Unexpected...

An amazing lady in my life passed away yesterday. My stepgrandmother, Betty, lost her battle with cancer. She was always healthy, happy, and strong which is making this harder. I've been praying for peace and understanding for the last few days.

Betty took me in as family immediately and treated my kiddos like her great grandkids, too. It was scary how fast she went downhill this last week. Audrey and I saw her on Tuesday. She was sitting up in her chair eating dinner. By Friday, she was bedridden and they called in Hospice. Betty talked to Audrey Friday night, but that was the last time she knew we were there.

I'm glad that she is no longer in pain. However, it will not be any easier to say goodbye.

Guess who is sitting on her own?

Yep! Miss Audrey!

She isn't completely independent yet, but is getting the hang of it.

Audrey does pretty well until she reaches for a toy.

She can straighten herself up if she falls forward, but if we go to the side or back, we are down for the count.

Mommy is sad that her spring break is almost over!

Basketball

Bailey has been playing basketball at the Y this winter. Looking back at these pictures, I can't believe how big and skinny he is! He actually just walked in from a trip to his doctor and he is 5 feet, four inches tall and weighs 112 pounds!

He has scored points in several different games.

He is good,I just wish that he believed in himself more!

His team won all their games! Bailey had fun and now it's onto baseball!

First Taste of Food

Audrey has been trying to grab our food and since she is 5 1/2 mths, we decided to try food over Spring Break.

We went with sweet potatoes first because we heard green vegetables have more gas. Audrey is already a gassy baby :)

She LOVES sweet potatoes!

Give me more, mom!

Not a fan of green beans, but has been trying them more and more.

First Sickness = No Fun!

I'm on Spring Break and trying to play catch up. Maybe one of these days, I'll post things when they actually happen....

I need to learn to keep my mouth shut! I had said on Monday that "knock on wood, Audrey had been very healthy." Of course, my fellow teachers told me that I had just cursed myself. Low and behold, Audrey's junky nose started effecting her sleep Tuesday night. I decided to stay home and call the doctor because she had a low grade fever and had developed a cough. Doctor ordered breathing treatments ( I know way too much about these with my own health) and a chest xray.

Daddy showed up at the hospital as soon as I text him with the news. I thought, man, she's already a Daddy's girl. He claimed he didn't want me to have to go through that by myself. Dr. Larson warned me that chest xrays are no fun, but I really didn't know what I was in for. I should have let Dad take her in, but I hate hearing her cry and not be able to soothe her. The contraption looked like a medieval torture chamber! She had to sit on this bicycle seat with her arms stretched above her while they closed a clear plastic tube around her. Audrey screamed! Luckily the chest xray came back clear so it was a week of breathing treatments every four hours.

These nebulizers have come a long way since I was a baby! We still have mine and it is about 20 times bigger than Audrey's! Plus, it has a car adapter! Grandma Deb was a little jealous of that remembering all the times we had to stop for Uncle Ryan or my treatments when traveling.

Daddy took her back to the doctor a week later. We really felt that she was starting to feel better. It had been a rough week! Audrey HATED mommy because I was constantly wiping her nose and she was coughing and spitting up after the breathing treatments started loosening everything. We had her sleeping in her carseat, which helped keep her upright, until she was houdini and somehow got out of it and ended up face down on the floor perpendicular to the seat! Mommy freaked and ran to pick her up! I got the biggest grin from her! Needless to say, we are no longer using the swaddler (we have graduated to a sleep sack with arms pinned shut) and we went back to sleeping in the crib immediately!

Here she is the day before her follow up with the doctor. Does she look sick?

Audrey ended up having an ear infection at this appointment! Ugh! So we were to continue the breathing treatments, add an antibiotic, and come back in two weeks.

Audrey and I just got home from her follow-up! This girl is all better and now weighs 17# 4oz!!!

Four months old!

Audrey went for her four month well check last Thursday. It turned out to be a snow day, so Mommy didn't miss work.

This big girl weighs 15# and is 25 1/2 inches long!

She is eating 27 oz. of formula a day w/ cereal in her bottle twice a day.

Audrey is an A.W.E.S.O.M.E. sleeper at night, generally sleeping 10-11 hours!

(Still using the swaddler)

Naps during the day are a different story, though. She will only nap if held...

Audrey is wearing 3-6mths and 6mth clothes. She is currently wearing a size1-2 diaper.

Mommy thinks she is going to be a Daddy's girl because she smiles at him constantly! She does love smiling at her brothers, too....gotta be center of attention!

Audrey has laughed a handful of times. The first time was in church while everyone was praying. Daddy made a face at her and she laughed really loud. She has also laughed at Bailey & at an older gentleman at her cousin Makailee's birthday. We can't wait til she does it all the time!

Big girl!

These pictures are actually from over our long winter break, but Audrey is sleeping in my arms so I'm trying to get caught up on posts!

Audrey is really wanting to sit up, so we introduced the bumbo seat. She doesn't want to miss a thing! Here is our big girl!

Please don't think I only let Gavin play video games! However, it was very cold out and we were kinda stuck inside. It's hard having a lazy teenager, a baby who needs a nap & feeding schedule, and then Gavin. Nothing really keeps his attention for long. We will need to be creative this summer!