have milestones. Ava learned how to use the potty. James rolled over both directions. Helen returned to work. Not all were completely joyful.

Exhaustion! Boy are we tired. We still haven't managed to string together two "good" nights of sleep yet ("good" of course being a relative term; we're just looking for one uninterrupted stretch of three hours). As we rounded the corner on James's fourth month, we found ourselves being woken every hour. We're past that, which can only mean that we'll have some good news in March, right?

At 4 Months...

As you all well know, James is a good deal larger than Ava was. And while we all know this conceptually, we've been trying to find a picture that really proves it. This isn't the best comparison but hopefully you get the point.

4 month, 6 days

4 months, 3 days

Let's Get This Potty Started

Back in February, we had our most rewarding parenting experience yet: a potty training marathon weekend! Honestly, we've spent a good deal of time over the last 18 months in the bathroom with Ava, gently trying to introduce the toilet. This technique was great for Ava in so many ways. She got to sit on a comfy throne, read lots of books, and exert lots of control over her helpless parents. She didn't pee and she didn't poop and that was just fine with her. After all, that's what the diapers are for, right?

Cooking her famous barley soup. In undies.

Reading a book. In undies.

Eventually it became clear that in order to get rid of Ava's diapers, we would just have to, well, get rid of them. And so we did. With Brian's mom, Layne, in town, we figured we had numbers on our side. The time had come.

Blowing bubbles. In undies.

Our adventure started with a trip downtown to H&M to pick up some underwear. It was exhilarating and we bought one of every pair in her size. Then we boxed up all of the cloth diapers and put them in the basement. Then we spent three days in undies and a t-shirt (well, the adults wore pants), feeding her juice at every turn, and letting her watch a congratulatory YouTube video whenever she used the toilet. She had one big accident, a couple of small ones and then spent the rest of the weekend watching all sorts of chimpanzees spinning until they got dizzy.

Mowing the neighbor's lawn. In undies.

3rd position. In undies.

While we were at it, we figured we would go for the gold and get her out of nighttime diapers as well. Even though we were waking her up every two hours (true story) she still managed to soak the bed every other hour for a week. She's a miracle child! But, just when we were sure nighttime potty training was out of reach, we heard Ava race to the bathroom on her own, use the toilet, get up on her step stool to wash her hands and then run back to bed without our help. We are convinced there is no better sound in the world.

Checking email. In undies.

Roughhousing. In undies.

Swim Babies

James graced the pool with his chubby rolls today and we learned that he is remarkably buoyant. That didn't stop Helen from pushing his head underwater, though. Despite the way this face reads, he actually enjoyed the plunge:

Yes, that is a man boob.

Ava refused to pose for this picture. She is no puppet.

Ava refused to smile for this picture.

Turns out Ava likes the pool, too. Here she is floating down the lazy river:

One and a half hours of swimming later, he's still happy.

Mr. Giggles

Sure, Ava is funny. But not that funny.

Today in Ava

Ava: Mama, you wear underwear. I wear underwear. Grandma wears underwear. Now James is the only friend wearing diapers.
Helen: What about Daddy? Does he wear underwear?
Ava: No, Daddy doesn't wear underwear. Daddy wears bok choys.

Dancing Queen

For those of you accustomed to parents over-hyping their children, this will be a breath of fresh air: Ava is one of the worst singers known to man. She does, however, have some sweet dance moves. Check it:

January 2012

January was action-packed. Here are the deets:

• Ava turned 3! She celebrated with pink pee (and a visit to the ER - she's fine) and had a bunch of her buddies over. This was very exciting because the kids played by themselves, allowing us to talk to adults about adult things, like how the kids were playing so well without us.
• James started to laugh. Not a full-fledged belly laugh but a cute wide-mouthed gasp.
• Brian was out of town for two weeks so Helen moved in with the Edwards gang. Thanks for that! It just goes to show that the gifts of parenthood just keep coming!
• Aunt Paula and Uncle Joe visited to meet James and celebrate Ava's birthday. We had many a pretend pizza party during their stay, and learned all about penguins.
• Ava was a party animal: school birthday parties, friends' birthday parties, friends' baptisms. She now knows that she likes cupcakes, and she had her first lollipop.

Weights and Measures

The numbers are in...

James at 2 months (a few weeks ago):
Length = 25.5 inches (99th percentile)
Weight = 15 lbs 11 oz (99th percentile)
Weight for length = 50th percentile


Ava at 3 years:
Height = 34.5 inches (5th percentile)
Weight = 25.5 lbs (5th percentile)
Weight for height = 20th percentile

Oh, the Abuse

Being the last-born in each of our families, we've long believed that the youngest in the family is the toughest. Now we know why.

Sleeper hold

Eye poke

Steam roller

Leg rest (at 8 days old)

Today in Ava

Ava's not at her best in the mornings. She's a little lacking in joie de vivre and has, on more than one occasion, made Helen cry with her morning greeting of "I don't want to see her."

Things have taken a welcome turn over the last few months and this morning she brought tears to Helen's eyes again with today's greeting:

"Good morning, mama. Do you need a hug? 'Cuz I've got two big arms waiting to give you a hug."

Are you kidding me with this? Enough to warm your icy heart. Amiright?

Sleepover!

To ring in the New Year, Ava had friends Elliot and Maisie over, not just to play, not just for dinner, but to sleep over.

Ava and Elliot were out of control excited about the whole idea of a sleepover and when given multiple options about where to sleep, Elliot and Ava opted to sleep in Ava's bed together.They started out the night like this:

After a few hours of reading books to each other and telling each other their innermost secrets, they ended the night like this:

Aaaaahh! Don't look at me...I'm hideous.

