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!