Our Update Through Pictures

Big Milestone For Little Big Man

It seems weird to me that I have not posted about this great milestone in Braden's life. I think it's because his steps started about a month ago and were pretty sporadic. It seemed like an ongoing process that I thought I would tell about when it was 'finished'.

Since he's my baby, and I seem to want to keep it that way, I haven't committed to saying that Braden is walking. I guess now that he is walking more than he is crawling, it might be time for me to take that step.

Braden's Buddy

This is Braden's newest pal, Lucas. Let me tell you that I absolutely adore Lucas (almost as much as Braden does). He is one of the nicest, well-mannered, respectful, 17 year old kids you will find.

Most of the kids Kenny teaches, as well as the ones we coach, love our kids. They'll take them and play with them, but normally get bored, then either bring them back to us after only a few minutes or just let them run off on their own.

Not Lucas. He's different. He will seek us out, take Braden, then hold him hostage from everyone else who wants to play with him. Lucas is the real deal; not only in it for the good times, but also calms Braden down if he gets upset. Sometimes we have to find Lucas and make him give up Braden so we can go home.

Lucas and his family are new to ACA this year, and let me tell you that they have all been a blessing to everyone they come in contact with. I could write for days, describing their servant hearts, and how they have impacted several lives.

Lucas told me one day that he wanted twelve kids...all like Braden.

I want Braden to be Lucas when he's 17.

Purple Petals and Pink Casts

Look what my sweet hubby brought me yesterday! ...Just because...

Avery got her cast of Tuesday morning. She didn't like the noise of the cutter, but other than that she did okay. I couldn't decide if she was more pitiful right after the break or right after the cast came off.

We brought the cast home, and everytime I saw it, I thought Avery's arm was laying around without her body! Weird.

The Fair Was Great in 2008!

Avery has looked forward to this year's trip to the Fair the minute last year's trip was complete! On opening weekend, we loaded up the kids along with our friends Dawn and Chris, and headed that way. Avery was so patient because it felt like it took a while to get going.

When we got inside the gates, Kenny headed toward the barnyard animals; he knew Avery and Braden would enjoy seeing them. Of course Avery saw all the rides the minute we entered the Fairgrounds, so she had her mind set elsewhere.






Once we perused through stinky territory, we told Avery it was time to get her wristband so she could ride the rides. After waiting in that line, we were told we had to go wait in another line to sign a waiver since her arm was in a cast. So, after treking back and forth across what felt like the entire length of the park three times, we were set to ride.







Avery picked to go in fun house first. Of course she was content to go through that a million times before we reminded her that there were several other rides she could go on as well. All of the favorites from years past were chosen: the caterpillar roller coaster, balloons, merry go round, cars, motorcycles, big slide, and so much more.

We decided the height requirement had been raised this year because she was barely able to sneak on several rides that we know she rode last year. Poor Braden will just have to wait longer now to enjoy the fun that Avery enjoyed earlier.







There was a new experience that will probably be the first and last all in one. I don't remember what it was called, but it was the mini version of the ride that takes you to the top, then drops you. I was concerned that she would not enjoy it, but she said she would be fine. She looked so tiny in the big seat, and I'm sure she felt like she was a million feet up in the air. When it took her to the top, her face was happy. As it dropped, her eyes showed concern. Then as it continued to raise and lower very quickly, she started crying and screamed, "I want this ride to be over!!! Now!!!" The girl next to her was much older, and was very sweet to console her. If the ride had not ended when it did, everyone would have seen a crazy momma climbing and grabbing for her baby.





By the end of the night, Avery was pooped as was Daddy. This year he drew the short straw to have to ride all the rides. He wanted to spend the time with Avery, but he didn't want to deal with the effects of dizziness and upset stomach. I loved watching them together, and I know he had fun.





Braden was perfect little Braden the whole time. He was content to sit in his stroller and enjoy the lights and sounds, but we got him out every now and then to play. I think he enjoyed being at eye level better than knee level.





