Weekend Playdate

Lolly, Sarah, and I have been wanting to get our babies together for a playdate, and we finally made it happen this weekend. I love watching them interact, and it will be so much fun to watch them grow up together.

(Abby really didn't want to keep her bow on.)

Grant joined as well. It was so cute to hear him talk about "Baby Ava" :).

Lolly had the brilliant idea of lining the babies up in age order to take their picture. Abby was born first (about two months before Ava), then Ava, and then Henry (about six weeks after Ava). 

However, it is a bit hard to get a good picture of three babies at once. These are the best shots, but they look more like outtakes.

I love Abby's pose in this one! And it looks like Ava is trying to talk to Henry.

Foot to the head :).

After the kids went to bed, the adults got to hang out, enjoy some Scalini's and sangria, and play cards. It was a great night!

Slow-Baked Tomatoes with Garlic and Rosemary

This is one of my favorite appetizers...not only because it is delicious, but also because it is ridiculously easy to make. I adapted this from a recipe found in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine, and it is definitely a crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

• 3 pints cherry tomatoes
• 8-10 garlic cloves 
• 4 rosemary sprigs
• good olive oil
• 1 tsp pepper
• 2 tsp course salt

First, put the cherry tomatoes in the bottom of a large baking dish (you can cut the recipe in half and make it in a 9 inch square dish).

Peel the garlic and slice in half (or in quarters if it is a really large clove). I love this handy garlic peeler that my Mom got me last year, which is made by Evelyn's Kitchen. You just put the garlic clove inside, roll over it with your hand, and out pops a peeled clove!

Put the sliced garlic cloves in with the tomatoes. Cut the rosemary sprigs in half or thirds depending on how long they are, and add them in as well. 

Pour in the olive oil until the tomatoes are covered. It is important to use a good olive oil. I really like this one made with Texas-grown olives.

Add the salt and pepper. 

And mix it all together. 

Cook at 325 for 45 minutes to an hour. The tomatoes will be nice and wilted, and your house will smell AMAZING!

**This is important...let them cool for about 10 minutes before serving. If not, you will burn your mouth on a tomato. You have been warned.**

Serve with crusty bread/crackers and cheese. Goat cheese and brie are two of my favorites.

Nom, nom, nom......

         

Ava - Five Months

Our little muffin is now five-months old, and she continues to be such a joy! We love this happy, sweet baby so much, and it is so much fun to watch her learn and grow. 

Her sleeping got back on track this month thanks to her cold finally dissipating completely. Ava usually sleeps from about 8:00/8:30 at night to 6:45 in the morning, and she still takes four naps during the day - one between each feeding. However, I have a feeling she is going to drop the last one soon. 

Also in sleeping news, we switched Ava from swaddling to sleep sacks last month. We tried it for the first time on a night when she was already pretty much passed out. She slept through the night that whole week, so there was no looking back from there. Over the last month, I have also started transitioning from putting her to sleep by walking her around the house (her favorite), to rocking in the rocking chair in her room...because baby girl is getting way to heavy! Luckily, she is getting used to the new bedtime routine. 

Ava still likes to put everything in her mouth, and has been drooling so much that she gets rashes on her chin. But there are still no teeth in sight. She still loves rolling all over the place and grabbing her feet...and has also discovered how yummy her toes taste :). Her love of feeling things with different textures has now manifested itself into a love of playing with her own hair. She is definitely going to be a hair twirler like her Mom and Aunts. 

The craziest development in the last month is the fact that she is so determined to crawl! She started out by doing a full push up/plank-type move up on her hands and toes, and then, about a week before she turned five-months old, she learned how to get up on her hands and knees. It is only a matter of time before she takes off....which frightens me a bit.

Here are the photos from her monthly shoot...

As well as a family shot we took right afterwards. Please excuse my lack of makeup...it's rare that all three of us are in a photo together. 

Five-Month Stats:

• We won't have any new stats until her six-month check-up, but to me, she feels about the same weight but a lot longer. We will see if I am right ;). 

Likes:

• Ava loves "twirling" her hair while she drinks her bottle. My Mom says she has flashbacks of me as a baby when she sees these photos, because I did exactly the same thing. 

• "The Hokey Pokey" is still Ava's favorite song, and she lights up whenever you sing it to her. 
• Ava still loves books (hopefully this will never change), and "B is for Bear" is still her favorite. I love this video of my Mom reading it to her (it was taken a few days before she turned four months, but I didn't post it last month). The best part is that it sounds like she says "duckling" after my Mom does :).

• Playing peek-a-boo and "how big is the baby" are always good for a laugh. Here is Aunt Sarabeth's version of peek-a-boo that had Ava in stitches...

• The exersaucer and jumper hold her attention for longer periods of time now, which is great!

• She also loves her "chew toys." Sometimes it is hard to decide which one tastes better. 

• She loves touching people's faces.

• Ava loves her new bathtub, especially because it gives her more room to splash around. 

Dislikes:

• Ava hates the bulb syringe, and she doesn't love having her nose wiped either. 

Milestones/Firsts:

• At about 4.5 months, Ava could sit up by herself for a minute or so. By the end of the month, she could sit up for five minutes or more by herself (with me sitting right behind her just in case), especially if she has something intriguing to look at like a book or a fun toy.

• Her talking is about the same as last month, but she has started throwing in some screeches every now and then when she is really excited. Ava also likes to babble a lot in the car on her way home from daycare. It is like she is telling me about her day :).
• Ava discovered how to put her feet in her mouth. Mmmmmm, toes!

• She is now able to find her pacifier in the crib, which helps with her self-soothing. As a result, I put a couple in there with her at night :).
• Ava started to recognize her name.
• She figured out how to get up on her hands and knees. Ava wiggles around in this position, and is so close to crawling!

(This video was actually taken a couple days after she turned five-months old, because I didn't manage to capture it on film earlier in the week.)

Funny/Random Tidbits:

• She loves to stick out her tongue and also likes to suck on her top lip. 

Below are my other favorite photos from last month...

This was taken on a morning when we had to wake her up because she was oversleeping :). Such a precious sleeping baby!

These are repeat pics from earlier posts, but they are my favs!