More fun with cousins!

Well, I'm finally writing all about the fun visits with cousins! It is wonderful bc within 2 months, Aria will see every single one of her cousins!

Sydney and Christina came to visit Aria over the 4th of July. They had SOO much fun. Of course, Adam and Sarah came with too. Christina wanted to celebrate her birthday with us (HAPPY 7th BIRTHDAY CHRISTINA!) Here they are playing when they first arrived at our house:

On Friday, the 4th of July, we spent the day at the beach club. In the picture, Aria is watching Christina make herself into a sand mermaid. We had so much fun at the beach. There was a DJ there for the 4th, and they played fun music, and had a sand castle building contest (which we did not win...) We were there for the entire afternoon.

Afterwards, we went to downtown for the 4th of July festivities... and found out that everything closed down at 5 pm. oops. But, there was a carnival in a soccor field, with fireworks to follow. So, we went there... almost. On the way there, we stopped at Boston's Pizza and ate.

We then changed our minds, skipped the soccer park, and we decided to go to the ball park across the street from our house, and watch fireworks there (secretly I think it was a baseball vs. soccer thing, and if you know Matthew, baseball wins every time) We went home and got Zig (we couldn't leave him all alone to miss out on the fun!) and then headed over. We had a great time there! There was a park with TWO big slides that Aria could climb up. She went straight for the big slide, and climbed all the way up. Monkey!!

The fireworks began, but we couldn't see them! They were covered by trees. There were several people there, and everyone was upset. Then.... another show started, and we could see them clearly!! YAY! Aria fell asleep, however, and missed the fireworks. She slept through them last year, too. Must be a tradition.

I have no pictures of us at the ball park. What is wrong with me?? So here is one of Sydney and I right before we left. Yes... I am wearing my PJs, but I wanted to be comfy! And, yes, it is about 100 degrees and I'm in long sleeves and sweats, but I am still thawing from MN winters. And finally, yes, Aria is being closely supervised in the background. Haha, she looks like she is wandering away.

The next day we celebrated Christina's birthday. Christina and I made a cake together, which was very fun (the first cake I have ever made from scratch, and I was very surprised at how easy it was. Almost as easy as using a box mix!) Sydney and Christina decorated it afterwards. They did a great job!

That evening we had her party. Christina wanted to share her party with Aria, since she wasn't able to be there for Aria's 1st birthday. I thought that was awfully sweet of her to share her day. After the party we played in the new sprinkler toy, and then broke open the Pinata. It was a perfect day! Excuse my dear brother in the picture.... (although you might start to understand why Aria's phrase of choice the whole time was Uh OH!)

It is funny, bc Aria didn't say much of anything the whole 5 days (except uh oh... again, I don't blame her) It must be because she was playing so much. She really loved all the play time with her cousins. Usually it is just her and I all day, and I am working, so she is exploring and playing on her own a lot.

All I can say is how much I miss them, and how much I wish they lived nearby again. It was hard to believe that it had been an entire year since we had been together. We won't let that happen again!

Cracking me up!

I still have a lot to write about the visit with all the cousins!! But, I had to tell you that Aria is cracking me up today!! She has been silly all day! Her clown hair is very fitting today (in fact, the hair around her head is getting longer and longer.... and the rest of the hair on her head isn't! Oh dear... ) She is good at entertaining herself, which is a good thing. She plays with her toys and gets into everything (good thing we've baby proofed the downstairs!). We've officially turned off the TV, and only listen to music now. Every once in awhile I will put on Sesame Street but, not every day.

Today we went on errands over lunch. Aria loves taking rides in the car. She is still rear facing in the car in her new carseat, and looks into a big mirror. She makes faces at herself and plays and laughs. Today she was pinching her nose, blowing out and then laughing and laughing. Then she'd do it again. She thought it was hilarious (so did I). Then, she was wiggling all around (as much as she can in a carseat), and then grabbing her feet. She kept sucking on her big toe and then laughing at herself. She was doing this in the drive-through at the bank, and the person in the car next to us was laughing so hard. It really was funny. As we drove away I hear her making all sorts of noise back there, and I look into the mirror (to see into her mirror) and she was trying to get her knee in her mouth. She did succeed. Then she started to kiss her knee. She was having all sorts of fun.

