Avery in Mom's baby dress. This is the dress I had my picture taken in at 6 months and so did Maddie and Gracie Kate.... This is almost the exact same pose. I love stuff like this.. all the sentimental feelings it hold. We too have saved a few outfits from the girls so that Avery can also get her photo done in them. Well, Things are going smoothly... at the moment. A friend pointed out that all these crazy days will feel like a lifetime ago in just a few short years and I will look back fondly upon all the nuttiness a full house brings. It's so true.... and when it gets crazy I often remind myself about how many years ago I would dream about how I wanted all this!! Before kids, when we were dual income no kids people- we would dream about what our life would be like running a household filled with kids. Okay maybe it was a bit more fantasy than reality, but I have to honestly say I got everything I wanted and more.... I am thrilled to be the mother of 4 living where I am today and doing all things we are doing. I am thankful and blessed to have a supportive husband who works his butt off so that we can carry out our dreams...... Thanks Honey... Avery you are very lucky to have the daddy that you do!!!!


Avery is still jabbering away. I love it! She will only repeat things when she is in her jabber mood. Today we went to the local grocery store and then we shopped a few other stores picking up pizza for dinner and all the way she'd repeat what I asked her- very fun!
When we ask her if she has a bad cough she gives a little cough, ( we've taught all our kids to do this trick) she just learned to wave bye bye, but of course doesn't do this on command every time, but today she waved bye bye to a lady in the store. She is crawling, but is still cautious & has not discovered the steps yet and will still call me to come get her. She will not venture around to find me! Today as I was pumping she was in the pack and play next to me and tried to stand up. She almost had it, but fell. She laughed. She is such a giggler! She will giggle HAHA anytime she thinks she is funny, She always give a giggle when we get home after being gone all day.. as almost to say yea- we are home! At night she is still be big Belly laughter. I need to get a smaller camera so I can video this and put it on the blog! The kids never leave her alone.... poor thing! She knows she is loved!!!!

Photo shoot at Nana & Papa's

Mom dressed the girls up for nothing.. Fun to play in fancy clothes even when there is no where to go. I never really save the good clothes for special days... Why have pretty clothes them if you can't wear them!

spoiled with attention!

It's official! 8 months old and her first word!

Avery's first word is Mama! She has been kind of saying the sounds for a while, but now when you ask her to say it she repeats! Yeah! She has even done it in the company of others so she hasn't made me look like a liar.. You know when your child has learned something new & cute and does it all the time at home, but when you go somewhere and ask your child to do it they just look at you like they have no idea what you are talking about! HA!

Avery, Mommy is so excited you are on target for speech sounds so far! What a great Birthday present to Mommy! THANK YOU!

I do need to call EI to get an evaluation so that all paperwork is in place for real speech after surgery... I know from experience that it is imperative to get help sooner than later. Kids brains are wired like a computer and if they go years learning all the sounds incorrectly it takes years to undo and rewire the brain to function properly when hearing language!

Well Ava it's been an exciting couple of weeks.. hmmm lets see. Madeline had her first bee sting and it was a bad one so now we need to carry epipens with us, Hayden got large fishing lure in the back of his head and his first trip to the ER, Gum in the dryer... all over the dryer, Gigi got her fingers smashed in the hinge of the front door- no broken bones, mom got a flat tire thanks to a nail, your left ear is infected so we use drops and mom has strep again.... We survived!

Dad has been gone now for 1 month.. we are 1/4 of the way done.. We cannot wait until December 10th.

Funny things you do at 8 Months!!!!! You thrash around your crib... literally I hear you bouncing around in there.. one day you got up with a red mark on your forehead. You like to pinch and scratch things especially faces. You also think it's a game and do not get scared or upset and scary mommy faces. You think it's one big game. I tried to teach you "nice touches", but the minute you get your hands free you go right for my face! Naughty baby!

We think you say na na na nam for your bottle. We also think you know you are saying Hi, but not sure yet! You rock on all fours in the middle of the night when you want to eat... yes you are still getting up on occasion. Still love laurie burkner a lot. Not interested in any other shows yet.. You are scooting, but not officially crawling yet.. any day now!

School has begun and summer is coming to an end. All went well the first week of school. The kids missed Avery and she missed them too. Of course we were up at school helping out two days- Avery sat in her front pack both days and even fell asleep in that noisy lunchroom. Gracie Kate got lost b/c she was chatting with some big kids she knew. I noticed she was missing after I saw her teacher counting the kids over and over... I just knew it was her. Sure enough she comes running across the lunchroom into my arms balling. I am glad I was there. Gracie loves hot lunch.. you'd think it was good or something, but she loves it... I know she eats dessert first- such a sweet tooth. Maddie loves her class and has lots of her friends in her homeroom. Hayden states he as the nicest teacher this year. When I asked why he said b/c she takes us outside for extra recess! So far I have not had to carry him to the bus stop and demand he get on the bus. What a difference a year makes! My little "big"kids are growing up!!! Where did the time go?

Looking Good!

Avery looks really good these days, but you'll find her almost always with a runny nose.

