Avery Family

First lost tooth

2012-01-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Shelby lost her first tooth yesterday.
She said it was the best day ever.
The tooth right next to it is soon to follow.
The tooth fairy pays well for first teeth apparently...$10 is what they are going for.
She says she is going to put the money into her savings. Makes her parents proud but we will see if it really happens.

Holiday Wrap Up

2012-01-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

For the first time since we moved to Washington, we stayed home for the holidays. Although it was a weird, we really enjoyed our time as a family. Some of the highlights of our holidays are:

Shelby and Bradan with Santa Claus after their holiday concert at ABC Daycare. Shelby was an angel and Bradan was a star. They both did great singing the songs and acting out their parts.

Picture of just B with Santa. I included it because he looks odd in the picture taken with Shelby.

We had friends over to decorate gingerbread houses.

Opening presents Christmas morning.

Most of Bradan's presents had wheels including 5 Maters. He was very pleased with his presents.

Shelby's one request from Santa was a Doodle Bear. You can tell by the look in her face what she is opening.


Picture of the kids on Christmas morning #2. Grandma and Grandpa Avery came out a couple of days after Christmas ~~to celebrate~~ to spoil the kids.

It was just Halloween yesterday,.. right?

2011-11-11T18:39:00.000-08:00

So I am a little behind but I figured I better post pictures of the kids at Halloween. Shelby had finally decided a couple months before Halloween that she wanted to be a cowgirl. I thought that makes B's costume easy...He would just be a cowboy. WRONG! I did not take into consideration my son's personality. He wanted nothing to do with the cute little vest with fringe, the chaps, the black cowboy boots or the hat. So instead he wore the same little mechanics outfit that he wore last year plus his fireman's rain jacket because it is just that time of year in Washington. No one could really tell what he was but it didn't matter...Both kids had a great Halloween and didn't get too much candy.

And of course no Halloween is complete without carving pumpkins. Shelby's choice was the skeleton and Bradan's was the tractor.

What we have been up to...

2011-10-10T19:49:00.000-07:00

Kindergarten

2011-09-12T20:07:00.000-07:00

We can't believe the day is here...Shelby is a Kindergartener.

She has been excited for weeks for this day. Her friends and her drove their daycare lady crazy this morning with anticipation. She told mommy that she didn't need her to walk her to school...that she would be walking with the big kids. Daddy and I showed up anyway. And tonight she is going to bed early because she is exhausted.

We know that she is going to love school. She has a great teacher, Mrs.Bray, that will take good care of our child her first year of school.

It is going to be an exciting year...

Key West

2011-08-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

Stuart and I headed down to Key West for a good friend's wedding. It was a great chance for us to get away while leaving the kids in Kansas with grandparents. Stu has been to Florida/Key West before but this was my first time. We flew into Fort Lauderdale Wednesday afternoon and stayed at the Hard Rock Casino that night. The next morning, after picking up Michael from the airport, we made the four hour trip down and through the Keys in our rented bright orange Camaro convertible.

It was the first time Stu had gotten together with his three good buds since our wedding. As I mentioned, we picked up Michael from the airport where he flew in from San Francisco. Kevin, who was the one who got married, lives in Massachussets with his wife Robin. They meet in Key West when both of them were living there. Ben stills lives in Key West with his wonderful girlfriend, Libby.

It was a great time. We had wedding stuff to do but we had plenty of time to sightsee, drink, go snorkeling, eat, hang out at the pool, laugh with old and new friends and of course, more drinking. We stayed through the weekend and left Monday afternoon from Fort Lauderdale.

Stu and I at the famous Mile 0 sign.

Ben and Libby. We got the opportunity to watch Ben sing and play guitar at Fat Tony's while we were there.

The Four Muskateers at the wedding.

Holding the bride up.

Stu and I at the wedding.

They got married at Fort Zachary close to the spot were the Gulf meets the Atlantic.

They were dying in the heat. Luckily the wedding only last about 15 minutes.

We went out on a sunset snorkeling trip. Which meant we stopped to snorkel twice and then drank beer while we slowly made our way to land while watching the sunset.

Kansas - Part 2

2011-07-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Stu arrived in Bern early afternoon on Monday the 11th. He dropped off the Mach 1 for my dad and then him and the kids headed to Wakefield. I stayed in Bern so I could go shopping with my sister on Tuesday and then headed to Wakefield. Wednesday, Stu and I boarded a plane to head to a good friend's wedding in Key West (more of that in a later post) for six days. So there is not a lot of pictures of the time in Wakefield but here are some of the highlights.

Shelby took swimming lessons at the Clay Center swimming pool for 2 weeks. It is amazing her transformation in that amount of time. She is a little fish that feels more comfortable in the water and will even jump off the side of the pool all by herself.

One evening we headed to Clay Center for a band concert in the park. Bradan apparently thought it was a little to loud because he had his "ear muffs" on for a good part of the performance. Cracked us all up - Silly kid.

Also at this park was a new giant playground that the kids enjoyed. It is nice when small towns have great play areas for kids to enjoy.

The kids also got to spend some time with Aunt Rachell and her dogs while their parents were away. She made the trip from Colorado to help out. Both kids have gotten use to the dogs and even look forward to seeing them.

It was terribly hot during the last week of Kansas (every day above 100) so a lot more day was spent indoors but the kids kept busy playing, helping Grandma bake and cook and watching movies.

And of course, no trip to Kansas is complete without a big gathering of friends and family at the Avery household. We had good smoked brisket and ribs and grilled sweet corn. Shelby had a great time playing with some of Stu's cousins kids and then watching a firework show put on by her daddy. Bradan, as always, flirted with the ladies and then hid in his mommy's shoulders while the fireworks were going.

We had a great time in Kansas but were definitely ready to make the trip back to Washington. Before we left, we headed to Bern for one last night with my parents. There we stocked up on some good sweet corn and meat before we took off the next morning. The drive went great until we hit Washington. Due to a car accident, I-5 was a mess of back-ups so we arrived home 2 hours later then expected. But we made it and the kids happily slept in their own beds that night.

Kansas - Part 1

2011-07-25T21:10:00.000-07:00

We are back from our 3 1/2 week visit to Kansas. The first part of the trip was spent in Bern and second half in Wakefield. We had a great time and survived the heat.

Here are some pictures of some of the highlights of our time in Bern.

B being cool in his sunglasses.

One of many tractor rides with Grandpa. He even got to ride a round in the combine along with Shelb and Mommy. The kids also got to see the piggies and calves. They always enjoy spending time on the farm.

We got to love on this little cute girl lots. Taylah even got to stay a couple of days without her mommy and daddy.

The weekend of the 4th was spent with family. Craig and Jessica even made the trip from Memphis. It was a weekend of playing outside when it was not hot, roasting s'mores, bbqing, and going to Bern's annual celebration.

The potty training was started without much success.

Bern's Volunteer Fire department sponsored a Splash Day in the city park. Shelby had a great time getting soaked, playing in the bubbles and splashing around in the pool. Bradan held on tight to Grandma the whole time.

Tiptoe through the Tulips

2011-06-29T14:37:00.000-07:00

We (minus Stu) are leaving for Kansas tomorrow for our summer vacation so I thought I better catch up on blogging.

Shelby had her dance recital mid-June. Her class did a ballet to the song Tiptoe through the Tulips. She did such a great job. It has really been a blast watching her grow as a dancer and get more confident on stage. And of course, she loves it. Especially when she gets to hang out with her best bud, Chloe.

Wedding in Mazama

2011-06-13T20:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we headed to Mazama, Washington for TJ (Quinn's cousin) and Jen's wedding. Mazama is located in north central Washington and is a good 4.5 hour drive from where we lived.

Grandma Mary and her two sisters, Anne and Janet came out for the wedding. They got in Thursday night and then them and the kids headed to the wedding Friday morning. Stu and I worked a full day and then made the drive.

It was a great weekend of being with family and an absolute gorgeous wedding. We all had a fabulous time.

Bradan loved the mariachi band. He would dance to every song and clap for them at the end of every song.

The beautiful bride, Jen.

The Koehler Clan that was there. Eight out of the 13 isn't bad.

This guy turns 60 on the 21st. Nope, nobody gave him a hard time about that one. Happy Birthday Uncle Jerry! - We love you.

There was plenty of grass and dirt to farm.

The cousins. It was good to see everyone.

What a pose. Shelby had a fun time playing with cousins and hanging out in the play room at the wedding.

I love the look on their faces as they are dancing together.

Yum... Cupcake.

This little guy was a hit on the dance floor. People were circling around him and taking pictures of him while he was showing his moves.

Dancing wore him out. He fell asleep on Mommy shortly after this picture.

It didn't take her long to crash either.

The creek near our rental. Saturday morning the creek was dry and by that afternoon the first melted snow of the year was running through it. Shelb had to go in it a couple of times even though it was freezing.

Shelby is 5!

2011-05-29T09:10:00.000-07:00

Shelby turned 5 on May 20th. She has been counting down the days since she turned 4 1/2. Her parents and both sets of grandparents spoiled her with a trampoline which she jumps on any chance she gets. Ten little girls came over to help her celebrate her birthday with a baking/Hello Kitty theme.

Here are some facts about our 5 year old plus some pictures from her party:

1. She is all about painting her toe nails and finger nails and putting lipgloss or chapstick on her lips.
2. She knows all her letters and numbers and is even beginning to read some words.
3. Her favorite game is tic tac toe. She will even play it with herself. Shelb likes to also play games on the computer and her leapster.
4. She wears size 6 clothing because she is tall girl. Dresses and cowboy boots are still her favorite.
5. She is still growing her hair out like Rapunzels. And still won't let me do anything with it.
6. Got a promotion to move up to the next level in dance class next fall. She hasn't decide if she is going to do ballet or hip hop.
7. Shelby is doing to be a Sidney Glen Dolphin next fall. First day of kindergarten is September 12th.
8. Loves to drink chocolate milk, is still picky about eating her vegetables and would eat macaroni and cheese at every meal if you let her.
9. Has learned to swing herself on the swingset. That doesn' t mean she still doesn't ask to be pushed so she can go high.
10. Doesn't go to bed until 9 and is a pill to wake up in the morning. She is sleeping in her own bed most nights.
11. Shelby loves her brother and they play well together. She likes to help him which he is not always on board with.
12. Likes to ride her four wheeler and is getting better at riding her bike.
13. Has quite an imagination. She can come up with some good stories, jokes, songs and dances.
14. She loves to ride in the Ranchero because she sits in the front seat by Daddy.
15. Likes puzzles such as mazes, find the differences or hidden objects, etc.
16. Shelby is excited about spending the summer in Kansas and swimming lessons
17. She is a sweet girl who gets her feelings hurt easily.
18. Thinks she needs to own a Barbie cell phone.
19. Can tie her own shoes.
20. Doesn't have much patience to do crafty projects with her mom (or maybe it is the other way around) but loves to color and draw.