A letter from the editor:

Dear faithful readers,

By now you've no doubt noticed our new look. I imagine it's as shocking to you as it was to us only moments ago when a click of the wrong button de-customized our template. We're still recovering but, just as we've managed to go weeks without showering, we'll have to postpone  the blog makeover as there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

In the meantime, avert your eyes and think positive thoughts for a speedy recovery.

December 2011, brought to you by the letter "Why?"

Aside from Christmas festivities taking center stage this month, we had several milestones as well. James is smiling, cooing, and acting less like a helpless newborn every day. We've made absolutely no progress in the duration of his nighttime sleep but he has, at least for the moment, become easier to get to sleep. We'll count that as a victory, albeit a small one.

 

Ava has a renewed interest in letters (or what we're grandly terming "early literacy," because we can.) She can recognize each letter of the alphabet and relate words to the letter that they start with. She can also write A, T, V, H, O, and J with ease. At this point most other letters look like centipedes or Sanskrit.

Ava is also either incredibly curious about the world around her or she's getting great enjoyment out of the one-two punch of "Why?" and "What you said?" (decoded: What did you say?) Combined they land us in a downward spiral of explaining, repeating, explaining, repeating...so on and so forth. We're all for a love of learning but we wouldn't mind just a teensie bit less curiosity.

Enjoy this months set of photos! It's a biggun', but you know you love it.

Our Last Christmas of Low Expectations

It's been a few days now and we're still getting over the web of lies we just told Miss Ava Kate about Santa. It's a messy business, this parenting thing. You start out with an innocent, "Hey, some bearded stranger is going to give you presents for Christmas," and then all of a sudden you're working through extensive follow-up questions. Why? Where is he now? Why does he need milk and cookies? Ava didn't appear to buy the story at all but seemed to understand that presents would come to her if she just nodded along. Next time we'll just have a movie take care of the explanations.

"Seriously? Milk and cookies gives him his energy?"

Glamour shot by the tree

Our primary gift to Ava this year was a trunk of dress-up clothes. It quickly became clear to us that we had failed to give her the proper little girl training when she thought the full-length satin gloves were in fact latex, and should be used to change diapers like they do at school. Or at least that's what we assume she meant when she screamed out, "I'm going to change someone's poopy diaper!" as she pulled them on her hands.

Christmas? What a hoot!

Taming the Wild Mane

So, 6 months after her last haircut, Ava had begun to look feral. Apparently kids need more than one haircut a year. Who knew?

Before: angelic, but still feral

For Ava's first two haircuts, we took her to kiddie salons where you fly around in airplanes and watch tv. Ava was unimpressed and screamed like a banshee from start to finish. This time we picked a location we hoped would be hip enough for her exacting standards. As a bonus, parents get to drink beer. It was all very...Portland.

Elliot escorted her to Bishops Barbershop and got his haircut first. Ava had a lot of insightful questions like, "Who is that woman?", "Why is she spraying/combing/cutting his hair?" and "Why did she stop cutting his hair?" Ava doesn't like to dive right into anything at all so the preview was good for her. 

When it came time for Ava's turn, it took a fair amount of cajoling to convince Ava that she needed to remove her hat and, preferably, her jacket. She conceded on the condition that she be allowed to keep her boots on, to which Danielle, her stylist, agreed. It looked like we were going to move beyond the impasse until Ava also demanded that she sit on Helen's lap, her hair be cut dry, and that Danielle not use the blow dryer. She eventually got her way and is now the cutest little non-feral two year old out there.

Ava, contemplating if she should have made more demands.

More vinyl than Little Clippers.

Mother reclaiming her daughter.

Little Feet

November 2011

With our first full month with two kids under our belt, we have a lot to report. Here are some FAQs:

- Are you tired?

Yes.

- How is the little man sleeping?

James sleeps fabulously during the day for several hours at a time. Nighttime slumber is an entirely different story, though. His longest stretch of sleep during his first month was 2 1/2 hours and most nights he slept for an hour at a time. Worse still, his latest "trick" is waking up to eat and then finding some reserve of energy that leaves him awake for the next hour until he needs to eat again.

- How has Ava handled the transition?

Ava is a champ and, obvious to all those who have met her, a true maternal spirit. She has stayed faithful to her campaign promises and picks his outfits and his diapers every day. She also folds the old diapers up, disposes of them, and helps put new diapers on. After 2 plus years of practice, she can probably put on a cloth diaper better than most adults can.

Ava loves James and usually places her head centimeters from his nose to let him know she is there for him. She's also fond of poking his head, so we spend a great deal of time saying things like, "Not the head holes. Please stay clear of his head holes." She calls him "Baby James," "Jamesie-poo," and "my baby broder."

- What about Brody? Didn't he completely lose his mind when Ava came along?

Brody surprised us all and seemed genuinely happy to have the new guy join our pack. He sniffed his head once and then just lay down next to him.

- Does James have any special talents or skills? (Well, nobody has actually asked this but here's what we would say if they did.)

James is an oddly strong infant and could hold his head up within a few hours of birth. By the third day we would hold him on our shoulder to burp him and he could lift his head up and turn to look at us. While still in the hospital he rolled onto his side but since then he's seemed too lazy to repeat such a feat of strength. Around Thanksgiving he wowed us with a few coy smiles and we've seen him doling them out a little more frequently in the last few days.

- So you gave birth to a 10-pound baby? Was that totally awesome?

We'll spare you the details, but we can now tell you that birthing a 10-pound baby is harder than birthing a 6 1/2-pound baby. In fact, Helen lost her voice during labor. As Brian commented shortly afterwards, "I hope there weren't any expectant mothers touring the maternity ward this afternoon."