Because Avery’s our second (and I feel she sometimes gets overshadowed by her older, louder sister), it’s important to me that we give her a similar experience to Zoe’s baby one. We’re pretty good at doing the same things that we did with Zoe, I think, but it recently occurred to me that we’ve never taken her swinging. (Avery’s been to the playground many times, but she’s usually snuggled up in her stroller, watching Zoe and her friends run around.) Wanting to rectify the situation ASAP, I drove Avery this morning to a nearby park, where I plunked her in her very first outdoor swing and gave her a push. The outcome? Just like her sister before her, she loved it. (And I have a feeling we’ll be back soon!)

-M

Sometimes, living with a preschooler feels a bit like living with a sulky teen-ager. Zoe has slammed her bedroom door in anger once or twice, and she has been known to say (though, luckily, only on rare occasions), “You’re not my friend” and “I don’t like you.” And just this morning, this happened: We were driving to school and I noticed she wasn’t quite herself. “It’s okay to be grumpy sometimes,” I told her. “We all have bad mornings.” Through the rear-view mirror I saw a furrowed brow – and then Zoe snapped, “I’m not grumpy. I’m mad.” “Oh – what are you mad at?” I asked her, only to have her respond “I’m mad at you.” I’m not exactly sure why she was angry – she never did say, and she was back to her normal, happy self by the time we got to school -but I’m sure this won’t be the last time I’ll hear those words from her!

-M

When Zoe overheard Q ask me this morning what I wanted to do next weekend, she raced into our room and cried out excitedly, “Mother’s Day!” When I asked her where she heard about Mother’s Day, she said “school” and then elaborated. “We’re making hearts for our mommies for Mother’s Day,” she said. “We’re not supposed to say anything because it’s a surprise.” She was oblivious to what she had just done, and Q and I couldn’t help but look each other with a smile. It was so cute and innocent that I don’t even mind knowing the surprise!

-M

When I finished putting away laundry the other day, Zoe eyed the empty basket and said she wanted to play Moses. His baby-floating-down-the-river story, which she learned at school, obviously made an impression on Zoe – and she and Avery wound up hopping in and pretending they were him. Not only did they have a great time together, but it was also really fun for me and Q: after months of Avery just lying or sitting around, we love seeing her big enough to really interact and play with her sister. And it gives us a nice taste of the future…

-M

You may have noticed that Avery was in a dress yesterday. It wasn’t just any dress, though – but one worn by Zoe for her first birthday party. (Though Avery is younger, she’s also bigger than Zoe was at this age, and the dress fit her perfectly.) I loved seeing Avery in it, but I have to admit there was a small lump in my throat when I first pulled it over her head. Time just goes so fast… and it’s hard not to feel sentimental!

-M

We had so much fun at last year’s Glen Park Festival that the date of this year’s has been circled on our calendars for months. We headed there today and I couldn’t help but smile when thinking about how much things have changed since the last one: Zoe is so much bigger, and Avery is now with us. I remember walking around last year feeling really pregnant and wondering what it would be like running after two kids someday… Now I know!

-M

Zoe has fed her sister before, but she got really into the job the other night. The video makes me laugh (I especially like the :22 mark), but be warned: it’s pretty messy!

-M

Avery and Zoe are pretty young, but they still have fairly busy social calendars. Last Fri. Avery hosted a playdate for two girlfriends (including Natalia, who is two days her junior), and on Sun. Zoe met up with her old friend Tessa, who she last saw in the fall. And today, after another Animal Adventures class, Zoe hung out with her buddy Zander at the zoo. It’s fun having friends!

-M

There’s another big change. As mentioned just a few days ago, Avery’s morning routine is to wake up at 5 or 5:30, have some milk, and sleep for another hour or so – and it’s been this way for months. A few mornings ago, though, when I was sick and too slow to go to her room to respond to her cries, Avery fell back asleep; the same thing happened the next day, and on the third morning she didn’t make a peep until 7. Based on Michelle’s Rule of Kid Behavior (i.e. one time could be a fluke, two times could be a coincidence, three times likely means a new pattern), I think she’s kicked the 5 AM milk habit. Q and I think she might have done so sooner with some “sleep training” (at 10 months, her body doesn’t really need the milk, after all), but I’m okay with the way it happened. And, knowing me, I’ll probably even miss all those quiet, dark moments that Avery and I spent together…

-M

Along with the photo session, we had an impromptu concert the other day. On Zoe’s set list: two good-morning songs (one in Hebrew, the other in Spanish) that she knows from school.

