Sunday, December 19, 2010

Catch-up

Just a quick run down of the latest in the Gusty household.

Avery had her first Halloween experience, a rather chilly one at that.  She went dressed as a chicken (the same costume her brother wore for his first Halloween)  Logan went as Superman and took home quite a haul of candy.  I think there's still some in the cupboard.

November brought many ups and downs.  Miss Avery popped her first four teeth all in one weekend, and was quite miserable in the process.  Logan continues to love school, but has also picked up some attitude along the way.  He's doing excellent with his reading and writing, and seems to practice both every chance he gets.  He's always asking what things say, and is trying to sound things out.  It's such a neat thing to watch him learn.

Avery has become quite the trouble maker, and loves getting into everything she possibly can.  And knows when she's doing something she's not supposed to, because she laughs and crawls away in the other direction.  Yes, still crawling, but walking along everything.  Just doesn't want to work on the walking with help from mom or dad.  As soon as we grab her hands to walk with her, she plops down on her butt. 

Putting up the Christmas tree brought a whole new set of challenges, as now our tree has ornaments on the top 1/2 only, because unlike her brother, Avery is not afraid to 'get-in' the tree and reach what she wants.  So we will not be putting gifts under the tree ahead of time like usual.

The week of thanksgiving was hard around here.  The Monday before thanksgiving, Richard was let go at work.  Huge shocker, and definitely bad timing.  But he's doing okay with it now, and is enjoying his time home with the kids, and just about has the basement finished.  So now we'll just get through the holidays and wait for the interviews to start pouring in after the first :)

And as usual December has been crazy!  We had Logan's church Christmas program, school Christmas program, company Christmas party, choir and hand bell practices and performances, Logan has started basketball and has two practices this month.  We're going to see Wicked, Avery's 1st birthday and a trip up north after Christmas, which includes the  most exciting event of the month, my sister Joanna and Jeff are getting married, and Jamie and I are planning a co-ed bachelor/bachelorette party.  The events are a surprise, but we promise to behave:)

So that's it in a nutshell.  I'm hoping to get back to regular blogging after the holidays, as my grandpa is not very happy with me these days, and I don't want to lose my status as the favorite grandchild (love you grampy)

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic start to the new year!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Friday Firsts

Well this is my second attempt at this post, I was having some photo issues earlier and decided to try again once I got ho me.  And this was my original opening:  We've had a few 'firsts' for the residents of our household lately.  And as I was pondering this blog topic, I thought for sure I'd get to include Avery's first teeth, but no such luck! They are SO close, but haven't broken through the surface yet.  I am happy to report that since the first edit of the post, WE HAVE A TOOTH!!!!  And it seems there are a few more not too far behind. Unfortunately no tooth picture to add to the post yet.

Logan lost his first tooth, and Avery had her first trip to the pumpkin farm.

And I'm still having photo issues, ugh!  Guess I'll attempt an upload later.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us.  We had family 'date' night tonight and ventured out for dinner.  Tomorrow we're heading to ZooBoo, a Halloween event at our zoo.  We're going with Logan's best buddy Ethan's family, and we haven't seen them in awhile, so it will be fun.

Then of course trick or treating on Sunday.  Logan is going as Superman, and Avery will be the same chicken her brother was for her first Halloween.  Although, I'm debating on finding something else for her because it's a very warm fleece costume and its supposed to be in the 70's on Sunday.

Hope your weekend brings more treats than tricks.


Thursday, October 14, 2010

Thankful Thursday

I know lots of others do a "Thankful Thursday" blog topic and I'm officially stealing the idea, just seems appropriate today.

  • I'm thankful for my amazing husband, who without even questioning or complaining takes care of the kiddos and things at home when I'm stuck at work for 16 hour days.
  • I'm thankful for my health, while not always perfect, I'm able to breath air everyday, hear my children's laughter, feel their kisses, smell all the scents that fall has to offer, and so much more.
  • For co-workers, who I actually enjoy working with and have fun with, helps make those 16 hour days a bit easier to endure.
May you find simple things today, that you're thankful for.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

October is also....

