double trouble

Here is a mid-month update. I know from our Thanksgiving experience that Ava's monthly post in January will be swallowed up by the regaling of Christmas festivities, so I will try to keep up with the day-to-day as well!

Ava got her third cold of the season last week and two days later got the fever and the ear-pulling and the diagnosis of a double ear infection. We started swiftly on amoxicillin, only to find out that she wasn't responding to it. She has been on this before, about two months ago, and it makes me wonder if her previous ear infection never really cleared up either! In between, if you recall, I posted about Ava's fussiness, teething, trouble sleeping, and a cough that never cleared up... the oomph with which all of those things manifested leaves the possibility that she was struggling with her ears that whole time too. Poor baby! So, we've switched to Augmentin and thankfully have already seen a great change in her mood, eating and sleeping habits of late.

One great thing that came from our second visit to the doctor was the discovery of molars! All the while we've been counting incisors, Ava's been popping out the big ones too. While the doctor had Ava upside down with the tongue depressor down her throat searching for strep (an awful and gag-inducing experience), her professional flashlight noted at least one of her two-year molars is half-way down! Many people said that our late bloomer would push them all out at once but I can't believe the mouthful that has ensued over the last two months. And man, I can't tell you how excited I am for all the sleep we will get (hopefully) when the growth spurt is finished.

To all who will read this before the holidays, Merry Christmas from the Drakes! We love sharing our lives with you and hope you have a wonderful, Christ-filled weekend.

1 year and 9 months

What a full month! We've had a wonderful time traveling, celebrating and making some big changes around here.

In the last week Ava has popped out four more teeth and there are two more (that I can spy) on the way. She has been much more prone to tantrums this month and not sleeping well (more on that later)... now we know why! I suspected she could be teething but it just kept going on and on and on. Little did I know she was pushing out a whole mouth full. Poor girl! Thankfully she seems to be doing a little better and hopefully her teethers (as we call them) will give her a break soon.

Teething is almost always accompanied by troubled sleeping patterns but for about two and a half months now Ava has been fighting her daily naps. As I mentioned in a previous post, after much hesitation, I finally decided to drop Ava's morning nap. She has adjusted very well and now wakes up asking, "Gonna go? Gonna go?" since our newfound morning freedom allows for regular outings. She is still often tired in the mornings but she will continue to adjust, especially as she gets used to sleeping for longer stretches in the afternoon. For now she is sleeping for 1 1/2 -2 hours but hopefully this will lengthen in time.

Now for the third major change, Ava has started to potty-train herself! In a previous post I wrote about her growing interest in the potty and this interest has only continued. A few days ago we even spent a few hours diaper-less (after much pleading from the babe) and though we had two accidents, she also peed twice on the potty! After the holidays I am going to get serious and consistent with the potty-training, I was planning on waiting but she definitely seems ready and I want to jump on it while excitement is high. Here is a picture of the potty-training uniform and its happy donner.

And Ava reading Better Homes and Gardens on the potty:

This also marks the first month when I stopped keeping track of all of Ava's new words--simply because she says almost all of them! She repeats almost anything you say and is in a constant state of naming and conversing. It is not unusual these days for me to wake up to her role-calling from her crib, "Piggy. Light! Mommy. Daddy. Blankie. Ducky! PJs. Diaper. Zipper...". It puts a smile on my face! She is not speaking in any long sentences but has added things like, "Miss you", and "Thank you God" to her repertoire. She is just beginning to understand (or attempt) the use of words like mine and yours, me and you, and for the first time this month pointed to herself and said triumphantly, "Ay-bah!" (Ava).

In the morning Ava has enjoyed crib-time for many months now, time where she gets to play on her own while mommy takes a shower and gets ready for the day. This month marked the transition from crib-time to room-time, in which she is still barricaded in but is allowed full access to her room. It has been a learning process, the hardest part for her is having the door open and being able to see the rest of the house, the door where mommy is, etc. But, most days she plays happily with her toys and then anxiously awaits mommy's exit from the bathroom once the shower has been turned off! The idea is to move to non-barricaded room-time eventually but that is a little while off yet.

Ava loves "fire" (candles), drinking water from a cup and playing in her bin of rice with scoops and bowls. Her color of choice is purple, favorite person to pretend-talk to on the phone is Mimi, and has two new wintry breakfast favorites: meal meal (oatmeal) and toast. She has a surprising love for citrus fruits, pop songs and snow flakes (as long as she doesn't have to touch them) and a surprising hatred of the cold.

Our baby is big. Old. Independent! She spends much more of her time on her own now but still comes up to me mid-play, holding her ducky, and asks for snuggle breaks! I will never turn one down.

and now we're down to one.

