She's Four...

Sunday was Avery's 4th birthday. I seriously can't believe it! I remember sitting in the NICU thinking she was never going to gain weight let alone come home and grow up so fast... just crazy! My Mom gave her this beautiful outfit for her birthday and so of course I had to doll her up Sunday morning. I curled her hair and painted both her finger and toe nails for the first time (I know, I'm a slacker in that department.) She was so excited and was afraid to mess them up and wouldn't touch anything for a long time. She was also asked to say the opening prayer in Sharing Time and got sung to and got to pick out a pencil, I think she felt pretty special. Later that evening we had friends over for dinner/movie so she got to play with her friend Kaysen.

I couldn't help but snap several pictures of her that morning before heading to church...

Don't you love her little heart ring... it's actually a clip for her pony's hair that fits on her finger, so it's now her ring.

Got to love the "bathroom shots," I finally got smart and took her out of the bathroom...

Facts about a 4 year old named Avery Kate:

*She loves the colors blue and pink.
*She is starting to love girly things like dolls (babies), princess's, fairy's and ponies.
*She absolutely loves Hello Kitty.
*She is a carb lover and loves anything like chips, potatoes, toast, crackers, etc.
*You would never know it but she practically eats all day long.
*She has been daytime potty trained for over a year and is finally almost nighttime potty trained... Steve has been helping her with this since he's on night duty (because I seriously sleep through it all.)
*She loves to sing and dance and has a couple pretty funny moves.
*She still loves Diego, Ben 10 and Phineas & Ferb.
*Every song that comes on the radio that she recognizes, she calls her favorite.
*She loves playing and pretending with Maddy.
*She is going through a hoarding phase like Maddy did and carries around bags of her random stuff.
*She loves playing outside and asks me almost every day if we can go to Seven Peaks.
*She loves her Nana and Papa and gets so excited when they come to visit.
*She loves and is doing well in school (learning all her letters and how to write her name.)
*She loves going to Primary (Sacrament-not so much.)
*She's an early-to-bed, early-to rise kind of girl and will ask to go to bed.
*She is a very tough girl and only ever cries for a second when getting hurt.
*She loves being around the adults and I have to constantly try and get her to go play with the kids.
*She's very affectionate and wants to be right on your lap if you'll let her.
*She is such a monkey and is constantly climbing, hanging, swinging, etc.-I so need to get her into gymnastics!
*She's very stubborn but shy at the same time (like I was growing up and might still be) and will usually just stand there and give you a big smile when you ask her a question, without answering you.
*She is very soft spoken (unless she is mad.)
*Many times a day she says to us "Do you know how much I love you?" When you ask how much she either says "100" or 1000."
*She hates being dirty, having dirty hands or anything on her face and insists on having a towel to wipe with every time she eats anything.
*She is pretty tidy and usually keeps her room pretty clean and does her best to make her bed.
*She's very competitive and is always trying to be "first" at everything with her brother. First in the car, first to get her hair done, etc.
*She loves coloring and will actually sit still for quite a long time doing this, which says a lot cause she rarely holds still.
*She insists on hugs and kisses anytime either of us leave the house.

Sunday 4/10/11

***Edited 4/25/11: Well Child Dr. Appointment...
Stats: Weight = 31.4 lbs. (20%), Height = 40 1/4 in. (60%)
Dr. Berry said she is perfect and has no concerns.

Avery's 4th Birthday Party...

Saturday we celebrated Avery's 4th birthday. I can't believe she is already four... time sure does fly! Maddy was so excited and had to give her his present first thing in the morning. He wouldn't even let me wrap it. He picked out a Diego book for her and she loves it. She also loves butterflies and wanted a butterfly cake for her birthday this year. As I mentioned my sisters and I (mostly Jamie) made her a cake on my birthday the day before her party. I've decided to not start "friend" parties until they are five, so we just had family over. All of my family made it except Jen (and family) and my brother Shawn. Here are some pictures from Avery's special day...

Maddy and Avery were so excited to help me set up a "kids table" and they did this all by themselves. Normally I would've made it look neater before taking a picture but I thought I'd leave it since they were so proud of it. BTW, Avery's favorite colors are blue and pink :)

The yummy food...

My parents roasted a turkey the day before and had rolls made at their local bakery, it all tasted so yummy! And then of course after we had lunch we had cake (lemon with raspberry filling or strawberry with butter cream filling) and ice cream.

