We're Still Here!

Sorry for the absence (if anyone even noticed, haha!)
We had a very busy April starting with a trip to Scottsdale, AZ with Alex who had a work conference there and ending with my little brother getting MARRIED to his beautiful and long-time girlfriend (10 years!) Lauren McEwan on April 23 in Valencia. The day was perfect and beautiful and we had a fabulous time. Avery was a "flower girl" to the extent that she wore flowers in her hair and a pretty poufy dress, but that was the extent of it, haha.
Since the wedding fell on Easter weekend, we didn't celebrate as we normally do, but we did attend an Easter egg hunt in Valencia with some of my friends from high school and we also made it to dinner on Lido with Alex's family.
Below are some pictures from the last few weeks. I will update on May 2 or 3 with her 10 month pictures and updates!
Enjoy!

First time in the pool! Loved it

Daddy got to play with us before we drove the 7 hours home!

Mommy and Avery

Cutie in a lime bikini ;)

Little squinty face

Groom and Bride at the rehearsal dinner

Little flower girl :)

Baby Avery in her first wedding!

Avery is 9 Months!!

April 2, 2011 marks 9 months since Avery has joined our lives! She has now been out as long as she has been in! And boy has she changed in the last 4 weeks:

• EATS: literally anything she can get her hands on. We try to keep the dog food, hair and carpet pieces to a minimum and instead encourage fresh healthy foods such as steamed sweet potatoes and apples, mangos, bananas, pears, turkey and chicken pieces, avocado and "puffs". She is quite dexterous and can grab with her pinchers very well. She also still gets some homemade and jarred baby foods, and after her 9 month check-up next week I hope to add some more foods to her repertoire (fish! cheese! blueberries!). 
• DRINKS: about 16-20 oz of formula from her bottle a day and drinks a few ounces of water from a sippy cup.
• CLOTHES: She wears size 4 diapers and 9-12 month clothes. I can't seem to find jeans that can fit over her adorably chubby legs and still allow her to sit and stand comfortably, so she mostly rocks leggings or dresses/skirts.
• MOVING: She can crawl like crazy, but she is still using a modified belly-drag style. 
• She can get from crawling to sitting to standing in the blink of an eye, and is an excellent and fearless "cruiser," which is walking while holding on to something.
• All this movement means she is slowing down on the weight gain and is still at 22 lbs. 
• It also means baby-proofing is upon us. We have lowered her crib mattress and have latched drawers in the kitchen and master bath. She is very attracted to cords/outlets/things-that-can-harm-her in general, so we have to constantly be vigilant.
• COMMUNICATING: She can wave bye-bye, says hi, dada and baba, and has recently started "kissing" by popping her lips together (like in POP goes the weasel). She also recently learned to sign "more" and we are working on "please" "Thank you" and "All done"

COMING UP: This month, I am SO EXCITED to take her swimming in a pool for the first time when we tag along with Alex to a conference he has in Scottsdale. Also, all 3 of us are in my brother's wedding in Valencia on April 23rd, and Avery is going to look so cute in her pretty dress and flowered headband (stay tuned for a MILLION pictures, I am sure! I will try and get some of the groom and his beautiful bride too ;)

In crazy-over-planer news, I am in the beginning stages of planning Avery's first birthday party which is to be Saturday, July 2nd. We are still deciding on where to have it (our house, park, beach) but it will definitely be a Hawaiian Luau theme! I can't wait!!

Enjoy the pictures!!

Always a fan

9 months

Ruffle butt

Demonstrating her pull up skills

Daddy "helping" with the photo shoot

Gazing out over her empire

The weather this month has been beautiful!

Enjoying the (dog hair filled water) pool!

Baby butt :)

Lunch on the patio (turkey and sweet potato)

Swinging

Avery's night in the ER

On Sunday, we were in Newport having dinner with Alex's family for his Grandpa Al's 87th birthday. We had noticed earlier in the day that Avery was coughing and had taken a super long nap and seemed to be a little wheezy. As the evening progressed and with the rest of the family weighing in, we noticed that Avery was feeling feverish and having a bit of a hard time breathing (her chest caved in quite a bit with each breath).
I called Kaiser to try and make an urgent care appointment to get Avery checked out on our way back down south, and the nurse I spoke with told me to "Immediately hang up and call 911 so she can be brought to the nearest emergency room." I was shocked! We decided to drive her ourselves directly to Hoag which was less than a mile from his grandparent's home on Lido Island.

We arrived at Hoag's ER around 7:30 PM and after the reception nurses checked her out, she did have a 100.9 fever and they sent us to see a doctor.

They ordered a chest x-ray for pneumonia and an RSV test. While waiting for the results, Avery was hooked up to an oxygen level monitor on her big toe (via sticker, not a needle thank goodness). She was in great spirits the whole time, and several nurses poked their head in our curtain to see the cute baby.

Still waiting for the results, Avery finally fell asleep around 11:30 and while sleeping, they noticed that her oxygen level dropped to 88/89%. While awake, it was around 95/96% and they said that anything below 92% is worrisome. They had us administer oxygen (pic above) for about an hour, while we learned that both tests came back clear.

Since we are Kaiser patients and her oxygen levels had dropped into the danger zone, they decided to keep us overnight for observations, which meant a ambulance ride to Kaiser Anaheim at 2:30 AM! Avery got to ride in an inflatable car seat on a gurney and spent the whole ride flirting with the ambulance guys.

After we were admitted into Kaiser Anaheim and were settled into our room around 3:30 Am, Avery was again hooked up to an oxygen monitor. That big 97 is the number we were watching to make sure it didn't drop below 92 again. After a long and mostly sleepless night, Avery's levels stayed up very high without any oxygen assistance and we were sent home the next day.

Avery and Alex napping on our cot while waiting to be discharged home.

The doctors ended up calling what she had "bronchialitis" which is just bronchitis in a baby, or a respiratory virus (though she was negative for the strain of RSV that has been going around). 

We were given a nebulizer which is a compressor and tubing that blows albuterol in a mist that she has to inhale (basically, a baby inhaler). We give her treatments as needed.

Avery has been to her pediatrician here in Carlsbad to follow up on her night in the ER, and she is doing great. She doesn't seem to mind and responds very well to the albuterol treatments and has needed it less as the days go by. 

It was definitely an exhausting and stressful 24 hours for us. Seeing our baby girl with an oxygen mask on her tiny face and riding in an ambulance were definitely moments we hope to NEVER have to repeat (though our friends tell us it will happen again at least a few more times). Avery's sweet temperament and high spirits throughout the entire ordeal helped Alex and I to keep our cool and stay positive. 

We are beyond grateful that she is a healthy and happy baby and is able to keep us on our toes ;)