It was a night jammed full of fun and entertainment with friends and family, and we all look forward to next year!

Drama Queen & Artist

Yeah; I don't know either. She did this to herself. She said she was going outside to throw snowballs.

My sister is so crazy!

Avery's latest masterpiece! She created this especially for her Pop.

Thanks For The Prayers

Today I took Avery back to the doctor, thinking it was the day to get her cast off. It's been four weeks, and last time we were there, the doctor said things were healing quickly. The xrays showed everything lined up, but there were still fracture lines showing up, so he decided to leave the cast on a little longer.

He said what he normally would do is take off the cast completely, look at her arm, then decide from there, but he wanted to do what would be the least amount of stress for her. So, he said to leave it on for two more weeks instead of taking it off, then possibly having to put it back on, only to take it off again later. I know we all appreciated that. We did, however, get to take off the nasty ace bandages, and now we have PINK!

Avery did a great job. We went in, and she was nervous, but never screamed or cried like last time. I asked her if she could continue being brave and not cry for the rest of the time. She did fantastic during the x-rays and then when the doctor came in to talk. She helped him take the ace bandage off, then when they were taking the bottom bandage off, she helped the cast guy rip it off. Then she talked and watched while he wrapped pink.

When it was all said and done, she smiled and whispered, 'Momma, I didn't cry.'

Then we went to daddy's school to pick up Braden and show off her new cast! She's in love with it and says, 'Pink is my very favorite color!'

This picture isn't the greatest, but she's not in the mood to model today.

Comparison

The picture on the left is grainy because it's old. What do you think? Not exact, but pretty similar! That's me on the left and Braden on the right!

Can't Ask For More

Bits and Pieces

Avery went to the doctor on Tuesday. She had Xrays taken and was supposed to get a colorful cast. She did great during the Xrays, but was apprehensive about a new cast. The doctor said her old one was still in good condition, so he let her keep that one. He was also happy to relate that her bones were perfectly lined back up. He said he expected to see a bit of a curve this early in the game, but he was very pleased that everything was on the mend so quickly.

Is it weird that I'm sad that she's not going to have a color?

Braden took three steps on Monday! He hasn't done it since, but I'm not rushing him since he's my baby. He can take as long as he wants to walk.

He is also getting consistent with his "bye bye!" and waves. It's just too cute. When you try to get him to wave and say bye bye when you aren't leaving, he looks at you weird and boycotts. The second you walk out the door or walk away from someone, he busts out with his bye bye and wave.

Yesterday he discovered, "uh oh!" He dropped something, and I said it. He cut his eyes toward me with that silly grin and repeated, "uh oh!" Then it was a game from then on with him throwing anything he could get his hands on to tort, "uh oh!"

Volleyball has been going well. Our record is 2-2, but it feels like we've done better than that. Last night we played the best team in the city, and we almost won. We played very evenly, if not better, so I think we have a chance next week against them in our own gym. It's nice to finally be reaping some of the rewards of building a team from scratch. Hopefully they will only get better each year!

Kenny is doing well. He's been very busy, but still finds time to hang out with his kiddos. He even surprised me by showing up at my game yesterday! I guess I got lucky that it stormed so bad they had to have a short practice inside. For some reason, I feel more confident when he's there. Plus, I'm glad he witnessed that great game because I would not have been able to do it justice with words.

I'm also proud of Kenny because he chose to lead our small group that just started a few weeks back. This is his busiest time of year, and I am proud of his willingness to lead in more areas than one. Our study is the Homebuilder's Couple Series; Building Your Marriage. I feel like we've already started to grow closer, and it has come at a very good time since we see very little of each other right now.

Below you will also see pictures of my birthday celebration. Kenny had a JV game that night, so my good friend Dawn took the kids and me to Olive Garden. Afterwards, we came home to a yummy cake that she made especially for me! It was YUMMY! Avery enjoyed it too. We took the picture ourselves, so it's not the best picture, but I wanted to remember my happy day.

Sunny Days Again

What do you see?

A pile of toys?

Look again...

