11 Year Anniversary!

Doug and I celebrated 11 year of marriage on January 24th! 

We have both been pretty busy, but we were able to sneak away for a nice lunch on a weekday at Seasons 55.  Neither of us had ever been there, but have heard others suggest it.

We asked the waiter to take a picture and he obliged. 

I can't believe 11 years have gone by already!  I would do it all over again and would pick you EVERY TIME, Doug,  I love you so, so much.

Peace, love and 11 big ones!
Shelly, Doug and Ava

Liam is Six Months Old

Slowly but surely I will catch-up with this blogging thing! I've been super busy with work (covering for a teammate on maternity leave), and catching-up with life after the holidays took some time, as well. I included the list of milestones for Ava and Liam below.



Liam continues to be the sweetest little man. He has this "grown-up kid" sense of humor, laughing at my antics like a little boy would. At SIX MONTHS, he is officially as big as Ava was at a YEAR old! He got his first tooth this past week, on the ever-so-historical inauguration day this 2009. His personality is too adorable. He likes to flirt, and will look at you but then bury his head in my shoulder.



He is now going through a bit of separation anxiety. When I walk away from him (or even as much as turn away from him) he starts to cry sometimes. He isn't nearly as vocal as I remember Ava being, but he is quite the charmer in other ways. He is undoubtedly happy to his core, which makes me happy, too. :-).



He doesn't crawl by picking up his legs and moving them just yet. He is SO CLOSE! But he lifts his ENTIRE body off of the floor (like a push-up), with just his hands and feet on the floor. This kid is STRONG! If he doesn't want his diaper changed, it might take a team of horses (or parents, at least) to hold him down and get the job done.



I officially stopped breastfeeding Liam over the Christmas holiday. My supply simply couldn't keep up with his caloric requirements. :-) We have some stash in the freezer, so he will be sure to get that nourishment. I continue to make his baby food, pureeing various vegetables. He really seems to like his food and eats well. He doesn't prefer apple sauce, but he loves mashed bananas. I've also started making the "baby pancakes" that I used to make for Ava. He had his first pancakes this morning and LOVED them. His favorite food are Beech nut veggie snacks, which dissolve in his mouth. They're large enough that he can put them in his mouth himself, and take a bite. :-)



Words to describe Liam: mellow, Mommy's boy, smiley, cuddly, never lacking in the growth department :-), a vegetable lover, a music lover, bath-splish-splash-lover, spit-up KING!, super-affectionate, active, laid-back, content, giggly - especially around his big sister. The sun shines on Liam every day.



He now has more hair. I think he will definitely be blonde, at least during childhood. Although he has a head of hair, you can't really see it because it is so light. And I love his big baby blues and easy smile.



He doesn't require being rocked to sleep at night, but I like to rock him and he seems to appreciate it as well. He prefers to go to sleep in his crib, but will sleep anywhere. Ava would NEVER sleep in the car, so we appreciate Liam doing so immensely!



Whenever music comes on, he immediately starts rocking, as if that's what is required of anyone when their hear music. :-) When at my Dad and Dolly's around Christmas, we watched a train go around the train-track. Liam would rock uncontrollably (think Ray Charles plus espresso shot) while watching the train go around the track. When the train came around his way, he would stop rocking until it passed. After it passed he would start rocking again. Too cute.



His class Christmas picture from day care is hilarious. He is the only baby in the class picture who put his hand on another baby's shoulder, as if to say "she's my friend!". Already loving on the ladies, I guess. :-) I will try to scan those pictures in soon and post them.



Within the next month, I think Ava's toys will become Liam's... He will FIND a way to get to them. Time to baby-proof again! :-)



Peace, love and Gerber Puffs,

Shelly, Doug, Ava and Liam



********************************************



Ava
Laughed out loud: 9 weeks
First rolled over: 11 weeks

Made first "raspberry" sounds: 3 ½ months
Started scooting: 3 ½ months

Ate food (applesauce): 4 ½ months

Could stand if propped up next to something: 5 months

Started sitting up unassisted: 5 months

Started crawling (army crawl): 5 months

Starting to pull-up: 6 months + 6 days

First word: (“Da-da”) 6 months + 3 weeks

Started to let go (and stand on own for a few seconds): 7 1/2 months

First tooth: 8 months

Took first steps: under 9 months

First E.R. visit / stitches: 2 years 10 months :(


Liam

Laughed out loud: 8 weeks

First rolled over: 13 weeks

Made first "raspberry" sounds: 3 ½ months

Ate food (sweet potatoes): 3 1/2 months

Started scooting: 4 1/2 months

Could stand if propped up next to something: 6 months

Started sitting up unassisted: 6 months + 1 week

First tooth: 6 months + 2 weeks

Started crawling: almost there!

First word: ???

Starting to pull-up: ???

Started to let go: ???

Took first steps: ???

A Week of Firsts: E.R. Visits and New Teeth!

I'm such a bad blogger! I have so many things to post, but haven't had time to catch-up, yet.

So, I will try to be brief and catch-up starting with this week's events....

We had our first E.R. visit with Ava on Tuesday. Most will remember Tuesday for the inauguration of Barak Obaama, the first African-American president. Unfortunately we will remember other moments that occurred that day.

