Ava's First Bike

Stefan surprised us by taking yesterday off from work, after being in Florida for five days.  We had a fun and relaxing day, and in the afternoon, we got Ava her very first bike.  We live in a cul de sac, and every afternoon, our neighbors' kids all get together and ride bikes, scooters and motorized cars in the nearly vacant cul de sac.  Some of the younger ones just toddle around with toys, etc.  All of the kids are within a couple of years of each other in age, so everyone gets along great and has a lot of fun together.  Ava has been pushing her doll in her stroller while the older kids ride around, but yesterday, she got her first bike.  Stefan put it together as quickly as he could because Ava was so excited to try it out.  We took her outside during Ian's evening nap, and Stefan taught her how to ride it.  We quickly learned that Ava's legs are just a hair too short to push the pedals the whole way around, but this summer, she'll be able to reach them just fine and will no doubt be zooming around our cul de sac with finesse.  In the meantime, we'll keep trying until she gets it.  We really don't mind pushing her - it's fun to see her face light up, not to mention great exercise!

Daddy helping Ava onto her new bike

"I'm officially a big girl!"

Daddy and Annie coaching Ava on pedaling.

"Look at me go!"

"I am pretty hot on this bike, aren't I?"

My Mother's Day

This morning, I got both of my babies out of bed with kisses and a "thank you for making me a mommy."  Our day was filled with our normal schedule, and I thought about how much I love my job.  For a few minutes today, I rolled around on the floor with both Ava and Ian, tickling them, wrestling with them, zerberting their bellies and tickling their toes.  I relished in their giggles and squeals, laughing right along with them, and then I realized there is nothing better in the world than hearing your child laugh.

A year ago today, I found out I was pregnant with Ian.  I woke up early that morning and took a home pregnancy test, although I already knew the answer.  Ava lay sound asleep in her crib - just 17 months old - still dreaming away.  Stefan was in Florida for The Players Golf Tournament, and so it was just me and the pregnancy test.  When I took the test with Ava, I covered the stick and waited the prescribed three minutes for the test to develop.  I wanted to be surprised.  But with Ian's test, I sat there and watched it develop, knowing full well I was going to see that beautiful second pink line.  When it showed positive, I cupped my hands over my face and whispered "God Almighty!" about 40 times.  Ian wasn't planned, but I was beyond elated nonetheless.  On Mother's Day 2008, I became a mother of two.  And today, 2009, I played the day away with them.  I am overwhelmed by all of the goodness in my life.

I remember a time several years ago, when I was in college, that I actually thought about not having children.  I didn't think I would make a good mother.  But now that I have children, I don't know how I ever existed before them.  They are so much a part of me that I can't bear to imagine life without them.  They are my soul - walking around outside of my body - with precious faces, curious hands and eyes so deep you could get lost in them.  I'm so thankful God chose me as their mother.  They are the ultimate gift.  They make it Mother's Day 365 days a year.  I love you so very much, Ava & Ian!

Ian's Big Weekend

Last weekend was a big one for Ian.  On Saturday, we brought up Ava's old jumperoo-exersaucer combo for Ian to try.  He loves it!  And on Sunday, he had his first cereal feeding and did extremely well.  He's had cereal in his bottles for the past month, but now he's eating it with a spoon and chows down.  I'll keep the post short and just let the pictures do the talking.  Enjoy!

  

Content and Entertained...

First Bite!

  

I love eating my cereal like a big boy, mommy!

Recipe of the Week: Pasta with Turkey Sausage, Spinach & Peppers

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Good Food Fast cookbook, which is a dandy.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound short pasta, such as radiatore, corkscrew or farfalle (bowties)
• 1 pound turkey sausage, casings removed
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 yellow (or red) bell peppers, thinly sliced
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 bag baby spinach leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper, for seasoning
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling on top at the table

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta. Drain, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta water; return pasta to pot.
2. Meanwhile, cook sausage and 2 tablespoons water in a large covered nonstick skillet over medium until fat renders, 5 minutes. Uncover; raise heat to medium-high. Brown sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, 7 minutes.
3. Add garlic, bell peppers, red pepper flakes and 1/4 cup reserved pasta water; cook until peppers soften, 6 minutes. Add 3/4 cup pasta water and butter; swirl to combine.
4. Transfer to pot. Add spinach; season with salt and pepper. Toss; add more pasta water as desired. Serve with parmesan cheese.

