The Adventures of Ava & Paisley - Spring 2015

Ava and Paisley are just the cutest pair that could be. They both love each other so much, and play together constantly. It melts our hearts seeing how sweet and playful they both are with each other, and we just can't imagine not having a family dog and missing out on these sweet moments!

Goldendoodles are the best dogs - Ava is pretty rough with Paisley, pulling her hair and tail, poking her eyes, hitting her...but, Paisley just lets her. Her favorite lately is to pull Paisley's tail and hold onto it while Paisley chases her in a circle, and Ava just laughs and laughs and laughs!

They bring me laughter every day while I watch them play, and one day I decided to take a picture and narrate what I imagined them both to be saying to one another...and they continue to present me with great pictures, so it's become a regular thing complete with it's own hashtag #theadventuresofavaandpaisley

So, here are the Spring 2015 Adventures of Ava & Paisley:

Paisley: "For once, Ava, you put something in your mouth that I don't care for...I'd much rather eat this duck!"

Ava & Paisley (in unison): "Mom, let us go out an play in this beautiful CA day!"

Ava: "Here Paisley - try it! It's food I promise! It sure tastes good to me!"
Paisley: "I already tried eating one of those...it did not taste good, and mommy got pretty upset."

Ava & Paisley (in unison): "Roadtrip!"

Paisley (while drifting to sleep): "I need to get into better shape if mommy and daddy decide to have more babies...that little Ava is exhausting!"

Ava: "shhhhh....don't tell mommy. Here, have my rice cake!"
Paisley: "This is why you're my favorite, Ava!"

Ava: "You chew on this thing as if it tastes so good...I want to taste!"
Paisley: "No...NEVER will I let go of the ball!"

Ava: Come on, Paisley....just put your paw up there and pry the window open and then we can escape!"
Paisley: "Tempting....very tempting...especially since no one wished me happy national puppy day. But, the food here is really good, so I'll have to decline."

 

 

Paisley: "Please, Ava...please! Just one little bite...I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

Ava: "Mmmmmm nom nom nom. Oh, did you say something puppy?"

Ava: "Look mom! I found a new toy...Paisley's tail!"
Paisley: "Mom, when is this crazy baby going to stop torturing me?!"

Paisley: " Pssst...Ava. Just throw a piece really quickly to me, and I'll swallow before mom even notices. Neither of us will get into trouble. Come on, you don't like salmon anyway!"
Ava: "Normally, I'd be all for driving mom nuts by feeding you my food; but, I love salmon and won't share! Go eat your dry kibble! Which...by the way, I tasted today and it was repulsive. No wonder you always want my food. You poor dog."

 

Ava & Paisley (in unison): "Bubbles!"

Ava: "Paisley, can you try to blend in a little more here...you're scaring away all the ducks!"
Paisley: "You're just lucky I'm not running through the lake eating all the ducks!"

For once Ava and Paisley have nothing to say...and all mom has to say is "Sigh...I give up trying to stop this!"

Ava - 9 & 10 Months

February 26, 2014 - 9 Months
March 26, 2014 - 10 Months

Ava Girl,

We're combing your 9 & 10 month updates into one, because you have kept us SO VERY busy these past few months...and, we wouldn't have it any other way.

You crawl at lightening speed, you stand over and over again without pulling up onto anything. You think it's so much fun to treat every piece of furniture in our house as a jungle gym...and with that comes you bumping your head and crying hysterically at least once a day. You never slow down until it's time for a nap...you have this insatiable thirst for learning and exploring, and we just love that about you. We can already tell you are so determined and strong willed and independent. You are a force to be reckoned with ;)

Your smile just continues to get bigger and bigger, and you continue to be such a happy girl...a mischievous girl, but a happy girl! Ha. Your favorite game is being chased throughout the house, while we yell "heyyyyyy, I'm gonna get you!!!" You giggle and giggle and squeal with delight while crawling away faster than we can run after you. You also are incredibly skilled at finding any speck of dirt, bark, table scraps, etc. on the floor and putting it in your mouth. I vacuum on a daily basis now, but still you find things! Speaking of vacuuming....you love, and I mean LOVE, the vacuum. As soon as I bring it out you squeal and smile and run over to it. I have to vacuum with you in the baby carrier, otherwise you cling to it and try to crawl up in while I'm vacuuming, which doesn't work so well ;)

Your Schedule:

• 6AM - Wake, Breakfast, then lots of playing and maybe a walk
• 9:30AM - Nap
• 10AM - Wake from nap, then we run errands
• 12PM - Lunch
• 1:30PM - Nap
• 3:00PM - Wake from Nap, then lots of playing
• 5PM - Dinner
• 6PM - Bath, Books, and Bed

You still are very difficult to feed - due to your reflux you'll eat 3-4oz every 2-2.5 hours during the day (and once at night). But, you eat all that you need to, so no one is worried. If anyone tries to feed you more than you can handle, you have no problem letting them know! You scream and squirm and kick your way out of being held with a bottle coming at you.

We started finger foods at 9.5 months...not really by our choice, but yours...you refuse to be fed by anyone but yourself now (did we mention how independent and determined and strong willed you are?!)...it's so incredibly cute watching you put food in your mouth and react to the different tastes and textures.

