The day of the dreaded bee sting...

A couple of weeks ago, there was a slight cold front that came through giving us a magical, low humidity Friday night.  We met Bill for dinner in Market Street where we ate outside and walked around. 

 

We got home around 7:15, so we decided to go on a little walk to the park.  Immediately once we got there, I was addressing a little issue with Avery when Chloe started screaming and crying.  Bill noticed that she was clutching a bee.

 

I grabbed the poor girl out of her little car and started heading home to assess the situation.  Bill stayed with Ave at the park for a few minutes and then met us at home. 

 

As I was walking, I noticed that she still had the stinger in her little pointer finger.  She must have seen the bee, grabbed it, and then gotten stung.  I pulled the little sucker out, and googled what to do for a bee sting once we got home.  I haven't been stung since I was like 5 years old so I had no clue what to do.  Of course, my mind went to the worst case scenario- an anaphylactic reaction, airway closing, ER visit, etc. 

 

Chloe was such a trooper.  She cried when it was happening but really didn't seem all that affected by the sting.  I cleaned it out, iced it, and put some cream on it.  Of course, it happened right before bedtime so I decided to keep her up a little late and watch her.  The on-call nurse totally eased my mind, and it didn't end up being a big deal at all.

 

 

Totally didn't dress her in her bee onesie on purpose!

At least we know that she is not allergic to bees now!



10 Months!

 

Chloe is 10 months old!  This month she is officially into EVERYTHING!  My life is changing, and it's changing fast.  It seemed like overnight, she wanted to be on the move big time.  It's a good thing.  It's a good thing.  I'll keep telling myself that ;).
 

 

 

 

One big thing that happened this month was that Miss Chlo got her first two teeth!!! Those bottom suckers came through a little before she turned ten months old. I honestly didn't even know they were coming until I looked in her mouth and saw them. So, so very different than Avery's teething experience. I used to roll my eyes very dramatically when someone told me that they just opened their kid's mouth and saw teeth out of nowhere.  Chloe did have a little bit of fussiness while they were coming in every once in a while but I never had to give her any tylenol. My trusty teething tablets did the trick every time. Thankfully, the teeth never changed her sleep patterns either.  This made my love for her go up just a little more :).

 

Food- No changes, still nursing, still eating solids.  She is eating less baby foods and more table foods. 

 

Sleeping- No changes here either.  She still takes 2 naps around 10:15am and 3:15pm.  She goes to sleep around 8:15pm, wakes to eat around 6:30-7am, and wakes around 8am for good.  I am so very thankful that she is a great sleeper!
  

New discoveries/ Accomplishments- My girl is pulling up all of the time now.  She did this before but was pretty wobbly and needed some assistance.  She also is crawling/dragging all through the house.  She likes going under the coffee table, through the barstools, and into every little crevice she can get her body into. 



Oh, hello!

 

 

She's been clapping, waving, repeating more sounds, and saying mama and dada to the right person now. 

We've noticed that she has an aversion to any accessories that I put on her- shoes, rubber bands, bows, you name it.  This is what happens when I put a bow in her hair...

 

 

Avery has been telling her, "keep your pretty in, Chloe."  It doesn't seem to work.  Good try, Ave but Chloe has other plans. She just has strong opinions about accessories!

 

 

She is the sweetest little nugget, and I can't believe we are just 2 months away from her big 1st birthday! 

4th of July

The 4th of July is always one of my favorite parts of summer.  I love that it is a fun, laid back, and relaxing holiday spent with friends and family.  No expectations, no crazy schedules, just fun. 

 

Usually Faithbridge hosts a big celebration at church but this year they weren't due to the construction of the children's ministry building.  Of course, I was devastated upon hearing the news but we made our own plans and had a great time anyway!

Hanging with my littlest on the 4th.  I can very clearly  remember Ave in this shirt 3 years ago!

 

Bill managed to get the 4 of us in a picture using the timer on my camera.  I realized that we have very few of all of us!

