A Mostly Merry Christmas!

I figured if I wanted to get this post up, it would have to be without the pictures or else it might be 2012 before it gets done!  I promise a separate picture post later.

It was a good Christmas for us this year, especially compared to last year's.  Well, last year's was just unbelievable thanks to the generosity of others but it was filled with a lot of dread and uncertainty as Chris was unemployed.  This year, he is employed with a great company that he loves and we are getting back on track financially.  ANYWAY, I digress :).

We celebrated with Chris' family on Saturday with breakfast and a gift exchange.  Sadly, I was in the throes of a sinus and lung infection so it wasn't much of a party for me, but it was great to see everyone again (especially since we had missed them at Thanksgiving as Chris was in the hospital recovering from surgery).  

Sunday was Christmas Day.  I have to say I'm glad that Averie still doesn't quite comprehend Santa so she slept until her normal time (a little bit later, actually) instead of the dreaded 5 AM wake-up call for presents that I remember from my own childhood :-).  

To say Averie is one spoiled little girl would be an understatement!  Santa had a shiny new play kitchen (that his elves spent 3 hours the night before assembling *yawn*) and play food waiting for her when she woke up.  She has really gotten into pretend play involving eating and feeding her dolls and stuffed animals and it was a big hit.  

We all got ready for church where we enjoyed a beautiful musical program.  It was a wonderful way to celebrate the season and think about what Christmas is really all about.  You do get one picture this time, because it was only taken with a cell phone!  

Averie looked gorgeous -- as usual ;-) -- in her floofy Christmas dress

After church (and nap), it was time for presents!  We thought we would be smart and save all of Averie's gifts for the end so that she could just tear into the paper, one after another.  Except she was more interested in playing with each toy that she unwrapped, so the video of her gift-opening is quite long (don't worry -- we won't bore you with it ;-)).  By the time we reached present #15, she had had enough and Chris opened the rest of her gifts for her.

She got more play food for her kitchen, some other Melissa and Doug toys (pattern blocks, puzzles and lacing beads), books, even more play food and kitchen-related toys and the hit of the evening: Let's Rock Elmo.  Heaven help us, but she LOVES that thing.  It's not too annoying...yet.

Chris and Averie gave me a handheld video camera (a Flip) so I can catch all those cute moments without bringing out the more expensive and fragile camcorder, and a Wacom tablet!  I had asked Chris for Photoshop since I'm getting into using my DSLR more, but he really went above and beyond, and the tablet comes with Photoshop so what a bonus!  Chris got a digital picture frame for his desk and the extended edition Lord of the Rings trilogy on Blu-Ray.  

All in all, a long, great, difficult, happy year.  I am excited for what 2012 will bring us.

Averie Mish-Mash

There have been a bunch of little things happening over the last couple months but nothing really deserving of its own post and so we have: mish-mash. 

Averie seems to be talking more lately.  It makes me feel like we’re on the edge of a breakthrough!  We still need to have her re-evaluated by the early intervention place so we can get her enrolled in some speech therapy and I think that will really help her take off.  However, she does say “boom” (random, but so cute!), “neh” (no) and when she wants some of what you’re eating, she will come up with a pitiful look on her face and say “num num?” 

She can point out all the zoo, farm and house animals (dog, cat, etc.) in her books when we ask for them by name.  

She recognizes quite a few letters by sight (and can pick them out when asked, like the animals) and we are working on numbers and colors now. 

She loves to sing!  Of course her singing is just with babble like “ba” and “la”, but she keeps to the tune.  She also loves her xylophone, keyboard and sitting at the big piano with Daddy.

I think her favorite toy in the world is the trampoline she got for her birthday (thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!).  She could bounce for hours and -- bonus! -- it gets out some of that excess 2-year-old energy!  

We took her to the Little Gym in Orem for some classes I bought on a discount through Groupon.  She LOVED them and is quite the little gymnast, so we will be signing her up after the holidays.  Another good way to expend some of that energy!

She knows how to pray -- folds her arms, bows her head (and stays quiet!) during prayers.   

She has been in her toddler bed for a month now and doing fantastic!  Once we made it through those first five days, she started going down just as easily as she ever did and is staying in her bed until her previous, normal wake time, as well as taking a full nap in bed.  

