Thursday, April 7, 2011

Easter Bunny

Welcome Spring!



I love this picture for multiple reasons.

Both kids are looking at the camera.

The impromptu pic taken without any planning once we saw the Easter bunny by suprise.

Ava's excitement and enthusiasm when she saw the Easter bunny, giving it a BIG hug.

Griffin's smile and amazement toward the EB, never having met a stranger.

Each of them so clearly resemble each of us, Ryan and I. Yet, you can still tell they are siblings.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Breathing Treatments

Are no laughing matter.

But when you have a rhinocerus mask and a 4 year-old, something about doing them becomes fun for the whole family. Poor little Griffin was such a trooper when doing the treatments last week and I just had to capture the cuteness. Ava insisted we all take a turn with the mask.







Sunday, April 3, 2011

Our little garden

My little garden helper and I dig, picked, planted, plowed and watered the beginnings of our little garden. We planted tomatoes, strawberries, zucchini, squash, spinach and lettuce. Since we moved into our home almost exactly a year ago, we started a compost pile and that gave us a great foundation to start. An added bonus...we have some unidentifiable plants sprouting. Me thinks bell peppers, by the smell of the leaves and pumpkins from Halloween. Let's just hope we can sustain our garden in order to reap the benefits.

Stay tuned.










Friday, April 1, 2011

Why do I Blog?

Contrary to what I've read about bloggers in general, I don't use blogging as a means of bragging. I blog about my kids FOR my kids. I enjoy recording milestones that Ava and Griffin will (hopefully) enjoy reading about themselves. I choose to make it a public document so as to make it less hassle for family and friends to read, but also maybe once in a blue moon, I might give an idea to someone who happens to read it. I love reading other's blogs, so I give back.

Blogging is my outlet. My way of documenting our day-to-day experiences, however insignificant or monumental. It's just that. Documenting.

I absolutely love going back to see what Ava was up to at Griffin's age, for example. I would like to say that my memory serves me well, but alas, I've had a few things going on between then and now. So my blogging is a chronicle. A baby book.

A life book.

With my almost 4 years of blogging, I only managed to create one book in blog format, Ava from birth-ish to 2 years old. I love having that artifact on my bookshelf. Reference it often. Cue some coupon codes and an uneventful Friday night, I finally got around to printing off more, my pregnancy with Griffin and March 2009 - March 2010 (Ava 2-3). I'm catching up. Slowly but surely.

LOVE the final product from Blurb. Their software leaves a lot to be desired, but I wasn't picky and managed to get them completed within a few hours. The downloading process is a cinch, it's just little technicalities that proved to be a little cumbersome. Still, SO worth it!




Melt!

Ava came up to me the other day and said, "MOM! I made somethin' for ya!"

And when I asked her to tell me about it, she said....

"That's me. And that's me thinking I love you."

Umm, MELT.

Do you see the "thinking bubble"?

I had no idea she knew what one was, let alone how to draw one.

Love that girl!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

First Trip to the ER

Last week, Griffin had himself a little cold and congestion, nothing concerning as we've been through several bouts of colds. By Friday, it had moved down into his chest and he started to have a cough. Still, nothing too concerning. By Saturday, though, his breathing became very wheezy and by nighttime, he was breathing awful fast. So Sunday morning I put a call in to our after hours Dr. and based on the symptoms, she told me to seek emergency medical treatment.

We waited until noon for the Pediatric Urgent Care to open, just assuming they would say the cold and/or virus just needs to run its' course. Wrong.

They immediately became alarmed at the rate at which he was breathing and showed me how is stomach was retracting to try to get air that his lungs were not. They did a breathing treatment and deep nasal aspirations. Griffin was better and they were very thorough and asked to monitor him for about 45 more minutes. I'm telling you, it was ROUGH being in an 8x8 room, nothing to do, having a sick, mobile baby and ending up being at the urgent care about 3 hours.....Griffin did AMAZING!

The doctors weren't satisfied with his breathing after the first treatment and monitoring, so we went for a second. It went MUCH better for Griff. By that time, Daddy came up and Griffin was much more comfortable with both of us and doing the nebulizer machine. But again, after about 45 minutes, his passages would not stay open.

They evaluated and told us that we should head to Children's Medical to have him further evaluated there. We weren't panicked, kind of relieved that they didn't just release us, rather look further into this.

We get there, do a 3rd treatment and a DEEP, deep suckage and he really did seem better. However, we both had our reservations that it would last. The dr. felt okay about sending us home. But with nothing. So what if his erratic breathing were to happen again? Well, it did. His stomach started retracting around 3:00 that morning, so Ryan stayed home with Ava and Griffin and I headed back up to Children's. This time, I was not going to leave empty handed.

