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.

YUM-O

Weeeelll, not so much...since Ava turns 6 months in a few days we decided to give solids a try, up until now she has been exclusively nursing. We bought some organic rice cereal and mixed it with breastmilk -- who wouldn't want this marvelous concoction?? The first day went OK, she opened her mouth like a little bird and actually swallowed some BUT THEN she decided to spit it all up, I'm talking projectile spitting, which means it got all over me! The next few days went better, she actually makes noises now when I don't feed her fast enough. Ava has always been a good eater and sleeper. If all babies were like her I could have 10, but something tells me each one is a whole new experience.

Baby Blogs

So I recently read somewhere that baby blogs are the latest craze in the blog world. Funny, three years ago a friend of mine sent me her blog and I thought it was the neatest thing. She told me that it forced her to take pictures because the family would always call her to tell her to update the blog. So when we found out I was pregnant and everyone asked for pictures of my growing belly, I decided to follow in Kristin's footsteps. It beats sending mass emails of pictures each month.

Now I find myself checking baby blogs of people I don't even know, I'm watching their children's first trip to the zoo, pacifier addictions and some pretty intense sibling rivalry. Joey thinks I'm nuts for viewing blogs of people I don't have a relationship with. Hmmm, I wonder if there are any of you watching me that I don't know about...

Family time

After tropical storm Hannah blew through town, she left behind some beautiful weather. Ava was itching to get outside for some fresh air so we spent the day running errands and taking some family time. Our little girl seems to be changing before our very eyes, she is growing so quickly, now 16 lbs. - doubling her birth weight. And we remembered to take a family photo.

Labor Day Weekend

We had an eventful weekend. First, Ava got to visit with Tio Pete and Tia Rosie, they came over for dinner and got lots of lovin' from Ava. Joey took out a puppet we have, who he named "Larry from Harlem" and gave Ava her very own private puppet show. She was enamoured with the puppet and would laugh when he would give her a kiss. Ava is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her new baby cousin who gets here the end of October, Pete and Rosie are having a little boy!!!





Then Gator Football kicked off this weekend so Ava put on her Gator outfit that Grandpa Bill bought her and was cheering for the Gators. While Ava is a Gator fan, she will not be going to UF, she has already decided that she will go to Harvard.

On Monday, we drove out to Staten Island to our Pastor's house for a BBQ. It was hard to believe that Gustov was hitting land at this time and people were experiencing some horrible weather because it was absolutely gorgeous in New York. Ava made the rounds and got a chance to droll on everyone and by the end she was exhausted. We all had a great time hanging out with some great people and eating some really good food. I wish I would have snapped more pictures but I was having such a good time that I forgot.