It is hard to believe that our little girl is five. She is an absolute joy and we wouldn't trade her for anything.

Bradan is TWO!

2011-05-23T21:25:00.000-07:00

Bradan turned 2 on May 6th (I know...I am a little behind on the blogging). We had a small little party with some close friends to celebrate.

Here are some fun facts and birthday pictures of our two year old:

1. His favorite things right now are trucks and tractors. He has to point out every truck as we are driving down the road.

2. He got a John Deere turf tractor for his birthday and refuses to ride it.

3. Still sucks on his two fingers which we are trying to break him of. Which only makes him do it more.

4. Has no interest in potty training. Not pushing it now but when summer comes...

5. Loves Elmo or Melmo as he calls him. We took Shelby and him to a Elmo show at the Tacoma Dome which was a big hit for both of them.

6. The boy can dance. Put on music and he swings those hips and arms.

7. Could spend all day outside if you let him.

8. Would spend all day riding with Daddy on the lawnmower if you would let him. He also has a bubble push lawnmower that he pushes behind Daddy mowing with the push mower.

9. Still takes a 1 1/2 to 2 hour nap.

10. Is extremely ornery. I tell him all the time that it is a good thing that he is so darn cute.

11. Still has a love/hate relationship with his sister. He calls her "Sissy".

12. Loves to play outside on the swingset.

13. Thinks running away from you is a fun game. He has sat in timeout many of times for that one but he will do it again the minute he has a chance. Thinking we might have to get a leash.

14. Doesn't snuggle much anymore so when he does I take full advantage of it.

15. B is getting a big vocabulary. Even beginning to put words together in short sentences such as "Sissy's toothbrush" and "Mommy stop".

16. Knows a little bit of spanish thanks to Ms Laly at school.

17. Would rather snack all day then sit down and eat a meal. Loves juice but hates milk. Favorite foods are frozen yogurt pops, otter pops, cheese, fruit snacks, granola bars and pirate's booty.

18. He runs every where and is always doing something. Not much of a tv or movie watching kid yet.

19. Thinks he needs to wear socks with all shoes. Trying to break him of that before summer and sandals come.

20. Loves to wrestle, be tickled and play rough. He is all boy.

Bradan is adored by his parents, sister, grandparents, aunts, uncles and good friends. He is going to be a child that tests our patience and discipline but we wouldn't have him any other way.

Easter 2011

2011-04-24T18:56:00.000-07:00

We had a house full today for an Easter lunch; there was 10 adults and 9 children. It was suppose to rain all day but luckily it stayed away long enough for the egg hunt.

Shelby is an egg hunting rockstar!

Pretty girl posing for a picture

Open please

Handsome Little Man

Best picture I got of the crew

Just some cute pictures of B I had to share...

2011-04-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

Wearing Shelby's tball helmet backwards.

Playing in the puddle wearing his favorite hat.

He much rather push the car than sit in and drive.

He could do this all day.

Feeding Elsie - Not 100% sure that some of the cat food didn't go in his mouth.

TBALL

2011-04-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

Shelby has started tball. Her first game was this week. Mommy missed it because of parent teacher conferences but there is approximately 20 more games this season. So missing one is not bad...

But when your daughter is the first one up to bat, the first one to hit the ball, the first one to cross home plate and played first base you kinda wish you were there.

Here are some pictures that Daddy took of her first game. Hopefully her game tomorrow doesn't get rained out.

Before the game

Getting ready to bat

Her coach placing the ball

Look at her batting stance

At First Base

At Second Base

Making it Home

Playing First Base

Where did February go?

2011-03-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that it has been a month since my last post. February was a busy and crazy month for us which I am beginning to think is our normal everyday life. Here are some of our highlights of February.

Bradan and Shelby playing with the model dough that they got for Christmas. I cherish the moments they play nice together.

Making and eating Valentine day cupcakes. The kids got to bring valentines to daycare and both got new jammies from Mommy and Daddy.

Shelby is the proud owner of a 1968 Ford Mustang convertible. Her daddy and her are very excited to spend the next ten years fixing it up to her liking. Gotta love the pose and the outfit on these pictures.

We took a long weekend to see baby Taylah Rose and her parents plus grandparents and uncles. Both kids were pretty smitten with the little one. B loved to give her kisses and Shelby wanted to hold her all the time.

Enjoying lunch at the table. Again, loving the time that they enjoy each other's company.

Sitting in the chair and reading a magazine just like Daddy. Can't believe he is almost 2!

Shelby attended Cheerleading Camp at South Kitsap High School. We didn't make it to the performance the night after at the basketball game. I think she enjoyed herself but I don't think enough that I will worry about her being a cheerleader in the future.

After Bath time

2011-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

Bradan loves his new bath towel.

He usually wears it for a good hour after bath time.

And this is what happens when you try to take it away.

It even has spots to put his hands for monster claws.

Our little tired monster

Our Little Streaker

2011-01-14T15:54:00.000-08:00

B's favorite new game:

Taking off while getting his diaper changed

Running naked around the house...

While we chase him

Laughing the whole time.

Don't you want to pinch that cute little butt!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am home sick with B today so I am taking the opportunity while he sleeps to finally post Christmas pictures.

I was terrible about taking pictures this year so hopefully Grandmas and aunts have some they can send me. It was a holiday season of running to one place to the other and opening presents over many days so we enjoyed the moments instead of taking pictures of them.

The kids enjoyed Christmas this year and were spoiled like always. Shelby got an "American Girl" doll from Bradan, lots of Barbie dolls, clothes and accessories plus lots of princess stuff and new games. Bradan got a toy vacuum cleaner from Shelby, tractors (John Deere of course) along with lots of other trucks and boy stuff.

Here are the pictures I took from our Christmas before we left to when we left Kansas.

Kids in their Christmas jammies before opening presents that Santa left at our house.

Bradan sitting on his present.

Shelby and her new doll

Playing with Bradan's new car ramp

B with his new toy

Shelby drawing on her new easel

Bradan playing with Grandpa Robert's new toy.

Shelby playing with the only snow Kansas got while we were there.

Opening presents Christmas morning

Go Chiefs!

We got to see Ben and Michael while we were back.

Our little girl!

2010-11-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

This sassy little girl turned 4 1/2 over a week ago. This is pretty big when you are her age. Here is what she has been up to lately:

1. She loves her Disney princess dolls. She has every Disney princess in a 4 inch doll and Barbie size that she can play with for hours.

2. Chocolate milk is her favorite drink and M&M's are her favorite candy. Mac and cheese, hot dogs, tomato soup and pancakes are some of her favorite foods.

3. She wants to grow her hair as long as Rapunzel.
4. At school she is having a blast learning her letters. We have been working on them at home and she is getting really good with writing and sounds of letters.
5. She still thinks Spiderman is pretty cool.
6. She would wear jammies all day if you would let her.
7. Every morning she wakes up by sitting on the couch and watching TV.
8. Scooby Doo is her favorite TV show.

9. She loves to wear dresses.

10. She is a dancer. We tried soccer but have decided to re-enroll her in dance come January.

11. She is a sword fighting expert on the Wii.

12. Her answer to when she can get married is "35".

13. Somedays it feels like she is 4 going on 13 because of her sass.

14. Getting her to sit down and eat dinner is a chore.

15. She absolutely adores her brother. Sometimes way too much.

16. She chooses a different stuff animal to take with her to school for nap time almost every day.

17. Friday night has become Shelby's movie night with Mommy.

18. She likes to go watch movies and play in Daddy's shop office while he is working on cars.

19. She is not a cuddler but does like to snuggle close when she is tired or just waking up. She has also learned the right moments to give you a kiss or hug.

20. She never sits still even when she is sleeping. You never know where on the bed she is going to wake up at.

21. Shelby is a sweet girl. She gets her feelings hurt very easily but is good about expressing when she feels like she is not being treated fairly or one of her friends have done something that she doesn't like.

18 months

2010-11-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

This cute little boy turned 18 months this weekend. Here are 18 quick facts about Bradan at year and a half:

1. He is a cuddler. The first 5-10 minutes of his day is spent in his mom's lap which is a great start to both of their days.
2. When he wakes up, he always grabs his piggy and blanket.
3. He loves shoes and hats. His sister has trained him to go her shoes in the morning.
4. His favorite place to be is outside, rain or shine.
5. He would stand on the stool in the bathroom and brush his teeth for hours if you let him.
6. Words he is saying right now are ball, mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, kitty, out, thank you, to name a few.
7. He will back up to sit on your lap with a book in hand. Tractor and the touch and feel books are his favorites.
8. All animals are kitties and say Woof Woof. He loves to pet Elsie and always tries to give her hugs.
9. He loves his sister dearly except when she gets into his personal space. One minute he will be laughing at her and the next he will be screaming because she touched him.
10. He likes to hold the phone up to his ear and say Hello except when somebody else is on the other line. Then he just likes to push buttons.
11. When he is tired, his middle and ring finger on his right hand goes in his mouth.
12. Favorite toys are balls and cars. He will push around Shelby's Barbie cars all over the house. When pulling up to daycare I hear "Ball Ball" from him because he knows that they have the big exercise balls that he can play with.
13. Favorite foods are fruit especially grapes and bananas, crackers, cheese and chocolate.
14. He loves to spend time in the shop with Daddy and get into things he shouldn't. His favorite spot is in the back of the Ranchero.
15. He hates to drink milk but would drink juice all day if you let him.
16. Is wearing size 18 months clothing and size 5 shoes. He is going through a growth spurt so that will be changing soon.
17. B is extremely ornery and stubborn. He wants to do things by himself like eating with utensils. His favorite game is to take off running when he has something he shouldn't or has done something he shouldn't.
18. Weighs 26 pounds and is 33 inches tall.

Halloween Weekend

2010-11-01T19:32:00.000-07:00

The weekend was filled with a 3rd Birthday/Halloween party on Saturday and trick or treating in Gig Harbor on Sunday. Both days were fun but we are glad Halloween is over. It has brought this need to eat candy instead of dinner into our household. For both Stuart and the kids.

Here are some good pictures from our Halloween weekend. I forgot to put the battery in my camera on Sunday so no pictures of trick or treating.

Best picture I got of them together.

You want me to stick my hand in that?

Bradan splashing in the puddles. Saturday it rained all day but Sunday was nice and dry for trick or treating.

Spider "girl/princess/WOMAN" pose - every time you asked her you would get a different response of what she was

Our little mechanic.

Posing with her pumpkin

Mechanic with the hat.

Spider Girl with ponytails

Playing balloons with her bestie Chloe

In the kid costume parade with Maddie and Katie

Just like Dad

Silly boy who was tired.

Hello?

It's almost Halloween

2010-10-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

Shelby is getting a kick out of Halloween this year.

This week she has carved a pumpkin with Daddy,

Dressed up as Spiderman girl for her school Harvest party,

and painted pumpkins and decorated sugar cookies with her friends.