At the store, she kept doing the sign for "eat" and "drink". I guess I shouldn't have taken her to the store when she was hungry! She was being a big flirt at the store, and waving and smiling and saying hi to everyone. She is usually friendly... but today she was just silly friendly.

She used to give hugs and kisses when we asked, but, as of last week, it all changed. Now, when someone asks for a kiss or hug, she vehemently shakes her head NO. And if you try to give her a kiss, she will put her hand out to stop you. Somestimes you're lucky and she puckers up and gives you a big smooch. She almost always gives daddy and Grampa kisses and hugs, though. Oh, and Zig... he gets kisses, too.

Today she said (signed) Please and Thank You a lot. She asked for food when she was hungry, and drinks when she was thirsty. She no longer says Cheese. When I ask if she wants Cheese, she says Please...

One sign Aria hasn't done is "help". I will ask her if she wants my help (and then do the sign), and she shakes her head NO, and tries to do it herself. She is already a "I want to do it myself!" girl. Oh boy! I think we're in big trouble!

The next signs I'm working on with her are Stop and Go. I was showing her stop and go at the store in the cart. She tried to do "go". I think she'll learn that one quickly because she likes to "go"!!

We got to see the newest addition to our friend-family today. Her name is Lauren, and she is soooo beautiful (delicate features) and so alert! The look on her face... it's hard to describe, but it's as though you can see her taking it all in, and learning about her surroundings. I wonder what she is thinking when she is looking around like that. She is so tiny (she is only 15 days old!). It's very hard to believe Aria was that tiny 1 year ago! Lauren and Aria are 1 year and 2 days apart.

We went to dinner with our great friends Jenn, Chris and lil' Mia. I think Aria said Mia 2 times today. I don't know if she learned it from people calling me Mia, or from all the times she's been around her friend Mia. I am not even sure she meant to say Mia.... we'll see if she keeps it up. Aria had a breakdown at the restaurant from being so tired. She fell asleep in my arms at dinner.

Baby Mia already knows how to say All Done in sign language and she is only 8 months old! She's been doing it for about a month now, too. Ummm...can we say baby genius? She also pants when she sees a dog, or a picture of a dog and quacks when she sees a duck - at 8 months old! By the time she is a year, she will be reciting Shakespeare.

I made a Mung Bean Casserole 2 days ago. Aria loved it - I mean REALLY loved it. So, if you are looking for something new and interesting to make yourself or feed your baby, let me know and I'll send you the recipe. It's really good for you and I was surprised at how yummy it was!! I'd never even heard of a Mung bean before.

Another fun day!

Aria had a good day today! We played on the swingset. She loves to swing. She laughs out loud almost the whole time. I need to get that on video! We ran around the backyard with Zig, too. She loves Zig! It was a beautiful day!! Perfect for a jog... which I didn't take, but wanted (meant) to ;-)

At lunch time, before we met Michel Ann (who's baby will be here SOON!) , we went to Kid to Kid to pick up some tights. While we were there, Aria got her all time favorite compliment. "Wow! She has such a great shaped head" To which I responded "it's a good thing, bc she has no hair".... I should count how many times a week she gets that compliment. Funny!

Here is a little video of Aria eating cheerios and using her sippy cup. Nothing funny or out of the ordinary ;-) just a little snapshot of a part of her day.

Finally Friday

02/15/08

Last night went pretty well! Aria got up a couple of times, but went back down quickly. She woke up the first time at 4:00, so that is practically morning, and was more than 6 hours of sleep. I can’t complain!

She fell asleep last night grasping onto the bar of the crib. She continued holding onto it for a long time, even though she was sound asleep.

Today she was chasing her doggy, Zig, and Zig ran out the doggy door. Aria crashed into the doggy door in her walker... and then stood there. Zig poked his head in the doggy door to come back in, but couldn’t because Aria was blocking the way. Aria was looking at him like “hurry up! C’mon back in!”

She rolled onto the tile, and scooted all around the tile floor. She can scoot and slide her way around all over. I was thinking that she shouldn’t be on the tile bc she could bonk her head on it when she rolls, but, she’s not. She rolls with her head up when she’s on tile, I guess. Hmmm….

Late in the morning we spoke with Auntie Alethea. We are very excited for a new cousin to be born!! February 20th is her due date, and can’t come soon enough!