Down Syndrome Awareness Month!  I only know this because my little cousin Alayna has Down Syndrome.  Which is a bit sad really that there are SO many companies and organizations involved in Breast Cancer Awareness but you don't hear too much about DS Awareness.  So with this little blog post I hope to help bring awareness to these wonderful children.

Through Alayna (and her wonderful mom Rochelle and their blog ) I've learned a lot about Down Syndrome and that she's just a wonderful little girl who happens to have Down Syndrome.  Another truly inspiring family that I was 'introduced' to through Rochelle, has adopted two children with Down Syndrome, you can read about their daily antics here.

They are both amazing and inspirational families, who we can all learn some life lessons from.  And someday I hope to get to meet Miss Alayna in person :)

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Every 69 seconds

that's how often a woman dies from breast cancer in the world, every 69 seconds.  It's a staggering number.  Being that it is October I thought I'd share.  I'm not really sure how I feel about breast cancer awareness.  I think at this point we're pretty 'aware' that it's out there, at least most people who know me anyways:)  Maybe we need to move beyond awareness, and lean towards things like prevention and a CURE perhaps! 

I've never used to be too fond of pink (Avery has helped change that), and I also am not a fan of how October and the pink ribbon are often used as a shameless plug to sell products.  Companies will put a ribbon on anything and say that proceeds go towards research and such.  But you can never really be sure, and unfortunately it usually is just that, a shameless way to sell. 

There are of course, legit companies out there, like Komen and others, but  please just be wary.

So if I can teach one other thing, it's also to get to know your body, know what's there, what may be different.  Self exams are one of the most important keys to prevention.  I found my cancer by a self exam in the shower one day, so it truly saved my life.

Monday, September 13, 2010

The house that love built

Richard and I spent Saturday morning volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity project.  What a cool experience.  It's something we've always talked about doing, but never really had the opportunity, so when our church got involved with a build we signed up!

We didn't know what to expect, just jumped in with both feet.  We left early Saturday morning and got almost to the site when the rain let loose, but the work goes on rain or shine.  The houses, two actually across the street from one another, were in downtown Indy, and not a very nice part.  We were part of Thrivent Lutheran's build group and there were a few other churches working as well.

I worked on house wrap, and Richard helped with supports for one of the porches.  It's pretty amazing, how complete strangers come together for a common cause, and despite that many people stepping on, and over each other, stuff gets accomplished.  By the time our morning shift was done, both houses were completely wrapped and almost all of the doors and windows were in.  One of the homeowners was helping my little group with house wrap, as they're required to put in so many hours of work on their own houses.  She was pretty quiet so we didn't get to hear much of her story, but she seemed overwhelmed with gratitude over the whole process.  And it made me appreciate what I have a little bit more too:)

It was a wet and tiring day, but very rewarding, and we definitely plan to do it again when church gets in on a project closer to home.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Injuries

Well we had our first call from the school nurse last week. Logan had somehow gotten a plastic binder in the eye, it scratched his eyebrow and then poked the corner. The way the nurse described it, you'd think his eyeball had popped right out, I was expecting it to be WAY worse than it was. But I had made an appointment with the eye doctor before seeing it. He did cut the corner pretty good, but managed to miss scratching the eye, which was good, but the doctor still made me feel dumb for being there, oh well! I'm sure its the first of many calls from the school.

Well, I can report that Miss Avery seems to KNOW how to crawl, she just chooses not too! ha ha! She'll crawl a couple of 'steps', and then drops right back to her belly to commence scooting. Friday night we took a picnic to the park, and she was having trouble scooting on the blanket so of course, she had to crawl, but once we got home and back on the slippery hardwood floors, back to her belly. Little stinker! And she's managed to start pulling herself up to a standing position. But still not teeth :(

We had a good labor day weekend, didn't do too much which was kind of nice for a change. We went on the picnic Friday night, and it was a bit chilly. Then Saturday night we had a cookout/bonfire with the neighbors, it was like a perfect fall evening complete with s'mores. Then Sunday Logan went off to spend the night at Auntie Jamie's and Richard and went to a wedding reception while Avery stayed with Grannie. On Monday, since Logan wasn't home, we napped when Avery napped :) It was great, although we did miss Logan.