They did a test for RSV, which came back negative. We had previously gotten the chest xray which didn't indicate any problems in the lungs. My poor little guy just couldn't breath. So they ended up giving him a steroid and another breathing treatment. Sent me home with the nebulizer and rx for continuing the steroid.

We saw his pediatrician on Monday and she agreed that we should have had the at-home breathing treatments in the first place.

So here we are, on the road to recovery. Griffin is getting better, his breathing still leaves a lot to be desired, but it's not so rapid and fierce...just more goopy than anything.

It was all so scary and I'm so thankful that my baby boy is getting better!

Happy Double Digits Big Boy!

10 months! (a few weeks late)

Watching you bloom and blossom into a little tyke is SO. Much. Fun. You are understanding simple instructions and your responses make us all giggle. You are started to be more vocal and have a short list of "words", although they are mostly sounds right now.

Stats:

Weight: 20 lbs. 4 oz.
Height:
Vax: DTaP (2)

Milestones:

-7 teeth--4 top, 3 bottom

-Cruising and standing in place with no hands. You get so proud of yourself and clap.

-Signing "more", almost have "please", "all done", and "milk"

-Words: "mama", "dada", "Kkkkkey" (kitty cat), "gege" (sissy)

-Loves giving kisses and makes a mwah! sound

-Gives high fives

Dipes and Clothing:

Still cloth diapering during the daytime and size 4 disposables at night. Still in 6-12 month clothing, although we've broken out the spring/summer 12-18 months and that works as well.

Routine:

Nigh-Night around 6:30, usually wake once a night, but given the pa-pa and you'll go right back down. Wake between 4:00-5:00 am to eat and go back down until 7:30 am. Griff and Ava wake up right around the same time. Still needing two naps, although some days it goes down to one. First nap is around 9:30 am and the pm nap is around 1:30.

Eating:

On 3 solid meals a day, mostly table foods. We haven't been able to feed you purees now for awhile. You like to do it all yourself. Still breastfeeding about 4 times a day. Gets really distracted during feeding and was resulting in biting me. Ouch! We now HAVE to nurse in Griff's room with no one, ahem....sissy, around to aid in the distraction.

LOVES fruits and most veggies. Your favorites are cantaloupe and banana.





Wordless Wednesday: Old Friends



Saturday, March 26, 2011

Three Cheers for Ava!

Ava scored 3 goals today at her early, early 8:00 soccer game!!! She was so proud, we were so proud, coach was ecstatic!! We've all just been waiting for her to get in her groove and get in there and play. After the game coach came up to Ava and said, "Ava, I don't count goals....but I know YOU scored THREE !"


This pic isn't of her scoring, but she's out in the bunch somewhere!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

St. Patty's Day Scavenger Hunt

You will never believe who visited Ava last week!

A leprechaun!

Okay, so we never *saw* him or her, but the leprechaun left little clues for a scavenger hunt for Ava and she was so giddy about it. Afterward, she informed her friends that "a leprechaun meeted me!", to which they just stared at her, unable to decipher WHAT she was saying. I think she meant a leprechaun visited me! Ha!

I got the idea from this website

http://www.momtastic.com/parenting/features/127977-diy-stpattys-day-treasure-hunt

and hope to do one each year, or something fun and spontanious geared toward this festive day of luck!









Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Beautiful Day!

We had a wonderful day today!

Griff and I turned lemons into lemonade, when we walked to the grocery store because he wasn't napping AGAIN this morning. I think we are already starting to transition to ONE nap! Oh no! Anyway, it was gorgeous outside, mid 70's by mid morning, and just a great time for us both.

All three of us went to the duck pond in our neighborhood this afternoon. Also gorgeous! Ava just loves to explore and imagine and I love to follow her lead. Griffin thought the ducks were just about the neatest things he'd ever seen. Then he saw a dog and started panting, as he does, and the ducks were chopped liver.

Hung out outside for the remainder of the afternoon on a picnic blanket in the front yard. Talking and playing with friends.

Great day!

Follow Me, Daddy

"Let's have a parade! I'm the leader and you run behind me!"

Yes Ma'am!





Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Creative Girl

She builds her own Lincoln Log city.


Draws beautiful butterflies.


And "princess rainbows"


Creates, cuts and matches her very own matching game.


Conducts "ladybug races"


All on her own.

Creative!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Ava's 4th Birthday Party

Friends, Furry bear friends, and FUN! Ava's 4th birthday was held at Build-A-Bear and the kids had a blast making their own bears! We went upstairs for cake and Happy Birthday afterward. The cake! OH, the cake! It was as delicious as it was beautiful. We were so thankful to a mother of one of Ava's school friends for making for Ava as her present. The. Best. Cake. Ever.