This and That - Avery at 4 Months

Here is our adorable little munchkin at 4 months:

Stats:

Height: 25.5 inches (89%)

Weight: 16 lbs, 5 ounces (87%)

Head: 41.4 cm (74%)

What's there to say about Miss Avery?  To know her is to love her, pretty much sums it up.  But I'll get a little more particular:

Avery:

• Sleep:  Hmm...well... its difficult to describe this girl lately.  She hasn't been on much of a routine and her naps aren't consistent in time or length.  You just never know what you are going to get, except I know she will nap and she isn't crabby in between, so it could be worse.  At night she has been falling asleep with her last feeding around 7:45 and sleeps until 6:30 or so in the morning (and several mornings she eats then and goes right back to sleep until 9 or so).  She has been waking up 1-2 times at night, but just for a quick feed and then right back to bed, every so often.  Frustrating, yes, but at least she isn't up wanting to party at all hours of the night.  She is, however, a LOUD sleeper.  The girl makes so much noise in her sleep.  Sometimes I wake up, thinking she must be awake as much noise as she is making, and I look over and her eyes are closed.  John comments all the time how loud she is.  She snorts, grunts, wiggles, etc.  We have to keep the monitor in our room, though because when she wakes up she doesn't cry out, or it takes awhile for her to get to that point.  She will just hang out in there awake and babble.  Which is great and all that I don't have to rush in the second her eyelids open like her brother expects, but when she's awake, we like playing with her!  And for the record, she is still sleeping in our room.  I am having a difficult time with the idea of moving her to her bed, as much as I would like to, because it is so close to Rudy's room and I don't want them waking each other up.  Hopefully Avery gets back to sleeping all night and then I will be ready to try it, especially since she falls asleep for the night right before he does and usually wakes up right after he does.  

• Eats:  Pretty much the same as sleep.  She usually goes every 3-4 hours between feedings, but it ranges from day to day which hour of the day and in the late afternoons, early evenings, she sometimes wants to eat every 2 hours.  Breastfeeding is starting to take its toll on me.  I love the bond it has given Avery and I and all the good things it is doing for her, but it is getting difficult not being on any type of schedule, per se.  And the more we want to do outside, its hard to nurse outdoors, obviously.  My goal was to make it 5 months with breast milk from me, then a month of my stocked up supply as I wean her to formula, but I may start the weaning a tad early.  We will see.  She is still a spit-up machine.  We always have to have a burp rag handy because she is guaranteed to spit up between just about every feeding.  It isn't a ton or projectile or anything, but just enough.  She is still on her reflux meds, too.  We talked to the doc about it at her 4-month checkup and she switched her medicine to something "better" because she shouldn't be spitting up as much as she is.    

• Movement:  Avery rolled over!! ...from her stomach to her back.  Just a handful of times so far, but progress!!  She is trying her hardest to roll over from her back to her stomach, but just isn't quite there yet.  She gets so close, then rolls back to her back.  She likes laying on her back under her play gym and talking to Mr. Octopus and wiggling around.  She is a talker!  She coo's and ahh's all the time if you talk to her and her smile is infectious.  She has the biggest, prettiest smile with kissable cheeks.  She knows no stranger and is happy to smile at just about anyone that will talk to her.  She is pretty good at holding her head up on her own now and likes to hang out in her activity jumper.  She is also very content in her rock 'n play where she spends her mornings when we have breakfast usually or when she is in the bathroom with me when I take a shower and rarely complains.  She likes to "play" with toys more now, too.  She will reach for objects, hold on to them, and usually she finds a way to get it to her mouth, too.  She isn't a big fan of a pacey, but likes having it around to hold on to the stuffed animal part.  And the girl can't get enough of chewing on her own hands.     

"Oh, hey Mom!  Were you right there this whole time??"

Rudy wanted to hold her hand while his show was on...Melt.My.Heart.