In the late afternoon, I tried to take a nap. I laid down in bed with Aria, and thought she might take a nap, too. I closed my eyes and Aria grabbed my hair and straightened out her arm (aka pulled my hair…). I smoothed my hair back, so that there wouldn’t be any hairs for her to pull coming out of my ponytail. I close my eyes, and she does it again. I’m really tired, so I try to give her her pacifier to play with. No, that is boring, says Aria. Next, I give her one of her shoes to play with. OK, that is a little more fun. She is looking at the shoe and turning it in her little hand, and playing a little with the Velcro strap. I shut my eyes. Aria starts to hit me on the head with the shoe. So much for a nap! Oh well…

I got up and got ready to go out to dinner. Matthew and I went to Rockfish for dinner, and Gramma and Grampa babysat. As I dropped Aria off, and said goodbye, she didn’t even look my direction as I walked away. Gramma and Grampa must be lots of fun!

A day with Daddy

02/13/08

I can’t believe that tomorrow is already Valentine’s Day! I hope we’re all better and can have a FUN day!

I’m still sick… no fun. Aria is doing well, though. Gramma came to get Aria after work last night so I could get some sleep. Yesterday was tough! Aria was very good, but, I just felt bad for her because I wasn’t able to play as much as I’d have liked to. Plus I was working. ;-( I’m going to the doc today, and Matthew is going to be able to come home early. What a relief! Once he gets home, I’m sleeping the rest of the day. I’ve already called in for ½ a sick day.

A couple of things I thought were funny that Aria did yesterday… On either side of our front door there are windows, and there are shades covering them. There are 2 missing shades on either side. It’s the perfect height for my dog, Zig, to look out and see what is going in the front of our house. Yesterday, Aria joined Zig and was looking out the missing shades to see outside. It’s the perfect height for her in her walker, too ;-)

I think she was trying to sing yesterday. She would make sing song sounds when her piano was playing a song. Not like her regular talking, but more like singing. When the song was over, she’d stop. I thought it was cute ;-)

Well, there were no more crawling attempts yesterday. She does go backwards still, though. She squirms her way backwards and ends up on the tile and then slides around. Each time she gets on her hands and knees, I’m wondering … “is this it??” ;-) She makes every day so much fun!

I went to the doc this afternoon, and I have a sinus infection. Fun!

I spoke with Katie today! We had a great convo! We sure wish we could get these babies together to play!!

Matthew got home early, and I was able to relax and try to get well so I can have a good and productive rest of the week. We had fun spending time together today! We thought for sure Aria would crawl today so daddy could see, too. Like Matthew said… if she’s stubborn like her mom, she’ll wait another 2 weeks to crawl, and if she’s stubborn like her dad, she’ll wait a year. I had to correct him… if she's as stubborn as her dad, she’ll never crawl. Ha ha ha just kidding!

I give Aria her antibiotics right before she eats baby food. Yesterday she started to stick out her tongue as soon as I squirted the antibiotic into her mouth. All the antibiotic would come out as she stuck out her tongue, and she’d pull her tongue back in tight lipped, so none of the antibiotic went back in…. frustrating! Tonight I gave her the 1st squirt and she proceeded to stick out her tongue, so I asked Matthew to come over and see how much he thought she was actually swallowing. He came over to see, and as Aria looked up at daddy, and I squirted the antibiotic into her mouth, and she drank it. She drank all the rest without sticking out her tongue. Stinker! Will only do it when daddy’s around…

Tomorrow is baby’s 1st Valentine’s Day!

Feeling better!

02/09/08

Aria had a tough night last night. She fell asleep in bed with us, and when I tried to transfer her to her crib, she cried and cried …. And cried. So, needless to say, she slept with us last night. She woke up several times crying. Poor girl!

We got up at 8:30, and so far so good. Aria is being her regular self, only she wants to stay really close to me (I don’t mind!) and she is biting me more (I mind!)

