Slumber Party

Ava got to have a slumber party at Grandma & Grandpa V's last night. Daddy worked yesterday morning and then we all went over to Grandma & Grandpa's around 4:30. Ava got to stay so that Daddy and I could have a "date night". We went out to dinner and then met up with some friends and went bowling. A big thank you to Grandma & Grandpa! It was great to get out for the night and not feel like we had to rush home.

We met up with Ava at church this morning and then the five of us and Uncle Wes went out for brunch at Granite City to celebrate my birthday. It was delicious as usual. The rest of the day was spent just hanging out.

We have a pretty slow start to the week, with Ava heading off to day care to play with her friends tomorrow morning. We're looking forward to seeing our friends Riley, Bill, baby Miles when they arrive on Thursday. We especially can't wait to meet Miles!!!

Hoping that you all have a great start to your week!

Ava seems to love Chinese food. She had egg rolls last week, and this week she got into the Lo Mein.

We had noodles everywhere!

I thought it was spring

Spring arrived this week, and so did our winter storm. We were under a winter storm warning today. It was windy, cold, and we got some very wet snow! Ava and I ventured out this afternoon after the snow slowed down, as we needed a change of scenery from our house. Other than that, it's been a pretty low key week.

Ava has had no blow-outs since she was kicked out of day care last week. So I'm hoping that we're done with all of that. I'm just praying that she doesn't get another ear infection before we go and see the ENT Dr. next month. Otherwise she'll go back on the Augmentin and we'll have issues once again.

I worked this past weekend so it was Daddy and Ava time. Ava also got to spend some time with Grandma and Grandpa V. They came to watch Ava Sat. evening before I got home so that Daddy could go to a "baby shower" for our friends. Then she and Daddy headed over to their house after church on Sunday. Grandma was nice enough to watch Ava while I got a facial yesterday as well. What a treat that was for me!

Nothing else too exciting planned for the rest of the week. Tomorrow is my birthday, the big
3-0. I actually picked up a day shift at work, and then Nate and I are just doing dinner at home. I have to say that I was more excited about Ava's birthday than I am about my own.

I hope that you are all having a wonderful week. Thanks for checking in!

Ava can often be found rocking out on her piano. It's even better when she stands with her butt up in the air and dances while shaking her butt.

If she's not standing up next to the table pulling stuff off, she's climbing under it

I don't think that she quite gets the concept of what the spoon is for yet. She held it in her right hand while shoveling food into her mouth with her left hand.

Make it stop!

I walked into Ava's daycare yesterday afternoon to pick her up and noticed that she was wearing different pants than what she was wearing when she was dropped off in the morning. This is never a good sign! I guess that she had a "big blowout" or an "uncontained BM", with some even getting on the carpet. Not cool! So, Ava was not welcome at daycare today. So, after talking with my work I am now working an evening shift today (not ideal since I'll then be sleep deprived for my lovely 12 hour shifts this weekend) and Grandma V will watch Ava this afternoon. I sure hope that this doesn't last much longer! She's been off of the antibiotic for a week now.

So, as you're all tipping back your glasses of green beer tonight to celebrate St. Patrick's Day I'll be at work hoping for less poop there and here at home. Cheers and Happy St. Patrick's Day! :)

1 yr Dr's appt.

We had a wonderful and relaxing weekend. Ava and I ran to the mall and hung out while Daddy reffed on Saturday morning. I put Ava down for her nap and then went to get my oil changed. Nate called me two hours later to see if I was almost done. I thought maybe they were at the grocery store. Nope, Ava was still sleeping!!! She took a THREE hour nap! This is after she didn't take any nap for me on Friday. Why is it that she only sleeps for Nate?!? Once she finally woke up, we had a snack and then went over to Grandma & Grandpa V's to hang out with them and Uncle Wes. We had dinner over there and then came home.