 

Dan and Linds very kindly offered up their house for dinner before going to see the fireworks.  It's always fun catching up with friends even if it is a little more challenging these days with lots of kiddos!

 

We brought a pinata with us and the kids got really into it!

 

 

Except this one...

 

I'm not sure why she hates pinatas, but poor girl does. 

Ready and waiting for the candy to drop!

Love this sweet stance

We went to Tomball to watch the fireworks and it didn't disapoint.

 



Pictures are always special with this many kids.

Much better!

We had some downtime before the fireworks began and my $1 glowstick bracelets were a total hit.

 



I love everything about this pic.

 

The babies were total troopers.

 

Chloe's sleep sack doubled as a mosquito repeller also!

 

The fireworks were quite lengthy and pretty much outlasted everyone.  I think they may have gone on for almost an hour or at least it felt like that!  All the kids did great staying up so late and as always, it was a fun night had by all!

Avery is 4!

 

Avery is 4!  How can this be?  I feel like her baby days were just weeks ago and here she is just one year away from Kindergarten.  We have had so many great experiences and made so many memories over the past year.  I've heard that 4 years old is one of the best years of childhood since they are becoming more emotionally mature but have not started school yet.  I plan to soak up every day that I have with my sweet girl over the next year!

 

 

Last year, I started doing a little questionnaire for birthdays and am excited to continue the tradition!

 

Favorite color- purple*

Favorite toy- bicycles

Favorite fruit- apples

Favorite tv show- Sheriff Callie's Wild West

Favorite thing to eat for lunch- peanut butter sandwich

Favorite outfit- dresses

Favorite game- Sophia game on the computer

Favorite snack- Snackimals

Favorite animal- flamingos

Favorite song- "Let it Go"

Favorite book- Diego and Papi to the Rescue

Best friend- Garrett, Luke, Ella, Claire, Sophia, and many more!  Pretty much all friends are best friends these days.

Favorite cereal- Life

Favorite thing to do outside- play soccer

Favorite drink- lemonade*

Favorite holiday- my birthday

What do you like to take to bed with you at night- Puppy*

Favorite thing to eat for breakfast- Pancakes*

What do you want to eat for dinner on your birthday- Meatballs (I'm not sure she has chosen to ever eat these but ok!)

What do you want to be when you grow up- an ice cream taster (she's shooting for the stars!)

*same as last year


More about Avery at 4-

Likes-
Play outside- run through sprinklers, play soccer, play on playset, etc.





-Going to the pool
-Dance and twirl to Pandora Disney station
-Anything princess or Frozen themed



-Side braids since they make her look like Elsa
-Doing "homework" (a preschool workbook that I bought) She loves it and feels so grown up



-Wrestling with Daddy (or doing pretty much anything with her Daddy).  He has become her hero over the past year.
-Playing ABC Mouse
-Going on vacations
-Merry-go-rounds
-Holidays
-Being Chloe's big sister
-Any desserts-ice cream, cupcakes, anything!
-Playing pretend- mostly pretending to go on vacation (packing, stopping at Cracker Barrel, driving there, getting to the hotel, etc.)
-Going on real vacations- especially sleeping on the couch bed




Dislikes-
-A dark room at night
-Getting hurt
-Trying new foods
-Bugs-especially ants, mosquitoes, and roaches
-When people leave or she has to leave them.  She always says, "I'm really, really going to miss __!"
-Crowded play areas
-Shots

4 Year Old Stats-
Height- 38.7 inches, 27%
Weight- 33 lb. 6 oz, 36%

I had been dreading Avery's 4 year checkup for months before she turned 4.  I had heard horror stories about the 4 shots given and flat out didn't want to go!  We talked a little about the shots so that they wouldn't be a huge surprise.  Well, the shots turned out to be a breeze.  She was so brave and hardly cried.  She was so very proud of herself after they were done and relieved that she wouldn't need any more until she turns 11.  What wasn't so wonderful was that she failed her vision test, and Dr. N was a little concerned about her growth.  She grew only 2 inches over the past year and apparently they want them to grow 3.  I'm pretty sure the measurements weren't correct because my growth chart at home shows 3 inches of growth but oh well!  There's absolutely nothing that can be done about height so I'm not going to worry about it!

