December 5, 2008-Lead, Learn, Believe

I didn't take any pictures today...The truth is it was a rough beginning. Avery had a very hard time going to bed last night. She cried for almost 2 hours and was even so upset that she puked. Matt and I stood in there the entire time tickling her back, rocking her, holding her and reassuring her. I finally decided she was too upset to go to bed so I picked her up and came out to the couch and just held her and tickled her back and she was out cold. I tried to lay her back in her crib and to no avail she started screaming again...so I got her snuggled up with her blankets and stood there and tickled her back until she fell asleep.
She awoke several times through the night but would fall back asleep pretty quickly. Then at 4:30am she was awake screaming at the top of her lungs...so bad that it made my heart skip a beat in my half sleep and I went running. When I arrived she said "mom I go on airplane." So maybe this is what is throwing this little girl for a loop. We have been talking about going on an airplane to meet her new cousin "baby Liam." The anticipation is just making her crazy!!! Happy to say that tomorrow morning at 9:45am we will be boarding our plane to Minnesota to meet 'baby Liam' I am hoping that once we arrive she will turn into her cute little self again...otherwise Minnesota watch out!!!!

Avery took an early nap and when she woke up she just wanted to cuddle. I had spent the morning running the last few errands before we leave town. I decided when I got home that Ave and I just needed to relax on the couch. So indeed we did. We watched the Polar Express and drank chocolate milk and ate cookies. What better way to spend the afternoon then with this little 2 year old girl of mine that just needs some extra cuddles. The movie was a hit and she talked about "christmas," "carabou (reindeer)," and "santa" the rest of the afternoon. When Santa came towards the end of the movie she walked right up to the TV and said "pink bicycle" and "baby brother." I guess this little girl has her mind made up on what she wants for Christmas and she knew he was the man to ask. Christmas through the eyes of a child...warms my heart!!!

I had never seen the movie and it got me thinking what my ticket would say after a visit to the North Pole...lead, learn, believe, count on? I'd like to think "Believe" to believe in the spirit of Christmas and not the commercial aspect of it all. To enjoy time with family and friends!!! Really to just cherish these moments (good or bad) with her because she will never be 2 again!!! sigh....

We need more days like today!

December 4, 2008-"Here Comes Trouble"

Today was just one of those days... I guess if you put her in the shirt she thinks she needs to act the part!

Avery slept in again today until 10am. I don't know if she is getting sick or just the two teeth that she is cutting are really throwing her little body for a loop...

We had lunch plans with my Dad for my birthday. We picked up Amy and Noah and headed to Desert Ridge. All the way there Avery was telling Noah that everything was "mine." We arrived at the restaurant and she was great. She screamed once and had to sit in my lap for a time out... Lap time outs who knew they could be so effective.

We took the kids outside and they ran around and had lots of fun. We then decided to head to Target for more Christmas shopping adventures. Avery yelled through the store "I want a bicycle." Now for several weeks Avery has been requesting "a PINK bicycle." We keep telling her that she needs to be a good girl and ask Santa but not really sure she gets it. So the second we saw the bicycles at Target the whole world needed to know about it. She finally settled down when we walked down the toy aisle and a gave her a toy to play with while we kept shopping. She did great!!! Then we proceeded to the check out and something upset her (no idea what) but she decided to scream at the top of her lungs to the point where the veins in her head were sticking out. Now I don't know what to do with that...except look around at everybody and smile and say "Yep isn't she cute." She calmed down and we raced for the car! This poor kids is going through something because she is just having a tough time lately. I think its growing pains and figuring out she has a choice in this world. I love 2 it is so much joy and so much of a challenge. I know it will make me a better Mom and I am learning a lot along the way.

December 3, 2008-Birthday Happenings

Well it felt like any average Wednesday but the truth is 29 years ago I was born.


I awoke later than normal because Avery has been sleeping in so at 9am Amy was knocking on my door. I forgot I was supposed to watch Noah for her so I climbed out of bed dazed and confused. I went and got Noah and we went in and woke up Avery. Well for anyone that knows my nephew he is all "boy" he climbs, he kicks, he punches, and he cracks me up!!! He found Matt's nerf gun and was firing the little nerf darts all over the house. Every time he would fire it off and it would not stick to the wall he would say "oh darnit" in which Avery would reply "I want a doughnut." I could not figure out why Avery kept asking for a doughnut until I realized that the way Noah said 'dawnit' Avery thought he was saying 'doughnut.' Cracked me up!!! What a wonderful way to wake up and spend your morning then with two wild and crazy two year olds...