Hope everyone is having a good week so far!

Thursday, September 2, 2010

September?? Really??

Just where did the summer go? Things are good in the Gusty household. Logan is thoroughly enjoying school, and is favorite part is still the bus ride home:) I'm struggling with keeping school stuff organized though, I need a new system. With more dates to remember, papers to keep track of, our sidetable in the kitchen officially looks like a bomb exploded. Any tips from you seasoned moms of school-agers??

Avery, at 8 months now, yikes, still is not crawling. She's mastered the Army crawl and uses that as her main mode of transport these days. And she's getting good at the leap frog, but no official crawling. And still no teeth! This little girl is miserable, drooling, chewing on anything and everything. And with the weather change here in Indy, she's got some stuffy sinuses to go along with it. But depsite it all, she's a pretty happy go-lucky baby. And recently she started giving kisses, and the best kind open mouthed sloppy ones. You ask her for a kiss, make a kissy noise and she leans in mouth wide open. Melts your heart:)

We had an awesome time at Megan and Paul's wedding a few weeks ago! The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was a blast, couldn't ask for a more perfect day.

My mom came to visit last weekend, she's officially settled in to her new house and new job in West Virginia, and seems to be loving it so far. And she's only about 5 hours away. We're thinking we'll be spending Thanksgiving there, maybe making a trip to DC too.

We're hoping for a nice relaxing Labor Day weekend! And hope yours is too.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Logan's First Day of Kindergarten


Well, it's official! I'm the mom of a school-ager, aahh!!

We had our parents meeting last night, where we learned everything we wanted to know about kindergarten. Because Logan is in the afternoon session, we drop him off and he rides the bus home. So today being the first day, parents were allowed to accompany the kids to the class. Logan matter of fact told me "mom I'll be okay, you can just drop me off" That made me sad, but made me feel good that he was ready.

I came home for a long lunch hour today, so I could take him for his first day. I cried most of the way to the house. He was dressed, shoes on and backpack on, about 30 minutes before we needed to leave. He asked Grannie all morning if it was time to go, I think he was a tad bit excited.
So off we went, I didn't just drop him off, we waited outside with all the other parents for the teachers to come get them. I snuck in to the classroom with him, and got "the face" He didn't complain too much and even let me take a few pictures.

Two of his friends from our street are in his class, as well as his good friend Mia from daycare days. He was very excited to see her, they had been at daycare together since a year and a half old.

I did okay with the drop-off, until I saw Mia's mom, she was crying and we were both commenting on how it was just yesterday when they were in the toddler room:) And I cried most of the way back to work.

He got to ride the bus home, and loved it, that of course was the favorite part of his day. And he wants to go back tomorrow, so that's great.

His teacher is great too, she's so incredibly organized, its awesome. I think we're going to have a great year!


Monday, August 9, 2010

Sickies

In case you are keeping track, just two more days until school starts. And the big kindergartner is sick :( About midnight last night he woke up crying, running a lovely fever and complaining that his throat hurts, ugh! Poor guy. Today, no fever, but throat still hurts, so he's hanging out in mom and dad's bed watching cartoons, and drinking lots of fluids. Hopefully this passes before Wednesday, he'd be so bummed if he had to miss his first day of school.

Me on the other hand, I would love to just take a vacation far far away and come back when he's finished with high school :) It's going to be a rough week for momma. We bought supplies at Target and I got teary eyed while he was trying on his backpack, bring on the Kleenex!

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Cool, quiet mornings

Ahh, finally a break from the heat. We slept with the windows open last night while temps dropped into the low 60's. While trying to falling asleep while the cicadas chirped outside wasn't easy, the cool breeze was fantastic!

This morning I opened up all the windows, Avery is down for her morning snooze and Logan is watching his favorite Phineas and Ferb. (After a much better week, he earned a tv show back.) Richard is off cutting grass and church, so I'm enjoying a cup of coffee, and a nice breeze while blogging on the deck, the joys of wireless internet!

This should be a fairly quiet weekend, except for some back-to-school shopping. We'll enjoy the no major plan weekend, as the next few weekends will be jam packed with weddings and road trips.

