30 Day Blog Challenge Day 2

Day 2 of the 30-day blog challenge is: Meaning behind your blog name
Well that is very simple as I don't have a super catchy blog name.  It's Casa de Cavinder.  I decided to add a little espanol flair since we live in the good ol state of Nuevo Mexico.  So that is why I put Casa de.  ('house of' for those of you non spanish speakers that read this).  Cavinder is our last name and I thought it was nice because Casa and Cavinder both start with C.  Pretty boring, I know...but catchy too!  So there you have it!  
Have a peaceful Thursday folks,  I hope mine will be.  With a husband out of town and a teething and cranky baby...not so sure!

30 Day Blog Challenge Day 1

So I am going to attempt to do the 30-day blog challenge and day 1 is:
Recent picture of yourself and 15 interesting facts.

Here's a recent picture of me taken on Saturday at a friends wedding.  Thanks Lori for being a camera whore...just kidding!  Notice the weird look in Elijah's eyes and Sophie hanging out in his pocket.  Audrey is wondering what I'm doing and who all these people are.  On to my 15 interesting factoids!
1. I gave birth to Audrey when I was 30.  My mom was also 30 when she had me.  Even though our birthdays are fairly close, we are still different Zodiac signs, just like my mom and I.
2. Elijah and I have been together for almost 13 years!
3. I love all the Real Housewives shows on Bravo...except Washington DC.  No wonder it got cancelled.  I wasn't watching it!
4. I was hesitant to get a DVR.  I was happy with my 3 VCR's.  New technology, especially revolving around my beloved TV scares me.  So glad I got it.  It's amazing.
5. I truly love my ferrets and have had my various fur friends for 12 years now, but this is the last of the bunch.  They have been sequestered to our bedroom so they can not crap on my child.
6. I often think about moving out of New Mexico and potentially to San Diego, but I am a creature of comfort and it would be tough to get used to (even though family is there).  Maybe one day....or not.
7. My brother and his soon to be wife live 5 houses down from us and I would miss having them so close if we were to move.
8. I would love to be a better cook, but I don't have the drive.
9. I sometimes question if I am a good mom or not.  I see Elijah with Audrey and think he does a much better job than me.
10. I often wonder what life would be like if my mom were here to share it with me.  Would she stay home so she could watch Audrey?  I miss her.
11. I question how good of a friend I am because I feel like I don't communicate enough with them.
12. I feel proud of my accomplishments and keeping my family (immediate and extended) all together after the death of my mom.
13. I love teaching.  Even though there are hard days it is so worth it!  Seeing all the growth in those little 5 and 6 year olds is amazing.  Plus they worship their kindergarten teachers, so that's nice!
14. I am pretty afraid of heights, namely cliffs on mountains and that stupid ride on the Stratosphere.  Never again.
15. We used to go to Cliffs Amusement Park (our local roller coaster place) every year for my birthday until we stopped after my 29th birthday.  Going around and around on a new ride and throwing up in a small container on your way home just tells you that you are too old to be doing these things.


Hope you enjoyed my banter!  Until tomorrow. 

9 months...already!

Audrey had her 9 month check up yesterday and she did great!  I, however, left feeling like a horrible mom and have hindered my child from hitting milestones.  Thanks for the great self esteem booster, doc!  Here are her stats thus far:
Weight:  A whopping 16lb 6.5oz.  I know...she's a fatty!  She is in the 10% and I asked if that had to do with me having a metabolism of a gazelle and she wasn't really sure.  It could be because Audrey has decided that "mush" is disgusting and wants big girl food, but lacks the necessary dentures to eat said big girl food.  Sigh.
Height: 27 1/2 in. tall.  So she is 2 feet 3 1/2 in. tall.  She falls into the 50% for this category and I actually thought that she would be higher up on the scale.  Oh well.  Her days of super model stardom are just beginning and one day she will walk down the cat walk at our local mall! LOL!
I won't bore you with her head size, just know that it is huge, just like her dad.  Thanks dear for gifting me a baby with a head the size of a cantaloupe.  Birth was fun.
We were also told that we need to start giving her milk in a sippy cup so the bottle can disappear at 1 year.  I am a-okay with that, but I did have to ask if a cup with a silicone nipple was cheating...and it's not.  So as soon as we were done at the doctor we picked up her big girl sippy cups to give it a whirl.  She doesn't seem to mind them!

