A Red Letter Day

My lil'bub let me sleep in a little today, which was fantastic for my energy level, but really just knocked her whole schedule off...instead of going straight to sleep at 7p.m. on the dot, it is almost 8p.m. and she is still bouncing off the bars of her crib (figuratively of course). I know this because I am watching her on the video monitor right now. Bub the hub and I affectionately call this monitor "Avery t.v." and let me tell you, it is super mesmerizing.

I know you are probably thinking, "I would not really be mesmerized, because that is not my munchkin." You are so very wrong! As many friends and family can attest, these monitors are just addicting to watch. It's like a little secret window into her world:

So here she is right now. If you think she looks sleepy, don't let her fool you. She's the greatest faker there is! About 5 seconds after I took this photo, she was back to the bouncing and squealing. She and I are both listening to one of the sweetest sounds we've heard in a long time....THUNDER AND RAIN! Can you believe it? We thought maybe this heat and drought were going to last for ever. We are so very ready for this!!

I digress though, so maybe I should go back to the theme of this post, which is lil'bub lookin A-dorable in her red pajamas and red LOVE onesie today. Didn't I mention the other day how great she looks in red?? Here she is in the pajamas this morning:

I love this terrycloth jumper from Baby Gap!
She is still waking up here, complete with
hands tucked in the front pouch.
(ok so I might have helped her tuck them in :)

whoa mom, too close!

this is more like it!

And here she is later on in the day practicing some sitting with her occupational therapist, Ms. Leigh:

This is her favorite little neck tilt that says,
"aren't I cute?" To which I always reply with kisses!

Now that I have finished writing this post, it is pouring rain and the munchkin is finally asleep. Time to go watch Bachelorette!

Just a Preview

Well it was a long week and even longer weekend, and we are all exhausted! I am just going to post a few shots of Avery going to the pool this weekend in anticipation of our swimming playdate on Tuesday, when I can post some better live action shots of my little swim baby. And yes I know that was a run-on sentence.

Here she is in her matching cover-up
getting excited about the pool!

She likes to sit in my lap and splash around.
This was fantastic for my abs...

Here she is posing with me...she wasn't really into
the mushroom waterfall, I think it scared her a little :(

We have another busy week coming up. Lots of therapy! I can't believe we are already at the end of June, and I have a feeling that July will fly by as well. On a totally different note, I am soooo not looking forward to the continuing blanket coverage of Michael Jackson's death. Although completely tragic, Bub the hub and I have already had our fill of ridiculous reporting and speculating. And the Today show is the worst! I had to turn it off last week when Meredith starting interviewing Corey Feldman. I mean, are you kidding me? I do feel bad that his family has to put up with all of that. I hope the media craziness dies down before the end of the summer, for everyone's sanity!

No More "No Nap Avery"!!

If you know my lil'bub, then you know that she's not really into naps. It took awhile to convince her to take naps in her crib, and even then, they are usually incredibly short naps. Ever since she was about 6 months old, Avery has taken 30 minute ON THE DOT naps. This has always been just enough time for me...to get absolutely nothing done! Or maybe just enough time to decide what I need to do, but really no time to carry it out. She used to take three of these naps a day, and since she turned one, it's been two naps a day.

But in the last week, the miraculous has started happening...45 minute, 1 hour, and even an hour and 10 minute naps have been occurring! It's like heaven for me. In fact, it's why I have been able to blog more than I even expected. Well, I really should be doing some laundry or thinking about what to make for dinner, but instead I have taken to lounging on the couch and checking my emails and blog instead. But I don't feel guilty! I mean, this has been a non-stop, 12+ hour, messy, stressful job with just TWO THIRTY MINUTE BREAKS for a very long time. Like I said, this new long nap thing is heaven.

I think I should share though, exactly what it takes for a successful Avery nap. I took some pictures today to explain:

Exhibit A: She likes to sleep on her back and she has to be in proximity to her crib mirror toy, which provides endless fun.

Exhibit B: This is her reaction, no joke, when I turn on her musical mobile above her crib (thank you Aunt Ali). She loves to watch and listen.

Exhibit C: Last but not least, Avery has to have her soft giraffe blanket "chewie" and then she is good to go.

It is with these components that a successful munchkin nap ensues, after a little bit of playing and talking and wiggling. And can you believe how cute this girl looks in plaid? For most of us, there are just some colors and prints that don't work. For me, it's definitely red. And small prints. For Avery though, it's nothing. Every color works beautifully! I mean, we already know she looks adorable in pink, yellow and blue, even orange and red! Yesterday in fact, she wore this outfit:

She even looks great in kelly green, it's incredible!
(go RAMS)

I certainly wish I could pull off some of these colors as well. Next week I can show y'all how awesome she looks in a swimsuit, though it will be hard to pick which one to wear, seeing as she has five of them! I did get a little out of control in the swimsuit buying department this year, but you will understand when you see. I will end with a sweet photo from today after she took a happy one hour nap...she helped me take the picture. Have you noticed yet how well she cheeses for the camera?

