2012 - A Year to Renew

Family

2012-01-12T09:13:00.000-06:00

Daily I become more appreciative of the family I have. The family I grew up with, the family I married into, the friends I call family. So many trials have come my way recently; 2012 is quickly becoming just as hard as 2011, but God in His great mercy has blessed me with this family.

The girls and I are visiting my mom, and my sister Michelle is here this week too while her hubby works in Houston, so I get lots of snuggle time with my cutie little nephew Grayson (who will be a month old in just a few days!).

The girls are having a blast. Avery loves coming to Nonnie's house, and Eleanor is just always happy. We spent an afternoon with my grandparents so they could meet Grayson for the first time, and my grandma loves to hold those babies as long as possible. Grandpa got some good cuddle time too, until Eleanor decided to poop on him. And what a poop it was! All the way up the backside and around onto her tummy by the time I wrestled the shirt off of her.

Aves, Eleanor, and I also spent a day with my in-laws before my FIL flew back to Africa for work. The cousins came over, and they are so good at loving on my two girls and keeping the toddler entertained. I don't really see Avery for a couple hours when they come over. It's AWESOME. :) Plus, my arms got a break from Tiny Love, who wants to be held all the time, as she got some good snuggle time/a nap with Aunt Haley and Nana.

raspberries from cousin Peyton

funny little Emily

Peyton is AWESOME with babies and with Avery.

Oh look! Smiling during tummy time! This is rare.

carseat parking

baby Grayson meeting his great-gramma

Nonnie and Eleanor

close cousins - Grayson almost 1 month, Eleanor 4 months

Grayson doesn't seem to be enjoying hanging out with Eleanor

photo blooper

hanging out with great-grandpa, until she pooped on him

Yes, that's poop. A lot of it.

Happy 4 Months Eleanor!

2012-01-10T19:25:00.001-06:00

Eleanor turned 4 months old yesterday! I didn't get my snazzy photo of her with an animal, sitting in a chair, just like I didn't for 2 and 3 months. Sorry kid, it's been a heck of a year. But, you're not without your own share of photos, even if they aren't "official".

Her appointments are off a bit, thanks to my crazy shot schedule and having to keep the shots at least 4 weeks apart, so I'll update with her stats in a couple weeks after her visit to the doctor.

The day started with some good rolling over for the first time! She is just like Avery, who also hated tummy time with a vengeance, so she mastered going from back to belly just like her big sister. Now that she's figured it out, she rolls no matter where she's parked for the moment, and she tried to roll herself out of the swing today. Glad she was strapped in! She also hates when she ends up on her tummy, but she can't seem to stop swinging her body over. I was smart and managed to catch the first one on video, plus every one after that for the rest of the day, but it takes too long to upload videos on here, so just trust me - she's a pro.

She also started reaching for items more, and she has become quite adept at getting the paci back in her mouth if it's dangling close enough. She found her voice in the past 2 weeks, and though she's still our "quiet" baby, she does talk more than she had been and lets out some major squeals of excitement on occasion. She's also begun cooing on car rides. Maybe she's talking to Avery.

She has graduated to the bouncer, though she doesn't bounce quite yet. Her feet do touch the ground, surprisingly, because she has such short little legs. She loves to look at the toys and her arms flail about and manage to catch them, where she'll then hold on for dear life.

She is the happiest baby ever and is quick to offer a grin to anyone looking her direction. She still loves to hold her own hands and gnaws on them constantly. She's quite the drool baby these days, spits up more than she used to but still not much by Avery's standard (who required an entire suitcase of burp rags when we traveled), and wants to be held all the time. She tries to sit up if she's reclining in someone's arms, wanting to see what's going on.

She is definitely a mommy's girl and still hates the bottle, so I'm on-call 24/7. She was sleeping 10 hours a night, but we're back to up once in the night usually, sometimes twice. So frustrating when you get used to good sleep, but we've traveled every week or two since the beginning of November, without much of a break in-between, so it's no wonder that she doesn't have a consistent schedule yet. She's often ready for bed by 6 pm, though I try and push it til 6:30 if I can. Then, I get an hour with Avery before she goes to bed.

I'm much more confident at handling two kids now, though it definitely tests my patience and my sanity some days. I'm also much more relaxed about Eleanor, though I was pretty relaxed with Avery. We did a lot more bottles with Avery, since I couldn't seem to get over being shy about nursing in public, which made it take longer to get out the door. With Eleanor, since bottles aren't even an option, I just load and go and nurse anywhere. It's so much better this way!

Wow, much more than I planned to type. Love you sweet girl!

Christmas Pictures

2012-01-09T22:48:00.001-06:00

She wanted chocolate toast before opening her Christmas Eve gift, so we put last night's pj top on instead of her white dress. Love the tights, shoes, and purse.

Since she was already half-dressed in pjs, she said, "Don't like to wear these!" to the Christmas jammies

Christmas morning - I love trees with white lights

the Santa hat gets pulled out every year, and whoever wears it passes out presents

Eleanor is so round these days, everything seems small on her

Daddy and Eleanor

from Avery's stocking - she LOVES nutella. These are little cookie sticks to dip into the Nutella

Eleanor spent most of Christmas morning swaddled and in the swing sleeping

her stocking stuffer

Avery likes to line everything up, and we had to play with each item as it was unwrapped. This made for a LONG morning.

opening presents with Nonnie

Uncle Dane and Aunt Brittany

Merry Christmas to me! Thanks, Mom!

my sister Brittany painted this for us; absolutely love it and can't wait to get it framed

Eleanor got a Bla-Bla doll - we love these stuffed animals!

Avery's big gift was a train set, though somehow I didn't seem to get pictures of it, or I just can't find them among the hundred photos I took that morning. She loved it! She wanted it set up right away, and she played with it all morning until we had to leave for brunch at my grandparent's house. We put it up when we got back home, but we quickly became tired of having to step over it constantly to do laundry, so it's back in the box for now. So ready to have more space for her to play!

The Past 2 Months

2012-01-02T20:01:00.001-06:00

A sampling of photos from the past couple of months. We have more on the big camera, which I don't have at the moment, so more will make their way on here over time.

checking out Eleanor's tummy time - back in November maybe?

always with her accessories

a favorite past-time is lining up collections of objects

it was a long night...she took a break from the wedding festivities

dancing with Daddy at Aunt Lela's wedding

Uncle Aaron and cousin Sidney at Aunt Lela's wedding

she was just resting here for a few minutes while I did something else...I can back and she was sound asleep

trying out the chopsticks

Aves is a big fan of chopsticks - here is her first attempt. She simply speared her sweet potato fries.

first bumbo time! Sometime around 3.5 months

Aves is always patting her head, saying "She's so soft."

Aunt Brittany reading to Avery at Great-Gramma's house

Christmas Day, trying to fall asleep but not looking so sleepy

she spent most of Christmas swaddled

hanging with great-gramma - it was hard to get Eleanor back from her!

Check out that belly! My two girls relaxing together today.

One Little Word 2012

2012-01-01T19:04:00.000-06:00

It's taken much thought and prayer to find this year's new word. I feel like it should be "One Little Sentence", or a word for each month. I went through so many that would be applicable for 2012. Hope, peace, engage, enough, gratitude, thanksgiving, joy...the list goes on. I really wanted an action word. As I sat reading and praying, I asked that the LORD would reveal it to me yesterday. It felt silly to ask Him for that, to show me a simple word to cling to for the year. Yet, even the smallest of prayers are answered, for a word came to me as I was driving in the afternoon.

RENEW.

The verse that first popped into mind with this was Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

Then I found this later: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18

So much has happened this past year that has made me fight to control my thoughts, my feelings, my reactions. I've had to learn to hold my thoughts captive, a battle I lose daily it seems. When so many trials come your way all at once, it becomes easy to have a victim mentality.

Therefore, I'm hoping to spend 2012 working on holding my thoughts captive, on guarding my heart and mind, on renewing my mind, my faith, my relationships, my hobbies, my attitude...renewing all aspects of my life.

What's your word?

Christmas 2011

2011-12-28T22:52:00.000-06:00

Some highlights of our Christmas celebration, just so I don't forget them.

Christmas Eve service at my mom's church. Avery went right into childcare with no problems and had fun, which is always a relief. Eleanor made it through half the service before Luke took her out to walk, since it was during her cranky hour.

Group grand-kids pictures done Christmas Eve morning amidst the chaos of last-minute shoppers at the mall.

Avery's excitement over opening presents. She had hot chocolate while we waited for the rest of the family to get home from dinner (we left the restaurant early so we could get Eleanor down for the night). We always open one present on Christmas Eve, and it's always new pajamas so everyone looks good on Christmas morning for pictures.

Avery's multiple meltdowns over not being able to open presents when she wanted. All my efforts at focusing the season on Christ and celebrating Advent this year seemed lost in the light of presents. Four Christmases didn't help either. 2 is a difficult age sometimes.

Avery LOVED the train set we got her. It's now set up in our tiny hallway, thanks to Luke, who stayed up last night to build it for her so she could play with it today.

Christmas morning brunch at my grandparents, a tradition. Christmas dinner at my Great-Aunt Mary's, in which Avery exclaimed, "Oh, I can't believe it!" when she opened a present of a book from Aunt Mary and Uncle Dan.

Avery, at opening a doll set from Aunt Lela, "The mommy doll is a little bit scary." There was a doll nearly as tall as Avery and then a standard size baby doll. She played with the baby, but would keep checking on the larger doll to see if it was still scary. The verdict = yes.

Eleanor slept most of Christmas morning, hanging out in the swing while we opened presents. She didn't seem too interested in what was going on.

The girls also had colds this past weekend, which made for a cranky Eleanor at times, though she's generally happier than I would expect, quick to offer anyone smiles when they look her way. Some of her crankiness stemmed from shots last week.

We had originally planned on traveling to Louisiana to visit Luke's grandparents, but by Monday, the girls had reached the end of their limits for traveling and being off schedule, and I have reached my limit for 2011. It was simply time to go home and rest and just be alone for a few days before Luke has to go back to work next week. Christmas was harder than I thought it would be, in missing Dave. It's good to be home.

We took pictures, I promise, lots of them, but they're all on my mom's camera and I forgot to upload them to my computer before we left.

2 and 3 Months

2011-12-20T21:16:00.000-06:00

Dear Eleanor,

One day I'll explain why there were no formal pictures taken of you at 2 and 3 months old. We have snapshots, but the monthly photo-in-the-chair just didn't work out. Mommy kind of gave up on 2011. At your 2 month check-up you were 12 lbs 1 oz (75th percentile) and 23.5" (85th percentile)! Today we went for just a couple shots and your new weight (with clothes and a full diaper on) was 14 lbs 1 oz at nearly 3 1/2 months. That's quite the weight gain in a month!

In the past two months, you have:

started to giggle, though it's more like "heh, heh", and only when we tickle you under the neck
gained amazing head control - you are much more advanced at this than your sister was
started sitting in the Bumbo this past week
become more entranced by your big sister, who devotes a good portion of her attention to you all.day.long
woken up happy every single day. You whimper until you see my face, and then it's all grins from there
busted out of your swaddle way too many times, but you won't sleep without it
begun drooling like crazy, though you still aren't a big spitter (yay!)
started sleeping through the night in the past couple of weeks - we can get a good 10 hours straight most nights, but the past couple nights you've woken up due to that darn habit of popping out of the swaddle, and you decide that since you're up you might as well eat
taken a couple bottles in the past 2 weeks, but they aren't your favorite by any means
gained a new cousin, baby Grayson, a week ago
taken a 3 hour nap every afternoon on the couch, at the same time as Avery's nap
proven how inflexible you are with your schedule. Easy baby, yes, but you like your afternoon naptime and your bedtime. Avery was the MOST flexible baby ever and slept anywhere and went everywhere
had a bad case of skin stuff - you have such sensitive skin and it's always flaring up
grown more hair and it sticks up all over the place. It's so soft and fuzzy.
attended your first wedding, that of Aunt Lela and Uncle Josh (well, second, but you were about the size of a sunflower seed back in January)

I pray that 2012 brings a little more motivation to take pictures and keep up with your developments. I'm sorry that I haven't been documenting all of this for you, but I'm enjoying everything as it comes and marveling at everything you do.

One Little Word

2011-12-16T23:23:00.000-06:00

The time is quickly approaching for One Little Word. My word for 2011 was simplify. I completely forgot that this was my word by February, possibly March. By the end of this year, I thought that I had picked the word rejoice. Why? Probably because it was part of my blog header. I certainly didn't simplify much of anything in my life, though I had all intentions to do so. Did I rejoice either? Not really sure. This has been THE HARDEST year of my life, for many reasons never covered here on the blog. I have learned to rejoice in the good - that's always easy, and I've tried my darndest to rejoice in the bad, which has been a daily struggle the past few months. How does one rejoice over bad? Or, are we simply to learn that no matter what the bad is, God is constant, and we are to rejoice in HIM always. Not the situation, but in the God who controls it? So, we still grieve for the loss of a loved one, but not because the loved one is worse off. The loved one is in a far better place, sitting with his Savior. We grieve because we are sad, because we miss him. So, we still grieve for the trials and tribulations that come our way, but not because we are victims and how dare God allow this to happen to us? We grieve, yes, but we rest in the peace and comfort of the God who carries us through those trials and tribulations. I've learned that I am not alone in any of this. I have felt more alone than ever this year in many ways, at least in the moment, but looking back I can see God's provision throughout it all. The support for my family through the loss of my father. The support of me and my family through bedrest and birth. The support continues, on and on and on. Prayers and meals and friends willing to step in at a moment's notice for everything that seems to keep pouring on us.

While I have lived through the hardest moments of my life this year, I have also lived through some of the most joyous. God has been gracious and sandwiched the pain within some of my happiest moments - we started the year with joy, with an answered prayer of pregnancy discovered literally on day one of 2011, and we end this year with joy, in the birth of my nephew just a few days ago. I may not have finished my year's original word - life might still be cluttered and messy and anything but simple, but I've worked hard to adapt to my adopted word, rejoicing in all. I fail daily. Grace prevails.

I challenge you to pick a word for 2012. I'm pondering my own. Think hard, but if it just doesn't seem to fit what the year brings you, change it, and watch it change you.

A Season of Advent

2011-12-02T09:42:00.000-06:00

A lot has happened since Halloween (my last post), including another entire holiday, but I'm going to skip over all of that for now. I'll go back and highlight Thanksgiving and Eleanor's 2 month check-up, but I'm just not ready to share my feelings about everything else just yet on here, so thank you for understanding.

Christmas this year just isn't at the top of the list for our family, but I was thinking about how to make this a special season for Avery. Last year she was a little too young to understand anything about Christmas, so I didn't start any traditions with her apart from our annual Christmas Eve pajamas. So, this year, we're starting a Jesse Tree. This is a new-to-me concept, having heard about it only in the past couple of years. I didn't grow up with a Jesse Tree, but the idea definitely caught my attention and I mentally bookmarked it as something to start with our children.

The Jesse Tree devotion walks you through the season of Advent, telling of the entire story of Christ, beginning in Genesis and touching on "historical moments that lead to the birth of Christ" (Simple Mom). I'm using this devotional, from Ann Voskamp, but I'm finding it too advanced for a 2 year old. I think it's something we'll have to grow into as a family. I did print out her ornaments and decoupaged them onto inexpensive wooden tags found at Hobby Lobby. I still need to drill the holes in them to thread ribbon through so they become actual ornaments. Right now Avery just props them on the tree, and they move about through the day.

Eventually I'd love to curate a collection of real ornaments for this, built up over time. This is quickly becoming a learning year for us, and hopefully next year we'll have a real system down. I think tomorrow I'll switch to reading the scripture from Avery's storybook Bible, and I want to check out this site - it seems like the devotional is better geared towards children, but I have yet to read through it fully. And Sojourn Kids has adapted the RCA's devotional a bit further, making it ideal for toddlers!

If you want to make your own devotional, here is a listing of the scripture readings and corresponding symbols to put on your Jesse Tree.

I love that there is a practical activity that is to be done each day with Voskamp's devotional. It's a way to act out what we just learned and to help cement it in Avery's mind. I guess over time I'll pick and choose my favorite parts of each of these and formulate my own book to use every year.

How are you celebrating the season of Advent this year? Please share!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T12:07:00.000-06:00

We took the girls "trick-or-reading" last night. Avery did NOT want to get into her "scares-scrow" costume at all and fought us on it, but the family all managed to convince her to put it on while I was off feeding Eleanor. Avery was a scarecrow in a tulle dress I made that was inspired by a Pinterest find, and Eleanor was a crow. I also made both of the girls' hats, and Eleanor sported a black shirt and black leggings. Without the beak, she would have looked like a little robber.

