Give Peas (and Turkey Meat Balls) a Chance

Avery loves being able to stand up in his crib; putting him to bed has gotten annoying. He thinks it's hilarious to stand up and "yell" (or cry if he is overly tired) until we come in, lay him back down, and then as soon as we leave the room, he's pulled himself up into a standing position again. Tonight he was VERY good; he went right to sleep as soon as I lay him down at 8:30, no fuss, no standing.






Dinner tonight: turkey meatballs in tomato sauce and carrots. Avery is doing great with most foods. He loves oatmeal, veggie burgers, pasta, peas, waffles, sweet potatoes, split pea soup, rice and beans . . . fruits are a bit more problematic. We think it's the (cold and slimy) texture of most fruits. A plain slice of mango (seen here rejected on his plate) is not appealing to him. But if we cut it up into small pieces and mix it in with yogurt or cottage cheese, he'll eat it. Same thing with berries. On the other hand, apple sauce and bananas are fine with him.



Sleep Yoga:

Playing in a Diaper

We had a good weekend on our church retreat in Connecticut. We hiked, read, played games, got to know some cool people better, and Avery got tons of attention from everyone. The older kids all LOVE him! During the talent night, a woman held him in her lap and pretended that he was the one playing Chopin (it's an electronic piano that can play songs) and everyone got a kick out of it. He crawled around so much on the rough carpet in the lodge that he has some small blisters on his hand! When Carolyn picked him up from daycare today, Belen asked her "What happened to his hands?!" because she was concerned that he got hurt. The blisters don't seem to bother him though.

Better Zoo Trip

Our second trip to the Bronx zoo was way more fun than the first time I tried taking Avery. The first time, I took him first thing in the morning, thinking we'd avoid the crowds. So he didn't take a much-needed morning nap and was cranky the whole time. This time, we went with Sally and Oliver on Monday afternoon, after the boys had taken naps. There were no crowds, no crankiness, and the kids even each took an afternoon nap in their strollers. Plus Sally hooked us up with her fancy membership so we didn't have to pay for anything, not even the fancy things like the monorail which cost extra. Avery loved riding the monorail and looking at all the animals, especially the wild boars. Oliver was afraid of the apes, but he loved the ducks -- he even make "quack quack" noises back at the ducks. I was very impressed with Oliver's quacking ability and also his pointing ability (he was pointing his finger at things), and Sally was impressed by Avery's "dancing" when we sang "ABCs" to them.

Aloha Avery

He's a big boy now!

Look at our handsome boy!


His cheeks are so chubby that they act as pillows, cushioning his head when he sleeps!


Avery is starting to find the fun, forbidden things like electronics at home:


Cute Crawler:


Not a flattering picture of Mama, but it shows how the apple doesn't fall far from the tree:

Avery and Olivia and Jason

At May Fair on Sarah Lawrence's campus:

new skills and new jammies

Avery got new flannel big boy pajamas (size 2T!). All of a sudden, we have a little boy, not a baby. Well, a toddler anyway. He is crawling everywhere, getting into everything, pulling himself up in his crib and on furniture. He wants everything that is forbidden -- cell phones, remote controls, cameras, electrical plugs, etc. Our baby-proofing is pretty successful and look -- Avery is so resourceful that he uses the baby-proofing cabinet locks as a handle to pull himself to a standing position! His hair is funny because this is right after his bath tonight, and I couldn't find his hair brush.

Lamaze Reunion #3 (age 10 months)

Once again we met up for brunch (at PJ Clarke's this time). All the babies seem so big now! They were all born within the same 2-week period, and Avery's birthday is right in the middle. So they really are all the same age. Some babies have more or less teeth and more or less hair, but they are all crawling, clapping, waving, saying "Mama," eating food and smiling. We were hoping to meet up in Central Park but it was cold and drizzly, so we'll wait until the next reunion (early September) when all the babies will be toddlers, walking around!!!!



Ernesto and Avery (Ernesto is nearly as tall as Avery who is of course the biggest of the bunch!):


Oliver, Avery, Ernesto:


Avery with Reagan. They hugged, poked each other's faces, and traded bottles: