avery words

As of March 6, 2011, Avery words/sounds are as follows:

Mama
Dada
Boogs
Ball
Bite
Hot
Go Go Go! (cat & the hat song)
Rock-a-rock-a-rocka
No no no
Utt Ohhhhhh
Moooooo (cow)
Ruff Ruff (puppy)
Meow (kitty cat)
Baauuk baauuk baaauk (chicken)
ooh oohhhh ahhh ahhhh (monkey)

I'm not quite sure what we did for entertainment around here before Princess Popper of Finchland arrived.

high, lull

We just returned home from one of the best vacations we have ever been on, as a family. Roatan, Honduras was a laid-back, rustic, easy-access, no frills type of place that was just what two couples with one-year-old babies needed. The kids were thoroughly entertained by each other, the new beach house and its hundred new things to explore & get into, as well as seeing new animals, spending much of the day walking on/sitting on or throwing sand, and splashing in the salt water. Jonathan and I enjoyed day after day of absolutely no plans. Jonathan went scuba diving, came home and watched Avery while I walked down the dirt path for a massage, then it’s a little beach lounging, followed by the biggest decision of the day: where to go for dinner. I read the rest of my book, we played with some monkeys, explored the beach shops, ate some terrific seafood, went zip-lining, walked barefoot down the beach to dinner, put the babies to bed, and drank wine on the patio with friends. The sunsets were gorgeous. We swam with dolphins. And, I didn’t wear a watch or carry my cell phone anywhere.

Hense the lull. There’s always something great about coming home to the familiar--home to the routine, and the home-cooked meals, and the comfortable bed. But, you also come home to the small little problems and projects you left before vacation. The stack of mail to go through is only fun for the shopping catalogs that have piled up, and the house is usually only clean again for about 2.5 days. The post-vacation depression settles in for approximately 1 day for every 2 that you were gone. So, that puts my recovery time’s over-under at yesterday.

So, today is a new start. I re-painted our bedroom, finally broke down and ordered a new dishwasher, and have even started my own at-home-ab-workout-session. (Throat clearing)…the latter of which I’m predicting will last approximately 2 weeks, so don’t get too excited.

That being said, I’m also on the computer trying to figure out the next vacation destination. Jonathan has definitely given me the travel bug. He is pretty nuts about getting out of the country at least once a year, diving at least twice a year, and what he likes to call, “just making it happen.” This means strapping the kid to a backpack, and lugging the extra diapers/cherrios/pack’n play/favorite toy/blankey/bottles along with. Life with a baby is certainly harder that you think…and traveling with kids isn’t easy, but I do think that it’s all worth it. Nap schedules mess with touring during the day, finding warm milk for a bottle is always tricky when you’re not anywhere near a local Starbucks, and strolling around with a baby who only wants to walk themselves has presented an all-new-and-fun dilemma.

I’m happy to see Avery’s picture on a passport at 9 months old. I didn’t get one until I was 22 years old. So, I’m just going to concentrate on enjoying the lull while it lasts. Come to think of it, it’s kinda cozy in here.

Here are all of the pics. Password: Finch