Avery was unsure about this whole walking-around-to-meet-strangers thing, until she realized they were going to give her candy. Now we have to teach her that she shouldn't take candy from strangers as a general rule! She was so polite, telling everyone "thank you" or at least "bye!", and she'd patiently wait her turn to get some candy from the bowl. I was a little worried that she'd have a meltdown because of the crowds or strangers or being up past her normal bedtime, but she had so much fun, and then she gorged on chocolate and "wollipops" back at Aunt Shell's house. The candy has now disappeared, and I think she's actually forgotten about it.

a little crow and a pretty scarecrow

Eleanor = not so happy. I don't think she likes her costume.

whoa! flash!

cutie Aunt Shell and baby Hank and Daisy Dog

"trick-or-reading"

headed home with a bag full of candy

home base, helping hand out candy

She wasted no time shoving that in her mouth

all the girls

Eleanor showing off her standing skills for Nonnie

Ooh a wollipop!

Weeks of Pictures

2011-10-25T12:39:00.001-06:00

3 weeks old, and loving pre-fold diapers the most these days! Also, those old people pads I used when I worried my water would break in bed make handy portable changing pads.

Hard to get either of them to smile.

Aves sporting the latest hair trend - the Back Bump

showing everything Avery has to sleep with...

besides the usual 7 pillows and dozen stuffed animals and 5 blankets, we also have a box of hair clips and a stack of flashcards...

as well as an assortment of books and a xylophone! The extra toys rotate and sometimes she wakes up with different toys than she went to sleep with.

1 month photo out-takes: yawn

"Whoa, Mom!"

"Do I look like a natural? How's this pose?"

"Aw, come on! Seriously?!"

breakfast at Nonnie's house - chocolate toast, with a Nutella booger and her homey stance. What up, G?

Eleanor meeting her great-grandparents

5 weeks and smiley

I think she was telling E she was ready to go to the store or to dinner.

big sis invading tummy time

6 Week Update

2011-10-22T21:14:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to catch up on my posts here - we're at our 6 week mark with Eleanor. The time is flying by! I had a good check-up with my doctor, and I'm feeling more and more like myself each day. It feels amazing not to be pregnant anymore, to be able to breathe fully, to sleep on my back, to not get winded when walking to the mailbox.

She is settling into a better routine - she tends to nap when Avery does, finally, and she likes to sleep in the swing around 8 pm until I pick her up for a dream feed and put her to bed. She then sleeps for another 3-4 hours (4 is becoming more consistent), eats, and goes right back to sleep. We're generally up twice in the night, she sleeps for a bit while I fix Avery breakfast and spend some time with her, and then she's awake for a few hours (usually crying if I'm not holding her).

Eleanor had her first cold, or allergies, something. Having an over-attentive big sister who gives a lot of kisses isn't great for keeping illness away.

We are surviving still, though some days it feels like just barely. Survival. I feel like that's the theme these days. I am often overwhelmed. Our home is a disaster more often than not, and if you come over and see a clean living room, it's only because I threw everything into our bedroom ten minutes before you arrived. I am still processing hormones and can cry at the drop of a hat. My patience is thin and Avery pushes the boundaries more and more. When I told her that she was going to get a spanking because of her antics at the doctor's office, she just looked at me and said, "Okay." She is defiant and stares me down, daring me to discipline her. Without fail, Luke arrives home from work to a mess, Avery running wild, and a worn-out me with a baby attached to a body part. I'm not complaining, but wanting to be honest so I can look back and remember the craziness of this time. And, sometimes, all I can do is laugh through the tears.

Raising these two girls is proving to be quite the sanctifying act, but through all of this, I am thankful for these blessings that God has given our family.

A Month of You

2011-10-22T20:30:00.000-06:00

It has been quite the adjustment: two children, two daughters, not enough hands, crying children at the same time, sweet cuddles and sharing and kisses. Two in diapers. Same schedules for a day, then completely opposite schedules. Not enough sleep but also not as hard as I remembered.

You, sweet Eleanor, have increased the joy in our home. You bless us with the biggest smiles. You are starting to coo, when you're well-fed and relaxed. You love to be held, and we love to accommodate that request. Bath time is a favorite of yours; you become so calm when you're sitting in that warm water. You are a champion eater - at just a month old, you are more than 2 pounds above birth weight, giving you squishy cheeks and little rolls on your thighs.

Avery is quite the devoted big sister. She loves to share her lovey with you, she watches out for you and lets us know when you're crying and "need something to drink". She rocks you in your carseat if you're upset. She is always asking if you're having fun or if you like something that she shows you. The second you wake up, she rushes over to say hi.

You are tiny and precious and these days are going by too fast. Don't grow up too quickly.

Eleanor at 1 month: 9 lbs 10 oz, 21.5"

Newborn Photos

2011-10-22T20:29:00.000-06:00

Eleanor's newborn photo shoot was fun - it took a little bit of coaxing to get her to sleep, plus a lot of nursing in between shots, but she was otherwise easy to work with and managed to avoid pooping all over the place like Avery did at her newborn shoot.

Oh, Baby

2011-10-03T10:01:00.001-06:00

My friend Erin is wonderful - amazing mom, friend, and photographer. I'm blessed to have her in my life simply for who she is, but also for the sweet gift of capturing our family's memories time and again.

It's hard to believe that it's been 6 weeks since these photos were taken! I'm also the slowest at uploading pictures these days, but finally, some favorites from my maternity session. We didn't do this when I was pregnant with Avery, and I had always wished for some beautiful shots of me with a belly. Pregnancy is beautiful in and of itself, but it's nice to have these to look back on.

2.5

2011-10-02T22:39:00.000-06:00

Two point five years of fun and unspeakable joy because of this girl.

She has changed our life for the better, and I'm so thankful for the privilege of being her mama.

bouncing on the large bouncy ball

Some highlights:

She carries on a non-stop dialogue. Much of it makes me laugh.
We're working on teaching her to not whine. Some days it feels like a losing battle.
She loves her baby sister so much. She shares her most prized possession, her lovey, with Eleanor, and then tells us how nice it is to share.
She gives Eleanor kisses all day long, but she refuses to hold her.
She role plays and has a very active imagination. Much of the scenes stem from Caillou or Dora and take off from there.
Her latest role playing is pretending to come to dinner. She puts on a purse, and sometimes my shoes, and tells us she'll be to dinner soon.
She is crazy about her daddy - he is always willing to go outside and throw the bouncy ball around with her, which is her favorite outside activity. He also plays the best games.
She has been wandering the apartment at random hours of the night, usually around 5 or 6 am. We put her back to bed and remind her she has to stay in there until her clock turns green. Not sure why she's okay with that, but can't just seem to follow that rule before then. It's frustrating, but I'm usually up anyways nursing Eleanor.
Apparently I'm the feared parent, because this morning she came into our room asking for Daddy, but when she saw me stir, she bolted.
She has the best laugh I've ever heard.
She loves to be tickled and will ask for more tickles.
Avery goes down for a nap everyday without fuss, but sometimes I hear her playing in her room after I've tucked her in. I don't mind this, as long as she stays in there, and she usually puts herself back to bed and falls asleep. The other day I heard her playing with the play kitchen, and then 5 minutes later she called for me to pick up her lovey. When I opened the door, she was completely tucked back under the covers, looking just like I had left her. She must have been so proud, thinking she had fooled me.
She is the worst eater. I dread meal times.
She loves to dance but asks us not to dance (or sing) when she is. I don't blame her - we're awful.
She's fun and quirky and is such a delight.

Eleanor, Week 3

2011-10-02T21:41:00.000-06:00

Week 3 began our alone time as a family - I had Luke around Friday through Sunday, and then bright and early Monday morning I was up bright and early functioning on my own. It ended up being a really really long week, especially when Eleanor decided to have her awake time during Avery's naptime, which meant not much of a nap for me. I'm learning to master the art of power napping. Thankfully, Luke walked in the door at 3:45 on Friday afternoon, asked what he could do to help, and I handed over Eleanor and took a long nap. Thankful for a sweet hubby!!

The girls and I did get out twice this week, once to the free breakfast at Chick-fil-a, and once to Sprouts for groceries. It's actually easier than I thought it would be - Eleanor goes in the sling first, then I get Avery out and settled in the cart, and off we go! Then Avery is the first back into the car for fear of her bolting or a stray car coming too close.

First tub bath - it took awhile to get to this milestone because of a stubborn little stump of umbilical cord that wouldn't fall off. I'm so glad it's gone now, because sponge baths are just annoying! She's happier sitting in a little puddle of warm water too. Avery sat up on the stool and watched and handed me things when she wasn't busy climbing up and down off the stool.

She is much more alert these days, which means she is also grumpier, unfortunately. She is realizing when someone isn't holding her and she starts to cry. Gone are the days of just crying for food!

This week she liked to cluster feed in the mornings, sleep mid-morning through lunchtime, and then have a couple hours of awake time before going back down mid-afternoon. She then slept much of the evening and started another cluster-feed session around 9 pm until around 11 pm. I put her down, went to sleep, and she'd be up an hour later (ugh!), before we settled into 3 hour stretches for the rest of the night.

The days were broken up by friends dropping meals off - we'd get to visit for a bit, and adult conversation is such a welcome relief!

Eleanor and I also had a girls' night with my sister Michelle and our friend Kelly, who was in town for a work convention. We sat and gabbed for a couple hours over pumpkin pancakes at Kerbey Lane. Eleanor slept til we finished our meal, and then woke up for a meal of her own. I forgot how easy this age can be!

I also got my first intentional smile from Eleanor, on Thursday! Kelly was holding her and talking to her, and E gave her a couple small smiles, and when I sat down next to them and started talking, E looked over at me and gave the BIGGEST smile ever. Melt my heart!

We celebrated week 3 and started week 4 with a Sip 'n See in Eleanor's honor - almost everyone there had a nursing baby or a baby on the way. Thankful for sweet friends and family who celebrated with us!

MJ snuggling Eleanor

Crystal and a hidden Titus, Shana and Lyla, MJ with Eleanor

Michelle and sweet Sadie

Tomorrow is the start of another 5 days alone during the day, but I'm feeling better and able to get out more and I'm more confident in my ability to handle two, so it should be easier.

another visit from D-dad, who has been missing his girls terribly!

Hats

2011-09-25T19:32:00.000-06:00

because 2 is better than 1

the Pope

The Things They Teach Her...

2011-09-25T17:57:00.000-06:00

Apparently our two-year old learned how to plank at the grandparents' house the last time she was there. This was a text I received from them:

Eleanor, Week 2

2011-09-23T20:03:00.004-06:00

2 weeks + 2 days

Our sweet tiny girl is 2 weeks old! We had a doctor appointment this morning - Eleanor had another newborn screen done, and Avery got a flu shot. Lots of needles and crying girls. Eleanor is quite strong and kicked the nurse when she was squeezing her little heel for the blood samples. Avery sobbed and said it "weally, weally hurt, Daddy!" but the gift of a Dora sticker made the tears magically disappear.

Eleanor is now weighing in at 8 lbs 3 oz (almost a pound more than birth weight, and an ounce heavier than Avery was at birth!), and they claim she's 21 3/4 inches, but I HIGHLY doubt that. Those length measurements are so inaccurate when trying to do them on a wiggly baby. Edit: I measured her at home and got 21".

We also ventured out to MOPS this morning after the appointment. Avery went to the children's museum with Luke, and Eleanor and I headed to the meeting. It was great to see old friends, and she slept the whole time. She also won me cupcakes because I was up the most the night before. Thanks, Eleanor!

She likes to cluster feed during the day, usually mid-morning. Our nights have started to trend towards feeding at midnight and every 3 hours after until 6:30 am or so. My favorite time is that last feed, because then I get to sleep in until 9ish, when she wakes up again, while Luke and Avery play and have breakfast.

She loves to be held. She prefers motion over laying still. She'll sleep for hours in your arms if you have the strength to let her. I try not to do that though - trying to find a happy medium between cuddling and letting her fall asleep on her own. Not worried about sleep training yet, but no sense in starting a bad habit now. I'm hoping she'll be a champion sleeper like Avery was.

She's still sweet-natured and quite the snugglebug. Still only cries for food or during a diaper change sometimes.

Luke's mom was here most of the week to help us with keeping up with the house, entertaining Avery, and to of course snuggle Eleanor. Luke's dad was also in the country (he's working in Africa right now) for a couple weeks, so he came down for 2 days to see the girls. We're so thankful for great family!

And, I forgot to take a pic today, so we'll do it tomorrow and pretend it was taken on time.

Pics of Eleanor

2011-09-21T19:09:00.001-06:00

It was far easier to put pics from the first week in an online album than to post them all here, so go check them out. I'll put favorites on here as she grows, just as I do for Avery.

Conversations with Avery

2011-09-18T20:55:00.001-06:00

Avery talks nonstop. All day long. She will repeat her statement over and over again until we repeat it exactly back to her, and she often says what she wants us to ask her. For example, "Did you bring it to Mommy?", in which Luke would have to ask that exact question, so that she can answer yes or no in response.

Grayputer = computer

Eleanor was at first Helenor, then Eleanor until Titus came to visit, in which Baby Eleanor became Baby Titus for a few days. We've finally convinced her that our baby is Eleanor, and Titus is Mrs. Crystal's baby.

If Eleanor cries, Avery will run into our bedroom and say, "Baby, what happened?" She also waves frantically at her and yells, "Hi, Baby Eleanor!" I'm thinking Eleanor will be able to sleep through anything after a few weeks of Avery.

She also has such an active imagination, and a lot of times our conversations are centered around something she saw on Dora or Caillou or VeggieTales.

She negotiates. Usually for chocolate.

We're working on not whining. My parents started this seriously with her last time she went to visit, and now we can tell her, "Ask nicely" and she'll repeat that phrase back to us verbatim. Too funny! We're working on her responding with what she wants instead, with no whining and a "please" at the end.

She compliments us a lot, telling us we've done a great job or that something was a good idea.

Her bedtime routine is to let her turn her light off, then she'll climb her stool up onto her bed, super slowly of course, and then she'll slowly work her way towards her pillow. She then lies down, but her legs usually pop up in the air and slowly lower to the bed, where we then ask her if she wants this blanket, for all of her blankets (there are 3 large ones and 2 small ones), and she responds with "okay" after each question. However, she's started making weird noises in response to each blanket question, like blowing air, or grunting, or making a roaring sound. It varies. Sometimes she asks us to pray, sometimes we suggest it, and she'll hold out her little hand to hold. She then asks us to "close that door" and we tell each other "Night night. Sleep tight. Sweet dreams."

You never know what will come out of that girl's mouth! She is intrigued by the breast pump, and if I cover up, she'll lift up the shirt or blanket, demanding to see it. She then will tap on the pump and say, "It's stuck! It's stuck in the cup!" She also calls my boobs "bellies". At least she won't embarrass me in public, since people won't automatically associate belly with boob.

2011-09-18T19:58:00.000-06:00

Or mostly cordless - there's a tiny little stump left in there, but at least we can get cuter clothes on her now! She's been living in t-shirts and socks, swaddled, so it doesn't rub against the cord.

This is also her first cloth diaper! We made the switch today, now that I'm feeling a bit better and can start to think about diaper laundry.

We also need to figure out a better way to do these photo shoots. I snapped this in a hurry since I knew she'd be cold.

Eleanor, Week 1

2011-09-16T21:53:00.000-06:00

This tiny girl is just the most precious thing. She is sweet-natured. She cries only when hungry, and sometimes during diaper changes. Otherwise, she sleeps, she eats, she snuggles. She loves to be held. She smiles all the time. Some say they're just gas smiles, but I beg to differ. I don't know about you, but gas tends to make me do anything but smile - wouldn't it be the same for a baby? Her smiles usually come after a feeding; she's drowsy, her eyes are closed, and this little grin blips across her face ever so briefly. It's like she's dreaming of good, sweet things.

