So Far, So Good (knock on wood)

Just a little update. Avery is doing well so far. Friday, we kept up with Tylenol/Motrin. She woke up crying Saturday morning and cried for about an hour. We were finally able to get some Tylenol in her (it was so much easier when we had her feeding tube!) and then she was acting normal. We kept up with the Tylenol/motrin on Saturday. Tim's parents watched Avery for a few hours Saturday night so Tim and I went out to the casino for a little bit and then went to dinner. On Sunday and Monday she didn’t have any pain meds and she was good. I haven’t really noticed any difference in her hearing though so I am hoping it helped. She did have something in her hand that she wanted Tim to open yesterday and she said "Open" clearer than she has ever said it (except for maybe the video we have of her pounding on the door saying open). Tim and I both looked at each other in amazement. Hopefully that will be the start of good things to come.

 I was off Friday and yesterday. Tim is off today with her and then she is going to daycare on Wednesday. We wanted to give her a few days to relax. We ended up giving Avery her birthday present a month early but I wanted her to get some use out of it while the weather is still nice. We got her a little playset with slide and a little gardening wheelbarrow.

Here is the video of me saying open and knocking on the door. It was from back in January I believe.

My daycare is awesome! My friends and teachers made me a get well card. So cute, I love the bandaids!

Opening up the wheelbarrow (yeah, I never knew wheelbarrow was spelled like this).

Mommy isn't very handy but she put it together in about 20 minutes. She also forgot to take a picture of it all together. I like to use the shovel and scoop up rocks and put them in the wheelbarrow.

I like my new playset. After these pictures were taken, i was being quite the daredevil, going down backwards and climbing up the slide.

Peek a boo! Thanks for checking up on me!

Surgery Day! (Part Two)

The surgery started around 11:30 and was finished around 12:30. Dr Hopkins came out and talked to us. He said Avery had a lot of thick, gross gunk in her left ear. They cleaned it out, put the tubes in and performed the hearing test. It showed her hearing on left side is perfectly normal which is awesome!!!

 

He said there wasn't much gunk on the right side. He put tube in and they did the hearing test. It showed mild hearing loss on the right side. Dr. Hopkins said it is either from fluid that he couldn't see or its possible that something is physically wrong with her ear. This is still better news than when we had during all of her past hearing tests where they said she had a moderate-severe hearing loss. When she was born they did a hearing test before she was discharged from the Nicu and she passed in her left ear and was referred in her right.

 

Dr Hopkins then gave us discharge instructions.  We have to give her an antibiotic, 5 drops in each ear twice a day, for the next week. She has no restrictions with water and can swim and bathe right away. Starting in a week, he wants her to wear her hearing aid on right side but not left. We have an appointment in a month to see doctor and repeat the hearing test. He said when she is a little older if she continues to have hearing problems with her right ear, they will get a CT scan to see if there is anything physically wrong with her ear.  

 

We were brought back to see Avery and she was just waking up and whining and moving all around. She then fell back asleep for about a half hour. We were able to leave the hospital by 2pm.

 

She was given some acetaminophen in the hospital and we were told we could stagger that and Motrin for pain. We gave her one dose of each today/this evening. She seems to be acting pretty normal.  She doesn't seem to be in pain but we gave her the pain meds anyway to try to stay on top of it. I think we will give her some tomorrow and then that's it, unless she seems to be in pain. 

 

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and well wishes. I think they worked because we got good news. We are very optimistic and excited about her future.

Having surgery is tiring!

Really Mommy, another pic of me sleeping?

Now a pic of me and Daddy. I was showing a little leg in this picture 

Just taking it easy, relaxing outside after the surgery. Notice my left ankle is bandaged. This is where they had my IV

Surgery Day! (Part one)

Well today Avery goes for surgery and we are super nervous. It didn't go as planned last time so praying this time works out.

We were given the surgery time of 11:30 which is horrible because she could have nothing to eat after midnight and only clear liquids before 8:30. Tim tried asking them three times for an earlier time but they said they had you get kids that were before Avery. 

Tim and I kept her up until about 11:30 last night hoping that she would sleep in. She woke up around 9 and played with toys. She woke up after the time she was allowed to eat until so she didn't have anything to eat or drink since 11pm yesterday.

She was pretty crabby because she normally gets a bottle of Pediasure in the morning. We checked in around 10:20 and were taken back.

Seeing avery in a hospital gown is the cutest but saddest thing. Dr Hopkins talked to us about the surgery saying she will have tubes put in and ten they are doing a repeat ABR(hearing test) while she was still under anesthesia. 

