10 weeks

Today would have been 10 weeks if the pregnancy had been viable.  We would have waited a couple more weeks, then shared the exciting news with are family.  Around the middle of July we would have been out of the 1st trimester and shared with our friends on facebook.  Today would have been 10 weeks.

I think I've handled things pretty well.  The first day was really rough, but by the end of the day I was almost at peace (or as much as you can be in light of that news).  God has been faithful.  He has been holding us up and keeping us strong.  But today, knowing we would have been at 10 weeks, I'm not feeling quite as strong today.

The babies would have been 15 months apart.  We were making plans to set up a room just for Avery so the new baby could have the nursery.  We're still making these plans.  We hope to have Avery in her own room in a toddler bed between 15 and 18 months.  Can't believe how quickly she's growing.  She is keeping me strong.  She is who I have to live for when all the saddness sets in.

The baby would have been due on January 16th.  Then, 2 days later, Michael and I would celebrate 7 years together (dating, not married).  I hope that the date has been erased from my memory by the time it comes around.  Not something I wish to dwell on.

I wish we were still pregnant.  I hope we'll be pregnant again soon.  God knows.  He has a plan.  There is a reason for this saddness and pain.  I don't know His plans, but I know He'll keep me safe.  He doesn't wish to harm me.  There is a bigger plan in motion here, bigger than me.  I hope it all makes sense eventually.

Today would have been 10 weeks.  Maybe next week I won't remember anymore.  *sigh*

A new record!

Miss Avery stood for about 5 seconds for me today without holding onto me or lowering herself down to the ground!!  She is very sure about her balance and as soon as she feels like she's losing it, she lowers herself down to the floor.  :)  She's so sweet!  I'm so proud of my big strong girl!  :D

Thankful

I am so thankful to have Avery in my life.  She is such a blessing and a joy to be around each and every day.  It wouldn't matter if she took 3 years to walk or if her talking never got coherant.  She is so sweet and loving.  She mischevious and innoscent personality makes her so much fun to be around.  Her and Michael are the biggest blessings in my life.

I am certainly proud of her for all she's accomplishing!  She's always been strong with great head and neck control.  Before she hit 6 months she was working on crawling.  She's now 8 months and is trying to stand on her own.  She knows several signs and is able to communicate her wants and needs with us.  She's beginning to talk and seems to know that I'm Mama and Michael is Dada.  She's also getting really good at her inflections when she's babbling, immitating our sounds and fluency.  She's an amazing kiddo!  I could go on and on with all her accomplishments and learning, but that's not the point of this post...

I love my baby girl so very much.  She means the world to me.  If you're reading this, I'm sure you read my post from last week that talked about our miscarriage.  I have several other posts that are hidden that only Michael and I can read from the 3.5 weeks we knew we were pregnant before we got the bad news.  Obviously I was excited to be pregnant again, and a great deal of that stems from Avery and the amazing child that she is.  Michael and I were going to wait until this summer to start trying for baby number 2 so that the baby would be born in the Spring.  That was the plan long before Avery was born.  However, Avery coming along and being such an incredible child made us (me especially) anxious for another baby.  I mean, when you have a baby who sleeps 10-12 hours/night at 4 weeks old, who transitions beautifully on her own to baby food at 6 months, who eats well, sleeps well, is happy, playful, attentive, smart, silly, and beautiful, who wouldn't want another one?!?!  So we tried early, and we got our positive test.  :)

Then, I tempted fate, broke my own rule, and told a few people.  Then, the worst happened, and the reason for my rule became all too clear again.  I WILL NOT tell people we are pregnant BEFORE 13 weeks and 3 days again.  It was the worst thing in the world having to untell people.  At least other people, when they found out we had a miscarriage, didn't know we were pregnant in the first place.  But facing the people who knew was terrible.  They knew how excited we were and saw how vulnerable we were now that it was gone.  It was the worst feeling.  I won't make that mistake again.