She constantly feels the need to flush out any fluid lurking in her nasal cavity... I would too if I were her. She is still only eating baby food at night- Most nights it goes pretty good and she is letting me use the syringe again. This gets the food a little past the opening by her nose. She loves to eat, but will stop if it gets too annoying. I must wipe her nose 100 times a day... well not really, but it feels like it. I am careful not to wipe too much and I prefer to be the only one who does so. I usually ask people not to wipe her themselves or I remind them to do it gently. I usually use cotton balls- wet or dry. I also use her soft blankets as burp rags and then wash them daily. Occasionally she will develop a little pimple like bump. Her surgeon says this sometimes happens as the internal stitches are still dissolving. This bump comes and goes. I am to keep it clean with peroxide. We think her nose looks better today than it did right after surgery- more symmetrical. We know over time she will change as she grows.
I do pray for her to have a mini miracle and to have the best ever lip repair and no noticeable speech issues. I also pray that she has some extraordinary talent or gift that shines out like a beacon in the night.. that phrase sounds silly, but it's how I feel. I would love for her someday to stand out to her friends for reasons other than her unique look! Everybody has at least one of these talents or gifts.... so it will be our job as her parents to help her discover it and help her make it happen. This is true for all our children, every body's child, but for Avery it just seems so much more essential!

Good things coming your way Ava Baby!

Avery got to meet her Great Granparents in Iowa this summer- along with her only Aunt and Uncle and 3 cousins on her Dad's side. We also have lots of 2nd and 3rd cousins whom we always get to see too. We had lots of old fashioned meals made by grandma including home made lemon meringue and peach pies, meatloaf & potatoes are among some of the crowds favorites. Our kids look forward to the late night snacks and staying up late in the hotel. We watched the Olympics this time which made for even later nights! It was a fun filled weekend- great to see everyone again. Hope we get to do it next year!!!!

All sides of Avery! She is really getting a fun personality now! Almost crawling, starting to babble more and makes the sound Na and Ma a lot now. Starts to squeal and jump when we put on Laurie Berkner band and when we sing it she looks at the TV as if she doesn't know we are singing it... or she is just that smart to put it together. Probably so- she is my daughter after all :O)! Is now liking her highchair and also likes car rides better now too. I think this is one of my favorite ages. She has a temper, especially when she is hungry from bed and you don't get the bottle in her mouth fast enough. She clings to the corners of her mattress or hangs on to her monkey when she goes to sleep. Avery also entertains herself quite a bit which is wonderful. Never did I think our fussy buns would ever be this much fun or come this far. Doing great Ava- keep it up.

Avery's 7.5 month photo shoot. This was shot after she had all but quit on me. Maddie took her into her room to cool down for a bit. When she brought her back we quick placed the tutu on her and threw the petals at her. Gk and Madeline got her laughing. Good Job sissies! For more photo's go to www.MMLphotography.blogspot.com

Avery is going to be mobile soon! She is 7.5 months old! She does lots of rocking, scooters backwards, gets mad b/c she cannot get to her toys. She gets up on her feet to bear crawl, but cannot figure out that she needs to move her arms too! So much fun to watch!

Summer 2008 is coming to an end.. where did it go.. oh yeah....., surgeries, sickness, pumping and more pumping, eating ice cream cones & popsicles, playing playing and more playing.... learning new things, trips to Iowa and Denver.

More posts to follow soon!

My one and only turned 7!!!!!!

Celebrating Hayden's Big day by passing out root beer floats to his neighbor friends!

Happy Birthday Rudy! I always wanted a 7 year old boy and now I have one!

Avery is 7 Months!! She can officially roll over "the hard way"- from back to belly! She is doing really well with the exception of a few crabby crabby nights.. We find that too much caffeine that mom drinks makes for a crabby baby.. so much so that we almost started reflux medication again. Then it dawned on me again..... Coffee .. the culprit. I guess I thought b/c Avery had been doing so well that there were not limitations now! I was wrong! One coffee once and a while seems to be fine, but several days in a row can make Avery miserable even when she is getting some formula too! It must irritate her or trigger her reflux to begin again.. b/c she screams like she is in pain.. so sorry Avery... mom will watch it now until you are not longer getting mom's milk.

Babbling is still going well. She attempts to copy some sounds, but it's early for this anyways so we just practice it. When the Big kids are bored and or lingering around the kitchen I tell them to do speech with Ava!
Hmmm.. what else can we report! We had a Big family reunion- below is just the immediate family. Avery you are so lucky to have such a large and wonderful family!!! They are all behind you and ready to support you in any way!!! We love Big families! We head to Iowa next week for our annual trip to see Jeff's side. We are dreading the nearly 8 hour car ride with Little Miss Fussy Buns- she HATES the car.. Ugh! What will we do? Needless to say we are searching for more Laurie Burkner DVDs!
We are officially trying to get in to a routine of feeding Avery solids... Not needed for nutrition until they are over one year old, but it's good texture experience. I used to use a syringe to get the oatmeal down, but now Avery will not have that. Custard works the best and doesn't come up her nose!
Well, Avery- you are looking good..... Your nose seems to change daily, but it's really holding its shape.. and your scar is thin and looking good- so much so I am afraid to massage it. Dr. L said I could, but not necessary. Think I will wait until 6 weeks post op by the advice of a friend. Seems like a good plan. I see people do the double take at times wondering if there is something different, but sometimes I notice people not even noticing! I don't want you to ever notice either.. I know one day you will, but I hope you never feel different - I only hope you feel beautiful.. like I want all my children to feel! Love you Ava baby! Love Mama

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