Straight Talk with Ava

We just found some old Ava-isms in our "drafts" file so we posted them here because she makes us giggle. She's a pretty sassy girl and has no qualms telling it like it is.

Here are some more recent ones:

• During a heated discussion about plumbing: "You should talk to Grandad in a gentle voice."
• "You should ask me why I'm upset. I'm an upset person."
• While teaching her imaginary friend how to rock climb: "Hold on tight, Leo. Hold on tight to your dreams."
• "James, you think it's funny that I got peanut butter on my shirt?" Walks out, disgusted.

Today in Ava

"Hey, Layna (neighbor friend). I got a new haircut for preschool. They're not going to know what to do with me!"

Touching Moments

At first I saw this picture and I was like, "Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

And then I looked a little closer and I was like, "Oooooooooooooooooooooooh."

July 2012

This month Brian's parenting dreams came true as we finally cracked open a hefty box of real Legos "for Ava" to play with. Moments later "Ava" had created a stunning display of jets and marine craft, complete with headlights, retractable roofs, windows and working doors. By the end of the work session, Brian--who generally would prefer that we don't own many possessions at all--declared that what we needed were more Lego sets. His creativity is being stifled.

July also began Ava's countdown to preschool. We are very excited to see what preschool is all about. Ava has been giving us previews, like when Helen ties her shoes and Ava announces, "Momma. When you get to preschool, you can do that all by yourself." We made a countdown chain of stars, which we ceremoniously reduce by one each evening.

James now has three baby teeth which he likes to use to bite cheeks. When he's not inflicting bodily harm, he's opening up cupboards of pans and attempting to pull everything on to the kitchen floor. There is absolutely nothing he can't get into and nothing he won't put into his mouth. In keeping with our general, "it takes a village" approach to parenting, we have taught Ava the signs of choking and practiced the screaming that we expect from her, should she hear gagging noises from James. You might say we're relying too heavily on a 3 year-old, as evidenced by her asking Helen to "keep an eye on James" while she "goes potty."

Wiggity, Wiggity, Wiggity Wack

 

 "Put the Jump song on. I LOVE the Kris Kross."
- Ava

Big Sis. Little Bro.

Outta My Way Greenhorn!

June 2012

Somebody once told us that when you have kids, things are very hard in the beginning, and then they get easier, and then get hard once again when the second child gets mobile. In our house right now, it's absolute anarchy. James seems to have catapulted from chubby ball sitting on the floor to Olympic medalist (the event is unclear) in a couple of weeks and we are far from prepared. Every moment of the day is spent either sweeping his throat for a foreign object, gasping as a sharp corner narrowly misses his eye socket, or counterbalancing a bar stool just as it gets ready to crack his skull. In our spare moments, we're daydreaming about baby helmets, infant cages, and weighing whether our friends and neighbors would judge us if we installed some sort of a stake-in-the-ground tether system.

So about June, we say this: we're glad we're all still alive.

Coast to Coast

Grandma and Grandpa Rabold came out to Portland from Savannah for a 10-day visit this month. At first glance, the timing was unfortunate--the same week as their visit, James moved into the "stranger danger" phase of development. Just to prove he could give his sister a run for her money, he spent an entire day screaming his head off.  But over the days of their visit, he succumbed to their loving grandparently presence and rewarded their persistence with the development of some new tricks. While they were here, James went from dragging his big ole body across the floor to fully crawling. He also started clapping, pulling himself up on furniture and generally became a menace in our completely un-babyproofed home.

While Layne and Gary were here, we took a trip to the Oregon coast with both sets of grandparents. Oddly enough, Layne and Sue celebrate the same birthday so it seemed like a birthday field trip was in order. Although it was rainy, dreary and cold (it is still the Oregon coast in June), it was a rugged good time. Just to make sure it was, the adults drank lots of wine. Here are some pictures of the whole gang:

Fanciful father-daughter spin shot

James's first ocean toe-dip. That water averages 58 degrees in June...James was not impressed.

Who needs warm weather? We have starfish!

Birthday girl #1

Birthday girl #2

We mentioned it was rugged, right?

Dining al fresco, Oregon coast style.

Life at the Frat House

I swear we've had these same exact conversations with drunk friends...

• "I'm just going to pee on this grass so I don't have to go all the way inside."
• "James and I are playing drinking games. When you're done with dinner, I can show you how to play drinking games."
• "Ava, where are your pants?"
• "I threw up in my bedroom. Just a little bit."
• "I don't drink wine. It makes my body sick." 

What are we playing here? Quarters?

Going the Distance

We've been playing "Eye of the Tiger" pretty much constantly for the last three months, just psyching James up for this exact moment.

No, really we would prefer that he just stay stationary for a while and make our lives a whole lot easier. But the heart wants what the heart wants. James's heart wants to be on the move.

Ava's First Joke

Ava's been all about jokes lately. In fact, her favorite joke is to just lie about something. For example, she might insist she has washed her hands when she clearly has not, and then add, "I made a joke," in an oddly low voice when we call her out on it. But she's also been trying her hand at some actual jokes, as well:

Since Ava refused to take her finger out of her mouth for this performance, we'll transcribe for you:

Ava: I have a dog with no nose.

Helen: How does he smell?

Ava: Awful.

