Father's Day - 2010

Ryan is not only a great husband, but he is a WONDERFUL father. He changes diapers, cuddles, reads, sings, plays and is truly the best daddy these kids (and I) could ask for. Not only is he great with the kids, but he treats me like his best friend, his partner, his equal and I love him for it. He still opens doors for me, listens when I need to bend his ear, tells me I am beautiful, helps with the laundry, does dishes, mows the yard, all in addition to being very hands on with our kids. He is extremely dedicated to his family and would do just about anything to make us happy. He isn't perfect (who is), but he is close)! He slept in on Sunday (Father's Day), went to the driving range, then we ran some errands and finished the evening with a dip at the pool. I thought it was a great day and hopefully he did too. The kids got him a gift card to Coldstone (he LOVES ice cream) and I got him some vodka that he loves (Russian Standard) and a gift card to Home Depot. Once the kids were asleep we sat on the back porch, enjoyed a glass (or two) of wine, a cigar (Ryan) and spent the rest of the evening talking about Ed. We both got emotional, but it felt good to talk about him and reminisce about everything we remember about him as a father, grandpa and husband. It was a great day.

Sooo big

Aveyn is progressing in leaps and bounds. Whereas before she had no desire to even stand on her feet, she is now standing by herself (with help) for brief periods of time (our little girl is getting stronger). She is mastering the concept of the pincer grip (using her finger and thumb to grasp things) and the sippy cup.

With these new discoveries comes new territory to explore and she really seems to be enjoying herself. She recently discovered the musical chair and LOVES it. She gets this goofy grin on her face and starts shaking her little body to the music. It is too freaking cute for words (here, look at the picture - LOL).

She is turning into a bit of a Mommy's girl and is quick to express her anger when I put her down or walk out of her line of sight (I had this same problem with Cael). It is just so hard when I know that picking her up will make her stop crying. However, I know I am creating a monster and am working to overcome my immediate reaction to her tears and obvious discomfort. I can't believe she is already 9.5 months old and how much is going to change for Ryan and I between now and her first birthday! I think we are ready or as ready as one can be when dealing with a little kid!

Omaha Trip - June 2010

The trip started off a little rough (see Departing Denver), but as always it was great to see everyone in Omaha. Ryan, Nolan and Tim went golfing in the morning at Indian Creek (the course my mom lives on) and then came back to my mom's to swim. My mom had invited Erica, Nolan and Makenzi out (Barb had come to the airport to pick us up and had stayed the night) and my sister came out with Chris and Veronica. We had so much fun hanging out by the pool, playing volleyball, eating, laughing and just enjoying each other's company. We ordered pizza for dinner and made it an all day event.

On Sunday, Ryan headed over to Tim and Erica's with the kids while I packed and got everything ready for the flight that evening. My mom and I stopped by Heather and Jeff's to say hi and to see Bennett, but unfortunately he wasn't feeling well and was sleeping in his crib. We talked with Heather and Jeff for a bit and then headed out to meet up with Ryan and the kids. Ryan went to visit Ed's grave site with Tim and Barb while the rest of us tried not to fall asleep in our chairs (it had been a busy weekend). We ended up grabbing a snack and watching the kids play on the trampoline (Cael actually fell off and gave everyone a good scare - thank goodness he was okay). Before long it was time to load up and head to the airport. Luckily the flight home was a non-event and we arrived back in Denver with no problems (other than a couple of very tired kids)!

Departing Denver

Ryan and I planned a quick weekend trip to Omaha to visit our family (and hopefully squeeze in some time with friends as well). We were eagerly anticipating the weekend, but not looking forward to the short trip (lots of traveling = very little 'quality' time). Our flight was supposed to leave Denver at 7:10 pm, but given the foul weather (tornado warnings) we were anticipating a bit of a delay. However, when I checked our flight status on the way to the airport I don't think we were prepared for the two hour delay as the flight was now scheduled to take off at 9:07. We discussed going back to the house and waiting, but worried that things would change; the weather would get better and we would end up missing our flight. We arrived at the airport and headed to the gate only to discover the flight had been delayed again and was now scheduled to depart at 9:28. At this point, I am frustrated (it was already going to be a short enough trip) and worried about the kids. I was ready to just bag the whole trip, but Ryan wanted to stick it out given we would lose the tickets and money if we just skipped the flight. We were hanging out at the gate when they updated the departure time again: we were now scheduled to leave at 10:41. What?? Forget it!

