Videos

So here are some videos I meant to publish yesterday. Let's just say I was having some technical difficulties. Hopefully this will help. (Thanks Cass!)

Ava's Hat Trick.

Ava's new words

Cheers!

And she's talking...sort of...

...but before I get to that, let me give you a quick update on what Chris and I have been doing. (Cuz we all know this is really the Ava blog.) Chris has had a pretty good beginning to 2010. He finished up his rural rotation and then started a month of ER at St. Vincents. He loved it. The docs were great, the hours very good and lots of fantastic learning. Plus, he became some what of a hero when a laboring woman didn't make it to the Labor and Delivery floor fast enough so Chris - who decided he needed to follow her for a ways - had a dramatic delivery in the hallway. Everyone was fine, happy and healthy. Talk about a precipitous labor! After a quick weekend in Whitefish, MT, we are now back in Billings and he's started Inpatient Service again. Blech.


As for me...I have been trying to get into shape. I have been swimming religiously 3-4 times a week. Unfortunately, I haven't really seen the scale move and my back is still bothering me. What the hell. Probably doesn't help that my appetite has increased at an exponential rate relative to the number of laps I'm swimming. But, I'm sure it will all even out. I might have to throw in some cross-training too. I did take a pilates class but it was really a geriatric pilates. ("Okay, lift your leg and hold. Good. Now let's rest.") I'm not THAT out of shape. I know what some of you are thinking...what happened to P90X? Well, as soon as I know my back won't blow out again, I will ease back into it. But for now, it's mainly pool time.

On a different front, I have also eased back into working. My old boss in Buffalo approached me to do some research for him on a part-time basis. The particulars were never right before but this is a great project and it fits into my schedule. It's been nice to use my brain again. Although, I must say, it has atrophied a bit. A lot of dust has collected on those shelves.

And now for Miss Ava. Well, where to begin, really? She's been continuing to grow at an alarming rate. We are at the end of our handmedowns and it may start to get expensive. She is well into a 2T, weighs 30 pounds and is around 34 inches. She looks like a 2-3 year old but acts like, I hope, a 17 month old. For a while, I was a bit worried that her speech was delayed but she's really picking up new words every day. Her reliable vocabulary consists of mama, dada, more, dog, book, bite, ball, milk and sit. Or maybe it's shit. I don't know. I do cuss a lot when I drive. (Jeez people, I'm just kidding!)

She's been really fun but harder to entertain. Ava still loves to watch her Little People DVDs and play with her toys. Some new things she is doing...

...loves to help us empty the dishwasher. She gets pissed if we grab a plate before she has a chance to hand it to us.

...starting to tease more and more. She mainly does it by "pouting". She'll jut out her bottom lip, lower her chin, cross her arms, look at you through the corner of her eyes. Then, you have to say, "Oh, poor Ava" or something to that affect. She will then bust out laughing and start running.

...infatuated with the computer. She realizes that if she moves the little roller dial thingy on the mouse the screen moves. ...has a strange compulsion to stuff things. Really, it can be anything. Toys, TV remotes, food, shoes, dirty laundry, magnets. Usually it's in between the couch cushions but I did find a cup of her milk in Chris' underwear drawer.

...loves to crawl onto chairs, couches and tables.

...asserting her Independence. SHE has to put on her socks, brush her teeth, spoon up her applesauce, wipe her hiney, etc. If I try, man, is it a instant fit. Overall it's been lots of fun. I'll keep you posted. Enjoy the pics and videos.

The Holidays...whew!

First off...I owe everyone a big apology. I didn't realize I hadn't posted anything for a month an a half. Jeez. Guess you could say we were busy! In my defense, we were out of town for three weeks with essentially no access to the internet. (It was actually liberating in a way...but I digress...as usual.)

Let's see...Thanksgiving. Chris had to work the day before and the day after Thanksgiving so we just ran down to my parents' house for the day. As is custom, we had a big feast, ate too much and kicked off the "gain 5 pounds over the holidays" campaign. Pretty typical Thanksgiving. There were two noteworthy items, I think. First, Ava is definitely a toddler now. She was running around, chasing her older cousin, Jarrett, who was teaching her how to jump. She laughed, played and got into mischief. It was awesome to see. Second, my cousin Clinton - a real life G.I. Joe - brought his girlfriend, Stephanie, home to meet the family. Over Thanksgiving dinner, he awkwardly announced that they were engaged. Quick congratulations were given (even from his parents...apparently they were hearing it for the first time too) and then it was, "can you pass the potatoes, please?" She's a nice gal and should make a nice addition to the family.

