She's Still Baby Ava

As Ava nears 14 months old, I'm asked increasingly when I will stop nursing her. Honestly, it depends on the day I'm asked what my answer will be.

Ideally, I'd like to nurse her as long as I did Bella which was 19 1/2 months (that 1/2 definitely counts!). However, she only quit nursing because I was pregnant with Ava and apparently the hormones changed the flavor...or something like that.

I have no intention whatsoever of getting pregnant again and because Ava hasn't weaned herself yet, I see no end in sight. She used to just yank my shirt up but at least now she just gives the ol' boobie a nice pat when she's ready to snack.

If it weren't for the night nursing, I"d keep going until she weaned herself. Yet at 3am when she's hollering from her crib and claws at me like a starving bear cub, I grit my teeth a bit.

By morning, though, when she's had a breakfast from something other than me and is happily ignoring me, I crave the bond of breastfeeding.

Never fear, she comes patting for a snack around lunch time. And then I can hold her sweet little body close to me, watch her watching me with a grin and I'm in that moment that makes nursing so extraordinary.

Until she starts her breastfeeding gymnastics. The child can stand, twist, turn, giggle, babble, play with a toy and still never lose her latch-on. Remarkable, really. For ME! :)

For now, we continue on with the plan to let Ava wean herself. I'm sure it is more about my need to hang on to her babyness than it is for her to need to nurse.

They truly are babies for such an incredibly short period of time!

WWYD?

So Bella missed school Tuesday due to a hacking cough followed by phlegm (or as she put it, she "thowed up and swallowed it").

Guess I didn't feel bad for children outside of her class because we went to Target and then a super happy place for chicken nuggets and indoor playground.

My girls are wonderfully behaved while munching on their lunch as I survey the room. A family in front of us, also wonderfully behaved munching their food. A family across the room where the mother is yapping on her phone, her 2 year old is harassing the newborn, and the tag-along friend is in fa-la land with her fries.

Then the 2 year old bolts across the room towards the family in front of me. He STEALS a nugget right off one of the kid's trays. He begins to reach for some fries and Tag-Along decides to clue in and retrieve him.

Not 5 minutes later, he beelines for our table. I never touch him but I definitely told him "NO!" with emphasis on the N and the O. He grabs for whatever he can, then settles on a tug-of-war with me over Ava's chair. Now the mother, never getting of the phone, gives me a sorry "oh, sorry" and drags him off.

My kids go play. I protect Ava from Tiny Terror which bores him, so instead, he steals Bella's shoe and runs all around like a crazed maniac. I'm seething now and just as the mother grabs the shoe and brings it to me (STILL ON THE FRIGGIN PHONE) the goblin posing as a child tackles Isabella!

God bless Bella, she cried out "Why is my new friend pulling me down?"

Rather than get arrested for beating up a mother, I packed up my kids and we left.

I'm not a confrontational person, especially with strangers, because I get all red-faced, shaky and idiotic. However, when it comes to my children I get darn closer to bravery!

What would you have done?

Holiday Cheer

Silly me. I thought I'd dress the girls up in really cute, wintery nightgowns and they would show their love for each other (or at least the camera) for Christmas pictures.

So Much For That Job Interview

Being the good, dutiful wife that I am occasionally, I was washing hubby's dress shirts for the following work week.

I open the washer, pull out the shirts and...PLOP.

I look to my right and there perched on the edge of the washer is a very clean, very dead, 3" long gecko.

I nearly threw up all over those shirts.

Oh, and a giant Chimpanzee nearly scarred my daughter for life by getting in a fight with another one, then slamming into the glass window she was peering into while learning all about awesome nature.

How was your weekend?

Once Uponsa Time

"There was a beeooooooootiful princess named...Awowa. But the mean, um..."

*whispers behind her hand* "Mommy, what is the mean lady's name?"

"Oh, yes...the mean lady, Malificent, didn't like Awowa. She was jealous and it isn't nice to be jealous!"

*frowning* "So mean Malificent tricked Awowa to touch the noodle at the top of the stairs and all the land fell fast asleep."

"The prince heard about the beeoooooootiful princess and fought the dragon" *She stabs around with an air sword*

"And the dragon got dead and flew far away! The Prince kissed Awowa and all the kingdom woke up and they got married! *she says this part really fast and nearly breathless*

Be Friend. *she bows her head in appreciation for the applause she's about to receive*


Yes, she ends stories with "Be Friend", how cute is THAT? I love LOVE that Bella tells us stories now. Watching her pull stories together from what she's heard or seen and how animated she becomes during her story-telling is a delightful peek into her imagination. *sigh* So blessed...

Scary As Can Be

Halloween at our house was good fun. I mean that with the slightest sarcasm.

Waiting an entire day to put on a cute costume to go collect candy from people who tell you how adorable you are is pure torture for a kid. By the time Daddy came home, Bella had already wiped off her rosy cheeks and yanked out her bow, Ava had a run in her pantyhose (get used to it, love) and her nose was green slime. The whining had nearly driven Mommy over the edge as she was beginning the sick day from hell.

However, once we showed up at the fall festival (I think it is so silly that this is the new Christian "PC" for Halloween) and saw all the fairies, princesses, goblins and an entire family of The Incredible (seriously. How cute is that?) Bella and Ava both lit up with excitement.

We ate, we walked, Bella jumped in the bounce houses, exiting them as only a princess could.

Ava walked and ran everywhere. Yes, ran, at least as much as pudgy tiny legs can muster up. I envisioned her face planting in the asphalt as she decided to test her new skill, in new shoes and a fluffy costume. My heart couldn't keep functioning in my throat so we distracted her with a brain-rattling carnie train ride.

It really was a fun family night watching the girls enjoy themselves so much. Then with amazement as our three year old ran like a freight train fueled by pure fructose until she crashed into a cotton pillow wall. First thing she asked for the next morning? Candy, of course.

How was your Halloween, or, Fall Festival?