Long story short, we stuck it out, boarded at 10:30 and finally taxied down the run way at 11:30. We encountered some of the worst turbulence (people were crying) I have ever experienced and I think both Ryan and I were wondering if we were going to make it off the plane alive. We finally arrived in Omaha at 2:30 in the morning (Central time). We were beat and the kids were on the verge of a major meltdown. We got to my mom's house, put the kids down and finally fell asleep around 4:00 so you can imagine that 8:30 came VERY quickly :) Regardless, it was an adventure and one we will never forget!

Update (Aveyn) - 9 months

Aveyn had her nine month appointment today and I wanted to update everyone on her stats and overall progress:

Weight: 17 lbs 4.8 oz (14 lbs 9.2 oz at six months)
Height: 28 1/4 inches (26 inches at six months)
Head Circumference: 45.7 cm (43.4 cm at six months)

She is in the 25th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for height and 90th percentile for HC. I have to admit this was the most disconcerting appointment I have ever had regarding either of my kids. The PA, Carrie, was a woman who I am not familiar with and after asking several questions (including whether or not Aveyn was pulling herself up, standing with assistance, cruising, clapping, waving hi and bye, saying mama or dada, pointing to objects, etc.) to which my response was no, I started feeling nauseous. She kept asking me if I had any concerns and I told her I didn't have any concerns unless she had concerns.

She wanted to know if Aveyn was eating table food or just baby food. When I said she was still eating (stage 3) baby food, she nodded her acknowledgement and then asked if this was my first child? Um, no. We didn't give Cael solids until after nine months either. She isn't ready and only started cutting her two bottom teeth a couple of weeks ago. We will start trying to give her soft cheeses and breads now (just like we did with Cael). We also discussed the need for a regular juice (natural pear is best) regime to help Aveyn with her bowel movements.

You could tell that she thought Aveyn was behind in her motor skills, but when I asked her if she thought we should be concerned she said no. She did however mention that if Aveyn doesn't seem to be progressing in the next month or so that we should contact Dr. Connie (regular pediatrician) rather than waiting until her 12 month appointment. I immediately called Ryan and he calmed me down a bit, but I am still unsettled. Cael didn't crawl until he was 10.5 months, but by nine months he was able to stand while holding onto something and was clapping. In my heart, I do not feel that ANYTHING is wrong with my daughter, but could have done without this particular appointment/meeting/discussion. I have another appointment with Dr. Connie in a couple of weeks to make sure her ear infection is all cleared up and I will be discussing this in more detail with her.

One of the last questions Carrie asked was about what Aveyn did while on her stomach. Finally something positive to discuss. Aveyn pushes almost her whole body off the floor, tries really hard to get her legs underneath her and actually moves across the floor in her excitement to start crawling. Carrie went on to say that it sounded like she was going to be meeting some big milestones over the next month or so, which of course made me feel better, but at the same time I can't rid myself of the bad taste the whole appointment has left in my mouth. The best part was they kept wanting to re-take her head circumference measurement (freaking me out even more) and then informed me that she had a narrow, but odd shaped head. WHAT? They also poked her toe to test her iron levels and the first time the levels came back VERY low so they had to re-do the test (it came back normal). Sheesh, what an emotional roller coaster for Mommy :(

For comparison purposes these are Cael's stats from his nine month appointment.

Weight: 24 lbs - 93rd percentile
Height: 29 3/4 inches - 90th percentile
Head Circumference: 46.8 cm - 90th percentile

Sleep is necessary....

