Halloween 2012

Avery had a great Halloween.  She couldn't decide what she wanted to be and tossed around many ideas over the weeks that lead up to Halloween. When it came to it, her choice was a butterfly.  We have no idea why she chose a butterfly.  When we would ask, her response was simply because it's beautiful!!

She was a beautiful butterfly!!

Stomach Bug...

I must say, in Avery's 5 years, she has only had the stomach virus one time....until today.  We have been so very lucky and blessed that this nasty virus has eluded us.  Unfortunately, last night it hit.....of course, it had to happen the morning before we were to head out for the beach. 

While the stomach bug is never fun, I must say that Avery was a true trooper.  She never cried, whined, nor made a huge mess.  I'm not sure if you can say this, but she is a good puker.  She did a great job of holding it in until we got to the bathroom or until the puke bucket was properly positioned. 

This, of course, kept us awake until about 5:00 am this morning.  Our plan was to head out for the beach at 8:00.  She had been looking forward to this trip for so long and we really thought that we would be cancelling.  But she recovered miraculously.  When she woke up about 8 am, she was hungry....and literally has been eating all day.  I'm not sure if she had a slight touch of the bug or if it was simply her supper not settling, but today she has been fine.  In fact, as I type, I am listening to the waves crash in. 

We cleaned up the mess, finished packing, dropped the dogs off at the vet, loaded up the car, and headed out around 11:15.  We were on the beach making sand castles by 4:00.  At 4 am this morning, I truly didn't think we would even take our chances of going to the beach, let alone be enjoying the sun.

We are looking forward to a great weekend.  We also are saying our prayers, that if this was the stomach bug, then no one else catches it. 

Bone Age

We recently took Avery for her 5 year old check-up.  Her previous pediatrician had just retired so we were meeting her new pediatrician for the first time.  Avery behaved well during the visit until it was time for her shots.  The girl had a come apart and it took both April and I (and the nurse) to hold her down.  Needless to say she HATES shots!!!  Since this was a new pediatrician and since Avery had just reached the 5 year milestone we felt it was appropriate for us to voice her concern about her size.  She has honestly weighed 25 pounds forever and we worry about her size as she starts Kindergarten in August.  We found out that she is in the 3rd percentile on the average growth chart.  Dr. Crum told us about a simple test that would let us know if we should be concerned.  This Bone Age test was a simple x-ray of her forearm and this x-ray would be compared to other images.  The radiologists could give Avery's bones an age....the younger her bone age the better because it would mean that she would grow longer than most people.  Avery's bone age was 40 months (and she is really 60 months old) so this was a good sign but she did measure really close to the standard deviation that would have her classified as "short stature".  A short stature diagnosis would mean more testing with an endonicrologist.  Dr. Crum felt that right now we should just keep a close eye on her growth and continue to have Bone Age tests at her 6th and 7th year old check-up.  It's possible that she is just going to be petite....but without knowing her genetic make-up it was important to us look deeper into the matter.

Don't eat Gumbo!!!

Avery informed me that you shouldn't eat Gumbo.....'cause it gives you Galleria.


:-)

Cope and Hope

Last Wednesday we had the opportunity to be with Avery as she donated her birthday gifts to the Children's Hospital Cope and Hope program.  I think Avery was disappointed that she didn't get to go to the floor and see in the children.  Instead the director let Avery see the Clinic waiting room and spent time talking with her.  Avery, though, was pretty much disinterested.  The director went on and on about how kind it was for Avery to be so giving, but Avery really didn't think it was a big deal.  She was very humble about the whole situation.  She did enjoy pulling the wagon through the hospital lobby and felt like a big kid to be able to do that.  However, the whole donation process was pretty mellow.  It was almost as if Avery felt like that is just what you do....so making a big deal out of is pretty silly.

I am most proud of her.  While we did plant this idea in her head, she was the one that made it grow.  She certainly has a giving soul and it showed on this particular day.

The big number 5!!

Avery recently celebrated her 5th birthday with a fun party at Storyville Station.  She truly enjoyed the Princess Tea Party, the games downstairs, and the slide.  Mostly, it seemed to me, that she enjoyed spending time with her friends and family.  This is the first year that we allowed her to invite children outside our small circle of friends.  Because of that we had an unusal make-up of people, but everything was perfect nontheless. 

One great thing about this 5th birthday was that Avery chose to donate her gifts to the Children's Hospital Hope and Cope Program.  Avery certainly did not come up with this idea on her own, but embraced the idea when it was mentioned.  We hope to raise a child that enjoys giving to others, that understands that what we have is a blessing from God, and takes pride in making others feel special.  Tomorrow is the day that we will take the toys to Children's Hospital.  She is so excited about doing this and can't even describe the enthusiasm that she feels. 

I will post pictures soon of her birthday and of time spent at Children's Hospital.

Till next time...

Just up there being DEAD!!

The other night after saying our nightly prayers, Avery tells me "We forgot to pray for Nanny".  (Nanny is Avery's great, great grandmother that recently passed away at the age of 91.)  So we stopped, prayed for Nanny, and proceeded to our nightly rituals.  Avery, however, wanted to make sure that we knew that Nanny was still in the ground "in her casket" but was confused how she was also in heaven.

  I attempted (very good I might add) at describing death in this way:  "Avery, do you remember when you had that dream about flying in an airplane?  Even though, in your dream it was like you were in that plane, truly you never left your bed.  Your brain was in the dream but your body was still right here in this bed.  Dying is sorta the same way.  Nanny's body is still in the ground, still in the casket, still covered in dirt.  But her spirit, her heart, her soul, her brain...all of those things are up in heaven with Jesus and everyone else."

While I know this analogy is a bit off base spiritually, it seemed to have made sense to her.  Her body language and facial expressions made me think that this actually got through to her.  I felt pride in myself thinking that I had finally explained it in an understandable way. I liked the way this conversation was going.

Avery stopped and asked, "What do you think Nanny is doing right now?".  Well, knowing how much my Nanny loved to cook and understanding that she was the best cook ever, I responded by saying "Oh, Avery I bet she's up in heaven cooking up some good 'ole chicken and dumplings".  "I bet she's fixing some biscuits and chocolate gravy because that's my favorite" stated April.

Avery responded by saying "Well, I think Nanny is just up there being dead".
Not knowing how to respond, we proceeded right to bed.

Maybe, just maybe, the conversation wasn't as good as I had thought.....