We then went to lunch at our favorite Thai food restaurant in Anthem. Amy gave me my birthday present which was a book "the joy of scrapbooking" fun stuff and a Willow sculpture the miracle angel. Very cute and very meaningful!!! After lunch we took the kids to the park and let them run wild for a couple hours.



Last night we met my mom and both sisters at Oregano's for some good food. Avery loved playing with the dough that they bring the kids. Matt got me a massage and my mom gave me a book about being a mom and some good ole cash!!!












We did some Christmas shopping on our way home and Avery HAD to ride this mickey car. Avery has a thing for Mickey Mouse and I love it too!







All in all it was a great day!

December 2, 2008-"My Turn"

Today we had the Hughes and my Mom over for a pot of chili before we all went to Parker's Chorus concert. Parker said "she was so nervouse she almost wizzed her pants." It cracks me up because I so clearly remember being in 4th grade. She is growing up so fast and I can hardly believe that my sister has a 10 year old and that she is almost too cool for all of us.

We headed over to the school to watch the concert. Parker's choir sang 5 songs from high school musical and Avery danced away during each song. It was very cute! In between each song Avery would yell across the whole cafteria "Hi Park." Parker would have a sheepish grin and wave back to her cousin!

(Parker in red shirt with arms crossed!)

Avery kept inching her way to be up with the big kids singing but we scooped her back to sit with us several times. At the end of the concert Avery became too loud and I walked outside with her. She was not happy about that...so we stood inside the doorway to hear the last song. At the end Avery turned to me and said "Parker all done, my turn...Avery go singin." I put her down and she made her way up to the stage and there she stood ready to perform. I can see it now Avery will be the star of the show when it truly is "her turn."

December 1, 2008-Our New Addition

Over the weekend Matt put up Christmas lights. Our newest addition to our family is our new "Christmas Penguin." Matt took Avery to Wal-Mart and they picked up this new addition. Avery LOVES him. She wants to feed him and everyday has asked where is the penguin. Well the penguin only inflates at night when the Christmas lights are on. So when he is DE-flated and a pile on the rocks she says "penguin take a nap." So every morning she says ''where my penguin go...penguin take a nap." And the sheer delight on her face each evening when she sees the penguin come back to life is priceless. Christmas through the eyes of a 2 year old is going to be WONDERFUL!!!

December Daily

So with the hustle and bustle of this time of year I decided I was going to blog each day in December to remember this special time of year. I saw a very cute December Daily scrapbook on Ali Edwards blog and thought of course I would create my own. Well of course here it is December 4th and I have yet to create anything. So I decided it isn't too late and I can stick with my original plan but instead of doing a cute little scrapbook I can blog it out!!! So hope you enjoy it and lets see if I can stick to it :-)

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary Matt! It is hard to believe it has only been three years because it seems like a lifetime! We have done so much in this short time and I am glad you have been there every step of the way!!!!!

1. Thank you for loving me and my need to organize!

2. Thank you for always taking the garbage out (most the time) and for picking up the dog poop!

3. Thank you for understanding that I don't do toilets and for cleaning them!

4. Thank you for holding my hand through this!!!

5. And for holding Avery's hand through that!

6. Thank you for being such a great DADDY!!!!!!

7. For waking up this morning and bringing me this

8. Thank you for working hard and sleeping on your office floor for your job and our family!!!

9. Thank you for taking me to dinner last night and having a talk!!!!

10. Most of all thank you for loving me through it all!!!

I love you and hope we have many, many, many more years together!

Trick or Treat

It all started out with Noah and Avery happily riding in the wagon to the first house....

Then there was a Dad dressed as Frankenstein and Avery wanted nothing to do with Trick or Treating

She then realized Noah was taking off at every house and getting candy so she followed

Then she got brave enough to go up to the houses by herself even if the boy was dressed up as another Frankenstein...he ended up having to take off his mask before she would get close enough to get candy...

The night ended with a very happy Avery and her lollipop...and all her candy lute!!!

Hope everyone had a happy halloween....

A cute little fairy.....

Our little purple fairy....

Our FIESTY Fairy

And her trick or treating crew....