Back to happier subjects...  Avery is amazing!  I love her so much!  When she smiles, grins, laughs, and crawls towards me at top speeds it warms my heart.  She loves to stand and walk and even the women in the nursery at church noticed she does not like to bend her legs.  She loves to stand.  And now she's letting go of me and trying to stand on her own!  Even when she does feel unsteady, she slowly lowers herself instead of just falling.  She's always been very in control of her body, and she remains that was as we begin our adventure into walking.  :)

I worried when I was pregnant if I was ready for a baby.  I liked having time to myself and more importantly, Michael to myself.  I worried that I was too selfish to let a baby into my heart, family, and life.  I worried about the changes a baby would bring to my life.  I worried that I wouldn't love her enough because I could never imagine loving anyone more than I love Michael, who was my entire world.  I think these are natural worries for any new parent.  But then she arrived and I was blown away by how much I adored her!  Even after being awake for 24 hours, having contractions on and off all that time, getting 4 hours of interupted sleep, labor and delivery, and another 12 hour day, I couldn't sleep!  All I wanted to do was stay up and stare at her beautiful face!  My amazingly beautiful daughter who my handsome husband and I had created.  My love for her was overwhelming.  I didn't know I was capable of so much love.  Because everything I felt for Michael, I felt for Avery too.  There was no loving Michael less or not loving Avery enough, there was just more love, loving each of them more than I thought was possible.  It was and remains today an incredible feeling!

So it was an easy decision to make to have another baby.  And we will have another one in God's time.  I am so thankful to have Avery in my life, because when the bad news hit, I still had a beautiful, healthy little girl to go home to, hug, and squeeze.  My family is so wonderful and perfect. 

I love my daughter more than words can say.  I have the utmost respect for my husband who stands strong at my side, providing for our family.  Michael is my greatest strength and partner when life gets rough, and my best friend and happiest supporter when life is great.  Life does not get any better than this.  I am so in love.  Thank you, Lord, for these two incredible blessings in my life.  You have certainly spoiled me.  :)

Eye Twitch

I have recently developed an eye twitch.  I noticed it yesterday morning.  It continued all day yesterday and is still twitching today.  :(  I don't know what to do about it other than wait and hope it goes away.  It's annoying.  Maybe I'll nap while the babies nap.  Here's hoping it helps.  Goodnight.

Monday

After a truly terrible week last week, it's finally Monday again.  Today a new week starts and we put last week behind us.  I have a happy, healthy, growing, learning, amazing, beautiful daughter.  I have a loving, caring, providing, handsome, hard-working, sweet, wonderful husband.  I am extremely blessed in this life.  As only God can, He has once again filled me with a peace that surpasses all understanding.  This week was a sad chapter in our lives, but Michael and I have had far too many of those in our short time together and they have taught us to be strong and lean on each other and God to get through and see the light.  So this week I will count my blessings and not dwell on what could have been.  God has a plan for our life and another child will come in His good time.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us.  We have felt your prayers and know that God is working on our hearts.  We appreciate everyone being brief or not discussing the situation with us at all.  This has made things easier on us.  We'll be able to talk about it eventually, but for now we just want it to stay in the back of our minds.

In happier news, yesterday was Father's Day and we celebrated my best friend.  Michael is the most incredible husband and father.  It was a joy to celebrate him and his role as Avery's Daddy.  I tell him all the time that he's amazing, a gifted father, an incredible husband, more than we could ever ask for.  But yesterday was all about him, and I tried hard to make sure he knew how much we love him and care about him, and what a blessing he is to our lives.  He got a French Coffee Press, a Guitar Center gift card, and a picture frame that says "Sweet Child of Mine" and has a picture of Avery in it.  We also grilled steak and shrimp and baked potatoes.  It was a delicious dinner!  Only the best for the greatest Father in the world!  We love you, Michael!

As always, Avery is growing bigger and stronger each day.  Learning to do more and exploring the possibilities.  Yesterday Avery decided to get her balance about her and stand.  She will only let go and stand on her own for 2 or 3 seconds, but she's trying.  It will only be a matter of time before she's walking and running around our house.  She's barely over 8 months now.  She crawls like a speed demon, and now she's working on standing!  Where did time go???  She's also coasting well!  She's been pulling up for more than a month now and she's taking several steps once she's up and holding something like the fireplace, coffee table, or couch.  Like I said, it will be no time at all!  Another thing she picked up on yesterday was mimicking a song Michael and I were singing.  She says her "baw" syllable well, so naturally, Michael and I began singing Barbara Anne to her.  She repeated (in correct time) the "Baw's" at the beginning of the song!  It was pretty stinkin' impressive.  But then again, she's always been gifted when it comes to music.  In utero she would dance and kick when we played "More Than a Feeling" to her.  But she was particular and refused to dance to any song but that one.  When she was an infant we noticed that when she was sleeping, she would breathe along with the beat of a song on the radio or a song in church.  She did it so often, we knew it was no coincidence.  Her favorite song at the moment is Natural Disaster by Zac Brown Band, and when we turn it on in the car she gets quiet (even if she's been screaming previously) to listen.  She will stomp, clap, kick, or bounce along with the beat of most music when she hears it, and lately she's begun "dancing" and she first hears music begin to play, especially upbeat songs.  It will be so much fun watching her grow more into this simple love for music that is already obvious to see.  I'm excited to see her talents grow.  :)  Finally, my last update on little miss, she had her 3rd tooth pop through yesterday!!  It's been 2.5 months since she got the first two.  The 4th one is not far behind.  I expect it to come through in the next few days.  :)  She's getting so big!

