Happy 2nd Birthday, Avery!

Avery Madison, tomorrow you are 2 years old! Tonight, as usual, you "went to bed with Parker" and then 5 minutes later appeared in my room, ready to be rocked and put to sleep in your own bed. I sang through all 3 stanzas of your "go to" bed time song "All Creatures of Our God and King" (more on that later!) then sang "Come thou Fount," followed by "Doxology" but I just wasn't done snuggling you tonight! Randomly, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" came to mind and you closed your beautiful green/blue eyes and fell asleep. What a perfect song to fall asleep to on the night before we celebrate your 2nd birthday! You and your brother are my miracle babies, the loves of my life and the answers to my most desperate prayers! "Great is Thy faithfulness Lord unto me!" Amen!

The last month has been my favorite month ever with you! You are in the sweetest stage! Within the last 2 days, you've started calling us "mommy and daddy" instead of "mama and dada." We LOVE it! You know how to work your eyes to get what you want. Your facial expressions are classic. At the beach last week, when you wanted a bite of poppi's Klondike, you slowly walked over to his chair and put your chin and cheeks in your hands in the most angelic pose you could muster. It worked! We still giggle about that! Where did you learn it?! I am soaking in every moment with you lately! Please never stop being this sweet!

You talk up a storm and if you don't know the word, you take my hand and take me to what you want. You have a high pitched, girly voice. I need to do better about video taping you! You answer most questions asked of you. You frequently use the words "mommy, daddy, stuck, oh no, it broke, a snack (anything to do with food, really), bye bye, and I pooped." We're so smitten with you!

You are 20lbs and 31 inches tall. You wear a size 3 diaper when you wear one but you're still doing pretty well going on the potty. Clothing you is becoming difficult. You have a size 6-9 month waist, 18 month torso and 12-18 month length pants. Needless to say, you're the queen of dresses or seperates. Dressing you is still my most fun hooby!

You FINALLY sleep through the night. We've found a nice routine that works for us. You take a bath (your favorite time of the day!), watch 1 Curious George episode in my bed and then we read a story with Parker in the guest room. You like the Thomas book that sings "The wheels on the bus" and any Curious George book. We kiss Parker goodnight and then go to your room. We rock in your chair and you fail around until I sing "All Creatures of Our God and King." I have tried every song I know and this is the ONLY song that calms you down. I have NO idea why! I was so hoping you would love "You are My Sunshine" like I did as a child but when I sing it, you point at me and yell "NO!" Apparently, you like hymns before bed and that's just fine by me (although I'll admit sometimes I have to google the lyrics to the lesser known stanzas!). You usually sleep 7:30 or 8 until 6:15ish. Sometimes you'll crawl into my bed in the morning and snuggle me, fading in and out for a bit.... those are my favorite mornings!

You are the most amazing climber I've every seen for your age! I'm not exagerating. You're scary good. You're also an adventurous eater who grazes all day long and is eating me out of house and home. You're a typical sweet/spicy red head who lives by a "no bow, no go" policy. You light up a room and are a blessing to all who know you!

 

Avery Madison, you are my littlest love. I kiss your sweet face all day long! Although I feel like you were only a baby for 9 months, you will always be my precious baby girl! I am so proud of the sweet toddler you've become and can't wait for you to wake me up in the morning with your famous bear hugs! I love you, Avie!

Parker is 2!!!!

Parker is officially 2 years old. I thought I'd be WAY more emotional like I was when he turned one but I'm pleased to announce I didn't shed a single tear yesterday (his birthday). Maybe it's because I'm slightly overwhelmed with sewing projects, a messy house and the sudden "Oh my gosh, Avery will be here soon" errands/anxiety. I enjoyed his party VERY much and really felt like I "lived in the moment" which is something I honestly struggle with. 