-M

For one of the first times, writing an update for Avery feels redundant – almost everything I’m about to write was captured in Zoe’s 10-month update. But it would be no fun to suggest you go here and sub in Avery’s name for Zoe – so here I go!

This is another fun age, with Avery’s little (happy, curious) personality continuing to emerge. It sometimes feels like there are two sides of her: at times, she’s an independent girl who is content quietly playing with her toys and watching her sister and parents buzz around her. Other times, though, she’s a bubbly, curious baby who prefers to be zipping around the house, exploring and swiping (more below) and who constantly spins her head around when being held – so she won’t miss anything.

Speaking of zipping, she continues to move about – and quickly. But she’s not just content to crawl anymore. Though she’s been able to pull herself up to a standing position for just over a month now, it’s only been in the last few weeks that she seems to be on her feet more than on all fours. It’s still common for her to crawl over to me and Q to get some attention, but now she immediately pulls on our pants to get herself into full standing position. (Another favorite thing to pull herself up on is Zoe’s musical Sit ‘n Spin, a gift from Uncle Dan and Jenny.) She’s done a bit of “cruising,” and she can walk forward when holding on to someone’s hands – but there’s no real indication that she’s about to start walking any day now.

Avery spends a lot of time roaming around her and Zoe’s rooms, and she can spend long stretches of time playing with bowls, dishes and blocks. (She’s fond of anything that can be stacked and anything she can hold in her hand while crawling around.) She likes dropping things, like most babies, and she recently began to cry after doing so or after a toy is taken away from her. Another new thing: trying to grab anything left on the floor or in Zoe’s hands. She does this so often that Zoe and I recently started calling her Swiper – after a character from Dora the Explorer. (“Swiper, no swiping!” Zoe will often call out to her sister.)

I mentioned last month that Avery loves it when people (fake) sneeze; just in the last week, she started “sneezing” back. And nothing makes her laugh harder these days than when Zoe gives her a bear-hug (assuming she’s not squeezing too hard) or when Q says “WHAT!” to her in a loud, funny voice.

Avery is still very vocal, especially when she eats, and says “dada” and “mama” more than anything else. (I can’t wait to hear what she calls Zoe someday!) I’ve also noticed in the past week or so that she cries out “Mom!” when she’s hungry – and not just for milk. Perhaps she’s getting that word mixed up with “more.”

In the milestones-that-might-not-mean-much-to-anyone-but-her-parents category, we had to lower her crib (because she started standing up and leaning over the edge) in early April. And around the same time, we moved her from her infant carseat into Zoe’s “big girl” one – which meant Avery also started using Zoe’s pink stroller. All of this was done because of her big-girl status; at her belated 9-month check-up, she weighed in at 20 lbs, 11 oz and measured 30 inches. That’s 90 percentile for weight and off the charts (!) for height.

As for other stuff, her sleep schedule is back to (her) normal: she typically naps from 9-11 AM and 1-3 PM or so, and she goes to bed at 7:15 or 7:30 PM. She still wakes up at 5 AM for milk before sleeping for a few more hours; she’s down to only 4 milk sessions each day.

-M

Yesterday was a quiet Saturday, with Zoe recovering from a short-lived bug. She was feeling well enough to pose for the camera, though, and below are the results of our impromptu photo shoot.

-M

After I pick Zoe up from school on sunny Fridays, the girls and I often stop at a park overlooking Lake Merced. Sitting on “our” green bench and enjoying the view of the water, Zoe and I tell each other about our day and enjoy a snack (usually the challah bread that her school sends home with her). It’s a nice little tradition – one we started when I was still on maternity leave – and we recently took Q with us to show him our routine. Here are some pics.

-M

The other morning when Zoe and I walked into her classroom, her buddy Leo ran up to her and grabbed her hands; as I was leaving, the two were jumping up and down together. Her teachers told us today, during our parent-teacher conference, that Zoe has been doing this – jumping around, laughing and generally acting “silly” – a lot lately. I’m not sure if it’s her age, or the fact that she’s especially happy about (and comfortable with) school these days – but whatever it is, I’ll take it! Nothing is better than having your kid jump around in excitement.

-M

It’s been official for almost two weeks now: Avery, at 42-weeks-old, has been in the outside world for longer than I carried her. My pregnancy went fairly fast, I thought, but nothing flies faster than watching a baby go from this:

to this:

And while we’re reminiscing, look how small Zoe looked 9+ months ago!

(insert sentimental sigh here)

-M