She LOVES taking care of her baby doll.  She’s had it for several months and always enjoyed playing with it, but her play with it is expanding – she feeds it baby food now, rocks it then lays it down to sleep and takes it for trips around the house in her doll stroller.  I think she is going to be a good little helper in a few months :-). 

As our time with just Averie winds down, I am a little sad at the idea of not having as much time together, just the two of us.  Yesterday, I had a quiet moment to just watch her play and be her silly self, then we had a babbly conversation together and she went from me to Chris to me again for cuddles all day long.  It was the perfect day.  Then I think of how much I love Averie and how much I'll love (how much I DO love) our baby boy and I think it can't get much better than having two sweet little ones. 

A Lump in the Road

I was waiting to post about this until it was totally resolved, one way or the other.

Several weeks ago, Chris noticed a lump in his neck.  It was painful when he pushed on it and it was starting to affect him in other ways -- headaches, restricting his breathing, etc.  It was getting worse over the weekend so we made a trip to the ER.  There, they performed an ultrasound and discovered a mass on his thyroid.  The ER doctor said it might be nothing or it might be, well, something.  Something like cancer.  Of course my brain totally tuned out about 90% of masses being benign; all I could think about was that other 10%.

Talk about a punch in the gut.  This past year hasn't exactly been an easy one for us and at that moment, it was just another straw on an already broken back.

More tests (some of them terribly painful, like the needle biopsy) and a referral to an ENT later...  The doctor said it "looked" benign, but he couldn't say for sure so we would monitor it and re-evaluate after 6 months.  

This was not what we wanted to hear.  At this point, even something as simple as sneezing was excruciatingly painful for Chris.  The size of the mass (4 cm) was just at the threshold where they would remove the affected part of the thyroid, even if it's not cancerous, and after hearing how it was affecting his daily life, the doctor agreed to do surgery.  

Chris had a partial thyroidectomy on the day before Thanksgiving.  Happy holidays, right? ;-)  After 3 1/2 hours in the O.R., the doctor came out and said they still thought it was benign, but they couldn't be 100% sure because it had "cancerous looks."  They had closed him up for the time being and the pathologist would run some more in-depth tests.  If it came back cancerous, Chris would have another surgery to remove the other half of his thyroid.  

We just received the test results and the mass is DEFINITELY benign!

What a relief!  I just don't think either of us could have handled hearing "the C word."  Chris is healing up wonderfully and looks forward to sneezing without pain soon :-). 

Pregnancy Post: It's A...

Baby!  


;-)


I hit the halfway mark -- 20 weeks! -- on Monday and I had my ultrasound on Wednesday.  Everything looked great.  Our little one is measuring right on track, except head and legs are measuring a few days ahead.  Averie was the exact same way when I had my ultrasound with her, and she has been in the 90th or higher percentiles for height and the 75th percentile for her head from day one, so it looks like this one might be the same.  Apparently, I bake tall babies with big heads!  


But none of you really care about all that, do you?  So, without further adieu:

It's a BOY!

Chris and I are so very excited.  Of course we would have been just as excited for another little princess to join our family -- although I think Chris' wallet breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it wasn't a girl! ;-) -- but we are so happy to be giving Averie a little brother, and now Chris won't be outnumbered either! 

This makes me extra happy because, since we received my MS diagnosis, Chris and I have considered only having two children instead of our original plan of three.  I've -- selfishly -- always wanted at least one of each and now I'll get to have that.  And if we do have that third baby after all, maybe we'll let it be a surprise!  We'll see -- I'm not very patient ;-). 


Our little boy's name has been decided almost since we saw two lines on the test, but you will have to wait until April to find out! 

FINALLY!!!!

Since we did the big girl bed move, Averie has been sleeping SO much less.  Too little.  From day one, that girl has loved her sleep more than life itself and she has always required more than most kids I know.  For as long as I can remember, Averie has slept 9 PM to 8:30-9 AM and then taken a 2 (sometimes up to 3) hour nap mid-day.  But since Saturday, the latest she's slept was 7 AM and we were only getting 1 hour naps -- on the floor, to boot! 