Avery (fairy), Noah (thomas the train), Max (spartan), Peyton (Hannah Montana), Taylor (mermaid), Parker (Devil Diva)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Happy Halloween....Avery is excited to be trick or treating as a fairy tonight. It should be fun! Hope everybody has a safe and Happy Halloween :-)

Happy "Birth"Day Baby Liam!!!

So very proud to be the Aunt, Uncle and Cousin to this little cutie!!!

We are so pleased to announce the arrival of Linc and Denise's new baby boy

Liam Richard Rieke McCabe

Born October 21, 2008 at 12:46pm

8pounds 6 ounces 21 1/4 inches long

Sounds like Denise was a labor champ and little Liam arrived on his due date!

Congratulations Linc and Denise we can't wait to meet him....hopefully soon :-)

Tagged.....

My friend Sarah tagged me so here it goes!

List 3 of each: Joys, Fears, Goals, Current Obsessions, & Facts About Self.

3 Joys:
1. Being a Mom (sorry Sarah to copy you but it is)
2. Being a Wife
3. Having Sisters

3 Fears:
1. Losing someone close to me
2. Having another high risk pregnancy
3. Being confined (small spaces, crowds)

3 Goals:
1. Exercising more regularly
2. Get more organized
3. Cook different meals at home (maybe do a labor and delivery cookbook)

Current Obsessions:
1. Reading Blogs
2. Scrapbooking (because I am so behind)
3. Wanting to decorate my new house really cute...sooo many decisions!

Facts about me:
1. I went backpacking in Europe by myself for a month in 2002 and met my husband
2. My life is exactly the way I would have always dreamed it would be...so thankful for that!
3. I love to cook and can't wait for all the holiday cooking :-)

Okay I tag Kris Diegle and Miss B

Thank You Grandma and GrandDad

The books are a hit!!! Especially the whats wrong with Pookie!!!

I think we have read it several times everyday since its arrival.

You pick out the best books!

Happy Birthday Avo....

33 weeks in the NICU

1st Princess Birthday



2nd bday lunch with her BFF, Noah"y"

Avery Myla Turns 2.....

It is so hard to believe that 2 years ago our little Avery was born. She has taught me so many things in these two years... I was gonna try and name them but the list goes on and on and I can't put it together without getting a lump in my throat!!! Best of all she made me a MOM....


Avery's birthday party was last Saturday but when she came in my room this morning and said "good morning, mommy." I turned to her and said "Happy Birthday Avery." She said "Happy Birthday Avo." :-) It makes me smile so big to see this little ray of sunsine at 8am even when I didn't go to bed until 2am.


She is so big and everyone we see at the stores, playgrounds, or anywhere in public always thinks that she is three. These past two years have flown by and when I look back to the day she was born it was filled with so much fear for me but today it is just so much JOY!!!

This little girl is the best thing that has ever happened to us. She makes me appreciate all the small moments in life...


HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY
WE LOVE YOU

Mickey Party and Moving Boxes

The mickey party was a success. Avery asked for another one today! Next year we will change weekends because it seems everybody was busy this weekend. We still had a blast. Will post pics at a later date!!!! Because....
We packed up the house today for the big move. Hopefully next weekend we will be moving into the much anticipated house that we have been looking forward to since May. Lots of boxes sitting in our living room. We HOPE, HOPE, HOPE we will be moving next week sometime so that the renters for the current house we are in can get in!!! Moving such a love hate relationship!

One tired mama here... will have to update the good stuff sometime soon...maybe at the new house. :-)

Our Hospital Stay!

So Avery had her first stay in the hospital....

Wednesday morning Avery woke up and I went and got her from her crib. I set her down on the couch turned on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and got her some juice. I was in the kitchen making breakfast and realized that she wasn't running around yet (not like her). Avery doesn't sit still ever...so I thought that maybe she was just tired. I went over and sat down with her and she snuggled up to me and I realized she felt pretty warm. I went to set her down on the ground she sstarted crying and fell to the floor. I was getting concerned at this point and tried everything to get her to take one step but she wouldn't.

She wanted to take a shower so we got in the shower and usually she stands in there with the handheld shower head and sprays everything...but she wouldn't even do that. I quickly got her out of the shower called Matt at work and told him that something was very wrong and we were going to the ER.