Great Fall Weekend

2010-10-18T21:06:00.000-07:00

Both days this past weekend were absolutely beautiful. We took advantage of the sunny fall days by heading to a fall party at a produce stand in Port Orchard on Saturday and to a pumpkin patch in Buckley on Sunday. Shelby is loving Halloween this year so she really enjoyed the family outings this weekend.

Pictures from Saturday:

Bradan with the candy bucket on his head.

Shelby posing for the camera.

Shelby trying to find candy in the hay.

Pictures from Sunday:

Shelby getting ready to ride the "Cow Train".

Kid picture attempt #1

Kid picture attempt #2

Shelby riding a pony.

Daddy helping Bradan drive the tractor. B was not impressed and would rather push it standing up.

Finding the perfect pumpkin.

Not impressed by his sister's driving ability either.

Kid picture attempt #3

Pushing the kids and pumpkins in the wheelbarrow with a flat tire.

Shelby posing with "Belle". Highlight of her day.

B enjoying the tractor. Highlight of his day.

Kansas: Part 2

2010-08-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

After 2 days of driving we made it back to Washington late Saturday night. The first day we drove to Laramie, Wyoming and stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool. We then got up at 3 am in the morning and drove until 11 pm. It was 2 long days but the kids did great. It is good to be back home...back to a routine.

We have had to remind Shelby a few times that she is back to "Real" world instead of "Grandparent's" world. Bradan is just happy we remembered all of his hats.

During our time in Clay Center we:

Watched Herb and Margie Abel's old house be destroyed.

Went to the Clay Center Zoo (while Mommy and Daddy were in Vegas)Had water gun fights and played in the pool, sprinkler and water slide.

Visited the Wizard of Oz Museum in Wamego, Kansas

Got to visit with family and friends at a barbecue at Lawrence and Stephanie's house

.Went to Old Abilene Town (while Mommy and Daddy were in Las Vegas) to ride a train, see can-can girls dance, and watch a cowboy fight.

Some other things that we did while we were in Clay Center:

Made homemade ice cream.

Spent a day with Aunt Rachel getting our nails done.

Visited Great Grandma Gean

Kansas: Part 1

2010-07-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

Shelby, Bradan and I flew to Kansas on July 14th. We spent from then until July 24th in Bern and then headed to Clay Center until August 4th. Stuart and his sister Rachel drove from Washington to Kansas arriving on the 24th. We will be heading back to Washington from Bern on the 6th.

Here are some of the exciting things we have done so far...

Both kids got a ride from Grandpa on the 4 wheeler.

Just ShelbyB patiently waiting for his turn.
Both kids

We spent a lunch hour playing at the Seneca park and evening playing at the Bern park.

Seeing the baby piggies and calves are always a must with the kids. B has no problem touching the animals but Shelby not so much. Shelby also got to ride with Grandpa in his big huge sprayer.
Bradan has spent lots of time outside. Every time Grandpa Robert came in the house Bradan wanted to be picked up by him and automatically pointed outside. Grandpa spent lots of time swinging and pulling Bradan in the wagon. Of course, B didn't go far without his John Deere hat.
Shelby took swimming lessons at the Seneca pool. She got to jump (with help from her teacher) off the low board, walk across the lily pads, practice kicking her feet and moving her arms and open her eyes underwater. She did every skill to pass Level 1 and was presented with a certificate at the end of the week.

We also went to the Seneca pool two additional times in the afternoon; once by ourselves and once with Grandma Mary.
We went with Grandma to Topeka one afternoon to do some shopping and go out to eat with Aunt Katie.

July 17th was the annual Haverkamp employee party. Although it was very hot Shelby had a blast at the pirate themed party.

Shelby got to go fishing for the first time with Uncle Tyler. No fish were caught but she did get the experience of stepping in a cow patty.

Katie, Dustin, Bryson and Jill all made it to Bern for the first weekend we were there. Shelby threw Jill a Spiderman party for her 21st birthday.

We went to the Nemaha county fair one night but it was way to hot to stay long. Shelby's favorite part was seeing all the animals.

B's first haircut

2010-07-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Bradan got his first haircut on Wednesday. I figured it was time since we are soon to go back to Kansas heat. Miss Priscilla, who cuts Shelby's hair, did the job. He did such a great job sitting on mommy's lap getting his cut. To bad he couldn't eat the lollipop at the end like Shelby does. Luckily his sister took care of that for him.

Before
Look at those curls. Don't know where those come from.

During

After

Golden Afternoon

2010-06-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Shelby had her dance performance last Saturday.

They did a ballet to the song "Golden Afternoon" which is from Alice in Wonderland.

This was Shelby's 3rd time on stage for dance and she did great!

Pictures are from Friday night's rehearsal. They don't allow video or pictures during the actual performance.

Aunt Rachel and Uncle Chaz came over to watch Shelby.

There were 11 girls and 1 boy in this class. Ms Katie did a great job with them.

They did better during the rehearsal than Saturday night. Gracie, who is the red head on the far left, refused to dance Saturday night and just stood on stage.

Bradan cheering his sister on.

When I turn 6...

2010-06-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

can Bradan marry me?

That is the question Shelby asked me the other day when she was getting cuddle time on the couch with her brother.

It was too sweet to tell her how wrong it was.

1 and 4 pictures

2010-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is 4

2010-05-23T15:15:00.000-07:00

Shelby turned 4 on May 20th.

It seemed like we celebrated her birthday for 2 weeks between Grandma Mary coming out and then Grandparents Avery being here for a couple of days.

She got a bike for her birthday which she is learning to ride. It might be the first thing she has had to "learn" how to do.

Last Saturday we had a My Little Pony birthday party for her. Several of her little friends came over and they played some games that Stuart made. Mostly they just ran around and played on the swingset.

On her birthday we took her to eat at Red Robin after I brought treats to her school. She didn't understand why she wasn't "bigger" when she woke up that morning.

Shelby at four:

Can spell and write her own name.
Loves Spiderman, Disney princesses and Barbie
Asks a lot of questions.
Is starting to eat more fruit and vegetables but still takes forever to eat
Absolutely adores her baby brother except when he is playing(eating) her toys
Loves to get her nails and toenails painted
Is an outdoor girl - Daddy and her spend lots of time playing tee ball and catch
Likes her hair long and bites her nails
Wears dresses almost everyday
Favorite colors are pink and orange
Is a big helper most of the time

She has her four year appointment this Tuesday and next Saturday both Bradan and her will get their pictures taken.

I LOVE CAKE!

2010-05-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

May is birthday month around here. Bradan turned 1 the first week of May and Shelby turns 4 this week. More to come on Shelb's birthday later.

For B's birthday party we continued the Avery tradition by inviting all our friends over and having hamburgers with all the fixings and a keg. It was a great time and Grandma Mary even got to come out to help celebrate. Poor birthday boy was getting a tooth in and running a temperature on his birthday but he did perk up in time for this party where he got to eat a cupcake all by himself. Which of course he loved! Looking back at pictures from the last couple of weeks all of them are of him eating cake.

Bradan at 1 year:

23.5 pounds

Is waving bye bye and giving kisses

Cruising but hasn't taken any steps

Loves to walk holding your hands

Sleeping through the night

Eating almost everything - favorites are carrots, veggie chips and yogurt melts

Loves to play outside especially in the rocks

Bear crawls when wearing shorts or no pants

Starting to imitate sounds and actions

2010-03-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick update on what our family has been doing lately.

Bradan is:

crawling all over the place and is into everything. His newest place is crawl into the bathroom.
pulling himself up but is not standing by himself or taking steps yet.
eating great when he gets to feed himself. He will shake his head no if I try to feed him but if I put the spoon down on his tray, he picks it up and feeds himself.
such a happy boy who loves to interact with mommy, daddy and Shelby. He does have stranger anxiety.
sleeping from about 7 at night to 6 in the morning and takes cat naps throughout the day.
playing with trucks and pound away on Shelby's keyboard.
clapping and wave bye bye.
has four teeth and is biting.

Shelby is:

writing her own name and learning to write all the other letters.
asking lots of questions. I asked her one day why she asks so many questions and she replied "Because I want to talk to you". Such a sweet girl.
always pushing the rules. She told Stu and I the other day that she wants to have her Grandmas and Grandpas make her rules.
still loves the Disney princesses and Spiderman. We bought Princess and the Frog last week which she has watched at least 3 times.
ready to turn 4. She keeps asking when her birthday is.
putting together puzzles and playing lots of pretend with her dolls and dress up clothes.
in swimming and dance lessons. Both of which she enjoys.
excited to see her grandparents, aunts and uncles in two weeks.

Stuart is currently in New Hampshire for two weeks at a conference for work. The day after he gets back, the kids and I will be heading to Kansas for spring break.

9 months old

2010-02-11T20:08:00.000-08:00

Bradan was nine months old on February 6th. We can't believe how fast time as gone but couldn't imagine life without him either.

He went in for a check up this week. He weighs 22 pounds and is 29 inches tall which puts him in the 75% for both.

Bradan still hasn't mastered crawling forward yet. He is great at going backwards and scooting around on his butt to get where he wants to go but no official crawling yet. And when he does start we will wonder why we were so anxious for him to start.

His two top teeth are currently coming in and they are giving him a tough time. Snot and drool are constantly running and at least two of his fingers are always in his mouth. Today he was running a 101 temperature and was so cranky. Hopefully those teeth pop soon to give him some relief.

The boy loves to eat. Bananas, sweet potatoes and spaghetti are his favorites. He loves to feed himself banana chunks, Mum Mums and Cheerios. We have been working on the sippy cup with water and juice.

Shelby is still his favorite person in the world. He loves it when she plays with him and gives him attention. Toys still end up in his mouth but he also likes to bang them on the nearest surface. He also likes to wheel his cars back and forth. (Makes his dad proud)

He tries to pull himself up and has gotten himself up a couple of times. Usually he just needs a little help. He loves to play on his Leap Frog table and shake his little butt to the music.

When meeting someone he is always very serious. It usually takes a little coaxing to get him to smile. He is definitely at the stage where he needs to see mommy or daddy when somebody else is holding him.

B is still a cuddle bug when tired but is starting to fight going to sleep at night. He will usually sleep from 7 at night to 6 in the morning and then only take short naps throughout the day.

We know the next couple of months are going to exciting with him learning to crawl, then walking and talking but are definitely cherishing these days of him being our sweet little baby boy.

S-H-E-L-B-Y

2010-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

Here is what our little girl has been doing lately:

Shelby has been working on writing her name and learning the names of all the letters. It is crazy how much learning she has done in the past couple of months. She also makes us exhausted by the end of the day with her constant energy and questions.

Yesterday was nice outside and the sun was shining so Shelb thought she needed to wear her swimsuit to help Stuart wash the cars. We have not had any snow this winter which she has missed so hopefully next weekend we will head up to the mountains so she can get some use out of her snow boots.
Shelby is still a great big sister. This afternoon she insisted on feeding B a bottle. Already she tries to tell him what to do or make him do what she wants him to and most of the time he doesn't like it. She can really get him giggling though.

