oh no!!!

Avery and I went with the Malahy family last night to the zoo for Member's Night. We had such a fun time. The Butterfly Exhibit opened this weekend and Avery loved seeing the butterflies. There was a live band and all of the kiddie rides were free. Usually, kids aren't allowed to swim in the replica of the Nile River, but on Member's Night they allow it. Kids were everywhere. It was pretty crazy, but really fun.

We got home way past Avery's bedtime, but since it was so hot and sticky last night, she just had to have a bath. I think that I've mentioned a few times how much Avery loves her baths. At one point during her bath, she stood up in the tub and started doing a little dance. After laughing at my silly naked goof-ball, I had her sit right back down in the tub. A few minutes later, she became really relaxed... so relaxed that she relieved herself in the tub. Unfortunately - and I'll try to say this as tactfully as possible - it wasn't pee...

I think I yelled, "oh no!" and quickly pulled her out of the contaminated tub. Sadly, this experience with my sweet little girl was NOT my first. She only seems to do it when David isn't around to help me with clean-up duties. Let me just tell you how hard it was not to puke while cleaning that yucky tub last night. Thanks, Aves!

The irony of the situation is that I wouldn't let Avery wade around in the "Nile" at the zoo that night because I thought that it was nasty...all those kiddos swimming around in each other's... well... you know. Oh, well!

Little Sassy Thing

Today Avery started randomly adding an "ah" at the end of words that end in "y". My name is now Mommy-ah, Daddy is Daddy-ah, and her baby doll is Baby-ah. We aren't quite sure why she's started doing this... David thinks it is adorable and encourages her bysaying, "Where's the baby-ah?" and "How's my little Avery-ah?". Maybe we have some Italian roots somewhere in the family tree, or maybe she is learning a little Pig Latin at school. Who knows?
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Here are some pictures of Avery showing the sassy little personality that has just started to reveal itself to us. Sometimes sassy can be a really fun thing. Sometimes, not-so-much. The following pictures provide an example of each type of sassy:

Exhibit A: This picture is from our recent shopping outing to a local boutique. Avery found the perfect sized chair and was VERY sad when Daddy and I said that it was time to go. She proceeded to show her displeasure by throwing a monumental fit (didn't get pics of that precious moment. By the way - did you happen to notice all of the parenting books we have been reading lately?)

Exhibit B: These pictures are from tonight. We had VBS music practice at church and Avery was hanging out being a goof-ball. So cute. I like cute sassy a lot better than stinky sassy.


My mom used to lovingly/jokingly recite this nursery rhyme to my sister Katharine when she was around Avery's age. I think it's pretty funny. I remembered it today when our little angel was being a little less than angelic!

There once was a girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good.
But when she was bad
she was HORRID.

Of course, our Avery is never horrid, just a little bit of a stinker sometimes...but the nursery rhyme made me smile when I thought of it. Mother Goose must have had a toddler or two.

Deep Thoughts...

Going to sleep has become quite an ordeal for me. Pregnancy has this strange way of totally exhausting me, yet making it nearly impossible for me to fall asleep easily. As a result, I have put David through a myriad of random tasks in an effort to help me fall sleep... my happiest discovery is the miracle of Breathe Right Nasal strips. My precious husband... although incredibly handsome and wonderfully brilliant (how do you like that not-so-subtle attempt at keeping him from being mad at me for posting this???) has a bit of a snoring problem. Unfortunately, HE has no problem going right to sleep the moment his head hits the pillow -- which leaves me sitting in the darkness (sighing loudly and poking him every 5 minutes) getting more and more frustrated by the second. Since our Breathe Right discovery, David's snoring has subsided. Now I sit in the darkness and sigh and fume over my 80 pound boxer and HIS snoring problem. Which led me to the deep thought that I have been having every night since the onset of this pregnancy: Why don't they make Breathe Right Strips for dogs????

A Visit With The Doyles

Our sweet friends Sean, Kim, and Ethan Doyle visited our church last night to speak with a few of our small groups about their upcoming assignment with Team Missions to Zimbabwe, Africa.

