The Many Faces of Avery

On Thursdays we go to our local library's Preschool storytime for ages 3+

They read books and sing songs and always finish with a really cool craft.

Here are some of the masks and hats she has made over the last few weeks.

We made a frog mask for Alex too, but he wasn't too jazzed about it.

My favorite is the tongue on this one.
She's totally getting into dress up. Such a 4 yr old girl.

Alex's Surgery

I survived my first experience with a child of mine going through surgery.

*This post will discuss male anatomy, just as a head's up.*

My darling baby Alex had what we thought was an undescended testicle that the urologist was going to look for in his abdomen and bring down to his scrotum. The reasons for doing this were not only for fertility, but also because a testicle should not be in the hotter environment of the abdomen, as it creates a higher risk for malignancy/cancer.The doctors said it was best to get this taken care of now, before he even turns two. So we took our little 20 month old to the hospital for outpatient surgery. Here we are playing around in the waiting room.....waiting.

Luckily he was the first surgery of the day, so we didn't have to wait too long.

We had good and bad results from the surgery.
Good---he did great and everything went fine. The whole procedure only took an hour. Bad---the surgeon found an undeveloped testicle in his scrotum, which means he only has one good one, and there isn't another one floating around somewhere.
This meant that we avoided poking around in his abdomen looking for another one, which lowered the trauma he had to experience. Only one incision, three stitches, not bad at all.
Of course I worry that he'll be teased or have other problems with insensitive people growing up, but we'll just do our best to help him feel like there's nothing wrong with him.
Waking up from anesthesia was pretty tricky. Alex gets asthma when he gets sick, and something about the anesthesia triggered his asthma response. His face was read and itchy and he was VERY disturbed to be coming back into consciousness.
We had him on a breathing treatment and on oxygen, and ended up staying 4 hours after surgery to get him back to normal before leaving the hospital.
He looks so sweet and fragile in these pictures, my heart just breaks. I am so thankful to the many doctors and nurses who took such great care of my baby. I'm also grateful to the friends and family who prayed and fasted on our behalf, which is I'm SURE the reason everything went off as well as possible.
When I handed him off to the anesthesiologist to take into the operating room, it was hard to hold back the tears. I took PJ's hand and we walked into the waiting room. I felt this overwhelming sense of peace come over me. I knew he would be ok and that God was watching over our little family.

Easter Activities

This year we went to our local Parks and Rec Easter celebration.

There was a CRAZY Easter Egg Hunt...I mean MAD DASH,

Lots of fun booths with simple games and prizes,

And the kids' favorite part: the MONSTER SLIDE!!

At first Avery was too scared to do the slide, but after she tried it once, she went back up about a dozen times.

Later that day we dyed eggs in the yard. Can I just say how much I love having a yard?!?!?

The kids did a great job and there were no messes to clean up!

HAPPY EASTER 2010!

Instrument Petting Zoo

The Pasadena Symphony hosted a Musical Carnival, complete with an Instrument Petting Zoo. The kids were able to try out some instruments and then participate in a little concert.

Alex the percussionist:

Avery on the xylophone
Alex on the violin

Avery on the flute

My favorite: Alex on the trombone

The concert with lots of dancing

The kids loved trying out the instruments. It was super-hot, unfortunately, so we didn't stay until the end, but they had a great time. We'll have to go again.

Wedded Bliss

I went to my brother Ryan's wedding in Houston over the weekend

WITHOUT CHILDREN!!!

Six out of eight of us siblings were there---the youngest girls are on missions to Bolivia and Thailand.

It was so great to be with family for three days.

We spent Friday afternoon at Meyer Park having a picnic in the most gorgeous California-esque weather.

Prepare yourselves for numerous photos.

Here are the boys...

Here are my mom and sister-in-law soaking up some rays (except mom's pretty protected from the sun, actually)

Sweet baby Jackson
My dad throwing the baseball with Macie---brings back memories from my childhood

THE FOOD! (Including DELISH Texas Brisket from Pappas Bar-B-Q!!)

Dad and Erik

Playing a family favorite card game, Rook

Just after the wedding: Ryan, Ruth, and her sister

Two of the flower girl nieces (this photo is mostly for my daughter to see her cousins)

Hulme Family

Hulme Parents and siblings

Wedding party--gotta love those flower girls!

Ruth and bridesmaid sister

Me and my cute sister--we were both spouse-less

The happy couple

Classic my dad taking a gazillion photos with his AMAZING camera

The reception: WEDDING CAKE FROM DESSERT GALLERY!!! Mmmmmm

My parents and the bride and groom

The send-off

I'm absolutely thrilled for Ryan and Ruth!!

They make the most beautiful couple.

Before and After

I have had long hair for about as long as I can remember. My mom always hated that her mother chopped her hair off like a boy's cut, so she encouraged us girls to let ours grow long.

The first time I cut it to the middle of my back was in college. Then the first time I cut it above my shoulders was after I got married, and then I cut it to my chin after my 4 yr old was 6 months old.

In between all these cuts, I always let my hair grow out again to at least the middle of my back. This time I let it grow practically to my elbows. It was getting way to long and scraggly. Yuck.

So here are the before pictures, back and front. I don't *love* this photo of my front because you can see my 5 month prego belly, but whatever.
Here's the after:

Ahhhh. So much better. I like the change a lot.

Easy to style and it actually has a shape.

I decided for the first time in YEARS to not get highlights, and just let my natural color grow in. We'll see if I change my mind on this one in a few months.

I donated my hair to Locks of Love, but who knows if they'll keep it or determine it's too damaged or whatever. But it's the thought that counts, right?

Kids

Here's the Latest Adorable Photo of the Kiddos

Such good friends.

This picture makes me smile.