Well, that's all I have for this morning.  Trying to keep on the sunny side.  ;)  Hope you all have a great week.  Thanks again for your prayers.

What's been going on

Sorry if I scared you guys the other day when I wrote, "Please pray" on facebook.  Michael, Avery, and I are all fine.  However, it has been a rough week.  I'll try to keep this story short and simple.

Monday we went to see my OBGYN.  I had finally reached 8 weeks and 4 days into my pregnancy and it was my first appointment.  We found out we were pregnant on May 16th and had an estimated due date of January 16th.  At the appointment my doctor did an ultrasound and found the yolksac, but no embryo.  Basically the development had stopped at 6 weeks and 1 day.  I would have a miscarriage.  We agreed to scan again a week later and see if there was any change.

It didn't take me long to realize that the pregnancy was over and to decide I didn't need to wait until next week to take the next step.  I called my doctor on Tuesday and set up an appointment for that afternoon.  There we discussed natural miscarriage, medication, and a D&C.  A natural miscarriage could take weeks, so I decided to take the medication and begin the process.  However, my doctor was unsure if the medication would work because there was so little fetal tissue.  So we scheduled a D&C for Thursday in case the meds didn't work.

Tuesday night I took my meds and Michael and I went to dinner.  Apparently that was the wrong order, because the meds on an empty stomach and then food piled on top gave me excruciating pain.  We almost went to the ER, but I threw up a few times and felt better.  We went home and I rested.

Today (Wednesday) I expected the miscarriage to complete itself with the aid of the medication.  Mama came over to help with the babies so I could worry about me.  However, the meds didn't work.  So we are scheduled for a D&C in the morning.

Tomorrow the procedure should go quickly and easily.  My doctor said I'd spend more time being prepped for surgery than actually in surgery.  I have to be there at 9:30, the surgery is at 10:30.  My doctor said I should be able to leave by noon.

I am putting this out there so everyone is aware of the situation.  I hope I have answered your questions.  If not, I hope you'll get over it, because this is the last I want to talk about it.  I have my husband and he and I are healing together.  Please don't ask for any more information, we simply aren't ready for that.  Mostly we want to get this process out of the way and behind us.

Thank you for understanding and respecting these boundaries.  We appreciate your prayers and you not bringing this up to us in person (especially me).  If you wish to say something to us about the situation, please do so over text, email, or facebook message.  Michael may feel differently, but I DO NOT want to talk about this in person.  And if you text me and I don't respond, I'm probably not feeling up to talking about it at all.

Again, sorry for scaring you last night.  We are alright.  Just a long week.  Please pray for our family.  That's all we need at this time.  Thank you.

With Love,
Michael and Jen

Random thoughts....

This is not going to be a standard update on our lives.  I just feel like blogging, so I'm going to type whatever comes to mind.  ;)

Avery is so much fun!  I was worried, even after I found out I was pregnant with her, that our lives wouldn't be the same with her as a part of our lives.  I was concerned that we'd never get to have any more fun or any more sleep.  I was worried that I wouldn't love her enough, because I couldn't fatham in my mind loving anyone as much as I love Michael.  Boy, was I wrong!  Sure, our lives changed.  We don't go out as much, days can be more exhausting sometimes, and we have another soul in the house who requires we see to her every need, but it's worth it.  She brings so much joy to our lives.  He smile melts my heart and her laugh is infectious.  Sure, we gave some things up, but we gained so much more.  I couldn't be happier than I am right now being her Mommy.  I am blessed.

Michael is absolutely amazing!  He works so hard to care for us and keep us in our big, beautiful home.  :)  He helps with Avery when I get worn out or just need a break.  He makes sure the dogs are cared for with plenty of food, water, and potty breaks.  He makes dinner ocassionally.  He's fantastic!  I don't know how I got so lucky, but I'm awefully glad to have him in my life.  And to think, a girl actually broke up with him at one point for being "too mature".  Well I am happy to take that mature man and make him my husband, because I'd rather have a mature man leading my household that a foolish kid.  I know a few households who could do with a little more maturity, but I'm not sharing, so I guess they'll just have to learn the hard way.  I love my husband so much!!!!