I got to carry her back to the operating room and hold her while they put her to sleep. I was fine up until the point of walking out of the OR, having to leave Avery behind. I started to tear up. I know this is a simple surgery but it is still difficult to see your child go through something like this, especially when she is young and doesn't understand  what is going on. 

I was not happy that I couldn't eat anything this morning!

Mommy and I have matching wristbands. But I am small so I wear mine on my ankle. 

How cute am I in my hospital gown? 

Mommy got to come back to the operating room with me and held me while they put me to sleep. I cried when they put the mask over my face but I fell asleep pretty quickly.

Feeling nervous

Sorry that there hasn't been an update recently. We have been pretty busy.

As we get closer and closer to Avery's ear tube surgery on Friday, I am getting more and more nervous. For those of you that don't remember, she had tubes put in when she was about 8 months old. We had nothing but issues (from infections to pseudomonas bacteria). I think we were at the pediatrician's office and ENT's office 8 times in one month. Needless to say, they were removed a month later.

Here is a link to her first surgery. Look how little she was and how cute she was in her hospital gown!!
http://theaverysvitakadventure.blogspot.com/2013/04/day-108-at-home-april-25-2013.html

I am really hoping these tubes will work out for her. She is sooooooooooo close to talking, I am hoping this will give her the push she needs. If the tubes don't work out, we are going to really start getting her to wear her hearing aids. Even though she doesn't talk, she does communicate with us. She does a few signs for more and drink. She says "aaaa-yeee" (daddy without the D sound) for Daddy. She follows simple directions like go get your bib and then get a blanket or throw this away in the garbage. She understands a lot of what we say but sometimes gets frustrated trying to communicate back to us.

Her personality is really starting to come through. She is very shy at first with anyone she just meets. After an hour she starts to let her guard down. She is cute all the time (gets that from Daddy) and stubborn most of the time(gets that from Mommy). She is a little spitfire and if she doesn't want to do something, you better believe she will let you know. She is a diva that wants to be carried around everywhere. Tim and I are enablers and have to break this habit. We don't want to have the daughter that gets carried to preschool everyday..lol

Tim's sister, Cheryl, had a baby girl so we are Aunts and Uncles again! Avery got to meet little baby Makinsley this past week. She is super cute! I don't think Avery was a fan though.

We got Avery's 3 year pictures taken this week. She was not having it. I really wanted a picture of Tim and I holding her hand and walking but she didn't let us put her down on the ground during the whole photo shoot. I go give the photographer a lot of credit for having to photograph Avery!
Thanks Sarah Joy Photography! (http://sarahjoyphotography.zenfolio.com/)

I don't have much else to update. Please wish us luck for Friday! Thanks!

I finally got my Father's day pic with Grandpa S!

Hanging out at Target with the 'rents

Happy Birthday Grandma B!

Me, Daddy and Makinsley

 Do you want a taste?

What?! These chickens want to eat my feet?

Look what a good Mommy I am

Yo, whats up?

Look at all my bodyguards while walking around the block

Daddy loves me, he loves me knot. J/K, he always loves me!

Here Daddy, I love you!

4th of July Fun and 75,000 page views!

We had a really busy but great 4^th of July weekend. I am kind of sad because my favorite holiday is over. On Friday, Avery and I went with my coworker, her daughter and nephew to the zoo. It was packed! I have never seen it so crowded before. Since our city doesn’t have fireworks anymore, we decided to go see the Independence fireworks, which is what we did last year. We always sit in the same spot and the kids run around the field and play. Avery loved running up and down the hill and playing with her cousins. We were also those horrible parents that gave our two year old sparklers. She loved waving them around.

Saturday morning we went to Parma’s 4^th of July parade. We met our friends Natalie, Rich and their baby Amelia there.  It was an hour long and Avery got a ton of candy thrown her way. There was a company that was throwing out little chicken stress balls and Avery got one which I was probably more excited about than she was.

Saturday afternoon/evening we went to my sister’s annual 4^th of July party. Avery had fun playing with her cousins and going up and down and up and down the slide. She liked climbing and the slide so much that Tim and I are going to be getting her a small playset with slide for her birthday.

We hope you all had a great 4^th of July!

Avery has been doing pretty well at daycare. She seems to be interacting with the kids and her teachers say she eats when she is there. She was sick last week with a cough and runny nose and it seems to be getting better on its own. This is great because this is normally the type of thing that would put her in the hospital.