I'll admit -- I was ready to give up.  Maybe we should just put the crib rail back on.  We'll try again in a few months.  She's not herself anymore.  She cries or whines ALL. The. Time.  Her binky, that she used to happily surrender when she woke up, was a permanent fixture in her mouth.  Her appetite was nearly nonexistent.  I was at the end of my rope.  

Then yesterday, a spot of hope -- she stayed in the bed for her nap!  Still only slept for an hour, but it was something.

And then this morning, as I type this post, I'm just seeing her start to stir and it's past 9 AM.  Halle-freakin'-lujah!!!!  I'm sure I've jinxed it and tonight, she'll cry for an hour, wake us up every 15 minutes and only sleep until 7, but now that I know that she CAN sleep until a normal time (for her) in the bed, I have renewed energy to keep this up! 

Day 5

This afternoon is a momentous occasion.

It marks the first time since Saturday that Averie went down for her nap with pretty much zero fight and stayed in her bed!  Less than 10 seconds of half-hearted crying from her bed; no wailing or gnashing of teeth at the door.  The floor, while carpeted, is not very comfy, and since that's where she's been napping since Sunday, her naps have only been 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  I hope she takes one of her marathon naps today! 

A Big Girl and Her Bed

Chris and I have been meaning to move Averie to her toddler bed since the move.  The new baby won't be using her crib (we'll be getting a smaller one), but she's been tall enough to climb out of it for awhile now and it's a safety issue.

We got the room emptied of all miscellaneous clutter that might entice a big-girl-bed escapee and Friday, removed the crib rail right before bedtime, with the idea that similar surroundings would remind her that she's been in the same place as always and she should just go right to sleep as always :-).

Chris followed her normal routine -- brushed her teeth, read her night-night book, cuddled for a few minutes -- and put her down.  To say we were surprised when there was NO fight is an understatement.  We spied on her with the video monitor (best purchase EVER) and saw her looking around the room, noticing the lack of crib rail but she rolled over and went right to sleep.  *cue angels singing*

Of course we didn't think we were out of the woods yet.  We were prepared for multiple night wakings, but they never came.  She slept her usual 11 hours without a peep.  Hallelujah! 

Naptime on Saturday was another story.  There's not much of a routine to speak of for naptime -- since she learned to put herself to sleep many, many moons ago, we just lay her down and leave the room.  When we tried doing that this time, hysterics ensued.  Crying, screaming, gasping for breath, critical mass tantrum.  We put a gate in the doorway to keep her in, Chris tried holding the door, we put her back in bed multiple times.  After 45 minutes, we gave up.  

You can imagine we were more than a wee bit frustrated when Averie tried to doze off in the car later that afternoon.  It was a "See! We knew you were tired! Why didn't you sleep earlier?!" moment.  Hey -- I didn't say it was a proud moment :P.  

We resolved to maintain a stiff upper lip next time.  Saturday bedtime was another drama-free event.  Slept another 11 hours, no complaints.  

And here we are at Sunday naptime.  The gate plan had failed miserably so that was out.  We decided to turn her doorknob around so we could lock it from the outside.  I felt bad about locking her in, but I figured we had done the same thing the day before by holding the door; this was just a mechanical lock doing the job for us now.  

After 30 minutes, and a lot of crying (thankfully it didn't last the whole time or her softie parents would have given in!), Averie fell asleep.  In front of the door.  

I'm sure she'll stay in the bed once she realizes it's more comfortable, but for now?  It's progress.

Pregnancy Post: It's Complicated

This post contains some TMI so feel free to skip if that makes you squeamish.

At about 2 AM Sunday morning, on one of my routine trips to the bathroom, I noticed some significant red spotting.  I woke Chris up and we went to the ER, where I had an ultrasound.  The ultrasound showed the baby was fine -- and kicking up a storm! -- but I had placenta previa.  This is a condition in which the placenta partially or completely covers the cervix, and it can cause the spotting.  Presumably, it’s been there the whole time and not caused any problems yet, so I don’t know what I did to aggravate it, but here we are.

