Me and My Peeps

As most of the regulars who read my blog know, I have a new venture going on in my life, Me and My Peeps children's board books.

My friend and MAMP partner, Keri and I, officially launched a business a few months ago called Me and My Peeps board books. Our customers create their own book on our website by uploading pictures. Then you can choose from text that we have provided or you can write your own story to accompany your pictures of your child. We put together the board books and approximately 10 days later, your child can sit and read a book all about themselves!

We have gotten a TREMENDOUS response just by sending out an email and officially opening up our website, www.meandmypeepsbooks.com

I had to blog about some posts and write-ups we have received.

From Totsnob.com

"A friend of mine sent me the link to these make-your-own board books and I have become obsessed over the last few days trying to write my own book for my two tots. The Me And My Peeps board books are fully customizable with picture AND text. If you are not so inclined, there are templates available - you just provide the pictures. I began by just trying to personalize the text in the templates and somehow I ventured into trying to write prose in rhyme. I did come up with a few that were pretty good: "The doctors told us you were a boy, and then you arrived and we jumped for joy!"; "You love to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, And daddy plays along on his guitar"; and "Taking a nap on daddy's head, Is so much nicer than any bed". You can see how fun this is! And we all know how tots love to look at pictures of themselves. You can make books with family members who are far away so your tots don't forget them or make it educational with objects and vocabulary that is important to you. If I can muster up more inspiration, I would love to make these as gifts! Start making your own at Me and My Peeps, $27.95 plus $5 for shipping."

From notimeforflashcards.com In their holiday gift showcase, MAMP made their Baby's First Christmas "Must Haves"

"Kids love to look at themselves, so why not learn something at the same time? Me and My Peeps Books are personalized board books using your own photos. You can choose from a wide variety of themes, the one pictured is all about body parts, so cute!"

We are so grateful for everyone who has supported us and hope you continue to help us get our name out there. If you have a blog, we would sincerely appreciate any MAMP name recognition and marketing. Obviously, word of mouth is priceless and very much needed.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

What is Ava up to?

I just thought it would be good to jot down some things going on in Ava's life right now, as it can change so quickly.
Mornings:
Ava usually wakes up around 7:00ish a.m.
Then, she must watch elmo's world.

She must eat breakfast in the living room and not in the high chair, this is the only meal that she insists on not eating in the high chair.

We brush our teeth together. She has figured out how to turn her electric toothbrush off and on and thinks it's the coolest thing ever. Oh, and she gets to use a dab of mommy and daddy's toothpaste.

Special Events:
She gets a special treat of having daddy work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

We are still doing Heartsong Music Together class on Tuesdays.

Some other activities we like to do are go to the park, to the duck pond, go to Target, go to Jungle Java, or Ready Set Play, visit our friends, do arts and crafts at home, go to the library, go to Barnes and Noble bookstore, or just play outside.

Every other Friday, Ava and mommy have a girl's lunch at Chick-fil-A and play on the indoor playscape. Ava's favorite meal there is the 4 piece nugget kid's meal with fruit and some of mommy's fries, and plain milk.

Favorite foods:
pineapple, granola cereal w/ milk, grapes, fruitabu's (smooshed strawberry fruit), turkey, cheese, mushrooms, soybeans, kiwi, veggie booty, annies graham cracker bunnies (hop hop's), chicken (bok, bok), chicken rice soup, black beans, chips and guacamole, and Amy's bean and cheese burritos. And who are we kidding, she LOVES anything sweet, just like her mommy and daddy. We enjoy our family trips to Sonic every once in awhile to get ice cream. She's obsessed.

I have found that with Ava, I can't really say she "doesn't eat this" or "she LOVES this" because it totally changes depending on the day, her mood, the brand, the taste, etc. For example, at first she didn't like pizza. But since she eats what we eat, we would continue to offer it and just let it be up to her if she ate it, no big deal. YUM, for now, she loves it, especially Amy's black olive and mushroom pizza. She doesn't even know that it's healthy pizza either, hehe. She pretty much will eat anything. However, she adamently said "no, don't like" to cucumbers the other day. She's also very iffy on beef. She'll eat turkey and chicken, but not beef.

