lewis and clark had a journal. you, beth-annie, have a diary.

Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Baby's First Christmas.
Ava had a very special outfit (from her Aunt Kaly and Uncle Paul) for her first Christmas Eve.

[at church after her first christmas eve service.]

[santa baby. :-)]

[i know i'm biased, but what a cutie.  :-)]

Oh, and guess who slept for seven hours straight last night?  :-)  Merry Christmas, Mommy and Daddy!
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Sunday, December 24, 2006
The perfect Christmas album.
We've collected a lot of Christmas CDs over the years. Single-artist albums can often sound too one-note, and compilation albums are usually very hit and miss. Luckily, we live in the age of ripping and burning, so I've decided to take my favorite cuts from some of our Christmas albums to make my own customized Greatest Christmas Album Ever, with not a dud in the bunch. There's a nice mix of traditional, alternative, and more lighthearted, and the tracks are detailed below.

"Christmastime is Here" - The Blue Hawaiians from Christmas on Big Island

"Jesu Bambino" - Plankeye from Happy Christmas, Vol. 2

"It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" - Sixpence None the Richer from Maybe This Christmas Too

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" - Starflyer 59 from Happy Christmas, Vol. 2

"Joy to the World" - Duvall from Oh Holy Night

"God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" - Viva Voce from Happy Christmas, Vol. 2

"O Come, O Come Emmanuel" - Sufjan Stevens from Songs for Christmas, Vol. III

"Little Drummer Boy" - Jars of Clay from Drummer Boy EP

"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" - Gayla Peevey from Dr. Demento Presents: The Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time

"Gloria" - Michael W. Smith from Christmas

"Carol of the Bells" - Mae from Happy Christmas, Vol. 4

"Baby, It's Cold Outside" - Zooey Deschanel & Leon Redbone from ELF Soundtrack

"The Silent Nutcracker" - Trans-Siberian Orchestra from Christmas Eve and Other Stories

"Christmas Hymn" - Amy Grant from A Christmas Album

"Sleigh Bells, Reindeer and Snow" - Rita Faye Wilson from A John Waters Christmas

"What Child Is This Anyway?" - Sufjan Stevens from Songs for Christmas, Vol. II

"Donde Esta Santa Claus" - Guster from Maybe This Christmas Too

"Do You Hear What I Hear" - Copeland from Happy Christmas, Vol. 4

"Blue Christmas" - Seymour Swine (Porky Pig)

"Christmas at Ground Zero" - Weird Al Yankovic from Polka Party!

"The Chipmunk Song" - Lost Dogs from Happy Christmas, Vol. 2
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Friday, December 22, 2006
Another doctor's appointment, another Ava update.
Ava had her two-month checkup a couple of days ago (it's pretty difficult to schedule appointments around Christmas and New Year's).  Because it was so early, she couldn't have her two-month vaccinations yet, so she has to back for those next week.  Anyway, she's now 12 lbs. 5 oz., which officially puts her in the 3-6-month clothing weight range.  Scary!  She still fits most of her 0-3 stuff, but we have had to retire a few items already that were on the smaller side.  She's also 22.75 inches long and has a head circumference of 38.5 cm (she must have her daddy's big head -- all the better to store that perfect-ACT-scoring-size brain :-)).  Unfortunately she's also had a bit of a cold for about the last week.  She really doesn't like having stuff aspirated out of her nose (though I'm sure she feels better afterward) but she hasn't had any fever and the doctor said it seems like a very run-of-the-mill cold and shouldn't be anything to worry about, though it could take as long as a couple of weeks from its onset to run its course -- but I sure hope it doesn't last that long... like any mother can relate to, I hate my baby being sick.

She's not sleeping through the night yet, and we still have a hard time getting her to go to sleep in her crib before about 1 or 2am -- and even then I often have to stand by her crib for as much as half an hour while she falls completely asleep -- but she will sometimes sleep for as much as four or five hours at a stretch, though that's usually only once a night and the rest of the time will be about every couple hours (she hasn't been sleeping as well since she's been sick, so we'll see what she settles into once she gets better).  She's not super smiley yet, but she definitely smiles or at least makes smileyish faces much more often than she used to.  She also makes a lot more eye contact than she used to, sometimes just staring intently into your eyes for a few minutes (which warms Mommy's heart).

