On the Verge

On the Verge, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Yesterday I picked up Ava early from daycare because I had a test and then was done for the day. We came home and had some floor time. Honestly, I had lost hope that she would roll over anytime soon. I had been expectantly hoping for a month of so that the day was right around the corner. She hadn't been attempting to roll over lately or making any moves that looked anything like an attempt. This time, however, she was twisting her legs and rocking her body to poise herself for roll-age. Seeing that she was on the verge, I snapped the above picture of one of her attempts. She couldn't get her head over her shoulder, so she would keep rolling back time after time. This was probably best because Doni was still at work.

That night I was telling Doni how Ava was making attempts to roll over and we decided to give her another try. She did not disappoint! Moments after putting her on the blanket she would roll to the point she had been so many times before where all that she had to do was get over her shoulder. It must have been the fact that both Doni and I were there to cheer her on because before long she had actually done it! Doni was on the phone at the time and literally screamed and cheered. It was an exciting time.

The bad news is, now that Ava is mobile, I'll have to start baby-proofing our house.

Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Usually when we put Ava to bed for the night she doesn't put up much of a fuss and quietly goes to sleep within five minutes or so. Yesterday, however, she was determined to not go gently into the night. As soon as I had laid her in her crib, she exploded in a fury of shrieks, baby-language explitives, and tears. Thinking that she would fall asleep fairly quickly like she normally does, I left her room and shut the door for a few minutes. I soon was reminded that she is a persistent little girl.

We decided to try rocking her to calm her down and hopefully put her to sleep. Typically Doni would be the rocker (as opposed to the "rockee"), but she had several things to do so I stepped up. As Ava began calming down, I cradled her in my arms and slowly rocked back and forth. With her being wide awake from her tantrum, I knew I was going to be there for a while.

She is a very observant baby. Normally, I can't get her to look at me for more than 3-4 seconds unless I smile outrageously wide like a clown or talk high-pitched like a eunuch. She is too busy checking out her surroundings to give me the time of day. For some reason this time was different. After scanning her room thoroughly to make sure that the dogs hadn't taken any of her toys, she looked me in the face. I wasn't sure what to do because this was absolutely unprovoked! I wasn't acting obnoxious in any way, yet I had her undivided attention. We had a heart-to-heart conversation as she continued taking in every word I said. She didn't take her eyes off of me for what must have been ten minutes. What was said will stay between her and I, but I will say that this was one of my favorite experiences as a father.

Yum Yum Yum

Hi up there!, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Couldn't you just eat her up? Below are a couple of pictures from her recent cereal eating attempts.

I'm not sure that cereal is supposed to be up there, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Let me direct your focus to her forehead..... Note: We did not put her cereal up there.

A Beautiful Mess, originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Rabies? or Baby Cereal?

"And they all lived happily ever after."

"And they all lived happily ever after.", originally uploaded by Ava's Antics.

Four Months and Some Change

Ava went for her four-month well-child doctor checkup today. She just keep on growing and growing!

Weight: 19 lbs 4 oz (> 95th percentile)
Length: 25.25 in long (~85th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17 in (95th percentile)

As you can see, she's big for her age, but at least she's proportionately big. It's not like she's just gaining weight. Her measurements are more similar to those of a six month old than the four and a half months that she is.

I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately, so there have been some new developments. No, we have still not mastered rolling over, but its coming soon (I'm sure of it). She twists her body to start the rolling over sequence of events, but can't quite get over that shoulder of hers.

We've started feeding her baby cereal recently. We have been feeding it to her before her evening feeding, but her doctor said we should start trying to feed it to her twice a day and introduce her to other foods. First veggies, then fruits, then meats. Apparently the idea is that if you introduce her to fruits first, she'll like them so much that she won't eat the veggies. I like to think its the same reasoning for why meat is last to be introduced. If she's anything like her father, she would pass on the fruits and veggies if she was given a sample of delicious meaty goodness first.

Ava's baths have required a location change. She used to act pretty neutral during her baths and then cry when we took her out of the water. However, now she enjoys baths like they are a direct gift from God. Shortly after getting in the water she begins kicking her feet like she's in a contest to see how much water she can spill. This necessitated us moving her baby bath to the bathtub from the sink. Otherwise, it was kind of like Sea World where everything withing 5 ft of the tub was in the designated "Splash Zone" and was bound to get wet. She seems to enjoy her baths so much that I'm convinced she deliberately took a big 'ol nasty dump that required one even though she had just recently been given one.

She has started laughing much more loudly and appropriately. If you will remember, she used to only laugh if she farted. No matter how many knock-knock jokes I told or tickles I gave, she gave me her stoic "Dad, you're not funny" look. Here I thought I wouldn't have to deal with that for another 13 years or so. She's loosened up more recently (or just caught on to my weird sense of humor) and started laughing when I provoke her. I'd previously tried "eating her belly" and tickling her in her armpit with my finger unsuccessfully, but the thought hadn't occured to me to combine the two. Now, if I pretend to "eat her armpit" she breaks out in a hearty laugh. Other times I think she just breaks out in a shrieking laugh to get our attention. She laughed for a solid five minutes the other night while Doni and I were getting dinner ready. How are we supposed to focus when she never stops being cute?