ENT appt.

What a bad trip we had to the ENT this afternoon. Poor Ava. She failed her ear test again and the Dr. determined that both ear tubes were very clogged up with thick drainage. He had to do a procedure to clean them out, which involved me holding her down (along with 3 nurses--yes, it took FOUR adults to hold down one 21 lb baby), while the Dr. used a microscope and a needle that had suction to go into her ear canal and suck out the drainage from her tubes. It was AWFUL. Ava and I both cried through the whole thing.

Luckily, she seems to be ok. We have to do the antibiotic ear drops for another week and we have a follow-up appt. in a month for more tests to see if the drainage has subsided at all. The Dr. said she just really really needs to get over this never-ending cold, and he thinks that once that happens and she doesn't have the thick green drainage from her nose anymore, then her ears will finally have a chance to clear up. The good news is that we're not doing anything wrong and we just have to continue to flush out her ears periodically and make sure that the opening doesn't get stopped up again.

Please keep her in your thoughts! I just want this all to be over and for her to be well.

Bag Lady

Ava has decided that she is just not ever going to walk by herself. This is a video of two clips from last night and this morning of Ava walking with the shopping cart. She has gotten so good at turning it around and getting wherever she wants to go that we are convinced that she is just going to walk with a cart forever. It's acceptable in some parts of the country, right? (Walmart? Lol) I think at this rate we are going to have to bring the shopping cart on the cruise:) Kidding...I hope!

New pics

Just a slideshow of pics from yesterday and today. Kmart had the cutest 2-piece outfit sets on sale for only $5 each and Aunt Lizzie sent some Valentines money for the kids (thank you Liz!!!) so Ava and Aiden both got several cute new outfits. The first 2 pics are Ava modeling 2 of hers (please ignore her wild hair. She keeps taking out her hairclips and trying to eat them--we are working on it!). When Aiden saw Ava in the red outfit he exclaimed, "Oh Ava, you look BEAUTIFUL in your new outerfitter!" Lol.

Playgroup Valentines Party

A slideshow of pics from our playgroup Valentines party, which was a big success. The kids had a great time and the weather was fabulous. :)

Aiden funnies

More Aiden funnies for you. I am trying to remember them as he says them and put them on the blog--he is just so funny at this age!

A sweet one: on Friday night, after a day filled with candy, Valentines, and more candy, I was putting Aiden to bed. As I tucked him in I said, "Happy Valentines Day, Aiden. I love you." His response? "I love you too Mommy. Happy Valentines day. Thanks for being my Valentine!" Awwwww:)

I took Aiden grocery shopping with me on Saturday morning and he needed to get some new kids toothpaste. He picked out Wall-E toothpaste (over Cars! I was shocked!). At home that night I was giving him his bath and asked him what he thought his new Wall-E toothpaste would taste like. He thought for a minute and then said, "Hmmm, probably it will taste like SPACE!" When he was brushing his teeth a few minutes later he said, "Mmmm, space tastes GOOD Mommy! I like space toothpaste!" Lol.

At the zoo last weekend Chuck picked Aiden up and was carrying him for a while (he was getting whiny). Aiden started touching Chuck's face and said very jealously, "I really wish I had a beard like my Daddy. I would really like a beard someday..." When we told him that when he grows up to be a Daddy, he can have a beard, you would have thought he had died and gone to heaven! He was so excited! Lol.

And finally, some cute pics of the kids rough-housing yesterday evening. They were both in silly moods and Ava had crawled partially underneath the train table and Aiden felt the need to tackle her, lol. Much to all of our surprise (including Aiden!) she actually thought it was hilarious:)

Happy Valentines Day!

I know this is a day early, but I probably won't get around to it tomorrow so I wanted to wish everyone a very happy Valentines day!