So how does this change the pregnancy?  Primarily, it means I’ve been put on modified bedrest until further notice. No heavy lifting -- that includes Averie :-( -- and as little walking as possible.  Thank goodness it does NOT mean lying flat on my back all day long.  I at least get to sit on the couch :P.  It is another blessing in disguise that we are at my parents’ house at this time because Mom will be able to help me take care of Averie while Chris is at work. 

Where we go from here -- I have my 20-week ultrasound already scheduled for the last day of the month.  At that time, we will check the location of the placenta and if it has moved and the spotting has stopped, I will get to come off of bedrest and resume pregnancy as normal.  If not, we will continue with follow-up ultrasounds every few weeks to check its progress.  Worst-case scenario will be it doesn’t move, in which case, I will have an amniocentesis at 36 weeks to check the baby’s lung development and then we will schedule a C-section. 

Of course that’s not my ideal outcome but I know that this, and everything else in life, is in the Lord’s hands and I trust that He will bring me and this baby to the end safely, one way or the other :-).  

To end on a happier note: I'm down another 2 pounds for a total net LOSS of 8 pounds in 17 weeks.  Apparently, pregnancy is the best diet I've ever been on! :-D 

Then and Now -- In Pictures

You KNOW I had to do a photo post!

Minutes old - November 3, 2009

1 Day Old

3 Months -- and STILL too cute to eat her veggies!

4 Months - Our little glamour girl

6 Months

8 Months -- Our Angel

8 Months -- What would a picture post be without THE bully face?!

10 Months -- Still with a trace of that "I love sweet potatoes so much, my nose is orange" look

11 1/2 Months -- Walking!

1 Year

1 Year -- Frosting goatee

1 Year

15 Months -- I see a repeat of this face in the future, probably around 15 years old

18 Months

20 Months

Two years (well, almost) -- Announcing she'll be a big sister!

Happy Birthday, Averie!

My baby little girl is two years old today!  I can't believe how the time has flown.  I still remember when I finally saw her for the first time and how happy Chris and I were to have her with us, safe and sound.

Looking back on these still gets me a little choked up

Averie is a true joy in our lives.  Of course, like every toddler in the universe, she has her exasperating moments but she always knows when one of us needs a hug or a goofy smile to brighten the day.


She is a running, jumping, climbing machine.  Every piece of furniture is an obstacle to be conquered, or a stepladder to get to something just out of reach.


Even though Averie doesn't speak (at least not with intelligible words), she loves to sing and "la-la-las" in time with the radio or the TV or a toy playing a song.  Chris hopes that she's a budding musical genius like himself -- she certainly didn't get any musical talents from her mommy!  :D 


She likes to help around the house, even if it's just putting away the toys that she so kindly strewed across the room.  


Averie's favorite toy is her new keyboard (see above musical interests) and her baby doll.  She loves feeding her baby, hugging it and laying it down to sleep.  Sometimes the baby gets put on its head or face down in the corner of its crib, but I hope that she loves her new baby brother or sister as much as she does her other "baby." 


At her 2-year well-child-visit yesterday, she weighed in at 27 lbs (55th percentile) and she is 36 inches tall (95th percentile)!  We hit the 3-feet mark!  (Her mommy thinks she might even be a teeny bit taller than that, because Averie refused to un-scrunch her neck when she was measured).  It is becoming increasingly difficult to find pants that stay up around her waist while not looking like high-waters!  Adjustable-waist pants are a lifesaver in this house!           


We feel so blessed to have our little princess in our family and we just couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Happy birthday, Averie!

Happy Halloween!

Yeah, yeah, I'm a couple days late :P


This is Averie's second Halloween but her first year trick-or-treating.  We took her to our church's trunk-or-treat last year, but at not quite a year old, she didn't really get the point and we only let her have one or two pieces of candy -- we're terrible parents, I know ;-).  


We went with a skeleton costume for her after I found this shirt for myself and a similar one (without the baby :P) for Chris, so we were a little skeleton family.  


This year, we're living with my parents and their ward does not do a trunk-or-treat.  We took her to StorageCraft where Chris works for some T-o-Ting around the office.  


She got the idea pretty quickly and ran from bowl to bowl grabbing candy to throw in her pumpkin bucket.  


