AAAHHHH...

I pulled out the last of my summer flowers today, after the first freeze of the season, and watched our HUGE Ginkgo Tree drop all its leaves in a matter of hours. The leaves left quite a pile in the back yard, but were so much fun to walk through. Those fresh leaves were like a gentle reminder of summer and a jolt to the memory of last winter!! It started out just like this...hence the AAAHHHH! Luckily it did warm up today and Ava and I enjoyed some time outside in a leaf pile. She tried eating the leaves; I spent the whole time keeping them out of her mouth. It still was fun to watch her explore her way around the leaves...come on, she did look at each of them intently before shoving them in her mouth.

Lucky for me, I will have this face greeting me every morning during the long winter months. I'm thinking she will bring a lot of sunshine and a lot more movement then this house has seen in 6 years!

A beautiful Sunday

I'm a little behind here, but this week has been exhausting...

Ava's baptism was last Sunday and it was a perfect day. She was so good during the entire event and I think maybe she felt her families & God's love all around her. I had a hard time paying attention...I didn't sleep but four hours the night before, I hardly ate any breakfast during the mess confusion of everyone coming in and out and getting ready, and Nick, bless his heart, kept me & Ava entertained throughout the entire Mass (mostly showing me how his pinkie finger was double jointed-lol I'm always laughing for days about Nick). Ava quickly zonked out after she was baptized with her baptismal candle in hand (or "sword" as Nick called it...this was in theme with him and Harris calling Ava SUPERBABY in her baptismal cape).

Dejan and I have disagreements about religion, but this day was about Ava and I think both of us felt something very special that day. I finally felt my emotions surface when Dejan grabbed and held my hand while Father blessed all three of us. God really did bless us with Ava and sometimes we forget that!

So after our fabulous brunch, an annoying Football game by those darn Bears (losing in the last few seconds--You know, I really need to reevaluate all these teams I cheer for) cleaning house after everyone was gone, & finally catching up on our sleep, two days later Ava gets sick for the first time. She is starting to get better today and I guess we made it through the first of many sick nights!

Until next time...

What a beautiful day!

I hate the upcoming cold weather, but I have to say, days like this are breath taking. The sky is as blue as I have seen it in a long time, the smell of drying leaves and grass remind me of being a little kid and running around our old neighborhood on Broadway, and my walks with Ava are even better now that I get to show her all the beautiful colored leaves falling around us.

Fall has always made me feel nostalgic and this year is no different, maybe even more so because we have Ava who gets to experience all of this for the first time and we get to help her create memories. I also always wish my family was closer so I could go knock on one of their doors and spend the afternoon together. Happy Fall!

Motherhood

You know, if you had seen me after I had Ava (those of you who did know) you would have thought I was throwing in the towel and giving up. I had NO idea what I was in for the entire time I was pregnant...still wondering why my sister's didn't tell me!! lol Dejan and I waited 6 years for Ava and I went around the entire 9 months in la-la land; I am going to be the BEST mom, I have always been so good with kids, Dejan and I are going to be so happy, things are going to be just perfect...BLAH BLAH BLAH...REALITY CHECK!! After Ava came, I had a melt down every day for about 1 month, second month it was every other day. In my defense Ava cried a lot in the beginning...she had stomach issues and I wasn't producing enough milk so she was just plain hungry, AND DON'T MESS WITH HER IF SHE'S HUNGRY! Third month...CLICK, OH MY GOD, this little girl is mine and I LOVE HER.

I thought this moment would never come. There is this perception all mothers fall in love with their child immediately, so when that didn't happen to me I was crushed. Blame it on the c-section, blame it on not being able to nurse, blame it on selfishness, I'm not for sure why it didn't happen, but when it did, it was the most incredible feeling. Mind you, both my sisters walked me through this the entire time, my mom spent an entire week with us cooking and helping me get some sleep, and god bless my husband for saying the right thing at the right time for the first time in the 13 years I have known him...that has since changed, but I'll take what I can get! :-) AND, Kristin not only were you there when I found out I was pregnant (I'll never forget that day in the YMCA locker room, it is etched in my memory forever) but you were the only friend who didn't ditch me during the worst days. I appreciate all of you more than you know!