For those who don't know, we got a roommate a couple weeks ago.  Philip Zevenbergen moved in in the middle of May.  He has a summer internship in Wichita and needed a place to stay.  We were only too happy to provide him a place.  It's been nice having someone else around.  The house will be a lot quieter when he's gone in August.

Well, I'm sleepy, and since the babies are currently napping, I should take my cue and nap too, or else I won't get one.  Wishing you all a happy Tuesday!

4 Years

Today is Michael's and my 4 year wedding anniversary!  We have been through quite a bit in the last 4 years!  We have had ups and downs with jobs, school, family, and money.  But we have stuck by each other's side and each trial is easier, each blessing deeper, because we are together.  Michael is my best friend.  I can tell him anything, and I do, because I suck at keeping secrets from him.  He's the one who holds me up when I don't know what to do or where to turn, when I feel like falling apart.  He's the one I share my joys and triumphs with.  He's the one I look to for the voice of reason and calm, cool, collected advice.  He makes me want to be a better person.

Since we've been married Michael has completed his last 2 years of school and graduated from K-State with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  This is something that people worried wouldn't get done with us getting married, but we both knew the end goal and worked to achieve it.  While Michael finished those 2 years of school, I taught 4th grade in Junction City.  It was hard work, but the kids made it worth it.  The parents, administration, and legislators were who drove me away from the profession in the end.  But someone had to pay the bills while Michael finished school, so I taught.  Michael worked so hard those 2 years!  He taught and graded for a Solid Works class to bring in some extra money to help out, he soothed my tired soul after long days of teaching and parent-teacher conferences with parents who made me want to crawl under a rock and die, and he kept me laughing each and every day.  He was my knight in shining armor the day he stopped studying (for a test he had the next morning) to take me to the emergency room when I had gall bladder attacks.  I have never felt unloved with Michael.  He shows me and tells me every day how much I mean to him.

When Michael graduated we moved to Wichita.  Neither of us had a job, but we moved none-the-less.  To keep the bills paid I got a job at Belden Jewelers.  Michael kept looking for an engineering job, but as time went by, he widened his search to drafting jobs, machining jobs, and eventually any job at all.  Michael eventually took a humble job at Toys R Us to help pay the bills.  With 2 college degrees, these were not the jobs we imagined we'd have when we left Manhattan.  But we perceviered.  Michael kept me entertained, even when we didn't have much money to spend.  We made the most of what we had and ended up spending more time with each other because we just didn't have the money to spend on other forms of entertainment.  We went on walks or to the dog park.  We drove around looking for Christmas lights.  We turned the radio up loud and drove in circles until our favorite songs were over.  Even when things were tough, coming home, being with my husband, our marriage, has always been easy, has never been work, has always been safe.

It didn't take long for Michael to finally get in th engineering field, first with Bunting Magnetics, then with Dell.  After a few months at Dell we learned that Avery was on her way.  We were so excited!!  We bought a house a week later and began planning our happily ever after for our growing family.  On our 3 year anniversary Michael lost his job with Dell.  They didn't have enough work for the other people, and he was one of the last hired, so was one of the first to go.  Thankfully God provided another job that day and he began working at Aerospace Turbine Rotables the next week.  What a relief!

I am so blessed by Michael.  He's an amazing father and husband.  Our anniversary is so special to me because it marks an important day in our history to look back on and see how far we've come.  I look back and see how much our love has grown since that day.  I am so blessed.  So happy anniversary, My Love.  I didn't think it was possible, but I love you now more that that sweet day 4 years ago.  Thank you for blessing my life with your own.  :)  I love you, Michael.

Avery!

Well, since I haven't updated on here in over a month, I should probably say some nice things.  I just use the blog to vent so I don't do it on facebook.  I don't want to be one of those people.

So here's what's going on in Avery's life!  At 7.5 months old she's crawling like a pro!  She rolls her left wrist under when she crawls on the carpet, but has both hands out flat when she's on the tile.  She's getting around very fast now!  We have to keep the gate closed when she's on the floor because in the blink of an eye she's off.  :)

She is pulling up all the time!!  Avery has loved standing for a couple of months now.  But it's just been in the last 3 weeks or so that she's been pulling herself up to stand on her own.  Of course, this comes with some tumbles and cuddles, but she's doing great!  She gets over the bumps quickly and is back on the go!

