Casa de Cavinder

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Laughter is the Best Medicine

On July 29, 1980 at 30 years old, my mother gave birth to me. Who knew that exactly 30 years later I would give birth to my very own daughter. As I went about my day I thought about my mom and imagined her getting to share in all the things that have happened over the last nine years because today is the day that my life was changed forever. I was only 21 years old when she passed away-too young for anyone to lose their mother. I was always close to my mom, but our relationship was changing to more of a kindred friendship than that of a mother/daughter ONLY relationship. We would spend Saturdays shopping, walking through model homes, and eating out. I was living with Elijah (in sin) and going to college and her and my dad were living a life with a child free home. I so wish my mom could have watched Elijah and I walk down the aisle, but I am thankful that she got to know him before she left this world (we got engaged just 2 months before she passed). As time moved on I got my bachelor's degree and then decided to pursue a career in education...following in her footsteps. I went on to get my masters in education and miraculously got my dream job (it was fate) at the same school that my mom worked at until her dying day. It was like coming home to a family of open arms and continuing the legacy of my mom. It was a bittersweet day when Audrey was born, because a girls mom is usually there when her daughter gives birth. She was there, but in spirit. I so wish that she could watch me raise my child and give me advice on teething, walking, boys, etc. that I will have to figure out through friends and other family. As I sat on the couch this evening, sort of somber in my day, I look over at my husband and daughter, bonding....and laughing. Laughter truly is the best medicine. Even if you are having a crappy day because of circumstance, your child's laughter is like no other. It takes all your cares away and makes you realize how truly blessed you are to even have the chance to listen to your baby that you created laugh and enjoy life! Life is precious and enjoy each moment, for you never know when it may be your last. This is for my mom, my aunt, my grandma, my dad, and my brother, my husband, my cousin Renee, and my daughter for being able to be a part of my life and my mom's. I love you.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Raspberry Bubble Blower

Yesterday Audrey reached another milestones. As she was having fun in her "discovery center" otherwise known as her Baby Einstein Exersaucer, she started to spit and pierce her lips together. We didn't know what she was doing until we started watching her more and more. She was blowing raspberries!! She only does this while she is playing in her exersaucer and we tried numerous times to capture it on video yesterday, but every time we started videotaping she stopped....until today. I caught her in the act and she had no idea I was taping her. Poor thing pushes out more spit than noises, but it sure is funny!! Sorry the video is sideways...I am still not that great at technology and just figured out I could post videos from my phone. Next time I'll take a video facing the right way but you get the idea!!

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Impartial Eater

So I have a ton of fun making Audrey's food and am so excited to see how she likes it...only thing is-she could care less! So far we have only been giving her solids at dinner time and even then she will only eat a couple of spoonfuls. I started off with carrots (see previous blog) and then made them again, this time with a longer steam and more boobie juice. They came out perfect!! Audrey is "ho hum" about them, but we tried her on them for about a week.

What is that in the mixer??

Excited mommy

Yay...food time. Little does she know it's solids and not boobie juice.

No...not this again.

Pissed off carrot face.

I thought that maybe she didn't enjoy carrots...they were too bland or too orange. Who knows! So after her Great Aunt Janis came to town and dropped off some avocados from the family farm we thought that would be the next veggie to try. She really enjoyed them the first day...gulping them down. The next few days, not so much. She is really great at avoidance tactics, such as staring at the light fixture, turning her head towards the window, looking down at her Bumbo. In general...looking anywhere, but at her food and/or me!

Mmmm avocodos

Whatchu looking at??

Whoa!

Our last stop on the road to solids is sweet potatoes. I baked them and according to the cookbook it said if you bake them the natural sugar flavors come out more and it tastes better. I thought this was a great idea because maybe it will be more flavorful for this impartial eater. We sat her down again tonight hoping that she would like them more than the carrots and the avocados. Fail again. Not only does she not really like them, but her new thing is making gagging noises. I can't believe that at 5 months old she can gag as if she is having bleach poured down her mouth. This kid is turning out more and more like her mommy. Cooked veggies...not so much. Raw veggies...yum (not sure if she will be like this, but I sure am) and I'm pretty sure that she will just adore pureed fruits. Well, little lady...you are going to try EVERY veggie in the cookbook before we move on to fruits. Hate to break your sweets bubble!

If I keep my mouth clenched closed, do I have to eat it?

Maybe I sort of like it.