A recap of our past week:

friday

It was a wild ride! Thrown out into the bright lights of a delivery room, into the arms of the person she listened to and moved within for nine months. She cried for a good 10 minutes. She nursed within 30 minutes of her birth. And then she slept and slept and slept. It was so hard to get her to wake up for feedings. Nonnie and D-dad, Aunt Shell and Uncle Nick, and of course Avery came to welcome baby Eleanor. Uncle Dane and Aunt Brittany arrived later in the evening as well as Luke's mom. Avery's first impression was priceless: Avery climbed up on the bed, looked at Eleanor, and whispered, "Oh wow!" She then saw my tube of chapstick on the table and exclaimed, "Oh look! Orange one! Ooh chapstick!" So much for her new baby sister. Diaper changes were an ordeal - Luke did the first one, and she managed to poop 3 more times during the change. He was scrambling for wipes for a good 10 minutes. Longest diaper change ever, while I laughed and laughed watching them. I was on an adrenaline rush; Luke slept most of the day.

saturday

More sleeping, more eating, a pooping machine. The nurses make you feel like a bad mother if you aren't feeding every 2-3 hours, but she was still so sleepy and hard to wake up. I did my best, but feeds would be 5 minutes long before she'd conk out again. Nonnie and D-dad returned with Aunt Shell and Uncle Nick. Luke's mom returned with Avery, and we got some more time with Aunt Brittany and Uncle Dane. Aunt Haley, Uncle David and Aunt Julie, and our friends Judy, Shana, and Crystal all came to visit. We also had a hearing test done, and while they usually take 30 minutes to an hour to perform, Eleanor passed it in ten minutes, and passed both ears simultaneously, which indicated that her brain was multi-tasking (a big feat for a newborn). The gal conducting the test said that she's tested over 300 babies, and only 8 had ever done that before Eleanor. Way to go, Smart Girl!!

sunday

Quiet, peaceful day. Sara came to officially greet Eleanor in a more civilized setting than the L&D room. After that, it was just the 3 of us at the hospital the rest of the day, waiting to be discharged. Discharge took an EXTREMELY long time because our pediatrician was held up, our nurse went on a lunch break, they only had one nurse who was taking patients down after being discharged, and then ultimately it was our own nurse who did it because the other one was too busy. Home at last, welcomed by a roast in the crock pot and Nonnie and Aunt Shell and Avery.

monday

We survived our first night at home! Nonnie here all week during the day. I slept and rested and fed Eleanor. Avery was intrigued by her baby sister, but usually only when Eleanor was crying. Then it was immediate concern and statements like, "Want to go see her! Baby Eleanor is crying! Baby, what happened?!" Not too much jealousy on Avery's part.

tuesday

Same as Monday, but with a very rough night preceding. Eleanor is a fan of the cluster feed and partying at night.

wednesday

Our first outing! Nonnie, Avery, and I took Eleanor to her first doctor's appointment. She weighed in at 7 lbs 10 oz, which is four ounces above her birth weight. Astonishing! The doctor laughed and said they like to see babies back to their birth weight by two weeks post-delivery. Eleanor apparently never lost (the doc said she had gained 0.1% in the hospital), and that I must have some Blue Bell, top quality, should donate it to third world countries kind of milk. This coupled with her amazing results on the hearing test are giving us big egos, making us think our daughter is a genius or something since she is so "advanced". Hehe.

thursday

Newborn photos done by my talented friend Erin. When we did these with Avery, she managed to poop or pee on every.single.item we placed her on. Eleanor was much much kinder to Erin's photography props. Avery got to run around Erin's fabulous backyard wonderland of toys during the photoshoot. Much appreciated! Lots of naps for me and Eleanor, and then we had our best night yet.

friday

Eleanor and I got to sleep in until 9:45 (after being up a couple times in the night, of course). A good, lazy day, where both kids were happy. Eleanor had two periods of alertness for about an hour each today - her longest yet. We made it through the first week!

Eleanor's Birth Story, Part 2

2011-09-14T19:52:00.009-06:00

Now, a more personal reflection:

After the birth of Avery, I had a lot of emotional baggage. It went so differently than I thought and hoped it would go, ending in a c-section under general anesthesia. I felt like a failure, honestly. It took a good year and a half to process everything, and then again fears cropped up throughout this pregnancy. Some people won't understand this at all. That's okay. I don't even know that it was the fact that I had a c-section, but in the way it came about, and how I didn't even get to see her being born, or hold her for the first 2 hours of her life. Surgery is one thing. Having a healthy baby is the goal. But I missed out on some aspects of birth that I had longed for.

I decided long before getting pregnant this time that I would research VBACs, to see if I was comfortable with the idea of them, with the safety of them. I became sold on the idea, and I spent a year or so researching and praying (and 2/3rds of that trying to get pregnant). God blessed us with pregnancy at the end of 2010, finding out on New Year's. It was such a good sign - a new year, a new life, an answer to prayer and a promise of good things to come.

I switched doctors, moving over to a very VBAC friendly midwife/doctor collaborative practice. I signed up for a prenatal yoga class. We started Bradley classes halfway through the pregnancy. I went on a low-sugar diet from the suggestion of my doctor in hopes of having a smaller baby, since my previous doctor said I'd only have large babies and c-sections. I was gently reminded by a friend that no matter what I did to control this, God was in control and this baby would come however it came; essentially - don't make this birth an idol. Good reminder.

And more reminders came that I wasn't in control. I won't linger - this isn't a sob story. Gestational diabetes. A placental bleed and a weekend in the hospital. A month of bedrest. All of these happened within 3 weeks of each other, and the stress of it was really starting to shake my confidence.

Each week passed, and we made it well past the full-term marker...this baby hung on so tightly that I was convinced I'd be seeing the doctor at 42 weeks. I was thankful for the early labor symptoms, which I never experienced with Avery. The last two weeks of pregnancy presented quite a few contraction episodes, though nothing to write home about. At least my body was doing something!

When you're faced with the possibility of having a preemie and a long NICU stay, it becomes even harder to wait for the baby to show up when things start looking up. We were emotionally prepared for a baby weeks before Eleanor actually arrived, and we were so anxious - the waiting was harder this time. Yet, the waiting was worth it, because it meant a healthy baby, a full-term baby, and the chance to labor. Had she come at 33 weeks, I would have had a c-section because she wouldn't have been able to handle the stress of labor when combined with the placental problems.

When I woke up last Thursday, something about the day just felt different to me. When the contractions spread out, I was disappointed. When they picked up again, I was anxious and nervous and excited, because here it was! Everything I had worked towards and prayed for was happening, yet I still didn't know the final outcome.

I know VBACs are scary to a lot of people; it's a liability that a lot of doctors don't want to take, despite the great amount of research and evidence supporting the safety of them, as well as the decreased risks as opposed to a repeat cesarean. I have to say, though, that those risks that do come with VBACs never once crossed my mind once I was in labor. My body was doing what it was designed to do, so I just kept going with the flow. I knew that we would react accordingly if a complication arose, but I honestly forgot about it even being a VBAC. I was simply in labor.

When we got to the hospital, I was reprimanded for not showing up sooner or telling the doctor that this was a VBAC case. Silly me, thinking they check charts on the people who call in. And, it was the same doctor who treated me during our emergency trip to the hospital 2 months ago. I had always been told to labor at home for awhile, and then when it became serious, to head to the hospital. It wasn't serious enough until my water broke, and then labor went into hyperdrive. None of us predicted that I would speed through that quickly at the end, even though we knew labor would be shorter with the second baby. Apparently I transitioned much faster than normal.

Despite being a little upset about my late arrival, the doctor was very calm and hands off. She was in the room the whole time, but she would just glance over occasionally, seeing that I was in the capable hands of my husband and our doula. I just kept going with the flow. Once I reached pushing, she stepped in and worked me through it calmly, while complimenting me and encouraging me. It was great to see everyone grinning and telling me how close I was and how they could see progress with each push. The look on Luke's face as the baby came was priceless. Pride, awe, excitement.

A funny moment - during my last few contractions before pushing stage, Luke panicked that we didn't have the birth plan to give the doctor, so he was going to run out to the car to grab it. She just looked at him and said, "I think we'll just wing it from this point! She's so close to pushing, I don't want you to miss it."

I also apparently had an amazing hip wiggle through the intense contractions, so into them that everything else seemed to fade away. Yet I had moments of complete clarity right around the peak of one contraction, where I was able to groan out my correct birthday because Luke was off by a few days. :)

Early on in labor, I felt so empowered. Towards the end, not so much. I felt crazy for choosing the natural route. Who voluntarily chooses that much pain?! When it was all done, though, everything shifted back to a feeling of joy. When I gave that final push, when they pulled her out and announced, "It's a girl!", when Luke and I both went "What?!" because we were convinced this baby was a boy, when they laid her on my chest, all of these moments will forever be embedded in my mind. I cried and laughed and grinned like a crazy woman on happy drugs, and I spent the next day on this adrenaline rush that just wouldn't fade. I have been unable to stop praising God for this amazing experience, for allowing me the opportunity, for giving our family the blessing of this precious daughter. I am thankful for each and every answered prayer, and there are so many right at this moment. He is who He is, no matter how the situation might have turned out, yet I am so very grateful for this gift.

Eleanor's Birth Story, Part 1

2011-09-14T19:49:00.000-06:00

This is the story I wanted, for Avery, for Eleanor, for myself. Avery's birth story was nothing like this. I feel like I was given a second chance this time around, for which I am eternally grateful.

I also don't want to freak out people who have yet to go through labor, or who are made squeamish by labor and birth, so this is the abridged version. The full-length version is written elsewhere for me to remember.

First, the timeline. I remember most of this, but some of the smaller details and times were filled in from the birth notes made by our doula.

6:00 am, Thursday, September 8 - I woke up with semi-painful contractions, which made me take notice simply because I tended to have contractions in the afternoon only. I asked Luke to be extra attentive to his phone. I hopped in the shower, determined not to look like death-warmed-over this time. I wanted to be pretty and smiley at the end of labor.

I spent the next hour praying and reading and resting, trying to relax, not get too excited, and push away the anxiety.

The morning wore on, Avery and I played and ate breakfast, and the contractions spread out so much that I gave up thinking today was the day. Avery and I went on a 45 minute walk after lunch, hoping to bring the contractions back around. We pushed her doll stroller all over, stopped to talk to a couple doggies, and I ended up wearing her out so much that she made me carry her doll stroller home.

1:30 pm - we both went down for a nap. She slept on; I woke up 3 times with painful contractions.

4:30 pm - gave my sister a call, asking her to be on alert, since contractions were picking up again. I also texted Sara, our doula, just to let her know what was going on. She promised to call every couple of hours to check on me.

5:15 pm - Luke came home so he could be in charge of Avery and dinner, since I was having to stop for each contraction. I'm starting to think that these won't go away at this point, that this could actually be labor. Still tried not to get too excited.

9:08 pm - I asked Sara to head over, as well as my sister. Michelle planned to spend the night with Avery while we were at the hospital.

9:45 pm - Sara arrives, and Michelle shortly after. I'm rocking and breathing through contractions, but we switched this up and got me walking between them and swaying through them. I'm feeling confident and powerful at this point.

10:20 - 11:15 pm - timed contractions; they made it to 4 minutes apart, lasting a minute each

11:20 pm - called the midwife, who suggested a warm bath, a nap, and then head to the hospital in an hour. We pushed this timing a little longer since I was still feeling good. I was working hard, but I wasn't feeling like delivery was imminent anytime soon.

A little after midnight - we timed the contractions for another 30 minutes, where they increased in frequency to about 3 minutes apart and the moaning begins. Serious work now. Luke loads the car up.

12:40ish pm - my water broke during a contraction. I noticed a pop at the peak of the contraction; such an odd feeling! This was exciting for me, because they had to break my water with Avery.

12:55 or so - we head to the car, where I had to stop and hug Sara through a contraction while Luke locked up and got the car started. I also hit transition in the car on the way to the hospital, where it continued all the way up to the check-in desk in L&D. I probably startled a few people on the way in with my crazy moaning and hip waggling. The urge to push hit the second I stepped out of the car and got worse and worse all the way to our room.

We are ushered quickly to our room, where everyone is flying about trying to get me out of my clothes, into a gown, into the bed, paperwork signed between contractions, and a saline lock inserted into my arm in case I needed an IV. I kept having to wave people away from me so I could contract.

1:40 am - The doctor checked my cervix and found me at 9 cm and the baby at zero station (victory in and of itself, because Avery never made it past a -1 station)! One contraction got me through to just a lip of the cervix, and the next one found me at 10 cm and ready to push. The contractions were so intense at this point that I felt like I would claw the ceiling tiles - Sara had to keep physically pushing me back on the bed while Luke tried to calm me on the other side. Finally, the contractions spread out a tiny bit as I reached the pushing stage, and this felt like such a huge relief. It took roughly 25 minutes, and then...

2:14 am - Eleanor Hope Presley was born, one hour after arriving at the hospital. 7 lbs, 6 oz, 20.5 inches long. I was able to have an hour of skin-to-skin time, I nursed her within the first 30 minutes, and we had a quiet time just marveling over the birth of our second child.

40 Weeks

2011-09-10T11:18:00.004-06:00

Well, this week brought a huge change for us in the pregnancy! Arriving one day early, we'd like to introduce you to Eleanor Hope Presley. She weighed 7 lbs 6 oz, 20.5 inches, and is cute as can be. We'll update more when we get home and settled, but we're all doing well and are enjoying our first couple of days with our new sweet girl!

39 Weeks

2011-09-03T18:16:00.001-06:00

One more week (or more, or less). I can't believe we're almost there! I spend so much of my time picturing labor and life after with two children, and it's all so exciting and scary.
I'm increasingly uncomfortable. The baby is sitting lower and lower and presses on all kinds of nerves still. But, I'm also struggling to breathe thanks to being so short - those little feet just press right up into the diaphragm.
While thrifting yesterday, one tactless Salvation Army employee saw my belly and exclaimed, "Whoa! Whoa. Whoa. You're really out there! How much longer do you have?" Polite conversation, smile, I move on. He is still staring at me and shaking his head and going "Whoa. Whoa. Whoa." And then, "My wife is due on the 22nd." More polite smiling on my part. And THEN, oh what comes next, "Is that one baby or two?!" after I had already tried to walk away from him twice. I turned, stared at him, my jaw almost dropping, and could only sputter, "Thank you, thank you so much sir. That just makes me feel...." and I just had to walk away. I get it, the belly is large, many people are just polite when they say I'm tiny, and of course comments will come, but really, he made me feel like a whale and how could I possibly still walk? :)
We spent Friday evening walking around the Domain just for some exercise, with a small detour through Anthropologie just for browsing. Tomorrow's agenda is a movie and lots more walking.
Avery is at my parents' house for the weekend. They called asking if they could take her, since Dave would be near Austin for work and could meet me, and it would give Luke and I a few days alone before this baby comes. We are so blessed to have such awesome family!
Since Avery is gone, this is the perfect time to go into labor without worrying about having someone come fetch her so I can labor and not scare her. I'm praying that things kick into gear this weekend, and then Avery and my parents can head this way when it gets close to baby time.
I'm frustrated that the storm activity went to Louisiana instead of Texas. I was hoping for rain and a really good low pressure system.
Avery said she wants a baby girl today. That's her usual answer. I wonder if she'll get what she wants.
Luke is still holding on to the "right" to name the middle name. I love the girl name he picked. The boy name - I'm having to warm to it. At least it's just a middle name.
I can just taste the dessert that will be mine soon.
I also still have to be mindful of the diabetic diet for 6 weeks after delivery. However, don't hesitate to bring brownies. I don't have to be perfect.
I've gained half the amount of weight this pregnancy as I did with Avery. Even though I complain about not getting sweets or as many carbs, I'm loving this way of eating and will probably continue with a modified form of it after the baby is born.
I can still wear my wedding rings. Last time I had to buy a bigger fake ring so I wouldn't look like an unwed mother.
I'm totally stealing EMU's format for pregnancy posts. Not everyone will know what I'm talking about, but she will!
My brain is functioning at about 20% capacity most days. It's a wonder I make it anywhere on time or alive sometimes.
I cleaned like a madwoman today. Dusting. Scrubbing the kitchen counters. Dishes. Standing on chairs and vacuuming the cobwebs. Regular vacuuming. Loads of random laundry, like new diapers and all of the throw blankets and bedding. Rearranging furniture (well, supervising). I'm hoping this means labor is imminent.
Avery and I had an awful week. Not all of it, but it was definitely on the rougher end. It's been a hard summer with my bedrest and the extreme temperature, and she knows something is changing soon.
However, despite our hard week, I am loving age 2. The precious meter goes through the roof sometimes. She is just too much fun these days, and so curious about everything!

Stay tuned for more baby news! Here's hoping he or she makes an appearance soon.

Thrifting and Such

2011-09-02T20:29:00.000-06:00

I had the afternoon to myself so I took advantage of the free time and ended up with a handful of amazing deals. Honestly, best afternoon bargain-hunting ever. I stopped into Marshall's and walked out with a Serena and Lily sling for pennies, which was fantastic, but the real prize came from the Salvation Army. The point of the trip there was to find a large picture frame to go around a dry erase board for this project found on Pinterest. I've been hunting for a couple weeks, and found plenty of nice dark wood frames at the craft store for $50 - ridiculous. I found a white one for 2.99 at the SA. Here's my budget-friendly makeover:

I also managed to snag a popover pan to make Luke those Four Seasons popovers for 1.99.

And then...oh my...the jewel of the whole trip there:

This dresser and chest of drawers was marked as a set, for about the same price that I typically see one going for on craigslist. A bargain already, made even more so when the older gentleman working there came up and offered 45% off the original price, making this a 2-for-1 deal essentially. Luke had met me up there to discuss this, and when that offer came up, we could hardly say no (though Luke really made me work for it). I've been looking for at least one dresser like this for the past 3 years, and now I have two! I nearly did a crazy dance of excitement - you should have seen the cheesy face I was giving Luke and trying to hide from the salesman at the same time. I love the vintage style, I love the handles. We pick them up tomorrow evening which means I have to do some creative rearranging in the apartment so they fit.

All of this hunting makes me so eager for Round Top at the end of the month!

Sticker Fun

2011-09-02T20:28:00.000-06:00

Nonnie gifted Avery some Dora and Thomas the Train stickers yesterday during an outing to Target, and she's had a blast playing with them. They are currently decorating our coffee table and carpet, but for awhile they went back and forth between the coffee table and my belly. We had just been talking about the baby, so I guess Avery wanted to share her stickers with him/her. She discovered that my belly makes a wonderful canvas.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2011-09-02T20:19:00.000-06:00

Luke's birthday was last Saturday, and we celebrated a day early with cake, and more cake and pizza on the actual day. My brother and sis-in-law were in town for the day, so they came over for a little mini dinner party. Nothing fancy this year - saving that for the big 3-0 next year, but it was fun to catch up with family and eat cake and snap a pic of my sis-in-law pregnant at the same time before our baby comes.

