Catfish Festival

It's official. No more RSV Lockdown! And boy did we do it big!!! There were thousands of people for Avery to see at the Catfish Festival. It is a small town about an hour from where we live, so I didn't expect so many people. It was packed! But it was a beautiful weekend, with a nice breeze blowing most of the day. Charlie, Avery and I met up with nonna and poppa. We all got a little too much sun, but it was so nice to get out with Avery! We got our share of catfish, shrimp-on-a-stick, corndogs, lemonade and such! When we got there and were walking towards the line Avery was just squealing with happiness. She even got to meet the Easter Bunny - and she actually liked him! :) I guess she had never seen so many different people at once. She got a lot of new stuff, of course, and we are off to Target today for some 'school clothes shopping'! Wow! So many things are reminding me lately of how big she is getting. She really enjoys cartoons now - she loves Tom & Jerry! And she is completely caught up in clothes size - she wears 18 M clothes now. My tiny miracle is turning into a big girl! Hope everyone had a great weekend! Say a prayer for Avery, who starts daycare Monday. Here are some pics from the festival:

Avery & Poppa checking out the hot rods... 

Enjoying some juice on the way to the festival...

Charlie and his "dream car" which he insists is practical - that he would drop Avery off every day for daycare - in a muscle car - lol!

Taking a break...listening to the music with a snoozing baby...

What is this thing?

Nothing  beats a corndog and a lemonade!

Charlie wanted an LSU picture for his new office, and he found the perfect one. It was framed, just like the one below (minus the coin)...

So encouraged!

Charlie, Avery & I stopped by the daycare today. I wanted to drop off her things, the first weeks tuition and see how she acted with the other kids. I expected her to be very shy, and to cry when I sat her down. Umm...not even close! I sat her down and she squealed in delight at the other kiddos. She will be in a room with Mrs. Debbie until 3 and Mrs. Katie from 3-3:30 (when I pick her up). There will be 4 other children her age in the room with her. She loved looking at the other kids and immediately grabbed a toy and joined the fun. She smiled at the teachers and talked and walked around. It was better than I could've ever imagined it being. I even walked away from her for a few minutes and it didn't phase her. The building is very secure, we have to have a code to get in and the daycare comes highly recommended. It is at a church and it was one of our top 2 choices. It's about 5 minutes from work...absolutely perfect! Also, I thought Charlie would have to work 8-5 during training for up to 6 weeks, but his boss decided since he is a sup he will do on the job traning and come in at 11...I get off at 3:30...so she will basically go there, eat lunch, have a nap and afternoon snack and I'll be there to pick her up. I am so totally encouraged by the experience we had today and Charlie was impressed with the daycare as well. Please pray that when he drops her off Monday she will tolerate it well. Have a great weekend everyone, we'll be off to the Catfish Festival and I will take plenty of pics! :)

So...Today's the Day...

The Big Day. The Day I've looked forward to for 5 long, 5 verrrrry long months. Today is my day of freedom. Like the day you graduate for high school or move away to college. The Big Day. Obviously I'm not referring to silly ole' April Fool's Day. Wake up people! APRIL 1st MEANS THE END OF RSV SEASON. It means Avery can go to Target...and church...and out to eat and... ANYWHERE! (Except WalMart - what a dreadful, dirty place. She won't be going to WalMart anytime soon...I rank a good trip to WalMart like traveling to a third world country. Yuck!) I will say that today doesn't feel exactly the same, as I just finished the last breathing treatment of the day about an hour ago - and boy did she put up a fight. So, I guess when your child actually HAS rsv, the end of rsv season isn't as fabulous. In fact, just typing this blog is reminding me that I actually hired a babysitter so that Charlie and I could go to Quizno's and Steinmart today. lol. Wow. I guess it's time to readjust. We are planning on going to the Catfish Festival this weekend (lol, only in the deep south - i know) and maybe even church on Sunday. We are breaking free and it is about time. My new take on life is 'what the heck'. It used to be 'Better safe than sorry' but better safe meant never bringing Avery anywhere for 5 months and it was definitely SORRY that she still got RSV 3 times this year. So, Avery will attend a festival this weekend (weather permitting) with tons of germy people, I'm sure. And then we will attempt church - although I don't think we'll expose her to the nursery just yet. And on Monday...the most dreaded day of the year...Avery will start daycare. Which is basically like letting her crawl around on the floor at WalMart...for 5 hours every day. But I figure...what the heck?

Things I Missed...

Avery is resting and I have another moment to blog. I feel like a lot has gone on in the last few weeks that I've not gotten to blog about so rather than doing 15 tiny blogs...I'll do 1 big one. If Avery allows :) And just as I typed that...I hear a cry....

Ok, I'm back...so, in no particular order, here are the things that've happened...