Sunday we went to church and then Auntie Lisa #2 and Uncle Craig came over to hang out. They brought Ava a nice loud birthday present. She loves it, so that's the important thing. We'll see how much Daddy loves it when Ava is playing the piano when he's trying to watch ESPN. :)

Today Ava had her 1 yr well baby check. I was anxious to find out what her ears looked like. She still has fluid in both of them (more in the right), but they are not currently infected. We got a referral to see an ENT, which we will do on the 7th of April. I'm actually looking forward to tubes, and hope that we will never have to deal with a month long ear infection ever again. Ava is 32 inches long, and weighed in at 23.13 lbs, with a head circumference of 18 inches. This puts her off the charts for height, 80th percentile for weight, and 90th percentile for head circumference. So I guess that means that she's long and lean with a big head. :) She also got a stronger prescription for her yeast infection which looks Horrible!!! I cringe every time that I change her diaper. She does have an umbilical hernia (which we've known about since birth). It hasn't gotten worse or better so we'll continue to watch it. I'm still hoping that it will resolve on its own in the next couple of years (most do by age 5). They did do a finger stick to check her hemoglobin and lead levels. Her lead level was great, but her hemoglobin was low at 9 (it should be 12). Her Dr. is thinking that it is low due to her being sick for so long. We'll recheck it at her pre-op appointment. Ava did so good and was kind of funny when they pricked her finger. They poked her and her jaw dropped as she starred at the nurse as if saying, "what did you do that for". She didn't cry or even fuss, her jaw just dropped in disbelief that somebody would do that to her. She also go two shots, but did cry with those. It was pretty short lived (I once again gave her ibuprofen before her appt. in hopes to decrease the pain) and she's been fine since.

The sun was out today and it felt SO good. It's even nicer now that it stays light so much later. Nate, Ava, and I were able to go for a short walk when Nate got home. It was nice to just get out and enjoy some fresh air. It's back to work for me tomorrow morning which means that Ava will be heading back to daycare. She hasn't been there for 2 weeks (since she got kicked out due to her diarrhea) so hopefully she'll quickly adjust and be able to nap there.

Love-Hate

I currently have a love hate relationship with Ava's antibiotics. She finally finished the augmentin yesterday. I love that her ear is feeling better, but I hate the side effects that she has had. This little girl has had so much diarrhea! She has been out of daycare for two weeks now. On Tuesday we had a record with 7 wardrobe changes in one day (not to mention 2 shirt changes for me). She has been getting lots of baths and lots of pedialyte. Now that the antibiotic is done, I'm hoping that the diarrhea will subside here shortly. Unfortunately she now has what I believe to be a yeast infection. At first I thought it may be a diaper rash, but it has not gotten better with Butt Paste, and now she has little bumps. Our poor little peanut, it's just one thing after another. I called her clinic this morning and they are calling in a prescription cream for her. She has her 1 yr well baby check on Monday. I feel like she still has a lingering ear infection. I'll be curious to find out how her ears look on Monday.

Ava has decided that sleep in not needed today. She has not taken one nap today, unless you count the 5 minutes that she fell asleep in her high chair eating lunch. I'm not sure if she thinks she's too cool for naps, or if her ears hurt her when she lays down. All I know is that Mommy really needs a nap after working evenings. Praying that she'll sleep well tonight and that this no nap thing doesn't become a trend!

All dressed and ready for church last Sunday. Thanks for the outfit Courtney!

Story time with Daddy before he left for work
Ava taking her one and only nap today

pictures

I'm adding some more pictures from her party, as well as her professional photo shoot that our friend Ang did (angelacourtneyphotography.com). I'm puting them under a post from March 2nd, so please see below if you're interested.

Date Night

Ahhh, a date night. That's something that Nate and I hadn't done for a long time. Tonight Grandma and Grandpa V came over to play with Ava so Nate and I could get out for a bit. Granted, our date night was not overly romantic...a movie, a quick dinner, and a trip to buy diapers, pedialyte, and butt paste. Perhaps it wasn't like the dates that we used to have pre-Ava, but it was still very nice to get out just the two of us. No diapers, bottles, or carting a child in and out of the car seat and in and out of stores. This was a much needed break after a week of diarrhea filled diapers.

The antibiotic Augmentin seems to be working on Ava's ear. She isn't constantly pulling on them, and she was giggling and smiling again yesterday. However, the antibiotic is also working on her gut...destroying every good bacteria in it. In spite of the probiotics and the massive amounts of yogurt, Ava is still having 5-7 episodes of diarrhea a day. I'm a bit timid to take her to church tomorrow in fear that we may have a horrible mess during the service. We've done lots of extra laundry this week and have taken a few extra baths. Today her little tushy turned bright red. It had looked so good up until today. So, we went out and stocked up on an extra tube of butt paste as I'm sure we'll be using it. We still have 5 more days of the antibiotic.