Luke and his odd placement of candles

singing Happy Birthday

Avery was beyond excited for cake. And don't mind the wonky frosting job - 9 months pregnant means the frosting gets on it, even with sprinkles, but it isn't gonna look pretty. And it was boxed cake (the horror!) but homemade frosting.

stripped down to just a diaper and showing off the frosting on her fingers

While baking the cake, she wanted to know what I was doing. When I told her we'd have cake with chocolate frosting for Daddy's birthday, she squinched her eyes shut, clapped her hands, and jumped up and down. And when she learned that she had to eat dinner first, she threw a fit. A girl after my own heart!

Interesting bit of trivia - 3 out of 4 girls in my family are pregnant at the same time. I'm due in a week, my sister Michelle (who wasn't able to make it over that night, so not pictured) is due in January, and our sis-in-law Julie is due in March. It's so fun to be celebrating all of these babies together!!!! I can't wait for next summer, when the number of grandchildren congregating for our big summer get-togethers has quadrupled from where it stands today.

showing off baby bumps and my hospital door decor handiwork - rag wreaths for a boy and a girl - just waiting to see which one I'll need!

38+ weeks

2011-08-29T14:18:00.000-06:00

Still pregnant - don't want you all to think my silence means we've had a baby without telling you. I even had a pic to prove it, but when I told the computer to rotate the photo, it deleted it instead. Lame. And I'm super speedy with clearing them off my camera, so no back-up. Of course.

There's nothing new to report on the baby front. I have an appointment tomorrow, where once again I won't have them do an exam to tell me how far I'm (not) dilated. The baby does like to press on the nerves that shoot down between my pelvis and my thighs, usually at the same time, when I'm walking somewhere in public and look super awkward when I do this weird squat jerky reaction to the shooting pain.

I also had a bottle of water at church with me yesterday, and someone knocked it over, so it looks quite suspicious when the 9 month pregnant lady returns to her seat with a stack of paper towels to clean up the puddle under her chair.

I've thought this baby was a boy almost the entire pregnancy, and I'm still holding to that, but I had a dream last week where the baby was a girl. Maybe it's because that's all I'm familiar with. Everyone has switched over to girl, although Luke went back to boy last night. I'd say he's one undecided father on this front. I could be absolutely wrong and decidedly happy regardless.

I spent one night over the weekend thinking over new things to add to my once-completed to-do list, and I just had to get up and write them all down. I think I finished all of those, apart from a bit of grocery shopping for labor snacks.

I'm reaching the panicked nesting stage. I am highly irritable. I get irritated when people interrupt my nesting. I'd prefer to have a few hours to myself to get stuff done than to visit with people when I can. I'm hungrier, because I have to eat less, because there is less room for my stomach to expand. My energy is all over the place. It's too hot to walk this baby out of me in the regular outdoors (hello 109 degrees!), so we walk Target or the mall instead. Not as good for my budget.

So, no worries - you haven't missed the birth. Avery was late, so keep that in mind.

A Conversation

2011-08-24T09:24:00.000-06:00

This morning, over breakfast.

Avery: "Mommy not sad. Mommy is happy!"
Me: "Yes, Mommy is happy. Is Avery happy?"
Avery: "Oh, yeeeeaaaahhhhh!"

Why was she so happy?

Chocolate. Toast. (toast with nutella)

So I Can Remember....

2011-08-20T23:14:00.000-06:00

I just checked on Avery before heading to bed. She was wedged against her bed rail, so I adjusted her back to the center of her bed. She woke up, looked at me, and said, "Hi Mommy. I need (to) go back to bed. It's dark outside. Night night. Sleep tight. Sweet dreams." A small grin, and she was out like a light.

Austin Steam Train

2011-08-20T14:34:00.000-06:00

Today marks 37 weeks, full-term baby, and the end of bed rest. What a glorious day!

We celebrated by taking Avery on a train ride. She's been really into trains lately, thanks to the one Dora episode that we have to watch over and over, plus a train book, plus the train ride that Caillou (another cartoon) takes. So, we had the idea to check out the Austin Steam Train, but then decided that maybe the ride to Burnet was too far for me in case I went into labor, so our next option was the Metrorail. Ha, silly, I know, but Avery wouldn't have known the difference. However, the Metrorail, seeing as it's a commuter line for Austin Metro, only runs on weekdays. After doing a little research, we learned that today's steam train ride was the short one, out to Bertram (about an hour and 15 minutes by train), rather than the longer full day trip to Burnet. We also learned that during your birthday month, you get a free ticket. Since next weekend happens to be Luke's birthday, he got the free ticket, and Avery was considered a lap child, so she got to ride for free. I was told over the phone that they only had the lower class seats available, but still with A/C - we were totally fine with that since you can bring food on the train and wouldn't really need the snacks provided in the "luxury" car. With an hour to spare, we threw food in a bag, got dressed, and raced out to Cedar Park to purchase tickets, hoping they still had some by the time we got there.

Fortunate turn of events - they had a private compartment available in the luxury car, and they decided to go ahead and honor the free birthday ticket for the upgraded seats, meaning we snagged this train ride for a song. It's not something we'd be able to afford to do with a bunch of people or even on a non-birthday month very regularly. We raced to the train, probably the last ones to board, and settled into our quiet little room. Two seats with enough floor space for Avery to walk around...it was perfect!

Luke and Avery found the snacks, and I treated myself with a complimentary diet coke. Avery came back with a mouthful of brownie, or "chocolate cake" as she described it, while Luke had a whole pile of sweets and a cup of coffee. Nice.

When the train stops in Bertram, you have 15 minutes to explore the restored train depot, though Luke decided to run across the street for a pulled pork sandwich. Unfortunately, they sounded the all-aboard whistle before he could order, so back he raced to meet us, no sandwich in hand.

our car

They lock the restroom apparently when the train is in the station and they wait about 10 minutes after pulling out before opening it back up; not sure why. But the attendant took pity on this 8.5 month pregnant woman and let me in a little early. Thank you thank you!

I think Avery was a little confused about the train, because she kept asking when we would see it, not realizing that we were actually ON it. During our stop in Bertram, we checked out the engine, only to have them blow the whistle at that exact second, which sent her into hysterical tears and begging to be picked up.

Other than that, she was so calm and happy the whole trip, enjoying the sights out the window and all of the vintage quirks in our car.

a sink for shaving, and a place to put your used razor blades

Labor Scripture

2011-08-18T21:39:00.003-06:00

When a friend of mine gave birth last year, after a complicated pregnancy, she had decided to send out some verses for friends and family to pray over during the delivery. It was great to be able to pray specifically over verses that meant something to her during that day, and during her preparation for birth, knowing she was praying over them to at the same time as she brought her son into the world.

I love the idea so much that I've decided to do the same. I'll have them printed on cards to take into the labor room with me, but I'd love for you to pray over these, if you're interested. I'll just list where you can find them, rather than typing the full verse out, because there are a lot.

I've seen God's hand through this whole process - I don't yet know how this will all come out, but I am confident that He has ordained everything that has happened, starting with the time it took us to get pregnant through all of the drama that this pregnancy has gone through in the past two months, and whether I end up in a successful VBAC or not, He is there. Of course I still long for a natural childbirth this time around, and there is some anxiety building as the day quickly draws near, but I pray for peace over the situation, knowing that I am not in control, no matter what measures I have taken to help make this an outcome I desire.

So, some of these I have desperately clung to in the scary moments, some are old verses near and dear, and some are just plain applicable to the situation. And, they are in complete random order.

Psalm 34: 4-6

Philippians 4: 6-7

Philippians 4: 13

2 Corinthians 12: 9

Psalm 27:1

Isaiah 43: 1-3 (I can't read this one without singing the song...all you good PCA'ers will recognize it)

2 Timothy 1: 7

Nehemiah 8:10

Psalm 28: 7

Psalm 105:4

Isaiah 41:10

Romans 8:28

Romans 5: 3-4

Romans 13:12

Romans 12: 1-2

Psalm 139: 23-24

Hebrews 13:6

1 Corinthians 10:13

Ecclesiastes 3:11

Hebrews 12: 1-2

1 Corinthians 10:31

Maternity Pics

2011-08-18T07:58:00.000-06:00

My good friend Erin came over to take some maternity pics close to home, only to get rained out after just a few minutes. But, she's fast and got some amazing family shots. We finished up the next night at the park, just the two of us (Avery stayed home with Daddy), and we had a perfect (though a little hot and windy) night to snag some more awesome photos. If you ever need a photographer, give her a call. She's fantastic, especially with the kids.

http://purewonderphotography.com/blog/round-rock-photographer/austin-maternity-photographer-2

I'm loving the preview so much, and after all the drama of this pregnancy, it's so nice to have it documented in a special way, to remember that this life growing inside of me is special and unique and something to be celebrated.

Avery Girl

2011-08-16T14:23:00.000-06:00

I don't want to do the whole "princess" thing with Avery, been trying to avoid it, but when the dress-up box is dumped out and Daddy dresses her like this and tells her she's a princess, she's bound to repeat the phrase. I'll just tell her what my mother told us, "Well, if you're the princess, that makes me the queen!"

Apart from her play clothes, Avery really has no interest whatsoever in what she wears. She is drawn like a moth to a flame to anything girly and sparkly, but usually only if it's my stuff. As far as her own wardrobe goes, we've had no battles in getting her dressed in the morning. We pick it out, she lets us put it on her. She doesn't seem to have a favorite color, although sometimes she prefers the blue plate for meals.

But - I'm still holding out that we can avoid the whole pink-sparkly-entitlement that comes with Disney these days.

She looks pretty cute, though.

Doc Update for Baby P

2011-08-15T10:36:00.000-06:00

Or midwife, really, since I see the midwives more than the doctors. Fine by me, because I love them. Everything is looking good, had the Group Beta Strep test done this morning (please pray that it is negative), and the baby's heartbeat was high today because he/she kept wiggling away every time she tried to listen - we've got an active one in there!

This was a new-to-me midwife; she was a quick talker, which made me think she'd rush right out, but she was so bubbly and friendly and stayed as long as I needed and didn't rush through my questions. Loved her and would be happy if she were the one on-call during delivery.

Apparently I'm a rockstar at my GD diet, so now I get to go down to checking my blood sugar just twice a day. This is fantastic news because those supplies are expensive. And, I don't have to worry so much about what my numbers do during labor, which means I can just focus on labor and not stress over getting the right carb count for once, just eating and drinking as I need to.

I go back in two weeks again, but since they don't automatically do pelvic exams, it's mostly just to listen to the baby's heartbeat and check my vitals. I also learned that though my bedrest restrictions are lifted this weekend, at 37 weeks, a term baby is considered 37 completed weeks, meaning 38 weeks. Are you confused yet? So ideally I'd go another 2 weeks, though I'm not really worried about making that. However, I am noticing pre-labor symptoms that I never had with Avery (who they had to force out), so maybe this baby will show up by the due date instead of after. Not holding my breath on that though!

36 Weeks

2011-08-13T15:04:00.001-06:00

I'm still pregnant! I won't be rejoicing at this news when I'm past 40 weeks, but today, this is a huge praise. We've got one more week til term, and then my bedrest restrictions are lifted and I can get out and about and have a little fun.

I must say, 3rd trimester pregnancy is the only time that my butt looks small. I'm liking this.

The past 3 weeks have been better than I thought, though I know it's been trying for Luke and our families - everyone has had to juggle schedules in order to help me out, and I am so utterly thankful for all of them.

My to-do list has dwindled down to just a couple items, including getting my hair cut and baking for the hospital (I like to "bribe" the nurses). For Avery, I baked cupcakes and spent my last afternoon before being induced frosting them. But, it's 105 degrees out, so I'm opting for simple brownies that won't melt in the heat.

I did come to the realization this past week that even if we have a girl, we still have to buy a whole new wardrobe for her, because our children will be born in opposite seasons. We're covered through the first 3 months, because the weather will be similar, but after that, we'll have to stock up for a girl. And if it's a boy, I hope our bank account can handle it. *grin*

And, here's what I've been up to the past 3 weeks:

This quilt, a gift for a friend's new baby, plus another 2 quilts are in the works.

So, I'm off to enjoy my last week of laziness before the hubby goes back to working in the office and I'm on my own again.

Weekly Report

2011-08-05T21:15:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow marks 35 weeks. We've made it 2 weeks since our hospital visit!
I'm on modified bed rest for 2 more weeks. After that, I can do whatever I want, within the scope of normal pregnancy regulations of course. That glass of wine will have to wait.
I was originally told that they won't induce me at all for a VBAC, but the doctor informed me that even if I go to 42 weeks, it's not an automatic c-section. They will do a very gentle induction at that point. Praise God! They won't, however, induce me at 39 weeks just because I'm tired. I'm perfectly in agreement with them.
My mother-in-law was here this week, and we (she) got lots of cleaning done, plus we had time for some sewing. Thank you so much for coming to help us out!! We miss you already!
Our neighbor, who is no longer our neighbor because she and her family moved last week, had her baby a week ago. Such a tiny, precious little girl! They stopped by tonight for a little visit and I got to snuggle the baby for a bit. I'm hoping she whispered to my baby and encouraged him/her to not take too much time getting here once full-term is reached.
We ask Avery if she wants a baby brother or a baby sister, and she usually repeats sister. I still think this is a boy. I could be very very wrong.
Luke quizzes Avery on her middle name preference for a boy. She usually responds with his top choice over any of my choices. Stinker. His are weird. However, she also picked "Tickle" as a middle name at one point today, so I don't think her vote should count.
When Avery saw baby Lyla today, she just stared and stared at her, probably wondering how she came to exist outside of her momma's belly. We tried to explain that we'll have a tiny baby in a few weeks. And then Lyla started crying, and Avery responded with, "Baby cry! Baby sad!". I have a feeling we'll hear that a lot next month.
Dora is the new favorite at our house, and we had a long day of it yesterday because I was at the end of my patience and Avery was at the end of hers. She consistently cracks us up with her talking though, because she kept running into the room to tell me, "I see Swiper! I be right back!" and off she'd go to make sure Swiper didn't run off with whatever object he was trying to steal.
Baby P likes to stretch out diagonally in my belly, making it look quite oblong. I'm often lopsided.
My belly button popped out with this pregnancy. It never did with Avery. I wonder if it's because this baby is sitting much lower, and it stretches my skin out differently than Avery did.
I've been sewing like a madwoman. I have 3 quilts in various stages, plus a teething guard for the crib.
We have a quiet weekend ahead of us, lounging around the house and enjoying this restful time before the baby comes.
I feel good, the baby is healthy, and we're just hanging out, waiting! We are so eager to meet this child. And I'm SO curious to know the gender!

Scenes from the Week

2011-07-29T13:17:00.000-06:00

It's been a slow week, but Avery's energy levels have been anything but that. The excitement of having Nonnie here for almost an entire week sent her into crazy mode, but it's been so entertaining to watch her bounce all over the place. I'm so thankful that she plays well by herself and can find just about anything to entertain her these days, since I can't do much with her unless she decides to slow down for a minute and let me read a book to her.

She did ask to "cuddle few minutes" before bed one night, and she snuggled right up next to me on the couch, with the request for "lots blankets". We said her bedtime prayers and then Nonnie tucked her into her bed for the night.

Speaking of beds - Avery has been in her big girl bed for about 2 weeks now, and we're still going strong! I didn't want to jinx it by talking about it, but she seems to be loving it. I know we may encounter problems when the newness wears off. We started slowly, and if she requested her crib instead, we let her switch. The last thing we wanted was to traumatize her, so we didn't force the issue. But, after a couple nights, she requested the BGB every time. We kept her in her crib for naptime for a week, because we don't mess with naps in this house. They are sacred. But, she's been napping in her BGB for the past few days and has done really well - still getting 2.5 to 3 hours per nap! Nonnie picked up a step-stool for her so I won't have to lift her in and out (this bed is TALL), and she loves to climb up into bed all by herself. We move the stool so she doesn't let herself out in the middle of the night. Although, she did randomly fall out of bed at 5 am two nights ago, completely unhurt and only crying because she wasn't sleeping anymore and wanted back in bed. We still aren't sure how she got out, with the rails up and pillows all around.

Nonnie left last night, Luke is working from home today and will be home all weekend, and then his mom is coming next week, Monday through Thursday, to take care of us. We are so grateful for family who is able to come and entertain us and clean for us and feed us. My mom informed me that feeding me 6 times a day is a full-time job. She was such a huge help all week, and I was really sad to see her go.

Avery fills her time with music, some Dora or Caillou or VeggieTales, going through her flashcards, reading to herself, playing with her baby dolls (they get a lot of naps and swing-time), and last night she took her bear for a walk to the mailbox in the doll stroller. She also has started stacking blocks and plays in her kitchen a lot, naming every food that goes into the shopping cart.

Baby wanted to eat a raisin. She seemed to have trouble swallowing it though.