• Physique:  Avery is a beautifully round little peach :)  She is in 6-12 month size clothes (baby sizes on clothes are so different, but generally speaking, I wouldn't buy anything 6 months or less anymore!) and size 3 diapers.  She is losing some of her hair, mostly in the back of her head where she has developed a nice bald spot.  Her eyes are still blue and her cheeks and baby rolls are the cutest things ever.  
  

• Personality:  Avery is a happy little peanut and we love her to death for it.  She loves to laugh and gets out a high-pitched chuckle when she's really happy.  She is ticklish on her neck and tummy and I love, love, love seeing and hearing her smile and laugh.  Besides what I mentioned previously, she loves attention and she is so entertained by those around her.  When its just her and I at home, she's the most work.  It's interesting how occupied she is by Rudy and John's antics.  She lights up whenever Rudy comes around to talk to her, lay with her, or play with her and the same goes for Daddy.   

 I think the feelings are mutual when it comes to their love of each other.

 Also pictured:  Avery's little lovie that she's developed quite a liking to

What a pair!

The Great Outdoors

The temps have been rising and the Cicci family couldn't be happier!  

John has gotten a start on getting back to working on the house.  First up, filling in the pond on the back patio:

He started on a colder day because we knew once it was warm enough, we wouldn't be able to deny Rudy the chance to run around.  John rented a jackhammer one morning and provided the entertainment for us:

This picture cracks me up... how pitiful.  Rudy wanted out to help his dad soooo much.

He kept a close watch on what he was doing and was ready to jump in and help as soon as he was let out (I say "let out" because the kid acts like he's a caged animal until we open that door!).

John had to take a break from the project to go to work, but his next day at home was nice enough and safe enough that Rudy was able to help out lots.  They finished laying the bricks and filled in the cracks with sand...and by this time out, Rudy had some tools of his own to assist with

All while Avery and I watched :)  She was one happy little girl to get some fresh air, too though!

And the job was done for the day so while John rested I made us a quick picnic lunch...

Rudy is just a tad wet (ok, basically soaked) because we let him play with a little water in his bucket.

It was such a nice little morning following our almost week-long sickness!

A few days earlier when I was sick, Gran came over and took Rudy to the park.  This is an example of Rudy wanting to get out of the house if we don't leave.  I was in no shape to take him anywhere and he was crying at the door, so Gran was nice enough to take him to find some ducks and play.  And if you haven't noticed, the weather has been pretty inconsistent.  One day we are out in shorts and t-shirts, the next we need our hats and coats... and sometimes both on the same day.  Good thing it's starting to warm up, though because Rudy's jeans that he's been wearing for almost a year now might be getting a bit short, what do you think??  :)

We were also at a benefit this weekend and got to enjoy some outdoor time there, too.  Avery was so relaxed swinging, letting the wind blow in her hair.

And Rudy and Papa were having fun swinging, too.

We went back to Isabela's to pick up some outdoor toys she has outgrown and was nice enough to give to Rudy and Avery.  We were able to play for a bit and see Grace again...isn't she the cutest?!

Avery now has her own Cozy Coupe, but Rudy will keep it warm until she's ready for it..

...and a playhouse!  Rudy LOVES it!  (if you can't tell)

That, and throwing water at his mom...

I am really looking forward to playing with this stinker all summer!

To sum it up, we are outside as much as possible.  As soon as we are up in the morning, Rudy is ready to go outside.  We went from 0 outdoor toys to a patio full in about 4 days, thanks to Grandmas and the Burke's.  And the more we are out, the more anxious John and I are to get the outside of the house looking good.  We have been doing little things while Rudy plays and our creative juices are flowing...so here's to a fun, productive summer! 