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The heat is on....

Well it appears Blogger has been unblocked at work, not going to question, just going to enjoy my writing time :)

The summer heat is really upon us here in Indiana, temps in the upper 90's and heat indexes in the triple digits the last few days, it's really been miserable. I'm not a humidity girl!

I think the heat and summer are getting to Logan as well, ugh we've had a rough few weeks with that boy. I think the heat, which means not much outside time, being stuck with Grannie for the summer and new sister are starting to get to him. Last week he had to pack up a large chunk of toys, and lost electronic privileges. Just not sure where this kid came from. This week has been better, he's earned a few things back. So I'm hoping once we get into a school routine, and he's around his friends again things will get better and he'll be back to his sweet old self, well close anyway. And school officially starts next Wednesday. We got our letter today, that he'll be in afternoon kindergarten. We have an ice cream social on Monday, and then orientation on Wednesday where we get to go to school with him and hang out for a few hours, then Thursday is his first official day. He's very excited, more so to ride the big bus than anything. And he has his first loose tooth, so lots of changes at our house, prayers that he handles these changes okay.

Avery gets bigger everyday I swear. She's so close to crawling, although some days I wonder if she'll just skip it and go right to walking! Her teeth are bothering her lately too and it looks as if she'll get a top one first. She's been chatting away lately too, really starting to find her voice and all the different sounds she can make. It's too cute, this really is one of my favorite baby stages:)

We've got a busy wedding season coming up. Jamie and I took a road trip to Lansing this past weekend for our cousin Megan's shower (can't believe she's getting married). We had a blast, the shower was fun and then it was great to just chill out on Saturday night, gabbing. Her wedding is the 21st, so we'll be traveling to Grayling for that, then next Saturday is my friend Erin's wedding. It's a small simple wedding, so as her present I've offered to be the 'photographer' for the event. I'm excited about it that and have some great ideas:) Then we have another friend's wedding Labor Day weekend, whew! Tis the season.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Back at it

Hopefully more regularly too. Blogger is still blocked at work, but I've realized how much I miss keeping up with it, so I just need to make time to keep up with it. (Especially since Grampy complained, don't want to be on his bad side, have to maintain my status as the favorite grandchild, heehee)

It's been a busy summer, and its flying by! We took a trip up north over the 4th, that was great! Avery had her first camping trip and did very well, I was more stressed out about it than I needed to be, but it ended up being fine and nice and relaxing. The boys did some fishing, with no luck, and we did some swimming. Then we hung out at Grampy's with the family for a few days, which is always nice. Logan go to play with my cousin Melissa's kids which he enjoys. So overall a good trip!

Logan has enjoyed his summer home with Grannie, but I can tell he's getting antsy, and sassy, so I think he'll be glad when school starts and can be around kids his own age again. Just a few more weeks left. We had to go over to the school a few weeks ago for an assessment, so we got to peek around a little bit.

Avery of course is growing like a weed, 7 months yesterday. She's so very close to crawling, gets herself up on hands and knees and rocks back and forth. It won't be long now, also means we need to get to re-babyproof the house. For the most part its good, just need to get some of Logan' smaller toys put up in his room.

And it always seems there's projects around the house to do, that's never ending. We got new laminate flooring put down in the living room a few weeks and it looks great, very happy with it. We've only lived in the house for a little over 3 years, and the carptet was just worn out, really didn't want Avery crawling around on it. Guess two dogs and two boys does that:)

Things at work are better for me, I just within the last few weeks, made a switch to the civil engineering department, which is where I really enjoy being. They've even let me work on some design elements here and there. Things at work are so-so for Richard, he got moved to the Construction Inspection department, since there is zero work in the survey department. So he's a little disappointed to not be working in his field, but thankful to have a job just the same. Plus he seems to really be enjoying the new group of people he works with. Plus he's guaranteed to be home every night, woohoo!

Well, that's all for now I guess, hope everyone is having a good summer!

TTFN!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Blocked

Well, I was a bad, infrequent blogger to begin with, but now I'm afraid it will be worse. I used to access the blog from work during lunch, but recently they have blocked all blogger blogs, I'm not sure why, maybe someone was looking at inappropriate blogs and ruined it for the rest of us. I'll try to wrestle the laptop away from Richard as often as I can for updates.