Favorite Children's Songs:
The Wheels on the Bus
Where is Thumbkin?
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
The ABC's
Old McDonald had a Farm
Anything Music Together, but especially "Open and Shut", "Shoo Fly" and "My Bonnie"

Favorite Books:
Silly Sally ,Ava loves to anticipate what animal Sally picks up on her way to town.
No, David , she likes to see what silly things David does that he is not supposed to be doing.
How do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? , Ava is in love with Dinsaurs right now, and this has great rhythm and illustrations.

Interests:
Like I said, dinosaurs
Rocks
Nature and the outdoors
Collecting items and putting them in one container to another container (cheerios, playing cards, felt pieces, cookie cutters, etc.)
Felt board
Pretend food and grocery shopping
Elmo's World
Blues Clues
Other children, especially older ones like her cousin Abigail. She and her friend Mia actually play together now and get along really well.
Playgroup with all of her friends. She loves playing in a group setting now.
Playdough

My Latest Favorite Ava Stories:
1. Ava was playing with her MegaBlocks and picked one up to pretend like it was a camera. She holds it up to her eye and points it at me, "Cheeeeeese", she says. "Cheeeeeeeese", I say back. She then looks down at the camera to 'see' the picture she has taken (like we would do w/ a digital camera) and goes on to say "Good One!". I about died! She said it with such exclamation! I had no idea I said that when I took pictures, but then realized it later when I was taking pictures of her.

2. We were at music class and all of sudden Ava looks at me and says "potty". I'm embarrassed to admit that I take it with a grain of salt and only take her to the potty b/c I don't want to discourage her telling me IF she really had to go. We aren't potty training, but I do it anyways. So we get stripped down and she sits there. Grabs the toilet paper, wipes, and is just having an all-around fun time. Triple that fun when Mia walks in and talks to her while she's sitting there. I kept asking, "Are you all done?". "No". It was just too much fun and the silliest sight to see those girls in. Oh, and of course she never pottied.

3. I've said in several posts, but the way this girl shakes her booty is HILARIOUS!

Nighttime:
After taking a bath, Ava must play chase with Daddy. He has to carry the towel and act like he's going to get her. She loves this game.

Once things have settled, we put on jammies and all three of us go in and get ready for bed. We read three books and then turn off the lights. We turn on her star turtle and tell "tory's". I love sitting in her room with her at this time. She is so sweet and cuddly and wants us to lay on the floor with her and rub her arm. She has to have her "bee-bee's" and her favorite animals in her crib (giraffe, penguin, lollie, babies, and elmo). She drinks the rest of her milk, brushes her teeth and then has water. We put her in the crib, though she won't lay down, and tell her we love her and sweet dreams.

She often falls asleep between 7:00 and 8:00 depending on her nap.

That's about all I've got for now. I love this age and all the stories and quirks that accompany it.

Wordless Wednesday: First Pigtails!

TEA PARTY Tuesday!

Last week, we decided to have our own tea party. You might think that tea party's are meant for expensive tea sets and foo-foo food, but you haven't been to a tea party at our house.

Here is what our invite would have said:

It's a TEA PARTY!

Who: All favorite animals including giraffe, penguin, and two doggies. Of course, mommy and daddy are invited as well.

What: A makeshift TEA PARTY including any plastic plates and cups in Ava's personal cupboard.

When: Right now, why not?

Where: Smack dab in the middle of the living room rug. It was extra special to have a blanket spread out over the snack mat.

Why: Just because. Do we really need a reason?

Food will be served in a Muffin Tin, including: grapes, soy beans, kiwi, turkey and cheese. Tea will be served to your liking because it's only what you can imagine. If you take sugar, if you like plain; if you like hot, if you like cold, so be it. It's whatever you want.

Please come adorned in your favorite hat and jewelry and the hostess, Miss Ava, will be glad to serve you.

Molars, Molars, Molars

So it's fair to say that whenever my child (and other children whose moms I've talked to) isn't acting quite like the angel that I'm used to (wink, wink) or does something so unlike her, we can blame it on teething, right?