Avery has been eating solid food for about 6-7 weeks now.  She does great with her veggies!  She's not as crazy about the tart fruits like oranges or strawberries, but she'll still eat the strawberries.  There are very few foods that she'll turn down.  She is NOT a picky eater like her Daddy.  We're both glad for that.

Avery LOVES to talk!  She is constantly making noises and babbling!  It's soooo fun!  She says "Ma", "Da", and "Ga" well.  She'll also just squeal occasionally.  :)  One of her favorite places to talk is in the car.  Especially if Phil (the roommate) or Beth (the coworker) is in the back seat with her.  She also likes to respond to us when we talk to her.  She'll make a noise and we'll talk back, her, us, her, us...  It's so much fun!!

Avery loves being on the move!  It doesn't matter if she's being carried, riding in the car, or riding in the stroller, Avery loves moving around.  One you stop walking, the car comes to a stop, or you pause in the stroller, she knows and she lets you know that the stop is unacceptable.  :P  She loves looking around and is a major people person.  She especially loves when people smile at her.  She enjoys smiling and flirting back.

Avery is learning sign language.  She knows "more" very well.  Every once in a while she'll do "eat" or "milk".  We're practicing those 2 words to get them perfected before we move onto other words.  She's such a smart girl, I know she'll have them down quickly.

Avery has been learning to swim!  She loves the water, especially at bath time.  I think the pool at the Y is a little overwhelming for her.  We have a pool in our neighborhood, so I'm sure we'll be swimming plenty this summer.  :) 

Avery is a sweet, happy baby.  Very few things upset her.  She eats and sleeps extremely well.  She loves her Mommy, Daddy, cousin Dayton, Aunt Steph, Grandma Henrie, Phil, and Beth.  (These are the people that she sees/interacts with the most)  We could not have asked for a better baby!  Michael and I joke that Avery is spoiling us and the next baby we have will be a complete nightmare and we won't know what to do with ourselves.  ;)  I pray the rest of her upbringing goes as smoothly as the past 7.5 months have gone.  I love this tiny girl!  She is my world!  I am blessed to have her in my life.  :)

I hope you've enjoyed this update on Avery.  Be sure to comment so I know if people are still reading this, lol.  Don't comment on the post from earlier today.  ;)  Because I don't want to hear it.  :P

Facebook Rant

It doesn't make you look very intelligent when you share pictures and memes on your facebook with mispelled words and incorrect grammar.

You look like an attention seeker when you constantly post sad pictures, song lyrics, and vague statuses about how the world is unfair to you.  I imagine you sitting at your computer waiting for someone to ask you what's wrong.

Your vocabulary must be extremely limited if your posts need to include so much profanity.  Then I see an adult in your life post the same type of thing on your wall and I realize it's not entirely your fault.  The previous generation failed you.

It makes you look crazy when you share note after note and picture after picture from the TeaParty, claiming their opinions to be good for the country.

You look naïve when you site FoxNews as you unbiased news source.  They are just as biased as MSNBC.  However, when FoxNews has democrats on their show, they yell at them.  On MSNBC everyone gets a chance to say their piece.  They might not agree with your opinion, but they at least give you the respect to allow you to speak.  An intelligent person can look at both sides.

You look ignorant when you forward me emails about how our President is sending our country to hell in a handbasket.  I voted for him.  I stand behind my vote.  Someone once told me you don't have to respect the person, but you do have to respect the job.  You would do well to remember that.

Yes, I post way too many pictures of my daughter on there.  When my phone was stolen, I lost most of the pictures from her first 3 months of life, including her first Christmas.  All I had left were what I posted on facebook.  So I will continue to post them so I don't lose them forever.  I'm sorry if you don't like that.  There is a way to keep my pictures and updates from always showing up on your site.  Believe me, I've taken a few of you off of my feed for the same reasons.

I live in the wrong colored state.  Call me a crazy liberal.  Call me the grammar police.  I like facebook, but sometimes it's just irritating.

Sunday Funday Cont.

I didn't even know that my blogs had a character limit!!!!!

Avery cont. - My little smarty pants even knows that with the Dr. Brown bottles, the blue tube in the middle collects milk.  So when she's emptied her bottle, she'll hold it rightside up and let the milk drain out of the tube, then she'll put it back up to her mouth to get the last few drops out!  What a smart girl!!!  Michael and I are having so much fun caring for her and watching her grow.  She's so exciting and fun!  She's learning more each and every day!  What an angel and a blessing!!