A few times, she got a little overzealous and dug in with both hands!  She wasn't afraid of "Death", AKA Chris' coworker Aaron, until he got down at her level and then she just ran away. 


After some candy-gathering for Mommy and Daddy herself, we went home and rested for a little bit until it was time for a little jaunt around the neighborhood.  We only ended up hitting 7 houses -- the houses in my parents' neighborhood are large houses on even-larger lots so it's still a lot of walking.  Averie started off walking down the street with her bouncy little walk and by the end was holding out her arms to be carried.  

Obviously she couldn't say "trick or treat" but we did teach her to sign "thank you."  She pats her mouth when she does it, so it actually looks like blowing kisses, which is equally cute :). 


When we got home, she promptly dumped out her candy on the floor and gave us this winner of an expression...

Ahhh, caaandyyyy....

Averie got enough to keep her happy for a few weeks, although we told her she needs to step up the candy-gathering next year so there's more for us her :D.

Birthday Party!

This is going to be a crazy posting week with Halloween AND Averie's birthday so buckle up! :)

Saturday night was Averie's first birthday party for her 2nd birthday -- got that? ;-).  Averie's cousin, Oliver, was born just four days after her so we decided to do a joint party for them with Chris' family, and then we'll have another small party next week with my family.  

Averie and Daddy before dinner

We had the party at the home of Oliver's parents.  Homemade soups (yummy during this cold weather!) and cake abounded.  PSA: Costco makes beautiful, delicious half-sheet cakes -- and they're cheaper than 1/4 sheet elsewhere! -- which is perfect when you're feeding 30+ people :).

Unfortunately, we didn't get too many pictures since Averie was on the run with one of her many cousins for most of the night.  They love her so much and she just soaks up every ounce of the attention!  She got some fun gifts and her very first piggy bank, even started off for her with a stash of coins.   

She has a mini Magnadoodle that she LOVES, so she was pretty thrilled to get a big one :)

We couldn't convince her to blow out her candles (even though she knows how), but Oliver took care of that for her :-).

Aah, so blurry, but Oliver was looking cute and proud of himself for blowing out the candles :)

Everyone had a great time and despite the massive sugar high (did you see those frosting balloons?! Yikes!), Averie conked out on the ride home :)

And just a gratuitous picture of Averie's cheesy grin:

Babymoon!

Ours wasn’t QUITE a babymoon since you are supposed to take it when you are still child-free, but Chris and I had the chance to take another somewhat-free vacation thanks to Living Social, so we jumped on it.  My mom was kind enough to take on Averie for us for the three days we were gone.

We left early Wednesday morning, headed for Lake Havasu City, AZ and stayed at the London Bridge Resort.  

Everything there was so beautiful and the weather was just right.  The low-80s temperature was a nice change from the chillier weather coming to Utah now.  Chris and I are already hoping to plan a trip back with Averie and the new baby next year.  There were tons of family-friendly activities in their not-so-little resort city, although we didn’t participate in any.

Nope!  Not a one.  Our suite was huge and beautiful and we were not the least bit inclined to leave it!  We slept in, watched movies all day long, ate at delicious restaurants and relaxed in the jetted spa tub. 

It. Was. HEAVEN. 

Chris and I both came back feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day again.  And a certain little girl welcomed us back with big smiles, hugs and kisses.  We missed her terribly, but I can’t deny that this vacation was just what the doctor ordered after this year! 

Pregnancy Post: Feelin' It

Up until our anniversary last month, pregnancy had been pretty good to me.  Of course I’m exhausted, but y’know, I’ve been exhausted for the past 10 months so I don’t know how much of that I can actually blame on the pregnancy and how much is the MS.

And I thought I’d escaped morning all-day sickness until it reared its ugly head at almost 10 weeks along when Chris and I were supposed to be enjoying a romantic anniversary dinner!  We ended up eating salads from the grocery store deli at 8:30 PM in the living room with Averie running circles around us.  Which is just not quite the same as the candlelit table and bacon-wrapped filet I was planning on…

The hardest part of being nauseous was that I still had diapers to change.  Chris changed all the diapers for me when he was home, but that still left usually three for me to change while he was at work.  An empty trash can by the changing table -- just in case! -- was enough reassurance to get me through those really vile diapers :).