Even the kids ate most of their food, which doesn't happen very often because they are usually too busy playing.

(Mostly) everyone hanging out with full tummies...

She got lots of nice presents-spa set, dream-catcher, swim suit (Seven Peaks here we come), beautiful new dress outfit and three blankets my Mom made. We gave her the outfit and fairy dress up stuff she is wearing here...

I attempted to light the candles but apparently I wasn't quick enough and so Steve decided to take matters into his own hands...



The candles Jamie put on the cake were those trick candles that keep relighting and we didn't know until she tried to blow them out (which she did the entire time we were singing to her which was pretty cute.) It was pretty funny and we were all laughing (especially my niece Claire-hilarious!) By the end we were all trying to help her blow out the candles. Enjoy the short video...

Don't you love where it stopped! For the record, my blow finally extinguished the fire :)

She also got the most adorable cards (Sleeping Beauty & Hello Kitty) and money in the mail from her great-grandma and cousins... if you are reading, thanks so much-you seriously couldn't have picked more perfect cards! She has been carrying them around ever since. She already picked out a cute pink pony and will be picking out something else soon.

Thanks for coming everyone and making Avery feel so special!

Happy Birthday baby girl... I hope all your wishes come true!

Saturday 4/9/11

My 35th Birthday...

Friday was my 35th birthday (yep I'm proud to say that small number.) Before Steve left for work he sang to me a bit and then later when the kids woke up (I was still in bed), they both ran in and exclaimed "Happy Birthday!" It was so sweet! I spent most of the day at my sister Jamie's house making (well mostly watching) a cake for Avery's 4th birthday. Her birthday was technically Sunday (4/10) but we had her party with just family (I'm not doing friend parties until they turn 5) on Saturday. When I asked Jamie if she was up for making Avery a cake she said, "It depends on what you have in mind..." When I told her the picture I found was actually a fondant wedding cake I could tell she wasn't too excited... she just told me to email her the picture. Although it was fondant it was all white and most of the decorating would be "artificial." Anyway after seeing it she agreed (on one condition-I had to come and help so I could see the work that goes into it) and I was so excited. I couldn't think of a better way to spend my birthday...

Proof that I tried to help... I did one batch of the fondant :) And I have no idea why my fingers look so freakishly long... they really aren't! Must have been the angle of the camera or something LOL :)

Jamie and  her mad skills hard at work... it really is a lot more work than I thought! I now have a new appreciation for beautiful cakes.

Stacy was also there (didn't get her in a picture for some reason) and the two of us tried rolling those fondant balls that go around the cakes but ours were all different sizes... Jamie ended up redoing and finishing them all :) I picked out strawberry cake (with butter cream filling) for the bottom layer and lemon (with raspberry filling) for the top two layers and it was super yummy! Thanks so much Jamie! You are awesome!

I had a great birthday and got lots of love and birthday wishes from friends and family! Lots of phone calls, texts, emails and again I was overwhelmed at the love I got on Facebook (100+ wall posts and personal messages.) Thank you everyone! My Visiting Teachers brought me this cute little cake earlier in the week...

Thanks Jeanette and Kaylyn!

And my sweet friend/neighbor/co-worker/hair stylist/teaching partner Brooke brought this cake (and a card they all signed) and treats to our little Primary class on Sunday so we could all celebrate...

Thanks Brooke!

Besides cake making the rest of  my day was pretty normal...

Got my workout in and of course the kids have to hang out while I'm working out and Maddy was playing Avery's trainer for the day...

Too cute!

When I got home that evening after my cake adventure I was exhausted. Steve wanted to take me out for dinner and go shopping for a new outfit. I just wanted to go to bed and the thought of the energy it was going to take to get my house cleaned, decorated and ready for Avery's party the next day was too much. So I did, I went to bed around 8:30PM, cause it was my birthday and I could sleep if I wanted to. And guess what, I woke up to the best present ever... a CLEAN house! Steve stayed up late cleaning the house and I couldn't have been happier the next morning. There were cards on the counter from him and the kids and the house was clean. Like not just picked up, really clean. He did some organizing in the pantry (I'm really embarrassed at just how bad it really is-don't say anything Jamie!), he washed some walls in the pantry, cleaned all the floors, put away laundry, dusted, cleared counters and on and on. He kept cleaning all weekend and even did things like start (and finish) more laundry, clean mirrors, etc. This guy must really love me and I'm so lucky to be able to call him mine :) Thanks hon, you and the kids mean the world to me!