Me! - Well, it doesn't seem like much is new with me.  I stay home during the week with Avery and Dayton.  With the weather getting nicer I think we'll go to the zoo more often.  We like going on walks around the neighborhood too.  I enjoy playing with the babies all day, but this doesn't do much for my housework.  :P  Oh well!  I still work part time at Beldens.  I usually get 15-20 hours/week.  Just enough to get me out of the house and keep me from going crazy being cooped up all the time.  I also have a garden that I just planted this year.  It's about 28x10ft.  In my garden I have onions, peppers, and tomatoes.  All the things I need for my homemade salsa!  I am loving my life as a stay-at-home mom and wife.  This is what I've always wanted to do.  And when I get a wrangle on the housework, everything will be perfect!

Well, that's my family for you!  :)  Sorry it's been so long since I blogged.  No clue when I'll do it again, lol!  Off to work on housework now while the babies nap.  :)  Have a good day!

Sunday Funday!

I was starting to update my facebook status about the nice Sunday that our family had yesterday, when I realized the status was going to be waaaaaay too long, and I decided that a blog entry might be better.  Obviously I've been behind in my blogging since Avery was born and I began watching Dayton.  I will try to catch up on them and our family after I talk about our nice day yesterday.

We started our Sunday off right with a trip to church.  Michael played in the band this week, so he was there at 8am (I do not envy him).  Avery and I showed up around 9:20.  She looked adorable yesterday in a black and white polka dotted dress that Mama got for her.  It looked like something you would take a baby to a wedding in.  Mama has a nack for finding them at garage sales.  They make perfect Sunday church dresses.  Everyone at church always comments on how cute Avery is always dressed.  :)  Michael and I could look like total slobs, but as long as Avery looks cute, no one would notice.  :P  Yesterday at church the African Children's Choir was visiting.  They were AMAZING!!!!  They sang and danced.  Some songs we knew, some were songs that came from their area of Africa: Kenya, Uganda, etc.  It was such a blessing to see them.  They have the most infectious smiles and beautiful voices and souls.  Made me crave more time in Yaoude.  It was a joyous way to begin our Sunday!

When we got home from church Avery was asleep and napping in her carseat.  Michael and I took this opportunity to get started on some house and yardwork.  While Michael began ripping up the crabgrass that is attempting to take over our front yard, I started some dishes and laundry.  I checked in on Avery to find her still sleeping, and I headed out to my flower bed to begin weeding.  I've weeded the flower bed onced already this season, so there wasn't too terrible much to do.  I had all of the weeds out and the sidewalk swept off in no time!

After we finished up in the front yard, we came in again to check on Avery, who was still sleeping.  I took the apples and bananas that were in the baby food maker and put them in a container to go in the freezer.  I am LOVING my baby food maker!  It's so inexpensive to make Avery's food, and I know everything is fresh and preservative free!  :)  By the time I was done with the food, Avery had woken up.  We got her fed and changed, we smothered her in the kind of sunscreen that would keep the sunburns away if you were going on a trip to the sun, and headed out to the backyard.  I worked on weeding the garden while Avery and Michael laid on a blanket and playing in the yard.  Avery is beginning to crawl more and more and quickly made her way to the edge of the blanket so she could get her hands in the grass.  :)  Harlee and Gabby love being near us, whether we're in the house or outside.  So even though it was warm out and they could have gone inside (the doors were open), they found the shadiest spots in the grass near us and settled down for naps.  :)  They are too sweet. 

Eventually Avery got hungry again.  We went back inside to eat, and then laid her in her crib to play with her toys and piano while we went back out to work.  Michael helped me with the weeding of the garden while I got to work planting my tomatoes and peppers.  This summer I'm only planting the ingredients to salsa.  I will see how well they grow, and maybe next year we'll add some other veggies.  But for now I think I'll have more than enough to keep my hands full.  I planted 4 tomato plants and 4 pepper plants.  My tomatoes are: Beefmaster, Better Boy, Celebrity, and Roma.  I went with a variety to see what I like best, and will plan accordingly for next year.  For peppers I planted red, orange, and green bell peppers, and one jalepeño plant!  I already had my onions in the ground.  They are growing up really well!  I have 4 different varienties of onions as well.  I have generic red, yellow, and white onions, and also a yellow Walla Walla onion, that I was told is great for cooking with.  I am soooo excited about the garden!  I hope I actually get some veggies and they don't all die.  :P  We shall see!