Next...my birthday. This year was actually the best birthday I've had in a while. Largely thanks to Facebook, just about all my friends and family remembered. Even though my mom had to work that day, she met me half way and bought me breakfast. Then, I came home for a few hours and then met my friend, Haley, for lunch. (Unfortunately, I had to bring a very crabby Ava because Chris didn't get home in time. I have never seen a temper tantrum like that before. I was mortified). Then, I slept the afternoon a way and had dinner with Chris. Lots of thoughtful gifts. It was nice.

Finally - Christmas. Lots of Holiday parties. First was the Ugly Christmas Sweater pub crawl. We couldn't find anything too wretchedly ugly but we did have a few tacky things in our closets so we made it work. It was fun. Then we had the annual MFMR (residency) Christmas dinner. Plus, throw in a couple of applicant dinners and we were booked solid.

Chris also had to do a rural rotation in Red Lodge, MT. Fortunately, we were able to find someone to rent us their cabin for the two week before Christmas. Thank God for friends with connections. Basically, we stayed at a beautiful cabin right on Rock Creek. We had family come up for a day here, a night there, but really, it was a nice get away for us. No internet, cell phone coverage was really crappy so we were able to really get away. Red Lodge is a ski town so it has a cute little street with all sorts of shops and restaurants. Plus, it snowed when we first got there so it really was a winter wonderland. Every day we had deer running across the front yard and Ava would laugh and point. Chris worked with two great family med docs who are alumni of the program. We went to dinner with each of them and their families. Plus, we took in a local high school basketball game. Anyway, fun times.

Then, after Red Lodge, we zipped down to Powell for a few days. All of my siblings were home so it was great for Ava to play with her cousins, Aunts and Uncle. Plus, my parents have a houseful of animals so it was pure bliss for her.

The day after Christmas, we left for New York. Thankfully, we arrived without too much delay and spent a great time with the Cancro side of the family. Everyone was supposed to be there. (18 people in my inlaws house!) Chris' cousins' family got horribly sick and didn't make it. Although we missed seeing them, it was a fairly sane week. Ava absolutely ADORED her cousins George Zachary and Violet. It was mutual too. That was my favorite part. She played so well with them.

Chris and I went out a few times without Ava which was nice. We stuffed ourselves at an Indian buffet. Man...I'm salivating right now thinking about the naan and palaak paneer. Sigh... I also managed to get some serious shopping done (ah...the variety!!) as well as get a few cups of Dunkin' Donuts. Ava bonded nicely with Grandma Patti and was just getting there with Pop Pop but we had to leave. Despite a constantly moving child, travel to and from New York was uneventful. I did feel and look like a human rock wall after each trip.

Now we're back in the swing of things. That's the quick overview. I'll follow with some more interesting stuff soon. The pictures, infortunately, are in random order. I don't have the patience to figure out how to fix them at the moment. I messed with my settings and I don't know how to change it back. Grr...

OH! If you know of anyone who might want access to this blog, email me. kristy_cancro@yahoo.com.

Going private, folks

I can't really put a finger on it but I've been leaning towards making this blog "private" for a while now. No, we haven't had any strange mishaps with cyber-stalkers but you never know...

I know there are a lot of lurkers out there who check out the site but don't comment. For anyone who wants to have access, I please email me (kristy_cancro@yahoo.com) and I will make sure you get the invitation once we go private. I will keep this open to all until after Christmas. Hopefully that will give all of you a chance to let me know if you want to be included.

In other news, I have been baking up a storm. I am not sure why but it's almost a compulsion. I cannot help myself. Strange. I also made up 46 jars of raspberry jam, too. They've already been "claimed" as Christmas gifts. They did turn out great, though.

Not much else is going on. We're just really excited about the upcoming holidays and parties. Enjoy the pictures!

BUBBLES!!

MORE!! MORE!!

Cooking my jam.

So pretty in the sun!

Finished!

H1N1

I suppose I should have expected it. After all, Chris is bathing in his patients' germs all day. H1N1 is ALL over the hospitals and clinics. It was bound to happen. Last week, the Cancro family came down with the Swine Flu. Blech. We left for a resident retreat for the weekend and Chris started feeling pretty crappy that Friday. By Monday, he was feverish and shaking with chills. Despite religious dedication to Clorox-wiping, hand-sanitizing and Lysol-spritzing...Ava and I got it too. For Chris is was a hard and fast fall but he got over it pretty quickly. He was back to work on Thursday. Ava and I gradually got it and then it gradually left. Fortunately, we're better but there were some casualties. We had plans every single day last week because of Halloween. We missed EVERYTHING. Yeah...I know...sucky wah wah. Then, my mom came up to nurse us back to health...okay, really to cook and do 8 loads of laundry. But still...she is now sick. I feel badly but she swears that it was worth it. Ava "miss-I'm-too-busy-to-cuddle" slept in her lap for an hour.