Well, fortunately (and unfortunately) we've made it past all 16 teeth as Ava teeths very fast from getting the tooth, to it breaking through all the way until she has a whole tooth takes a matter of weeks....seriously.

So when Ava started showing all the signs of teething a few MONTHS ago, I just didn't think it was possible that she could be getting her TWO YEAR molars already. I googled, I read, I asked. I came to the conclusion that yes, it is in fact possible, as there is no way to explain teeth. As with almost anything, it just depends on the child and is different from one child to the next.

Well, I'm happy to say (I'll explain why I'm HAPPY that she is getting these teeth) that she FINALLY cut her first bottom two-year molar this month, 20 months old. She has been drooling, cranky (see, that's where you can blame teeth), gnawing on her fingers and her naps are 'hit or miss'. All the signs that point to teething. I tried to tell Ryan this a few months ago and he casually dismissed it and said "You always say it's teething".

Not ALWAYS, but when you have these signs, you can't argue with the fact that some teeth are a coming.

That's why I'm happy to say that Ava is getting her two year molars. Eventhough it is pretty rough on all of us, I'm happy that I could say to Ryan, "I told you so".

Sorry, Aves, mommy will bask in her glory of being right, yet again, at the expense of your teething pain. Here's to hoping they all come on through as effortlessly and painlessly as possible.

"Eat moon pizza"

Tonight as we were taking a family walk to the neighborhood playground, we were talking about what was for dinner. The conversation is as follows:

Daddy: "Ava, guess what we're having for dinner tonight?"

Ava: silent, thinking

Daddy: "PIZZA!"

Ava: "PIZZA! Ava eat."

Mommy: "Yum, I can't wait to eat pizza!"

Ava: "Mommy eat".

Mommy: "Yes, mommy is going to eat pizza."

Ava: "Daddy eat" pause "Ava eat"

Daddy: "Yes, we are all going to eat pizza."

Ava: attempting to make a sentence and continuing her observance that everyone is going to eat pizza says, "Eat moon pizza".

Mommy: "Well, I don't know if the moon is going to eat pizza, but we can offer it". LOL!

When did she get so big?

I swear she looks like she's at least 3 years old in this picture, giving a real smile and all.

I have GOT to make one of these!

So, one of the most creative women that I (virtually) know, who is a wonderful blogger, made a blog book that I am so ready to try to make. She blogs very regularly and put all of her hard work and memories together into a book. Honestly, this is why I started blogging, so that I could turn my pictures and words into a book one day. Now that I've seen what C did, I'm motivated to start working on it. Thanks C!

Here is her book that she blogged about:

http://spunkytoes.blogspot.com/2008/11/blog-book.html

10 Things I LOVE about Ava at 20 Months

1. I love that she has a FULL BLOWN memory now. She'll recall things that happened months ago, at random times, when they remind her of what it was that she experienced. For example, we were driving down the street the other day and she saw some apartments out the window. She said "BG's house". BG is her great grandmother (Gigi's mom) and they visited her there ONCE in early Sept.

2. I love to see her creative juices flowing. She found an old alarm clock the other day and pretended it was her personal computer, making her own typing and beeping sounds and all.

3. I love playing the "hi _____" game with her in the car just to see what she'll come up with next. When we are staring out into "nothing" or so mommy thinks it's just "nothing" and when it's her turn, she'll say things like "hi dirt" or "hi clouds". Blows me away!

4. I love, love, love how friendly she is, even if it's a tad over the top. She'll say "hi" to every person we come into contact with at the grocery store. Even if it's over and over and over again. The best is when she says it to single men. They get so uncomfortable and anxious when she keeps on saying "hi", it's really funny how clueless they are!

5. I love taking orders from her. She'll tell me where to sit and what she wants. But it always, always has a "peaze" in there.

6. I love hearing her tell me she wants "snuggles".

7. I love that she STILL says "peaze" whenever the answer is yes. For example, "Ava do you want some more milk?" "Peaze". Sometimes it is not in context AT ALL and it makes us laugh. "Ava did you ride the merry-go-round?" "Peaze", she says.

8. I love how after she plays with her friends and we get in the car she will say their names and say "fun". "Mia fun, Pais fun, Hannah fun, Char fun, Abby fun, etc."