Puzzles and Spiderman are her two big things right now. Luckily the Dollar Tree has Spiderman puzzles. Today we found a Spiderman sweatshirt on clearance and I am pretty sure she will wear it everyday she can. She did tell me the other day that she doesn't like Spiderman anymore because she likes Hannah Montana. Not sure which one is worse.
She loves to pose for the camera. Here is the four pictures/poses she wanted to take when all I wanted to do was get one nice picture of her in her Vday outfit.

I couldn't resist.

2010-01-22T21:26:00.000-08:00

I got my camera back the other day and I couldn't resist taking these pictures of Bradan after his bath. They are pictures that I will bring out when he is 16 to embarrass him on his first date. Oh wait I mean 35.
Update on Bradan
He is a happy healthy 8.5 month old that we truly adore. Bradan loves to eat, jump and dance, is starting to drink juice out of a sippy cup and any day now will be crawling forward instead of going backwards. He still only has the two bottom teeth but the top two are starting to give him troubles. His sister is still the best person in his world and he loves to sit with her and play. Most of the time she enjoys it too. We hear a lot of "Bradan stop slobbering on my toys." He is still sleeping 11 hours at night but his naps during the day are no longer than an hour. Pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo are his favorite games to play and he loves to laugh when you are being silly with him.

It has been awhile!

2010-01-12T10:16:00.000-08:00

Boy the last two months have flown. Between going to the Tri-Cities for Rachel's wedding to Shelby' s dance performance to getting ready for and celebrating our Christmas to Bradan getting his first two teeth to making the trip to Kansas for the holidays to both kids getting the flu we have not had the time or energy to update the blog. And then on top of it all Quinn's camera broke when we were in Kansas so we are now waiting on it to get fixed. So be prepared for a lot of pictures to catch up on our lives.Shelby with her class and Miss Katie before her dance performance on December 12th. Shelby is the one on the far left.Bradan's First Christmas and Shelby's First Christmas of understanding who Santa Claus is. This was our family Christmas in Washington on December 13th. Shelby enjoyed opening the gifts and of course all the paper Bradan got a hold of went straight to his mouth.

Quinn and the kids made it back to Kansas on December 19th. Stu made it on December 23rd which was right when the snow hit. Shelby had a blast in the huge drifts of snow in Bern. We were able to stay a week in Bern and a week in Wakefield. Rachel and Chaz had a ceremony and reception at the Clay Center Country Club on December 2nd but we don't have any pictures because that was after the camera broke. Here are some pictures from Shelby and Bradan's Christmases with the grandparents.
Notice Shelby's favorite Christmas gift this year - Her Spiderman jammies.

SIX months old

2009-11-08T14:07:00.000-08:00

We took Bradan to the doctor on Friday for his SIX month checkup.

He weighs 18 pounds 7 ounces. Dr. Cogley wrote that he was a normal healthy six month old.

Though we couldn't imagine life without him, it is hard to believe time has gone so fast.

As a six month old, Bradan is:

Sitting up by himself

Eating food in his highchair

Sitting in the big tub

Laughing and giggling

Playing with his toes

And still letting his mommy give his kisses. For now. B is also playing with toys and putting anything he can get his hands on in his mouth. He still thinks his sister is the greatest thing on earth and Shelby is enjoying her little brother growing up. Stu says he is also blowing raspberries but I haven't seen one yet. His favorite toy is his stationary jumper and he is starting to get anxiety whenever he can't see mom, dad or sister. Any day now I expected a tooth to pop through and hopefully I am not jinxing it by adding that he has been sleeping through the night for the last week.

A Witch and a Dinosaur

2009-11-01T08:50:00.000-08:00

This was the first Halloween that Shelby has started to understand what this holiday is all about and she loved it. We had been asking her for months what she wanted to be for Halloween and it was always something different from a princess to a penguin. About a month ago she started saying a witch every time we asked that question, so that is what we decided to stick with. She got to dress up like a witch two times this year. On the Wednesday before Halloween, she went to Melanie Uhrich's birthday party at the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton for their Monster Bash and then she dress up to go trick or treating downtown Port Orchard. On Friday, at school they did a pajama party with the kids. Bradan also got to dress up twice in his dinosaur costume. Once a daycare and then to go Trick or Treating with Shelby. He didn't mind wearing the costume or walking around being carried by Stu while Shelby got all the candy. As you can see by one of the pictures, he was pretty done by the end of the night though.

Here are some pictures from our Halloween fun!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we went to Hunter Farm's pumpkin patch with some friends. It had rained all day Saturday so the fields were a mess. Stu and Shelby wore their boots so they were able to search for those perfect pumpkins while B and I stood where there wasn't a mud puddle. You might notice in the pictures that Bradan has started sitting by himself.

Jump Around

2009-10-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

Our little boy turned 5 months last week. He has started to eat cereal which I will post pictures of later, grab at toys and other things including big sister's hair and has even started to giggle. B loves to squeal/talk and is almost rolling over. Last weekend, Shelby, Bradan and I headed to Kansas to surprise Grandpa Robert for his 50th birthday. Both kids did great on the airplane and were spoiled by grandparents, aunts and uncles.
We put Bradan in over the door jumper tonight for the very first time. He loved it and spent about 20 minutes in it. Here are some pictures from Bradan hanging out in the swing. Doesn't he look like his dad?

Only at the Puyallup Fair can you .......

2009-09-20T21:09:00.000-07:00

meet Dora,

float down a river,

ride a motorcycle,

pet a goat,

churn butter and

tame a tiger

while your baby brother is hanging out

and sleeping in the stroller.

Back to school

2009-09-04T10:19:00.000-07:00

My time as "just being mom" is quickly coming to an end. School starts next week so I am getting ready to take on my new position as Instructional Specialist at Cedar Heights. I have truly enjoyed my four months off with my kids but I know for my sake that I need to go back to work. Shelby and Bradan both started daycare this week. Shelby was very excited to go back but you could tell she really missed her baby brother that first day. She asked yesterday if she could go see where Bradan went to school and meet Bradan's friends so I dropped him off before her. Bradan did okay the first day, horrible the second and awesome the third day. So we will see how his fourth day goes. Here are just some pictures I have taken of the kids over the last few weeks.

Driving his car.

She loves to hold him. B is not so sure about it.

Sleeping in

Our little B

Happy 60th Birthday Uncle Steve!

2009-08-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, my Mom and Grandma Sally came for a visit. Grandma had never been up to this area before so we enjoyed showing her the sights of Port Orchard. On Saturday, we all headed over to the TriCities to celebrate my Uncle Steve's 60th birthday party with the Koehler side of the family. It was great time. All of my aunts and uncles that live nearby were able to make it and almost all of the cousins with their kids were there. Stu's sister Rachel and her fiance Chaz live in Richland so they were able to make it to the park to see us and then Stu and Shelby spent the night at their house. Sunday afternoon we headed back to Port Orchard while Grandma Sally stayed with family. Mom spent the rest of the time helping me by watching my kids while I did some school things. She headed back to Kansas today with Shelby. Shelby will be staying in Kansas until next Wednesday when her Grandparents Avery bring her back.

This was Shelby's lunch.

So tired

Stuart and Rachel

Bradan and Grandma

3 months old

2009-08-08T14:18:00.001-07:00

Bradan turned 3 months old on Thursday. It is amazing how much he has grown. His eyes are turning from blue to brown but his skin color and hair are staying dark. He is starting to look like Stu but every once in awhile he reminds me of my brother Craig. At 3 months, he is really starting to talk, smile and react to the world around him. You can really get him spun up by just talking to him. Shelby is still loving on him and he is still tolerating it for the most part. Sometimes B will just stare at her and have that look in his eyes like she is the best thing in the world. We will see how long that last. He doesn't have a doctor's appointment until 4 months so I am not sure how much he weighs.
Here are some cute pictures taken the other day when he was in a good mood in his seat.

Heat spell

2009-08-02T18:36:00.000-07:00

We broke heat records this past week with it getting over 100 degrees for a couple of days. We are lucky enough to have air conditioning unlike the majority of houses around here. Stores had people lining up for their next shipment of fans. I let the kids run around in just their panties/diaper for those days and we stayed inside as much as we could. We also got lots of use out of the swimming pool and otter pops. Here is just a cute picture of Bradan while he was trying to stay cool.

Road Trip to Kansas

2009-07-24T09:17:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a fun filled vacation to Kansas. Many thought we were crazy for driving the 1800+ miles but overall it went rather well. Thank God for DVD players and cheap "prizes" from the dollar store. We decided the trip is about 6 hours to long though because that is when we are driving on that nasty road in Nebraska and both kids were tired of their car seats. The trip started in Wakefield and ended in Bern.

Here are some of the highlights and pictures:
*Shelby went swimming in the big pool with Emma(a family friend) and Mommy.
*Shelby played in her playhouse at Grandparents Avery's house.
*Grandma and Grandpa Avery had get together where we got to see lots of people and eat really good smoked brisket, ribs and chicken.
*Stu and Quinn got to go to Manhattan by ourselves and eat at Carlos O' Kellys and buy some KSU gear at Varney's.
*We went to the Clay Center zoo and played in the park.
*Shelby, Bradan and Quinn traveled to Waverly, Kansas to see Katie and Dustin's new house.
*Shelby got to stand in a field of corn and ride the four wheeler with Grandpa Robert.
*We got to meet Craig and Jessica's new dog Bo
*We surprised Grandpa Robert by taking a family portrait with everyone dressed in John Deere shirts.
*Haverkamp Brothers hosted their annual summer picnic while we were in Bern.
*Stu went golfing with the boys and Quinn and the kids went to Schilling Bridge winery with the girls.

Bradan in his stroller

Shelby had told me awhile back that she wanted to ride a skateboard. We found an old one of the boys while we were back - She thought she was so cool!Aunt Katie holding Bradan for the first time Playing at the Clay Center ParkAt the zoo Eating the bread she was suppose to be feeding to the ducks Bradan was very interested in Great Grandma Gean. He would just stare at her.

4th and more

2009-07-05T16:30:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th at our place last night by inviting over a few friends, eating some good food and shooting off some "kid-friendly" fireworks. It was a nice relaxing time which we wanted since we are about ready to drive back to Kansas this week. We are leaving Friday as close to midnight as possible (so we can drive a good 7 hours with Shelby sleeping) and get to Wakefield Saturday afternoon. Stu will be driving his new 2006 F350 and pulling his new car trailer with his dad Lawrence's 58 Impala that he bought up here. Maybe I get Stu to blog about the details later. I am busy trying to get everything and everyone packed, making sure we have enough food and plenty to keep Shelby busy on the road. We will stay in Wakefield until Wednesday afternoon and be in Bern until we head back to Washington on the 20th. Hopefully, while we are there we can catch up with family and friends and get Shelby swimming.
Here are some pictures from the 4th and also what we will driving and hauling back to Kansas.