Oh wait, you wanted to see the finished cake??? Drum roll please...

She wanted butterflies and butterflies she got...
Friday 4/8/11

Finally Some Answers...

Once again more medical stuff for my record (I've included lots of links for your benefit if you're interested though)...

This past Wednesday I had my appointment with Dr. Foulk. He's a Reproductive Endocrinologist at Utah Fertility Center. The appointment went really well and I finally got some answers as to why I'm having such a hard time staying pregnant. I told him my entire fertility/pregnancy history and had him pretty curious at that point. I've had so many different complications over the years and I think his medical brain was trying to piece everything together-I'm quite the complicated puzzle :) As soon as we finished reviewing my history we went right over into the next room and he performed a "water ultrasound." Pretty much right away he determined that I have an incompetent cervix. None of the water he was injecting was staying in my uterus, it would just come right back out. Ttalk about feeling like you majorly peed your pants... he said something to the fact that I was getting a major douche and would have the cleanest vagina in town... LOL! Sorry if that's tmi, I couldn't help myself! He also said it's usually pretty hard to get the catheter through the cervix (because it's suppose to be really tight and closed) and it went in really quick and loosely, pretty far into my uterus way too easy. He tried three separate times to inject a huge syringe (and all those other fun tools) full of water with no luck of it even staying in long enough to capture pictures on the ultrasound screen. Usually a incompetent cervix can't be diagnosed until you are pregnant (and having complications and dilating prematurely) and so it's crazy that mine is already in that state while I'm not even pregnant. He finally had the nurse get a big cup of water and she kept injecting water as fast as she could so he could capture some images real quick. Talk about a workout for my cervix... I was cramping pretty bad the whole time and he felt really bad that my day was starting out this way. I was actually happy though and told him to do whatever he needed to do because I was finally getting answers, finally everything was starting to make sense. During the ultrasound he found that I have a Septate Uterus which is a wall that partially or completely divides the uterus longitudinally into two cavities on the inside making the capacity a lot less, less room for a baby to grow. Mine is 1.51 cm long (the average non-pregnant uterus is 4 cm long) so it is in between 1/3 to 1/2 divided which he said is pretty significant. Also the right side is a lot smaller then the left side, so if a pregnancy were to implant on the right side there is even less capacity than half of a normal uterus. I know for sure that this last pregnancy I lost at almost 16 weeks was on the smaller right side :( I specifically asked the ultrasound tech. during one of my ultrasounds and was told it was on the right side. I'm not sure on the two I lost before this last one, both at almost 11 weeks. He also saw some Uterine Adhesion's while performing the ultrasound. The combination of these issues makes for lots of complications during pregnancy :( Also he dispelled a couple former diagnosis's that I've had. He wasn't able to see the Fibroid that I was recently told I had and that we thought might be a big issue... still a bit confused about that one, I can't imagine it could go away that fast. Also for years I've thought and been told I have a Bicornuate Uterus and it turns out I don't, I have a Septate Uterus. I guess with regular ultrasounds they can't really tell the difference, and so they just always call it that because it looks kind of heart shaped but bicornuate uterus's are heart shaped on the outside and septate uterus's are normal on the outside (like an upside down triangle) but divided on the inside. He was able to get a clear picture and distinguish between the two during the procedure. Which is good news because a bicornuate uterus can't be fixed but a septate uterus can. So I'm scheduled to have surgery early next month and Dr. Foulk will remove the septate wall and open it all up so I have a normal full capacity uterus. He will also remove any adhesion's or anything else that isn't suppose to be there. Then if I become pregnant I will have a Cervical Cerclage placed (ouchie!) pretty early during the pregnancy to (hopefully) keep my cervix from dilating prematurely and miscarrying as a result. I know it sounds weird but I'm really happy and at peace with all of this. It's so exciting to have real answers and feel hopeful at this point... here's to a happy surgery day!

Wednesday 4/6/11

Just Do It!