These are Avery's 'sunshines.'

I thought it was very creative of her.

Right after lunch, while running to the kitchen to drop off dirty dishes, I heard Avery's all too familiar scream. A painful one. I was terrified she had fallen on her arm or something.

The scene I found was Avery on top of Braden, with her arm in Braden's mouth.

"He BIT me momma!"

I couldn't help but laugh, then asked, "why are you on top of him?"

"I didn't want him to mess up my sunshines." (See above pictures.)

So she tackled him, then he got his revenge.

I asked her if it still hurt a few minutes later, and she emphatically said, "NO! Not anymore. I don't need to go to the doctor again!"

Poor baby.

Trail of Tears and Broken Arms

"Momma! I'm running track!" were the words coming from Avery's mouth as she raced around the living room yesterday.

"Avery; you are so fast!" I encouraged.

"Look at me; I'm jumping turtles (hurdles)!" she chanted as she hurdled various toys strewn from here to there.

(All the while, only donning a pair of panties, having already received the 5 minute warning until naptime.)

"I'll be your hurdle." I added as I lay down across the floor.

First try: success. Second time: tiny trip. Third time: success. Fourth time: mini trip: "I'm okay!" she torted each time she fell.

This routine has been played out countless times with no issues.

Until yesterday.

Fifth time: trip and "ahhhhhhh!!!!!"

I immediately knew it was broken by the way it looked. I won't go into detail for those who have weak stomachs. I will add that the skin was not broken.

"Momma, please, please put a bandaid on it!?" she pleaded.

I don't remember the countless things that flew through my brain in the few minutes that followed. Where was my phone? What was I going to do with Braden? How was I going to stabilize it? Where is my phone? Do I go to the ER or have our trainer call a doctor's office? Where is my phone!?

"Kenny, Avery broke her arm!" I screamed into the phone once it was found (plugged in, charging).

"Who? What happened?" was his reply.

"AVERY BROKE HER ARM!"

I was beginning to panic about the time Avery reached her first stage of shock.

"Momma, I'm cold."

Followed by:

"Momma, my stomach hurts really bad."

Followed by:

"Momma, I'm really sleepy."

Finally I quit running in circles long enough to get her arm semi-stabilized, figure out what I should take with me, get the neighbors to watch Braden, put Avery in the car, and head to the ER.

(Remember. Avery doesn't have any clothes on. Nice effect for the whole story.)

The conversation in the car consisted of, "Momma, I don't want to go to the doctor."

"Honey, they are going to make your arm better."

"I don't want to go to the hospital."

"Baby, we're going to meet daddy, and we'll get this taken care of."

"Momma, can you please stop driving and hold me? I'd like you to read a book."

Screeches ensued between phrases.

We got to the ER, and I grab her and run in as fast as I can. I saw Kenny drive up as I walk across the road. It's amazing how much more at ease I felt the second I saw him. Somehow I thought he would make it all better.

While walking into the ER, "Momma, I don't want to go inside."

"Honey, we have to go inside so you can get fixed."

"But there aren't going to be doctors in there right?"

Our trainer had called ahead, so we went right in.

The next hour included me holding Avery with my legs wrapped around her, Kenny holding her broken arm, and two nurses holding her other arm, trying to get an IV started. Three spots down, no IV in yet, one more try in the foot=success. All the while, Avery screams to the nurses, "NO Ma'am! I do not want you to do that! I. Want. To. Go. Home!"

Another nurse comes in for x-rays. That was fun. Avery is still in my lap, and it's always scary to hear, "any chance of pregnancy?" How strong is that X-Ray machine? Please only take one picture!

Finally, the medicine kicks in. Avery decides it is okay if I move and let her lay down by herself. Soon we have a dozing baby.

Tears flowed the entire time for Avery. They tried to come out of my eyes too, but Kenny reminded me, "not until it's over!"

Then we're told the orthopedic surgeon will be in to tell us about her operation. Operation! What?!

More medicine. Plus Anesthesia. My baby is being wheeled down a hallway on a large bed in the opposite direction of me.