Ian is Four Months Old!

Our little boy is growing and changing so fast!  At his four-month well-child doctor's visit yesterday, Ian tipped the scale at 12 pounds, 11 ounces, and measured 24.75 inches long.  He has caught up to full-term babies, although I must admit I was disappointed when the scale didn't even come close to the 15 pound mark.  With Ian's recent eating binges, I was certain we were going to see a larger gain.  Even my sister said he felt heavier than that.  But regardless of my silly expectations, the great news is that Ian is right on schedule with growth and ahead of schedule in terms of motor skills - a direct result of sleeping on his tummy for over a month now.  The doctor put Ian on his tummy to test his ability to pull up, and not only did Ian pull up, he creeped and scootched all the way to the other end of the table.  The doctor said, "Whoa, now there's one busy baby!"  I didn't confess to her that my boy sleeps on his tummy, but I'm sure she knew.  And unfortunately, Ian sustained four shots and an oral vaccination before we left for the day.  That's the worst thing ever for mommies to experience!

Ian has been giggling and squealing nonstop, and sometimes I can't get enough, so I keep tickling and playing to get more giggles out of him.  Then, of course, it backfires and I realize I pushed the envelope too far when he goes from giggling to crying in 1.2 seconds.  But it's worth it to hear those gut-busting laughs!  He holds his rattle and adores lights and music.  He's my little kickin' chicken - as I've nicknamed him - because when he plays, his legs go a mile a minute.  He sits with very little support for extended periods of time now and has fun playing with his toys.  And he still gets the biggest joys from watching big sister Ava play and run about.  He is mesmerized by her every move!  And the best part?  He's been sleeping through the night (7:45 p.m. to 7 a.m.) for a month now!

But we weren't able to escape this month without challenges.  Ian came into his fourth month like a lion, and I hope he'll go out like a lamb.  He hit a growth spurt a couple of weeks ago and has given us a run for our money ever since.  Fortunately, he still sleeps through the night, but until a few days ago, daytime naps were nonexistent.  He would cry for hours on end, and there were days when I wanted to scream.  But after making adjustments to both his schedule and his bottle, we seem to have reached a golden zone of great naps and solid nights.  Quick, someone knock on wood!  Enjoy these pictures I took on April 22nd, his official 4 month birthday.

Baby feet are irresistible.

Such a big boy!

I look just like my sister!

Me and my crooked smile.  (So cute!)

"Whoops!  I was bored, so I rolled over."

Ava's Story Time (and Another Cute Story)

Yesterday, as I was playing with Ian in the family room, I heard Ava's soft voice coming from the dining room.  Her little voice was rising and falling in a rhythmical fashion, although I couldn't hear exactly what she was saying.  So I got up and tiptoed into the dining room, peeking around the corner to see exactly what was going on.  What I saw was something truly precious: Ava reading to her stuffed animals.  She lined them up against the wall, and sat between them, so they could all see the pictures.  She had a small pile of books beside her, as if she was planning to read the whole lot to them.  Ava had her favorite book, Over in the Ocean, and she was reading it aloud, just as I do when I read it to her.  At first she didn't see me, so I watched from a distance in silence for a moment, filled with both pride and guilt.  It's during these times that I can physically feel my heart breaking - not just with sorrow, but also with love.  My least favorite part of being a mother of two is that a lot of times I have to choose between children.  I can't be in two places at once, so much of my day is spent running back and forth between kids.  It's something I am still learning to cope with, and I'm not sure I'll ever get the hang of it, especially when something like this happens.  So I ran to get the camera, and I quietly went back into the dining room, where story time was in full swing.  I raised the camera to take a picture of our little bookworm in action, and as soon as I did, Ava stopped reading, looked up and said "Cheese!"  So I didn't get any good action shots, but I did manage to get a cute picture regardless.

