Vegas in Less than One Week!!

For those of you who haven't heard (and still read this), Michael and I are going to Vegas next week!!  Michael is going for a work conference, and I get to tag along and enjoy a nice little vacation.  Michael's company will cover all of his costs, including the hotel room.  So all we'll have to pay for me is the plane ticket and food.  :)  I'm looking forward to this trip for a number of reasons: 1- It's a trip with just Michael and me, some relaxation time away from the babies is going to be nice, 2- I've never been to Vegas before, it will be fun to see the city for the first time, 3-Michael and I haven't taken an actual vacation since our honeymoon, and while he will have to work some, this will be our biggest trip in the last 4.5 years (the farthest we've gone since we got married was KC).  I'm looking forward to the trip.  Today what I'm looking forward to the most is a week off of babysitting.  Avery has been teething for the last few days and is extremely fussy.  We're also trying to ween her and get her to drink regular milk instead of formula.  This transition is not going so smoothly.  Then, I don't know if it's because he had to get up early this morning or what, but Dayton has been fussing since Adam left this morning, and shows no signs of wanting to stop.  And then, of course, there's the domino effect.  When one baby cries, it makes the other one cry.  When one finally stops, the other begins again.  It's only 7:50am and I'm already counting down the minutes until naptime.  Hopefully today, and this week, go by fast.  :(

Happy Birthday, Avery!

Woke up around 6am this morning with my to do list running through my head.  Still need to run a load of laundry before we leave for the day, Avery needs a bath, Michael needs to finish the lawn and edgeing, keep nice clothes on hangers until we get to Manhattan, what is everyone going to wear for the trip to Manhattan, dogs in or out, are their feet clean, what still needs cleaned on the house....  On and on the list goes, it seems like my mind won't stop.  Then I realize, today is Avery's birthday.  :)  And while I still turned the laundry, the rest of the list seemed to melt away as I began to reminise on this cool, fall morning one year ago.

By 6am Avery still wasn't close to getting here.  I hadn't started pushing yet, I was just trying to catch up on some sleep from the long day before.  My epidural was in and working and I was comfortable with the exception of the having a nurse come in once every half our to poke my stomach with something sharp to make sure the epidural wasn't numbing too far up.

It's crazy how time has flown by.  I have a beautiful 1 year old daughter and each day that passes with her just makes my life all the more wonderful and worth living.  I am such a lucky woman to have such a spectacular life!  As if an amazing baby weren't enough, I have a handsome husband who cares very deeply and thoughtfully for Avery and me.  He's gentle and kind.  He cares about my safety, health, happiness, and spirit, and that of Avery's as well.  He's a dream come true and I am a very lucky woman to have crossed paths with him and got him to notice.  I love him so very much.

But my blessings don't end there!!  I have 2 beautiful dogs!  One smart as a whip and too smart for her own good.  The other not nearly as smart, but as loving and friendly as you'll ever find.  They have been my babies for years and will always hold a special place in my heart.  They help me watch after Avery and they love her as much as they love me.  They are patient with her and don't get upset when she's a little rough.  I could not ask for 2 better pets and family members.  :)