If you think you're busy....

you should meet the schedule of my 1 year old! She certainly puts my social calendar to shame. And I'm not just talking about baby playdates. This munchkin gets physical therapy once a week, occupational therapy twice a week, vision therapy once a week, and speech usually once every few weeks. We are trying out a couple new therapists too, so we have been seeing double physical and speech therapists lately. If you add in the many appointments with her pediatrician, neurologist, opthalmologist, rehab doctor, orthotic specialist...well you see what I mean. We are also currently working on adding in some swim classes too, you know, whenever we have some free time.

Today, before 11am, we have already done breakfast, seen the vision therapist and physical therapist, and fit in a morning nap (just for her, sadly). I took some photos of Avery with her physical therapist, Sonia. We are so impressed with how much weight she is putting on her right foot:

We like to distract her with toys so she doesn't know she is having therapy! Here she is practicing standing and keeping weight on that right leg/foot.

She has a little ankle brace on that right foot that helps her keep it flat and gives a little extra support. You don't even want to know how much that little piece of plastic cost!

Here's an even better photo from a couple weeks ago of Avery putting weight on that foot. You can see how proud she is of herself. And Texas A&M!

Now it's off to another appointment to get measured for a splint for Avery's right hand. It's a gadget that will help keep her hand open more often. We don't want those muscles to get too tight. Also, lunchtime appointments make the perfect excuse for Avery's momma to skip the Lean Cuisine and pick up some Chick-fil-a....yum. And talking about yum, if you are ever thinking of distracting your whining daughter with some Play-Doh while you are taking a moment to blog, this is actually not such a hot idea. Although I only looked away for two seconds, and her pacifier had been firmly in place, suddenly there was hot green dough dripping from her mouth. I'm pretty sure my scream scared her from swallowing it, and I do think I got it all out of her mouth....still, really only the safest way to play with Play-Doh is this:

Pacifier in. Play-Doh cap firmly on.

Yes, her eyes are saying "Are you kidding me?"

I don't want that annoyed photo to be the last one however, so I will leave you with post-bath Avery. The other night her Nana came over for one of her favorite pastimes, bathing my baby! No complaining here!

Tribute to Dad

So today is Father's Day, officially number two for sweet Avery's dad, Bub the hub. And the first Father's Day where she is not recovering from major brain surgery....so we are counting our blessings! Bub the hub has been showered today with some of the things he loves most in this world, which I will list in no particular order:

1) love and hugs from his adoring wife and daughter
2) SHIPLEY'S donuts

3) watching the US Open

4) watching an entire soccer game on tv without a single eye roll from his adoring wife (yes, it was hard for me to do)

5) Underarmour polos

6) Dr Pepper with cherry from Sonic

7) steak for dinner

8) special home-made brownies (not those kind)

I think it was a good day for him, to say the least. Really, he is lucky to get more than one of these things (usually numero uno) on any given day--> tomorrow it will be right back to Cooking Light dinners and being made fun of for watching tv soccer and yelling GOOOOAL! while running around the living room.

Here he is enjoying some time with the munchkin:

So HAPPY FATHER'S DAY BUB! and thanks for being an amazing husband and father, right from the beginning...

when this little miracle blew into our lives and we had to make decisions that no parents should ever have to make. You were my rock, and you have been the most caring and thoughtful daddy through every surgery, the roller coaster of recoveries, and especially every one of my many near-meltdowns. Your patience with both of us is infinite...especially when I ask for the 5th time in an hour if she is still breathing, you still get up and check. Thank you for letting me sleep late on the weekends and not saying a word when I dig all the cookie dough out of your chocolate chip (cookie dough) ice cream. Thank you for always telling me everything is going to be ok, and that no, you do not see any dark under-eye circles on my face. I know the truth, but I still appreciate it.

We tried to get Avery on record saying da-da today, but she just wanted to be silly. Please, please excuse my obnoxious laughing and yelling, I get way too excited about my munchkin.

And I can't forget to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to my own daddy!

Thanks for always being there for us. You are such a good grandaddy! Your generosity overwhelms us and your humor always revives us....love you mucho!!

Raising Avery

I have been considering starting a blog for a ridiculous amount of time now, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and try it out. For many years, I felt like blogging was really only for extremely witty people with powerful opinions. SO not true..haha!! Not only is it a fantastic way to keep family and friends updated, but I never imagined how much hope and support I would get from reading blogs about families in similar situations to ours.

I also never imagined that I would almost daily check the blogs of total stranger mommies to see what they are up to, but it's true! I do! I can't explain why it's so fascinating, but I figured I needed to contribute to the blogosphere with my own munchkin's story, especially since it is so different from the norm. OK, so here are the photos of lil'miss amazing Avery, which is what you all really want to see, right? She still gets stronger everyday, and definitely even more adorable (I can say that, I'm her momma). Commencing with the current photos:

Squishy cheek face!

Here she is in an outfit that Nana bought her.

Chillin with Dadddy on the couch. They were watching a serious Astros game.


Messy Avery, post oatmeal!

It has taken me entirely too long to get this set up, so I will tell Avery's story when I have more time next week. We are getting ready for Father's Day here, Avery started saying "da-da" this week, just in time!!