While we waited, one of my Bunko friends calls me to tell me she will be Avery's recovery nurse.

God puts people where they need to be at just the right time. At least Emily will be there when Avery wakes up.

Less than an hour later, we are back with my sweet angel, who isn't really acting like an angel, but who would be?

Momma is in doting mode because I feel responsible. Daddy is in Coach mode.

"I want to go home, momma!"

They bring us a sling that is small enough for her, and we are out the door!

Daddy fills the prescription (which she hates, by the way), and brings home some dinner. I came home to make sure Dawn and Chris are okay with Braden. (They came and got Braden from our neighbors at some point during the evening.)

We were emotionally drained. But to find a bit of humor, Kenny had planned a surprise party for me that evening, but had to cancel it in the midst of it all!

She slept with me in our room last night, and woke up every hour. From 4:15 to 5:45, she moaned and groaned and never slept. I tricked her and put her medicine in something else and headed off to volleyball practice. Kenny took my place in the bed, and she slept until 7:00.

We go back next week to get it re-xrayed and hard cast put on.

Another great adventure to look forward to!


Avery: right when we got home.

After a fun present from Dawn and Chris.

Beginning to feel like a princess.

Maybe, more like a Queen!

Then she felt great and helped me open some presents!

Look At What I Can Do!

That's right folks; no hands!

A New Dynamic

What do you all think about this?

Does anyone care?

Who Needs A Jungle Gym...

.....When you have Momma?!

Newest Quote

Today when I turned on the Olympics, men's beach volleyball was on. Before I even set the remote control back on the table, I heard giggles from Avery.

I looked at her.

She stifled her laughs long enough to tort, "Boys don't play volleyball. They play basketball!"

Need A Lift?

My little man, hitchin' a ride!

Newest Project

Lately I have noticed in magazines that silhouettes are really 'in.' In many photos, I would notice they wouldn't even be for sale; just background noise. Also, my friend, Ashley, posted some pictures of her family silhouette-style, and it made me start thinking that I wanted some of my own.

Below you will see my latest creations. I'm so proud of them! I covered canvases with material, then painted Avery and Braden's silhouettes onto the material. I love how they turned out! I still have some tweaking to do with my mantle decor, but for now, here it is!

I also put them on my Etsy site, hoping people might want one of their own. (Not one of Avery and Braden, but one of their own chillins', obviously.)

Ouch.

While I ran into the kitchen to try to get supper started last night, I heard the following trailing from the living room.

Avery: "No, Braden! No, Braden! No, Braden; NO!"

Braden: "(giggle)"

Avery: "No sir Braden man!"

Braden: "(more giggles)"

Avery: "AWWWWWW! Momma!"

Let me add here that I hear this 'conversation' a lot these days. Braden loves to wait until Avery is settled, then steadily approach her domain, only to mess up her perfectly lined up trinkets.

She gets flustered, picks everything up, plops down three feet away from previous said position, only to repeat the routine several times until perching atop the couch.

So, I ignored her cries for the minute (they weren't that bad), because I was about to head back in to check in on the pair anyway.

When I got back to the living room, I found Avery on top of the couch.

Braden still giggling proudly in the middle of the floor,

and this:

I felt so bad and shile massaging Avery's head. I asked her, "Where did he pull this from?" (Meaning which spot...)

She replied with an emphatic duh, "From my head, Momma!"

Proof

First Miss

(Picture is not from the weekend.)

Sunday afternoon, Kenny and I left for our coaches' retreat at Children's Harbor Lodge. Thanks to our friends, Dawn and Chris, we were able to stay until Tuesday without worrying about the kids. Not only was it a nice break away from diapers, making sure munchkins eat, enforcing bedtimes, and putting myself last, it was nice to get to know our co-workers better.

The days were filled with leadership training, games, laughs and lots of fun. On Monday, we participated in a Ropes Course, which was fantastic. It has been a long time since I have been put to the test physically and mentally. I could write for days about this, but I'll try to make it short.

