MRI Update

Well, we are home and it seems like Ava tolerated everything pretty well. The procedure took longer than expected as well as her waking up from the anesthesia, in fact she is still a little groggy and unable to walk on her own yet. They had to intubate her in order for her chest to remain completely still when needed. Needless to say, she is a little bit hoarse from that. She is munching on saltine crackers and sipping on some water right now. She is one tough cookie, I continue to be amazed by her strength...she is like Superbaby:) Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers as they have helped us make it through the first step of this process, now we hope and pray for the good results! I will keep you posted.

MRI

I have been dreading this post and have continued to put it off. Sometimes I probably don't deal with things the way that I should. I tend to internalize my fear and worries and figure if I don't mention it or talk about it, and nobody else knows how scared I am, then maybe it's not real. Well, as many times as we've gone through this kind of stuff with Ava, it is always very REAL! So I figured today my post is going to be a prayer request for Ava.

As many of you know, Ava was born with multiple congenital heart defects. Right Aortic Arch, Vascular Ring and a VSD. She had her Vascular Ring repair done in July 2007, her VSD spontaneously closed on it's own and as far as her Aorta, that's just her anatomy and should "typically" never cause any problems, however, Ava loves to challenge textbook medicine! Because her aorta is somewhat tortuous, she continues to get routine echocardiograms to make sure that it is growing with her and appropriately. On her latest one, there was some question as to whether there is some dilation of her descending aorta and if so, is it aneurysmal. In order to know definitively, we will be heading to Children's Mercy tomorrow morning for a sedated MRI. We will be checking in at 7am, which is wonderful because she doesn't usually eat breakfast until around that time anyway so we won't have to "starve" her for too long. Her MRI is scheduled for 8am and including anesthesia and recovery, everything should last about 2 hours or so. Ava is a very strong little girl and her resilience continues to amaze me, I am confident that she is going to do great tomorrow. I am holding on to the chance and praying that they will find NOTHING unusual and that all of this is being done as a precaution!!! I am asking that everyone does the same...please pray for a safe and uneventful MRI for Ava and a HEART HEALTHY report to follow!!!

Thank you and we will keep you posted:)

Team Ava & March for Babies

What a GREAT day! Today was Jefferson City's March for Babies and Team Ava won TOP family team fundraisers for the second year in a row:) I can't tell you how exciting this is! This means so much to us and we couldn't pull it off without our GREAT friends and family. We appreciate and thank everyone that was able to share this day with us and also to all of the contributors and donors that were unable to be there, but helped in a big way.
It is such an amazing event filled with lots of emotion, and you can sense it in the air. So many people participating and each one touched by prematurity, birth defects and/or infant mortality in one way or another. It is truly amazing and I can't thank everyone enough...We love you all for supporting Team Ava and the March of Dimes! Can't wait 'til next year:)

Enjoy!

Catch Up...

I will make this post short and sweet with lots of pictures, of course:) We've been crazy this past week. Lots of appointments... dentist, doctor, electrician and playing outside with friends kept us busy all week! On Friday morning Rick and Ava got to spend some quality playtime at Monkey Bizness and Zonkers. Judging by the pictures, they had a great time!

Favorite Quote Friday...

Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most.
-- Mark Twain

The Calm Before The Storm...

This weekend was the last "calm" weekend for us for about the next 6 weekends...EEEK! While it was calm in the sense that we did things in our own time frame, it was still jam packed with excitement!

We spent Friday running errands all over town including Rick's favorite hot spots, Costco and Sam's Club:) Friday night Rick stayed home and got some quality "Ava" time in while I attended a fundraiser to benefit a family where the wife is about to donate a kidney to her very ill husband. I went with my friend, Joanne, and afterwards a group of us wrapped up the night at a local bar for some more cocktails. It was a FUN time!

Needless to say, Saturday got off to a little bit of a slow start given the late Friday night we had. After the rain cleared we went for a walk around our neighborhood, played on the playground and met more new neighbors:) Saturday evening we cooked a yummy dinner, then went out for Sheridan's and rented Marley and Me for Rick and I to watch after Ava went to bed....such a cute movie, I cried like a baby!!!

Sunday we did a little more furniture shopping (I will be glad when this is over)! We bought an entry table/cabinet...it looks great! We had to ride home with our liftgate tied down because that's the only way we could transport it...I was sure that darn thing was going to fly open, but it didn't.

Today Ava and I just played and did some chores around the house, including laundry. I was emptying the dryer and left it open as I stepped around the corner to hang some clothes up only to return to find my mischievous daughter had climbed inside of it....I am telling you, that girl! If you've seen our house you would know that I did not walk more than 10 feet away from her. She is quick and sneaky! Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera handy (only my phone camera) and didn't feel it was safe to leave her in the dryer to go get it...little stinker!

We have a busy week, so stay tuned:)

Friday Quote from Daddy...

A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty. ~Author Unknown

Easter Fun and MORE!