Things are going well in the Gustafson house. Softball season is in full swing, and Logan and his teammates are improving every week. He's enjoying his time at home with Grannie, and seems to be in a growth spurt and will eat us out of house and home before its over.

Miss Avery finally rolled over the other night, although different from the 'norm' she rolled back to front, and seems to have no interest in going the other way. She's onto solid foods now, and bananas seem to be her favorite, and peas are the least favorite, and since I also can't stand the smell of them, we won't be consuming many peas in our house.

Otherwise, life is good!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Snapshot Sunday

As promised here's some pictures from Logan's first baseball game. The game yesterday was cancelled due to rain and field conditions.




Monday, April 26, 2010

Play Ball!

Well, the rain held out long enough for Logan to play his first baseball game, and they did great! They were all so excited, and I think a little overwhelmed by the idea of an actual game with a real field and real dugouts. Logan got a few good hits off the tee, and got out once at first base, but he really had a good time. And even willingly took a nap later in the day, he must've been tired! I'll try to get a few pictures up later.

For the most part it was a pretty soggy weekend, so we didn't get much outside time. Richard had a small window for grass cutting on Saturday, but that was it.

Yesterday I spend the afternoon finishing up my tags for the consignment sale this week. It's pretty neat, you enter all your tags online, set your own prices, print and attach the tags and then just drop it all off at the sale site, and they take care of the rest. Nice way to make some extra cash, and clean out my basement storage, for not too much effort.

We also paid our last week of daycare tuition this morning!! Woohoo! Logan is counting down his last five days.

Friday, April 23, 2010

T.G.I.F.

Well, Richard is still a mystery (heehee). The doctor called last night and all of his bloodwork came back normal, so we're not sure what caused the stomach pain. He's feeling much better today, just a little tender. So I guess we just move one.

We're also praying for NO RAIN tomorrow for Logan's first baseball game. We have opening night activities tonight too. He's very excited for both.

I'm so very ready for this week to be over with. All week its been one thing of bad news after another, the world just seems a dark place lately. Illnesses, cancers, tests, bomb threats and bullying in schools, murders, there just hasn't seemed much good this week, and it has really been testing my faith. I've felt strong in my faith, but this week with all that's been going on has made me wonder how and why God puts us through what he does. How much can people handle before they break?

So to escape I plugged into my Pandora Radio and set it to Glee Cast Radio (i'm a huge Gleek). The songs that come up usually consist of show tune stuff, so I wasn't really listening just kind of zoned out, my mind racing with thoughts of the week when a song pops up by Kristin Chenoweth (who has appeared on Glee before). The song was Word of God Speak, in the midst of all my show tunes, and it kinda freaked me out a bit, as I listened to the words I kind of stopped and realized that despite the bad week I still had faith. Bad weeks make us appreciate the good ones that much more, and appreciate loved ones. So call it a sign or whatever you want, but that small snippet helped bring me back. Here's the lyrics that touched me:

I'm finding myself at a loss for words
And the funny thing is it's okay
The last thing I need is to be heard
But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak
Would You pour down like rain
Washing my eyes to see
Your majesty
To be still and know
That You're in this place
Please let me stay and rest
In Your holiness

Word of God speak
I'm finding myself in the midst of
YouBeyond the music, beyond the noise
All that I need is to be with
You And in the quiet hear Your voice

So today I'm just thankful, not even for anything in particular, I just kind of feel at peace I guess, since I have no control over the universe, only control over how it affects me.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Bad Blogger

Once again, all my good intentions have failed. I really did intend to be a regular blogger, but its just not happening. Oh well!

Miss Avery is 4 months old today, and I am always amazed at how much she's changed in just that short amount of time. She's got quite the little personality, and it appears is becoming a Daddy's girl:) She's got a certain little squeal that she does only for him, its too cute. And of course the second she hears her brothers voice, her whole face lights up in a smile.