So much has happened in the last year!!  (Some of these memories may go back a little farther)  Exactly 1 week after we found out we were pregnant with Avery, we put an offer in on our house.  2 months later we were moving in.  On our 3 year anniversary Michael lost his job.  And while the thought of our big new house and our baby on the way worried me with where the finances would come, God was faithful, and 4 hours later Michael had a new job.  That new job has taken good care of him for the last year and a half.  They've given him time off when Avery was born and when we had our miscarriage, they sent a chocolate dipped fruit basket after Avery arrived, they've given him uncharacteristically large raises, and they're sending him to Vegas in 2 weeks and I get to come along!  :D  (Back to the last year-ish)  We had a healthy pregnancy with Avery.  Her arrival went well and she and I both came out doing great.  And then Michael's and my world changed forever when we welcomed a beautiful baby girl into our family.  She was so tiny.  She was (is) so perfect.  That first night, even after all I'd been through, I didn't want to sleep.  All I wanted to do was stare at my beautiful sleeping girl.  All mine, ours.  What a blessing!  And she grew and learned quickly.  It started with tummy time, pulling her head up.  Then she got her arms under her, then she turned herself over.  She would bat and grab at the toys dangled over her on her playmat or in her carseat.  She loved the ones that sang!  She began holding her own bottles quickly and had quite the death grip when it came to getting food, it should have been a hint to us early on how much she loved to eat!  After she got her hands under her, her knees came next.  For a while she rocked back and forth, anxious to move, and then, finally, the crawling came!  She had a number of teeth pop through, averaging about 1-2 new teeth each month from 6 months on.  Crawling didn't last long and she was pulling up.  She would walk along the furniture, but was always timid when it came to that first actual step.  She began saying a couple words like Mama and Dada, along with a lot of other babbling.  She gave up the pacifier on her own around 6 or 7 months.  This was fine with me, because it was much easier to see her beautiful face without it, and hey, at least I didn't have to fight her to wean her off of it.  She began eating solid foods and never looked back.  There was hardly a thing she wouldn't devour.  She still remains an eating machine.  And at 11 months she was only up to 19 pounds!  Where does the weight go?!  From cruising along the furniture she finally began taking those first steps at 9 months.  It started with just 1 or 2, but soon it was 5, and then 10.  By the time she hit 10 months old she was a pro walker!  And once she began walking, she never looked back!  She walks EVERYWHERE!  She has no desire to crawl at all anymore.  :)  She began climbing on top of things; the fireplace, her toddler bed, the chair in her toyroom...  It took a while to figure out how to get back down, but she can do that now as well!  ;)  She giggles and laughs.  She mimics sounds and says more words, especially "dog".  And each day she's learning more, getting bigger and stronger, and more beautiful!  She is the biggest blessing Michael and I have ever received!!  So on this day, 1 year after she joined our family, I pray this prayer for my sweet baby girl...

Father God,
I thank You for this sweet child that You've blessed our lives with!  She brings us overwhelming happiness and joy!  I know that her life is a gift from You, because nothing from this world could be as perfectly formed, wonderfully made, and beautifully created as our daughter.  The past year has been so rewarding!  It has been an honor to be her parents and to guide her in life and watch her grow.  She has come so far.  Lord, I pray that You will continue to guide us and her as she becomes the woman You have designed her to be.  She's in our lives for but a moment, but she is forever Your child.  Lead us as we teach her about You, Your love, Your mercy, and Your goodness, Lord.  Thank You, Lord, for this beautiful baby girl.  We love her so much and give You all the glory for her stunning little life.  Please keep her safe all the days of her life, Lord.  Walk by her side and keep a hedge of protection around her.  Make her into the true woman of God that she has the potential to be.  And forgive us, Michael and I, when we fail to be the perfect parents to Your incredible blessing.  We are human, but derive our strength from You.  And through You all things are possible, even decent parenting from sinners like us.  :)  So, Lord, lead us all to You.  Protect us along the way.  And please help my fabulous little daughter to have a truly blessed 1st birthday and 2nd year of life.  I love You, Lord!
In Jesus' precious name I pray,
Amen.

Have a wonderful Saturday, folks.  :)  And a very happy birthday to miss Avery Rose Voss.  :D

D Day!

At 7:23, on October 4th, 2012, I was in the process of being released from the hospital.  I woke up at 3am having contractions.  Since I'd never been in labor before, I had no idea that the small contractions I was feeling were not anywhere close to the type of contractions I needed to push labor along.  So around 5:30 we went to the hospital, only to be told, it isn't time, and to be sent on our way.

