First Trip to the Gym

Earlier this week I signed up for a trial class at the Little Gym.  So off we headed today for Avery's first workout.  There was bubbles, balls, parachutes, rings, mats, rolling, and songs.  It took her a little while to try to explore on her own, but eventually she headed through one of the foam tunnels.

I did sign us up to finish out this 'semester'.  We'll see how it goes.  The way pricing works you get the lot in the class you sign up for (Saturday morning) and a free other class if they have availability (you have to text that day).  Well, the only other class that works for working parents is Monday at 5:15.  I was assured that there is typically room in that class, so we'll see how this goes.

More Moving and Waving

We've been working on waving, enough that this morning when I asked her to she waved goodbye to Safyre and hello to her friends at daycare.  Of course a few seconds later she waved goodbye to me - I felt like I was having music played to get me off of the stage.

Last night she also was happy to walk holding my hands and did a great job.  We made it from the kitchen down the hall and on another trip from the kitchen to the computer room.  I don't think it will be long before she's headed off on her own.

Our final movement to report on is dancing.  I've been able to get her to bounce a little when I sing to her or when I play music that moves her.  Last night, in an effort to encourage her I made a fool of my self for her - dancing while she stood in the exersaucer playing her drums.

I'm also happy to report that cranberries were also a big success.  That's my girl!

Who gave my child sugar and caffeine?

I don't know what on earth was going on, but Avery was NOT going to sleep last night.  We headed up a little late to get her bathed etc due to circumstances, but not so much so that she should have struggled.  However, she just sat there - eyes wide - for over a half an hour (I'm usually putting her in her crib in 3-5 minutes of sitting down to rock with her).  I tried putting her down and was called back shortly thereafter.  This went on for a while.  I even brought her to my bed and when she rolled to her belly (as she often does when she falls asleep) I tried taking her back again.  At this point she stood right up but was quiet.

I watched and waited... and then her dad went in.  He said she was standing there, leaning on the crib wrap, almost falling asleep.  It was probably still another half an hour or more until she fell asleep for him.  I've never seen her like this.  Her legs tend to kick a little when she's tired and fighting it a bit, but she was just wiggling and moving.  I worried maybe her stomach was upset or whatever, but she made no indications of not feeling great.

She napped for two and a half hours across noon, but didn't take a second nap - so by the time it was all said and done the girl was running on her 9th hour awake, so she had to have been over tired at that point.  It's interesting that they say that around the 10 month mark you might see some changes in sleeping and eating behaviors - I just never expected to be 10 month ON the mark.

Surprisingly she woke up right on time this morning and seemed happy enough.  I guess we'll see how she was at daycare.  I suspect she'll be grumpy simply because of the food I sent in - which when I gave it to her yesterday she was shaking her head no and waving goodbye at me.  Admittedly it did smell like chicken soup and looked like congealed chicken soup.  This mix has some cauliflower in it, which is what we're currently working on.  She also has now had papaya (with cardamom) and grapes along with this cauliflower.

Longer naps and other changes

This past weekend Avery took significantly longer mid-day naps.  I wish I had known she was going to stay down for 2 hours, I would have also napped!  They say around this age things evolve to consolidate naps.  Of course, with the activity at daycare I suspect she'll remain a short napper there, and ready to take another good one after getting home.

We've also noted an uptick in the need to use aquaphor or rash cream.  I don't know if it's the warmer weather or an increase in the number of daily poos (and thus more wipes) getting her.  This morning she struggled a little on her poo, even started to cry a bit at the end, and what she produced definitely reflected that it would have been more difficult than her normal movements.  On one hand I think we might have cause to pull out the prune food tonight, on the other hand I'll also note that she's been pooping about 5-6 times a day, so I'd hate to encourage more.

Bathroom Safety

I picked up our first toilet seat lock from resale - it was a style I had looked at on Amazon, but couldn't decide.  I figured for $2.50 (instead of $7) it was worth giving one a try.  We decided to put it in downstairs in the half bath, but obviously have plans to procure for the other bathrooms too - once we know if this is a design we want to stick with.

Now that it is in place I hope one of my next posts isn't about me wetting myself because I failed to get into the lock fast enough after returning home.  It's hard to use public facilities w/ the little one in tow - and sometimes you get home REALLY needing to go!

No more cuddles

Now that Avery is standing and crawling the last thing she wants to do is sit on my lap, that includes in the morning after her bottle.  That also means I am not getting the cuddle time I want and I miss it already.  Fortunately, she does still chill with me a bit when she's going down for a nap or the night.  I know the time will come when she's very cuddly, but I'm not rushing it.

Since my last comment on food we've added cheddar cheese, blackberry, kale, black bean, and a big one - peanut buttter!  I was nervous and eager to get PB out of the way.  I definitely didn't want the kid who was allergic.

Avery at the Aviary

I took the day off today, as did Avery and we had some girl time with Nonna.  Our destination was the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.  It was nice and I think Avery enjoyed seeing some of the critters there.  I love the penguin area and of course the flamingos (I don't know why I love them so) and the bats.