I took some pictures of the kids this morning in their reddish outfits, lol. Not some of my best photography--the pics could use some sprucing up--but oh well. There is also a hole now in my infamous photo shoot black blanket, which you will undoubtedly see! There are a lot of pics of Ava and only 2 of Aiden, but I make up for it by including all of his Valentine crafts that he's done at home and school over the past week or so. I get most of my craft ideas that we do at home from a fantastic blog: http://www.notimeforflashcards.com/, check it out if you have a toddler! She is fantastic!

To celebrate, Aiden had a party at school this morning and we are having a playgroup party this afternoon. I spent the better part of 3 hours yesterday baking cupcakes, making oreo balls (YUM!), filling goody bags and signing valentines. Phew--sometimes this being a Mom stuff is hard work! (With sweet rewards, of course!) Enjoy the pics, and have a wonderful Valentines day tomorrow!

Antibiotics: Round 7

This winter, as many of you know, has been a constant stream of illnesses. Ava is sick again. I took her into the pediatrician today because she's had green stuff coming out of her nose for a week now. They did a white blood count and determined that yes, she has an infection of SOME kind, and the Dr.'s best guess was a sinus infection. A 13 month old with a sinus infection. I never even knew it was possible.

So we begin yet another round of antibiotics. If anyone is counting--this is round 7 in the last 5 months. Insanity. Please keep her in your thoughts. I'd really like to get to know what she is like when she is feeling good. I feel like I barely even know my own child because the only way I ever see her is sick.

Anyway, I won't end this on a bad note. Here are some pics from the zoo (we went on Sunday and it was gorgeous outside!) and from playing outside yesterday. Not too many of Ava--she just hasn't been in the mood.

Pics...

Just a few misc. pics from this week (and art projects from last week)

Big blue eyes!

Lions and tigers and soap, oh my!

Super splashers! They love kicking as fast as they can to get water EVERYWHERE!

Do you think they have enough bath toys?

Supermodel Ava--she was standing on the air vent!

"C" is for caterpillar

Foam shapes picture (that orange guy is Aiden!)

A cheer-up Daddy craft

Snowman!

Clogged ear tube

I took Ava in for her post-op ear tubes appointment today and we got some bad news. She failed her test in her left ear, and the Dr. determined that her left ear tube is clogged. So it is not draining the fluid out and she is undoubtedly in pain from all the pressure building up--which might explain why she spent all night last night screaming bloody murder. I knew something was not right--her left eye has been weeping again, which is the #1 symptom every time she gets an ear infection--but I didn't think that it was possible for the tube to become clogged, otherwise I would have brought her in sooner.

Please cross your fingers for us that using peroxide for a few days will unclog the tube and get the fluid draining out. Otherwise, she will have to have surgery again to unclog the tube using a pin.

Apparently this is a very rare thing to have happen--of COURSE it had to happen to Ava! I swear this little girl has just been through the ringer lately! Poor Avie... :-( Please keep her in your thoughts! (I really need some SLEEP tonight!)

Videos!

To try to keep my mind off what has been going on with Jackie this week, I've been taking a lot of videos of the kids, so I thought I would post them to try to cheer everyone up. Ava is (finally!) learning how to crawl, but be warned that she isn't very good yet! Aiden and Ava are starting to play together a little bit, and it is so very cute.

I will say that it seems like I'm a bit short with Aiden in some of these clips, but I promise I wasn't being mean to him all day! Sometimes he just really likes to get in on the action when I have the camera out, so I have to gently remind him to wait his turn!

Be warned: a LOT of videos! Like always with Youtube, they might take a minute or two to load. Enjoy!

A sad day...

Today we said goodbye to Chuck's sister, Jackie. She passed away this afternoon. I don't think enough could be said about how wonderful a person she was: an amazing mother who always put her children first, a caring sister who doted on Chuck, a wonderful Aunt who Aiden and Ava loved dearly. She will be greatly missed by us and our hearts go out to her children and husband right now.

I wish I had more to say, but words fail me at a sad time like this. I know that she is in heaven, and finally free from the pain that has ruled her world for so many years now.

We miss you Aunt Jackie...

I thought I had more pictures than this, but these are the most recent ones that I could find.

Aunt Jackie and baby Alyssa