Luke reported back that she had to go over the "bumpies" multiple times. They are her favorite part of our walks.

She greets me every morning with "Good morning, Mommy!" and doesn't seem too upset that I can't get up and play with her. She does ask me, "Mommy, come in here please!" but doesn't cry when I can't and finds someone else to come play, or she'll bring the item to me instead. This morning when I moved to the couch, she layed her lovie on me, told me to have sweet dreams, and gave me a kiss. Oh, I love her!

When listing the items in her shopping cart, she would hand them off and name them, "cheese", "pepper", "garlic", "stuff" - ha! I guess she doesn't recognize all of the food items yet.

This morning the step-stool fell on her baby, which she didn't seem to notice until Luke walked into the room, and then she feigned real concern for the baby. "Oh no, baby, what happened? Poor baby." pat pat pat on the back, Thunk! went the head into the crib, the baby doll fell to the ground, and off Avery went to find something else to play with.

She stole my blankets.

She also has a couple favorite games - I Get You and More Tickles. She loves people to chase her saying, "I'm going to get you!" and then she wants to be tickled endlessly when they do get her. This morning she snuck up on her kitty, saying "Get you, get you, get you!" and then tickled that poor stuffed animal while laughing.

It's been a good week so far, with a couple more days of real restrictions, which I'll enjoy to the fullest. I like having people bring me food. :)

Baby P Update

2011-07-27T14:17:00.000-06:00

We're home from my doctor appointment with some good news! I'm on bedrest through the weekend, which marks 34 weeks, and then some of my restrictions are being lifted next week. I'll be allowed to be up and moving more at home, drive myself to my doctor appointments, and run errands (if necessary). I'm still asked to take it easy and not lift much at all, but I don't have to maintain my perch on the couch all day anymore, which is fantastic. I can go back to the Bradley classes starting next week as well, with some modifications on some of the exercises. I know I'll be sticking close to home for the next few weeks regardless, just because it's hard to lift Avery in and out of shopping carts and into the car (she can climb, but it's a bit of a stretch for her sometimes).

The baby's heart beat was great, he/she is head down, my weight decreased thanks to that hospital stay (but not an alarming amount), and the bleeding has stopped. I don't have to worry about placenta previa either, since the placenta will continue to move upwards as the baby and uterus grows. I don't have to add any extra appointments in at this point, since I'm going every 2 weeks anyways, but if anything changes for the worse we'll be back there in a split second. I think all restrictions are lifted at 36 weeks, so just 4 days of complete rest, 2 more weeks after that of taking it easy, and then we'll see what happens! If this baby is already measuring at 5 lbs, I'm okay with him/her showing up a week or two early.

Thank you all for your prayers and offers to help us out! Please keep praying that we make it to term and that nothing changes for the worse. We'll keep updating every few days just so you know we haven't disappeared into the hospital.

Home

2011-07-25T07:38:00.000-06:00

I'm transferring updates to the blog now that we're home, so check back here regularly to see what's going on with Baby Presley.

A tiny background summary for those who are just finding out: I went into the hospital Saturday afternoon because I had started bleeding quite a bit, very unexpectedly. Our neighbor (who is on bedrest herself) came and sat with Avery while she napped until my brother-in-law could get over here, who sat until my parents arrived from out of town.

We were placed in triage for a few hours where they did some bloodwork, a lengthy ultrasound (including a physical on the baby, who passed with flying colors), some other exams, etc. Triage = tiny room and the world's most uncomfortable bed and too many people fluttering around you. We were moved into L&D for a couple hours before moving to our final room in antepartum, which is where the sick pregnant mommies go to hang out until they deliver or go home. While in triage, it was looking pretty likely that we'd have a baby in the next couple of days, by c-section, but thankfully everything slowed down, the results were good from all of the tests, and hope increased that this baby would stay in there longer.

They gave me a steroid shot around dinnertime, but I hadn't eaten anything since 1:30, and the shots tend to make your blood sugar skyrocket. I didn't get dinner until 10 pm Saturday night, so I had a really bad night with the shakes and a racing heart, but it settled down early morning and I was able to get a couple hours of sleep finally. The purpose of the shots is to mature the baby's lungs faster, in case the baby decided to come before 34 weeks. The goal is to get me to at least 34 weeks, though yesterday morning the midwife said I have a chance of going to term at this point, though it's still a day-by-day situation and things could change at any minute.

Last night's nurse was odd in a friendly, kooky way, but I would request her in a heartbeat if I needed another shot in my hiney. The steroid shots hurt like the dickens - long needle, lots of fluid going in, in a sensitive area. But, apparently, there is a "dime-sized spot that the good Lord created" (her exact words) that has the least amount of nerves, and she pegged it. Praise God! I didn't even notice the needle go in, not until she started pushing the fluid in. She told me that she'd been giving shots there since 1974, and she won a dart-throwing contest in South Korea when she was stationed there. Ha!

Sunday was a slow day overall, but we had a few visitors, including a delightful visit from Avery and my parents. It was so good to see Aves, though she was really nervous about me being in a hospital bed with a needle sticking out of my arm. They had just taken me off IV (praise!) but left a saline lock in place just in case. Avery also didn't like the nurse, because all nurses carry needles (it's true, they do), so as the nurse headed out, she yelled out "Bye, nurse! All done nurse!"

We got home around 10 pm last night, after my last steroid shot, another hour on the fetal monitor, and discharge papers.

The baby is doing so well, the bleeding is going away, and I feel good. I'm looking at an undecided amount of time on bedrest, and praying that it's weeks and not days, as un-fun as that sounds.

Our prayers right now are that the placenta continues to slow/stop it's bleeding (it's not placental abruption or placenta previa, though it is lying anterior and a bit low), the fluid levels are maintained and don't drop, the baby stays head down, the placenta decides to stay out of the way of my cervix so I can labor, and that Avery adjusts well to me not being able to do anything for her right now.

My mom is here this week, and Luke is working from home as much as possible. My in-laws are coming at the end of the week to relieve my mom for a few days, and then they'll trade off as needed/as they are able.

We're taking this a day at a time, praying that God would give us peace and would minimize the scares that could crop up with this situation. We're hopeful and thankful to be home, where life feels more normal.

Week 2.5 of Pregger-Betes

2011-07-22T09:33:00.000-06:00

This is getting old. Quickly. Because I'm hungry. And because this diet is expensive. I spent $105 at the grocery store on Monday, and today Avery and I popped into HEB to pick up a "few" things, walking out spending another $70...five days after my original shopping trip. Now, granted, many of the items will last us until end of next week, so next Monday's trip should really just be meat and a few veggies.

I walk through the aisles, staring at all of the carbs that I can't have. I mosey down the ice cream aisle, chanting "7 more weeks, 7 more weeks". I do a sniff test at the bakery and dream of bagels and rolls and chocolate cake.

Speaking of cake - the admittance fee to the hospital to see our new precious child is chocolate cake, brownies, or a chocolate milkshake from Mighty Fine. No dessert, no viewing.

Tea Party with Daddy

2011-07-14T13:26:00.000-06:00

Daddy served up carrots and oranges with the tea

Avery liked it so much, that she decided to prepare food for Daddy next

However, she wasn't exactly original in her menu planning. Notice the carrots and oranges?

Uh-oh. Does the 5 second rule count?

Back in business...

...to serve Daddy

but apple juice that you can actually drink is much much better

Thanks for the tea party Daddy!

Then and Now

2011-07-14T13:11:00.000-06:00

Avery, 1 month

Avery, 27 months

Silly Girl

2011-07-14T13:03:00.000-06:00

because all headbands are supposed to be worn like this

she discovered that things stick to the ac unit at the beach condo - this starfish was there for a couple hours

a daily look - sour cream is her favorite

GD and VBAC

2011-07-13T15:48:00.001-06:00

The results weren't good from the fasting glucose test - I now have gestational diabetes. But - I've heard from the midwife and the diabetes educator that my numbers are "beautiful" now that I'm following the GD diet, so I won't have to be put on any medicine to help my body do its thing. This diagnosis was a big blow for me mentally, since I've been on a low-sugar diet for so long (it's not the diet, it's the hormones and pancreatic function, but it's still depressing). At least I haven't been flooding the baby with unnecessary sugar before I knew about the GD, which is a bonus. The diet really isn't that different from what I've been doing, though I've cut back on all carbs more. The biggest difference for me is how regulated I have to be as to when I eat, and what combinations I have to make when I eat. I live by the clock now, which is hard because my schedule is so random these days.

At my appointment this morning, they even said that if my numbers continue to remain so great, I can cut back to checking my sugars twice a day, instead of four times a day. And, there's light at the end of the tunnel, because this will go away once I have the baby. However, I also have up to a 50% chance of developing Type II diabetes later in life, which, well, sucks.

The baby is measuring normally (the concern for GD babies is that they would be large), and I'm still on track to try for my VBAC, which is such a relief. The midwife said I shouldn't have any problem with it despite this diagnosis.

So, please pray that the baby stays small, my blood pressure remains normal, that I go into labor naturally near or on my due date (as opposed to after it, especially since they won't induce me b/c of the VBAC), and that labor progresses well and there aren't any complications throughout. Also, pray for a healthy baby with proper blood sugar levels at birth.

30 Weeks (sans pic)

2011-07-02T22:50:00.000-06:00

Again, lazy with the camera. Picture a large bump on the front of me. I'll get one taken eventually and post it.

But, I'm down to the last 10 weeks! This has been another easy pregnancy so far, and I was thinking today how I'm not as tired of pregnancy at this stage like I was with Avery - it must be that I'm home instead of working on my feet 10 hours a day. The baby is very active, and this morning around 6 am it was like a seizure occurred in my stomach and then all was quiet. Sometimes I can feel the baby stretching from opposite corners of my uterus, and yesterday it was more like a spread eagle in there - all four limbs seemed to stretch out at the same time, if that's possible. Right now as I'm typing the baby is wiggling a ton. It's such a blessing to see and feel this child move about inside of me.

I'm measuring right on target, the baby has thankfully shifted up a little bit so that I'm not feeling intense pressure, and my weight gain is better than I hoped it would be, meaning this low-sugar diet has worked. It's also made me fail my glucose test, and I had to go in for the awful 3 hour fasting glucose test. And, you don't fast for 3 hours...you fast for 10-12 prior, then you sit in the waiting room for the 3 hours following your first blood draw and that awful drink. I nearly passed out multiple times, and I had people coming up to me making sure I was okay. Random strangers had to check on me all morning, because I was the weird sweaty person in the corner about to fall out of her chair. I could sense that a lot of people didn't want to sit by me either - there was usually an open seat next to me at all times, even when the room filled up. There has GOT to be a better way to test for gestational diabetes, because this was just torture. And, I'm praying that I don't have GD, because wouldn't that just be the kicker? At least I'm used to the diet already! I think my main concern is having a big baby because of GD, which tends to happen, because the whole point of the low-sugar diet was to make a small baby for VBAC purposes.

Crazy pregnancy dreams are back. Or they could be stress related. Either way, int-er-esting.

Yogurt with grape-nuts is my new craving.

I walked to the grocery store this evening with Luke and Avery to pick up a redbox movie and some fruit. I wasn't sure I'd be able to make it back. I don't have pain usually, but my sciatic decided to flare up halfway. I officially waddle now too.

I can't stand and chat anymore...I have to sit all the time.

We're in Bradley classes and like them, but there are some kooky people in there! Our instructor also keeps telling us to eat something light during the early stages of labor, like pancakes. She ate a stack of 20 during one of her labors. Um, ew! Not light. Pancakes sit like a brick.

We're also scrambling to find babysitters for the rest of summer for Bradley classes, because our original babysitter is now on bedrest and our backup lives in the opposite direction, which makes for a very long evening. I'm praying we can find someone who can come to us!

I feel better about my pregnany body this time around...it must be the summer tan that helps. Winter white plus an extra X amount of pounds doesn't equate to pretty in my mind.

Yes, EMU, I have pregnancy jorts. Simply because they don't have to be ironed and I don't have to think about them much...any shirt will match. Skirts and maxi dresses are my preferred wardrobe, but those shorts make a frequent appearance!

I think Avery is getting tired of "it's too hot" to do this or that, but when I'm running 10-15 degrees hotter than most people, 104 temps just aren't going to cut it for me. I'm so thankful that she can entertain herself for a long time indoors.

We picked up some new baby/big sister books at the library. They're cute, but nothing I'd highly recommend at this point.

Here's hoping that the last 10 weeks go by smoothly.

27 Months

2011-07-02T22:22:00.000-06:00

I've become officially lazy with this blog, and taking pictures, and anything that requires any mental effort on my part these days. And I think I did my math right on how old Avery is today. Yikes, I'm becoming dumber by the second with this pregnancy.

Conversations with our girl have become quite entertaining these days. My mom watched Avery for a few hours yesterday, and we returned home to find out that Avery had informed her that the bear on the flash card had a spanking, a time out, and was now crying. She keeps repeating this to us, and we keep trying to find out why the bear is in such trouble. It's simply a picture of a teddy bear playing the violin with his eyes closed. Maybe she thinks he's sad.

She puts her baby dolls down for a nap and will cover them up with her lovey and tell them, "Sweet dreams, sleep tight baby." She checks on them repeatedly, so often that I wonder if those poor babies actually ever get a nap. Then she'll wake them up with "Hello, Sweets." She's copying me with the nickname, since I use that on her sometimes.

At the pool today, I dragged her into the main part with me, away from the safety of the steps. Screaming ensued, followed by "Don't. Like. It!!!" It took all of 30 seconds for her to start kicking her legs and having fun.

Sour cream and ketchup are still her main staples with each meal. I wish we could get away from them, but if it means other food makes it in her belly too, then I shouldn't worry so much.

She tries to negotiate, and she plays the parent card...if one parent says no, she'll turn to the other and ask the same question again. Thankfully we're on the same page and she gets denied both times, though rumor has it Daddy snuck her an extra piece of chocolate today.

She knows random shapes, like pentagon, but square and triangle are her favorite. She's starting to recognize letters and numbers but isn't consistent yet. Counting is all over the place most days, but once in awhile she'll surprise us and count a sequence of something properly.

If she hops in the shower with me, she sits down and asks for "market market", which means we have to play This Little Piggy. She touches each of my toes as I say the rhyme, but she goes so fast that I'm flying through it and barely get to Wee before she's onto the next foot.

I painted my toenails pink, and Avery has to declare the color of my toes every time she seems them.

She loves to flush the toilet for us. It's very weird. She'll also state what's in the toilet, something like this: "Just pee-pee." or "No poo-poo" or "Ewww, yucky." I've had to start locking her out at times, just for a minute of privacy. But, I also want her to get used to the toilet in hopes that she'll start using it.

We put her down at a friend's house one evening while we went to our childbirth class. When we picked her up, she sleepily told us, "Avery, don't touch fish." Her friend S has a beta fish in his room. Turns out she was remembering his request not to dump his fish food out again. Funny how that conversation was the first thing she thought of upon waking!

All balloons are high balloons, or hi balloons. We're not sure which.

She talks about characters from her favorite movies as if they were real, like Caillou or Junior from VeggieTales. She has conversations with us about them, usually about something they did in that episode. And, she frequently asks for something because they had it first, like juice or ice cream.

She fell out of a chair yesterday and Luke swooped her up. She bawled her eyes out and requested that they "cuddle 2 minutes". Sometimes she asks for this for comfort, like in this instance, and sometime it's simply a delay tactic before bedtime.

I asked her if she thought the baby is a baby boy or a baby girl sibling. She responded with baby boy immediately (which I think it is), but then stated that it was also a baby girl. No help from her!

We love you Avery Jane!

Splash Pad Holiday

2011-06-07T13:15:00.000-06:00

We've never been big Memorial Day planners. If something interesting comes up, we'll attend. Otherwise, we enjoy Luke's day off of work quietly, but we're learning that kids make most everything more fun and they give us an excuse to enjoy things like splash pads.

We called up my sister and her hubby, picked up sandwiches, and headed out to Leander for some splash pad fun with Avery. She's been pool-shy this season, so we thought this would be more enjoyable for her (and it doesn't require a swimsuit for this preggo mama). It took her a few laps around the edge of the pad to become comfortable with the other kids and the water shooting up everywhere, but she eventually ventured in, tested the water with her toes, and then sat underneath one of the spray pipes.

always finding something to climb on

milk and grilled cheese break

The men stayed in the shade, but the gals joined Avery for a bit, avoiding all major splash pipes and buckets.

me looking quite a bit rounder than my sister - 25 weeks

Avery then caught sight of swings in the distance, so a quick change later, we headed over to the playground.

We all crashed for a nap at my sister's in the afternoon before parting ways to get Avery fed and bathed and down for the night. Thanks for being spontaneous Nick and Shell!

Avery-isms

2011-06-06T12:30:00.002-06:00

Avery is cracking us up these days with the things she says. Some are funny, some we're working on teaching her how to respond appropriately instead.

"No, MINE bouncy ball!" (Said as she's staring into the oven door so she can see what she looks like when she says it)

"How about...?" For instance, the other day I told her no, she couldn't watch a movie, and she responded with "How about Caillou?" and a grin

"Good job, Mommy!" when I opened her string cheese packet

"Kick it so high!" - the big exercise ball

"Yeah, mmm-hmmm."

