Milestones!

It seems that, at the ripe old age of 22 months, Avila is potty trained.  My kids have been all over the board with potty training, but she is definitely the youngest.  I credit this to cloth diapers, cheering older siblings, and ample doses of naked time.

With the youngest two kids, we have approached this different.y  Not that we ever went about potty training with rewards and punishment or any other crazy games.  We've always been really lax, but with these two girls, (the two earliest to ditch the dipes) we have been even more lax.  How can you get upset when a 22 month old has an accident??  So basically, she ran around in the buff, we praised her when she went, said "oops" when she didn't, and in no time, she pretty much got it.  Easy peasy!

For the first time, I think ever, we have no one in diapers!  Crazy!  Avi can hand down her basket of diapers to her new little to-be-born cousin!

This evening, I ran out and bought her some new tiny undies (size 2T - so cute!!).  She was so proud of them that she insisted on wearing every single pair at the same time!

Kitchens, Little Chefs, and Funny Kids

Apparently, the funniest thing going these days is closing you sister in the "'fridge".  Avila shuts Bella in and shrieks with laughter.

And sweet Bella plays right along, indulging her sister over, and over, and over again.

Chef PeterXavier received a six week cooking course for Christmas.  This evening is his first class and he has been asking since he got up "Is it time yet?".  He dressed himself . . . can you tell?

Avila Update

 Avila is almost 16 months old now and her little personality is really developing.  It is adorable to watch her come into her own and to see her interact with her siblings.  She has finally decided that walking is indeed a pretty efficient means of transporting herself and I don’t think she has actually crawled in almost a week.  She’s not the most steady walker and sort of looks like she just got off a horse.  It’s so darn cute. 

 She is talking a tiny bit with her favorite words being “Mama”, “Daddy”, and “Grace”.  I can’t even imagine how exciting it must be for Grace to be one of her sister’s first words!  It helps that her name is pretty easy to say.  

  It does have it’s down side, because Grace gets yelled at all. The. Time. By Avi asking for help.  Or attention.  Especially in the car.  Sometimes, poor Grace spends the whole car ride saying “What?” “Gaeh!” “What?” “Gaeh!” “What?” over and over again.  Grace is pretty patience with the constant demands and Avila loves her for it!

Extreme Baby Wearing

The other day, we took the kids bike riding on some trails in a nearby town.  We got there and then realized that I only had one baby wrap.  Since that one was designated for Bella, I had to get creative in finding a way to carry Avila.

Too tight sweatshirt to the rescue!  This actually worked quite well and Avila was a chipper little riding pal!  Ya do what you've got to do!

Who Needs Baby Dolls?

Also known as, "Why Avila will never learn to walk"


At the ripe old age of 15 months, Avila is still very much a crawler.  Can anyone blame her for her lack of motivation?

While the baby dolls around here are a bit lonely, their stroller certainly isn't neglected.

Princess Avila and her entourage.  

Babies First Haircut

Avila's hair grows straight and long right over her eyes.  I am always sentimental about the first hair cut and tend to put it off for way long than needed.  This time was no exception.  But poor Avi's beautiful blue eyes were hidden and I am sure she was annoyed!

So, yesterday was the day.  You can see, she wasn't too thrilled!

Poor baby!  But look!  She aged about four months in about thirty seconds!

So pretty!

And here is the super-busy mom's solution to baby-book-blues.  Just tape that lock of hair into the planner!

Seven Quick Takes -- Avi Edition

~1~

 I am in complete shock that an ENTIRE YEAR has passed since Avila was born.  Look at that sweet smooshy face!  Where did it go??

~2~

 She is growing and changing at lightening speed, but she is still one of her daddy's favorite nap partners!

~3~

 And is there anything better that sisters??  Grace was so excited to celebrate Avila's big day.  She baked and decorated a beautiful cake for her.  And she made her a sweet little clothespin doll and wrapped it up for her.  Big sisters caring for little sisters make this mama happy!

 ~3~

               

It wouldn't be a first birthday without a naked baby eating chocolate cake!  She loved it!

~4~

 Presents from her ever crafty and thoughtful Nana!!  (Can you see the card in that second picture? Anja is a genius!)  There were other gifts, too, but these are the only ones that jumped in front of the camera!

~5~

It was great to celebrate our Avi!  As the fifth child, she probably doesn't get the undivided attention that the others get -- at least not of the gentle variety.  Does getting knocked down by a reckless older brother count?  I don't really think so!  Also, as the fifth child, she is the literal embodiment of why it is so great to be Catholic, so great to go against the secular grain, and so great to allow God to control our lives.  So, hooray for Avila!  We are so glad she is here!

~6~

Seven is starting to feel like a really ginormous number!  Sheesh.

~7~

Happy Birthday to our sweet, messy, curious, ornery little monkey!  (Did I mention she can climb anything??  Like the backs of chairs.  Yikes.  I am to terrified in the moment to take pictures, so you'll just have to use your imagination!)

Visit Jen for more Quick Takes!

Yarn Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a single photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

This picture is actually from last weeks "Yarn Along", but due to technical difficulties, it never got posted.  I am knitting a "Noro Hat" using my sisters pattern and the amazingly fun to work with Noro Yarn.  I am further along now than I was when the picture was taken.  I can see a few mistakes cropping up, but overall I think it will be very cute.

Unfortunately, my book has been returned to the library.   I was really enjoying it!  It is called "Gentle Healing for Baby and Child".  It is chock full of ideas for herbal and natural healing, but is very practical and well balanced at the same time.  The authors general tip is "use remedy xyz, found at your local health food store" so I coupled this book with another (title forgotten and since returned to the library!) which gave recipes and method for making your own remedies.  It was a great combo!  I will have to go re-check them both out at some point.

And here is a gratuitous shot of an adorable baby, because I can't resist those big blue eyes!  

And don't forget to enter the giveaway!  Everyone needs a signed copy of Zita the Spacegirl!!