• AVERY STARTED WALKING!!! Thankfully, my mom posted this exciting update, weeks ago when it happened on March 15th. Of course, I was thrilled. Her adjusted age was right at 12 mos. Although, if you count the fact that she measured 27 weeks at birth, this would have put her right at 11 mos! She started just taking a few steps, but now she is ALL over the place and I've taken a few videos too. She can walk all the way across the living room -what a big girl!
• Because she started walking and she is starting daycare, I cancelled all of her therapy. She is still a little bit behind in her speech - she babbles a lot of gaga, yaya, baba, and so on but so far only actually says "Mama" and "Bye-bye" I feel like as soon as she gets into a social setting with other kids her age she will surely start saying other words.
• We went on our first outing in quite a while - a trip to Outback to celebrate the special day that Avery came home from the hospital - March 18th. It started out well but by the end she was definitely ready to come home!
• The next weekend we went to Baton Rouge to buy our Mac - which we are very pleased with. She stayed with nonna and poppa and had a great time. See pics here.
• Charlie accepted the supervisor position at Chase which means no more working all weekend long, he will be working for a much better, more stable company, we will work in the same building, and did I mention more money? This also means that Avery will start daycare. I wanted to get her in a social setting sometime after April 1st. His new job starts on April 6th - how perfect? Although change always worries me, I really feel like it is clearly the right choice. In fact, on the day Charlie got a call that he would get an interview for the job, the daycare called to tell me there was a spot for Avery. A week before I had called to ask if I was still on the waiting list (from Dec 2007 when I had no idea daycare wouldn't be an option for a while) and they couldn't find my name. They added me to the list and said I was number 21 and it would be September at the earliest before they had a spot. I have no idea how I ended up with a spot in one of the best daycares in our area at the perfect time - Well, actually I do have an idea ;) Thanks, God! Also, I started adding the cost of daycare into our budget and came up with an annual amount - the next day Charlie got the offer. He will be making enough to cover the daycare! Also, he will go into work at 11 and I'll be off at 3:30 so Avery will only be there for 5 hrs/day. So it is clear to me that this is the right move for our family.
• In not so fun news, late Monday night Avery was burning up with fever - 103.8 to be exact. It really worried me and I didn't know whether or not to go to the ER. I gave her Motrin and an hour later it was down to 101.2 so I decided just to go see Dr. K the next morning. He said he would've guessed she had the flu but the flu test came out negative, and you guessed it: RSV ROUND 3. Know whats ironic? The EOB from the insurance company came this week for the Synagis she got last month. For one months does (2 shots) it was $7,043.16. WOW! She has had shots Nov-March and STILL had RSV 3 times - and remember we were also on RSV LOCKDOWN. My insurance is probably considering dropping us now! (umm...can they do that?)
• As of today, Avery and Charlie are equally miserable. In Charlie's words, "I believe we suffer from the same affliction" (He is so silly!) And the latest sickly news from our household is that I woke up with a sore throat. Needless to say it's been a long weekend. Please keep Avery in yours prayers (and us too if you have the time!)

Now for the fun stuff - Pictures!

Little Mrs. Into Everything

She never cared for the crystal on the bottom shelf, but anything on the top shelf is now game!

Her first 'big girl' nightgown....so adorable!

Happy Late St. Patrick's Day!

Her favorite new snack...Cheetos Puffs!

Did you think I had given up blogging forever? Yes, at one point I did too! But Charlie won the debate and we bought a Mac...and so far I love it! Oh so much has gone on I don't know where to start. Work has been stressful to say the least, as well as life in general. Charlie did get an offer for the new job (a supervisor at Chase....where I work) which will give us a much more 'normal life'. He won't have to work weekends, and he'll be off of work a lot earlier. It also means Avery will start daycare. I have a lot of mixed emotions about that but overall you could sum it up with one: WORRY. Which is usually how you can sum up any change that happens in my life. On top of that she has RSV. I am so sick of RSV, if it were a person I'd chase them down and beat the heck out of em! Breathing treatments are tough because she is too old to just lay there and take it and too young to be punished or bribed. She sounds bad this morning and is coughing up a storm. She was supposed to start daycare Monday so she could go a few times this week, before he starts his job next week, but that will be delayed until she is all better - of course, things never go as planned do they. Well I'm not really in a blogging mood but I got a few seconds of quiet so I thought I'd post an update.

What a sweet story...

Jami took a lot of time to post the nicest story about my little life. Go see!


Click here to go to see the BEST PHOTOGRAPHER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

1 year ago today...

...our beautiful princess came home. What a day it was! I can't describe the joy in my heart when I found out they were discharging her. Mom and dad came down and we all went to the hospital. I wheeled her out and her daddy loaded her in the Blazer and off we went. I remember being really nervous, even though the drive is about 5 minutes from the hospital. We sat and held her all day and I finally got to be the mommy. No doctor or nurse was there to decide when I could hold her and how long, when I could change her diaper, how much and when she could eat or when I had to leave her. Me and Charlie were finally in charge! So, of course, we held her. And held her...and held her. And she slept all day long! I just figured "newborn babies sleep a lot". But we found out that night that they don't sleep 24 hours a day! Nonna helped out so much that first nightand I was up for much of the night too. And it was worth every second.