Her tummy troubles are much improved, thank goodness. So funny how your brain kind of forgets that stuff. In the middle of those evening bouts I wondered if this would ever end, and now looking back, it seems like no big deal. Guess its all in the perspective. Now if we could just get her to take good naps, we'd be all set. She'll only take good long naps, if Grannie is holding her. The longest she's slept in her crib is 40 minutes. The weekends we're more than happy to cuddle up with her for a nap in our bed, and she's usually out for 2-3 hours! So she's capable of a nap, just not regular ones. So that means a nice early 7 o'clock bedtime, a 1:30am feeding and up at 7:00 am. And she seems perfectly happy and content otherwise.

She's really discovered her hands, and is reaching out for toys. She's also SO close to rolling over its not even funny. Richard hopes she goes this week yet before he goes back on the road for work, we've been blessed to have him home this week with us and its been great.

Although, he did spend two days of it in bed sick. Not really sure with what, had severe abdominal pain, which we didn't mess with, so off to the doctor yesterday. We're waiting the results of the blood work, could be appendicitis, gall bladder stones, or an infection of the nodes attached to the intestines. Or just nothing, but can't be too cautious with stomach issues.

Logan is officially in the 'school age' room at daycare, and it is chaos in there. It's all the school age children that attend the daycare, some before and after school, so there is quite a range of ages in there. We're quite unhappy with the situation, on two separate occasions last week, after sending a bottle of sunscreen to school, he had not had any put on him for afternoon recess. I asked him why not and he said the teacher didn't want to. So I questioned her, and she said yeah its sometimes too crazy in here to get to it. HELLO!!! He's a redhead, sunscreen is a must! That was kind of the last straw for me. And once its summer and ALL the kids are there ALL day EVERY day, I imagine it will get worse. So we've come to the realization that he's at the peak of what he's going to learn while attending there. So next Friday will be his last day at daycare. Grannie has agreed to have both kids for the summer, and once kindergarten starts he'll go to the afternoon program at school. She's very excited about it, and is already planning menus and crafts, and buying activity books, so it will be a good thing, also the money will be saving every months is a HUGE plus.

The school is still letting him participate in the preschool graduation in a few weeks, which reminds me I need to purchase an extra box of Kleenex this weekend :(

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Time flies!

Miss Avery turned 3 months old yesterday! The last three months have gone fast in the overall picture, but the daily struggles with colic and napping have made some days seem like months long. But overall she is such a happy wonderful baby, and I love having my little girl.

Logan has begun the transition to the 'big kids' room at daycare, with kindergarten right around the corner this fall. He's so excited to be moving up to the new room, and even more excited that he gets to share it with his best buddy Ethan. They are two peas in a pod I tell you, cracks me up.

And last night I was going through old baby clothes to prepare for a consignment sale. Logan was playing with some of the old toys, Richard is sitting in the desk chair, and we're marveling at the fact that not so long ago, this almost kindergartner sitting in front of us used to wear these things, he used to be my little baby boy. Well, he'll always be my 'baby boy'. But he's growing up in to such an awesome kid, sure there are days I'd duct tape him to a wall if it was legal (just kidding), but for the most part he's a pretty cool kid. For a boy his age, he's very loving, always giving hugs, telling you he loves you, I hope he never outgrows that.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

This too shall pass........I hope!

People always say that every baby is different, even amongst your own children. And man I could not agree more. Miss Avery will be 3 months on Monday, and I really want a happy baby girl :(

A few weeks ago we thought the colic was getting better, evenings hadn't been as bad, now the last week or so they seem to have gotten worse. Her crying has become more intense and NOTHING we try to do to console her helps. It certainly causes some very helpless feelings as a parent. Often I wonder at what point could it be something else?

I think its even harder because, my mother-in-law says she's a happy baby during the day, but by the time we get home from work she's miserable. I can't wait for the days when we can play and interact and talk with her instead of trying to find ways to soothe her.

Naps are still a struggle, she's not too interested in taking long ones, although she's getting a bit better. But nighttime she's awesome, falls asleep on her own by about 7:30 or 8.