Other than that, she's perfectly healthy and loved doing all of the little tests/ answering all the questions that Dr. N had for her.  My mom watched Chloe during the appointment so we went on an Avery and Mommy date to Orange Leaf to celebrate us both surviving the visit!



I absolutely love the little girl that Avery has become.  She is equal parts sweet, spunky, and funny.  I love her personality, and it has become so much fun to hang out with her.  The more independent she becomes, the more I find myself relying on her.  I probably shouldn't feel this way, but I totally feel comfortable leaving Chloe under her watch for a minute while I run to go grab something on the other side of the house.

I have also started to realize that my girl is going to be that child in class that tells the teacher when another kid is acting up.  I can always count on her to tell me every detail of her time at school, ballet, gymnastics, etc.  She tells me who acted up, who she played with, and all the small details about her day.  I secretly love that she confides in me and hope this never ends. 

This trait has been beneficial several times already.  On Avery's actual birthday, we were over at my parents' house swimming and eating dinner to celebrate Stephanie's birthday.  We had finished swimming and were eating dinner in their new outdoor kitchen/ fireplace area.  The World Cup was on, and we were watching it off and on as we ate.  Towards the end of our meal, Avery came over to me and quietly but urgently told me that Sophie was in the pool.  She was in the middle of the pool silently floating on her back with a scared look on her face.  We were all pretty much dressed and there were 8 adults outside so when I heard that, I was shocked!  I ran to the pool but had to go on the steps instead of jumping in because I was holding Chloe.  I think I yelled something, and Scott and Billy were right behind me jumping in too.  As we were jumping in, she was starting to go under the water.  It is so, so scary to think about what could have been if Avery hadn't seen her and told me.  It was quite possibly the most frightening moment of my life.

After my first miscarriage, I remember wondering why it had to happen.  I also remember thinking that maybe there was a specific time for Avery to be born so that she could impact a particular person at a particular time that might not have happened if she were born at another time.  Maybe this was precisely that moment.  I thank God that she saw her cousin that day and knew just what to do to save her.  I could start crying just thinking about those few minutes that could have changed our family forever.  I don't think many people can say that they have saved a life, and I am blessed by my child that already has at the age of four.
 

Sweet cousins.  They absolutely adore each other.

 

There are times that Avery acts so grown up, and there are times that I have to remember that she is just a little preschool aged girl.  She still loves being snuggled, sleeping with her puppy and blankie, being held, and when I sing to her. 

 

She loves playing with her play dough and has gotten quite creative lately...



 

 

All horses need coats and hats :)

 

We definitely have had our fair share of tantrums, tears, and teachable moments over the past year too.  She has a very tender personality so minor things upset her or hurt her feelings.  She loves to negotiate things like bedtime, how many lights are on when she goes to sleep, and how many bites of food she must eat before getting dessert. 

Speaking of dessert, this girl loves any and all kinds.  There isn't a sweet she doesn't like!  Thankfully, she has been way more open to trying new foods lately (I think because her little sis is eating them).  She still is pretty picky but we have learned ways to get her to eat what she needs to eat. 

 

  Avery loves doing little acts of service for people.  She totally thrives off of doing things for others to make them happy. She loves doing her "jobs" around the house such as setting the table, putting away her dishes, etc.   For the longest time, I did almost everything for her but lately I've been trying to give her more responsibility.  She loves the independence and actually gets excited to do those things herself.  It has made my life so much easier too!  A win win for all!

 



 

Avery's "frozen staircase"

Avery and Ms. Jeanette after her Ariel performance

I have a workout video that Avery likes to do with me (or more like do the first few minutes and then play). During a weight lifting part, she went totally umprompted to grab these toys to use as weights.  Love her.

Being a sporty girl

 

Sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky getting this girl.  She is a joy to parent, and I am so thankful for every minute I get to see her grow up!  Happy 4th birthday Ave!