Our amazing little 2 lb miracle, finally came home...weighing 4lbs 1oz on March 18th, 2008...exactly 1 day before her due date. We didn't miss any time with her at all :) Sometimes things happen and all we wonder is "why me???" I am so thankful that my parents taught me not to question, but to pray...not to think of the what-ifs but of the little miracles happening before my eyes. A year later and she is a perfect lil babbling-toddling-fit-throwing-princess.

Once again, thanks to all of you who have lifted our little girl up so many times in prayer. We are off to Outback tonight to celebrate. Yes, I am breaking all the RSV lockdown rules - 14 days ahead of time! But this is a special day and we need to celebrate. Pics to come soon! Of course, if some person beside us is hacking up a lung, we may need to bolt and find a germ-free restaurant. :)

Her 1 year birthday pictures are posted at Jami's Blog so go see them! I gave you a sneak peek above, but many more on her site!

ATTENTION PLEASE !

"This post with a little help from Nonna, since the Dell they have bit the dust!"

One year ago this week Avery came home from the NICU. What an exciting day for our family. I remember the tears that just flowed when I (Nonna) walked into the nursery and Casey and Charlie were standing there with their tiny baby girl giving her the first glimpse of her beautiful room. (Oh sorry, for a moment I forgot this wasnt my blog) So onto the purpose for me being here in the first place. I have a very important announcement to make -

TODAY
AVERY
TOOK
HER
FIRST
STEPS!!!! Two of them! Walking toward her daddy who was eating. LOL

We are so proud of Avery and her first steps at only 13 1/2 months! She is definitely catching up! So many more steps to come!

Craziness

Whew, what a week. And I think I said that last week too! Yikes. Things are a little crazy at work. And by 'little crazy' I mean absolutely insane. This week, I said something I can't remember saying, at least not for a very long time: "I don't like my job." I have really been thinking this week about the poor, pitiful people who work in a job they dislike every single day, and have for years! I have also been thinking about how much I've taken the last year for granted - great management, hours, flexibility, co workers...great everything!



But our very generous President decided to rock my little world when he announced that anyone and everyone shouldn't have to actually pay their mortgage and they should all call their lender and tell them so. So, since I work for one of the big lenders, with a gazillion customers, life is hectic. In fact, it's Saturday night and guess where I'm at? No, not in my recliner with my new MacBook-boo! (There is no new Mac by the way, he is slowly but surely convincing me though!) I am sitting at my desk at WORK. I just worked over 5 hours of OT which means I've worked 48 hours this week, and I'm coming back tomorrow. I think when that check gets cashed I may treat myself to a new iPhone! Oh yes and Avery loves it here too! (LOL! Just JOKING...my wonderful parents are keeping her for the weekend so mommy can catch up on work and not have a nervous breakdown Monday!)



I'm trying to think of all the exciting things that happened in my life this week but my brain is all mush by now. I do remember someone had a baby - Oh yes, Jamie had little Alli! CONGRATS!

And here are some pics I took of Avery...

Posing for the camera before going to see her nonna and poppa

Avery's Favorite things...

Biting the leather recliner

(Which, by the way, is not her daddy's favorite thing!)

...pulling every magazine off of the table, attempt to tear them up and finally EAT them!

...playing with Mr. Lion

Watching Uncle Rush's speech...

(Umm no, he's not really my uncle - although wouldn't it be great to have a rich uncle? Btw, this is also one of mommy's favorite things!)

...Staring at some beautiful little girl in the mirror...then trying to munch on the wood...

...unrolling the toilet paper and hoping to get a bite before mom finds out!

Not Me Monday

It's that time of the week again, head on over to MckMama's blog to find out how to start your own!

1. I did not come to work an hour early today to pay bills and write this blog. How ridiculous would that be. I mean, don't I have a perfectly good Dell Laptop at home that I just paid a ridiculous amount for only 4 short months ago? Well...NO!

2. My laptop did not crash this weekend. I did not spend hours on the phone with Dell, who by the way I CANNOT understand, only to be told it 'sounds like' a virus and my ridiculously-expensive-good-for-nothing warranty doesn't cover it.

3. I did not sit on hold with Dell when they informed me over the automated system "For a small fee each month you can have your call answered in 2 minutes or less AND speak to a representative in North America!"

4. I was not so disgusted with Dell, and the language barrier, that while being placed on hold to be transferred yet again, I did not say into the phone "MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IF COMPANIES LIKE DELL WOULD HIRE PEOPLE IN AMERICA TO TAKE THESE CALLS I COULD ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND ONE OF THEM B/C THEY SPEAK OUR LANGUAGE. AND MAYBE THE COUNTRY WOULDN'T BE IN THE SHAPE IT'S IN IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO CALL MANILA EVERY TIME I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT ANYTHING!" Well, apparently I was on mute and not hold because my call was promptly disconnected. Charlie has won the fight: Apple beats Dell any day. Now we'll have to see how long it takes for him to convince me to go to Baton Rouge and buy a Mac. Hmmm....

5. I did not just have my yard landscaped b/c the weather was so nice and we live in the South so it was probably going to stay nice, only to wake up to freezing temperatures this morning. My poor, pitiful flowers!


Have a great day people. Oh, and don't use my Yahoo mail, since I can't check it. Gosh, I just love Dell! :(