This and That - Rudy at 20 Months

Lately, I write a lot about what we have going on, but not so much about what's going on with the kids... so here's a few points of interest (at least to me!) that haven't come up in my day-to-day posts:

Rudy:

• Sleep - Rudy wakes up every morning usually between 6:00 and 7:00.  He takes a nap around 1:00 (sometimes as late as 2:00 if I'm busy with Avery, too) and sleeps anywhere from 1-3 hours (1 hour and I'm not exactly happy, three hours and I start to get restless and anxious for him to get up, 2 hours is juuuust right and pretty typical -- sounds like Goldilocks).  He gets a bath about 7:00 and afterwards we snuggle on the couch and watch a show until its time to go back and rock, right about 8:00.  By 8:00-8:15, he is asleep for the night.  On his way back to bed, we say "night-night" and kiss or wave to everyone and just about everything, "Night-night Mom/Dad/Gran, night-night Avery, night-night Elmo, night-night Rufus, night-night kitchen, night-night outside, night-night library, night-night cars, night-night Mommy and Daddy's room, night-night bathroom..."

• Eats - We are always trying to introduce new foods and push vegetables and fruit, but Rudy is pretty persistent on doing the opposite.  "They" say it takes up to 10 times of a food be introduced before a kid will come around to it.  Well that's a lot of times of making and wasting food, and exhausting.  But we try.  On the up side, he is tolerating dairy much much better and we are able to give him cheese regularly and milk, too.  He still doesn't drink too much milk, but we try to get dairy in other ways or he will eat milk and cereal.  He wants to do everything himself now and that includes eating with utensils.  He is actually getting pretty good at going from plate/bowl to mouth.  And he loves to drink from our glasses/water bottles/soda cups with straws and is getting pretty good at that, too.  Of course as much as we try and "help" -- basically keep water from spilling everywhere -- he adamantly says, "No, no" and pushes us away (and/or throws a huge fit).  Which means that we can't drink around him unless we want to share (and get plenty of backwash in our drink for that matter).   
  

• Speech - Even though Rudy can't say a lot, he is good at getting his point across.  He uses his motions and melt-my-heart, crack-me-up, priceless expressions to communicate...like when he puts his arms out to the side for "Where...?", the way his brow furrows when he's in disbelief (I don't know the best word..not mad or upset..but "Ugh, I can't believe that ball just went under the couch, darn it!), when he does the opposite of a wave when he wants you to "come here", when he points at the floor next to him because he wants you to sit next to him and play, the way he motions and shakes his arms and hands to talk, etc.  We were driving home close to dinner time the other night and I said to Rudy, "Rudy are you hungry for dinner?"  His eyes got big, he nodded his head, smiled a big grin and said, "Yess!!"  I turned back to John and commented how much I love that Rudy is able to communicate with us now, even if he can't say a lot of words, I really feel like we can understand each other.  So John said to Rudy, "Rudy do you want poop for dinner?"  His eyes got big, he nodded his head, smiled a big grin and said, "Yess!!"  John says, "You do??  You want to eat poop??"  "Yess!!"  Soooo I guess we aren't all the way there yet, but we are making strides.  We have some more words to add to our count:  
• Aaack (what a duck says)
• Em-mo (Elmo, which sounds a lot like "Mom")
• Hey (a lot of times pronounced "Heeeey")
• Hot (as in his food is hot or my coffee cup is always hot)
• Mmm-maa (his sound for giving kisses)...the doc did say we could could his sounds!
• I think he is close to a sound for Avery.  It kind of comes out "Avy" but isn't consistent enough to add to the list, not yet at least.
• And a lot of unrecognizable babbles.  He will just talk and talk and talk and we nod along or say, "Really?"  "Oh yea?"  "Whaaat?" and he just keeps going.  He cracks himself up, too.  He will be babbling away and laugh and laugh, like he just can't get the words out because whatever he is saying is just so funny.