We got in the car and went and picked up Matt and went to the pediatric emergency room. When we arrived her pulse was high, her temp was 101.5 and she would not stand or walk. We waited in the waiting room after getting triaged and Avery fell asleep in my arms. This is also not like her. As I was holding her and waiting I noticed red spots appearing on her arms and tummy.

We finally got called back about an 1 1/2 hours later. The physicians assistant came in and he was really nice and wanted to do some lab work and xrays. Poor thing had to have quite a bit of blood work drawn and an IV put in. So this is why I am NOT a pediatric nurse. They wrapped Avery in a sheet and left the arm where they were going to start the IV in out. Matt stood on one side, I stood at her head, an aid stood on the other, and the nurse was trying to get the IV in. Needless to say she was soooo upset. I tried singing to her but she was bucking like crazy and making it pretty difficult. Her Daddy and Mommy were just as sad to put her through this but we were eager to know what was wrong... The above picture you can see her IV in her right hand and a papertowel on her chest because she got a popscicle as a reward. Then we went and did xrays which she didn't mind because they were not poking and there were lots of pictures of Disney characters in the xray room. Then we waited for results.......

So now came the interesting part of trying to keep a two year old that can't walk busy and entertained while waiting. She pressed all the buttons on the tv, she colored on the back of our registration papers, she ate fisheys, she ate raisins, and we sang a lot.

Finally they came back and said the xrays were all clear but that a couple of her inflammatory markers were high and they wanted to admit her. :-( We went up to her room which contained a metal crib like cage, a tv, a recliner, and two really hard chairs. Thank goodness we have the best family and neighbors int he world. My sister and mom went and got our belongings to stay the night and our wonderful neighbor brought us dinner. We were starving because we hadn't eaten all day. The nurse was great. I hadn't told anybody that I was a nurse until our nurse went through this whole questionnaire and then asked what our occupation was. She was cute when she found out and kept telling me to watch Avery. The pediatrician came and said he had to be somewhere else but his partner would come at some point. He had a couple ideas of what it was but wouldn't say what he thought.

At this point Avery was so restless that she wanted to get down and walk. She would limp around favoring different legs every time. The orthopedic came and she would kick and climb and he said well whatever it is its not me that she needs

They had a little playroom and we went and played in it and brought crayons back to our room to color with. It was very late and I had a feeling Avery wasn't gonna want anything to do with the crib/cage. So we asked for a regular bed, signed a release to allow Avery to sleep in a regular bed with me in it. We climbed in it and I tried to tickle her back and sing to her. Just when she was winding down we had a knock on the door at 10:30pm and it was the pediatrician. He was WONDERFUL! He gave Avery gloves to play with and she was totally showing off for him. He agreed that we watch her rash thinking that maybe she had something called HSP. When he left the room Avery said "Bye Buddy." I then tried to get her to sleep. Finally at midnight Avery was asleep. At 1:30am she woke up screaming in pain that her legs hurt so the nurse came in and gave her some ibuprofen. Then they came in at 2:30am to do her vital signs. Then they came in at 6am to empty the garbage and get us water??? And at 7:30am they came in to do vitals again and this time we all stayed awake.

We ate breakfast and the pediatrician came and said yep he thinks it is the HSP and there is nothing to do but give her Tylenol and Motrin for the pain and it will soon go away. :-/ He said we could go home. So we played in the playroom until the nurse was ready to discharge us.

We finally got discharged and got wheeled out. Avery and I sat in the wheelchair and just before we were about to go out the doors the nurse said wait, wait. Then the doctor was talking on the phone and hung up and said well her blood culture did grow something but go ahead and leave and follow up with her pediatrician in the morning and you might have to come back for IV antibiotics. hmmmm

So we went home and all took showers and long naps.

I was hoping her pediatrician would be excellent the next morning but no such luck. Avery has seen this pediatrician since she was born but she said she didn't think it was the HSP and that she just thought it was a virus causing joint pain, fever, rash, and sores in her mouth. No attempt at making Avery feel comfortable with her. She just made me hold her down so she could look in her throat, ears, and at her tummy... hmmm ok So we left and that was that.

She has been feeling a ton better and on Saturday was a different kid. She was back to her busy self...running, laughing, and playing. She broke out in a different rash for about an hour on Saturday but then it went away. Now today she is a lot better and eating everything in sight. She wouldn't eat because all the sores in her mouth so she lost a 1 and half pounds from Wednesday to Friday but she is catching up today!!!!