After all of our yardwork we went to the store to get some supplies for Danielle and Luke's party that night.  I got brownie mix, pudding, cool whip, and toffee pieces.  But I realized after I got started that I gave my mom back her trifle dish, so I would have to layer things in a baking dish instead.  But I ran into problems when I realized that I accidently bought the pudding you have to cook.  Long story short, the pudding never set up and we never ate the desert.  :(  I haven't checked on it this morning, but hopefully it's better now.

Danielle and Luke's party was fun!  There were lots of us from Beldens and also from Furniture Row where Luke works.  Everyone also had their significant others and we had Avery.  There was great food, great music, and everyone had fun hanging out and talking.  It was a really nice evening.  As a Mama who stays home and in the house a lot, it was great to get out.  :)  Avery got a little overwhelmed when we got there and there were lots of people all shouting hello to us.  But she calmed down quick and was the life of the party with her happy, silly faces, her dance moves, and her crawling straight for Danielle's watch repeatedly.  :P  She let lots of people hold her, and no one seemed to have a problem with her being there.  People especially loved feeding her small pieces of pasta from the pasta salad.  She gets so excited with the anticipation of food, she's hysterical to feed.  :)

We were home by 11 and all worn out.  Michael had to get up and be to work by 8 this morning and I was up at 7:15 ready for Dayton to arrive.  Avery enjoyed sleeping in this morning, which I think she deserved and needed after our exciting night yesterday.  It's been a slow start this morning, but with a couple cups of coffee, I've finally managed to get some life out of my exhausted body.

All in all, we had a wonderful day yesterday!  We could not have asked for a better Sunday with my friends and family.  :)

Now a short update on what's going on in our lives...

Michael - Michael is working hard, as always, to bring home the bacon.  He really loves his job at AeTR (Aerospace Turbine Rotables).  He reverse engineers airplane parts.  He takes a broken part, figures out why it broke, fixes it, makes a new one that won't break the same way or as easily, mass produces them, and then sells them back to the airplane companies for a substancial profit.  The company CEO loves Michael and the engineering department because they are making him a ton of money.  Michael likes the job because he gets different projects, always stays busy (unlike at Dell) and has job security.  I like his job because he's happy with it, his coworkers and bosses like and appreciate him, and it's a stable lifelong sort of job (so hopefully he won't have to be job hunting again for a very long time).  In about a month (beginning of June) he will celebrate his 1 year anniversary with the company!  :)  They have been so good to us.  We are blessed.  In other news, Michael is working on making our yard beautiful.  :)  Last year the summer was so severe we would take anything in the yard, so long as it was green.  This year Michael is a little pickier, prefering the actual lush green grass over the rough crabgrass.  He's effectively killed off all of the weeds and is now focusing his attention on removing the crabgrass and filling in the spaces with new grass.  He's getting quite a nack for getting the yard in nice order.  :)  Some of you may be wondering why he's putting so much attention and effort into the yard...  Well, in a neighborhood like ours, simply having something covering the dirt is not good enough.  Now, our HOA doesn't regulate our lawns or anything, but a good number of yards in our area are prestine.  Michael takes such pride in our home, he wants to have that same pride for our yard.  Thus, all the work.  :)

Avery - Our sweet girl is almost 7 months old now!  She is eating solid foods like a champ!  She usually has lots of vegetables: sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots, squash, and broccoli.  Yesterday I made her some more baby food including zucchini and peas!  She has had a bit of fruit, but usually mixed in with her vegetables.  She also gets little bites of what we're eating as well, like bread, pasta, or manderine oranges (she made a face at thosed yesterday, but still ate them, lol, she's great!).  We waited until she was 6 months old to start solids for 2 reasons, 1-I was worried about what poopy diapers were going to be like since we use cloth diapers, and 2-The latest research encourages parents to wait until 6 months to begin solids because that is when the child is more developmentally ready, and because it can reduce the risk of childhood obesity by delaying solids just a couple of months.  Mostly I didn't want to fight her with food, so I waited until she showed interest in it, then we slowly eased her into solids.  She is a great eater!  She's never spit anything out.  *knock on wood*  She is just a fantastic baby!  We are so blessed to have her in our lives!!  She is also an extremely chatty baby.  She's been babbling for months now, but recently has mastered the "ma" and "ba" word segments.  So her talking is usually "Mamamammamama mamamamama bababa mamamama".  Not super impressive, but I love it!  She sometimes gets the "da" segment in.  We've heard "dada" a few times, but she definitely says "ma" the most.  :)  She's also crawling great now!  She's been working on crawling for about a month now, but in the last week or so has really made some strides and is picking up both hands and her knees and really getting going.  She can move from a sitting to crawling position, sometimes without faceplanting in the carpet.  ;)  She is very close to going from crawling to sitting, but is not quite there yet...