She’s been saying da da da da and ba ba ba ba ba last night and this morning. In the last couple of days she has said Bob two times, and we really want to know who Bob is. Maybe she thinks I’m Bob? ;-) ha ha! Sarah tried to teach Aria to chant “Sarah, Sarah, Sarah” on the phone the other day, to get back at me for teaching Christina to do that 6 ½ years ago ;-) Christina was just a baby, and not really talking much at all. I used to babysit her a lot, and I tried to teach her to chant Mia, Mia Mia while moving her arm to the beat. She’d just look at me like I was strange. One day my brother, Adam, was at the store, and Christina started moving her arm the same way and chanting my name. Ha ha ha! They couldn’t stop the “Mia” chanting.

Aria was playing in her walker, and she rammed into the doggy door. Then she backed up and did it again. I think she thinks she can get out the doggy door like her puppy, Zig, does. Hmmm….

Aria is in a size 3 diaper. I can’t believe it. I remember looking at Sydney’s size 3 diapers when Aria was just born thinking that Aria would be at least 1 before she was in that size diaper bc they looked so big. Now I look at newborn diapers and can’t believe how TINY they are!

Aria loves baths! She started playing with her bath toys a couple of months ago. She loves the little tiny rubber duckies the best. She plays and chews on them when she’s not in the bath, too. It’s her favorite “teether”. I bought some other bath toys that had a shape that would be easier to hold and chew on, but she still just loves those little rubber duckies!

Today we went to Central Market to go grocery shopping. We met our friend, Ashley, since she is cooking the same kind of meals we are these days. It was fun! Aria hung out in the sling. She always straightens her legs when I put her in there, so it makes it rather difficult to get her in! I did get her legs bent and got her all tucked in the sling. Then, she popped out her leg and started to bounce it up and down out of the sling. It was pretty funny. She spent the whole time with her leg sticking out. She ended up falling asleep in it by the end of our 2.5 hour shopping excursion.

Now we’re home and just ate some berry cobbler (all natural, fat free, and super yummy!! Want the recipe?) Well, I ate berry cobbler, and Aria ate sweet peas (her fave) and some apple pears and some antibiotics ;-) I snuck the antibiotics inbetween the peas and the apple/pears. She really hates the antibiotics!!
She is rolling all over the floor in the office. She has rolled and scooted all the way to the tile, and is sliding around. She seems to like to slide around on the tile. Good thing I just cleaned the floors!

She was asleep by 9:00 tonight, which is very early. She’s usually up until 11:00. Wish us good luck on a good night of sleep! I need it!

Falling asleep

02/06/08

Sesame Street was about cats and how to act like a cat. It has made me think of my nieces all day. Christina and Sydney love to be little cats ;-) I miss them.

Aria has been playing in her walker, and playing on the little rug with her toys. She already took one nap today, and is working on her 2nd nap. It’s 2:30, and she is tired. I put her in her swing and gave her a nuk and a blankie. Then I started singing her a lullaby. She is now laughing at me. Yes, laughing at my lullaby. Now she just threw her nuk…

Daddy is very sick with a bad case of the flu. He’s actually taken two sick days from work! I don’t know if he’s ever done that. He is quarantined upstairs ;-). So far Aria and I haven’t caught it.

OK so back to lulling baby to sleep. I went over and put my hand on her face, which calms her every time. This time, however, she laughed at me. OK what is so funny? Then I got a call from work, and had to walk away from the swing. Aria started to scream, and I had to not have a screaming baby in the background as I was on the work call. I took her out of the swing as quickly as possible and set her on my lap and put her nuk in her mouth. She really IS tired and needs a nap. She took the nuk and laid on my lap, and as I’m talking on the phone, she is, again, laughing at me. OK I think I need to go put on some makeup or something!

We went to the store to get some things for daddy to eat, since nothing really tastes or sounds good since he is sick. Aria kept looking at me and doing her kiss at me. Awww so cute!

Now it's 10:30 and Aria is still up... she is playing with Zig. She loves to pet him and grab his feet and ears. Zig is really good with her. Aria just looks at him and babbles and laughs and screams. She also chases him with her walker, which always cracks me up.

Aria is on the floor next to me and she just bit my big toe! OUCH!!

Last night as Aria was falling to sleep, she was holding my hand. I was really tired and was trying to get her to sleep, hoping she’d fall asleep fast. Then I started thinking about when she got older, and I realized that one day when she’s all grown up, I’m going to miss moments like this, holding my baby’s hand while she falls asleep. I stopped wishing she’d fall asleep fast, and held her hand for a long time. I just love that lil’ girl so much!