Avoidance tactic #1...staring at the Bumbo

Her new way of getting out of eating...gagging noises.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Making Baby Food...Round 1

We decided that we wanted to make Audrey's baby food rather than buying it at the store. It's a personal choice and it does take more effort, but it is cost effective and it is very gratifying after making it and knowing that she will probably enjoy it. Obviously this is the first time we have attempted to make her any food, and surprisingly it's not that easy. I am such a better baker than a cook, so it may take a few tries before we get it right. We planned on starting out with avocados since Audrey's Great Auntie Janis brought some back with her from the Grandparents avocado farm, but they are not ripe just yet and I am too impatient to wait, so we decided carrots would be first. My friend Melinda was sweet enough to get us a steamer basket from Now We're Cooking (I couldn't find one ANYWHERE!) and I figured the blender would be a great thing to use to puree them. I don't think I cooked them long enough because after I stuck them in the blender they just sort of mixed and then settled into the bottom and still had some tiny bits of carrots in them. They weren't big chunks and I didn't know what the consistency should look like. After adding water, pulsing, whipping, pureeing, etc...it was still slightly lumpy. I figured she could handle it so I pulled as much out of the blender as I could. She looked excited to eat it, but after slightly choking and a mini mom heart attack later we gave up and decided to try again the next day. After going to Walmart, Target, and then finally Bed Bath and Beyond we decided to buy a Cuisinart blender thing that actually says you can make baby food with it and it is BPA free. Hopefully after steaming the carrots a bit longer....like mashed consistency and using this new fancy appliance we can get it right and Audrey can enjoy the new world of solids!! Wish us luck!

Oh my gosh...what is this?

Carrot face.

Blinged out Baby!

From the start we talked about getting Audrey's ears pierced when she got a little bigger. At first Elijah was anti-ear piercing (why torture and make our baby cry when we don't have to) and told me I would have to take her myself...but after many people saying, "Oh what a cute boy you have," he caved in. We decided to wait until after her second round of shots, so 2 weeks after that we bit the bullet and headed to the mall. Here she is at 19 weeks old heading into the Icing with big grins, not knowing what is in store for her. The girl who pierced her ears was very nice and Audrey seemed to like her. They had to do one ear at a time and Daddy got the fun task of holding her head and arm still while she got blinged out. Poor thing...she didn't want to have anything to do with the 2nd ear being done. I teared up...what mom wouldn't and many spectators watched as our little baby became a big girl with blinged out ears! Audrey was a trooper and only cried for a few minutes! I must say that she does look super cute with her pretty little earrings!! So glad we did it!

Hi Mom...what are we doing here?

Do you see the little grin? If only she knew!

Notice the red face from crying after the last ear got pierced.

Why did you do this to me Mommy???

Okay...I think I'm going to be okay!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve was also enjoyable...as we stayed home and just spent the day together with the 4-legged babies. It's hard going anywhere when there are fireworks involved because our big marshmallow dog, Zane, is deathly afraid of them. He will jump into my lap like a tiny little poodle and proceed to shake and will not stop until the fireworks subside....so going anywhere during these times is nearly impossible. We hung out and watched some of the countdown shows while Audrey played on her activity mat. I thought it would be a great idea to give her a taste of a candy cane. Bad idea!! 11:30 rolls around and she is totally wired, laying in her bassinet talking up a storm and flailing her arms and legs. She is never up this late and I don't know if she knew it was New Year's Eve or it was the candy cane, but boy was she crazy!! She finally fell asleep after Elijah held her arms still and we crawled into bed to watch the ball drop. Elijah was pretty much asleep as it was happening and I had to put the television on sleep mode because my eyes were rolling into the back of my head. Thankfully Zane slept through the fireworks and didn't need Mommy to console his shivering body! New Year's Day was spent running errands and cleaning up the house. Audrey also wore one of her novelty shirts...I see a trend going with this as I have already bought her a "Baby's First Valentine's" outfit!! Here she is standing (which is something new that she LOVES to do) in her New Year's gear!! Hopefully 2011 will bring us as much joy as 2010 did!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas was extra special this year since we got to enjoy it with our new little love!! Elijah and I decided that we were not going to get gifts for each other since we can buy what we want whenever...we made it all about Audrey (plus it was a lot less stressful)! We were so excited to get Audrey all dressed up for Christmas. I have this thing..being a new mom and all...that she has to have a novelty outfit for each of the big holidays. We got her a "Baby's First Christmas" outfit and dolled her up in it for the festivities. Her Grandpa came over early and played the Wii with Elijah while I worked on making our Mexican feast. Her Grandma Mary stopped by to say hello and then later on her Uncle Jeff and Auntie Tam came over to open gifts and eat. It was a long wait for presents, but a 4 month doesn't really have the concept of time. I was more anxious to open up her gifts!! Her Nana and Grandma had sent her a box a couple of weeks before and it was all we could do not to open it!! Audrey totally came out ahead and pretty much got a nice new start to her growing wardrobe in larger sizes, Santa brought her a Baby Einstein Exersaucer, and she got many learning toys!! Audrey was so blessed to have a nice Christmas with her close family!