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.

Play

Growing up is hard work. It involves a lot of play. Sometimes, we have to learn to enjoy our activities while expending less energy. Avery is an example for us all.

On an upward slope

This is Marty; I'll claim this post since it may not fully represent the views of everyone represented by this blog. News in recent life... Headline: Avery pushed up her first tooth last Monday. Business: Amy has 13 days of Residency left, entire family counts down together. Sports: Volleyball and Kiteboarding seasons now open, low participation numbers seen thus far. Opinion: Parenting gets a whole lot better after 3 months.

So Avery remains the central fixture in life for us, just in case you haven't noticed the glut of pictures, videos, conversation content, and the like. The good news is that she gets to be more and more fun with each passing day. In early Avery days, I tried to convince myself how much fun having a baby in the house was. (It was fun, but in a 'this is new and novel' sort of way) We loved her all the same, but she had few ways to reciprocate. As the 3 month mark passed, plenty of things happened: Avery slept through the night, she smiled at us when we came and talked to her, she found her voice, tongue, feet, hands, and all sorts of other things. She also stopped crying so much for confoundingly mysterious reasons. Her facial expressions are now unendingly entertaining, she can throw her toys many body lengths away, and now we can see the dawn of 'learning' rather than just 'developing'. (Don't get excited; we know she learns all the time, I'm just commenting on the way it SEEMS) As she sits on her own (shakily) now, we are feeling the urgency in childproofing the condo. Crawling is only a few weeks away!!! So yes, things are moving quickly here, and we look forward to calmer days. I know there's some joke that would imply that our break arrives somewhere around retirement, but we'll keep our sights on the end of Residency, when Amy has 6 weeks off before starting a 3 day/week position, I'll be done with my college course (Cost Estimation and Financial Analysis... sounds fun, huh?) and only 4 credits away from my Master's Degree! God willing, we'll even resume recreational activities like exercising, kiteboarding, and other yuppie-like things. ( I think Starbucks might roll out a red carpet for our 'Welcome Back' party.) That's when you can expect us to return your call as well... nothing personal. So, such is life in a big nutshell. But a blog ain't a blog without some Avery pictures. Here ya go.

A thousand words ...

"A picture speaks a thousand words" the saying goes. So here are some pictures that may give you just a glimpse into why parenthood, despite its challenges, is such an incredible blessing!

The saucier saucer

Avery loves her saucer time. Here's some footage.