You hear warnings about colic, and people give you tips to try and help, but no one ever really says how hard it is emotionally. But we just have to keep telling ourselves that it's temporary and its nothing we've done, but sometimes its easier said than done.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Sweet Sunshine

Aaaahhh, the sun is shining after what has seemed like weeks! And it's been WEEKS since I've posted, guess life really is a big busier with two kids.


Let's see, Logan is doing well. Still enjoying being a big brother, and seems to love his sister more everyday :) We've had a few behavior blips along the way, as we sometimes struggle with making sure to spend enough one-on-one time with him. Especially in the evenings when one of us is making dinner and one of us is dealing with a colicky Avery, but most times he's content to play with his trains, and lately he's been helping make dinner too.


One new rule that I've instilled is absolutley no TV on while we're eating dinner, even if it is the news. That has helped, we talk about our days, Logan fills us in on school, its been great. Now if we can just get him to eat dinner we'll be good.


We've signed him up for T-ball for the summer, and he seems excited about that. One of his good buddies seems to be involved in everything imaginable, so I asked Logan if there was anything else he wanted to do, he said nope just baseball I don't want to get too worn out :) I guess they know best.


Avery is growing like a weed. We're at 10 weeks, and at her two month check-up she weighed 13 pounds 2 ounces and was 24 inches long. And I am already having to pack up clothes that don't fit. The doctor commented on how strong she seemed to be, her favorite thing is to 'stand' on your lap so she can see the world. Looks like we'll be chasing her around sooner than later.

Her colic is improving, her new trick now is that she doesn't like to take naps during the day without being held. My poor mother-in-law gets to cuddle with her on the couch while she naps, I'm so jealous.


Yes, I did return to work, boooo. I so did not want to come back, but the bills need to be paid. We're holding out hope that the economy turns back around and Richard can be doing the work he's supposed to be, so maybe I can stay home, someday.


We had Avery baptised on Valentine's Day. We chose that day as Richard wanted to do it as close to his dad's birthday as possible, since that's who Avery is named after. (his dad's name was Dale). It was a wonderful day, my dad and Joanna were even able to make the trip.


Here's a few pictures from the day:











She may have been a bit bored with the whole thing :)

Monday, January 25, 2010

Miss Avery - 1 month old and Mr. Logan - 5 years old

Wow, how fast a month goes by! At her 1 month check-up last Friday, she weighed 11 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 1/4 inches long, so she is growing great. We have however gotten the evening grumpies otherwise known as colic :( Although it hasn't been horrible, just different since we didn't experience this with Logan. And even last night she was just fine, so hopefully it doesn't get any worse. It is definitely tummy troubles for her, arches her back, and belly gets hard when she cries, poor baby.

It's also hard to believe how fast 5 years went by as well. He's such an amazing boy, and makes me so proud how great of a big brother he is. He truly loves his little sister. Hopefully once she's crawling around and stealing his toys, he'll feel the same way.
Here's some new pictures of Miss Avery and some from Logan's birthday for you to enjoy.


His 'big boy' bike we got for him.



Birthday Party with his best buddy Ethan who is three days older.



Maggie is also one of her biggest fans :)


I think her big brother likes her just a bit too.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY LOGAN!!!!


Thursday, January 7, 2010

2 weeks: a perfect 10!

Okay, so I'm a bit biased. But she does actually weigh exactly 10 pounds as of her 2 week check-up yesterday. Miss Avery is doing very well. She's gaining the right amount of weight. Her ped is very impressed with how she already follows things with her eyes, and how much control she has of her head already. Do we have a little overachiever on our hands?

She's a great baby, a good eater and a good sleeper. She sleeps about 4 hour stretches at night, and I'm already noticing she's awake longer periods during the day.

And big brother Logan is doing great too. He loves his little sister so much. He went back to school on Monday, I think he was getting bored with her a little bit though. She's really not much fun to play with just yet. And I think he missed his friends a little bit. Avery and I took him to school today, and he was very excited to show off new little sister.

As I'm typing this we're finally getting some actual winter weather. It's been snowing most of the day, and most areas have been asked to limit travel. Even though it's only a few inches, not the Michigan snowstorms I've grown to miss. A few inches and Indiana goes into panic mode, it's really quite funny.
Here's some pictures to enjoy!