She does prefer to gnaw on her sippy cup but does somehow manage to get out her boobie juice.  Yay....mommy ego +1.


We were also told that Audrey lacks in gross motor skills (which she always has) and needs to work on pulling herself up and standing with the aide of furniture.  What we didn't know that the "devil walker" was not helping her.  She tears around the house in that thing, chasing the cat and dogs and following us wherever we go.  Well, it's confining and she needs to spend the majority of her time on the floor working on her motor skills.  Mommy ego: back to 0...or maybe a -1 since she spends so much time in it. 


Dear pink walker,
You were fun while you lasted, but now you must be put aside and only be used for special occasions.  You will be dearly missed.
Love, 
Cavinder family

So there it is...her appointment in a nutshell.  I must say that she did wonderful with her 1 shot she got and was a super trooper!  We are now focusing on cutting up big people food into tiny bits so she can eat it with her gums and her 2 teeth that have now joined the world.

Welcome Wednesday

I know it's not Wednesday yet...but it's Wednesday on the east coast!  I found a neat place to link up with other folks who blog.  Check it out here: Welcome Wednesday so you can increase your blog followers too!  More to come tomorrow when I am more awake!  Goodnight to all!

First you pick it up...

Do you remember that old Disney skit with the silly bear that the park ranger was always after for eating food and being a mess? (No...it's not Yogi Bear)  His name was Humphrey and I loved watching this video.  If you feel like watching it, here it is.

Well, I have my own little Humphrey at home.  Her name is Audrey and her new found "thing to do" is organize and put things away.  Here she is getting ready for bed and putting her supplies away.

Hopefully this transfers into toddlerhood and she can put away her own messes!

Run for the Zoo

Yes, I know that this post is ridiculously late, but what are you gonna do when you're shutting down the school year!  Anywho...we had a big 'to do' at school about the Run for the Zoo so we decided to sign up.  Sounded like a ton of fun and I convinced not only Elijah, but my brother, my future sis-in-law, AND my dad to do it too!  Too bad it was butt ass cold that day.  We're talking stupid wind and January like temps!  We bundled up Audrey and headed out for our 3 mile walk run. 

Because it was so cold out, my dad flaked out on us...and Jeff and Tamara abandoned after the run.  So we were on our own to wander around the zoo in frigid temperatures.  We quickly ran through several areas and stopped at the polar bears, which we all enjoyed since Audrey looked like a mini bear!

We stopped off so Audrey could eat and we could get warm and then wrapped up our first tour of the zoo as a family with a trip to the seals and a finish line through Africa.

Audrey loved the seals and we made a quick stop to see the elephants before we tore out of the zoo at a cheetahs pace.

After we got to the car I told Elijah I didn't feel very well and wasn't sure if it was from the cold or all the walking.  Needless to say I ended up with a nasty virus of sorts and spent the next few days sitting in my classroom with a space heater next to me and a winter jacket on.  Yay fun!  Glad Audrey had a great first time at the zoo.  I'm sure she will remember it for years to come! 

Beginners Crawl

I thought for the longest time that Audrey was going to skip crawling all together and head straight into walking, since she always preferred to be upright.  She was a horrible "tummy time" girl and would scream whine whenever she was face down.  She has moved beyond this phase and is now a perfect tummy time candidate.  She can raise her arms so her entire tummy is off the ground and has just discovered how to get her butt and knees up.  Her next hurdle is figuring out how to put it all together and crawl instead of lunge or be a 1st cadet in the army.  It's so cute to see her become more mobile and reach for things that interest her.  Besides "crawling" she has also mastered the technique we like to call "the helicopter."  See for yourself!