Today marks a big day in the life of Ava and mommy. Today is the first day I've made the intentional switch down to one nap for my baby! It was a hard decision, Ava has always slept well and more than the average child, but for the past few weeks naps have been a real struggle. I chalked it up to her being sick (which I'm sure was the instigator back in October), teething, traveling, you name it. But, after trying every other method to get her back on track with her two naps, I've decided it's time!

This transition has been a hard one for me to give in to, for reasons of a changing schedule and having to make more sacrifices with my time, but also because big girls take one nap. If my baby is taking one nap... that means she's a pretty big girl. It's a hard change for me to swallow for some reason but I'm adjusting. Granted, this is only day one (and she's done very well with it), but it's been a gradual mental transition for me as I've had to accept what was coming.

As we enter this new stage, I have to remember the overwhelming transitions of the past--starting solid food, weening, dropping other naps and shifting schedules to accommodate her expanding awake times--and how comfortable I am now with those changes. It's amazing how far we've come! Though this is, once again, another change, I am also excited about what this will open up for us. For the first time since birth Ava will be awake for a long enough stretch of time that we might actually be able to DO something! Swimming lessons, art classes, longer play dates... the opportunities are endless. Moms you are probably laughing but with a good sleeper and a mom who won't sacrifice naps comes a LOT of time at home! So I say, bring on the activity!

Tee!

"Tee!" is what we hear these days, every time Ava walks into the living room. As if she's forgotten all about it, she runs up to the Christmas tree that takes up half our walking space and squeals with delight. Then we proceed to check and make sure all her favorite ornaments are there, the balls, snowmen, the bottle, the house, the clock, the choo choo and so on. This is a wonderful time of year but what a joy to share it with my baby girl!

Now we prepared her for the upcoming Christmas tree venture, the sawing and mounting, lighting and of course the presence of a big outside-tree, inside. However, on the chosen day Ava decided to skip and/or scream through both of her naps and then promptly fall asleep on the way to the tree farm. Not quite the memorable family outing we'd hoped for! So, being the wonderful dad he is, Blair set out and chopped down a tree for us while I stayed with Ava, snoozing in the car. Ava awoke during the tree-to-car attachment process and though she fussed all the way home, thankfully enjoys the finished product.

Last Christmas I bought Ava an ornament and had planned to pick one for her each year. However, I quickly realized it would be even more fun to have her pick it out herself. So today during a trip to Target, we perused the selection. Of course what ensued was the needing of every ornament that she laid eyes on, but with mom's help we narrowed it down to this special gem, a snuggly, mini-version of Ava's seasonal favorite friend, "Bosdy!"

Here are a few other pictures of our house, decorated with hand-spun crafts by mother and daughter. Ok mostly mother. But daughter cheered me on!

Pearly Smiles

Ava received her first "too-tut" (toothbrush) from Granny and has put it to good use. She loves helping me brush my teeth and couldn't be more thrilled at the opportunity to brush her own! I decided to document her first real toothbrushing attempt and of course share the cuteness with all of you.

As seen in the above pictures and further documented in those below, Ava has figured out how to smile on cue. It is adorable and the progression is even cuter. Now we are able to get some not-so-natural but still oh-so-sweet smiles on camera.

Here is the progression of her trying to smile for the camera for the first time!

Thanks

Our Thanksgiving could effectively be described as a whirlwind. But, it was a whirlwind saturated with loving family and delicious tradition that we are so thankful for.

We spent Thursday at our home with Mimi and Pappy. Mom and I donned aprons and flour for most of the day while the men watched TV and played with Ava. Though Ava ate dinner with us and enjoyed all the activity, by far her favorite Thanksgiving treat was this:

Ava spent much of the day in Mimi's cooler, emptied of feast ingredients and filled with all her favorite stuffed friends. Pappy gave cooler-rides, but she was also happy to snuggle in there and watch TV with the boys!

Friday we traveled down to the Philly area and over the next three days Ava got to see almost everyone she knows! We visited with Blair's immediate and extended family and much of my dad's side of the family as well. Ava was a trooper, sleeping in a different room every night but still adjusting pretty well to all the changing surroundings. Both sides of the family got to see what we lovingly call the "crazy lady" (the one who comes out in the evening after stimulation overload and insufficient napping have occurred) but she really did do surprisingly well during the trip.

Unfortunately Blair had to work on Saturday so he drove back to State College on Friday night, and then back again to Philly on Sunday, only to return home with family in toe on Monday. We wish we could have had him for the whole holiday weekend but we're grateful for all he does to support our little family!

All in all, this year we have no short list of things we are thankful for and a list of One who we're giving the credit to! We are so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives, so many who love us and our daughter well, to have all our needs (and more) provided for and a wonderful Savior who protects, nourishes, saves and spoils us.