What a fun holiday weekend! It started off on Friday evening when we went to Ava's friend, Parker's house to dye eggs...very interesting to watch two 22 month olds dying eggs. Not only did the eggs turn out fabulous, but Katie and Eric now have a lovely blue kitchen chair:)

Saturday evening we enjoyed a super fun easter egg hunt at Nana & Papa's house. Ava did so great, she carried her little bucket around and had no problem finding the eggs. We enjoyed yummy barbeque and lots of other goodies too.

Easter morning we managed to get ready and make it to church for 8am mass....on time....whoa!! Ava looked so cute in her little easter dress and fancy shoes, I love it! After church we visited my Grandma Groene for a bit before heading to my Grandma & Grandpa Otto's house where we had a yummy breakfast and visited with lots of family. I won't lie, the cinnamon rolls were the best part:) From there, we made our way to Rick's Grandma Annie's for more festivities and brunch...yes, more food! The cinnamon rolls were fantastic there too:) We eventually made our way back home where we were delighted to find that the Easter Bunny had visited while we were out of town. He left Ava a basket filled with lots of fun things and candy too!

Monday was a dreary, yucky day spent inside playing, painting and coloring. We did enjoy a visit from Becky, Ava's Parents as Teachers Educator...that was fun and a good way to break up our gloomy day.

Tuesday I had an appointment in the afternoon so Ava got to spend some quality time with Stefanie and Brooke...she always has so much fun hanging out with them:)

Today we had a fun filled day of Gymboree, the park and a little bit of work on the landscaping. I was trimming some shrubs and Ava decided she would help...by moving the mulch to the sidewalk and eating some...I remained very calm and let her enjoy it, I even got a few pictures:) See, I'm desensitizing...just at my own pace!

Thanks for checking in on us:)

My VERY Favorite Quote Friday...

Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, because life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...it's about learning to dance in the rain.

Ava called in SICK!!!

Well, yesterday I experienced my very first time having a kid with the stomach flu...NOT GOOD, and oh so messy! We pretty much spent the first half of the day snuggling, vomiting and sleeping...Phase 1. The second half of the day was the I don't want to lay down, I don't want to stand up, I don't want to sit, I don't want to be held, I don't want to walk, I don't want to read or play...I don't even want to watch Dora...Phase 2. It just broke my heart and made me want to pull my hair out all at the same time. I knew exactly how she was feeling, unfortunately, I must have passed it on to her...I had the same thing on Sunday. I thank my one lucky star that it was only a 24 hour bug...and it is gone:) She woke up in much better spirits and we had a good morning of playtime!

This afternoon Ava had an appointment for a quick physical in preparation for an upcoming MRI (we'll touch on that later). During her exam we learned that she has an ear infection...Ugh! Poor baby! We have started the antibiotics and hope to be 100% in no time!! We also learned that Sassy has had a growth spurt...WAHOO! She weighs 23 pounds and is 32 inches tall. This puts her in the 20th percentile for both categories:) Her height has never hit the 10th before! She is such a big girl!

Tonight I took myself to the movies! Rick made it home just in time for me to "hand off" Ava and make it to the 7:30 show. I relaxed, laughed and ate an entire box of milk duds...which was wonderful!!!

Take a Deep Breath...

So many things to do...so little time to do them in! This is not a bad thing and I love the fact that there are so many fun activities for Ava to participate in. We have had quite an eventful time since I last posted.

Wednesday, we were getting ready to go to Gymboree class when Sassy jumped right off of our bed and landed on her head. Due to the nature of the goose egg and her having a bloody nose along with it, I called her pediatrician's office (yes, I'm a first time mom) and they wanted to see her. She checked out just fine and they sent us on our way with a list of things to watch for. She wouldn't eat, and took a very restless nap. Later that afternoon, we joined some friends at Deanna Rose Farmstead. All seemed well until Ava vomitted. Because this was on the list of things to watch for, I phoned her doctor immediately and they sent us to Children's Mercy Urgent Care...where she checked out fine again. I mean, of course she did...seriously!

Thursday, she was still not acting herself, but we enjoyed spending the afternoon with Jo, Kim, Ben & Kate...then Rick came home, which always makes Ava happy:)

Friday, we had a super fun morning with our friends at Monkey Bizness then lunch to top it off. Our rug for the great room finally got delivered that evening, and the verdict is in...I really like it. It's super casual and the room seems so much cozier now...Yeah!

Saturday, Rick took Ava to Story Time at Borders in the morning. I'm so glad they get the chance to do little things together. Later that afternoon, we got to help celebrate cousin Jackson's 9th birthday with a party at his house. We had yummy burritos and cake and Ava enjoyed all of the extra attention from aunts, uncles, cousins and of course, Grandma:)

This morning, we attempted Story Time, but had to excuse ourselves before it was over because Ava was having a "meltdown". This afternoon, we attempted joining friends at the mall to play for a bit then have dinner, but had to excuse ourselves yet again because Ava was having a "meltdown"....my sweet, angelic, well-behaved baby has turned into a 2 YEAR OLD!!!!! I am finding myself taking lots of deep breaths these days...wish me luck!

Favorite Quote Friday...

While we try to teach our children all about life,
Our children teach us what life is all about.
~Angela Schwindt