Your favorite foods lately are:

• Avocados (AVAcados)
• Spinach & Turkey "meatballs" (I mix oatmeal cereal with cooked pureed spinach and turkey)
• Blueberries
• Kale
• Beets
• Eggs
• Rice Cakes
• Puffs (FYI fellow mommies - Happy Babies makes them without any sugar if you're like me and don't want to feed you baby sugar!)

At around 9 months you started being able to:

• Say mama
• Say dada
• Clap your hands
• Wave "hi" and "Bye bye"
• Blow kisses (so incredibly cute!!!)
• Stand without pulling onto anything, squat to pick up a toy and stand again (I wish my quads were THAT strong!)

Everywhere we take you, you smile at everyone you see and squawk and squeal with delight at them...you are so outgoing and such a social butterfly! A piece of your personality we saw emerge as soon as you were a month old, and your personality just continues to get more and more social as your communication skills grow.

Here are some pics of your 9th and 10th months of this crazy, beautiful life!

Your 9th month formal pic:

Your 10th month formal pic:

 

On one of our daily walks....puppy didn't want to leave her toy at home either!

 

 Your signature "scrunch-y nose smile"...

Making a crown out of your cloth diaper wrapper...

And this is why Paul can no longer play peek-a-book in your Pat the Bunny book...

Puppy tickling you....

These moments will never get old...the only time you'll slow down enough to snuggle is while drifting off to sleep

You LOVE spinach!

And you LOVE bath time!

You LOVE blueberries too!

At Mother Goose on the Loose (reading/singing time at the library)...

With your buddy Emmie at Mother Goose on the Loose...

Daddy met us at the Fountains one day for lunch, and you were pretty happy about it...

That adorable smile never gets old!

We decided to hike on the dirt trails one day, and you loved it....you got a kick out of puppy chasing all the squirrels (bad puppy!)...

Meeting my old mentor, Julie, at La Provence for lunch...

All smiles while climbing the couch WITH a rice cracker in your mouth!

It's absolutely impossible to get you to sit in the bathtub these days...and I mean IMPOSSIBLE, like bath time lasts 3.5 seconds because it's impossible...

At our favorite store...Costco!

In your adorable Jacquardi dress from Auntie DD...

anything is a teether these days,...including mommy's straws

Your first time on the swings!

With buddy Emmie on the swings...

Auntie Teri and Emmie were kind enough to let us crash all day with them while our new kitchen counters got installed...

Nearly everyday, we do a picnic at the lake with the ducks...

loving your new bunny from Auntie DD...



Grandmommy & Grandpa Come to Visit!

This past weekend (Easter Weekend), Grandmommy and Grandpa (Lohmeier-side) came to visit, and it was so special to share Ava's first Easter with them.

Their first day with us, we went out to breakfast at the Original Pancake House so that Grandmommy could get her favorite Dutch Baby Pankcakes (yum!). Ava is not very fond of being confined these days (especially with her newfound walking skill), so she was a little....sassy we'll say, while we juggled eating and keeping her occupied - until she was given toast! This girl LOVES toast. Here she is happily munching on it...

Side-story...apparently she takes after her mommy in loving toast. My parents have a fond memory of me as a 2 year old at Thanksgiving with my grandparents (on my mother's side, who have long since passed). Thanksgiving was always a fancy, big deal with them...fine china, crystal chandelier...you get the idea. So, I'm all cute as can be, being a perfect baby in my highchair (hey, that's how I remember it!), and my grandfather stands up before everyone digs in and says, "I'd like to make a toast," to which I exclaimed "Toast?! I'll have some toast!" He apparently laughed harder than anyone had ever seen (everyone laughed of course), and my Grammy scurried to the kitchen to make me some toast! :) I love that story...

So, back to Ava's first Easter...

Friday night, Grandmommy and Grandpa "forced" Dee and I on a date (we didn't need much....er, any convincing!), and Dee surprised me by taking me to this painting place in Folsom where you drink wine and paint...two of my favorite things! I painted a bunny for Ava and he painted a collage of all the special memories of our relationship (our first date, our proposal, our honeymoon)...so romantic. Then, we went to a fancy dinner at Hawks. We really enjoyed our special time together and realize how important it is that we still make time like that....and Ava had a blast with Grandmommy and Grandpa while we were gone of course.

Saturday was their second day with us, and we went to a lovely brunch at a French restaurant we love in town. We dressed Ava up in her adorable outfit from Auntie DD and she put on her best French behavior as evidenced by these pictures...

(again with toast)...

Grandpa asked her to pick out a bottle of wine for mommy, and she chose this...

Then, Grandpa and Daddy/Dee worked on the backsplash for our kitchen together while Grandmommy took her girls shopping...spoiling us rotten.

Happy girl picking out shoes at Nordstrom's!...

Sunday, we all went to the zoo, and we all had such a blast watching Ava's reaction to all the animals. I swear this girl will be a vet, she loves animals so much. She would intently study each animal, smile, wave, make roaring sounds....it was too cute!

Here's a video of her waving to the Ostrich and Zebra...

https://youtu.be/yN1vTQsMZVU

Here's a video of her roaring at the lions...

https://youtu.be/G5RMu5rc8jg


And, of course, Ava was spoiled with Easter gifts from Grandmommy and Grandpa...too many outfits to count, animal peeaboo books (her favorite), and a bunny bigger than she is! She loves bunnies so much. Each time she sees a bunny in a book she leans in to nuzzle and kiss the bunny, and does the same with her stuffed animals. Melts our hearts!