Ava tripped and fell against a wooden chair at day care and split her forehead WIDE open. She required five deep stitches and glue / tape on the top layer of the cut. She was SO BRAVE during the whole ordeal. I can't believe how grown-up she is these days!

I got the call around 2:30 from her day care stating "your daughter is bleeding from her head, we called an ambulance, you should leave now." Lovely. Hearing that my daughter is bleeding from her head made me start shaking immediately. I got there within two minutes, I'd say. The ambulance and fire trucks were there. Ms. Barbara was holding her, sitting in a chair, consoling her with an ice pack on Ava's forehead. Everyone was so great and calm, thankfully. I took my clue from them. I tried to maintain my own composure as I was sure Ava would lose hers if she saw me start crying. After hearing a Cliff Notes version of what occurred, we were headed out the door. I declined to have the EMS workers take her in the ambulance... I think it's $300 or so for an ambulance ride with our insurance, and didn't think getting there two minutes later using our own car would really be that significant.

Never needing to visit our local E.R. in the past, the EMS workers had to give me directions. We were on our way. I was driving to the E.R., calling Doug to tell him to pick-up Liam at day care, trying to make sure Ava was calm and not poking her cut (or falling asleep), wrapping-up time-sensitive work calls for the day and trying to find this hospital to which I had never been. Nice. We found our way there easily. Phew!

She wanted to be sure that we brought her pink princess backpack (a gift from Aunt Sherry from Christmas) into the E.R. with us. So there I was, clumsily carrying Ava, my purse and a pink backpack into the E.R. They put numbing medication on her head at triage (via cottonball and a bandage to cover). I received a few calls from the day care principal while we were there, she felt so bad. I told her I would call her back later.

Normally Ava is averse to having her temperature taken or getting on the scale to be weighed. She had no issues with anything this time around. The nurses even commented on how well she did, asking how old she was.

While we were waiting in our treatment room, gash in forehead, Ava sang church songs for the entire E.R. Our door wasn't closed, so everyone got a free concert. And trust me...when Ava sings, she SINGS. :-) Amazing.

The doctor came in, said she needed stitches, and was going to try to do the work WITHOUT additional antistethic (aka not fun needle pokes). After he told me that she was going to need the papoose board, I tried to talk to Ava about what was going to happen. I told her she was going to be put on a board and that she would be wrapped up like a hot dog and feel like she was getting a very big, tight hug. She saw a dry-erase board on the wall and said "That's a board I will lay on!" :-) She was wrapped-up into the sheet and into the papoose like a champ.

She did fine until the doctor put the first stitch in. The doc knew at that point that she wasn't numb enough. Great. So he gave her three shots of antistethic in her cut while she wailed. He then started stitching her up at the deepest layer (he said the cut was one layer away from her skull). She did fine after that, but was annoyed by the papoose at that point, saying "Mommy, get me out of here!" I heard that sentence a few times. The hardest thing I did during this whole ordeal was to try to not cry for her. I knew she would REALLY lose it if I did...

The day care principal showed-up while Ava was being stitched. She added additional distraction for Ava, thankfully. I was really impressed that she showed-up. After Ava was stitched, they glued the cut shut and put some sort of tape over the cut, as well. She got an orange popsicle and was loving it.

When we were done, we headed to the Business Office to pay. The principal wanted to come with us and held Ava's hand while I was paying. The principal told us that the day care wants to pay our E.R. co-pay ($125). I told her I didn't expect them to do that, but she insisted. And truthfully this could've happened at home or day care. We've been fortunate that nothing like this has happened yet. And I pray nothing like this happens in the future!!!!

We've been assured that the glue helps cuts heal with the least amount of scarring (instead of stitches). Fortunately the cut goes cross-wise, so it shouldn't be a big deal. We were advised to be extremely vigilant with sunscreen on the healed cut, and apply vitamin E often to help the scar. It looks like a doozy right now, but once the glue and tape fall off, I think it will heal very well. And it's also fortunate she has bangs right now.

Being the crazy mom that I am, I called her pediatrician and a dermatologist the next day. Her pediatrician says that we should follow-up in a week as a precaution. The dermatology nurse said that time is what is needed in this type of situation, to heal optimally.

On the way home from the E.R., Ava told me that she wants to be a doctor so she can "help people". (She also wants to be a firefighter). She also told me "Mom, the doctor sewed my bump." :-) (Yes, as of last weekend Doug and I are no longer "Mommy and Daddy", we are "Mom and Dad". How quickly they grow-up. :-) I am astounded at how well she did during our E.R. visit. She really impressed me!

NOT TO BE MINIMIZED AT ALL, LIAM HAS HIS FIRST TOOTH! He woke up yesterday with it, after a rough time getting to bed and staying asleep. He can move wherever he wants to, it seems, but he doesn't technically "crawl" there, yet. He does crawl backward, scoots sideways, rolls, sits up on his own, but doesn't crawl forward yet. He reaches things, moves them back and forth between both hands. He also picks food up and puts it into his mouth but has a hard time with smaller items like Gerbers Puffs. He LOVES eating them, but I will normally feed them to him. I will keep the other fun updates for a post of his very own. :-) And I promise I will get to it!

I hope all of you are enjoying the start to a new year and the promise of good things God has in store.

Peace, love, stitches and glue,
Shelly (aka "Mom")

P.S. - Pictures and other posts to follow, I promise. :-)