"More tickle, all done tickle"

"Let's go!" when we're off to do something that excites her. Today it was going to brush her teeth with her toothpaste.

"Flush?!" She gets SO mad if I flush the toilet and fail to let her do it for me. She'll run into the bathroom and stand there just bouncing with excitement at the prospect of flushing. Thankfully she understands that we only need to flush once, at the appropriate time, so that I'm not catching her flushing all day just for fun. Phew!

Nesting and Other Symptoms

2011-06-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

Last time I was pregnant, I was working full-time and rarely home, or when at home - I slept, non-stop, because of the hours and type of work I was doing (on my feet, all day, lifting, bending, carrying). The nesting instinct didn't seem to kick in like I thought it would. This time around I'm home with Avery, and I can finally see what nesting is really like. I have to say, it makes me do some very ODD things.

For instance, this weekend I tackled lots of items with a toothbrush. I sat down and scrubbed the one spot that is hard to clean in our shower. Luke is normally the one who takes over bathroom-cleaning duties when I'm pg, but he just misses some things, like the weird spot in the shower, or the dusty baseboards...things that drive me crazy to look at day in and day out.

I also pulled out the toothbrush to get rid of the spots on the (not-so) awesome rental carpet we're sporting these days. Now they're a weird bleached color thanks to the oxi-clean in the carpet cleaner, but it's better than before. I might need to negotiate a professional cleaning from the apartment office before the baby comes.

I organized the books on our shelf by color.

I sew like a madwoman some days.

I recruited my mom to help me move furniture in the kids' room, and our room is next in the line-up for reorganization.

I sit and stare at a spot for up to 10 minutes, trying to decide what (if anything) needs to be done to it. Nothing is safe.

I also find that projects are left half-done...I get the one thing most critical done, and then my energy peters out. Avery's room is reorganized, but her closet needs some maintenance, plus I have to make room for the baby clothes in her dresser. The spot in the shower is clean, but the rest of the shower missed this week's scheduled cleaning. I have half-finished sewing projects, with new ones being added. We cleared out a desk, but everything is sitting in a paper bag waiting for a new home. Dishes made it through the dishwasher, but anything hand-washed was left. Laundry was washed, but didn't make it to the dryer.

And, my brain function, it's slowing WAY down. I almost put a bag of tortilla chips in the fridge today. Avery wears fur-lined crocs in the 100 degree heat and I think it's a good idea, because they're quick to put on. I have a package to mail to someone, and it's 3 weeks late - I walk by it daily and the thought doesn't cross my mind to actually take it to the post office. I failed to notice that my shirt was completely see-through last week and went all day like that. I don't think I've brushed my hair in a week - it gets washed, it air dries, I leave it.

Let's hope that I get my act together sometime before the baby comes to finish things, and that I find my brain again for the safety of all my children.

Transformation

2011-06-01T13:32:00.000-06:00

Today marked the first day of summer Bible study, and we opened up with an icebreaker on how we are the same and different from our high school selves. I thought about it after, on the way home, and realized I've come pretty far from my original goal of wanting to be a doctor (this was the long-standing dream from childhood). I had ALWAYS wanted to be a pediatrician, and started at Baylor pre-med. I think I switched to the pre-PA (physician's assistant) track with a major in Nutrition during my first semester. I knew I wanted to have kids eventually, years down the road, so I knew med school didn't fit that dream well enough. But PA - that I could do! And then I hit organic chemistry, and opted to just focus on nutrition - I was going to be a dietitian, still helping people, still in the medical field, and I could still focus on pediatrics. And then I had a crisis after college graduation because of a snafu with placement in the dietetic internships, and somehow I eventually ended up at culinary school.

In summary, the process:

Doctor (help kids, lots of money, prestige) --> PA (sort-of a doctor, help kids, decent money, prestige) --> Dietitian (at least still in the medical field, worked REALLY hard at this route taking on extra work in summers for experience in the field, help kids, some money, some prestige) --> Pastry Chef (make kids fatter, not in the medical field at all, it's a novelty to people, I'm in a ton of school debt) --> Mom (left the job to raise the kids, negative money, poop and puke, but I'm also: in the medical field, I'm helping kids, Avery thinks I'm awesome).

How did I get here?!

So, I kid, really, because I see where God has worked in my life and it's been such an encouragement to me to see his hand guiding me and shaping me to be the best version of my self (still a long continual process because I am way off mark even yet). He's taken the initial interests and tweaked them, some a lot, some just a little. The money was never a deciding factor for me, it was just interesting to see the downward spiral of my potential income. He could have led me down any number of paths, but this is the one I'm on, and I'm thoroughly enjoying the ride. It was a slow process in changing my mindset, dealing with the "why" and "what went wrong", and changing it into joy in the moment, a calling to be a mom and a godly example to my children and to enjoy it. He took the decision out of my control and blessed us with Avery a few years into the marriage (as a surprise). And looking back on this, and looking at where I am now, I've never felt more at peace with who I am and where I am.

Though, if we're talking seriously...God, a bigger home would be nice, preferably one where I don't share walls with a neighbor! :)

Sewing Projects

2011-05-27T11:33:00.000-06:00

I've been bit by the sewing bug. I've had a machine for 4 or 5 years, and I only dabbled in it on occasion - I was intimidated and didn't know where to start. Last year, I made this with the help of my mom, which instilled a lot of confidence in me and then in the past couple of months I've become addicted. Some friends and I have a sewing night every few weeks, but I've been working on projects more at naptime and after Avery goes to bed.

sprucing up some old burp cloths - more on the way when I can get more thread

new larger nursing cover, because Avery was an acrobatic nurser and I flashed more people than I should have

complete with terry cloth pocket, which needs some adjustments because it's a little too loose

And - the one I'm most proud of - a throw-size rag quilt for Avery's big girl bed

rag quilt back

I've also whipped up a drool bib for the baby and a pillowcase dress for Avery, which is still in need of the ribbon ties. I have a whole set of projects in queue, just waiting for a chance to get to the store for more fabric.

♥

2011-05-26T06:58:00.000-06:00

Baby Love

2011-05-24T07:16:00.000-06:00

Our girl is becoming more aware of babies and baby things these days, in a good way. I'm hoping that her love for the baby doll translates to love for the little brother or sister.

She discovered the bassinet and has helped herself into on many an occasion when my back is turned.

All morning she's had a conversation with herself, or her baby, with running commentary such as this, "Good-night baby, sweet dreams baby...goodnight hug, goodnight kiss...sweet dreams...all done sweet dreams...lovie blanket baby...." The baby has been put to bed in the bassinet, on the couch, on the floor, on the coffee table, under the lovie, under the blanket, on top of both, with Avery on top of her (have to watch that one when the real baby arrives!!), with multiple hugs and kisses and then tossing about by the arm or leg. It's sweet to see her pretend and play in her own little world.

Birthday Weekend

2011-05-23T12:20:00.000-06:00

"more cup-cake!"

"smoomies" - the first run in the VitaMix. This machine rocks.

the paint missed the paper by a wide margin

Birthdays these days are kind of anti-climactic. A trip to the store by yourself can be the best.gift.ever. Sleeping in ranks even higher. Luke cooked pancakes for breakfast, much to Avery's delight, and I got to sleep in til 10 (!), waking to a barricade of chairs in front of my bedroom door because Avery knows how to open doors and the lock is broken. My sister came over and surprised me with cupcakes (I broke my no-sugar rule for the big day - everyone needs cake on their birthday), though Avery had the most fun with them. Last night Luke and I had a dinner/movie date, and the fun continues when I get a massage on Wednesday. Avery and Luke also worked on a craft project for me - a nature painting, though Luke had to finish it by himself because Avery decided that she didn't like her hands being dirty and we had to wash them off. So, 28 didn't bring much hoopla like 16 or 21 did, but it was the sweetest of them all.

Outside Fun

2011-05-20T09:01:00.000-06:00

Avery always gets dirt on the tip of her nose when we play outside.

Who needs an eraser for chalk when your shorts can do it for you?!

Uh-oh, where's Avery?!

There she is! She's so sneaky.

Oldies but Goodies

2011-05-19T15:07:00.000-06:00

I was pulling a few pics off my mom's camera from our spontaneous trip to visit my parents this week, and I found some old pics of Avery. Oh my, I had forgotten just how bad that haircut was!! These were taken about 11 months ago.

Peach and berry picking

Keys are still a favorite, a year later

And, some funnies from February:

Today's Reasons Why I'm Crazy About Her

2011-05-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

1. She sat in her little reading chair and read her counting book, only this time instead of just naming the animals on the pages, she said "quiet walk, quiet talk, tea". The book starts out "One is good for a quiet walk, two is right for a quiet talk, three is nice for having tea...."

2. She told me her lovie was driving the scooter, as she laid it gently over the handlebars. Later today, she gently placed it on the handlebars again, buried her face in it, and blindly drove the scooter as fast as she could into the doorway, repeatedly, laughing hysterically each time.

3. She skipped over the yummy chicken salad salad I made, and dipped dry cereal in the dressing instead.

4. Every time she asks for something, and you repeat it back to her to clarify, she responds with "yeah" and the most hopeful look on her face.

5. She thinks the monkeys hanging off Noah's ark in her book are in trouble and acts very worried about them. We can't leave the page until she is completely sure they aren't going to fall into the flood.

6. We've read Click Clack Moo approximately 472 times since Monday. She stares at the page where Farmer Brown is furious for a very long time. I think she's worried about the cows.

7. D-Dad came to town for a couple hours for work and treated us to lunch, and she squealed with excitement when she first laid eyes on him. She then ate a bowl of sour cream for lunch, with a couple bites of quesadilla for good measure.

8. Buckles are her favorite thing, and she proceeded to buckle every stroller in Baby Earth today.

9. She smacked her lips when she gave kisses today. This also means her kisses are more slobbery.

10. She's finally tall enough to put the key in the lock (which means I don't have to lift her and hold her while helping her figure it out), and she unlocked the door with only minor assistance from me.

11. I told her Daddy would be home soon, and she yelled, "Lock!" and ran over to the front door to unlock it for him.

12. While Luke was picking out pjs for her to wear tonight, we noticed that she was pretending to fill her teacups with water from her play kitchen faucet so she could drink them. Apparently she shared some of her yummy water with Daddy after I left the room.

13. She colored on her Magna-Doodle with her crayons...not sure when this happened, but we discovered it tonight. Anyone know how to remove crayon marks? At least it wasn't the walls!

14. She always leaves the house fully accessorized, and all jewelry tends to remain in the car for days as she takes it off bit by bit. We never return back home with her wearing the same type or amount of jewelry.

High Praise

2011-05-10T18:33:00.002-06:00

Something must have stuck with Avery after our potty-training attempt, because tonight she looked at me (as I was using the restroom), and proudly stated, "Good job, Mommy!"

Quitting Time

2011-05-03T09:25:00.001-06:00

Day 4, 10:15 am

You gotta know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...

I'm pulling the plug on this potty training thing. She is SO distraught this morning over it that we're just done. I don't want to scare her so much that she won't ever do it, so even though she showed great promise last night, it's over. She seemed to show all the signs of being ready, so we thought we'd try, but it's not worth it if it causes her so much heartache. We'll wait a few months and try again.

Can I Outsource This?

2011-05-02T20:46:00.000-06:00

I think they have those doggie obedience schools where you send the dog off and he comes back completely trained. Sometimes I wish I could do that with Avery. Like during potty training.

Day 2
Tears all around. I had to give myself a time-out at one point. I began to think I wasn't cut out for this, much less parenting in general. Ready to give up.

Day 3
We took a break, risked regression (as if you could regress from zero success) and put a diaper on her, and drove a meal down to a friend and popped in at a playdate to visit another friend visiting from out of state (Hi, EMU and Bop!). She sacked out in the car on the way home, because it's been an exhausting 3 days, and after a quick lunch, down for a nap, in which she didn't nap. So up again, back to full-force potty training, and after 2 accidents, we had nothing but success the rest of the afternoon! The winning strategy? Keep her favorite shows on repeat so that she sat on the potty until she went, and then went again, and again. Full emptying here. I was so proud of her!! Now, we just need to work on getting her up and moving around and realizing when to run to the potty.

For Realz

2011-04-30T19:05:00.000-06:00

Potty Training: Day 1

I'm going to let you in on the mess of today. No need to put down food...nothing that will make you squeamish, hopefully. If you could care less about the bathroom activities of my two year old, please visit again in a few days. But, so I can remember this in 25-30 years, when Avery is possibly potty training her own child, I'm documenting the weekend.

No successes, by potty standards. We had one "finish" in the potty as we flew her bottom over to her little toilet. She got a sticker. We sang and danced. We high-fived. This was half-way through the day, after 2 accidents on our well-protected floors and lots of practice sitting. She napped, wearing a cute cloth pull-up I found on Etsy, and finally pooped. Just a small one, because she'd been holding it all. day. long.

After nap, she kept yelping and crossing her legs and saying "diaper change" and she'd even run to sit on the potty by herself sometimes, but she refused to go in it. Every single time. So, we had another wet accident.

I think by the end of the day we had 4 accidents total. But, she isn't minding sitting on the potty, especially if we prop her up with books or pull the laptop down and let her watch a few minutes of a movie. We sing a lot and practice our This Little Piggy or Itsy Bitsy Spider. She was given stickers for voluntarily sitting on the potty, for running to the potty when the timer went off, or for even just sitting there happily. If she'll pee or poop in it, I might even bring out the M & Ms. Lucky girl.

The logistics of set-up: We started the day with one all-weather blanket (waterproof), another old blanket, and tons of old towels. About an hour into it I ran to the store and picked up plastic drop cloths and carpet cleaner, thanks to accident #1. She went right NEXT to the all-weather blanket, instead of on it, and certainly not in the potty. We layed down the plastic and put the towels and blankets back over them. And we washed laundry all day long, cycling towels out. Notice the pile of clothes and towels on the couch? Her little potty migrated between the living room and the kitchen, wherever she was playing. We wanted something nearby in case we couldn't get her to her bathroom in time. We'll eventually bring everything to the bathroom after a couple days and hopefully get rid of our CPS (carpet protection system). She's allowed to run around with nothing on her rear end for the next 3 days, unless we venture out for a short trip to the playground.

We aren't attempting night-time training yet, so diapers still for that. I'll be using cloth pull-ups for naptime for the foreseeable future, and if we have to take a car trip this week.

Part of me is creeped out by a toilet in our main living space, but it can't be any grosser than pee on my carpet, so I'm going with it.

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T10:26:00.000-06:00

Luke's family has a big Easter get-together every year at the ancestral homeland in Louisiana. His grandparents open their home to whoever wants to come, and we made the trek out there this year. It's a LONG drive for us, but it's so fun to be removed from crazy everyday life and spend some time in the country, surrounded by family and REALLY good food.

His parents have a camphouse, The Estate, that we all stay at, while the rest of the cousins and such stay with the grandparents or in campers near the lake. We managed to fit 15 people plus 4 dogs in the camphouse, and we all shared one bathroom. Whoa.

relaxing in Great-Grandad's chair

sweet cousin Sidney - he is literally the happiest baby we've ever met

20 weeks! Luke loves when I wear this shirt, because the space between stripes are twice as wide in the front as in the back.

the youngest cousins enjoying breakfast together

Nana gave each of the kiddos their own beach chair. We love it!

Avery relaxing before church.

trying on her new jewels - apparently the necklace makes a better headband

I completely failed to get pics of any of the adults or the older cousins. Major fail. But, we had a blast playing all weekend. And Luke hid one egg so well that he offered $20 to whichever kid could find it first. They spent over an hour looking for this egg, and because they had such a hard time, he started selling clues for $4 off the total. They got down to $4 and still couldn't find the egg. It was buried in the ground, and Luke had to dig it up. The kids now all think he's a liar, because he told them it was blue, when really it was pink. He has the worst memory!

Good(Night) Moon

2011-04-26T09:51:00.000-06:00

Avery's first favorite book was Goodnight Moon. We read it every single night before bed for probably 6 months straight. We've taken a break from it for awhile, but she pulled it out again yesterday, and we sat together on the couch for 20 minutes. I read through it once and then she pulled it onto her lap to "read" it herself. She's decided that the best use of time is finding the mouse on each room-scene page.

"Nother mouse! Kee-keet!" (translation - another mouse, squeak squeak!)
"Climb up, mouse!"
"Silly oatmeal! Silly mouse oatmeal!" (The mouse is peering over the bowl of mush, and she thinks it's the funniest thing in the world that he'd want to eat it.)

Her Favorite Book

2011-04-22T07:40:00.000-06:00

These days we're reading a lot of this:

img source

Every morning I get a request, "Read, Boom Boom Shin?" How can you resist a request 1. to read? and 2. that sounds like that?!

To Tide You Over

2011-04-21T07:06:00.000-06:00

The camera has been lost in dead-battery-limbo for days now, so all pics are stuck on there until we can get the charger. But, a couple weeks ago, when we had perfect spring-time weather, we spent EVERY evening outside, playing with the neighbors and riding scooters. Well, she rode the scooter. I sat on the blanket.