And just when I think it’s fiiinally tapering off (like last night), the dry heaves return with a vengeance and I’m running to the medicine cabinet for a Zofran -- my beautiful, beautiful miracle drug.  All of the nausea does make me wonder if it’s a boy this time since the all-day sickness I had with Averie was much more mild and didn’t last nearly as long.  We shall see!

Everything else has been pretty normal and I am noticing a return in my energy levels now that I’ve entered the second trimester.  Hopefully, productivity is in my future!

Looking Up

Things are improving at our new home.  Fewer toes are being stepped on, and we are finally settling in.  I can finally envision our family staying here until the time is right, instead of leaving as soon as possible.  

Work has started on finishing the backyard so Averie will have a yard larger than we could have imagined to play in next spring and summer, alongside her new sibling --- who will probably just lay there ;-).  

One thing that I do love about being here, that I've always loved about being here, is how much space Averie has to play.  

We've re-arranged since to make room for her small table and chairs for coloring, and I'm busy envisioning where else we can fit all the new stuff I want to get her for her birthday and Christmas.  

She never could have had this much space at Garden Park...unless we removed all the living room furniture!  Here, we have enough seating in the basement for at least nine people and she STILL has all this room to run and jump and play and just stretch out.  You can tell she's happy about it, too :).

Guess Whoo Has a Secret?

I'm going to be a big sister!

Chris and I had been talking about expanding our family for a few months and in July, we decided the timing was right to try for a sibling for Averie.  I am so grateful that we were blessed right away with the opportunity to bring another life into this world.  If it had not happened that month, I would have started treatment for my MS immediately after confirming the diagnosis, and our children would have been spaced much further apart than we wanted them. 

I am due April 16, 2012 and am 12 weeks, 3 days along today.  We got to see our little one last week and everything looks perfect.  He/she is already measuring a few days ahead, so I guess I just bake long babies (I’m 100% positive on my dates), since Averie has also always been in at least the 90th percentile for length.  

I have an anterior placenta -- again! boo! -- which means I probably won’t get to feel much movement for a little longer (but it does mean more ultrasounds -- yay! -- because it’s more difficult to find the heartbeat through the extra tissue with the regular doppler). 

We are just SO excited for this addition to our family.  Seeing those two lines was a bright spot in an otherwise dark year and I am looking forward to meeting our new little one.

Side note: I’m thinking of a “series” here so the blog won’t be all pregnancy all the time for the next 6ish months.  Maybe just a post each month of what I’m experiencing at that time, anything exciting that happened, thoughts, etc.  Stay tuned! 

Did you check out her "fangs" in the first picture?  She gets those super-sharp canines from her daddy!

A House is Not a Home

After 10 months of unemployment, our savings was wiped out, and we were in deep, deep credit card debt.  The total was so much higher than I thought it would be, once I added it all up, but hey, 10 months without a regular paycheck or unemployment benefits will do that to you.  I’m just glad that we had the resources SOMEWHERE so we could keep living!

My parents had offered to let us move in right after Chris lost his job, but we kept hanging on because we really did not want to turn to that option.  Chris and I had done it once before when we were first married, and there was such conflict that our marriage almost didn’t survive it.  Moving out was the best thing we ever did.

But this time around, we recognized that in our current situation, it could take us, literally, years and years to get back to where we were before the unemployment.  We had to acknowledge that maybe the best thing to do would be to take them up on their offer.  After assurances that things would be different than last time, we took the plunge when our lease ended last month.

Sadly, things have not been any different.  I was truly hopeful that they would be but Chris’ and my relationship with my family continues to grow more strained, and we’ll plan to move out sooner than we would have if boundaries and basic considerations had been respected from the get-go.  It will mean it takes longer to get back on our feet, it will mean taking longer to meet all our financial goals, it will mean uprooting ourselves again too soon after a move that was stressful in the first place.  But all those things are better than the alternative.  

It was very generous of my parents to finish their basement for us – it is beautiful, really, and we have more living space than before – and I am and will be eternally grateful for that.  Unfortunately, a beautiful house is not synonymous with a happy house, when there is discontent as there is now. 