At this time last year I was disappointed and anxious.  I was ready for my baby girl to be here in my arms.  But, yet again, we were sent home, being told, it's not yet time.  When we left the hospital, Michael and I went to Ihop for brunch.  We enjoyed our food and discussed how our lives would be changed by this time tomorrow (I was scheduled to be induced at 7:15am on Friday, the 5th).  I talked about how exhausted I was, Michael said he would help finish cleaning the house, and told me that he wasn't going to go back in to work that day.  The waitress asked me how far along I was, because obviously I was pregnant enough for it to be ok to ask.  9 months, I told her, my due date is tomorrow.  Oh wow!  She exclaimed, and when she went back to the kitchen area, we could hear snippets where she told her colleagues how far along I was.  Hey, a pregnant lady's got to eat, right?!  ;)

After brunch we went home.  Exhausted and still having contractions, I laid in bed with my heating pad on my back and rested for a good chunk of the day.  My Knight in Shining Armour worked on cleaning the house so it was perfect when we came home with our new baby.  That night, Sis came over to help me with my hair.  You see, I knew we'd be taking pictures right after Avery was born, and I didn't want to look like I'd been hit by a train, so I asked Sis to come over and straighten it for me.  Around 9pm and started, and so did the more intense contractions.  By 10 she was done, and I'd made it through my first hour of active labor.  She said to let her know if we went to the hospital that night, but it didn't take me 10 minutes after she left to decide it was time to go.  This time it hurt.  This time I knew it was real.  It was time to go.

We got to the hospital and checked in.  The contractions continued to get worse.  For an hour we waited to make sure that my labor was progressing.  When they finally admitted me, it was time for lab work.  Because my platelets were dropping, we needed to know my levels to make sure I could have the epidural.  So while the lab worked on my tests, everyone got the epidural ready, so that when we knew, we would be ready to go.  Another hour of painful contractions went by.  Finally, we had the lab results and they began my epidural.  The people are right when they say that the shot to numb you hurts worse than the epidural.  It burned, but soon the pain began to lessen.  Lessen, but not go away, because the epidural was only numbing half of my body.  I let them know this by picking up one leg and waving it around, saying, this side isn't numb.  So they did another epidural.  I now had 2 cathedures running into my spine to numb my pain.  Finally I got comfortable, and when they asked if I felt that contraction, I said, what contraction??  Things were working properly.  I was comfortably numb, and now we wait...  Which was fine with my, because by this time it was somewhere between 2 and 3 in the morning.  It was a long day, the day before Avery was born, but the payoff would be entirely worth it.  :)

One year ago...

Only 4 more days until Avery turns a year old!  Wow!  Time has flown by so very fast!!  I just went back in my blog to see what was happening this time a year ago...  Boy, was I uncomfortable!  I was trying everything to get Avery motivated to arrive, lol!  It's funny how you forget the more uncomfortable and not so fun things when you look back.  Even when I look forward...  I want to have another baby, but I only remember good things about my pregnancy with Avery: hearing her heartbeat, finding out we were having a girl, cute clothes for her and me, baby showers, food, a cute belly, and eventually a beautiful baby girl.  :)  The negative stuff just didn't seem to stick in my mind.  :P  Good thing I was a compulsive blogger when I was pregnant!  I can look back and remember, oh yeah, there were not-so-fun parts...  Maybe I'm not in such a big hurry to relive all that.  ;)

In the last year, I have given birth to a beautiful 7 pound, 6 ounce, 20 inch long baby girl!  I have held her in my arms and taken countless pictures of her!  We have brought a daughter into our home and made our family more complete than we ever thought possible.  We have taken her to church where our friends have oooed and awwed over her every week as they watch her grow.  She's gone to the doctor and grown.  She's healthy and happy.  She has 2 furry and 1 human best friends that she plays with constantly.  In the last year she's learned to hold her head up, to roll over, to bat at and grab toys, to hold her bottle, to get up on all 4s and crawl, to feed herself, to stand, to babble, to swim, to crawl on top of things, to walk, to say Mama, Dada, and Dog, and to do so much more.  She's incredible!  She's so smart!  She's so happy!  We are BLESSED to have her!  :)

I can't believe it's been almost a year since she was born.  Time has gone by so fast.  And yet, it's hard to remember what life was like without Avery in it.  She's been with us for such a short time, but it almost seems like life really began when she arrived.  :)  I love that little girl so very much!  Can't wait to celebrate the first year of her life on Saturday and Sunday.  :)

Ok, I suppose that's enough nostalgia for one post.  ;)  Hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday.  :)