Best picture I could get of the two.
Shelby with a sparkler. She loved the fireworks.

Bradan's 1st 4th of July

Shelby's 1st 4th of July 2006. Do you see similarities in the two?
Bradan was born 5/6 and Shelby 5/20
Stu's pickup and trailer
Lawrence's car

Chipmunk and a bird

2009-07-02T08:41:00.000-07:00

No pictures to post with this one but this story is to funny not to add.

Yesterday afternoon, I was in Shelby's bed in the process of trying to get her to take a nap by reading her books. We were both lying on the bed and in the middle of the story of "The Jungle Book" when all of the sudden a chipmunk jumped on Shelby's bed, ran across our legs, jump off the bed and jumped on Shelby's window sill and tried to get out the window. After discovering it could not, ran into Stu and I's bedroom underneath the bed. So after I calmed down from having this thing scare the s*** out of me, I called Stu who thought it was hilarious. He told me to catch it with a bucket, chase it out of the house or let Elsie, our cat, take care of it. (I think he forgets that Elsie is a house cat and has no idea what to do with other animals beside just play with them) Before I move on, I just want to add that Shelby in the morning had come to me and said "Mom, there is a chipmunk in my room." Knowing that my daughter is in her pretend stage, I just laughed it off. I also noticed Elsie laying by our bed on the floor right before Shelby and I got into bed to read which I thought at the time was odd because she usually takes naps on our bed under the covers. Little did I know she was watching a chipmunk under the bed. No, I don't know how long the chipmunk was in our house.
So anyway back to the story, after telling Shelby she needed to stay in her room and checking to make sure Bradan was still sleeping, I grabbed a broom on a mission to scare out the chipmunk. I closed all the interior doors and opened all the exterior doors so the chipmunk would have several ways to escape. Well, while I was trying to get the chipmunk out from underneath our bed, a bird flew into our sun room. This has happened before when our french doors have been opened because we have the 2 big windows that they think they can just fly through. Most of the time, they soon realize that they cannot get out through the windows and eventually find their way back out with a little bit of coaxing from the broom. So I stopped trying to scare out the chipmunk and tried to help the bird which I thought after five minutes of coaxing had flown out the door. One animal down, 1 more to go.
After talking to Stu again, we decided that since Elsie was doing such a good job of guarding (scaring the chipmunk so it wouldn't come out) in our bedroom that I would just close our bedroom door and let Stu take care of it when he came home. Thinking that I was done with the zoo that apparently decided to visit our house today, I went to grab Bradan out of the swing. As I did that, the stupid bird that I thought had left our house flew up from behind our pellet stove. I moved Bradan to his room and told Shelby to stay in her room so more which she didn't listen to because it was way to exciting watching mommy chase wild animals out of the house. After five minutes of searching, we found the bird perched on our china hutch in our kitchen. So trying to coax the bird out with the bird again, it started trying to get out through the kitchen windows. That's what I get for having such nice big windows in my house (that I usually love). After several minutes of trying to get the bird to go towards the sun room to get out of the house, I realized that there was only going to be one way to get that bird out of my house. I made Shelby go to her room and then did what I needed to to get the bird out of my house. Not the way I wanted but at the point, I had no option. Now 1 animal down, 1 more to go.
Shelby had invited her friends over in the afternoon to go swimming so the whole time they were at our house, we had a chipmunk in our bedroom. Stu came home, put on this gloves and proceeded to go catch himself a chipmunk. After several attempts of trying to grab the thing which he soon discovered chipmunks are fast animals, he decided to work on scaring the thing out. So I took the kids out in the backyard and he made a blocked off a path for the chipmunk to go out the front door. Eventually, it ran down our hallway and out the door.
So again, I don't know when the chipmunk got in our house but we only can assume that it was chased/brought inside by Elsie. That previous night, we were all outside and Elsie was chasing something around our yard. Stu thought it was a rabbit which have been known to get into our yard sometime. She was also outside some that morning but I don't remember her chasing anything. For those who have never been to our house, we have a fenced in backyard and then trees behind that. We always see chipmunks in the trees but we have never seen them in our yard. But they are starting to come down because they have discovered that the birds drop their seed on the ground when they are eating from the feeders.
So moral of the story: Believe your daughter when she tells you there is a chipmunk in our house.

7 weeks old

2009-06-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Just some pictures of our sweet little boy who turned 7 weeks this past Wednesday. He is becoming quite a little chunk by completing outgrowing his newborn clothes and diapers. Four and half hours is his record for sleep and is on the verge of smiling. He is awake for longer periods of time and loves to sit in his bouncer to watch the world around him. Taking him outside almost always calms him down. Shelby is stilling loving on him and he is getting quite vocal when he dislikes what she is doing.

Blanket made by Great Grandma Janice

Shelby's dance performance

2009-06-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

Shelby danced in her first performance this past weekend. I will put more pictures and possibly video(if I can figure it out) later but I wanted to post this one picture right now. This picture was taken Friday night at the rehearsal. The dance was going great until two of the girls got into an argument about the next steps. As you can see in the picture, the two girls crying in the back ground while the other three finished the dance. Stay tune for more pictures and wish me luck on posting the video.

6 weeks old

2009-06-21T15:19:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe that Bradan is already 6 weeks old. I would have to guess that he is between
8 1/2 to 9 pounds. (no doctor's appt. until 7/6) He is a very vocal child by grunting while he is eating and sleeping. We have gotten him to drink from the bottle though he is still nursing majority of the time. Big sister is still loving on him and so far he has been pretty tolerate of it. He has been having longer periods of awake time and even sleep for 5 hours straight one night. Here are some pictures of him the last couple of weeks.

He loves to sleep in the boppy.

Hanging out in his swing.

First zoo trip of the summer

2009-06-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

Every year since Shelby has been born we get a zoo pass to Point Defiance Zoo which is in Tacoma. I finally braved going there with both kids by myself on June 9th. My thoughts that since we were going while school was in session on a Tuesday morning that there wouldn't be many people there. I was wrong. I forgot about school field trips to the zoo. We still had a great time. Shelby was excited to see the elephants but they were sleeping. She did enjoy seeing the monkeys swinging in their cage. Bradan just hung out in his stroller. Here are some pictures from that trip.

Sleeping Baby

2009-06-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

We had one month pictures taken of Bradan this past weekend. He would not wake up at all. Shelby on the other hand did a great job in the pictures of both of them. You can really tell she loves her baby brother. These pictures are not the greatest quality because they are downloaded from the picture site.

Many faces of Shelby

2009-06-02T13:54:00.000-07:00

Sad Face

Confused face Happy face
Your guess is as good as mine as what type of face she is making here!

4 weeks old tomorrow

2009-06-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a lot of pictures from the past couple of days. Bradan is starting to keep his eyes open for longer amounts of time so of course I am taking lots of pictures.

He is getting so big
I would guess around 7 1/2 lbs. by now. Almost out of the newborn clothes.

Such a sweet picture

Snuggle bug

Ready for bed

Being held by big sister

All sprawled out Big sister helping out
I had Bradan sleeping in Shelby's bed(don't ask why) and he started getting fussy. I was in the other room trying to quickly finish what I was doing so I could go get him. Shelby went in there and stuck the binkie in his mouth. When I walked in there, he was looking at his big sister like she was the best thing in the world. Too cute.

Serious pose

Elephant rolls

2009-05-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Bradan is getting some fat (aka elephant rolls) on him! He was so skinny when he was born that it is good to see and have to wash beneath those skin rolls. Here are a couple of pictures of him from this past week.

Will you push me on my swing?

2009-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

That is Shelby's favorite question since Daddy and Grandpa got her swing set done. She asks at 7 in the morning until 9 at night. We have been working on her swinging herself but she goes so much higher when we push her. When we had bought the swing set we figured Shelby would be all about the slide and towers. Although she does like to pretend that she is a princess in her "castle", she loves the swing. This is where we will be spending most of our summer!

All they do is spoil and then leave

2009-05-26T09:26:00.001-07:00

Over the last two weeks, both sets of grandparents have had the opportunity to come spoil both of our children. Stu's parents had already had the tickets to come up here for Shelby's birthday for months, they just didn't know that they would be meeting their grandson at this time also. After my mom being here for a week and a half helping us with Shelby while I was on bed rest and no baby when she left, Dad decided he better get her out here as soon as he could to see the little one. For those of you that don't know, our two children are the first and only grandchildren on both sides. (Now would be the time I need to hint about my huge want to be an aunt soon to Craig and Jessica, Katie and Dustin)

Here are the first pictures of the grandparents with both of their grandchildren.

2 Weeks Old

2009-05-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

Bradan will be 2 weeks old tomorrow (on Shelby's 3rd birthday). He went to the doctor today where he weighed 7 lbs. 0 oz. and measured 20 inches long. The poor child also got circumcised today which I know is harder on his parents, especially his dad, than on him. Hopefully, it will be a fast recovery :).
Here are some pictures of him from the last few days.

All about Shelby

2009-05-18T08:19:00.000-07:00

The Birthday Girl

Shelby is turning 3 on Wednesday May 20th so this blog is all about her. For her birthday, we bought her a swing set for the back yard and threw her a princess party on Sunday. Below are the pictures for both events.

Preparing the yard for the swing set
With Stu's parents up here for a couple of days, Stu decided to have his Dad help him with all the prep work he needed to do for the swing set. That included renting a sod cutter to tear up some grass, extending the playground that was already there, leveling the ground with sand and putting down landscaping fabric. As you can see by the pictures, Shelby thought her big sand box was great!!

The play area cleared and being leveled

Shelby having a ball in the sand

The play area ready for the swing set to be built

She was exhausted

Princess Party

As you know, Shelby is big into princesses so the theme for her 3rd birthday was of course Princess. We told her little friends that they had to come wearing their best princess attire. They had an afternoon of games and fun at our house. Games they played were putting the shoe on Cinderella, popping balloons and breaking the pinata. They also had a great time blowing bubbles, driving Shelby's mustang and playing on what was done with the swing set. The cake Shelby had was one that she had been wanting at Albertsons for the last 6 months. Every time we went in there, we heard "Can we get my princess cake?" Overall it was a great birthday party.

THE Princess Cake

Putting Cinderella's shoe on

Popping balloons

Hitting the pinata

Playing on what was done of the swing set

Keep watching for the finished swing set!

Pictures from the first week

2009-05-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Eyes Wide Open
Bradan has been home with us for almost a week and we are adoring him. He is eating, sleeping, pooping and peeing which is everything you want a newborn to do. So far he is a pretty easy going baby. Fusses only when he is hungry and is pretty content the rest of the time. He even puts up with big sister kissing and hugging him all the time. He went to the doctor yesterday where he weighed 6lbs. 10 oz. so he is almost back up to his birth weight. Here are some pictures we took the other day of him with his eyes open.

