Avery's Mom: April 2013

She girds herself with strength, and strengthens herself daily. She perceives that her provision for her family is good: she does not retire early but works diligently to see to the needs of her family, she is not an idle woman. Proverbs 31:17, 18, 27

One thing is for sure, whoever gave age 2 the title "Terrible Two's" surely didn't have a three year old, red-headed little girl to raise. This has been one of the most trying ages for me with Avery so far (and don't remind me that she is a girl and will grow up to be a teenager please). Avery may not look like me, but she definitely has some of my attributes. Being hard-headed is at the top of that list! I wonder daily why everything has to be a struggle with Miss Sassy Pants. Her favorite sayings at the moment consist of things such as, "No, I not," "Uh-uhhh," Okay, Okay," and the list continues. She gets a look in her eye that tells me she is about to test me to the extreme limits of my patience at least once a day, and if there is something she's not supposed to be doing, you can about guarantee she will be doing it! She even wrote me a "sad note" the other day like her teacher's do at school. Thankfully, she never gets those because she would never act like she does at home there! She may be a hand full, but I'm not sure I'd have it any other way. After all, being headstrong has gotten me through an awful lot in my life, and so far, it's done the same for her. While there are lots and lots of moments I am ready for this stage to move on by, I want everything to freeze all at the same time. She's growing to quickly! Like John Mayer says in one of my favorite songs, "Won't someone stop this train?" I love my sweet girl, even when she's not so sweet!

I've been a little worrisome lately (as I always am right before her cardio check-ups), but she really is doing great. She had a great appointment with Dr. Dixit, her endocrinologist last week. She waltzed back, spoke to everyone and smiled, stepped on the scales, and sat all by herself to get her bp checked! Dr. Dixit said she could hear her singing and talking from the hallway! She examined Avery, and everything looked great! She did change her thyroid medication from Levoxyl to Cynthroid (sp?), but she let us forego blood work because I was alone with both kids. Avery is now 3 feet tall and nearing 28 pounds. She is growing at a very nice rate and looks good on both growth charts (TS and regular). Dr. Dixit got some love from her and sent Avery home with a Tangled book which she was thrilled about. I'm extremely proud of how well she does now at her appointments! Avery is still wearing size 2T, and yes, she has a six pack! She is so strong, and I am sure the GH treatment has only made that increase. Dr. Carron, A's ENT, said she will need tubes placed in her ears again, so we are looking at that for this summer. Both of them have come out now (we think). While I hate that, I definitely don't want to have the fluid and hearing issues again. Although others have trouble understanding her, Avery's speech has really picked up! She speaks in sentences and loves to sing these days. She has been singing (and asking me to sing) "Tick-Tock" which is really "I'm a Little Teapot" a lot recently. She has trouble verbalizing things at times, but mostly, she gets her point across! Her speech therapist, Angie, loves working with her. She said that Avery is always so happy and excited to see her when she comes. Avery loves her too, and she always tells me what Miss Angie wore the day she had therapy, lol. Angie works on lots of things with Avery because Avery gets frustrated with strictly working on sounds. I am happy because A gets an extra dose of her letters, numbers, and colors, and has worked on other skills (like opposites). It is still very difficult to understand exactly what Avery knows and doesn't know. She doesn't like for us to know! I personally feel she knows an awful lot, and she will show us when she feels like it. That's Avery for you! We will check out her heart in a couple of weeks, so I'm praying everything is still working perfectly and that her heart is handling the regurgitation well. I dread the day we have to schedule surgery or even a cath for that matter! God continually reminds me that He's got her in His hands though. My mind may wander, and my anxiety may flare, but He always brings me back to that truth in the simplest ways.

And yes, I do have another child! His name is Bryce! Bryce's next check-up isn't until May at 4 months. We ended up taking him to the doctor last week to check out a cough he's had for a few weeks. Thankfully, everything was fine, and we found out he now weighs 15 pounds and 14 ounces! He's wearing mostly 6 month clothing, and he has just about grown out of size 2 diapers. Avery never got out of 3's and wasn't 20 pounds at age 1, so this is definitely different! He still has a lot of his dark hair, but he's got some parts in the back where he's lost hair. He looks more and more like his daddy daily, but I do still claim his dimples! He also has that bump on his ear like my dad and Papaw, so he's not all "Bell" right? He's hit his milestones so far, aside from rolling over. Dr. VN already told me that he probably wouldn't do that on time because of his size. When he is on his tummy, I can see that it won't take him too long to do so though. He's also teething, but he hasn't been too fussy with it at this point. I almost make myself worry about him some days because everything has been so normal! Bryce is doing well at daycare so far, and he especially loves his afternoon teacher, Ms. Louise. She said he smiles at her all the time. He's a ladies man! He's just a sweet, chunky, laid-back, little boy. I'm totally captivated by him. I love this sweet, cuddly age!

