She's SEVEN months old today!

Princess Avaree is 7 months old today! Where on Earth has the time gone? This may sound redundant coming frome me, but I am so serious! It seems like just yesterday we were waiting on her to roll over and now we can't keep her on a blanket!

Latest developments in Avaree's little world:
--She's pooping again (hallelujah!!!). Poor thing--when she's a big girl she will wonder why I was always talking about her poop or lack thereof-ha!
--She's not only scooting backwards, but she is getting up on all fours and wiggling around. She wants to crawl so bad!
--She's raising her arms up when she wants to be picked up! This is the sweetest, most amazing melt-my-heart gesture in the whole world!
--She's in LOVE with all things Peek-A-Boo or the "Where's Avaree?" game! :)
--She still looooves to sing songs! Her current favorites are "Playmate," "He's got the Joy, Joy, Joy..." and "The Tree song," but she always loves "Jesus Loves Me" and "Far Away Places" to go night night to!
--She still looooves to bounce!
--She sits up on her own and loves to play with toys!!! (Especially ones that make noise!!)
--Her favorite show (and yes, it holds her attention) is Paz the Penguin on "Ready, Set. Learn!" It comes on right before "Hi-5" on Discovery Kids! She still loves Mickey too, but it can't hold her attention like Paz can!
--She says "da-da-da-da-da" and "nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh" and "maaaa" (maybe this is the precuror to mama)! Brandon told me that he heard her say "Mama," but I think he was just being sweet, since she clearly says "Da Da!"
--She has now eaten green beans, squash, and carrots along with apples, pears, and prunes! Her favorite veggie is green beans, while her favorite fruit is pears! We have to mix in the prunes, but she doesn't mind them too much!

This past month with Avaree, even though she has been sick, has been (by far) my favorite month! She has grown, changed and learned so much in such a short amount of time! Please enjoy the pictures of the last couple of weeks!

My Dad came to visit us last weekend, and I had to go take an ESL certification test early Saturday morning in Denton. So, Poppa got to babysit! I think he did a pretty good job: she was sound asleep when i got back (and so was he)! :)

Avaree has a new obsession with straws and she LOVES drinking cold water from them! She makes the funniest little face! :)

Mama's pearls got us through church Sunday morning (well, part of it at least--thank you, ears!), so I put them on Avaree when we got home and she suddenly became so "dainty!" :)

"Want to crawl...want to crawl!"

The famous MRS. DONNA and Avaree!!!

Avaree loves Mrs. Donna!!! So thankful for her...

The BIG kids that Avaree gets to play with every day: Tatum, Mya and Logan! (The girls had just woken up from their nap and weren't quite ready to smile yet!) They are all precious!

Avaree sent Mrs. Donna flowers for her birthday! She is posing with Mr. Bob, Mrs. Donna and Tatum!! The Hembree's are sooo good to us! There is no way I could ever express how comforted I am to know that my baby is LOVED and cared for when I can't be with her!

On Tuesday (the day after Ave's surgery), it was FINALLY not windy and she and Mommy got to go for a walk! :) YAY!

Daddy singing "Happy Birthday" to Avaree!

big girl!

Tubes and thanks!

I love alliterations. I guess that makes me an English teacher, ha! :)

Thank you so much for praying for Avaree. Our day started very early this morning (or at least mine did...at 4 am!) and I am happy to report that we were home by 8:15am. (We were very pleased with the facilities and staff at the brand new Methodist Mckinney Hospital!) The surgery (all five minutes of it) and aftermath was a bit traumatic for Avaree in that she woke up hurting and scared b/c she didn't see Mama or Daddy anywhere, but once I was able to get to her, feed her and love on her (maybe a few kisses and a tearful song or two also), she was ready to go home. When she woke up from her nap around 10am, she was a very happy (smiley) baby! And yes, I cried, but I didn't really lose it until I had her in my arms and it was all over. I am so very thankful for a healthy baby and my heart breaks for Mommy's whose babies are in the hospital. Thank you God for nurses and doctors that have devoted their lives to pediatrics. They do amazing things.

Enjoy the pictures!

She kept trying to wiggle the pulse thingie off...so this took several tries!

Waiting...

Love her.

".......MAMA...what's going on??" This is when she figured out that something was happening!

I promise that this was just for a picture. She was carried everywhere today. Of course, all the nurses loved her and she was never left by herself!

We were doing the hot dog dance: Mickey was on in the room! :)

"My ear hurts and I am mad at all of you!!" Right after this, I scooped her up and sang her one of her favorite songs and she was silent. Guess what happened next? That's right...Mama lost it! Thank you, Lord for allowing her to hear better!!! :) Don't worry, Daddy got plenty of smiles and kisses once she woke up and the anesthesia had worn off a bit. We love our Daddy...he is the best! :)

Quick Update

Avaree is having outpatient surgery on Monday morning at 7am to get tubes in her ears. We have to be there at 5:30 am and she can't eat after midnight, so I'm sure the morning won't be the best. 5:30 is her normal wake up and eat time during the week, so please pray that she's not screaming her head off as she's being rolled off to surgery. That will surely break my heart. The doctor told me that I should be able to see her within 15 minutes as the actual surgery only takes 7-8 minutes! I am sooo looking forward to her being relieved from (what seems like) endless ear pain!

We certainly appreciate your prayers! I promise to take pictures of her in her little tiny hospital gown. Stay tuned...

Just kidding...