Today was Parker's 2 year well check.  He started crying the moment we pulled in the parking lot. The Barney "A doctor is a friend of mine" DVD I played in the car on the way to the office apparently didn't sink in. Thankfully, half way through his well check, he stopped screaming and performed a few tricks so the doctor could make sure he's on track. Parker is one consistent little dude! He's in the 48th% for height, 51st% for weight and 78th% for head circumference. His height and weight has been around the 50th%  since he was about 9 months.  The doctor gave him a clean bill of health, he's right on track (even though I feel his speech is slightly delayed, the doctor promises me he's right on track with other boys) and he said he's "smart." WOO HOO. Apparently, he's reserved, observant and a survivalist. I'm not sure how he decides all of these remarkable qualities in 10 minutes, but I'll take it!  He was not a fan of the shots but I can't blame him. Thankfully, suckers cure "shot tears."

On to fun stuff... his birthday party! We had it at Splash Planet and 8 of Parker's best buddies came. Everyone seemed to have a blast in the water! The kids were so ready to swim, many of them forwent the cupcakes....including Parker! Everyone brought toys for the Levine Children's Hospital and we are SOO excited to take them next Thursday! I made hooded towels with the kid's names on them for his favors and I was happy with how they turned out! I wish I had gotten a picture of the kids in their towels but they were ready to get in the water! Group shots at age 2 seem more of a hassle than a good idea! Here are a select few (I took 400!) pictures from the party!

Parker's Cupcakes. I got the cupcake toppers from Dimple Prints off etsy.

Nana, poppi and Parker

My dad throwing Zury

Brooklyn and Piper

Smiling Logan

Parker LOVED to slide!

Having a blast!

Shooting hoops! Look at that follow through!

The birthday boy being thrown!

Ana and Parker... future cheerleading stunt partners?

Flying squirrel!

Our attempt at a family picture. Parker refused to look and I refused to get wet!

Officially 2 and NOT ready to leave his party!
 
Now lets see if the newly 2 year old will be a good boy and take a SUPER long nap! ...as in like a 3 day nap because I've got about that much stuff I need to fit in while he sleeps! haha! Here's to hoping!

Mono Man-Child

Did I really just order Parker's 2nd birthday party invitation?!?! Yes I did... holy moly time flies.
This sweet little face will be 2 in March which sounds forever away but it's just next month! 

Can you tell we took him to the park the second he woke up from a nap?! Major bed head!

Thankfully, it's not until the end of March because I'm not ready for him to be 2. I cried a good portion of the day he turned 1. This is making me anxious so we have to change subjects!

I suppose I need to fill you all in on the ups and downs from Thursday-Saturday with Daniel. The saying "life is a roller coaster" was written about my life. You thought it was about yours? Nope... Where did I leave off? Basically, his ultrasound came back that he had an enlarged spleen and liver. His test results confirmed mono which was the BEST CASE scenario and we were praising God (and still are) for that diagnoses! The next day (Friday) his lever function test came back that he had elevated uric acid and LDH levels. SO the doctor wanted to have a full body CT scan to look for lymphoma and leukemia. Breathe in, Breathe out! While this was tough news, Daniel and I both had peace about this. We figured the scan would come back clean but if it didn't... we'd deal. We've conquered cancer before and if we had to, we'd just do it again. THANKFULLY, Saturday afternoon, the doctor called with the GREAT news that his scans were clean! PRAISE THE LORD! He'll have a few more blood panels run throughout the coming weeks to make sure his uric acid, liver enzymes and LDH all go back to normal. So for now... Daniel is like a newborn (great practice for Avery!).... he sleeps, eats when he wants, whines (only occasionally), poops then goes back to sleep!

All things considered, the events of this week have definitely made me realize that I will take my mono ridden, man-child of a husband ANY DAY over the thought of life without him! Prayers for continued strength for Daniel, rest and healing. For me... patience, empathy, sympathy, strength, the ability to handle everything that Daniel can't while he's sick, super mom abilities, a maid (what? how did that get on my prayer list?!) :) Thank you again for all of your prayers and sweet messages throughout the last week! I think we're finally off the major scary roller coaster and back on the kiddie one!