Birthday Bug

It seems like only yesterday we were anticipating the arrival of our little bug ... and now, we've just celebrated her first birthday! This year has absolutely flown by, but it's been wonderful to reflect back on all the "firsts" that we've had. Avery is growing and changing before our very eyes and we feel as though we're quickly transitioning from parenting a baby to parenting a toddler ... a little premature, perhaps, but the first time she spiked her cup during a meal and proceeded to throw all her food on the floor, piece by mushy piece, reality set in. We have now been ushered into the phase of pushing limits and experimenting with independence. Thankfully, we are also enjoying her new-found sense of humor, her amazing attempts at walking, and her ever-increasing cuteness. Just check out these pictures and you'll see what we mean ...


The birthday hat, hand-knitted with love by our good friend Alexis.

This smile is my absolute favorite!

The cake is ladybug, in honor of our "Bug."

Walking? Walking.

We've been struggling to officially say that Avery is walking. She had been piecing together 2-3 step combos before lunging gleefully into Amy's or my arms, but we were never fully convinced that she was 'walking'. We (as a family) decided November 5th, that Avery had in fact taken enough steps to be labeled as a 'walker'.

It went a little like this: Ave stands in the protected waters of dad's hands, looking out hopefully toward mom. A foot wiggles, still grounded, but gaining momentum until it finally lifts off. The knee rise, pointed somewhat forward, but mostly outward. Her hands release from dad's outstreched fingers. She is free. Her hands rise above (or at least next to) her head, palms outward, hoping to look exactly like a monkey when the next step occurs. She does it. The raised foot lands, the other rises, sending her body on a controlled lunge to the left. Then back to the right. Mom is getting bigger on the horizon, arms outstretched, cheering at the advent of this momentus occasion. The legs are pumping now, the body bouncing back and forth, held upright in this chaotic equilibrium by some unseen bumpers. Six steps down, one to go; time to lunge: she stretches her body into an all-out dive. "Mom will catch me, mom will catch me, I believe!!!" Mom does catch her. The epic journey is done, the goal has been reached, high accomplishment attained... She has walked. She can now rest in her satisfaction, she can enjoy the radiance of this moment, she... suddenly sees dad. Ave stands in the protected waters of mom's hands.....

Autumn days

So far, autumn is treating us well. Our little pumpkin is growing and changing every day ... her latest tricks are waving bye-bye, pushing her "walking machine" around the house lap after lap, and saying "mama" and "dada" with much more clarity and intention. Our excitement for her 1st Halloween has been steadily growing and she even tolerated her costume for a few brief hours during our pre-Halloween party this week! (Marty was dressed as Dilbert and I was a scuba diver ... pretty creative for last-minute costumes!)

We've also been enjoying some lovely weekend mornings at home ...

... and out and about in the chilly fall weather.

HAPPY FALL!

A medium

Blog \blawg\ n: a medium to deliver video and pictures to friends and relatives. Often cluttered with words. v: to post an entry using the blog medium.

Walk this way ...

It seems like only yesterday that our little Bug was rocking back and forth on her hands and knees, trying so hard just to crawl ... and before we knew it, she was using every object in the house as part of her own personal obstacle course. Her other new tricks include the "sit 'n' spin" (sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor and spinning herself in circles), saying "mama" when we coach her to say "dada" and vice-versa, and constantly testing the notion of "thin air" (i.e. having no concept whatsoever that the couch, bed, changing table ends and thin air begins). Our favorite trick is the one captured on this video ... ENJOY!

Nine months

Avery has now spent as much time on the outside as she did in the oven. (metaphorically speaking) I, however, cannot even remember how old I am from day to day unless I do some math equation that includes today's date and the year 1977. I think today's answer is 31. That number doesn't really mean a whole lot unless you think of it in a junior high or high-schooler's eyes, then it's really old. I wish I had a point to these deep thoughts about age, time, and wisdom, but I don't- it's just the first tanget that came to mind as I wrote how old Avery is now. I think I'll talk about Avery since that's what's been going on here. Work and Avery. Volleyball was a bit of a wash this summer, kiteboarding too. Work picked up. Amy is working now, too. It's almost like we're all grown up now! All we need is a dog and we have arrived! Time to start scheduling my mid-life crisis.

So anyway, Avery. She's been a blessing every day, sunrise to sunset. She greets us with a smile and giggle every morning, just stretching out to get picked up. Eats her breakfast like a big, albeit messy, girl. She learned how to finally get food into her mouth by herself 2 weeks ago while we were visiting Matt and Audrey DiMarco in Charlotte, NC. When she plays, she likes to pick up a toy, put it in her mouth, chomp down so it stays in there, then proceeds to crawl around and look at other stuff. (Very puppy like) I'm sure she'd be wagging her tail if she had one. Since we both work, daycare is a necessary evil. She'll often cry to convey that she'll miss us, but she recovers quickly when she starts playing with (or in proximity to) the other kids. Picking her up is fun because she can't really see us come in. Walking up to the play area and calling out her name usually gets her to stop and look around, then a second call will have her looking at us, quickly followed by a beeline crawl to our feet. That smiling, crawling baby is probably the best cure for a hard day at work that I've ever experienced. We then go home, play some more, get some dinner, then wind down for sleep. 7pm to 7am. I'll take that sleep routine any day. Just another day in the life. I guess I didn't really miss my volleyball and kiteboarding that much after all. Now that I think about it, 31 isn't so bad, either.

Summer Vay Cay

For a while, it seemed we were keeping up with a blog every couple of weeks. Apparently we fell off that wagon. With a couple weeks off for vacation in Wisconsin, Amy finishing up her Residency, and Avery unloading new tricks on us, we pretty much have forgotten to do anything else, blogging included. So, the news: Amy is DONE with Residency, praise the Lord!! Having her at home for more than 2 waking hours a day is lovely for everyone. Yes, she'll start work in another 2 weeks, but the break has been wonderful.

Just after the 4th of July weekend, we packed up and headed home to see the family and enjoy some R & R. While we were there, we got to meet Joseph (of the Bluhm clan),saw a plethora of friends, had some QT with both families,

and spent a week at Amy's grandmother's place on Plum Lake near Minoqua.

While we were there, Avery decided it was time to learn how to crawl and stand up on her own, both within a couple days. Of course her standing has been exclusive to a crib setting, where she can easily pull herself up. The first time she stood up (that we know of) Amy had gone upstairs to help calm Avery down for a nap. I remained downstairs with the baby monitor sitting nearby. After a few minutes of relative calm, I heard a breathy whisper over the monitor: "Marty, if you can hear me, come upstairs and see this". I walked upstairs to our room and saw this:

Guess we weren't ready for a nap just yet. But the week turned out great; plenty of boating, golfing, sleeping in (to about 5am), eating, and relaxing. Good vaycay.

I came home directly without Amy and Avery (whose nickname has morphed to 'Tatemo') to do some home improvement by replacing our kitchen counters and sink. That sounds like a much smaller job than it actually was, but I did have a functional sink installed when the ladies came home one week later. Now I'm finishing up the tilework and other miniscule details, like getting the dishwasher to work. Ahh. Home, sweet home.