Christmas Day

Our day started at 6:30am...yawn, but after a bottle and some playing, Ava let us nap until 9am - woo hoo! When we finally did get up, we found Bailey guarding the presents from the night before, he pulled an all nighter - such a good boy.

But Ava was able to get past "security" while Daddy was lingering in bed, she opened her gift from Uncle Victor, just what she's always wanted...a direct phone line to Elmo.


After gifts at home we headed to the Bronx to spend Christmas with Baby Daniel, oh and Tio Pete and Tia Rosie were there too.


Ava loved hanging out with Daniel even though he slept quite a lot but she understands what it's like to be a newborn. Daddy put Daniel's Santa hat on her, she was not amused.

Overall, we had a great time with family and friends and by the end of the night Ava fell asleep to the sweet sounds of house music and freestyle. Ahhh, gotta love the latin side of our family. Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Favorite Things

Now that Ava is becoming increasingly mobile she finds ways to get into everything. She always wants what's in your hands or something she isn't supposed to have. Some of Ava's favorite things are; Mommy's keys, she loves jingling them and of course, putting them in her mouth, which goes for all said favorite things. I was always told kids love keys and the remote control and it rings true, ALL kids seem to have a thing for them. Avita grabs our remote and reprograms the television, so Daddy bought Ava her own "real" remote, does she want that one -- nope, she wants the one that actually works the tv -- they are identical.

She loves just being in her pampers, which is fine but it's winter time and it gets quite cold so I try to put clothes on her and she fights me the whole way. Her playard is set up and holds a bunch of toys, Joey and I call it her 'junkyard' because it contains all kinds of toys, she likes it so we keep it that way.






One of her recent favorite things is getting into the presents under the tree. Usually her accomplice Bailey is right by her side but just as I snapped this picture he walked out of the shot.

Let it Snow

This week New York got hit by a snow storm. It was the first one in a very long while. Since Ava had never been in snow before we took her outside while it was falling. At first, she wondered what was wet and cold and hitting her face as you can see from the picture. Then, she realized that she didn't like cold, wet things hitting her face and buried her face in my chest. The snow was so beautiful and fell for hours, then came the sleet, which made all the snow on the ground turn to ice.

Kissing Cousins

Sorry for the light posts, our whole household came down with a bug. We were all under the weather for a while but we are much better now. Ava's cousin, Regann was in town this week and they came over before they headed to the airport. It was not the best time for Ava as she was tired and cranky. She has three teeth that have cut through, so our little girl has been a little irritable once the sun goes down.

Marcela and Jonathan came over and it was one big play date. Regann and Jonathan showed Joey and I the next steps we need to take in "child proofing" the house. We are novices at this parenting thing so the toddlers came over to help us out. They gave Bailey a taste at what it will be like to have a toddler chasing him around the house, we sang songs, played patty cake and tried out Ava's teething pills.

I tried to get a picture with all of them but as you can see Ava did not think that was a good idea, poor thing was so tired.

Daddies & Babies

We took Ava to visit with her baby cousin, Daniel. At first, she wasn't so sure about me holding another baby and let us all know about it by crying until I gave Daniel back to his Mommy. After a while she warmed up, even touching/pulling his hair, wondering what the soft black stuff was growing on his head. Daniel is so tiny and light compared to Ava and to think she once was that small. My little baby is getting so big, way too fast! It will be fun watching Ava and Daniel grow up together, I'm sure Joey and Pete will have a lot of funny baby stories to share when we all get together.

On our drive home from our visit we drove through Harlem and came upon the famous Apollo Theatre, I got so excited I whipped out the camera and this was the best shot I got. I am still such a nerd about famous places and people, even thought I've lived in NYC almost 8 years. I don't think that will ever change.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Random shots of Avita

These are just some pictures we've taken around the past few weeks, some are from Mimi's visit that she took.

For those of you who don't think my baby crys, oh yes she does, especially if you stop feeding her or hand her to my friend Lisa, next time Lisa she won't let you put her down ;)

Tami brought this monkey back with her from Atlantic City and Ava Grey wouldn't let it go, when you put it in front of her she still laughs, thanks Mimi!!

My girlfriend Kristie gave Ava her "first purse," so appropriate if you know Kristie, Avita loves talking on her cell phone. The phone rings when you press it and she looks around frantically for it, I swear she thinks someone is calling her. I hope this is not a sign of things to come...yikes!


Since it's FREEZING in New York, we bought Ava a snow suit. It's still so big on her but she will definitely grow into it and get much use out of it this winter.


And this picture, well, I simply thought that she looked adorable and couldn't resist posting it.