Um...

2011-04-14T21:29:00.000-06:00

Avery seems to think that all sleeveless shirts belong off the shoulder. One day I caught her playing outside with the shirt hanging out around her waist. I informed her that as long as she lived in our house, she wouldn't be dressing like that, and I pray that she never attempts it when she's out of the house either.

Little Miss Houdini appeared again at lunch today:

Oh, hi. Um...

I can explain.

See...it's just that, well, the straps, you know...fell down or something.

Mooommm - just hear me out.

It's modest, I swear.

2 Year Stats

2011-04-14T21:08:00.000-06:00

Avery's 2 year doctor appointment was yesterday, and the only time we could get in was right at naptime. It made for an interesting appointment - she instantaneously cried the second she saw the nurse in scrubs; I'm guessing she knew a shot was coming. We had talked about it all day, but it didn't click with Aves until we were walking back to the exam room. She then bawled her eyes out when the nurse weighed her, listened to her heart, and took her head measurements, and this was the easy part!! Avery is a big fan of her doctor though, who is so patient and takes the time to explain all of the instruments and let her touch them. Dr. B got her laughing, and the rest of the exam was (mostly) tear-free, until we had to listen to the heart again!

All in all, she's healthy and growing well, and we get a bit of our grocery budget back now that we can all be on the same milk.

At 2 years (and 11 days) she weighs 27 lbs 5 oz and is 34 inches tall. Her weight and height are in the 50-75%, while her head is in the 90-95%!! So, it looks like she's slowed down a bit on height, which is good, because she's fully in 2T clothes simply for the length, and sometimes those dresses still seem short on her.

And, big developments on the potty front - she now asks for a diaper change every single time she's wet or dirty, so we're working on getting her to tell us before she goes. That may not come until we actually start putting her on the potty consistently, though she sometimes runs to the potty when she asks for a diaper change. We're going to lock ourselves in the weekend after Easter and tackle this, and hopefully it will work so we can have a few months under her belt before the baby comes, and so I get a break from washing diapers for a few months!

(Mostly) Handmade Birthday

2011-04-06T16:16:00.000-06:00

I've had this dollhouse for about a year now. It was meant to be Avery's Christmas gift, but it became her birthday gift this year because I just lacked inspiration for decorating it, plus she's at a better age for it now. It's still a work in progress, but here's what I accomplished by her birthday.

Bedroom: I whitewashed "wood" floors by drawing pencil lines and knots and then painting a thinned out white acrylic paint over the lines. I repainted the armoire, which was once primary green. The main wall is wallpapered in scrapbook paper, the bed and nightstand were painted, and I sewed a comforter for the bed. The rug is velvet scrapbook paper.

Anything white on the furniture I painted, because all furniture was once a primary color in places. Again, scrapbook paper wallpaper and velvet scrapbook paper rug.

I decoupaged pink tile scrapbook paper for the bathroom floor. All else stayed the same.

I left the hood of the range blue, because I kind of liked the color, but it might change. This room still needs work, and the patterned paper on the floor isn't adhered yet, because I was unsure about it. Table and chairs painted.

A friend had a craft night where we made these blocks. I decoupaged paper on them and added alphabet and number stickers. They've been sitting around since January, waiting for her birthday.

We love Bla-Bla dolls around here, so a new member joined the family. This is Suzette, though Avery simply calls her Kitty Cat. She now has to join the crew that sleeps with Avery, only this one has graduated to in-the-arms status, while the others sleep under their own blanket in the corner.

Two

2011-04-06T14:20:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Avery!! Our sweet girl turned 2 on Saturday, and we celebrated by taking her on her first zoo trip. We traveled down to San Antonio for a little nostalgic trip (I frequented this zoo as a kid) and met up with family who drove in to celebrate with us. Total number = 17 people.

Leading up to the trip we read as many zoo animal books as we could, hoping to familiarize her with what she was about to see. She would eagerly run up to the fences and glass walls, trying to get as close as she could to everything. The first exhibit was a bear, which was cute, but she was more interested in the water the bear had, so we moved on down the line.

This crocodile just sat there, staring at the kids, thinking, "You'd make a great snack."

It ended up being a brutally hot day, but we toughed it out and saw the entire zoo, and she was a champ for missing her nap, though we rigged up her wagon with the canopy, a blanket, and a pillow, and she did have some downtime just laying there.

any crossword puzzle fans out there? This is an OKAPI.

The trainers were out, having the "elphunts" show off their tricks

My brother got the female lion to roar. Awesome.

Perched on D-Dad's shoulders, with my brother David in the background

post-lunch, ready for cupcakes

She picked off each sprinkle and ate them one by one, and then licked off all the frosting. She left the cake behind.

meet Girl, her new bath toy

showing off her cool hat and fancy new backpack

"Nonnie, all the cool kids wear their hats backwards."

Some recent favorites from our funny girl:
-She has always been one to match her shoes, no matter who the shoes originally belong to, but she's started experimenting with a different style on each foot, and sometimes she ends up with one high heel and one flip flop. It makes for awkward walking.

-She loves for us to read books while she is taking a bath - for awhile she was fighting bathtime, but this seemed to solve the problem.

-During one story/bath time, we pulled out a new book, a collection of Babar stories, a gift from my sweet brother J who sends her the best books on her birthdays and Christmas. We forgot that two elephants died in the first story, and as we're reading, we quickly had to make a decision on how to break this news to her, since she's showing empathy left and right these days. I told her Babar's mommy got a big ouchie and layed down to sleep it off; perhaps avoidance isn't the best parenting technique, but we'll tackle murdering of elephants when she's a little older. :) She still cried though, because Babar was crying.

-She started bawling one day, and I ran into the other room to see what had happened. She was watching VeggieTales, and apparently there was a fire in the theater and she thought all of the bunnies had gotten hurt. Oops!

-She tells me at least 6 times a day when something "huts" (hurts). "Hut toe", "hut knee". She makes this squinty pouty face and it's just too cute.

-This morning, while looking in the pantry, "Chips. YES."

-She is using more common phrases, like thanks instead of thank you, and she is copying our exact words now, like good-night (very emphasized) instead of nigh-nigh, and she is such a little parrot...anything that comes out of our mouth is fair game for her to repeat, and she usually is able to repeat it pretty accurately. So, daddy taught her "meditate" and "aescetic", though those haven't been repeated again.

-She wakes up happy most mornings, and I love to hear "Hi, Mommy! Mommy, hi!" on the monitor.

-She gives the baby in my belly kisses, and she likes to poke her belly way out to look like me.

-If we mention one family member, she always asks about the other person that is paired with him or her, like Nana and Papaw or Nonnie and D-dad or Aunt Dell (Michelle) and Uncle Nick. Everyone has a match, and she makes sure we don't forget them. The same goes for her friends and their siblings.

-Some of my favorite names that she's coined are Aunt Ju-ju (Julie), Aunt Bean (Brittany), and Aunt Dell.

-If she sees something "ucky", she says it in this really raspy, disgusted voice. And she loves to announce "ucky poo-poo" when we enter a public restroom.

-"Whoa!" when something cool happens, or when she almost falls but catches herself

-Has to finish a book before we go somewhere...if she still has a ton of pages left, she'll flip through as fast as she can until she reaches the end. Only then can we go.

-Has officially reached the temper-tantrum twos. She gets frustrated so easily at the smallest things and just screams. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle these.

-Is funny and sweet and makes us laugh constantly

-points out every single school bus we see on the road, and we happen to live by 3 schools, so we see a LOT of school buses

-says "page" before she turns each page when we read together, and she has to turn the pages herself.

-doesn't like cake (!) but loves frosting

-we don't usually keep cold cereal in the house, but I had a craving for some Kashi Heart to Heart this week, so we've tried it for breakfast a couple mornings, and Avery is loving it.

And, it takes me at least 3 days to finish a post. I really should start 3 days before an event, in hopes of posting it on the proper day.

Be Back Soon

2011-03-27T16:17:00.000-06:00

Avery and I were away for a week visiting my parents, and then we jumped right into 2 weeks of extreme busyness. We're only halfway through those 2 weeks...one more to go. I'll be back soon with some cute pics of the girl and to wish her a happy 2nd birthday (coming up on Saturday)!!

Joy

2011-03-14T11:49:00.000-06:00

We had our second doctor appointment this morning, wherein we were able to finally meet the doctor (it's a collaborative practice) that made us switch to this practice. We're in an office with midwives and doctors and at a hospital that allows midwives to have delivery rights. I am so thankful for this opportunity, since I'm trying for a VBAC this time around, and the philosophy of this practice fits right in with what I am looking for.

The appointment started off well, with a decent weigh in, especially after my big huge breakfast at Kerbey Lane prior to...I'll be eating post-weigh-in from now on! We met the doctor and immediately liked her - she is fun and passionate and takes the right things seriously and laughs about the rest. Luke has the week off of work, so he and Avery tagged along for the appointment so we could all hear the baby's heartbeat. I'm thinking Avery can stay with a babysitter next time though, because she was NOT on her best behavior. Ugh, I dread doing that again. I think it scared her to see me laying on a table while someone she didn't know poked around at my stomach.

So then, the scariest 3 minutes I've felt in a really, really long time. Avery was so distracting that it was hard to really focus on what was going on, but the doctor's face kept looking more and more worried. She kept checking my pulse against the heartbeat that she was hearing, and kept determining that the only heartbeat she was hearing was MY heartbeat, and that it was getting faster. I told her that yes, of course it is, she's starting to worry me. To which she replied, "Let's rush you over to ultrasound right now, because I'm not comfortable with what's going on right now." Hard praying. Trusting. Barely time to worry because Avery was crying, but Luke and I looked at each other for a moment as we gathered our stuff to head next door. Up on the table, machine flipped on quickly, doctor still looking worried, Avery still crying, me still praying.

I've been reading this book, One Thousand Gifts, you have to check it out. It's amazing. I'll go into it more later. But the past couple of chapters I've read were so applicable to today. It's easy to trust when things are going well, when life is easy, and it's easy to say, "Yes, I trust You, Lord, of course I do," after the fact if things turn out the way you hoped. Yet, is it so easy to say Yes when you're experiencing the hard joy? What is the hard joy? Finding joy still, even with life's down moments, the hard moments. The author is much more eloquent than I am. Can I trust even in the hard joy? Can I confidently say that God is good when life seems bad?

As soon as the screen came up, the doctor said that there was definitely a baby in there. But my mind was still yelling for more answers. Less than 30 seconds later, yes, the baby is fine, she says, there's the heartbeat, the baby is dancing away. We left joyful, relieved. For today, for the moment, we don't have to find out what the hard joy is like. If that day comes, when that day comes, may we face it with grace.

And now, as I sit and type, I'm just starting to process what all happened, what all of this could have meant, because life is always unsure from our viewpoint. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by grace, overwhelmed by joy and sadness and hope and stress. Praise God that He is ever constant.

And praise! We have two new pictures of our baby, an unexpected blessing.

Play Kitchen Wall - After

2011-03-08T10:13:00.000-06:00

Finally, done decorating those shelves. For now. I'm still tweaking them, and that top shelf simply has placeholder photos for now - we might move some of the stuffed animals up there later. But they are up, and darn if that top shelf doesn't look a little crooked. We'll just say it's the ceiling.

3 shelves added, plus the picture hanger above the stove

top 2 shelves, detail. the two photos up top were taken of me and my sister Michelle when we were little, by my dad

picture hanger, detail. this is for Avery to hang potholders and orders coming into her restaurant

cloth napkin found at World Market makes for the perfect dishtowel

pantry. I sewed new curtains b/c I didn't like the ones that came with it. From a Liberty London for Target scarf.

shadow box of newborn Avery and her hospital bracelet. also, pic frames to the right, waiting for new photos

egg cups, also from World Market. Perfect colors for her room.

I anticipated that these shelves would be hung in a couple of hours Saturday morning, when we started the project, but they didn't get finished until Sunday afternoon. We had to go back to the hardware store for different screws, and by that time we only had enough time to get one shelf up before Avery went down for a nap. Then, we had to readjust the height of the shelves a couple times when we punched a hole in the wall. In the end, I'd say Luke did a great job at this. We aren't exactly the DIY types, at least not in the home improvement area. Living in rentals for the past 5 and a half years hasn't afforded too many opportunities, either.

Today's project: the closet. Oh my!

Photos!

2011-03-07T21:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, so no after photos of the first part of Avery's room change. We enjoyed the sunshine instead. Tomorrow, tomorrow.

But, my friend Anna sent the link to the photo gallery from our mini-session a few weeks ago. Love them! And her - she's great.

http://gallery.me.com/oneofthesedays#100024&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=27

Before

2011-03-07T14:45:00.001-06:00

Here's a peek into Avery's room these days. We're doing a minorly major overhaul on it to make room for Baby No. 2, meaning, it's time for Meghann to clear all of the crud off of the floor to make it more Avery-friendly, and, we have to fit another bed in there. Oh the joys of living responsibly and staying in this apartment for now.

Stay tuned for the after photos this afternoon, since I can't get in to take pics while Avery is napping.

This is also not at it's cleanest, because Avery kept coming behind me to pull stuff out to play with.

This is the photo to take note of. We made some changes to this wall in a big-for-us way.

I'm including this only to be fully, vulnerably, open. We have a lot of stuff crammed into her closet. I'm hoping to put the tubs into storage somewhere (Mom?!) so we can move the wagon into the closet.

To the left when you walk in the room - her book and toy storage. She's (finally) getting the dollhouse for her birthday, so the top will be cleared off, and the dollhouse will reside up here when she's not playing with it.

The right wall when looking into the room. Her new bed will go along this wall.

This was a Round Top find! This will go under the window, where the tee-pee is now.

Her current, and for the next as-many-months-as-I-can-make-her-stay, bed. View from the doorway.

Tee-pee will be folded back up, and the chair will go in it's place. There used to be a glider here, but we moved it into our room for late-night nursing sessions with Little Baby Brother/Sister.

Inspired by my friend Diane, I've been collecting lampshades to hang from the ceiling. Luke doesn't understand the vision, nor does he wish to hang these. They'll be stripped of their shades and simply be wire frames hung by pretty ribbon. I think I'll nix the square shade in favor of odd numbers and similar shapes. Oh, and new curtains, hopefully.

Some Really Awful Photography (with A Really Cute Girl)

2011-03-05T09:33:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you have to snap the photo quickly, to catch her in action. This often results in really terrible pictures. But, I still love them, because they tell a story.

Today's first story is about what a big helper Avery is. While I worked on unloading groceries, she decided to help me unload the dishwasher. Her job is to put the silverware back in the drawer, though sometimes we have to make sure that she isn't emptying the dirty dishes. If she is, we tell her that those forks still need a bath, so they have to go back in the dishwasher - she seems to understand that concept just fine. She managed to catch clean dishes this time, thankfully. She can barely see into the drawer, even on tiptoes, so they all just get dumped over the side.

She decided she was all done, because she couldn't get that spatula out, so she shut the door and moved onto something else.

"All done, Mommy. Picture?"

end result - we rushed out the door before I had a chance to look in the drawer, so I had a good chuckle that evening when preparing dinner.

The following photo: we got back really late Sunday night from our trip to Houston. I set Avery down on the floor so I could get her pajamas, and I came back to find her asleep in the same spot I left her.

And these photos: she didn't know I was watching her play dress-up - she had decked herself out in her hat and purse and jewels.

"Oh, hi!"

Updates

2011-03-04T15:42:00.000-06:00

We're tackling some big-girl-room projects tomorrow - I'm so excited. It's the beginning of a 6 month long process (because that's how much time we have left, God-willing, of growing this new baby), when I can find time to sew and rearrange and decorate. Avery and the baby will share a room eventually, so we're trying to clear out as much floor space as possible to make room for a big girl bed. Tomorrow we're hanging shelves, and I found the greatest little thing for her play kitchen. I can't wait to show you.

23 Months

2011-03-02T14:46:00.001-06:00

Today marks just one month until our sweet girl turns two. TWO. 2. Whoa. It's crazy how fast the time has gone, and it makes me want to stop and cherish every single moment with her. Before we know it, she'll be all grown up, no longer just playing dress-up.

She has made some marked improvements in her vocabulary and is combining words to form these mini-sentences that are just too cute. Most everything she tells us is related to being all-done with something, like "all done with bath", "all done with cleaning", "all done with (insert food here)". She likes to tell us when we're all done with something also.

All day long we hear "help you?", which really means "help me", but she doesn't actually want our help. She wants to do it herself, but we are to be aware that she's struggling and we need to be on stand-by just in case.

All girly things are "oh pweepy" (pretty), and she wears necklaces nonstop. I found some old beaded necklaces and that charming teddy bear on a shoelace necklace, seen in the above pic, at our MOPSwap a few weeks ago and she's been wearing them ever since.

She loves to read her Bible and will bring it to me during random parts of the day to sit and read. She loves the picture of the formation of the sun, moon, and stars the best, because Daddy taught her about those one weekend. She points them out anytime she sees them.

She hates having her face wiped, though she asks to have her hands wiped after every meal.

