06 August 2006

Avery Bean, the beauty queen

(all photos here by Kelly Wood)


So, you might wonder, how's Avery doing through all of this? Great. She's a fantastic 2-1/2 year old, even though she does have her moments. But boy, she really has to share mommy & daddy alot with Jordan, so I guess she's entitled to a few meltdowns every now and again.

Avery's life is so busy it makes me dizzy. On Mondays and Wednesdays she hangs out with Nana Noma. On Saturday mornings they go to the farmers market, then off to the adjacent park to play on the toys, listen to the music, and eat a picnic lunch Nana has packed. If they go to Nana's home, she chases Daisy (Nana's cat), "helps" in the garden, plays in the kiddie pool, plays with the hose, etc, etc, etc. She's never still for a second! Most Mondays & Wednesdays Nana & Avery spend at our house, playing on the decks and in the yard, and watching "froggy movie" (Leap Frog Letter Factory, Word Factory, and Math Circus, for all of you not in the know -- thanks for the tip Uncle Bryan and cousin Nathan). She's so into froggy movie stuff she's already spelling her name with magnetic letters and verbally, and now she's moved on to spelling other peoples' names (K-e-l-l-y, K-a-t-e, E-d, although the double "L" in Kelly kinda throws her for a loop). Also, every time we see a McDonald's she yells "M for mommy." I guess we'll have to drive by Denny's a little more often so daddy can get in on the letter action.

On Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday she's off to Melba's during the day (after a long, leisurely breakfast and a dose of froggy movie, and usually some jumping on her trampoline). There she plays with all her new daycare friends, eats food she won't eat at home, and takes a nap without fussing. On Tuesdays they watch movies, Thursday is red hat tea party day, and Friday is arts and crafts day. She loves getting out and playing with the other kids, and we try to cram as many doc appointments/therapies into those days as possible.

In the evenings and weekends Kate often comes over to play, or we head over there. Avery now automatically sets things out for Kate all day long. When getting a cup of milk, she'll grab two cups, and tell us that Kate can have milk in the other cup when she gets here. Same with coloring books, playdough, you name it. She's always saving some for when Kate gets here (even if Kate has no plans of actually being here on a particular day).

Oh boy, is Avery a chatterbox! She'll even tell you that, and she talks so much she rats herself out on occassion ("sometimes, Avery hits Kate" etc.) I guess it's good that she's honest. She's really pretty good with Jordan, and only recently has taken to "playing" with her -- which usually doesn't make Jordan too happy (although she didn't mind it too much while she was on the full dose ACTH, since she was such a zombie then). She likes to help feed Jordan, give her hugs and kisses, and most importantly, plays "ghost." Avery lays down beside her, covers them both with her special blue blanket, then pulls it down yelling "ghost" as she exposes their faces. This makes Jordan doubly angry, first getting her face covered up, then the yelling. Oh well.



Right now, and I mean right now (yes, it's the middle of the night), Avery has croup! Out of the blue she just woke up barking like a seal. Out came the phone (advice nurse), the humidifier, the ibuprofen, and the chance to snuggle up in mommy & daddy's king-size bed for the rest of the night. We thought she was going to choke to death or something, so I quickly got dressed and was about to jump in the car and head for the ER (ahhhh, we know that place well). Thankfully it settled down and we talked to the nurse who agreed that it was croup. But, I left my clothes out and purse & keys by the door, just in case. This is not great timing (but then again, when is a good time for illness?), I really don't know how we're going to quarantine Jordan so she doesn't get sick while she's somewhat immuno-compromised on the ACTH. I see us at the hospital in the very near future. . . . Cross your fingers it doesn't come to that. Perhaps a few days with Jordan in the hospital would give me a chance to get some of my 7 months worth of photos organized. But for some reason I never seem to get anything done during our hospital stays. I digress. . . .

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