We did try to put her in her clown costume and knock on a few doors (of people we knew wouldn't mind us popping by) in our apartment complex but she was NOT a happy little Bobo.

She refused to wear the wig.

But she LOVED wearing it the other day.

The pediatrician suggested that we vaccinate her anyway for H1N1 because they didn't swab her nose to find out conclusively. They just put her on Tamiflu as well as an antibiotic because she had an ear infection as well. Poor little girl. On Monday we waited in line for 3 hours to get the shot. Ugh... But, we're on the mend and no longer under a self-imposed quarantine. That's about it for us. Enjoy the pics.

Pouncing on Daddy after work!

Ava and her bunny.

Look at all those teeth!

She loves to try on our shoes.

She has been climbing onto EVERYTHING lately!

Fun at the corn maize.

heh, heh, heh.

Gazing at the goats.

(This is a video so you have to go to the website to see it! In case you got this via email.)

SUMMER-->WINTER-->FALL?

So the weather has been a bit crazy here lately. It was 85 degrees a week and a half ago. Then it plummeted down to 19 degrees and hovered around 25 degrees for most of the past week. Now, it's back in the 50s and 60s. The cold weather forced us to pack up the summer clothes, haul out the sweaters and go coat shopping for Ava. Hopefully this moderate weather will stick around for a little while!

Ava in her new winter coat, overalls and boots!

Not much else is new. Ava continues to grow. Her feet were a size 4 in mid-July and now she's wearing a size 6. Her coat is a 2T. She is only 14 months people! I am seriously hopeful she will get a basketball scholarship and Chris and I won't have to pay for college. :)

Okay, she is not a baby anymore! Look at this picture!

She is also cutting more teeth. She has the front "8" and all four molars. Now she's just filling in the gaps. She is also becoming more verbal. Ava now calls everyone dada. :) We are also teaching her more signs. She is picking up the ones related to food very quickly. Shocker there.

Yes, she is definitely up to trouble. Notice her flashing all her teeth. She thinks she'll get away with it all if she just hams it up for the cameras.

As for me, I am still religiously doing P90X and seeing slow but steady results. Chris has even tried out a video or two. The other night I was trying a new workout and he was criticizing my pushup form. Uh-oh. Wrong move. I went postal on him. Poor guy. I did apologize afterwards.


Chris is doing well. He's enjoyed a nice schedule this month. He stared with two weeks of dermatology and now is finished up his last week of anesthesiology. Starting Monday, it's basically 3 months of hell. Wish us luck.

Ava and Chris feeding the cows.

One of the few shots of Chris and I. Needless to say our computer is about to crash because of all the Ava pictures.

Fall?

Although it's technically fall, we've still been in the high 80s in Montana. Seriously...I'm ready for some cooler weather. Ava and I have been busy playing outside trying to take advantage of these remnants of summer.

Some of the residency kids playing by the Yellowstone River

Chris is finally off nights (Thank GOD) and onto dermatology or as a cardiologist recently told me - dermaholiday. The schedule is MUCH better for everyone and we're finally getting some decent sleep around here.

Not to mention quality family time.

As for me, I have decided that one year of slothful living is enough. You can't call it baby fat after 12 months; it's just fat. So, I'm whooping my butt into shape through a workout program called P90X. I'm sure many of you have seen infomercials on TV. If you watch TV late at night or early morning, it's unavoidable! Anyway, it's been great to be on a rigorous schedule but also to have the flexibility to do it at home. I'm already seeing results. I just hope my back holds out...it's pretty intense.

Not bad but I think my abs still need some work.

Ava is continuing to show more personality. Some of her new "things:

• She LOVES toothbrushes. She'll sneak them out of the drawer and carry them around all day.
• She can't get enough of books. I read Brown Bear, Brown Bear at least 20 times a day.
• For some reason, she loves to wrestle pillows. She'll grab them off the couch and pounce on them.
• She's starting to know when she's being naughty. For instance, if she grabs my deodorant or toothpaste and I see her with it, she'll stop in her tracks and then TAKE OFF in the other direction. She can reach into drawers so I've had to do some more safety proofing.
• She's starting to sign a few words. She's starting to reliably say "Mama" and "Dada" and it seems to be intentional.
• She also cannot get enough beans. That girl will eat an entire can if I let her.
• Ava is also fascinated with toes and socks. She will pull on your toes if she sees them. She will also take off with socks and carry them around all day. That's fine when we're at home BUT when we're at the play area at the mall, I think it freaks out the other little kids. I mean, why is this baby cuddling up with their socks.

Alright, time to get some cleaning done. Enjoy the pics.

Wrestling with her monkey.