I don’t think I will ever stop calling Garden Park home. When I’m in Orem for school, it feels like I should just drive up the hill to get home, not get on the freeway.  We made wonderfully close friends there that I hope we will keep forever.  It was the first and only home Averie ever knew.  It was actually the first place that ever felt like home to us. 

I hope we can find our next home soon.

Peter Cottontail

This is Averie’s bunny.  You will rue the day you accidentally try to put her down for bedtime or a nap without realizing she does not have the bunny.  Heck, should you ever even try to take it from Averie when she doesn’t want to give it up, you may wonder if she has begun lifting weights in her free time seeing as her grip will suddenly be ten times stronger than yours.

We even have multiples of the same bunny that we rotate so they are equally loved (translation: dirty :P) in case one should be lost or become so gross that I can’t bear to let her have it anymore.

Averie is more attached to her bunny than her pacifier, and that’s saying something because this girl LOVES her binky (it’s next on the wean list as soon as her molars cut through – that should be fun!). 

Sometimes we sit with her and sing “Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail…” with her while the bunny hops up her arm to her neck and then tickles her with his little whiskers.

Cute bunny story: Last night when it was time to go to bed, while we sang the song as we walked, Averie chose to hop all the way to her room instead of walking!  I love when she surprises us with some silly behavior – it can brighten even the worst day!

New Toy!

I have wanted a DSLR camera for years, but we had a perfectly good point-and-shoot and other expenses always took priority (rightly so, but still).  When I opened the box last night and saw the camera, "blown away" doesn't even begin to describe my excitement!  How Chris managed to keep it from me I guess I'll never know -- I am terrible at waiting for surprises.  

It’s a Canon Rebel T3, which is a fairly entry-level camera, but that’s perfect for me since, well, I am entry-level at shooting with a DSLR.  

Even better, Chris also got me photography lessons so I can learn all the ins and outs and features of my awesome new camera.  I’m glad Averie loves the camera because I have a feeling she is going to be my favorite subject! 

(Chris' gift was much less exciting than mine -- a new fog light assembly for our SUV, since ours was broken when we hit a dog running into the street a few years ago.  Chris was still very excited though, so that's all that matters!). 

7 Years!

Chris and I celebrated our anniversary today!

I can't believe it's been so long.  Time just seems to fly by and I love that seven years later, we still go to the grocery store together and text "I love you"s throughout the day like when we were newlyweds.  I hope we stay like this forever.

Chris surprised me on Friday by having flowers and chocolate-covered strawberries delivered!  Oh my, so delectable (the strawberries, not the flowers :P)!

Today, we FINALLY saw the final Harry Potter in the theater, although we had to take a raincheck on our romantic dinner for two.  As much as we both love Averie, it was still nice spending the afternoon together, just us.  

I really couldn't have picked a better spouse.  Chris is just downright amazing.  Of course he's not perfect, but he is perfect for me.

Looking forward to celebrating an eternity of anniversaries together!

Back to School

One semester left, one semester left...


At the end of this year, I will have two degrees, one in Business with an emphasis in accounting, and one in Hospitality Management.  It's been a long time coming -- I have been in school for eight years!


I'm only taking two courses -- Individual Income Tax and Hospitality Managerial Accounting.  The hospitality one is to complete that degree, and the Income Tax is to get me above half-time so I qualify for financial aid.  Plus, I actually enjoy taxes (and, no, I do not need to have my head examined! :P).


I was actually planning to attend next semester but some things changed that made attending this semester a better choice.  Or maybe that's debatable since the first day of school also coincided with our move! 


It will be nice to finally be done though.  I'm happy I will have not one, but two, degrees that will be useful if I decide I would like to go back to work one day.  I will say I never anticipated it taking this long, but multiple major changes will do that to ya! 

The “To Be Announced” is Announced

In an earlier post, I referred to another trial in our lives that I was not ready to post about yet.  I'm not posting this for pity, or anything like that.  Just another entry in the journal (albeit online) of my life.  

Long story short: I have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.  I was waiting to post about it until it had been confirmed in-person with my neurologist, and I'd seen the results for myself.