Ava is still not welcome back at day care due to the diarrhea. So, we've spent A LOT of time at home this week. It's weeks like this that I really wish the weather was nicer so that we could go out for walks. On Wednesday Kristi and Cora were kind enough to invite us over for a last minute play date. Ava and I both desperately needed to get out of the house. So a HUGE thank you to Kristi for the invite and adult conversation, and to Cora for sharing your toys, books, and cheerios! :) That night I was also able to meet up with a few girlfriends from work for dinner. It was great to catch up with them...what wonderful women they are.

Friday Nate took a half day of work since he had to work this morning. We took a nice trip to the mall. It's so much easier to go to the mall with Ava when there is another adult. She was full of giggles and smiles. I think it may have been our first trip to the mall that she didn't get something. Last night she once again woke up in the middle of the night. She's been doing this for the past week. I think that her ear is better so I'm not sure what is up with that. She's also been getting up between 6 and 6:30. Two weeks ago she was sleeping solid from 7 pm-7:30 am Every night. We really need to get back to this. It's as if she thinks that she's too old to sleep now that she's 1. We need to talk about this!

We hope that you had a good week and that you're enjoying your weekend. I'll post more pictures from her birthday party soon.

PS-I forgot to mention that Ava has a new trick as of Tuesday. She can now do "so big" with her hands high in the air when asked how big she is. She obviously doesn't say the words, but she's got the actions down. And if you're lucky, she'll even clap for herself after she does it. :)

Ava's birthday party and 1 yr pictures

She loved ringing that bell!

Who knew that those little toes could support all that weight? Getting into her cake that Grandma Becker made her

Grandpa & Grandma Becker, Ava, Grandma & Grandpa Veldman.

Pretty excited about her new baby stroller. I don't think that she realized at this time that pushing the stroller requires walking.

Hanging with Grandpa B

Sick & tired.

The pictures below were taken by Angela Courtney (angelacourtneyphotography.com)

Most people wouldn't put this picture up of their child...I think it's kind of cute and funny.

Ava honestly loves reading books more than anything. Hopefully this means a big scholarship for her in 17 years.

The after party

The after party has not been so much fun. Monday morning I decided to call Ava's pediatrician since I felt like she had gotten worse since starting her new antibiotic last Monday. They said to bring her in so they could check her ears again. We got in that morning and the Dr. said that her left ear had some fluid on it and that it didn't look good, but also didn't look horrible. The right ear he said was "indescribable" and said that it didn't even look like an ear drum but rather "looks like a piece of meat". No wonder she had been digging in her ears! The poor thing!!! So, I asked for some numbing drops so that she would be able to get some sleep. He said that he normally wouldn't prescribe them, but that her ear looked so bad that he did. So we left there and headed to the pharmacy to pick up her two prescriptions. After lunch we then went back to the pediatrician's office so that Ava could get her antibiotic. The pediatrician wanted her to have her first dose there since she had an amoxicillin rash earlier this month. The augmentin went down just fine and there was no reaction. It was then back to the pharmacy to pick up the generic ear drops (the brand name ones were $223, no thanks!). We put the drops in last night and she went down for the night without problems.

The augmentin must have kicked in this morning because that's when the full liquid diarrhea started. So another bath this morning, no daycare for Ava, and an "ill child" call to my work. I went and got some pedialyte for her this morning. Luckily for us Ava will drink and eat just about anything. It's so nice that we don't have to fight with her to take her antibiotics. I've been pushing yogurt and probiotics down her throughout the day in hopes that it will help with the diarrhea. She can't go back to day care until that is gone. Unfortunately the augmentin is a 10 day regimen. Hopefully the augmentin is working on her ear and not just her gut.

Grandma V came over for a couple of hours this afternoon to play with Ava. This gave me time to take a bath and do some laundry. With little or no naps, her waking up early today, and a little girl that never sits still I wasn't able to shower this morning So thank you Grandma for giving me a little time to myself!

We decided to go with the leg warmers today so that I didn't have to constantly take her pants on and off with all the diarrhea. Hoping that tomorrow can be a "pants day". :)

Birthday Party!

The big party took place on Saturday the 26th at 11:00 am. Ava was so excited to see everybody that she didn't want to take a nap. Instead, she waited until 11:00 to fall asleep. She took a short nap and then joined us all for lunch. The poor thing was a bit under the weather and spent most of the day with her thumb in her mouth or digging her fingers into her ears. She wasn't necessarily cranky, she just wasn't her happy giggly little self all day.