We passed each other through a 'spider web' above people's heads.

We climbed up a 30 foot telephone pole, stood on top of that tiny circle, and jumped off to a trapeze. Unfortunately, I missed the trapeze and felt like I was free falling for a bit.

We made it around a tightrope made of wire.

We pulled and pushed to get us all over a 25 foot wall.

We rock climbed on a 50 foot wall, then repelled down the other side. This is what pushed my mind the most. Half way up the wall, I thought it would be really easy to give up. Then I realized that I knew I would be furious with myself if I did not complete my task so I pushed on.

Once I reached the top, I realized that I have not felt that sense of accomplishment in a long time. It was nice, but I thought my arms were going to fall off.

Overall, the Ropes Course was a wonderful way for us to become more of a team. It was neat seeing how everyone could communicate with each other. It was also fun to watch the exchange of leadership from one task to the next. We could not have done anything we did without everyone's involvement.

After more meetings, laughs and food, we headed home. Avery was happy to see me. Braden smiled at Kenny.

And the biggest accomplishment of all:

Somewhere between Sunday afternoon at 1:15 and Tuesday afternoon at 1:15, Braden started crawling!

YEAH for Braden!

BOO that I missed that big step in his life.

Here's how I'm looking at it. Even though I missed the first pats of hands and knees, Braden and I shared in some growth; his was physical, and mine was mental.

Excerpts From Avery's World

I love both of my kids dearly, but it seems that there is an extra special place in my heart for Avery. I don't know if it's because she was my first born; the one whom I was able to spend countless hours playing, shopping, drawing, singing, and teaching one on one. Maybe it's because of her age and her fun personality that spouts out funny quips time after time. Whatever the reason, she is my joy and I store up the things she shares with me in my heart.

One of my favorite parts of our day now is bedtime. Since she was a baby, I was always the one to put her to bed. Shortly before Braden was born, Kenny took over the job because I knew I would probably be preoccupied with nursing or calming him during that time of night. Recently, Avery has reclaimed her nighttime routine with Momma. Daddy just won't do. At first I slightly resented the fact that I was not able to relax a little, but I soon came to realize that was one of our precious alone times that I came to treasure so dearly.

I recount all of this to share two 'Avery' stories that take place during our evening wind-down. Our routine consists of two books, a prayer and a song. I don't know why I've been extra sentimental with her lately, but I enjoy watching her every move. While watching her the other night I realized she has her own ritual within our nighttime routine.

She sits in front of her bookcase, perusing the selection in anticipation of finding just the right fit for the evening. You see, with hundreds of stories to choose from, it's nearly impossible to only pick two. (This predicament normally turns into her trying to barter her way into three or even four books!) So there she sits, poised with her pointer finger sliding across the top of the bindings. She thinks she finds one to her liking, tilts it out, only to mutter, "no" under her breath. More sliding ensues; more tilting, followed by more "No's." Finally we find a "yes!" she exclaims, pulling it out and setting her treasure beside her before looking for more gold.

This happens every night. I wait for her in her bed; sometimes more patiently than others. Then we are ready to settle in for some snuggles and adventures.

The other night, her selections included her Bible for mothers and daughters. I decided to take the opportunity to add that book to our routine each night. Our first night of reading, she was mesmerized (even though she had already heard the story of Adam and Eve several times). Since she was so in tune to God's word and the things He was teaching us that night, we looked at each other, and I expounded on some of the study questions. I was excited to see her eyes seemed to be eagerly anticipating my every word. She nodded happily to my questions and thoughts. As this was happening, I was thinking about how glad I was that my sweet Avery was listening so intently to God's word.

Then she spoke. "Momma," she said.

"Your lips are talking, and they look really funny."

Then she turned back to the Bible and started asking more questions.

________________

This morning Avery was watching Mr. Rogers. As he came to the point in his song 'won't you please, won't you please? Please won't you be my neighbor?' I asked Avery if she would be my neighbor.

She replied, "no, I'm your Avery."

Angels