Avery Bath Time

More cute photos of bath time with little buggy.

Dear Avery at 11 months,

Dear Avery,

You are really coming into your own these days.  Although you are small, even somewhat small for your age, your personality really packs a punch.  You have always had a strong, lithe body even as a newborn.   Your neck strength was there really early.  And, I was always struck by the way you did not relax into my chest but would crane your head outward looking from side to side as to not miss a thing.

Now that strength is being used for many more purposes.  You are always, always on the go.  Scooting around from object to object, room to room, and even playing games of chase with your brother, squealing and giggling.  Shortly after you mastered crawling you started to pull yourself up from standing.  You do this any chance you have and will hold on swaying your butt and cooing, or talking to the Gods, whatever it may be.  Sometimes you will lift one arm up and look upward while swaying your arm.  You delight in movement and sound.  And, you match the energy and tenor of an almost three year old.

When the two of you are taking a bath together, swimming in a baby pool, or "playing silly kids" on the bed as Zealand calls it, you hold your own and do not get overwhelmed by bigger kid energy.  You holler, make noise, splash, and throw your body around sometimes louder and bigger than your brother.  So much so that you will often lead the play between the two of you.  Zealand will get down on the floor and crawl with you and imitate gestures and sounds you make.

I should say now that any worries about the two of you getting along have dissipated - although I know that there are always stages and phases.  Zealand has been a wonderful with you.  The two of you make each other laugh and egg each other on with sounds and gestures.

Occasionally, Zealand will get upset when you reach for his trains or tracks and we are working on teaching him to not forcibly grab things back.   You don't seem to mind though.  The other day you pushed him right back, which I think surprised and humored Zealand at the same time.

You are a scrappy little thing, to be sure.  And, you get into absolutely everything.  You will put anything and everything into your mouth.  The upside is that you love food, that stuff that should be in your mouth, as well.  So far there is nothing you have refused.  You love to eat and will sit in your highchair with bits of this and that spread before you with a very serious air about you, as if you have an important job to do.  And, with great focus and purpose will begin to clear your tray.  Actually, as I am writing this I am realizing that you may have inherited the Kubischta gene of clearing the plate with meticulous care.

You are very verbal, and like your brother, are able to say what you need with great clarity, even if it is just a shout.  Your favorite sound was dadadada and now you are saying mamamama.  A few nights ago you were trying to sound out ZZ.  And, you can almost say Kitty.

You love, love, love animals.  Elliot, Ami and Papa's cat, was your real first love, which you expressed by grabbing fistfuls of fur.  You now crawl after him with great speed as the poor thing grumpily slides under chairs trying to avoid you.  When you see an animal (dogs, cats, goats, chickens) your whole face lights up and you practically jump out of my arms.  The other day at the park I couldn't keep you away from a very sweet older golden retriever resting in the shade.  You kept crawling over to, again, grab chunks of fur.  You can't get enough.

Speaking of jumping out of arms, I should say you prefer to be moving rather than held.  In the morning after bottle you don't waste a minute and squirm out of my arms to begin your explorations.  You don't have much patience for the Ergo (baby carrier) anymore and will squirm and cry to be LET OUT!  I feel like you are at the awkward stage where you don't want to be carried but you also can't crawl wherever we are so it can be frustrating for you and for me.  Soon enough though.  We all predict that walking is just around the corner, and then look out!

The five percent of the day when you are in my arms your sweet cuddly side shines.  You are now officially a thumb sucker and you will have one hand in the mouth while the other hand cradles the thumb sucking hand.  Your body relaxes and you recharge.  I love sitting in the rocking chair with you as you suck your thumb and lean against my chest perfectly relaxed.  You also lean in for "kissies" by moving your face very near to ours.  And, just the other day you cupped your hand open and closed for "bye."

You are a sweet, soft, tough, strong spirited, curious, exuberant, lively, silly, and dramatic almost one year old.  We are all enjoying getting to know more and more who you are.  I admire your determination to find what you need in this family that came before you.  You most definitely hold your own.  And, when your mind is made up you are unstoppable, must reach that toy, must grab that water bottle, see that dog, or whatever it might be.  I can see already that your will is a powerful one.

We love you Baby waves!
-Mama

Dear Avery at 8 months,

Dear Avery,

This was your first bath in the tub and your first bath taken with your brother and Dad. You were thrilled. You squealed, shrieked, splashed, and was so excited to be in the water with the boys. These photos were taken a week before we left San Francisco.

You and your brother are developing a sweet, fun, and loving connection as you can see in all of these pictures. You watch him so closely all of the time and you are quick to smile and laugh at just about anything he does. He, in turn, is protective of you and will often join in baby play to be right there with you. He too will bite toys that you are playing with and lie down on the floor with you to be a part of what you are doing.

Not only is your relationship with your brother becoming more real and apparent to all of us, but so is your presence alongside your brother and I at various outings and play dates. When I go to the park now I bring a blanket and toys for you so that you can enjoy a good outdoor play as well. You love a good push on the swing and watching other kids play and run around. I suppose it is only a matter of time when I can go to the park and watch you and your brother play with each other on slides and bars.

We are so enjoying you Avery, all of us.