I guess I just thought it was important for me to remember the emotional journey Ava and I have made, and with her being 5 months on Sunday I think she is the best person I have ever gotten to know! I love you Ava!

A funny trip to Iowa City

Everytime I go, I come back still laughing my head off. Maybe it's the chaos, maybe it's the amount of liquor that disappears, maybe it's the funny things my nephews and niece say, or maybe it's even that I feel better I'm not the only one going crazy taking care of a kid. Either way I look at it, I love getting together with my family...most of the time! :-)

Nick: "I really like Ava", "She's got a big head", "Ava is going to be a good musician when she grows up", "She likes it when I play the piano for her", " I think it looks like Ava has muscles" (politely referencing her fat rolls), "Cecca, I just can't sleep because I can't stop thinking about zombies", "I know, I will think about death pumpkins" (me: "WHAT, how is that going to help")...can you tell Nick likes to talk! lol

Harris: "I can't come Dad, Ava has tackled me and I can't get up" (me: "are you saying she is heavy duty" ha ha) , he taught me how to play that tuba, and the rest of the time he picked on Nick.

Anna: really shy at first but watch out once she opens up, super sweet with Ava and likes to baby talk to her, "everyone plug your ears"...followed by the loudest blood curling scream at the restaurant, I guess at least she warned us!

Samuel: super serious, but about the cutest 9 month old little boy you will ever see!

Ava: Hardly slept a wink during the day, fell flat on her face for the first time...her dad seems to think she can sit by herself, smiled a ton and can't wait to go back!

Pictures from our visit: (Mark will be happy, we didn't cut him out of any of them)

I need to mention Ava loves sitting at the table with us at dinner time...this girl loves food!

Something worth remembering

I should have written about this sooner, but I was still trying to "understand" (I quote that because I really didn't understand anything anyone was saying) the whole experience. Dejan doesn't talk much about his family, but I know he was thrilled to see his Aunt and Uncle...or was it the Whiskey they brought... who came from Serbia to visit for the first time. His Aunt is his Mom's older sister.

Let's set up the scene for each visit. Ava crying because every thing was too loud and everyone was in her face (poor thing took after me- we don't like anyone in our face and hate it when people talk too loud...wierd seeing as I grew up with my mother always talking WAY too loud on the phone in Italian and clapping her hands and opening our curtains to get up in the morning), me dead tired from getting everything packed and dealing with the crying and a "happy" husband (referencing the whiskey again), everyone talking in Serbian assuming I can understand (reminesent of all my summers in Italy), and finally there was Dusan, kind enough to translate EVERYTHING for me! If he wasn't around I would holler for him, "DUSAN. what are they saying?" He may have even taught me a couple new words in the process...all bad words of course, but words none the less. In the end, it was really neat to meet them and to see Dejan enjoying his family so much (again maybe it was the whiskey). It is our hope to get Ava to Italy and Serbia as soon as possible so she can meet more of her relatives. Plus, we want her to be as international as we have been able to be, and she's gotta have all those passport pictures to laugh at!

You can see Ava liked hanging out with her Uncle Dusan...must be because he is so funny and talks really silly to her. She likes people that make her laugh! We have had an amazing summer!

What's up with this weather?

Okay, so there are two weeks of summer left....why is it only 54 degrees!?!?!? Besides the cold weather, Ava and I have had an enjoyable day inside napping and cooking. You can see Ava loved sitting on the counter watching me make some yummy southern style cooking...I am craving a trip to Charleston! We made Sausages w/Red Beans and Rice (remember this dinner Rosy?) and will sautee up some Kale once dinner time comes around. My ultimate goal here, get Ava to cook for me!

Let's hope Ava will stop crying out in her sleep tonight so we can all get some good rest. What's up with that anyway? It makes me shot straight out of bed everytime.