More often than not, when she says, "uh-oh" and holds her hand out, it's because there is a booger on her finger. And more often than not, I forget this and absentmindedly wipe it off, and then realize I now have a booger on my finger.

Bear and Baby are still her constant companions around the house, and they are propped up in her crib every naptime and bedtime, tucked under their own special "beking" (blanket).

We play outside almost every afternoon with the neighbor kids. We have new neighbors that have a 3 year old daughter and they are quite generous with their toys and snacks. Everyone congregates outside to enjoy the glorious weather, and the parents get to talk and the kids play until dinnertime.

As a consequence of playing outside so much and making friends with the neighbor kids (all but one are girls), we now have 8 and 9 year olds knocking on the door asking if Avery can come out to play. Really, they just want her toys. Last night, they knocked 4 times. I told them twice that we couldn't come out that day, and I just didn't answer the door the other two times.

She is still loving to read to herself, and it's becoming much more involved. Her Yummy, Yucky book is a favorite, and she points out all the yucky things first, though she hasn't been able to name them like the yummy things. Today I overheard her pointing out the "ucky kitty poopoo". It's really labeled kitty litter in the book, but try explaining that one.

Discipline is something I think about all the time, simply because she's pushing boundaries and I'm never sure of myself. We have a system in place, but it's time to re-evaluate it. However, I have noticed that she is responding quicker to my requests, and I praise her a ton for obeying Mommy. Tantrums have decreased, as I'm able to explain why we have to leave, and what we get to go do now.

She seems to be stuck on hot chocolate, though we haven't had it in weeks. It's a constant request. She now seems convinced that Nutella is also hot chocolate, and this paired with some fruit seems to satisfy her.

We've reached a milestone in family relationships. She has been a little wary of some of her aunts and uncles, but she went to them with no problem this past weekend. Hooray!! She's recognizing people that we don't see as often, and it's such a relief for me, and I imagine for them, also.

We are still working on counting, though we only get as far as 2, and then sometimes she throws in the number 9.

On the way home from Bible study today, we talked about the sky, and everywhere we turned, there it was!

She also hops right into nursery, as long as her lovie is in hand. She helped herself to one of the worker's laps as soon as she stepped in the door today. She seems to know that a lap is a safe place until she can gauge the activity level of the other kids.

Anytime we drive somewhere, she asks if we're going to eat, or going to "eat fries?" We don't eat out that much, but she loves her some french fries!

She recognizes common patterns when driving, like going to a favorite friend's house or to pick up Luke from work or when we head back home. If she isn't ready to go home, she starts crying.

We're using training toothpaste now, though it'll be a long time before she understands "spit".

She has this insane laugh when she finds something hysterical; it sounds more like crying, and friends are always telling their own kids to stop pestering her and making her cry.

She loves to color, and she's mostly kept it on the paper, though her table and chair and a favorite book are now sporting some of her artwork.

And, more pictures to come like the one in this post. A friend of mine borrowed her for a practice photo shoot. She's working on building her website right now, so when we get more pics, I'll link to them. Isn't it great?!

Time Out

2011-02-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

source

Time-outs no longer seem to be an effective form of discipline for Aves. She seems to think that it should resemble the above photo, lounging on the floor and smiling up at me after the initial two seconds of "crying". So today I propped her up, sat behind her, and I had her sit there for her minute, during which she (while crying) leaned back, looked up at me, and said, "Hi, Mommy. How are you?" I prayed that she would look back down so I could giggle silently. I think it's time to re-examine our discipline methods.

Aunt Dell

2011-02-21T19:27:00.001-06:00

Aunt Dell (Michelle) is VERY popular with Avery - she asks about her all the time, and I think she'd choose Aunt Dell over me some days.

Today we had lunch with Aunt Dell up at her school. We got there a few minutes early and walked into her boys' choir class, which meant all chaos broke loose and they were unruly the last ten minutes. Oops! They kept yelling, "It's a baby!" and Avery ran around and helped Aunt Dell play the keyboard and entertain the boys. She would run back into the office to see me, and then run back out again to yell "Hi!", which sent the crew all into a fit of giggles again.

Aunt Dell is on the right, directing her boys' choir. Avery's head is barely peeking over the table, as she was trying to get to the piano.

trying to capture these pics without distracting the boys further

Aunt Dell's fridge was very popular...please notice the chicken nugget on the shelf. I think it was still there when we left.

Thanks, Aunt Dell, for letting us interrupt your class today!

Loving the Weather

2011-02-21T18:58:00.000-06:00

We have all spent a bunch of time outside the past week or so, because the weather has been amazing! We're getting to know our neighbors better, and all of the kids play together while the adults sit and visit. Our new neighbors are very generous with their toys, pulling the play kitchen out many evenings, and the kids have a blast. We've also spent some time on our own outside, and I thought Avery looked too cute in her prairie skirt and rainboots (which are her shoe of choice these days), so I snapped a few pics.

Yay! Daddy is home!

♥ Day

2011-02-15T21:52:00.000-06:00

We kicked off our Valentine's season with some homemade cards for Nonnie and Nana - I hope they got them in the mail by now, or else this will ruin the surprise! Avery drew on her red construction paper with her crayons, and then I trimmed the design down into hearts, matted them with white paper, and let her add stickers at the end. We walked them to the mailbox together and she dropped them in.

her new face - wide eyed head tilt; coloring her valentines

On Saturday we were surprised by a knock on the door - it was flowers for Avery from D-dad! She loved them, but the monkey was more her style I think.

flowers from D-dad

she loves her new monkey

(why sideways?! ugh) Heart shaped chocolate and cherry scones for breakfast

On Monday I baked up a batch of scones as a special treat...everyone should start the day off with something sweet and chocolatey once in awhile! Too bad Avery wasn't into them, at least not until later that day.

she only had two bites...and we tried to convince her that it was a cookie

From there we headed to our MOPS Valentine's Day party, where they decorated bags for cards, had a lot of sugar, and played for a couple hours. Super easy to entertain them at this age!

MOPS playgroup Valentine's party - coloring their bags. I had to decorate Avery's...

...because she was eating noodles

inspecting her loot - hooray for candy!

"cheese!" We're missing a couple kiddos, including mine, b/c she won't pose on command

Dinner for my valentine

Luke and I ended the day with a quiet dinner at home. I recreated the butternut squash soup from South Congress Cafe, down to the grana padano cheese shavings and the sage brown butter. Oh, it was delicious. For dessert, homemade chocolate pudding while we watched a movie.

Normally, this isn't one of my top holidays, even with a special valentine of my own. But, we had the perfect day this year, and some of these little holidays are so fun when you see them through a child's eyes.

Avery's Pick

2011-02-13T19:45:00.000-06:00

For some reason, this is her favorite outfit. Tonight, she ran to her dresser, pulled open the jammie drawer, and said, "clothes!" - she rejected the jammies Daddy had pulled out for her in favor of these, which aren't even a real set. They're like our back-up when I have failed to do the right loads of laundry that week, and I think it's even a 6-12 month top. She'll even request to change into this outfit at random times of the day, if she happens to think about it (thankfully it's not very often).

She's Home!

2011-02-11T19:31:00.000-06:00

Our girl returned home from a fun-filled week with my parents, and it's been a whirlwind of emotions for her (and me). She was so excited to see me and wouldn't let me go, and then she wasn't sure about coming home with me, and then she was super excited, and then she cried when we pulled up to the apartment (I do that sometimes, too...kidding!), and then she was happy to see her daddy, and then sobbed, and then nap, and then whimpering, and then sobbing mixed with laughter (something all girls seem to master), and then happy sad happy sad all over again. Whew, exhausting! But she's adjusting, and we are so glad to have her home! Apparently she didn't ask for us all week (both good and bad) until this morning, so it's good she came home today.

She's already giving the new baby a taste of what it's like to have an older sister by taking the baby's food, otherwise known as my smoothie.

How'd I do on my checklist?

Work on decorating the dollhouse In progress, but I got a lot of work done on the furniture and the living room walls and picked out fabric for the bedding

finish painting the furniture
flooring and walls

Finish the alphabet blocks DONE!
Simplify paperwork in the house In progress, though I made a strong start in scanning my inspiration files into the computer to reduce our paper clutter. I also need to buy a paper shredder.
Continue adding to the donation pile DONE! And out of the house, thanks to MOPSwap
Deep cleaning of the apartment, with the more chemical work left for Luke (yay pregnancy!) Um, yeah...we did dishes and laundry and general picking up.
Sew the valentine's postcards for her mailbox (pics will come later) Not at all - I kept forgetting what I needed for this project when I was at the craft store
Make valentine's for her playgroup party printed, but need to sign them and find envelopes
Make it to the gym at least 3x this week embarrassed to admit - not at all
Cook dinner nightly In some form or another, and we tried a couple new recipes

All in all, a productive week, with some visiting with friends and resting early in the week when I was feeling bad. I did learn that I felt like I had no purpose without my child - such a weird feeling to have.

Snow Day

2011-02-07T14:45:00.000-06:00

We finally found a cable to upload pictures - we'll start with the snow day and then work backwards a few weeks.

Avery and her friend/neighbor E.

mid-squeal of delight

helping Daddy build a snowman, though they could never get it to pack well enough

We thoroughly enjoyed the snow for 10 or 15 minutes before Avery started crying "Done, done, done!" Her poor little nose was bright red, her mittens got wet, and she woke up from her nap later that day with bright red chapped cheeks. Snow is fun for a few minutes, but I think we're all glad that we don't have to live in it all winter.

We stayed home for 3 days straight last week during the cold spell. Avery discovered my nail polish collection and practiced standing all of them up and then returning them to the drawer, over and over.

A couple weeks ago we were hit with a stomach bug, although in this pic we weren't aware of it yet. Avery fell asleep around 6:30 on the couch, which has NEVER happened before. We snapped these two pics, and then 5 minutes later she barfed all over that blanket. Thankfully it didn't end up on the couch.

She woke up once, because she couldn't feel the iPod in her hand anymore...once she knew it was safe, she fell back asleep. (And then puked.)

So, we spent the next day watching movies and cuddling in bed, with protective towels and blankets should the Barf Bug make a return.

Feeling better, and wearing Daddy's boots.

She insisted on this scooter over anything else in the store, so the grandparents gifted it to her. But - it's really for kids at least the age of 4 - she has no idea how to properly ride it (it's a momentum toy where you wiggle it back and forth to get going), but she LOVES it. She rides it in our tiny kitchen, going as fast as she can so she can slam into the trashcan, which makes her erupt into a thousand giggles.

Accountability Checklist

2011-02-06T20:56:00.000-06:00

Since Avery is gone for the week to visit her grandparents, my goal is to get a ton of stuff done around the apartment; it's hard to keep a place picked up, or really get into projects, when your toddler is constantly raiding your closet for shoes and purses to add to her pile of toys.

A cute quick update from the grandparents - they kept Avery in the service with them, and when she got restless as the sermon was starting, Granddad quietly left with her. But, as they were walking out, she yelled "Bye, Nonnie!", and thanks to the acoustics in the sanctuary, everyone now knows who Nonnie is. Love that girl. And apparently there was a bully on the playground, but she learned his name and kept telling him to excuse her ("me me!") Polite, even when frustrated.

So, my list:

Work on decorating the dollhouse

finish painting the furniture
flooring and walls

Finish the alphabet blocks
Simplify paperwork in the house
Continue adding to the donation pile
Deep cleaning of the apartment, with the more chemical work left for Luke (yay pregnancy!)
Sew the valentine's postcards for her mailbox (pics will come later)
Make valentine's for her playgroup party
Make it to the gym at least 3x this week
Cook dinner nightly

Wish me luck!

Brrrr, Cooooold!

2011-02-02T17:18:00.000-06:00

When Avery asks to go outside this week, I say no, it's too cold, and I get "brrrrr, cooooold" in response from her.

We have done TONS of laundry and dishes while ignoring everything else as we bum around the house together. I've had a few days where I feel awful, so it was a lot of Veggie-tales on those days, but this week has been better, so I try and distract her from her "mu-mu" (movie) as much as possible. Her new favorite thing is to sit and rock with me while I sing (poor child must be tone-deaf if she likes my singing). She always asks for more when I finish a song, and if we're just sitting down playing and she wants me to sing, she'll say "more". I'm trying to teach her the word "sing" instead.

We have read so many books this week, and her patience for them has increased substantially. She has always loved books, but her attention span has been so short. We're able to get through an entire Dr. Suess story (some of them are long!), and then she still asks for more.

Luke has been working 16 hour days all week, and he worked most of the weekend and late every night last week as well. Apart from 30 minutes spread over the past two mornings, I haven't seen him since Sunday. It's been a hard week all around, being cooped up inside with only the boring Mommy to play with (Daddy is the best at games), and Luke is exhausted. My parents are awesome and are taking Avery for a few days next week so we can rest and catch up with each other.

Oh! And look at me go - I remembered to do a monthly post on her actual month-birthday. Today marks 22 months.

She has a gazillion teeth and loves to brush them.
She always asks for a bow in her hair, but it disappears within 5 minutes. Every. Single. Time.
I refuse to cut her hair; we're going through an extended awkward stage until it's long all around.
She will sit and read through a picture book of all of our family members, and she can name almost all of them, though she has a bit of trouble with the extended fam still.
She talks all day. A guy at Target asked me a couple weeks ago if she always talked that much.
Her bear and her baby have to sleep with her everynight, and when we cuddle, or leave the room, they have to come to.
She is fascinated by the trash can; thankfully it has a lock on it. She will tell me "ucky" as she opens it.
She likes to help me unload the dishwasher - I let her put the silverware away, and then I reorganize it.
She is so responsive to requests (if they interest her). She seems to understand so much more than I expect.
She is a master at jumping! She loves to jump and dance.
She cried the first time we left her in the nursery at church after the holidays, but since then we've had no problem. She just walks right in, and we don't usually have to pull the lovie out anymore.

While the week seems to drag, it's been so fun having tons of cuddle time with my girl. I am so thankful for the sweetness she brings to each day.

Blessings

2011-01-25T22:27:00.000-06:00

Praise God! We are beyond thrilled for this new addition to our family, though I'm suffering from the disillusionment that comes with nausea. We have been waiting for this for a long time, and it was beginning to be a struggle to trust in God's timing for this. But, He is ever faithful. And his blessings have abounded far beyond what I could expect, allowing so much joy in this pregnancy as I travel through it with two good friends, all of us due within a couple weeks of each other. We found out over New Year's, and it was the best way to end one year and start another. We had our first doctor appointment today - everything looks great, and I'm due September 10. I have been feeling worse than I did with Avery, who blessed me with beyond mild morning sickness for a mere week-and-a-half. This kiddo has decided that I need a stronger taste of what it means to feel nauseous, though thankfully at this point I've been able to keep it all down. However, I've been living on saltines and apples, with the occasional Taco Bell bean burrito with spicy green sauce (which, ironically enough, my mother craved and ate constantly with me). So, if you haven't seen me around in awhile, that's probably why.

And, I couldn't wait too much longer to tell, because my body is starting to betray me, showing super early this time around. Avery will also point to my stomach when we ask her where the baby is, although we wonder if she expects the baby to come out plastic looking like her baby dolls. Let's just hope she doesn't try to drag the baby by the leg, like I did with my sister.

This Got Me Thinking...

2011-01-19T21:20:00.000-06:00

I'm going to stray from my usual content of featuring Avery for a couple posts. I've run across some things in the past week that have stuck with me.

Have you read this article yet? If not, go read it first. It popped up on the web last week, and I keep going back to it. As a mom, a stay-at-home mom, my job is centralized around my daughter, on raising her and shepherding her and training her up for the Lord. This will encompass many aspects of her life over the years, socially, emotionally, academically, etc. It's an overwhelming task at times, and we're still within the first 2 years. I don't yet know how we will approach schooling, or friends, or sleepovers, or weekend trips away, or extracurricular activities...the list goes on. She's already displaying independence and trying to enforce her will over mine. It is easy enough to break that will at almost-2. It will become increasingly harder as she grows, and I also want to learn temperance, where she is able to learn and grow and express herself, while keeping her under the command of God and us, her parents, to live respectfully and graciously. Oy - what a task that lies ahead of us!

So - enter this article. I think every parent wants their child to succeed, to do well, to learn and thrive and love it too. But this sounds so extreme to me! And maybe that is why Westerners tend to not do as well, or be as driven. Maybe they have it figured out. At least, in the sense that they churn out the smartest and most skilled. Is it simply perseverance that produces greatness?

What strikes me, though, is the lack of hope. Granted, this isn't a Christian-based article, or a Christian-based approach to parenting. But when I read something like this, absorbing it and pondering it, turning it over and over in my mind, I have to pass it through the filter of what God is calling me to do in response, with my own parenting. While having children that succeed academically or musically would be a blessing, it's not the most important thing. We must remember that "whatever [we] do, work at it with all [our] hearts, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col. 3:23). It is well and good to work hard, but we must think of our motive. What is driving us? For those in this article, it is simply personal acclaim. May I remember that whatever I do as a parent, and whatever Avery does, if it does not have Love, then it is nothing.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.