I can't believe it but the blog has reached 75,000 pageviews! We thank you for your continued support and for following Avery's journey!

The chickens are getting so big so fast. You can read about them here: 
http://backyardchickensblog.blogspot.com/

I apologize in advance for all of the pictures!

Eating popcorn with Daddy

Pics with Mommy

Daddy, what are you doing? I know how to walk!

I am a diva and like to be carried around

Kaitlin is one of my favorite people ever!

Can you believe Mommy and Daddy let me play with a sparkler? I can't either but I loved it!

What do you mean the fireworks are over? (by the way, I look so little sitting in this chair)

Waiting for the parade to start

Still waiting for the parade to start

How cute am I in my hat

I love waving flags!

Rich loves waving flags too

The sand/water table is fun

Grandma and Grandpa B

Oranges are good!

Come on ride the train

Mommy and I are so festive!

Me and Grandma B

Another pic of me and Mommy

Here I am with another one of my favorites...Eddie!

Daddy drew a heart with sparklers. (Mommy is learning how to use her new camera)

Sleepover Fun!

Avery had her first sleep over this past weekend. Her cousins, Kaitlin and Eddie, stayed over Saturday night until Sunday. They have never slept over before. I know, I know, I am a horrible aunt. They are 5 and 8 and I have never had them sleep over yet.

We picked them up and went to Chuck E Cheese. Avery was excited 1. Because she likes hanging out with her cousins and 2. She has never been to Chuck E. Cheese before. I gave them each about 33 tokens and told them that was all they were going to get. Tim was having fun and ended up buying more tokens for the kids. The kids had about 650 tickets to buy stuff with. We used Avery’s tickets to buy cotton candy J

After that, we came home and started watching the Sponge Bob Squarepants movie. I bought popcorn and lots of candy for the kids. Halfway through the movie, they wanted to go up and see the chickens. Kaitlin loves them and picks them right up. She is very brave. Eddie is interested in them but  a little more hesitant. Avery is a little in between but she gets to see them more so she is more comfortable with them.

We then started watching Rio 2. Around 11:15 I tried putting Avery to bed. She cried and cried and cried. After 20 minutes, Tim told me to go get her and bring her back on in the living. He said this is her first sleepover, let her stay up as long as she wants. The kids brought cots over (like the ones Avery sleeps on at daycare) and we put them in Avery’s room. We were setting them up and Avery grabbed her blanket and Kaitlin’s stuffed animal and was fake sleeping on the cots. It was quite cute.

I finally put Avery to bed around 1 and the kids went to bed around 1:30. Avery woke up at 6am. When I pulled her out of the crib, she said “ehh ehh” and pointed at Eddie and Kaitlin. She was super excited to see they were still over our house. I changed her diaper and fed her a bottle and then put her back to bed. Everyone slept until about 9:15 which I was excited about since that meant I could sleep until 9:15.

The next morning, we went to McDonald’s for breakfast and then played in the play area there. Socks were required and the kids didn’t have any because they were wearing Crocs. I never knew it but apparently McDonald’s sells pairs of socks for $1 for this exact reason. All the money goes to the Ronald McDonald House.  We bought some socks and then it was time to play. Avery started playing on the baby slide but then saw Kaitlin and Eddie go up the steps to the big slide. Avery then wanted to be cool like her cousins so she went up there (with Kaitlin and Eddie’s help). She cried and threw a fit when we told her we had to go home.

Overall, I think Avery loved spending so much time with her cousins and I think her cousins had a good time too. I am pretty sure that my sister may have bribed them because they were excellent the whole time. Avery can't wait to have them over again.

 

We can't wait to use our tokens but Mommy wanted to take a picture of us first!

 

Kaitlin was so good at Skeeball. She got it in the 10,000 a few times!

 

I wanted to be like Kaitlin so I played skeeball too. Needless to say I was not as good as she was.

 

Kaitlin loves to hold the chickens. She is so brave

 

I told you she was brave. Here she is with Raven on her shoulder!

 

How cute are we, all in our jammies!

 

I kept laying on Kaitlin on the couch. I thought it was so funny!

 

Reading a story to Kaitlin and Eddie

 

Hanging out on the couch with my buddy, Eddie

 

All of the candy on the table may be the reason why we stayed up past 1am!

 

 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... just kidding. I was just trying out the cots

 Look, Daddy is in line buying us breakfast.

 

I never look the right way when Mommy takes pictures.