Midtown with Mimi

This week my sister, Tami was in town and Ava had some quality Mimi time. We went into Midtown to hang out, eat and do some shopping. Our first stop was to the office to see the girls where Ava loved all the attention. Then, we headed to Cosi because Mimi needed her fix since they don't have them in South Florida. It was unseasonably warm for November but extremely windy and the flags at Rockefeller Center were vigorously flapping in the wind, which caught Ava's eye. She starred at them the whole time we were there.

On our way to the train I saw something that made me stop in my tracks...MAGNOLIA BAKERY - in Midtown!! Anyone who has visited us in NYC knows Magnolia, they are the most decedent confections around, I have dragged many of you to their flagship bakery in the Village. I went in and bought four cupcakes which cost $10 and they were worth every penny, yummm! With Crumbs across the street from the office and Magnolia around the corner, Mommy will be spending some much needed time at the gym.

La Munequita

There are times when Ava makes the sweetest faces and I never have a camera around but I am so glad our friend was able to catch one with her camera. She is quite expressive and so much fun to watch. I thought I would post this picture of our "little doll," she is just so yummy, I could eat her up!

Daniel Lucas Rodriguez is here!

Friday, October 24th Pete and Rosie welcomed their bundle of joy into the world, Daniel Lucas Rodriguez. Over the weekend we headed over to the hospital to visit. Daniel is such a cutie he has a full head of jet black hair and it's more hair then Ava will have by the time she is one years old. It was so great to hold a newborn again, he was so light and tiny compared to Ava. Our little one enjoyed being around her Tio and Tia and new baby cousin but was more interested in eating and taking a nap. Oh little boys are so cute...I think I want one.

Fall Foliage Getaway '08

This weekend we took our annual fall foliage getaway upstate. The drive there was as scenic as always and the autumn colors did not disappoint. This time it was extra special because we had little Buttercup with us, which makes the tradition that much richer. This year we decided to go to Millbrook, NY where Ava's daddy lived as a child. It was so sweet watching Joey tell Ava what he used to do on the hills and streets as we walked along. This area is so picturesque at fall with the winding roads, quaint little towns and cozy bed and breakfasts. Fall was one season I never experienced as a child growing up in Florida and now it's my favorite season.

One of our first stops was the apple orchard and pumpkin patch where Ava and I had our first hay ride. We had some hot apple cider, picked a 1/2 bushel of apples, grabbed a few pumpkins along the way and munched on some great homemade baked goods. Ava chose one of the biggest pumpkins in the patch...needless to say we did not go home with that one. We had a great family weekend with lots of relaxation, laughs and no television, just the rolling hills of the country side. Florida has nothing on Upstate New York.

It's all fun and games...

UNTIL SOMEONE GETS PIERCED!

Overall, it went really well. Ava was checkin the guy out and wondering why he was looking at her ear then...POP! Big inhale, holding her breath then the BIG loud cry, then another POP, more crying then along comes a funny old lady and she goes from balling to laughing hysterically! We started laughing so hard at her giggling. What is it about old ladies and our daughter...they just crack her up. We popped a bottle in her mouth and went on with the rest of our day and she wasn't cranky and left her ears alone like nothing had happened. Guess I was more worried then I should have been.

Homemade

After much thought, research and some inspiration from my girlfriend Letitia, we decided, before Ava was even born, that we were going to make her organic food and not buy it pre-made. So when it came time to introduce fruits and veggies we headed to the farmers market in Union Square. Much to my surprise, not everything at the farmers market is organic - HUH?? Out of well over 50 vendors only 4 or 5 of them were organic, I guess I just thought farmers market = organic...not the case. Ava really seemed to enjoy the purees EXCEPT when I slipped the green beans in there but the next time I added a little apple sauce and she was all about it.

Today I bumped into my friend Anna and she told us about a local organic food market 5 blocks from our house, guess we need to spend a little more time in the 'nabe as I had no idea it even existed. Thanks Anna!

This is what organic looks like, not so pretty.

This is what organic looks like on Ava.

Rosie's Baby Shower

On Saturday Ava went to her Auntie Rosie's baby shower. Ava is very excited for her baby cousin to come. While she hasn't met the little guy yet she seemed to know what to buy him and went crazy shopping at Babies R' Us for him...ok, that was me :) Ava got to meet her Tia Gladys for the first time and some of her second cousins. Most of the time she would watch the older kids run around and wiggle and squeal in my arms, I swear she wanted to get down and run with them.







Our munchkin is into grabbing things now, if it's within her reach you better believe she is going for it. If it's not within her reach the arms extend and the body leans forward as she inches to it, she's determined, which means we need to watch her every move. Joey does this deep, movie trailer voice, "The Grabber, just when you think everything is fine and in its place, along comes...The Grabber, she reaches for everything in sight, leaving nothing untouched." It cracks me up every time! I hope Ava has her Daddy's sense of humor.