9. I LOVE when she is looking for someone or something she yells, "Goose (the cat), ARE YOU?" (where are you?).

10. I love her sense of humor already and how she knows when to say "Silly Mommy" when I've done something, well, silly, like spill something or when I lost my cell phone in the park (ahem). "Silly mommy" says, followed by a "CELL PHONE, ARE YOU?"

10. Lastly, I LOVE that my previous loves have mostly included Ava talking. She is talking in phrases and short sentences now and it is so much fun! Some examples are written, but my other faves are "Ava some" (Ava wants some, notice the third person); "Ninny-Ninny, Beep-Beep" (taught by gigi and poppy); "Ava watch Elmo"; there are so many others that I love!

The Look

Why do I have the feeling that I will be seeing this look a lot in about 10 years?

The Triangle Princess

Ava is really interested in shapes, you saw the video below. So how appropriate was it that we make a triangle crown, fit only for The Triangle Princess.

Wordless Wednesday: Pure Contentment

(She didn't know I took this picture while she was watching Barney Halloween in the car.)

Happy 20 months and ELECTION Day!

I just realized today, one of the most important days in our election history, is your 20 month celebration! Yay!

It's Barack Obama vs. John McCain and we'll know soon who our next President of the United States of America will be.

Happy 20 months, love and may the best man win!

There's Something About Ava

It's only lotion that she rubbed into her hair, but I immediately thought of Mary.

The Shape Sorter

As we were cutting up shapes with construction paper, it occurred to me that Ava loves the shape sorter, so why not try to make our own. I cut out 5 simple shapes and roughly traced them on a sheet of paper. She instantly knew what to do with them.

Here is a video of her and I playing with it.

Celebrating Halloween through Music

Well, I think by the time we are done with Halloween, Ava will have worn her bee costume 4 times! We definitely got our money's worth (For Future Reference: Not all things are "worth" getting your money's worth! Aves, don't worry about getting your money's worth out of your wedding dress, however, 4 times....not so much!)

Anyway, just wanted to share our costume day in music class. The costume stayed on a whole 10 minutes, as you'll see.

Dancing with the scarves.
Making music with my friend, Charlotte (the kitty cat). My friend, Hannah (the giraffe), making music.By friend, Paisley (the punky princess) just hanging out.

All set for Halloween!

Each week this month, we've tried to do a craft that is Halloween related. Our first one was the pumpkins, bats, and skeletons that mommy cut and Ava colored and helped hang. She loves pointing them out one by one, "putt-nin, batttt, and skey-ton".

Materials: orange, black and white construction paper, glue stick, scissors, crayons

We borrowed this next idea from kelly and hannah-thanks!. So simple and cute! We cut a trash bag in half and cut strips. Easy! They are hanging in our doorways. These were a hit for the first few weeks!

Materials: trash bag, scissors, tape (to hang)Next, we borrowed this one from Ava's favorite Barney Halloween Video. We folded a black piece of paper in half and traced her hand, wrist on fold. We cut out the hand and cut off the thumbs and voila! A Spider!

Materials: black construction paper, wiggly eyes, white crayon, scissors, glue

Then we made silly ghosts! We took a piece of kleenex and stuffed another piece inside it to form the head. Took some dental floss and tied it around the neck, leaving enough left over to hang. I remember making these when I was little, so that was so neat to do with Ava.

Materials: Kleenex, dental floss

We are all spooked out and ready for Halloween 2008! Woo Hoo!

Wordless Wednesday: Oh, the DRAMA!

Pumpkin Patch Then and Now

Then- October, 2007

7.5 months old

Now- October, 2008

19.5 months old

This year at the Pumpkin Patch

We went to a little church down the street to find our pumpkins, like we did last year. Ava was so excited to see all the pumpkins! She just ran and ran, hence no real good picture of her "posing" with the pumpkins.

This is what she picked out for herself. The lone dark green squash pumpin. I guess she didn't want to hurt its feelings for being so different b/c that's what she wanted.

She was such a big help putting them outside on the front porch, as you can see. She is learning heavy and light and went over to one, tried to lift it and said "heavy". So smart!