David and I met Sean and Kim about 7 years ago (?) while we were both in seminary at Mid-America. After they left Memphis to continue Sean's seminary schooling at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, we weren't able to see them often but we kept in contact through letters and email. They are such sweet friends; The kind of friends you find yourself falling into conversation with after years apart as easily as if you talked every single day. We just love them and are so excited about the work that God has for them in Africa.

As I was listening to Sean speak about the horrible conditions in Zimbabwe and the desperation that the people live in there, I realized how little I know about Global conditions and what a blessed life I have. The Doyles will leave to serve as career missionaries in July. Currently, they are praying that their Visa will arrive safely so that they can actually get into the country.

God has done some amazing things as the Doyles have prepared for this move - things that only He can do. You can read more about who they are, what they will be doing in Zimbabwe, and how you can help them by checking out their website: www.seankimethan.com. I have a link for it listed on our blog.

Baby Update

I just got back from my 11 1/2 week appointment with my OB. He was able to hear a heartbeat right away... 145-150 bpm. There is nothing like hearing that sweet little thump thump and knowing that things are good and that your baby is really there! He gave me a few more options for my nausea --- advice that I am eager to take very soon! Just thought I would share the good news.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! David treated Avery and I to the Jazz Brunch at The Memphis Botanic Gardens today. Thankfully, the Fenegren I have been taking worked long enough for me to enjoy our time there. I was even able to eat a little bit! Hooray! Avery enjoyed watching the horse-drawn carriages and feeding the fish.

yackity yack

Oh, the joys of pregnancy! Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled that we are expecting again but this nausea thing is just killer. It seems like this pregnancy has been so different than my pregnancy with Avery. Memory of pain and sickness is a funny thing... You never seem to remember it being quite as intense as it really was.

I know that I was sick with Avery --- I remember feeling really crummy until week 14, but I was still able to function without using drugs. The only thing that seems to help keep the nausea at bay is a good dose of Fenegren. After I take the Fenegren, I enter a coma for a good 4 hours at a time. I never threw up when I was pregnant with Avery, but with this little guy I have already logged quite a few hours hanging out with the porcelain throne. By the way, you are never reminded more clearly that you need to quit neglecting your bathroom cleaning duties until you spend a few hours staring into your toilet bowl.

As I was writing my mom's mother's day card this year, I started thinking about all of the sacrifices that mothers make for their children. I've learned in my 19+ months of motherhood that evidently, Motherhood means never going to the bathroom alone again. It means every drink is "our" drink. It means knowing all of the words to the songs on Yo! Gabba! Gabba! It's eating cold meals so that your child can eat a hot one, and that the backseat of your car will never been clean again. It means having a monster-pile of laundry that never seems to go away. And currently, as in my case, it means feeling like you want to puke your guts out for a good 3 months at a time.

But the beauty of motherhood far outweighs the bad. Because motherhood also means getting lots of sweet, slobbery kisses. It means not caring that you have jelly in your hair because your sweet girl likes to twirl it between her fingers when she's sleepy. It's those tender moments of magic as you rock your angel before bedtime. It's hearing the "moo-moo" song sung in a sweet baby voice from the backseat of your car. It's bubble baths, visits to the park, and afternoon walks. It's seeing the excitement in your baby's face when you pick her up from nursery. It's a million and one beautiful moments that make a few months of sickness totally worth it.

I think you underestimate the sneakiness...

Here is some video of Avery trying to sneak up on Daddy and wake him up from a "nap".

bad dog!

I met my neighbors last week. Gunner, our 80 lb. Boxer, decided to introduce us to each other.

Our neighbors have 2 dogs: a long-haired Dachsund and a Feist. Gunner hates them. Actually, "Hates" is an understatement. Every time he is in the yard at the same time as our neighbor's dogs, he scratches, barks, and carries on while trying to slam his body through our 6-foot fence to the other side. If he had his way, he would eat our neighbor's dogs. Seriously.
On Wednesday morning, David came into the bedroom and told me that Gunner had slammed himself onto the fence so many times that he had broken two of the boards off of the fence and that he had just watched him put his head and entire torso through the hole. David and I agreed that the fence would have to be fixed as soon as he got home from work that day.

