Aveline turned eleven months old last Thursday. It is truly hard for
me to believe that this little one will officially be one year old next
month. And I was just talking to a good friend in the car about how it
seems that with the second child (and subsequent children) it all just
goes too quickly. And in ways I had not really thought of until lately.
For
instance, at an appointment yesterday, where there were bookshelves of
children's books in the waiting room, I asked Avie to go pick out a
book, and she immediately crawled over and pulled up on the bookshelf. Really?
How does she really know what I am saying? And there is a Wiggles song
on a CD we regularly play in the car, with lyrics singing, "Everybody
clap, [clap, clap, clap], everybody sing [la, la, la, la, la]...," and
Avie will now clap at the appropriate time. What? You are not old enough to understand that.
It is as if they become more
amazing. What would I think if I had three? Five? Ten? Don't get any
thoughts... I am fairly certain we are stopping where we are.
But, yes, Avie is
certainly amazing. She is crawling everywhere, and is into everything.
She is specifically drawn, much to my dismay, to dirty shoes, remnants
of anything on the ground, my cell phone, and my wallet. She also
particularly adores the case for my sunglasses. She has been quite
resilient in this most transient period of our lives, as we await the
move into our new home. Yet it has still phased her in some ways,
particularly in the way of not sleeping so well. Thus, her mama is not
sleeping so well either. Suffice it to say, our entire family is a bit
tired.
Avie is definitively saying "da da" and "ma ma."
She likes to shake and nod her head. She signs more clearly now for
"all done" and is finally starting to do "please" on occasion. "More" is
becoming more prominent, and I have seen her "say" it as Elsa used to,
with her pointer finger against the palm of her other hand.
She
still adores her sister, and I swear has attempted to say her name on
several occasions ("eh-sa"). Their new favorite game is to have me roll
down all the windows in the car. Avie will squeal with delight, and Elsa
will mimic the squeal, which will send them both into boughts of
laughter. It is priceless. Elsa is still somewhat bothered by Avie's
crying, but it is getting better, and there are an increasing number of
sweet moments between the two, whether it be the sharing of toys or
tickling, or squeezes and kisses.
We recently started a music class together for babies -- it's a different class than I did with Elsa. With Elsa, it was Kindermusik and now with Avie it is a class called Musikgarten, which is taught at a little place in Oakhurst, Tessitura. I
have really enjoyed the class thus far (we go to our third class
tomorrow morning), and I think Avie really likes it too. She has taken
to bouncing up and down on her own now when we sing "Pop! Goes the
Weasel," and she loved getting up on her knees and patting the big drum
(which was placed in the middle of a circle of babies) last week in
class.
Aveline still loves to eat, but she really seems to be
steering away from the baby food, which has put me in a bit of a
quandary, especially during this homeless period when it is more
difficult to really grocery shop and cook well. The girl would really
prefer to feed herself. Tonight she had barbecue, macaroni and cheese,
berries, and some puffs, and was in heaven. Forget the pureed stuff.
Gabriela also gave her a thin slice of apple this morning when I dropped
Elsa off, which nearly sent me into a panic, but Gabriela assured me
she would be totally fine, and, of course, she was right. Avie delighted
in biting off pieces and chewing them appropriately. Why do I worry so?
I honestly have had vivid nightmares of this one choking (nearly to
death) on anything and everything imaginable.
More
teeth have yet to make their appearance, though the canines seem to be
closer and closer to popping through. She seems to be in a constant
state of teething, but I suppose that is par for the course during this
age.
Despite the lack of sleep (I think I have been
able to sleep a straight seven or eight hours maybe two or three nights
since this child was born), I am so thankful on a daily basis for this
little one. She brings such joy to our lives, and I cannot imagine our
family without her.






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