A lot has gone on since I last posted...

I am going to be brief about the last month because I am babysitting and I never know when the kids will wake up!

Big 12 Championship!

Dustin and I were blessed enough to get free tickets from his work to the Big 12 tournament and take a couple of friends with us. I ended up skipping Friday's nights game so I could hang out with Allison, Tyler, Angela and the kids, but went on Saturday to the championship. It was a blast! And they have $1 slushes at the QT in the stadium!! Can't get better than that! (well it did help that KU won!) On our way home we got to meet Brad and Cheri for some lunch in Wichita and Ava got to eat plenty of mashed potatoes.

California

Ava and I flew out to California to see my family. Ava got to meet her great Aunt Jacque, my cousin Brian, her second cousin Sophie, and her great grandparents. It was a pretty special trip for me. My mom also got to fly out and we all had a blast. It was the first time my grandparents got to see both of their great granddaughters, so it was pretty wonderful. Ava also got to see the ocean for the first time while she was there. She loved it and wanted to get in it! It was a wonderful trip and I miss them already!

Surprise Showers

For the last several months the SS7 minus one (Brooklyn) planned a surprise shower for Brooklyn. We are all so excited for her and Jerad and wanted to show her. So Kelsey and I planned a sleep over with Brooklyn, but she didn't know that Leta, Allison, Angela, and Tiff were all going to be there too! It was pretty awesome! We also surprised Tiff with a baby shower and Allison with a "wedding shower". It was such a wonderful weekend and I wish we could all be together every weekend!

Easter

Ava had her first Easter. I had planned on taking her to an Easter egg hunt, but she slept instead. Luckily, Brent and April had a little hunt for Collin and Ava Sunday afternoon. Dustin had to miss Ava's first Easter Egg hunt because he had to work, but I'm sure next years will be much more eventful than this one anyways!

Past weekend Kansas City Trip

Nathan had his bachelor party this past Saturday, so we headed for Kansas City again. I thought it was a good excuse to go visit Allison and I was invited to Kristi's bridal shower, so it worked out great. Dustin took off Friday so we could go visit some friends from Leavenworth and go to watch my track girls Friday night. He then headed out with the guys for a fun weekend of golf, Royals game, Dave and Busters and very little sleep. The next time I saw him was 3 am Sunday morning! I too had little sleep because Allison and I are good talkers haha.

Sorry for the bad filming job. I was actually trying to vacuum while taping Ava.

Ava hates the vacuum

I have vacuumed in front of Ava before, but today didn't go so well. It was kinda hilarious for me, not so much in her eyes. As soon as I started the vacuum she took off towards the kitchen to get away from it. The baby gate was up and she was trying frantically to climb it. I eventually stopped vacuuming to calm her down and then put her in her crib with some toys to keep her occupied. I thought this would work, but it failed miserably. Poor thing had a look of pure terror on her face the whole time. I caught a little bit of it on my flip and I'll try and get it posted. I hope she grows out of this because it will be her chore eventually. :)

CIO Method

The Cry It Out method is about to make me cry.

Ava has recently taken to a new type of cry. I would describe it as she wants the whole neighborhood to think she's dying. From the moment Ava was born I knew she had good lungs. She came out screaming and didn't stop for an hour. I have to say that made me a little nervous, but those screams don't even compare to the one that's currently going on at my house. About 45 minutes ago the blood curdling screams began. We waited about 12 min. before Dustin headed in there with a bottle. All was quiet for about 10 min. then they began again. Ava had downed 4 and 1/2 oz. pushed her bottle away and refused to let Dustin hold her by pushing with her arms and feet against him in true temper tantrum form. I have to say that is one of the most frustrating moments as a parent. All you want to do is help calm them and nothing is working. They don't want to be held, but they don't want you to put them down either. So, Dustin decided to turn on her slideshow/music star and lay her in her crib. We were going to have to let her cry it out. The doctor told me that it's always worse for the parents than it actually is for the child. I am currently thinking about asking her to write a note to all my neighbors explaining the same thing. Oh the joys of living in an apartment with a small child. I will not be surprised when someone knocks on the door and asks us to do something about our ridiculously loud infant, because the cannot sleep. However, my husband currently has no problem sleeping through the screams as he has been out since I asked him to hand me the laptop. So then again, maybe I'm the only one bothered by Ava's stifling screams.

Well it has now been about 29 minutes since Dustin laid Ava back down and all is quiet. Thanks for bearing with me through this last half hour...I couldn't have done it without you! We may see you again in a few hours...

Since the false alarm...

We all got the stomach flu...all I can say is UGH!! Dustin and Ava had it first and I quickly followed. On Wednesday night, I threw up over 30 times and ended up in the ER for dehydration and to stop my vomiting. Poor Ava was throwing up in the ER and it went all over Dustin of course. This was all happening around 3 am, so Dustin took Ava and drove around Edmond so she could sleep and I could get two bags of fluids pumped into me. By the time we got home it was 5:30 am and Ava wanted to be held nonstop. Luckily Dustin (who has only slept about 2 hours) stayed up with her until they both fell asleep on the couch. By about 10 am the throwing up had finally stopped. However, the other half of the stomach flu kicked in (we won't go into that though). Ava is just now getting over it. That is some yucky stuff!

On a happier note, Ava had her 9 month checkup today. The doctor said she's perfect...okay that's not true, but we think so. haha.

Here are her stats:

Weight: 17lbs 7 oz (she lost a little from the flu) (25%)

Height: 28 inches (50-75%)

Head: 44 1/2 cm (50-75%) Does that make her a little like a bobble head?

False Alarm...The sickness is not over!

I'm up to my armpits in puke!

Well actually I had puke from my chin to my toes, thanks to Ava and a nasty flu bug.

Dustin also has the flu bug to thank for his throwing up as well. This is the first time he's thrown up since he was a child!

My poor babies are sick once again. Praying that it's a 24 hour thing and everyone feels better tomorrow!

The last few weeks...

tested me as a mom and wife.

1. Ice Storm= don't go outside for several days.

2. Dustin gets sick=Ava gets sick

3. Ava's cold=RSV

4. RSV=Me panicking that my child is having a hard time breathing and coughs so hard she throws up!

(Luckily my mom was here to help!)

5. Me stressing=a sinus infection and the flu (in the same day) with a sick baby.

1-5=A long few weeks!

We are all feeling much better now and I am appreciating the sun today! I think we better make it to the park!