. . . a quick panic, followed by dessert

Dadoo & Averie in living room.

Overheard by Mama:

Averie: (Screaming) AHHHHHH! Uhhhhh! Oh No!
Dadoo: (Running out of kitchen) Averie, what's happened?
Averie: Ahhh! Mosquito! Mosquito! Mosquito! Oh no!
Dadoo: Well, that's a mosquito hawk. It's not bad. Remember, we like them.
Averie: Ahhhh! Ahhhh!

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Averie: Did you get it?
Dadoo: No.

Thwack! Thwack!

Averie: Did you get it?
Dadoo: No.

Thwack! Thwack! Bang! Thwack! Thwack!

Averie: Did you get it?
Dadoo: Yes.

Averie: You did?
Dadoo: Yes, Averie. Don't open the door, ok?
Averie: Oh, ok, Dadoo.


. . .

Later, at dinner:

Dadoo: Averie, would you like some cake?
Averie: Oh! Sure! Sure I would. It's in the kitchen. I saw it there. I better go check on it. You stay right here, ok? I'll be right back.

. . .
*Um, yes, it's been awhile. Life, etc. More soon. Well, hopefully.

. . . the ice and some tummy time

Everyone who knows babydaddy knows that he loves hockey. Best hockey of all? The fierce, 5-time national champion Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota. Second best hockey? Any well-played ice contest between any two teams that we can actually see on our home cable. So, it should surprise no one that baby-sweetest also loves hockey - (probably because of all the white and fast movement) - and spends a lot of time experiencing it.

Last night, while the NY Rangers were playing the Buffalo Sabres, baby-strongest was enjoying some tummy time (see cute video below). Babymama was trying to film in the dark, so she wasn't really watching the entire game. One thing that did stick out as she was listening, though, was the repitition of a name, one name in particular . . . a name that the announcer must've said fifty times. It stuck out because it's a name that babymama also repeats a lot during the day. "Averie, Averie, Averie . . . " except in this case, it's "Avery, Avery, Avery". Hmmm, thought babymama.

Many people ask us how we chose baby-cutest's name. "We just liked it," proud parents always reply. "It was just a name we thought was beautiful," we smile. Suddenly, babymama realizes the truth. She's been duped, and has unwittingly named her baby girl after hockey stars - a player and a coach.

That sneaky Daddy . . .

. . . her first swing, a rose, a sqare, some milk and a pizza

Thursday was a busy day for baby-social. Daddy was on vacation and Auntie Sarah was visiting, so the family took a trip downtown to see the city. Baby-adorable enjoyed her first visit to Forsyth park, where she walked from the south end of the park, up past the newly renovated confederate monument to the big kids' playground so that she and babymama could spend a little time on the swings.

After her relaxing nap on the playground, baby-sweetheart took a stroll through the fragrant garden, and had her picture made next to one of the red blooms. Of course you know which is the most beautiful . . .


Next, Averie, Mama, and Auntie Sarah walked down through the squares to Gallery Espresso while daddy ran back and drove the car down to Chippewa Square. Daddy and Auntie went in to get coffee while mama and baby sat in the square. You may notice that baby-adorable is wearing her sweet, soft pink kimono. Be sure to note how cute it is, because while it appears that baby-smiley is contemplating her hand, that's not really what that little smile is all about . . . and she won't be wearing that kimono for long.


After a change of diaper and outfit, baby-poops-a-lot decided that a snack was in order, so she and babydaddy enjoyed some milk and the view from the Paris Market. Babymama noted how each passing mother smiled at baby-adorable and murmured about how daddy-adorable was so wonderful for feeding that little sweetheart. Babymama agrees.

Finally, baby-no-dairy enjoyed a trip to the Mellow Mushroom, where she watched as babymama enjoyed a no-cheese, no-butter, no-parm-sprinkle pizza. Check out those toes!

. . . her bunny slippers and a book

Nothing's better for lounging around than a pair of soft, fluffy, slippers. Baby-bunny-toes models her very own pair of house shoes while waiting for daddy to finish grilling her dinner on Friday evening.


Early Saturday morning, that smart baby spent some quality time with Daddy, Leonardo, and one of her favorite books.

. . . sticky fingers

It's been mentioned before, and on more than one occasion, but it's such a part of daily life with baby, that it's worth mentioning again.

Those little hands can hold more sticky, smelly gunk than anything else you could imagine. We are continually cleaning out her fists - and finding more and more of this gooey stuff in there every time.

Since we're new parents, babymama & daddy didn't know if this was the norm. We consulted a more experienced parent to find out that in fact, it is normal. At least it was for her baby, which makes us feel much better about the situation, and less like bad parents for allowing our child to become so stinky-dirty. (*Note: 'stinky-dirty' is a new vocabulary word that babymama learned soon after baby-adorable was born. It comes on the heels of other new words like 'fartie-poopie' - the "ie" is the feminine form, 'icky-smelly', 'sleepy-sweetie' and 'yucky-diapie').

Combatting this problem is sort of like shucking an oyster. First you pry the fingers open, then you scrape out the gooey stuff (which incidentally, baby eats raw), and then you wipe out the palms with soap, a baby-wipe or whatever cleaning agent (baby-friendly, of course) you have available. Usually, baby-fast-as-lightning gets those little fingers back into a ball and into her mouth before we've had the chance to dry them.

Brilliant babydaddy (pictured below, with baby-dry-hands) came up with the perfect solution for this dilemna.