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. :)