Evidently, that wasn't soon enough.

Later that day, while Avery was taking a nap and I was trying to get rid of my nausea, Gunner started whining at the back door to be let out into the yard. Not thinking about the fence, I let him out. !0 minutes later, I hear my neighbor screaming in her backyard. Immediately, I knew what had happened. I jumped up and ran into the backyard (in a coffee stained t-shirt, pj pants, and no shoes) to discover...no Gunner. Shaking, I ran into my neighbor's backyard to find my neighbor in her robe screaming at her back door and Gunner with our neighbor's dog in his MOUTH. I screamed for him to stop, but he was in total Aggression Mode. There was no stopping him. In my frantic panic, I grabbed a brick to hurl at him... in a moment of clarity I realized that hitting him with a brick was probably not my best option. Instead, I grabbed a stick and started hitting the mess out of him. He finally stopped chewing on the Fiest and looked up at me like, "what?!" . To say I was furious is an understatement.

Try dragging an 80 lb all-muscle Boxer somewhere he doesn't want to go... while your are nauseated. It's really fun.

After putting Gunner back in his crate, I went back outside to talk to my neighbor. She was really nice and said that the dogs seemed fine, but I told her that if we needed to pay for vet bills or anything to let us know.

David spent his lunch break that day mending our fence.

Later that night we met up with our neighbors again and discovered that the Feist had a cut and puncture wound on his hindquarters and that they had to go to the vet to get antibiotics. Thankfully, our neighbor opted NOT to get the $500 stitches that the vet said might help heal the cut. However, the bill was still a good $150. Thanks, Gunner.

Our friend Garrett (a vet) came over that night and checked out the wound as well. He prescribed an additional topical antibiotic for good measure. We are VERY thankful for his generous trip out to our house after work.

Our neighbors could not have been nicer about the incident. David and I, on the other hand, were totally embarrassed and horrified by the whole experience. Not that this makes things any better, but we did find out later that Fiests are notorious for acting "bigger than they are" and being aggressive toward other dogs. Obviously, that is not an excuse for Gunner's crazy behavior, but it does shed some light on why he was so aggressive with him.


He was a sweet little angel the rest of the week. He's going to have to be good for a really long time to make up for this one.

hanging out with faith

Here are the best pictures that I could get of two active toddlers at the zoo last week. Aren't they cute?

avery loves school

I thought that I would post a few pictures of Avery at her Preschool. I can't tell you how nice it has been to be able to work a few days a week and send Avery to the same school. Last year, I had a more difficult time that I anticipated with transitioning from teaching full time to being a stay-at-home mom. I missed having the outlet for my creativity that I got from teaching, yet knew that I needed to stay at home with my little one. I am so thankful to have found nice compromise through working part time at Avery's preschool. I love that I am able to get out of the house for a few hours AND get paid (!)...a little. Avery benefits from the socialization and from learning from other people. I just love that I can peek in on her at any time during the day and watch her playing with her little friends or being loved on by her teachers. It has been such a great experience for both of us!

One of Avery's favorite things to do at school is to walk down the hall like a "big girl". This means that getting to and from our classrooms takes about twice as long as it should, but she just loves to feel independent!




Here are Avery's teachers: Dandy (a.k.a. Sandy) and Nany (a.k.a. Nancy)
They love them some Avery!



They have really taught Avery so much this year. They taught her baby sign language for "more", "please", and "thank you", and reinforced all the animal sounds that I had been teaching her. She graduated from eating in a high chair to eating at the table and baby chair this year too! What a big girl! Recently, she's been saying "choo-choo" for trains and cars. It's been a fun treat for me to hear her say or watch her do something that she learned at school. Sometimes I say, "where did you learn that?". Such a little smarty.

Here is a picture of Avery and her recent discovery: the water fountain. She is obsessed with it. She says, "duice (juice)" and "ah dat (I want that)" every time she sees one. She hasn't quite mastered how to drink the water from the fountain. Usually, she just sticks out her tongue and lets the water hit it. Her friend Carter is showing her how to push the button in this picture.