It's 2008 and other random thoughts

So, it's Friday and just a few days into 2008 and it seems like forever ago that we were ringing in the New Year at Katie and Scott's 1980s-themed New Years Eve party. I like to say that Ava literally slept through the '80s - she woke up shortly after the ball dropped and requested some food. That was our first "public feeding" and it went rather well (lucky for me, all the men on the street were in the kitchen playing "quarters" and getting nice and toasty).

It seemed like a good idea at the time - take Ava to the party, nurse after midnight and head home for sleeptime. Well, in theory it would have been great, except little miss decided when we got home that she was hungry again so she and I settled in for more nursing and neither of us got to bed until 3am (just moments before Joe got home).

Wake up to 2008 and then back to bed for an 11-3pm nap. I was exhausted and sad to admit that this nap was the first real nap I've had since Ava was born. Joe was on baby duty while I slept - Ava was quite mellow and didn't really fuss too much. Of course, waking up to know that you've just slept your day away was no fun, but at least I was well-rested!

Some (early) highlights of the new year:

* we had our first long night sleeping - Ava went down at about 10:30 and didn't wake up until 4 (ok, so she fussed twice but with a little rearranging in her bed, she went right back to sleep - she's sleeping on the inclined wedge these days to help with nighttime stuffiness and during the night, she shimmies down the wedge till she's practically to the other side of the pack-n-play)

* we had to retire her "go home from the hospital" outfit - thought it would make a nice New Year's Eve ensemble (the hot pink pants are the exact color of one of my favorite 80s sweaters, so it tied into the 1980s theme) but when we snapped the snaps, we realized she was squeezed into the outfit and probably wouldn't appreciate her chubby tummy rolls oozing out from the seams. Luckily Joe's friend Simeon and his wife Carrie sent her a 6 month outfit with the exact same print! Patterned pants and a light pink shirt - Ava will love it in a few months!

* some new vocabulary to add to Drunky Monkey: Fussy Mussy (used when fussing before a feeding) and The Spitz (used when she has the spit-ups). I'm sure in time and experience, more words will be added. Perhaps I could get one added to the dictionary like Rachael Ray and "EVOO".

* had our first long family outing (although this happened on New Years Eve day, I think it still counts!). We went to lunch at Firebirds (the same place we had lunch the day I went into labor). I had the yummy salmon and the BEST baked potato anywhere and Joe had a steak. Ava slept through the whole meal. Then we went to Target (in the same mall) and did a little shopping - me with the cart, Joe with the stroller (as unfortunately our car seat does not "fit" into any standard cart as the Graco car seats do). I do love our stroller, so we're being creative with shopping - either we both go, or I do a feed-n-run and leave Ava with Joe. We had a trial run in the house the other day with the Baby Bjorn (Ava didn't seem to mind) and the sling (she minded a bit - I think when she gets a bit older, the sling might be of more use as then she'll be able to see out), so perhaps in the future, one of these contraptions will be useful on shopping trips.

* had our first grocery shopping trip as a family (again, me with the cart, Joe with the stroller and a shortened grocery list of items that would fit at the bottom of the stroller)

* had our first dinner out at the Flipside (we have dined there for lunch with her, but this was her first dinner out) - again, we enjoyed our meals, the folks who work there enjoyed seeing the baby again, and Ava slept through the entire event.

* Ava is exercising her neck and legs - usually when she's resting on my chest. She pushes against my stomach with her legs and cranes her neck away from me. She resembles a little bird when she does this. Her use of her neck has improved over the past few days.

* She is also tracking with her eyes more than she was - though it's funny to see - I'll start on her right and gradually move left and she follows me, but is about a second behind. Like someone hit the time delay button.

* Ava's first (closest in age) friend was born yesterday - Congratulations to Carrie and Allen and their daughter Liadan. Carrie and Allen were married about three weeks before Joe and I were married; we had Ava about three weeks before they had their baby. We hope to introduce the two little girls to each other in early February when we head up to Virginia for a visit.

More firsts to come, I'm sure, but tonight I'd like a repeat . . . of the 10-to-bed, 4-to-wake event. That would be nice.