So...the feeling better was temporary, as was the sleeping. Poor baby! I took her back to the doctor this afternoon and learned that her right ear was re-infected (How does that happen while being on three different antibiotics in a row?) and that her left ear wasn't any better. She was also running a fever again. The doctors gave her a third round of rocephin shots (one in each leg...both shots very very slow and painful...again!) and the saddest part was that as soon as I laid her down on the table an the nurse began to use the cotton ball to clean her little leg, she started screaming. She REMEMBERED (at 6.5 months!). :( Avaree cried...mommy cried...I thought the nurse was going to cry. It was so sad. I think the hardest part for me is that I know she has been sick for a month now and there is nothing that I can do for her. I am staying home with her tomorrow though...and she'll love that. (I must stop and say, "God Bless, Mrs. Donna." She is absolutely wonderful: Avaree adores her, and I know that she gets almost as many kisses there as she does at home!! Tomorrow will be the first time during this latest infection that I have stayed home with her and though I have wanted to (of course it is horribly difficult to leave your sick baby), I have been so blessed to know that she is well loved, well cuddled, and well cared for. This is a true answer to prayer.) The doctor sent us home with more medicine and said that they have done all that they can do for her, so we're going to an ENT Specialist in the morning. Please pray that Avaree can get an appointment soon and that we can get tubes in her ears quickly and safely.

Other updates from the weekend:
--Avaree turned the page by herself in her new book!
--Avaree continues to scoot backwards. She is much faster now!
--Avaree held onto the ottomon for 36 seconds (Yes, I counted!) without wobbling at all!
--Avaree ate pears for the first time!!!

--Avaree's hair has gotten long enough (and thick enough) to put a bow in it!!!!

--Avaree continues to melt our hearts every time she smiles! :)

Do you see the bow??? :)

Yay!! I love this thing!

Daddy holding on to her--just in case!

Daddy let go!!! Look at her! 36 seconds later...she was still there! :)

Pretty girl...

FINALLY starting to feel better!

Avaree is finally (thank you, Lord!) starting to feel better. Last night was the first night that she has slept through the night (her normal 9-10 hours) in a month. She has been sick for that long--poor baby! This week was pretty miserable for her (and for mama too!). On Friday, I took her back to the doctor b/c after being on antibiotics for 10 days, I really couldn't tell a difference in her ear pain AND she still hadn't pooped in 10 days! The doctor told us that her (sure enough) her left ear was worse and her right ear was okay, but that she (instead of putting her on a third antibiotic) was going to give her two rounds of IV-strength antibiotic. So, besides the poop issue which I'm not going to explain on here, she had to get two (one in each leg) very painful (and slow--b/c it is so thick) shots of rocephin in her little legs on Friday and then we had to go back Saturday morning and get two more. (sooo hard to watch b/c they go in sooooo slowly and she just cries and cries and cries!) Yesterday, her little legs swelled up and I had to give her benadryl and just walk around with her trying to keep her weight off of her legs! Now, she still has a bruise on both legs and is a little sore. BUT...it was worth it, b/c she is FINALLY starting to feel better. I took all of these pictures yesterday, b/c she was sooo happy! (These were after the shots and a nap, mind you!) The crazy part of all of this is that she is just such a happy baby that she really doesn't even cry much when she is sick (and again...she has been sick for a month!). One of the three doctors that she has seen in the last few days even said that she wasn't "symptomatic." I told him that she was symptomatic, even though she seemed very content with Mama holding her! :)

Enjoy the pictures and thank you for praying for Avaree's little ears and tummy!

Have I mentioned that the child LOVES green beans? :)

"I love purple!"

Trying to get my phone...we always call Daddy and put him on the speakerphone in the evenings, so I think that's why she always wants the phone!

Cutest socks ever!!! (...as she says, "Give me some food!")

B/c of her tummy troubles, all she has had to eat in the last week and 1/2 is green beans...and she still LOVES them! :)

Happy girl!

"YAY, Mama came to get me!" :)

Sitting up all by herself watching "Hi-5" on Discovery Kids! :)

Cheesin' in her jammies with Uncle Spencer last night! Too cute!!!

Big Girl!!! :)

Look at those legs!

Look at that smile! (Daddy's too!)

YAY for green beans! Do you notice anything odd about this picture? You're right! Daddy (the one who smells green beans from a mile away and cringes) is feeding her!!! Yay, Daddy!

Avaree's first bath in the big tub all by herself!!!!!!

It is quite impossible to look at this face and not fall in love...

Have we mentioned lately how much joy Avaree brings to our lives? :) We are blessed.

6.5 months: ears and Easter!

This past week was crazy: Daddy turned 29, Avaree had a double ear infection on top of a cold (again), Brandon's family came to suprise him for his birthday, we celebrated Easter and we extracted lots of boogies from one little nose. Here is our week in pictures...

No April fools here... Happy Birthday, Daddy!

(Poor baby tried so hard to be happy, but she just didn't feel good!!)

Daddy love EARLY (being sick makes the poor baby wake in the 4 am area!) Friday morning...

Getting her Easter basket from Mama and Daddy on Sunday morning!

"Ohhhh, book!" :) (Proof that she is my child!)

Displaying her Easter goodies...

One of her classic looks. We have now discovered that the growling (yes, my daughter growls) is a sign of ear pain. This is her growl face. :)

Lovin' on Aunt J and Uncle D!

Her bib says "Easter Bunny Princess!" (Thank you, Mrs. Donna!)

Ave and I only went to church long enough to hear the song service b/c Ave still had a fever and wasn't feeling well. The song service was beautiful though and we managed to get a couple of pictures with Daddy! Avaree looked so beautiful in her dress!

Love my Daddy!

Love my Mama!

We are now on day 5 of a new antibiotic and praying that our little pumpking can get well and stay well this time. Of course the meaning of Easter wasn't lost on us this weekend. I am so thankful to serve a RISEN Savior. I am still in awe of the sacrifice that God made when he sent his only son to die for you and for me. I love my family and friends, but I couldn't even give my baby up for them.