Week in Review

Fall, or rather winter, in Vegas visited us this weekend. Saturday through today it has been about 60 degrees here - a great excuse to bust out a whole new warmer wardrobe. Fun! Ava has still be wanting to play outside so I just bundle her up and send her on her way.

We had an exhausting week this week! Tuesday I had a doctor's visit for an annual check-up (she and I agreed it was unusual to be visiting her and NOT be pregnant!) and freezer group in the evening. Ava spent almost the entire day at other people's houses (which she loved), who lovingly accommodated my hectic schedule and need to not have children with me.

Wednesday we went to music class like normal, with an extra amount of trauma following. One of the ladies had her car robbed while we were in class! A locked car in a church parking lot, when we had less than an hour of classtime and some of that was spent marching around the parking lot. I don't know when the burglars had time to get in and get out, but regardless they cleaned her out. I was SO thankful that the Holy Spirit had been prompting me to lock my car that morning (which I normally don't do) since I had a small deposit set to go to the bank after class. I know they broke into a locked vehicle but maybe since I didn't make it oh-so-easy for them to steal my money they left my poor little Hyundai alone. Thank you Jesus!

Thursday after Bible Study a lady in my group brought over a play yard for our backyard. Their family had outgrown it and she offered it to me. I am feeling overwhelmingly blessed! This had been on my wishlist for awhile, but we simply couldn't make it a financial priority. So once again, the Lord provided. It has a rock wall they climb up and then a small slide. It also has a sandbox with a digger, but it is separate and hence hanging out in the garage for awhile. Ava LOVES it! Even with the colder weather blowing in she insists on being outside to slide and climb, of which I am so grateful. It make the days so much more enjoyable for her and I love that she is outside, taking in the fresh air and getting her energy out.

Friday Lily perfected a new talent - pulling herself up on things. She started with the bars of the crib and is quickly moving on to other things, most of which don't support her (the little toy piano) so she topples over and tries again. Oh boy! She is ever so proud of herself when she is standing and it is now her favorite activity. On the down side, her night sleeping habits are horrible! I am getting a little desperate over the situation and know I need to find something that works. I must have been up with her at least eight times last night. I think one of the contributing factors is indeed her mobility. When she sits herself up or, like last night, pulls herself up on the crib bars she doesn't know how to lay herself back down. When I came in last night and she was hanging pitifully on the crib railing, crying, I knew that part of that was "how did I get here and how do I get down?" My midwife suggested The No Cry Sleep Solution book, which has the longest waiting list at the library (naturally!) so I may break down and head to Borders today. We used the crying-it-out method for Ava, but I am just not convinced that this is a what will work for Lily. So I will keep you posted.

Friday was also nephew Xander's birthday (see the earlier post) and we celebrated with them for cake and ice cream in the evening. Mom and Dad Kay were in town on their way to San Diego for a week and it was nice to spend some time with them too. They will be travelling back through next weekend, just in time to help us celebrate Ava's birthday. Fun!

Saturday I went garage saling at the semi-annual Aliante development garage sale. I look forward to it twice a year and since I haven't been going out regularly on Saturday mornings, I had this on the calendar weeks ago. I haven't been going to garage sales because I felt I didn't need anything, but I love Aliante sale time. I managed to spend all my money in less than two hours (so much for a long morning) but feel like I got some GREAT finds. Among the big ticket items is a birthday present for Ava (I can't reveal it here but will post pictures and reactions next week), a Christmas present for Lily (once again I can't spoil the surprise! What if she reads this?), and a fabulous double stroller for $25. It seats the girls both facing forward - we learned after we bought our Sit n Stand stroller (which I still love and highly recommend) that Ava will only take long walks if she is sitting front facing - AND it folds up super small, almost like an umbrella stroller, which is perfect for our little car. So a present for mommy too! Plus I got a lot of great long-sleeved tops for the girls for winter, which was the big thing on my shopping list, so I think I did very well.

Saturday afternoon we started celebrating Elliott's birthday a little early, with some gift card shopping at Wal-Mart, which netted him a much desired video game, then dinner at On the Border. Sunday we celebrated the rest of the way with presents (I bought him a new tie rack for his closet and the girls created a special picture collage which says D-A-D for him to take to work), a favorite meal (enchiladas) and cake balls for dessert. I taught Ava to say "happy birthday" (which really she already knew from Signing Time) and I think Elliott got a kick out of it every time she said it during the day. She even made up her own "Happy Birthday" song which she enjoyed singing to herself and we enjoyed listening to. I can't wait for more birthday celebrations next week when Ava turns two!