• Mr. Independent and In-Charge - Rudy wants to do it all, all by himself.  We often get stiff armed away from him when we try to help.  Thankfully it is starting to be sandals weather because I don't know how many more fits I can handle when he tries to get his tennis shoes on by himself and just can't quite do it, but doesn't want our help either.  And there is no denying that Rudy runs the show, at least he tries to.  He is always directing people where he wants them to go, sit, get for him etc.  He's unbelievable sometimes.  EXCEPT when it comes to walking.  For whatever reason, there are certain times throughout the day that he wants to be held and if you don't pick him up, he will stop in his track, throw himself on the floor and cry.  Sometimes we give in...because we gotta go.  Other times I have no option since I'm carrying Avery and I can't give in.  He gets over it, though.  He picks out his pajamas at night and what he wants to wear for the day.  He knows his shows and what he does and does not want to watch.      

• Dancing - The kid still loves a good tune.  His moves keep developing, too.  He now does a "monkey dance" and is trying to jump, or so it appears.  He bends his knees and lifts his heels off the floor, but that's as far as it goes right now. 

• Mini-John - Rudy is a mini version of his Dad.  For example, rocking him to bed the other night, Rudy put his hand by my face and kept touching my eyelashes.  I ignored him, hoping he would stop on his own and just fall asleep already, but when he didn't and I told him to stop, he cracked up.  Then I yawned and he quickly shoved his pacey in my mouth and he cracked up again.  Not that John flutters my eyelashes (well...he sometimes makes my eyelashes flutter :)) or puts paceys in my mouth, but he loves getting under my skin and finds himself pretty funny while he's at it.  Rudy also tries to mimic anything John does.  For example, John fake laughs at Rudy every once in awhile (a loud "Ha-Ha Ha-Ha") right by his face.  The other morning Rudy was taking a drink out of John's glass and John was right by his face trying to brace the glass when Rudy put it down and right in his face said, "Ha-Ha Ha-Ha."  They were outside playing with the basketballs and John did a "trick" where he bounced the ball off of his knee and Rudy followed suit and has been attempting it ever since.  I could go on and on and on in this category because really, anything John does, Rudy wants to do the same.  John is his Super Hero.       

• Play - Rudy LOVES the outdoors (more detail to follow).  He is also very sociable with those he is familiar with and if not, once he gets warmed up, you'd think he's been best friends for life with the person.  When we have friends over with their kids, he does great right away.  When we are places with other kids that he doesn't know, it is very obvious he wants to approach them and get in on the action, but just isn't quite sure.  He will stare at the kids, take a few steps towards them, stop and stare, take a few more steps, look up at me and point to them, and this repeats.  All while I tell him he can go play, etc.  Granted, a lot of times its when there are a lot of kids (at the park) or the kids are much bigger/older than Rudy (the neighbors down the street at my parents for example).  But get him when he feels comfortable and the kid sure knows how to work a crowd.  

• A Man on the Go - Rudy loves to get up and go.  If by mid-morning, we haven't left the house, he is usually at the door, holding his coat, wanting to get out.  Of course now that we have the outdoors to play in, I'm guessing this will change.  But he is always up for a car ride or a trip somewhere out of the house.  

I can't believe how fast time is going and how much I adore and love this little boy of ours.  20 months. Wow.  It just sounds so much older than any other month he's been.  He's into the 20's... in just 4 short months he will be 2...incredible. 

But that's it for now...as soon as I click "Publish" I'm sure I'll think of more to share, but until then, this will do!

Easter Weekend

What a weekend!  Let me just start by saying that I love everything about holidays.  The anticipation, decorating, shopping, special outfits, traditions, and especially getting together with close friends and family.

So back to the weekend... we started out with a visit on Friday evening to Isabela's house to see their new puppy!  I didn't get any pictures of her (I'm horrible these days) but we did get a few of the cousins together. 

 Rudy had so much fun visiting Isabela and meeting Grace.  She is a miniature Isabela Duschound and couldn't be any cuter.  Rudy was loving on her, too.  He was actually very gentle and got such a kick out of her "running" around.. she more hopped than ran because her tiny legs are about 1 inch long!  All of Isabela's toys were so much fun, add in that we were able to go outside and play on her playground and it made for a really fun trip!    