May 2012

In typical Portland fashion, summer came and went in May. It was nice while it lasted, though. James got some air to his chubby legs. Ava played in wading pools and started a garden in her very own raised bed (thanks, Rodders!). Then, of course, it rained and we jumped around in puddles.

James spent the entire month scooting backwards through the house, all the while screaming and looking quite distressed. By the end of the month, his hard work paid off as he was finally able to commando crawl his way forward to any number of choking hazards that Ava calls toys. While a newly mobile James has Ava feeling even more territorial than usual, she has found a unique way to exert her dominance by ripping toys out of his hands and telling him, "No, Jamesie. That is too small for you. You will swallow it and you won't be able to breathe. Oh, NO, Jamesie. That is too small." And so on.

James also began taking some reliable naps during the day which allowed Ava and Helen enough time to get some learnin' on. We blew up Ivory soap, cooked play dough, simulated rain, painted with milk, practiced our scissor skills and built towers out of big boxes.

We also advanced to some moderately complex pretend play with elaborate story lines. A favorite of mine is "Goldilocks" where one person sleeps in Ava's bed and the other sets up different sized bowls for porridge, goes for a walk, and comes home only to stumble upon Goldilocks. Everyone looks appropriately stunned and then Goldilocks jumps out of bed and runs out the front door screaming "You'll never see me again!" But Ava's favorite, by a wide margin is, "Now I'm the teacher" also known as "Now I'm the momma." James is generally the baby in this game but Ava will also accept a stuffed animal substitute in a pinch. James lies helplessly on the floor as the momma leaves for work and the teacher takes care of James. When momma returns from work the teacher provides a written dossier of James's day, along with some anecdotes about his activities. Then everyone switches roles, except for James because, of course, he's the baby again.

Today in Ava

Ava: James, you're a chunky boy!
Brian: What does that mean, Ava? Chunky boy?
Ava: Jamesie, your hands are chunky, your feet are chunky. Your head's chunky too.

I guess she does know what that means.

James at 6 Months

Length = 29.5 inches (99th percentile but that's only because that's as high as percentiles go. Check out the graph, below.)
Weight = 21 lbs .3 oz (94th percentile)
Weight for length = 45th percentile

Length for Age Growth Chart:

Here's a quick primer, if you aren't familiar with these. The curved lines represent the growth of a child over time (months, seen on the x axis). The bottom curve is that of a child in the 5th percentile and the top curve is the 95th percentile. You can't see the label on the left (y axis) but the height is listed here in centimeters. You might wonder why they are using a chart with centimeters when they actually measured his length in inches and there is a readily available chart in inches. You should ask them because I certainly can't tell you the answer.

Long story short, not only did James start above the growth curve, he's continuing to grow at a rate higher than other boys.

Possible future family portrait:

 

Rabold Family Singers

What we lack in talent, we make up for in heart.

April 2012

It's almost time for the May wrap-up and we're just getting around to recapping April, so we'll keep this brief. We had a couple of milestones, the biggest of which involved James. He started daycare a couple of days a week (whaaa) and his massive size led him to outgrow his infant car seat, a full 12 months earlier than Ava did. Tallest. Baby. Ever.

We spent lots of time outside...swinging, sidewalk chalking, partying, painting and, on one occasion, searching for dyed Easter eggs. James is starting to become more mobile and Ava is starting to become more independent, so it looks like Spring should be fun.

6 Month Birthday Edition - 25 Things About James

1. James still sleeps in two-hour increments.
2. The only place you can get a hand around James's leg is at his ankle. If you have bigger hands than us.
3. James wears 12-month clothing.
4. James sleeps in our bedroom because of item #1 on this list.
5. James has brown eyes, like both of his parents.
6. He has one tuft of hair on the top of his head. There is just enough to make a fauxhawk.
7. This boy LOVES his sister. He smiles even when she is dragging him across the room by his head.
8. James has a fold in the middle of his bottom lip that you can only see when he sleeps.
9. James also has folds everywhere else.
10. His cheeks are perfect for kissing. They are big and squishy.
11. He can pretty reliably sit up by himself. Until Ava pushes him over because "he wants to be on his belly."
12. James has achieved forward motion in his scooting and seems close to fully crawling. He has started tucking his knees under him and is ready for action.
13. James eats lots and lots of food. His most impressive feat was eating two apples in one sitting. He also loves pears and green beans, but could go either way on carrots, peas, avocado, and sweet potato.
14. You have to eat quickly around James. He will steal your food. While sitting on Helen's lap, he once pulled her plate towards him, grabbed her fork, and stuck it in his mouth in the time it took the family to gasp.
15. Overall, James is a very happy fellow.
16. James knows the sign for "feed me" and likes to use it when he can.
17. James hates the feeling of grass.
18. He just moved into his big boy car seat and promptly threw up on it. It has lost its new car seat smell.
19. Ava's classmates are always happy to get a visit from James. They like to pat him on the head and hold his hands.
20. James has never left the city of Portland.
21. Our boy is too heavy to hold for any length of time. The physical strain has aggravated past injuries of Helen's and created new ones for Brian.
22. James likes to hear Helen sing.
23. James likes to hear himself shriek.
24. Ava is James's stylist. She chooses his outfits to match her own and is very disappointed when he is wearing something that she can't find in her own closet.
25. He likes to play with a beach ball, which Ava rolls to him and he kicks back to her.

 

I Am 1/2 Today

 

Ava Draws a Baby