Never did I think we would have her first hospital visit shortly before her 2nd birthday. All in all she did AMAZING! She is such a strong little girl.

Thankful!!!

I was looking at blogs today and came across a blog of a wife of a soldier that is deployed and in reading some of her posts...all I could think of was how THANKFUL I am. In her post she wrote that she was looking around her house for signs of her husband...much to her dismay she realized that his pillow didn't smell like him, his dirty clothes were not on the floor, his shaving cream wasn't all over the bathroom sink, and the bathroom didn't have magazines on the floor. Soooo this got me thinking!!!

As I look around my house my husband is everywhere.......his Tennis Shoes are in the middle of the living room, his clothes he wore yesterday are perfectly on the floor next to his side of the bed, his sink is a mess, and there are three magazines on the bathroom floor. Now on an ordinary day these things make me crazy but I love that he is here. He is so involved in our everyday life that I can't imagine him missing the milestones in Avery's life.

So this blog is for you Matt...thank you for being here, for working from home even when Avery is yelling at your office door "Hey Matt I go poo poo." Thank you for picking up your fair share, for working hard, for loving us unconditionally (even when I am stressed), for encouraging me, for giving me more time when I need it, for everything you are and everything you do.....
I am so happy that our lives crossed 6 years ago in the Czech Republic. God knew I needed YOU and for that I AM SO THANKFUL!!!
LOVE YOU

Finally caught up!!!

So I posted several posts this weekend to catch up to all the time that I didn't blog. Enjoy all our pics and fun news. Two other little items that I didn't blog in the prior posts are below...sorry no pics on these two items!!!

Many of you know that we put an offer on a new house in Anthem last May. Well we waited all summer and had lots of patience and just found out on Friday that the offer has been approved. So in approximately 30 day we will be new home owners. We are very excited to have a little bit more space for Matt to work from home and also to someday expand our family. It will be a busy month trying to get everything together to get this house rented and move into the new house! If anyone knows of someone looking to rent a house...let us know!!! We are hoping everything goes smoothly.

On another note Avery has discovered the potty this weekend. She found one of her books that has a little girl sitting on the potty and having "potty time" So for the last several days she has been asking to sit on the potty and have potty time. She was really curious but not a whole lot was happening. Then yesterday she told me she needed to go potty and sure enough she did.... YIPEE!!! We do a little "pee pee on the potty" dance when we are done. She then requested panties so we made a trip to Wal-Mart yesterday for Avery's new panties. She went several times yesterday on the potty with a few accidents but she started it all on her own and we are just gonna go with it. I must say that I didn't think we would be potty training for quite some time. I guess when this little girl gets her mind on something she is pretty stuck on it. So we will see how the world of "potty time" goes. She is getting SO BIG!!!

August 30, 2008 THE PHOENIX ZOO

We made our first trip to the Phoenix Zoo since last spring. It was still a little warm but we had fun. Looks like some of the animals were a little busy...There are two new baby Zebra's that are on display and are very cute. Then the little otters were out playing with their kong's and Avery was dying to swim with them. Then we saw a young spider monkey in monkey village. He was so close to us and Matt got some great pictures of him. We ended the day with a ride on the carousel and Avery picked the Eagle to ride on. There were big tears when the carousel came to a stop and Avery wanted to ride again on the Zebra. We calmed her down and then found some shade to eat some popsicles. Lots of fun and a tired little girl.....

August 27, 2008

Feeding the Duckies!!!

We had a family fun evening of going out to dinner and then taking all the ends of our bread we had been saving to the park. Avery was very excited to feed the duckies. I was a little concerned because she kept wanting to swim with the duckies so we watched her close but had a blast running around the park. One big bonus to living in Anthem is the wonderful community park.

August 25, 2008

Dinner at the Gunnell's

The Gunnell family invited us over for a steak dinner and we had lots of fun. Gracelyn and Avery did very well playing together. These two spirited little girls always have a bit of a battle but this night was better. We ended the night with Gracelyn playing her flute while Avery rode the horsey... Love this!

August 24, 2008

Cute Girl!!

Gram got Avery this cute little polo dress. I couldn't resist taking pics of her. It made her eyes look so blue. There is no denying this is a cute girl....