Aveyn is a really sweet baby, but up until recently was not the best when it came to sleeping through the night. Ryan and I were getting up several times through out the night to feed her, hold her or just to give her the pacifier (again) after she had spit it out! It culminated early last week with the worst night yet and Ryan and I both wondered if she had an ear infection or a cold. I made a doctor's appointment for her actually praying that something was wrong (otherwise WHY was she waking up)? I honestly had no other explanation. I babbled on and on to the doctor about what was going on: Aveyn wasn't sleeping very well, we tried the bottle (thinking growth spurt) and although she was eating like 8 oz every time (longest growth spurt EVER) she wasn't eating very well in the morning, she was waking up consistently all night long, sometimes the pacifier worked and other times it didn't (the list goes on and on). She immediately asked if we were putting her to bed in the crib awake. Sheepishly I admitted that we were not; that we had been very diligent with Cael, but that we got lazy the second time around (i.e. feeding her until she was asleep and then gently placing her in the crib). She checked Aveyn's ears, throat and nose and said despite a slight ear infection in her right ear, it was not the cause for her nighttime waking. When I started to protest about the bottles and all the formula she was drinking she informed me that a baby, no matter what, will eat if given a bottle (breast) in the middle of the night. She didn't need the calories and it was time to eliminate the bottle from her regime (What? Noooooooo). Dr. Connie went on to tell me that we needed to start putting her down awake (develop a bedtime routine, which we sort of had) and let her figure out how to go to sleep on her own (which might involve some crying or a lot of crying). The sad (pathetic) part is that this was nothing new to either of us. She said that on average it takes three nights, but in the end it would be worth it. With a heavy heart I called Ryan to let him know what she had said and we both began mentally preparing ourselves for the next three nights. We developed a bedtime routine that consisted of the following: change pajamas/diaper, give her the bottle, read one story, lots of hugs/kisses, place her in the crib, sing, say goodnight and leave the room. Dr. Connie had said to let her cry for 5 minutes, go in and soother her (without picking her up), if she continued crying, let her cry 10 minutes, go in soothe and so on and so forth. When Ryan left her room, he called down to me to 'start the clock', but she really wasn't crying. We waited anxiously to see what she would do and after about 20 minutes of 'talking' she went to sleep. Not only did she put herself to sleep, but she slept until 3:00, woke up, talked some more and went back to sleep. Ryan actually had to wake her up at 6:30 to get ready for school/daycare. Woohoo!! She has done the same thing for the last five nights with less 'talking' and more sleeping each time (so this is what sleep feels like)! Regardless of the fact that the last 3-4 months have been really hard, Ryan and I both agreed that this was probably the optimal time to try 'crying it out' as she is able to find her pacifier and put it in her mouth on her own. Regardless it worked out and Ryan and I are ecstatic to be sleeping more than 2 hours at a time!

Some random pictures

I got my new camera on Friday and have been obsessed about learning everything I can about how it operates (i.e. can it perform the functions of the other camera and with the same ease) and whether or not it was a good purchase (will I be happy with how much I spent and the pictures it generates). At first, I was a little skeptical, but it turns out that it has lived up to (if not exceeded) my {high} expectations. Naturally my subjects include none other than our gorgeous kids (and pup). As always there is a story with every picture, but rather than focus on the story, I wanted to focus on the picture as I did just purchase a new camera!!

Aveyn is upset because she wants to be held and Cael loves watching the neighbor boys practice lacrosse!

Action shot of Cael playing 'baseball' and Aveyn working hard at her first attempt to crawl!

Finally... a cute picture of Potter and a picture of Cael learning how to play golf!

Aveyn being her normal adorable self and Cael 'helping' with the vacuuming!

The cutest kids in the world (in my opinion)!!!!

I don't think these last two pictures really need a 'caption'!

That didn't take long

For the last few days I have been researching cameras trying to figure out the best purchase for our family. I loved our other camera, but it had some features that drove me crazy (namely it took FOREVER to take a picture - i.e. digital camera lag) so I set out to find the 'perfect' camera! I am not a professional photographer nor will I ever be. I am merely looking for something to help me capture our life so that we never forget (and so other people don't either) the many wonderful memories we shared. I did numerous searches on Google and was actually overwhelmed by the amount of information out there on digital cameras. Finally, I decided to go the Consumer Reports route and went with their 'recommended' pick - the Panasonic Lumix DMC FP8! Truth be told, I really wanted the red one (or better yet violet - not sold in US), but it was about $50 more expensive and it wasn't worth it to me to spend more just to have a pretty color. I should have my new camera later this week and I can't wait to try it out!!!

For those who really care, here is what Consumer Reports had to say about my new friend:

'This thin subcompact is not only highly rated in image quality and performance, but has some intriguing design features, including a non-telescoping zoom lens and control buttons that light up, which can be useful in low-light situations. The camera has very good image quality, producing images with very good sharpness and little noise. It performs very well in next-shot delay and first-shot delay, both of which are short, and it has very good dynamic range, which allows this camera to shoot photos in a variety of shooting situations. This Lumix also includes an output for HDTV, as well as wide-angle capabilities, useful for landscapes and group portraits.'

I am seriously so excited that I can hardly stand myself. I had to pay extra money to get it here as soon as possible. Who knows what cute things the kids will do and now I will be ready to capture it with my new camera!! Woohoo!!!

Camera all gone

I am absolutely heartbroken. Ryan and I took the kids to the pool on Sunday morning and I dropped the camera on the cement and it shattered. I thought it might still work, but after taking several pictures it became quite obvious that the camera was finito.

Hopefully Ryan and I will be purchasing a new one very soon, but until then you will just have to make due with stories that aren't accompanied by amusing pictures that capture the moment just perfectly (I have a pretty high opinion of how much the pictures contribute to my posts). Of course because I have no way to capture the memories, this means that the kids are going to be absolutely adorable and I am going to be beside myself with grief that I am missing out. It might mean a midnight trip to Target... I am going to prepare Ryan for the worst just in case. In the meantime, I will be researching new cameras.