If you're not wearing a heart rate monitor while doing cardio then start! I finally did and found out I'm pushing myself way too hard (and possibly burning muscle as a result.) My heart rate was 170+ less than a minute into my cardio session. And I was just getting started, normally I'm about ready to pass out by the end of my session... I shutter when I think about how high it must've been getting all these months. I have Exercise-Induced Asthma and so I really struggle with cardio. Well turns out I've just been making it worse. I'm now going at a lesser speed and am able to stay in my target heart rate zone (with lots of deep breathing to help me out) and I feel much better throughout the day as a result. Less ongoing chest tightness, exhaustion, etc. I'm really focusing on being a better breather... HA! So just do it! Wear a heart rate monitor. It may tell you that you need to push harder or maybe not so much like me, but at least you'll know and be able to maximize the productivity of your time.

Note: The picture was taken shortly after I realized I was pushing too hard and had lowered my speed and started to try and get my heart rate lowered down to where it should be. Sorry about the poor picture quality, it was taken with my phone while I was doing cardio :)

Tuesday 4/5/11

Snow in April...

After three beautiful Spring days we woke up to snow Sunday morning. As ready as I am for Spring and as much as I wanted to be annoyed with Mother Nature, I just couldn't because it was so beautiful! Seriously, for some reason as I was driving all my myself on the quiet Sunday morning streets I was kind of taken back by how beautiful everything looked covered in white. You would've thought I'd never seen snow before! It made me think about how quickly things can change in life and that change is constant. We went from 70 degree weather to snow overnight. I know I'm a big cheese ball and I'm also a big nerd, so of course I pulled out my camera and took some pictures along my drive. I wanted to have some pictures to remind me of this beautiful morning (I was so distracted I even missed my turn lol!)...

I snapped this picture of our house as I left.

The sky was doing crazy weird things and constantly changing.

Sunday 4/3/11

Matched...

I recently finished reading Matched by Ally Condie. It was a great read! Especially if you liked the "Hunger Games" series. There is a sequel coming out in November this year and the third book in November of 2012. I would definitely highly recommend!

When You're Done You're Done...

Thursday 3/31/11

Finally...

This past week we had three days in a row of beautiful warm sunny Spring weather, finally! Steve and I were able to get the lawn mowed and edged (after we replaced our edger because I didn't see it laying in the garage and ran over it-opps!), lights replaced and all the weeding done. Now just to maintain the rest of the year! After I dropped the kids off at school on Thursday I ran some errands and went and had a bunch of "specialized fertility" blood work done. I've never had so much blood drawn-8 tubes worth. They are running a bunch of different tests in anticipation of my upcoming appointment with a fertility specialist at the Utah Fertility Center on Weds. After I picked up the kids from school Maddy had a "great idea"... he and Avery should put on some swimsuits and have a water gun fight...

Avery thought it was a great idea until Maddy blasted her with water the first time. She spent the rest of the time here...

Steve came home and decided to join in on the fun...

Which of course sent Maddy running this time...

Here's to more beautiful Spring weather!

Thursday 3/31/11

His Grandmother, Their Great-Grandmother...

Saturday after we left my parents house we took the short drive to Manti and stopped to visit Steve's (maternal) grandmother. We've been trying to go visit her since Christmas and kept having sick kids and other obligations come up. We finally made it! Don't you just love how she just hopped right up on Steve's lap in the picture above!

It was her first time seeing Avery and they bonded pretty quick.

Maddy is pretty shy and it took a little while for him to warm up.

So cute... she asked Avery if she wanted some dolls and then they walked hand in hand to go get them. She gave her several little fairy dolls and ponies... she loves them and has been playing with them nonstop and insisted on taking one to church today. Maddy didn't want any fairy dolls or ponies but she did let him pick out a car to take home.

The picture above I actually took right after we got there. Steve kind of played a joke on his grandma and called her from my parents house to make sure she was home, but didn't tell her we were coming. We showed up a few minutes later and of course she was shocked... besides hugs and what not she actually gave him a nice little slap on the cheek. So funny, she is so tiny, but feisty for sure :)

She wanted me to take a picture of Steve and the kids.

We actually waited out on her porch, knocking and trying to call her for a bit (I guess she was getting ready to mop the floor and didn't hear us knock and was just going to let the machine answer the phone-we finally just went in and called her name) so I took this picture of the Temple while we waited. She lives right across the street and has an amazing view...

It was so nice to take the kids to see her finally... she really enjoyed seeing them and we enjoyed visiting with her. I wish we could've stayed longer, we will have to make sure we get down to visit her more often.

Saturday 3/26/11