John had to work on Saturday so to mix things up and get out of the house, Rudy, Avery and I spent the day at Gran and Papa's.  We ran a few errands and went to Firehouse subs for lunch.  It was delicious and Rudy was diggin' the atmosphere.. lots of "Dada"s to point out.

 Here we are outside of Firehouse Subs playing on the firetruck.  It was so windy out and pretty cold so we were only able to hang out in the truck for a little bit while Gran packed up Avery. 

And we had to do some serious relaxing before the Easter Bunny made his visit... 

The Easter Bunny lined up a trail of Easter eggs leading to Rudy, Avery, and Rufus' baskets...

Sunday morning I had to keep Rudy and Avery in our bedroom while we waited for Dad to get home.  Rudy was anxious to get out to the kitchen to get some juice, he had no idea what to anticipate (I imagine next year will be a little different!).  He ran right past the trail and straight to his basket!

The first thing he spotted with his Thomas shirt, which had to immediately get put on (over his pajamas, of course). 

Next he found his new shoes and wanted those on right away... so off with his new shirt and pajamas!

 Then the chocolate and cheetos (which the Easter Bunny put in bags to look like carrots!)

 Avery was happy with her new toys and clothes, too!

 We tried to take Rudy back through the eggs and teach him to put them in his basket, but he wasn't really into it.  We have had eggs out around the house in the last couple weeks that are empty, so I don't think he realized these eggs were filled with candy.

 He just kept wanting to get back to his basket!  And who could blame him?  The Easter Bunny brought him some really great stuff!

We all got ready and headed to 8 am mass.  Rudy had the most fun climbing the trees out front when we were headed out.

 After mass we came back home with Gran, Papa, Grandma and Grandpa Cicci to open Easter presents from them.

 The bubbles were a big hit!...

 ...but didn't last long because Rudy wanted to do it himself (as with everything else these days) and indoors was just not the place for a thing of bubbles!

 Gran was up to some crafty work and made Rudy a basketball pillow and blanket.  He was thrilled when he opened them.  So much so that he grabbed them quickly and laid on the floor with them.  The pillow is now in his crib with him and he has snuggled with his blanket every day since.

 Gran also made us a large outdoor picnic blanket.  Rudy wanted to try it out right away and was rather peeved that he couldn't get the oreo's open! 

Dad and Rudy were working on putting on a new Disney CD... notice how Rudy has 2 of his new shirts on over his Easter shirt?

What a handsome fella!

And pretty little girl!

Avery ditched the dress because it was too much fluff and she just wanted to wiggle!

Then we headed to brunch with everyone where we met Uncle Kurt the Great and Uncle George, too.  Avery was exhausted!  It was a long morning!

And our last stop of the day was in Virginia, IL where we were able to visit with lots of John's aunts, uncles, and cousins and play outside!

We had to keep a close eye on that little boy because he likes to run off..and just keep running and running.  

It's incredible how much he likes being outside, though.  And ever since, he cries at the back door wanting to go out and play.  Unfortunately, the temperatures dropped again so we haven't been able to get out much.  Monday morning it looked sunny and Rudy was crabby so I hurriedly packed up him and Avery in the stroller and thought we'd run out for a quick walk... not a great idea... it was much colder than I thought it would be!  We lasted about 15-20 minutes and when we got back in Rudy was crying and holding his hands.  You know the feeling when your hands are so cold, they hurt??  Yea, well so does Rudy now.  But he didn't complain at all while we were outside.  We walked along the creek and saw ducks swimming and he was sooo excited!  He pointed to them and made his own version of "what a duck says" noise over and over. 

Can't miss us coming!

 Avery was snug as a bug and actually fell asleep for a nice long nap.  I can't wait to take walks on a daily basis right at her nap time!

And sadly, now that the weather has warmed up some, Rudy and I have been sick.  Darn stomach virus!  We had all kinds of plans this week and have had to cancel on everyone.  We are hoping this bug leaves our house very soon!