She really has quite good head control, and if she's in the mood will sit upright very well with just some support under her arms.  She still refuses a pacifier (just as well, I suppose), but has really taken to sucking on her hands, often when she's hungry.  Unfortunately, she also likes to rub her hands all over her face just in general -- especially when she's sort of between being awake and asleep -- and if it's been more than a few days since I clipped her fingernails, she'll end up with little scratches on her face.  Hopefully she'll either grow out of it or at least learn to do it in a more controlled fashion that doesn't result in scratching.

The things I can't wait for:  sleeping through the night, really smiling and laughing, and getting her on some kind of a schedule with feeding and bedtime, at least (which thus far has been impossible, since she gets very fussy when she's hungry and just plain won't eat if she isn't -- we're still very much slaves to her tummy).  But, wow, has she changed a lot.  :-)
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Wednesday, December 20, 2006
"I don't care what you say, there isn't a man, woman or child on the face of the earth who doesn't enjoy a lovely beverage."
So there's no Pepsi Holiday Spice this year (no great loss, though it was interesting), but thankfully there's something even better:  Sierra Mist Cranberry Splash.  It's about ten times better than regular Sierra Mist, and ranks second only to Grape Crush on my Fruity-Pop-o-Meter.  Too bad it's likely to be out of stores shortly after Christmas.  I need to find this in 12-packs (not just 2-liters, which is all I've seen so far) so I can stock up and enjoy it for another couple months.

And beverage-related though not an actual beverage, I must recommend something to anyone who loves coffee (Kaly and Paul, this means you):  Caribou Coffee granola bars.  They aren't the cheapest things in the world, but darn if they don't taste just like  the coffee aisle in the grocery store smells.  Which is kind of beyond awesome.  They're as good as a lot of candy bars but much nutritiouser.  Go them!
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
I promise my next post will not be about Ava.
A few videos for your viewing pleasure (all around 7 MB):

As I've said before, Ava loves being on the changing table, and part of that might be because of the colorful little bug on the side of it that she's just enthralled by.  She gets so excited sometimes it sounds like she's almost about to hyperventilate.  She's also very kicky, which can make diaper changes challenging.  All can be seen here.

She also likes staring at Daddy and trying to stick her tongue out like he does.

And Benji isn't the only one who can walk.  :-)
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Thursday, December 14, 2006
Calling all Aurora Borealis fans.
In case you haven't heard about the ginormous solar flare, it should make for a show of northern lights tonight. Good luck!
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Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Sorry, I know y'all don't like the pictures.

["touchdown!"]

[somebody has her daddy's dimples. :)]

[i call this one "hippie baby," or, "what happens when daddy doesn't know how to put a headband-thingy on correctly." :)]

[ava's starting to notice the animals on the wall above her crib.]

[she gets very wide-eyed at bathtime. it's pretty funny, actually.]

[ava looked supercute for our trip to racine on sunday. it was the first time she's worn an actual dress.]
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Monday, December 04, 2006
Sometimes Ava tries more new things.
Ava had her first bottle on Saturday. The introduction went without incident, thankfully -- we worried she might not take it since she usually rejects a pacifier, but no such bad luck. This now affords us much more flexibility: Josh (or anyone else) can now feed her sometimes instead of just me, and if she wakes up hungry in the middle of a shopping trip (or anything else) like she did on Sunday, we can feed her right there instead of having to leave and find somewhere I can breastfeed. And, it means that when grandmA and grandpA come to visit in a couple of weeks, Josh and I can hopefully take a few hours and go see For Your Consideration. :-)

Ava also went to her first Iowa State athletic event when we saw the volleyball team lose to Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA tournament Saturday night. Unfortunately we had to buy a ticket for her, five weeks old or not, but as a result she got her very own ticket, which, as you can see, she found very exciting.

She also wore her first Iowa State clothing (a onesie), though at the 3-6 month size it was a little big -- a problem solved by having her wear a sleeper under it, which she kind of needed to be warm enough anyway.

We also learned an important lesson: cool breastmilk does not a happy Ava make. And the Park Street Taco Bell in Madison does not have hot water in its restrooms (luckily the Park Street McDonald's does). On Sunday we bought a travel bottle warmer -- and used it the same day. Thank goodness for heat-producing chemical reactions. :-)
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