I'm definitely not an "idle woman." I guess I'm starting to get the hang of this a "family of four" thing too. I won't say it's an easy adjustment, but it is well worth the effort! I'm really looking forward to spending lots of time with my little ones this summer. Thankfully, it's right around the corner! I can't believe Avery will be 4 in under 2 months!! I stop every now and then just to look at her, and I think about how much she is growing and changing. Time flies when you're a mom- that's for sure! I love, love, love my babies! They fill my life with happiness, and I'm so grateful for each day I get to spend with them (Yes, even the days Avery makes me feel like I'm going crazy!)

Some pics from Avery's last appointment...

Bryce is 3 months old!

Bryce began to notice his hands more recently, and he's been playing with them ever since. He still tries and tries to suck on his thumb, and we try and try to give him his pacifier! He looks so sweet doing it, but I know it will be way more difficult to break.

He loves playing in this thing! He's begun hitting at and grabbing for toys. He is able to hold them and sometimes pull them to his mouth now. He grabbed a handle and pulled it just this past weekend to make music play in his bouncy seat. He turns his head and holds it up really well. I guess the worries of him favoring one side and needing his left neck muscle strengthened can be laid to rest.

I found Bryce's second birthmark (he has one other small one in between his eyes)...it is on the back of his head. You can see it to the left in the picture below, but it's just a few little red marks.

Bryce still smiles all the time, and I love it! His little eyes light up when he looks at me, and it really melts my heart. It's the same feeling I get when I pick up Avery and she runs full speed, smiling and giggling to get to me each day. It's a wonderful thing to see as a mom! Bryce "talks" to me with lots of smiles every morning as I get him ready for daycare. He is still a very happy baby!

"Nakey, Nakey" as Avery would say....Bryce still loves his bath time! He is kicking and getting excited in his little tub, and he arches his back and flaps his arms all over the place.

Bryce's umbilical hernia has closed on its own! It doesn't stick out like it used to, but it looks like he's going to have an "outie!" I am very relieved!

Here are his sweet, long, chubby arms...

Bryce and Buster getting a power nap...

Here is his with his favorite toys...those hands! He's also giving "the look" just like his daddy does!

A little Saturday morning bonding between Bryce and Avery...she keeps saying he's her best friend! Avery seems to be getting used to having a little brother around. She loves to help by throwing away his dirty diapers, picking out his PJ's, and helping with his bath. She really gets a kick out of him smiling back at her and making noises.

I blame it on sleep deprivation and going back to work, but it is pretty funny. I knew Bryce was turning 9 weeks old, and in my head, I thought that was 3 months! I took some pretty cute pictures of him and Avery though!

We spent this beautiful afternoon at Winner's Circle Park celebrating Trey's birthday. It was Bryce's first time at a park. Avery woke up throughout the night (before) coughing and crying with her ear. Sometimes when she has ear troubles it only bothers her at night. She's been coughing a lot lately with a runny nose, so it isn't a surprise. Bryce has been coughing too, but it hasn't turned into anything worrisome. Thankfully, neither of them are running fever or anything. Avery will have her tubes replaced by this summer. She had a check-up with Dr. Carron recently and one of them was out and the other was on it's way. While she doesn't get many infections, the fluid causes hearing issues, so we don't want to take any chances.

Early this morning, I got her in the bed with us, and she slept on and off. Bryce woke up to eat, but he fell back asleep too. The next thing I knew, it was 10:15 and everyone was still asleep in our bed! We never set an alarm on the weekends because we always get up so early. I guess we should have today because we missed church this morning! I have to admit that I have not had a good night's sleep in quite a long time, so those few extra hours (whether broken sleep or not) were pretty nice! It was also nice to have everyone home and snuggled together with all the craziness of the spring.

Baseball...

Like father, like son...my boys taking a nap

Avery and Bryce always have fun with their silly daddy!

Papaw looks like a different man (he's lost at least 90 pounds since his treatment began), but his grand kids don't know any different. Bryce spent some time rocking and talking with him this past weekend, and Avery and Cooper hid under the blanket with him and tried to scare everyone. They love him so much! We are praying for great news from Papaw's Pet Scan this week as he returns to MD Anderson.