Dells

Over the weekend of October 18th, John's dad and step-mom (Dave and
Janice) treated us to a weekend in the Dells along with John's sister
and brother-in-law (Deanna and Ryan). We had so much fun hanging out
together, going to the water parks, and EATING! Ava was SUPER excited
the entire time we were there. She loves the slides and pools and the
huge bucket of water dumping on her!! She would have stayed at the
water park from the time we woke up until we went to bed if we let her!


Max wasn't as excited about the water parks! I am not sure if it was
all of the noise or if it was the water he didn't like. On Friday night
as soon as we got to the water park, he snuggled on my shoulder. After
a few minutes, he started checking out the place. I gradually dipped
his toes and put his hand in the bubbling water. By the end of the
night, he was in the jumper/swing they had in the pool and ended up
being in the water for about an hour. The rest of the weekend, he
didn't want anything to do with the water. Although, I took him on a
lazy river on Saturday and he didn't seem to mind that and ended up
falling asleep. So cute! But he did have a great time getting lots of
attention from family!

Thank you Dave and Janice for the great weekend!

Sure Steps

This week, Max received his first pair of Sure Steps. The first day we put them on, he wasn't very happy with us. Which I expected. He is tolerating them better as the week goes on. We are already noticing benefits from them. He previously would not stand for more than a couple seconds unassisted. Now he is standing for minutes. He also seems like he has more control over the steps he is taking. He has slowed down with each step instead of lunging and moving his feet fast to keep up. He seems much more confident. Has anyone else tried the sure steps and did you think they were beneficial? Did they outgrow wearing them? Max's doctor said he would probably need them throughout childhood. They were recommended for Max because of his low muscle tone and he rolled his ankles out.

Pumpkin Patch

Each year since Ava was one years old, we visit the same pumpkin patch. The pumpkin patch has a lot to offer so we can make a little trip out of it. They have a petting zoo, corn maze, play ground, haunted barn, and a wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. We tried the corn maze for the first time this year thinking that Ava would enjoy it. Well. . . not exactly! She cried most of the time when we were in the maze in fear of us never finding our way out! We had a great day. The weather was close to 80 degrees. It didn't seem right working up a sweat picking a pumpkin!! Check out Ava's shirt in the pictures. It is her Halloween shirt she made at day care and thought the pumpkin patch would be the perfect place to wear it to!

Max's Hydrocele Surgery

Mentioned in a previous post, Max was scheduled for surgery on October 20th to fix his hydrocele. At the beginning of September, Max was trying to crawl and I noticed he wasn't moving his legs. He would move his arms to crawl and it looked like he was dragging his legs, especially his right leg. He didn't seem to be in any pain and it was Sunday so we decided to wait until Monday to see if whatever it was went away. When he woke up on Monday, he was doing the same day so I made an appointment with his pediatrician. Max's pediatrician thought that he was developing a hernia that hasn't totally popped through and referred us to general surgery to have repaired before he scheduled date of October 20th. Max was scheduled for surgery on October 3rd, but we had to cancel the surgery because Max running a high temp along with a cold. His surgery was rescheduled for Friday, October 10th. The surgery went better than we anticipated. He went back to the OR at 9:30 and by 10:30 the doctor was in our room letting us know how the surgery went. He said that it wasn't a hernia, just a huge hydrocele. And a couple minutes after the dr left the anesthesiologist came in and gave us an update and let told us we could go back to recovery. Max came off the anesthesia wonderfully! No fussing at all. By the time we brought Max to his room, he was already in a playful mood. Papa Dave came for the procedure and as soon as Max saw him, he was ready to play. We gave him a g-tube feed to see if he could tolerate it. We had no problems with his feed and all of his vitals looked good. The IV was removed and we were out of the hospital at noon! We even stopped for lunch on the way home. Max didn't show any signs of discomfort after we were home. I gave him Tylenol with Codine the first day and regular Tylenol for a couple days and he was back to day-care on Monday.

Introducing Emerson Marie

My brother, Jeremy, and his wife, Tashina, had their first baby on October 3rd!! We are very excited about the new addition to the family! And they are doing wonderful as new parents!

Emerson Marie
October 3rd, 2008
10:00 PM (on the nose)
7 Pound 12 Ounces
19 1/2 Inches

Happy 5th Birthday Ava!!

Ava minutes after being born. . .

Ava is One. . .


Ava is Two. . .

Ava is Three. . .

Ava is Four . . .

Ava is FIVE. . .

I can't believe our baby girl is five! Where has the time gone!! For her birthday, Ava celebrated by having family over for a Tinkerbell party. Her papa Dave made her cake again this year, which was a hit. After lunch, cake, and opening gifts, Ava wanted to spend the second half of her party bowling. Just about everyone that came to her party also went bowling. So that was pretty cool for Ava. Thank you to all who came and made Ava's 5th birthday a special one.






And Max enjoyed showing off his moves!!

What Is New With Ava

During the first week in September, Ava started some new, exciting things. She moved up to the Pre-K room (known to her as the Bee Room) at the day-care center she goes to. She was super excited to be in the new room. To her it is like being a Senior in high school. She is really enjoying the new room since it has a small class size and they do fun projects. Ava loves arts and crafts!! As long as there's fun art activities, things are good for Ava!! Here is a picture of Ava and her teacher, Mara.

She also started a new session of swimming lessons. I can't believe how she has become so confident in the water. The swim school is right next to her day-care center, so the center is able to take kids to lessons. She gets really excited if John or I stop by to see her at lessons. I wish I could be there every week to see her.


And her final new activity is beginner gymnastics. When she was three I started her in a gym tykes program and now she is in the beginner gymnastic program for 5-7 year olds. She loves it!! She is always asking if it is Wednesday so she can go to gymnastics. And she practices during the week flipping and jumping around the house. It is nice to see her excited about going. This is something we will continue to sign her up for as long as she shows an interest. I like to have her stay active during the winter.


And all the tumbling around the house has wore off on Max. Too funny!!