Ava, as she finishes story time with her stuffed animals, Mickey & Bunny.

And today, during lunch, Ava clasped her hands to pray and began reciting a prayer song we've taught her (actually, it's a prayer song my sister taught my nieces, and we have picked it up along the way):

God our Father, God our Father

We thank you, we thank you

For our many blessings, for our many blessings

Amen, Amen.

On most days, Stefan and I sing the prayer while she listens, although some days she does try to sing along.  But today, Ava took the lead and sang the song all by herself.  When she got to the final line (Amen, Amen), she pronounced it "Oh Man! Oh Man!"  I giggled at this but immediately praised her for her efforts.  Oh Ava, you're just too cute for words right now.  Please don't ever change.  Please don't ever grow up.  Please stay just like this.  Forever.

Easter 2009

Has it really been two weeks since my last post? Wow. This has to be the longest span between two posts yet. Sorry. Life has been busier than usual (is that possible?) and I haven't had a chance to sit down and write a decent post. I do have quite a bit to share, so I hope to get the urge to write a lot over the next few days so that I can post about everything that's been going on. Let's start with the most obvious: Easter.

We had a lovely Easter weekend with Stefan's mom, grandmother and sister. They flew down from upstate New York to meet Ian, and for Great Gram McCarthy, it was her first time meeting Ava, too! Ava quickly warmed up to everyone, calling Gram "Grandma Great," and Maura was "Aunt Marmer." Maura was great at playing with Ava, and the grandmothers were always so happy to hold Ian and walk around with him. It was a fabulous visit, but after they left this morning, it occurred to me that we forgot to take a very important picture of Great Gram, Grandma, Stefan, Ava & Ian: FOUR generations. I kept reminding myself all weekend to make sure I took that photo, and I forgot. I'm so sad that we missed the opportunity, but it does give us all a great reason to get back together soon.  As usual, I didn't take a lot of pictures, but Maura did, so I hope to get those from her soon.

Grandma with Ian

It was Ava's third Easter and Ian's first, and neither of them really had a clue what was going on, but it was fun anyway. We started the festivities with a flashlight egg hunt on Wednesday night...
  

Ava hunting for eggs at her first-ever Easter Egg Hunt.

The rest of the weekend was very low-key. On Saturday afternoon, we colored Easter Eggs, which was a fiasco with a two-year-old.  Ava was so excited that she just couldn't keep her hands out of the dyes, and it was a mess.  But I reminded myself that she's just two and had an absolute blast - so what if she got a little messy?  

Ava was so proud of her work.

Daddy helping Ava retrieve an egg from the dye bath.

"OK, what do I do with it NOW?"

Ava and I dipping an egg.

On Sunday morning, Ava and Ian both learned the Easter Bunny had visited them!  Once Ava saw her basket, she said two things.  The first thing she said was, "WOW! Pretty!" And the second thing she said was, "Suh-weet!"  Stefan and I have never heard that come out of her mouth, and when she said it - correction, shouted it - we laughed until we cried.  It was so appropriate for the moment; Ava never ceases to amaze us with her words.  She spent the next several minutes examining her basket (or bucket, as she calls it) of sidewalk chalk, Color Wonder kits, bubbles, clothes, and of course, candy.  The chocolate Gators were provided by Stefan's dad and stepmom.  They're almost too cute to eat!  Almost.

  

And finally, on Sunday afternoon, Ava hunted for eggs in the backyard - our own little egg hunt.  She learned all about egg hunts during the flashlight hunt on Wednesday, so she knew exactly what to do.  We had a great time watching her run all over the yard, yelling, "Look! It's a pink egg! Look! It's a purple egg!" Stefan and I look forward to sharing the story of Easter next year, when she will be able to understand it (in simple terms).