Quick Update

Good morning friends and family!  First off, let me say that I have not had any coffee yet this morning, so if this comes off as disjointed and/or rambly, that is why.  ;)

Daylight Savings Time...  I love having the extra sunlight, but it makes my mornings rough.  When I began babysitting Dayton it was hard to get up in the morning when it was still dark outside.  But over the past couple months it's been getting brighter and brighter in the morning, making it easier (with the help of my good 'ol friend coffee) to start my day.  After Daylight Savings this weekend I'm struggling again.  *sigh*  Probably doesn't help that I was up until almost midnight last night watching Michael play Lego Harry Potter.  ;)

Avery is doing great!  Getting bigger and reaching new milestones every day!  At 5 months she weighed 13 pounds, 4 ounces and measured 25.25 inches long!  That's over an inch of growth in the past month!  And we didn't even have any noticable growth spurts.  She's growing up way too fast!  She is trying to sit up on her own, stands well with someone helping her balance, and transfers objects from one hand to another!  I'm so impressed with her!  She still sleeps great, 10-12 hours a night!  She doesn't nap super well during the day unless she's being held.  She's also drooling and chewing a lot.  I'm thinking we might begin to see some teeth soon!

Well, I wanted to write more, but Avery is wanting to be held and played with, so I better run.  Here are some pictures of the babies for you to enjoy.  ;)

Oh my goodness!  It's been over a month since I posted!  That stinks!  Sorry about that, guys!  Remember way back when I was pregnant and had no babies to take care of and I posted multiple times a day?!  Yeah, those days are long gone (obviously).  :P 

Here is a little of what has been going on in my life:
-In January I began babysitting Dayton.  Never realized how easy it was caring for one baby until I added a second one to the mix.  Now, weekends with just Avery are a breeze!
-I went down to 15-20 hours/ week at work.  This way I'm not stressed with too many hours and I get to be home with the babies during the day.  Michael takes care of Avery at night and on the weekend when I work.
-I have decided to plant a vegetable garden this spring/summer.  It will be a salsa garden, growing tomatoes, onions, and peppers to make fresh salsa all summer.  I'll also think about canning tomatoes and freezing peppers so that nothing goes to waste.  Let me know if you'd like any veggies!
-To go along with my veggie garden, I have decided to start composting!  Will let you know how this goes as we progress.  From what I've read, it takes a good 4-6 months for compost to be ready to use.  So we probably won't be able to use it on the garden this spring/summer, but I'm going to start and try it out now.

Here's a little of what has been going on in our family:
-On Feb. 17th we had Avery's baby dedication.  It went very well.  We appreciate all of the family who were able to make it.
-We went to KC for the weekend of Feb 22-24th for Dave Colmer's wedding.  Dave lived on Michael's floor his freshman year and went to Cru with us.
-We all had lots of fun playing in the snow after the storm a couple weeks ago (puppies included).  I got 2 days off of work, Michael took one.  It was nice to have some extra, unexpected family days.

Here are a few updates on Avery:
-She's growing like a weed!  I take her in tonight to get her 5 month weight.
-She's holding her bottle on her own!
-She's rolling front to back and back to front!
-She's pulling her legs up under herself and starting to scoot.  She hasn't figured out how to incorporate her arms into this movement yet.
-She smiles, laughs, and giggles a bunch!  Such a happy baby!!
-When she's not happy, she screams at the top of her lungs.  I'm hoping that she grows out of this phase quickly.
-No recent growth spurts to speak of.
-We're looking at starting solids in about 1 more month!

Finally, a couple random things:
-Cloth diapers are still awesome!  Expecting 10 more in the mail very soon!
-I've got the baby bug again and want to start trying for baby number 2, but Michael says not yet.
-When composting, check whether something is allowed BEFORE shredding it all up and dumping it in.  This will save lots of time digging through the compost removing the unwanted stuff.
-I'm becoming more environmentally aware.  I'll be hugging trees any day now.  ;)
-K-State's last home game of the season is tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.
-Michael and I want to move back to Manhattan when we retire
-Avery just woke up from her nap, so I'm done blogging.  ;)

Have an awesome Monday!  Will try to write again soon!  ;)