First Bath
On Monday we gave Bradan his first bath. We figured he would scream his head off like Shelby did for her first bath but nope he fell asleep. I put a picture up of Bradan and Shelby taking their first baths so you can see the difference in our two kids so far (or is it a difference in our ease of parenting so far?)

Sleeping Bradan

Screaming Shelby

Mommy and Shelby Time
Shelby asked for her toenails and fingernails to be painted so we spent some quality/much needed time together doing so. She is so proud of her beautiful nails. It goes along well with her whole love of pretending like she is a princess.

It is good to be home!

2009-05-10T20:58:00.000-07:00

Shelby said it best Saturday morning. She stayed the night Friday at the hospital with us and we gave her the choice to go to dance on Saturday morning knowing that Stu would have plenty of time to take her and then come back to get Bradan and I. Her reply was "I just want to go home with my family." And that's just what she did when we were discharged from the hospital that morning.
Our weekend was us starting to adjust to our new normal. We worked on projects around the house that we had planned on getting to before Bradan was born and just relaxed as a family.
Bradan is doing great. He is eating, sleeping and pooping - everything that you want a newborn to do. Shelby is adjusting to her baby brother. She is learning what she can and can't do with him but is enjoying giving him lots of hugs and kisses.
Here are just some pictures that were taken this weekend. Thank you again for all the thoughts and wishes that were sent our way.

Proud Big Sister and Happy Little Boy

2009-05-08T16:00:00.000-07:00

Things have been going very well in the past day with Bradan. He is eating great and even letting Quinn get some sleep here and there.
I took Shelby home with me last night so she could sleep in her own bed. She had a great time at the Fundane'ts over the past couple days, but she needed a night at home. Quinn managed great on her own last at the hospital.
My friend Cliff and his girlfriend's son Chip stayed with us last night. We went out for breakfast this morning then got the Mustang loaded up on his trailer for the haul back to California. It was good to catch up, even if we didn't have the opportunity to hang out that much. He left before lunch and should be making it to Stockton in the early AM tomorrow.
Shelby and I made it to the hospital around 1pm and Shelby was again excited to see her baby brother. He is looking and doing great, eating regularly and sleeping in between. He has even gone through several diapers. We are looking forward to bring him home tomorrow. It will be nice to get things back to normal.

DAY ONE WITH BRADAN

2009-05-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

Bradan has met and exceeded all of our expectations so far. He has good color, can maintain his own temperature and has been eating well.
Quinn fed him this morning after the pediatrician took a look at him and he took very well. Since then, she has been able to take him from the nursery into the room for feedings every 2-1/2 hours.
I picked Shelby up at daycare today around 1130am. She was very excited about the arrival her baby brother. We made it to the hospital around 2pm. So far, Shelby has been very good with her baby brother and is already "helping out". She was also glad to see her mom up and around. When Shelby need to go to the potty, Quinn asked her if she needed any help. Shelby's reply was: "You can get up? You can help me?" She is glad to have her mom back and the little brother is icing on the cake.
If he continues to do well, he should be able to stay in our room tonight. If they have any concerns, he will stay in the nursery and they will bring him in at three hour intervals. We hope that they allow him to stay with us tonight. If he is anything like Shelby was, he will start getting vocal by midnight.
It looks like we should be able to bring him home on Saturday if everything continues in this direction. Quinn will likely be discharged tomorrow and they will give us a room for Friday night. We will take the next few days to get adjusted as a family and then my parents come out on Wednesday night.
To add a little excitement, my good friend Cliff Clark came up from California today with my Ranchero and he is taking back a Mustang that I decided to sell him. Like we have said before, Bradan does not like us to make any plans.
Quinn, Shelby and I would like to give a lot of thanks to the well wishes over the past couple weeks. It has been an ordeal that was well worth it (even Quinn thinks so).

Our Sweet "BEA"

2009-05-07T05:51:00.000-07:00

Introducing Bradan Edward Avery

Born 5-6-09
6 lbs. 11 oz.
18 1/4 inches long

It is hard to believe he was 4 weeks early with those statistics.

The newest addition to the Avery family was born at 10:56 pm yesterday. Just like Stuart wrote the day before, I was started on the pitocin around 4 am yesterday morning. I had slight contractions but when the nurse checked my cervix at 3 pm, I had not changed at all since that morning. I was put on the highest dosage of pitocin allowed at that time and they were talking about getting me off the pitocin and redoing the cervadill if I had not made any changes soon. Not what I wanted at all. My doctor came in about 7 and checked my cervix which had dillated to almost 3 and contractions were getting stronger. Talk about a relief knowing that I was not doing a practice round of contractions but it was the real deal. We decided at the time to not break my water due to the risk of infection and knowing that there was not a lot of fluid there anyway. Well, my water broke an hour later and the next 2 hours, labor progressed very fast. Around 10 I was wanting to push and by 10:20, Dr. Hebard was ready and I was pushing. He came into this world at 10:56.
He didn't cry right away but after working with him for about 5 minutes and giving him some oxygen Bradan let us know he was here. After Stu and I got to hold him for awhile, they brought him down to the nursery. Stu went with him and watched as they performed all the newborn tests. Everything has checked out fine so far. After me recovering for an hour and eating, I was able to go down to the nursery and spend more time with him. Stu and I came back to our room were we both had a decent night sleep.
Stuart went to check on him this morning and he is doing great. No problems last night, he slept and even ate. Dr. Cogley, who is Shelby's pediatrican, will be checking him over this morning and giving us her thoughts on how long he will be staying here. I will hopefully begin nursing him this morning and get to keep him in my room. And as for me, my recovery process is doing great.
Stuart will be going to get his big sister later this morning so she can meet him. I am pretty excited for her chance to meet her baby brother.
As for the name, his middle name comes from Stu's grandpa who passed away when Stu was about 8 years old. Bradan is a name that I have always liked but Stu didn't. About 3 months ago, he changed his mind and I got my way.

What Happened to the Plan?

2009-05-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

This little guy does not like us to make any plans what so ever.
I say that because we had began to expect that everything was stabilized and we would not have to induce until this weekend or early next week. Well, that all changed today. Quinn's fluid levels showed a drop this morning. The AFI showed a level of 6.2 yesterday and it went below 5 today, which was the "line-in-sand" the doctors had gave us. Because of that, they have decided to induce Quinn into labor tonight. They have already put her on Cervadill and that will last for the next 12 hours. They will introduce pitocin around 4AM tomorrow which will get things moving. They expect she will deliver tomorrow or Thursday.
I went back to work today expecting to get nearly a week in, showing a presence on my new project. But I guess the little one doesn't what to get out of the spotlight yet.
All and all, we are relieved. It has been a rollercoaster of news and emotions over the past three weeks. We have felt that we were just waiting for something to go wrong while Quinn has been in the hospital. Now we see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Hopefully the next update will be a birth announcement!

Uneventful Weekend

2009-05-03T14:14:00.000-07:00

No news is good news this weekend. Nothing has changed since Friday. Quinn's AFI have not fallen below 6, so the plan is still to wait until the end of next week to induce. The doctors have suggested to conduct an Amniocentesis to verify the baby's lungs are developed enough for a 36 week delivery. This is something that we will discuss with Quinn's doctor tomorrow.
Yesterday Shelby went to dance with Grandma in the morning and she went to a Birthday party for her friend Karli at a park in Bremerton that afternoon. She had a lot of fun and kept her Grandma very busy as well.

I stayed overnight in the hospital with Quinn to keep her company the last couple of nights. It was pretty busy at the hospital on Friday night. In fact, 8 babies were born on here between the first and second of May. We haven't watched this much TV in years. We are sick of the swine flu and the other 5 minutes news that is on every night. Luckily the race on last night. Quinn thoroughly enjoyed it. I went back home this morning to get a couple of things done and to bring Quinn's Mom and Shelby back to the hospital for lunch. Shelby had got Quinn a plant and made her a card. She also was nice enough to bring some of her books so Quinn could read them to her.
Quinn's mom is going back to Kansas tomorrow. She has been a life-saver and I can't thank her enough for coming on such short notice. Now that we can plan ahead a little, I feel we can handle the next week and a half on our own (with a little help from friends). My parents are coming to vist on May 13th. If everthing goes as planed the little one will be home and we will be working on finding the "normal" in life again (or as close to it as possible).
A special thanks to all of the visitors that have come to see Quinn this weekend. It means a lot to know how many people are thinking of her.

HARRISON HOSPITAL, DAY 1

2009-05-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Quinn's mom stayed with her last night and I tried to keep Shelby busy at home. We decided were to put her new swing set in the backyard. I have all staked out, now I just need some time to do the dirt work. Shelby thinks this will be a rather quick process, and she said she could help because she is VERY strong......
Quinn had another AFI today and it showed an increase in fluid level and the baby is looking very good. Based on that, the doctors suggests we hold off a while longer before she is induced. The "line in the sand" is 36 weeks if nothing changes with her AFI. The 36-week mark is a week from tomorrow, but I am sure that will be re-evaluated on a daily basis starting next week. Don't expect anything new out of us on Saturday and Sunday, for I don't see anything changing until Monday.
Quinn is sick of bedrest but she wants to do what is best for the little one. He is healthy now and that should not change as long as she is here. However, a 35-36 week baby should be healthy as well if she delivers soon.
I took Shelby to the hospital to see Quinn this morning. It did Shelby good to see her mom. She just doesn't understand why her mom can't do everything with her that she is used to. We did everthing we could to keep her entertained. Even blown-up surgical gloves do the job in a pinch. She also brought her doctor kit and was sure to check her mom out when we got there.
It was a beautiful day today, so we got Quinn outside to enjoy the weather and watch Shelby play and wear me out. It is certainly nice to be closer to home. Harrison is a great hostpital and her room has a great view of the Olympics. Hopefully she will be ready to get outside after dinner tonight.
We will make a couple posts through the weekend, but like I said, nothing should change.

Back to the Hospital

2009-04-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

We went to Silverdale this morning for a non-stress test to check how he is doing and an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level followed by a visit with the doctor. Fluids have gone back done to 4.5 which is not terribly concerning for the doctor since it was at 6-7 but it has decreased. So after a lengthy discussion with the doctor and her talking to the other doctors, we are being admitted back to the hospital but to Harrison in Silverdale this time. There I will be closely monitored and probably will be induced on Friday/Saturday which would put me at 35 weeks but no later than next Friday.
It is such a tough decision of when it is time to say WE ARE DONE WITH THE MONITORING AND IT IS TIME TO INDUCE both from our perspectives and the doctors. Do we induce right now knowing that we have a healthy baby boy but we don't know what complications he would have if he came this early or if he would need to spend a lot extra time in the hospital. Positives are that he has had the steriod treatment and the last ultrasound shows that he is about 5 1/2 pounds. Or do we try to hold off as long as possible knowing that he will have more time to grow and develop but don't know what is going to happen to my fluid level and everything else that plays into that which could hurt him then. Such a hard decision to make.
But my maternal instinct right now is telling me he needs to come soon. So even though I will be back on bed rest in the hospital and be away from Shelby, I know that it is the best thing for little "Bob". One thing we are certain of, we will not be leaving the hospital this time without the arrival of the newest Avery.