Long story long:

At the end of December 2010, I woke up one morning with numb hands and feet.  Over the course of a several days, I went to my regular doctor, to the urgent care and finally to the ER, where an MRI of my brain was ordered. 

On that MRI, the radiologist and my new neurologist discovered a small lesion.  It was so small, they weren’t even sure it was anything at all.  For all they knew, it could be something everybody had, since the medical community is not in the habit of scanning the brains of otherwise “normal” people. 

Over the next few months, we did more tests – that came back normal – and a nerve conduction study, which showed I have carpal tunnel syndrome (no surprise there!), but that did not explain my symptoms.

I had another MRI done, this time of my neck and spine.  The results showed an inflammation in my spinal cord.  This could have been a post-viral inflammation (say, from a cold) or something worse.

After that test, I knew I needed to take some action to get my life back.  My hands were still numb, I could hardly type or write, and I could not take care of Averie by myself.  At that time, I decided to undergo a 3-day course of steroid treatments.  I went to the Infusion Center at the hospital for three days, three hours at a time and had 1,000 mg of Medrol pumped into me each day.  The steroids returned my hands to about 60-70% of their original functionality within a couple weeks, and there was a strong possibility that they would continue to improve. 

Last month – 6 months after the first MRI, my neurologist wanted to run a follow-up MRI of my brain.  If there were no new lesions, then this whole thing was a fluke, possibly due to the spinal inflammation, and life would go on as normal. 

Well, there was another lesion, no mistaking it this time, which by definition, means I have multiple sclerosis.

Future Outlook

I am lucky that my MS was found very early on and while I was very young.  I have a great prognosis, and there are so many treatment options available to me.  Up until recently, all of the treatment options have been injections, and for someone with an intense dislike of needles, that was the one thing I was having the hardest time dealing with.  However, a new oral medication just came out last year and so far, results have been great! 

I am lucky to have resources for support and advice and “success stories” of people diagnosed with MS that still went on to lead very normal, fulfilling lives.  I know I can be one of those people, and I intend to be!

Of course, this diagnosis still means changes in my life.  I will probably never have the energy to go, go, go 24/7 like I used to do.  My hands might never be 100% normal again.  The future is unknown, but I know my doctor is looking out for me and he has never once tired of looking for an explanation for me.  There are no words to describe what it means to have a doctor that really cares, and doesn't just tell me I'll have to live with it, or write out a prescription and shove me out the door.   

I am blessed to have Chris by my side through this.  He is a strong, supportive husband who has not once complained about picking up the slack.  He doesn't bat an eye when he walks in the door after work and the house is a disaster because I just didn't have the energy that day to clean.  He hasn't backed down over the looming expenses for regular MRIs and expensive medications.  He assures me that he'll be there every step, even though I might never be the same, and I know he means it.  My husband is amazing. 

I know I will get through this.

Signs

We put off teaching Averie sign language for, probably, much longer than we should have.  I think I was nervous it would be too complicated (I've seen those ASL interpreters who move lightning-fast!) or she wouldn't catch on and it would just be wasted time.


Since life has been so crazy lately, I haven't even gotten around to calling the pediatrician for a referral for speech therapy, so we just decided to try teaching signs.  

And now I am kicking myself for not doing it sooner!  


In just a few weeks, Averie has learned to sign please, more, eat, drink, down (to get out of her highchair), open, and all done!  Last week at dinner, Averie signed "more, please" without any prompting!  There are much fewer tantrums since she can communicate what she wants more easily, and less frustration on our part because we don't have to guess what she wants anymore. 


I am going to be pulling out the sign language DVDs I bought ages ago and start working on more of them! 

A good haul

I used to hate shopping at Wal-Mart.  Not very clean, could never find an employee, rarely well-stocked.  Since they have started doubling coupons to compete with another local grocery store, they have really cleaned up...and I have, too! :D

Now Wal-Mart and I are great friends, after they helped me get aaaaall this:

Retail was $161.85 and I spent $37.88! (77% savings)

Boy, do I feel like a chump for buying Cottonelle at Costco with their coupon last month at $0.50 per roll, when I paid $0.25 per roll last night!  Between the Costco TP, this, and our existing stockpile, I don't think we should have to buy toilet paper for a few years!