Anyway, we had lunch and then opened presents before doing cake. Grandma Becker made Ava's very own "smash cake" for her. Ava had a great time making a giant mess. We were so blessed to be surrounded by so many family members, as well as our friend Erin. We want to thank everybody who took the time out of their schedules to join us, and made the trip to Des Moines to celebrate this special day. It seems like there is never enough time when we are together, and I'm already looking forward to Easter when we'll get to see many of you again.

Saturday night Ava was up late again. I think that her ears hurt her every time that she laid down. She finally fell asleep for the night after I rocked her and glow-worm for awhile. Sunday morning we went to church, had lunch, and then headed home. Ava slept for only a short while. We stopped for a bottle in Albert Lea. As Nate was carrying her inside I could see that her onesie was once again not white. So, another wardrobe change in a truck stop, a bottle, and we were homeward bound to do lots of laundry.

Thanks again to everybody who helped make Ava's 1st birthday special! Thank you also to Uncle Brent and Aunt Lisa for letting us host at their house!

Below are some of my pictures. I'm still waiting for some good pictures from my mom. I'll post them when I get them.

Ava's "smash cake" with some cupcakes that Grandma Becker made

Up, up, and away. Ava got balloons from Cousin Kristin and Luke

Ava & Erin. Thanks for coming Erin!!!

Great Grandma & Grandma Great with all the great grandkids

"Bring on the presents"

Reading one of her birthday cards

"Thank you all for the wonderful presents"

"mmmm, that looks yummy"

Sharing with Daddy

"Yay, I Love cake"

Those Grandpas know how to party!

Aunt Lori reading Ava a book

Giving kisses to Grandpa B

Snack time with Aunt Marilyn

Aunt Darlene, Ava, glow-worm

Ava & Grandma Great playing telephone

"Yay, I LOVE stories! Thanks for reading with me Grandma B"

Happy 1st Birthday

I apologize that I'm a few days behind on the blog. It's been very busy around here the past few days, but we'll get to that. Anyway...

Our little peanut turned 1 yr old on Friday! We thought we would start celebrating early so we woke her up at 6:00 am, quickly changed her diaper, her clothes, and tossed her in the car to begin our birthday road trip to IA. Nate had the good idea to leave early so that she would sleep. In theory it sounded like a great idea. Ava, however, was way to excited about her birthday to sleep. We ended up stopping in Medford for breakfast...we didn't make it quite as far as we had hoped before our first pit stop. Ava had her usual cereal and bottle, and then had a little taste of McDonalds breakfast for the first time. A little biscuit, sausage, and a bite of hash brown and we were on our way.

We were almost to Des Moines when I lifted Ava's leg and saw that her jeans were wet...NEVER good! Please note that she has been on three different antibiotics since Feb. 2nd. Lots of antibiotics = lots of loose stools. We pulled over at a rest area and went in to change her. As I pulled her top up I saw that her onesie was no longer white. So, Ava had a quick wardrobe change in the cold rest area bathroom which she was not happy about. A quick recommendation for those who design rest areas...please provide a counter or some place to put things near the koala changing station. It's difficult to hold a diaper bag, clean clothes, poopy clothes, a dirty diaper (since the trash is on the other side of the room), put on a clean diaper, and make sure that your child doesn't roll off onto the concrete floor all at the same time.

So, a new wardrobe and we hit the road. We got to Aunt Lisa and Uncle Brent's just in time for lunch. Ava was not interested in taking a nap (most likely due to the pain in her ear, which we'll get to in another post) so she joined Lisa, Daddy, and me on our trip to pick up groceries and her birthday cake. We then got to pick up cousin Reece. He was so excited to see Ava. Nate went and watched Zackery bowl for a little while, but made sure to be home by 5:22 (the time of Ava's birth). By dinner time Ava was exhausted and not feeling real well. Aunt Lisa had made and decorated a birthday cake for Ava. She really liked the frosting! After that, it was off to bed to get ready for her big party on Saturday.

Ava's first ride in her carseat facing forward.

Cousin Reece pushing Ava around in his Tonka truck

Cousin Reece & Ava playing

Our big girl Loves to read "stories"

Ava Loves her cousin Zacky.

Our family 1 yr after Ava came into our lives

The cake that Aunt Lisa made Ava (her first taste of cake ever). She did a lot of thumb sucking due to the new tooth that was coming in (which I didn't realize) and an ear infection.

Getting in to that cake. Cousin Reece was right there to help lick up the frosting