She is almost 3 .....

2009-04-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

and acting every minute of it. Life has been tough for Shelby lately and she is starting to react to the changes that are occurring in her life. I expected this to happen but it is still tough for all of us. So I had to post a picture of her when she was one day old tonight to remember that she can be a sweet little girl, most of the time.

Good to be Home

2009-04-28T21:20:00.000-07:00

We made it home early afternoon today. Shelby was pretty excited to see her mommy but was even more excited for the frog balloon that I brought her home. It was an uneventful afternoon. I took a nap while Stu and Shelby played outside and washed his new truck. My mom cooked us a great supper and is currently sewing a princess cape for Shelby. Stuart even got to drive his truck, something he has been dying to do since bringing it home last Friday. Tomorrow Stu plans on going back to work and my mom might bring Shelby into daycare. My mom is going to wait until Thursday's appointment to decide when she will be heading home. Thursday morning I have an ultrasound, non-stress test and then an appointment with the doctor at 8:30. Hopefully, the fluids levels stay the same or increase otherwise I will probably find myself back in the hospital. Even though bed rest is much easier at the hospital it is good to be home with my girl.

And the next step is .....

2009-04-28T10:37:00.000-07:00

we are going home. Ultrasound this morning showed that my fluids are still in the 6-7 range which makes it stable for now. Little one has moved so he is head down which would explain all the movement yesterday. So we are going to go home and try bed rest for the next 2 days. I will be going to Silverdale on Thursday to see how things are going. If need to at that time, they are willing and can check me into Harrison for bed rest and lots of monitoring. If not, I stay at home on bed rest with frequent trips to my doctor to keep monitoring. At this point, they say will not let me go pass 38 weeks.

Boring Day

2009-04-27T19:42:00.001-07:00

Not much happened today. We are just waiting patiently for the ultrasound tomorrow to see our next steps. We will post as soon as we can tomorrow.

I did get some pretty flowers and a balloon delivered to my room today.

Thank you
Lawrence, Stephanie and Rachel
Dad, Mom, Craig, Jessica, Katie, Dustin, Tyler, Bryson and Shelby

Yes, Shelby, you will be getting the balloon soon. Hopefully, your mommy will be bringing it home for you tomorrow.

Waiting for the next ultra-sound

2009-04-27T10:30:00.000-07:00

Nothing new today. The doctor stopped in for a short time and told us that after tomorrow's ultrasound we will know if Quinn is going home or staying at Swedish.
If the fluid levels are steady or up, Quinn will go home, stay on bed rest and be evaluated twice a week at the hospital in Silverdale. If the fluid levels have gone back down, they will deliver on Friday.
If she does go home, it is likely that she will have the baby after the 36 week mark given everything is stable. The only sure thing is that she will not be back to work until next semester and she will not be doing much of anything between now and when the baby comes.
It was good for Quinn to have Shelby and her Mom here yesterday. Shelby thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her mom. The hospital room could barely contain her, but she had a lot of fun. She colored a picture for Quinn and let her watch Sleeping Beauty (viewing #1,478 I think, don't DVD's wear out eventually). I took a couple pictures, but didn't have the memory card in the camera so that's what you get for letting me run the equipment.
Grandma and Shelby should enjoy a nice day today. Hopefully they will get to the park for a while during the nice weather. I doubt I will be going anywhere until tomorrow after Quinn's doctor visit. Quinn will not be able to say that we haven't been spending enough time together for a long time.... In fact, I suprised that she is not completely tired of me yet.
Thanks to everyone for the continuing calls and support. We really appriciate it.

The doctor finally came

2009-04-26T19:00:00.000-07:00

It was great to see Shelby and my mom this afternoon. Shelb wore me out just watching her dance around while I sat in bed. She did really well with mommy not being able to get up and made it a little bit easier for me by not having a fit when she left.
So after waiting all afternoon, the attending doctor finally showed up today. She pretty much told us what we expected. That we have to wait until the next ultrasound to see what the next steps are. Like I said earlier, the fluid levels have increased but not enough to be safe. So are two options right now are:

1. If my levels show even a little bit of improvement on Tuesday, I should be able to go home to be on bed rest. I would be monitor 2 times a week at Silverdale.
2. If my levels don't increase or go back down, it is up the doctors at Swedish to figure out the next steps. Again, they would like me to go as long as possible but I was told today that they would not make me carry him to full term, they just want to get me out of the "premature" weeks.

*My going home also depends on my doctor's and Harrison's comfort level of delivering this baby. They don't want to send me home too early with the chance that I would have to come back because my doctor won't deliver someone who below 36 weeks.

We are playing the waiting game, which those of you that know Stu and I, laugh because you know that we need things planned out. We will continue to keep you updated on any news we have.

Results from ultrasound

2009-04-26T09:32:00.000-07:00

We want to thank everyone for the words of support and prayers coming our way. Little one is doing a great job; still passing all his stress test and we even got to see him move his mouth on the ultrasound this morning.

Good news: Fluids have increased from levels of 2-3 to levels of 6-7. So bed rest is working. (Normal fluids levels are suppose to be in between 10 and 20 though)

Bad news: I am stuck in the hospital on bed rest. I have not seen the doctor yet today but that's what was relayed to the nurse - my levels need to stay up for a couple of days before they start thinking about sending me home for bed rest.

Good news: I get to see my little girl and mom today!

I will update after I have seen the doctor.

1 = -3

2009-04-25T17:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I am a math teacher! But this has become my motto as I am enjoying/tired of (you decide) my time in bed. My motto is coming from what the nurses have been saying, one day in the belly right now equals 3 less days in neonatal care.
Baby "Bob" is doing good which means he is still passing all his non-stress test. He is really beginning to hate the monitor and he lets me know everytime it is put on. We got to talk to the attending doctor for about 2 minutes today and she told us the same thing as yesterday; either we are going home tomorrow because fluids are up to continue with bedrest and monitoring at Silverdale two times a week or fluids are still down which means I get to stay on bedrest here at the hospital and try to make it until Friday to deliver. We are on the list to get an ultrasound first thing tomorrow morning so we will know then what the next week holds for us. I am at this point betting on the second - My maternal instinct says that this little one is planning on coming out soon.
Stu stuck around today to keep me company. Tomorrow, depending on what the ultrasound says, he will going home to get Shelby(who I miss a lot) and my mom to bring back to the hospital for the day.
If "Bob" is going to be delivered soon, we will need to start thinking about taking care of and bringing home a preemie. Although he should be over 5 lbs., he will be born 5 weeks early. Hopefully, the steriods are kicking in and helping his lungs. So if anybody knows a great resource for this let me know.

WAITING AND WATCHING......

2009-04-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Things are still looking good. The monitor last night and this morning show that the baby is doing well. He has started to fight back when his monitors are put on. Last night he was kicking at the contraction monitor every 90 seconds or so.
We are looking forward to hearing what the doctor has to say today. As long as things continue to look good, they will try to get Quinn to 35 weeks which is Friday of next week. They say for every day that we can keep him in Quinn is three days less in the neonatal intensive care unit.
I was able to get back home to grab a few things we forgot and to straighten the house up for Quinn's mom. I picked up Shelby from daycare early in the afternoon and had a little time play with her and try to explain to her what is going on. She just wants to see her mom. I was also able to get my truck from the dealership, but it looks like the trip from there to home is all it will see for a little while. I just don't think it will fit in the middle of downtown Seattle or in these parking garages under the hospital.
Quinn's mom came in last night a little after 10pm. Our friend Mike Grega picked her up and got her to our place last night. She will be getting Shelby from the Fundena'ts this morning and taking her to dance class. Shelby is also scheduled to go to a "big sister" class at the hospital in Silverdale today (we thought it was scheduled with plenty of time prior to the arival of baby brother).
If everything is holding steady, I will go back home tomorrow to bring Quinn's mom and Shelby to Seattle. I know Mary and Shelby are anxious to see Quinn. I am going to stay with Quinn all day today, as it not much fun to drive back and forth from here to home.
We will try to get another update out at the end of the day with any new news.

Things are looking good

2009-04-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

It has been a very boring day which if you are in my situation is a good thing. I even sent Stuart home for a couple of hours so he can get somethings that we forgot, spend some time with our daughter, get ready for my mom to arrive and go get his new pickup truck.

We had an ultrasound this morning. Fluid is still the same but he is still doing great. The ultrasound says that he is 5lbs. 6oz. right now which is awesome due to the fact that he is probably coming soon. He will still probably have to go to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit when he is born but not as long. So hope the ultrasound is correct on his size.

They have monitored his heartbeat and movement two times today already and those are looking good.

So the doctor on duty today said we had three ways to go right now. They are:
1. Hope that my fluids increase here soon and I get to go home. But I have to be monitored closely for the rest of the time and will probably be on bed rest.
2. Keep monitoring the baby and if he is doing great try to hold off for inducing until he is 35 weeks which will be next Friday. The longer the wait, the better his lungs will be and the bigger he will be. I will be on bed rest at the hospital until then.
3. Keep monitoring the baby and if anything doesn't look good, induce as early as Sunday.

I am anxious to hear what our doctor, Dr. S says tonight/tomorrow morning about this. She is suppose to be one of the leading doctors in her specialty. I will be completing my last steroid shot this evening, which is you have never had one is quite painful.

So it looks like I will be here for awhile. Stuart called into work and let them know that he doesn't know when he will be back. I let him know that his wife will be giving him the permission on when he is allowed to go back to work. Shelby is doing okay. Stuart tried to explain to her what was going on today and she was very sad that she couldn't see mommy. Which makes her mommy very sad. Hopefully, I will get to see her Saturday or Sunday along with my mom that is coming into night. She is very excited that she gets to see grandma tomorrow.

Somebody is looking out for us

2009-04-24T06:15:00.000-07:00

Well, what we were hoping not to happen did - ultrasound showed yesterday that the fluids had not gotten any better but instead worst. They don't know the reason why but right now I have a very healthy but small baby boy in my stomach whose heartbeat sounds great and is moving a lot. So after my doctor contacted the expert people at Swedish Medical in Seattle, they have decided to send me there, inject me with steroids for little ones lungs and possibly induce me as early as Sunday. They would rather do that then wait another week until he is at 35 weeks and take the chance that something bad happens with the placenta. I am not worried right now because I know that I and little one will be in good hands at Swedish and he is very healthy- he is kicking me as I type.
This morning we have another ultrasound to see how he is doing and if they can possibly figure out the problem. Right now I am listening to his heartbeat as they are monitoring him. I did not sleep well last night but I have nothing better to do today since I am on bed rest and just waiting for the second injection of steroids tonight. The doctor and nurses here have been great so far.
The thing is that last week when we found out that the fluids were low, we were not suppose to have another ultrasound before he was born but I pushed it because I was worried about him being to big. (So instead I am going to have a preemie, go figure). If we didn't have that ultrasound, who knows what would have happened. Also, an old family friend of Stu's was suppose to come up here this weekend for a visit and his car broke down yesterday which made him cancel his plans yesterday afternoon. Stu and I like to think that our grandparents are helping us out from up above.
Shelby is in good hands with our wonderful friends, The Fundane'ts and my mom will be on her way her tonight. She doesn't know what is going on or where mommy and daddy are but will hopefully have the chance to come see Mommy tomorrow.
Please check our blog for updates throughout the day and this weekend as I will try to update as I get news. Also, please keep us in your thoughts as we go through the next couple days.