Love,

Momma

Onward and Upward

Dear Avery at 10 months,

What a couple of months it has been! Not only have you morphed from a baby with a decided preference for staying seated into a wild crawling thing moving from room to room, but we have bought our first house. For the record, I was somewhat, shall we say busy, the ninth month of your life. We all stayed at your Ami and Papa's while we worked on the house. I painted cabinets, and a bookshelf, we ordered appliances, pest work, and your father was busy gutting a bathroom among many other things. Your bedroom, along with your brother's are the only finished rooms in the entire house. And, they are both so pretty. Your first bedroom at age 9 months! Not bad.

You cheerfully weathered our transition from an apartment in San Francisco to a home in suburban Walnut Creek. I, in a dramatic sleep deprived state, felt like your entire childhood was slipping through my fingers while I left each day to work on our house. When I returned each day it was your brother who gobbled up what little time there was with the two of you. In the process you began to take bottles and now, almost overnight it seemed, you no longer breastfeed.

Still, through it all, you were all smiles and full of secrets of all that you had learned and experienced throughout each day. And, spending so much time away left me with a renewed sense of gratitude for all of the time I do get to spend with you and your brother in our regular, every day life together.

The biggest headline from your tenth month here on planet earth - you perfected the art of crawling! Before crawling you had developed an adorable, and unique form of movement that was all your own - swiveling on your butt while your feet spun your small self around and around. And then, in early March this just wasn't enough. You were itching to crawl and would lean down on your hands reaching out for more.

The first weekend of March 8th marked the beginning of true crawling. Your Auntie Annika was visiting and I will never forget one evening with all of us sitting around you while you prepared yourself for crawling and simply had the time of your life while all eyes were on you allowing you to shine in the spotlight. This was your moment!

It was way past your bedtime but every molecule in your body was buzzing. You laughed, rocked, went from a crawling position to sitting, laughed, and moved about on the carpet as we snapped photos of you and basked in your "I am alive!" glow. I think you knew you were on the verge of something big. And, sure enough.. Two days later you were a girl on the go.

You are now unstoppable. Each morning after gobbling up a bottle you lean out of my arms so you can move. You explore every corner of our new, rather large, playroom. You move happily from toy to toy and have started seriously messing up someone's railroad tracks. And, you put everything in your mouth. Well, what I mean to say, is that you try and eat everything - papers, tiny pieces of god knows what on the floor, anything you can get your hands on.

Your curiosity knows no bounds and spills out as far as we all let it. You will crawl off the edge of the bed, out the front door, off of your changing table, and anywhere gravity will allow. Caution is not yet part of your vocabulary. Not in the least bit.

And, you seem to find the world both hilarious and exciting. You take most of it in with good cheer and aplomb. A mere glance from one of us can elicit deep belly laughs with eyes and arms raised upwards. On most mornings you begin the day giggling and cooing when the door opens and you know bottle and the wide open floor are just moments away.

But, as I have mentioned before you are not all giggles and sweetness. You mainly are, 95% I would reckon. The 5% is your hell cat side. When you are not happy you let us all know with loud shrieks and protests. You make yourself into a formidable force and stomp around until your need is met.

All of this to say that you are your own little person. You are not getting lost in the busy fold of second child pace of life, or overshadowed by a certain bright light we all know and love. We are all getting to know you and love you more each day. You are our baby Abes, baby wavy, and Avy - full of mischief and light, and up for just about anything. All of us, including your brother, would do just about anything for you, already.

We can't wait to see what is next. I have a feeling it is going to be good.

We love you,

Mamma

New Life at Lorie Court

We spent the first weekend as a family at our new home this weekend. Spring was in the air, even if winter hasn't happened yet.

Dear Avery at 7 months,

Dear Avery,

I am still learning who you are, every day. Your energy and temperament is very different from your brother's when he was a baby. But, these things are hard to put into words when you are still so little. You are an intense, fiery little thing constantly moving your head in the direction of sounds, sights, and things to grab. And, when things are not right you scream at the top of your lungs. If I had to choose colors for Zealand's essence they would be blues, greens, and maybe even some purple. You have water colors too, but are also shot through with streaks of red. And, when Zealand was a baby he seemed to absorb things around him, slowly like water through a sponge. You, on the other hand, gobble things up. You do not want to miss a thing.

And, you have lots to say. You say "dadadada" and blahblahblahah with great seriousness. You love to go for walks, facing outwards in the Baby Bjorn. And, I have said it before, but you make so many friends. Heads turn for you all of the time. "What a beautiful baby!", follows us wherever we go.

You are so inquisitive. When I start to sing a song your head whips around and you stare at me in a way that is almost unnerving. It is as if you are trying to figure out English right then and there. You watch my lips move with such an intensity. And, music. You enjoy listening to it but you also stare at the Iphone on the dock as if you are trying really hard to figure out how sound is able to come through the speaker. It is curiosity, but there is also an intensity that is unique, I think.

Thankfully, you are also a silly goose. You giggle and smile when you spot me across the room and you are incredibly ticklish. I love to nibble on your sides and tummy just to hear your great belly laugh.

You now sit up without being wobbly and are so eager to crawl. You reach for things while on your belly and move around in a circle, rolling around to where you need to go. The other day you tucked your knees under in a crawling position, but that was it. Your mind and curiosity are already running, crawling, and walking but your body is not yet cooperating. You often will balance on your tummy like a turtle flailing your arms and legs in frustration.

It is just a matter of time before you are all over the place. And, I am pretty sure that you will indeed be all over the place. Right now your range of motion is pretty limited. But, you still manage to grab and find all sorts of things. I can't even imagine adding crawling to this mix.

We love you Baby Wavy - your blues, greens, and even your red.

Love,

Mama