Fisher Price is the soundtrack to my life aaaaggghhhhh

"Would you like some cookies? Here they are! 5 different shapes, in my cookie jar...."

This is the main song on one of Ava's new fave toys. It plays over and over again as she pulls the shapes out of the jar and puts them back in again. Same deal with her letter box toy.

There was a time when I'd be humming my favourite REM or Cure song as I did stuff around the house. Or I'd pump out some dance tunes on my ipod at the gym or when going for a run, and afterward one of the more annoying or repetitive tracks would be stuck in my head for days...

Those days are long behind me now. Now it's baby songs STUCK IN MY HEAD ON REPLAY. And not trendy ones by the Wiggles, we are not at that age yet. It's the letter box song or ABCD or Itsy Bitsy Spider and I assure you that I know ALL the words!

I guess it's better than Katy Perry...

Time for me to reclaim my body

This past year has been so amazing, I can't even begin to articulate how blessed I feel to have Ava in my life. It certainly hasn't been easy learning to be a Mum but it's been a joy and a privilege even through all the sleep deprivation!!

Ava is 10 months old. Where the hell did that time go?? She is happy, highly mobile, cheeky, funny, loving and very independent! (Super independent and stubborn like her father actually...) So overall I think we have done a pretty good job all things considered!!!

And now that she is a little less dependent on me, I can finally start to regain some of myself again. For so long I have been solely Ava's Mum and as a wee bit of a control freak have done most things myself along with the support of Burnsy and our amazing parents.

So now there's no excuse...time to reclaim my body!! Christmas is over, breast feeding is not as intense and time consuming and it's still summertime!

I have started running (or maybe we should call it shuffling for now) again as part of my exercise regime although it's not been easy!

Sooo, what's the hardest part of starting a new fitness regime??

a. Returning to running after 1 1/2 years break
b. Running with a milk production factory strapped to your chest
c. Running while a hyperactive staffy zig zags in front of your feet
d. Finding time
e. All of the above

Soooo many milestones!

Happy new year everyone! I have been a bit slack and am sticking to the excuse that my time is spent running after a very active baby! Over the last few months we have seen so many changes in Ava as she grows, learns and develops. She is like a sponge, sucking up everything she sees and hears around her and her fine motor skills, strength and co-ordination (already looking way better than Mum's) mean nothing can be left lying around the house no matter how big or small!

She is so active I can't keep up, she crawls up and down the step into our hallway and kitchen with ease and crawls over and under Chewy like he's a play gym. She talks incessantly to Chewy, says Mummum and Dada all the time or MUUUUM when she wants something. She cries and has a tantrum when we say no to her or try to pry keys, mobile, remote, iPod or any other items we have left within reach.

Here's some of Ava's big milestones since my last post!

• 15 Oct - first tooth finally through
• 3 Nov - started sleeping through the night fairly consistently (Except when teething poor pet)
• 26 Nov - started crawling at Grandma' house!
• 27 Nov - Mum & Dad have their first night out whil Ava spends the whole afternoon & night with Grandma (Thanks Grandma - pity Dad got food poisoning and we had to come home a bit early LOL!)
• 4 Dec - Mum's first night out, Ava & Daddy having a night in
• 25 Dec - First Christmas, loving her new interactive toys, wrapping paper and all the yummy Christmas trimmings.
• 1 Jan - started pulling herself up in the porta cot
• 5 Jan - 3 top teeth appear and she returns to sleeping through the night again YAY!
• 6 Jan - Now pulling herself up on all the furniture with ease
• 8 Jan - Full Daddy daughter day while Mum heads to the Blue Mountains. She now seems to be a real Daddy's girl after a very fun day!
  

This really has been the best year of my life and I am so excited about all the new milestones and just enjoying our precious Ava and family life in 2011!

15 things you may not know about Sesame Street

[Via: Medical Billing]

Why you should never leave dogs & babies alone

The poor dog is bound to get hurt.

Stage Mum on the loose!!!

In case you didn't see it on the newstands, or on my FaceBook, Twitter or anywhere else I can shout about it!! My baby girl made the cover of Cosmo Pregnancy - Baby Checklist, the new annual magazine. Loving her cute little ears and skirt for the wardrobe shot! Not to mention the numerous fashion and product spreads throughout the mag! I especially love the pink tutu!!

I am sooo proud of my little angel! She really loves the camera and even at home poses when I take happy snaps of all her milestones and cheeky little tricks. I think I really am going to be a stage mum!

Although her grandparents are probably even more excited than me! Nanny Burns has shown every single one of her hair dressing clients, the girls at the local shops, the bank tellers and the people at the post office and anyone else who stops to talk to her down on the South Coast. Plus Grandma has bought nearly every copy available in Gippsland Victoria and is even sending a copy to Aunty Helen in LA!

Stay tuned folks, for a book signing and special appearances at your local news agency. But not until I get her some hair extensions and fake nails! ;)

Domestic Goddess

It's not quite what I had envisioned but I do believe I am a domestic goddess!

This week I have made Brett's lunch every day, baked numerous lunch box snacks for work and experimented (successfully) with new dinner and dessert recipes. Plus preparing fresh and nutritious meals for Ava, being a full time Mum, doing endless loads of washing and shopping and keeping the house reasonably clean and presentable.

I still draw the line at ironing, sorry Burnsy but you know that was in the marriage fine print. Plus I still have a decent post pregnancy muffin top, my sexy underwear has been replaced with maternity bras and Bridgette Jones Knickers and we no longer have the additional income to visit the beautician & hairdresser - so all maintenance has been DIY and not quite as regular as pre-baby...

I have also decided to make our my environmentally friendly household cleaners. It's important to note that I have just started looking into it, and I am prone to whimsical flights of fancy, particularly when there is major effort involved so we'll see where this goes!

So in the domestic goddess stakes, I am probably more Alice from the Brady Bunch than Bree from Desperate Housewives. Lucky Burnsy!!