Almost 3

2009-04-19T14:37:00.000-07:00

We got Shelby's 3 year pictures done today. She does not turn 3 until May 20th but I am trying to get some things done before it gets even more hectic around here. Shelby did a great job for about 10 minutes and then was done with sitting still. They did a great job of capturing some of the sassiness that our daughter is all about now.

And of course, we couldn't resist one of these shots. 34 Weeks - almost there!

Baby "Bob"

2009-04-15T20:50:00.000-07:00

No we are not planning on naming our little one Bob (sorry Grandpa Robert) but that is what Shelby has decided to name him. We are not sure where she got it from but every time you ask her what baby brother's name is, she replies Bob. Stu and I are coming closer to deciding a name but even if we make a decision we are not letting anyone know until the boy is born.
We had another doctor's appointment yesterday plus ultrasound. With having gestational diabetes, we were a little worried about the size of him. I do not want a 9 lb. child! He is over 4 pounds which the doctor said he is in the 50% for weight. She understands my concerns though and we will keep monitoring to make sure he doesn't end up on the bigger side.
They are concerned with the low amount of amniotic fluid around him. We ended up doing a non-stress test on him yesterday to make sure that his movement and heartbeat are fine. Which both are. I will be doing another ultrasound next week to check the fluid again. Hopefully, it is just caused by me being a little dehydrated instead of something else. If next week, after me really focusing on drinking water, the fluids are still low then we will have to talk about next steps. Which would probably be more monitoring via ultrasounds and more non-stress test with the possibility of having him early. So we are not that concerned about it yet because he is doing fine and we don't know the reason for low fluids yet.
Hopefully next week I will post pictures of the ultrasound. This week's were not as clear due to the low fluids.

Easter 2009

2009-04-15T20:33:00.000-07:00

Shelby and I decided to host Easter at our house this year even though Stu was gone on sea trials. We had seven adults and six kids over for a nice lunch followed by an indoor Easter egg hunt since it was pouring down rain the entire day. Here is a couple of pictures from that day plus Shelby dying Easter eggs that Friday night before.

Shelby picked out her Easter dress this year and just had to have the hat.

Sea Trials

2009-04-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

Stuart is currently on sea trials for the USS San Francisco. If you ask him what this means, he would give you a long complicated answer that only an engineer could give but basically it means that they are out in the submarine testing to make sure that it works correctly. He left last Tuesday thinking he would be back on Sunday but now they are saying Monday night/Tuesday morning. I was not surprise when I heard this after dealing with my husband working for the department of defense for the last six years but I wonder if he packed enough clean underwear to go the extra day or 2. I also don't know how someone can manage to be out in a submarine, underwater, for that long of time let alone how long sailors spend out there.
Shelby and I have been doing fine without him even though we both miss him. When he is on sea trials we don't even hear from him at all. Shelby has had a couple moments where she has gotten upset that daddy is not here. Mostly when mommy has not made her happy:) Like always when Stu is gone or it is just us girls, she has been sleeping with me at night. The last 2 nights she has been dressing like daddy when she goes to bed - sleeping pants only. Hopefully, we will have him back early this next week. And now that the project is over, Stu will not have to work nights or weekends for awhile.

Here is an article that has appeared in our local news while he has been gone. I made sure I printed a copy for Stu for him to see the trouble the sub caused.

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-07T20:15:00.001-07:00

I decided this year for spring break to take Shelby to see Uncle Craig and Aunt Jessica in Lafayette, Indiana. We had not visited them since they had moved out there and I knew with the little one coming soon, our chance was now. Since we didn't know when Stu would be leaving for sea trials when booking the tickets for this flight we left him at home. We flew into Chicago since it was a straight through 4 hour flight instead of a layover somewhere and then flying into Indianapolis. We spent the first two days in Lafayette and then traveled back to Chicago on Saturday to see a few sights of the city. Shelby's highlights of this trip was going to Chuck E. Cheeses for the very first time, going swimming with Aunt Jessica, egg hunting at a dairy farm and watching the fishes and turtles at an aquarium. Mommy's highlights were having the chance to relax, getting a pedicure while her daughter was at Chuck E. Cheeses and spending time with her brother and sister-in-law. It was a great time. We are looking forward to seeing them again when they come out sometime this fall.

Shelby enjoying the fish at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago. The best part of the aquarium for her was the turtles (thanks Grandparents Haverkamp).

Shelby with Mommy in Chicago.

Shelby and Uncle Craig bouncing at the dairy cow farm about an hour outside of Chicago. It was quite a tourist attraction. We went there so Shelby could participate in the Easter Egg hunt and then she got to do all of the kiddie activities. We also toured the birthing barn (no calves were born) and ate lunch before making our way to Chicago.

Shelby with Aunt Jessica and statue of a cow.

The first day in Lafayette, Uncle Craig took us to a playground. Shelby loved the slide and the swings. I remember her being so scared of the swings last year that she would turn white when you started to push her. It was good to see things changed.

March Madness

2009-03-21T07:04:00.000-07:00

Snow in March!
We woke up to about 4 inches of snow on Sunday 3/15.
There were the biggest snowflakes that we have ever seen.
It snowed all morning long and turned to rain by the afternoon
so it was all gone by Monday morning.

Shelby being a "Monster".

Shelby's friend Chloe came over one Saturday for a play date.
They had a lot of fun playing dress up and watching Cinderella.
Chloe and Shelby are only 4 weeks apart in age and attend the same daycare.
Quinn and Chloe's mom Carrie work at Cedar together.

Baby Boy Update 3/20

2009-03-21T06:52:00.001-07:00

Mommy's Belly is definitely bigger now
(Shelby 34 months, Quinn 29 weeks)

Shelby giving Baby Brother kisses

So what I was hoping wouldn't happen this time did - I have gestational diabetes again. Just means I have to watch my carb intake which is hard for me. So between heartburn and this, there is not much that I can eat. I also have to start keeping track of my levels by poking myself with a needle 3 times a day. Oh well, because little one is doing great. I had my 28 week appointment on 3/13 and he is growing just fine. He is moving all the time and finally found my ribs last week. I am now at the point of going to the doctor every 2 weeks. He will be here before we know it!
Shelby is getting very excited about her baby brother. I still don't know if she gets what is going on but she loves to give baby brother kisses all the time. She is having a tough time with Mommy's lap getting smaller and not being able to by held all the time. We finally found her a big girl bed this week. She has been sleeping in a toddler bed and we need the crib mattress back. So this weekend her room is going to get a "Big Girl" makeover with a ballerina/princess theme.

Baby Boy Update

2009-02-17T06:54:00.000-08:00

Last Friday I had my sixth month appointment. Baby's heartbeat sounds great and doctor said everything from his ultrasound that we did last month shows that he is still on track to come the beginning of June. My parents were up from Kansas so they got to come and hear the heartbeat and meet Dr. Hebard. Next month I have to do the glucose testing which I am hoping no gestational diabetes this time.

Shelby's Braids

2009-02-16T21:07:00.001-08:00

Shelby got her hair braided by Grandma Mary while she was visiting. I don't know how mom got her to sit still for that long but she did. Shelby thought she was pretty hot stuff with her braids.

Alderbrook Spa and Resort

2009-02-16T20:59:00.001-08:00

Stuart and I took advantage of my parents being up here this weekend by spending a night at the Alderbrook Spa and Resort. It is a 4o minute trip from our house in Union, Washington. I got to go the spa where I had a massage and pedicure. It was great! We will definitely go again and maybe next time rent one of their cabins. Here are a couple of pictures of the beautiful scenery surrounding the resort.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-16T20:56:00.001-08:00

VALENTINE'S DAY 2009

Snow in February

2009-02-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

We thought we were done with the snow but last week got about 6 inches during the day. It started snowing early in the morning but didn't start sticking until around noon. When we pulled out of the garage to go to school that morning, Shelby said "It's snowing! I am so happy now". As soon as we got home that afternoon, she had to put on all her snow gear to go out and play. She made a snow dog and throw snow balls at mommy and daddy. It pretty much melted the next day. Even though she loves the snow, her parents hope for no more snow this year.

2009-02-16T20:32:00.000-08:00

Dance Class

Shelby is now taking a dance class on Saturdays at a local dance company. For an hour, she gets to learn ballet and tap dancing. She has gone to two classes and is absolutely loving it! She has a great teacher who is very patient with her and the rest of the little girls. There are two other girls in the class that she knows very well. So far her favorite is tap. The very first class she spent a lot of time looking at herself in the big mirrors and almost ran into the teacher a couple of times. Her first performance will be on June 20th. Next week, they get to start learning their routine to "I am so cute". So far, it has been a great activity that is hers because we know she will need something like that after baby brother is born.

Who has the bigger belly?

2009-02-03T19:50:00.000-08:00

Quinn (22 weeks pregnant) and Shelby (33 months old)

Princess Shelby

2009-02-01T15:39:00.001-08:00

Shelby is all about the Disney princesses right now which includes dressing up like a princess. She loves to watch Disney princess sing-a-longs and pretend like she is a princess and Daddy is the king. She also loves to entertain us with her singing and dancing which is what she is doing in the pictures.

2009-01-16T16:33:00.000-08:00

IT'S A BOY!
We had an ultrasound done today and was clearly shown that we will be having a baby boy in June. He looks great and all measurements are showing that he is the right size for his due date. When we were having the ultrasound done, he was even yawning so we could see his mouth opening and closing. Shelby was right all along about a baby brother being in her mommy's belly!

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T08:37:00.001-08:00

Shelby made it to 8:30 Kansas time on New Year's Eve. She had picked this hat out early that day in Clay Center and didn't even have the chance to wear it yet. So we decided to get a picture of her wearing it while she was sleeping.

Wearing cowboy boots

2009-01-01T08:34:00.001-08:00

With Uncle Dustin's help, Shelby thought she needed to wear Uncle Bryson's cowboy boots. She soon learned she could not walk in them but had lots of fun anyway.

Playing in the snow

2009-01-01T08:15:00.001-08:00

We left our house in Port Orchard that had over a foot of snow and came to Bern where they also had lots of snow and ice. Shelby got to play in the snow with Grandpa before it all melted away.

Snow in Washington

Getting all bundled up