tummy bug #2, i despise you.

From my previous post, you all know how much I despise, fear and dread the stomach flu. We made it through Ava's first with only a few minor anxiety attacks on my part, and a lot of gagging on all accounts.

This week has been a little different. On Monday Ava had a normal nap, woke up playing and then a few minutes later surprised me and herself with the first offering. Over the next four hours she continued to throw up every 15 or 20 minutes... a heart-wrenching sight. The good news is this time around I was much more prepared and Ava too was better at giving me signals when it was time to lean over.

We went through 9 towels in 4 hours and then I had to put Ava to bed hungry and thirsty--arguably one of the hardest moments since she was born. I said goodnight and left while she cried, "milk! milk!" knowing I had to just let her fall asleep since she couldn't keep down even a sip. Thankfully she was exhausted and it only took a minute because I was in the living room sobbing. Ever since she was a baby one of my worst fears has been that she will go hungry (for whatever reason this has been a frequent nightmare of mine) so deliberately leaving her cry unanswered was torturous to say the least.

She awoke at 11:00pm and cried, "drink! drink!" so I let her have some gatorade. Of course she gulped it and then threw it all up within a few minutes. Thankfully I was able to get her back to sleep and by the morning she was keeping down liquids. Ava has thrown up two other times since Monday night--this virus apparently just keeps going and going and we are very ready for it to stop.

I thought that mommy and daddy were in the clear, but friday night Blair awoke at 5am and joined the ranks of the sick. Two down, one to go. This initiated my second round of sobbing for the week and intense prayer that God would spare me from realizing my fear for just a little while longer.

I have managed to weather other illnesses and may have bypassed this one--I'm praying. The Lord knows I'm not ready to face that fear. But I can safely say, we're surviving this tough illness-stricken winter and are looking forward to the first snow that we're actually healthy enough to play in!

22 months

Another day, another trip to the doctor

The new year brought another illness into Ava's body, this time a consistent fever and runny nose for about a week. Then, on the 8th, coincidentally the last day of her fever, we ended up in the ER with Ava after she tripped into a large glass candle holder and got a noteworthy gash on her forehead. Ava did remarkably well at the hospital, she didn't cry through the checking of her wound by the doctor and even through the lying down and disinfecting of it (an intense process). She looked at us with a cute little frown but didn't cry until the nurse had to hold her chin and forehead down while they glued her cut closed (a quicker alternative to stitches). She did so well and hasn't skipped a beat since we got home, thankfully!

Word of the month: self

Ava has learned the word "self" and it can be heard multiple times a day as either a question or a demand! She loves to do things by herself and now has the words to dictate when she needs help and when she most certainly does not.

A hair update: it's growing!

A sleep update

Ava has entered a new phase which includes waking multiple times during the night and much earlier in the morning than we're used to. Most of the time I don't have to go in to soothe her but regardless, she wakes at least once and usually more like 3-4 times throughout the night and cries out for snuggles. Sometimes she wakes for longer stretches, either to cry or just to talk and play in her crib. She has been waking up much earlier too, going to sleep at 7pm and waking around 6am. I'm hoping this phase retreats quickly as it's leaving mommy exhausted and Ava much more fussy during the day. As Ava has gotten older she is also having much more trouble with daddy's unpredictable schedule and minimal time at home some days. All of these things have made Ava a little more anxious and very clingy to mommy.

That said, now that Ava is healthy and not teething (for the moment), she has transitioned well into her one-nap routine and is sleeping for around 2 hours, sometimes more. I am thrilled and it's been really fun to do more things with her in the morning.

A narrative

A story from yesterday will illustrate well where Ava is and what she's doing these days. I was cleaning up after lunch and witnessed some very sweet and advanced pretend play from my little 22-monther. Over the span of a few quiet minutes, Ava went over to her kitchen area, scooped cookies from their tray into her oven, closed it and turned it on, and waited a few seconds before saying, "Beep! It's ready!" She then took the cookies out, put them on the cooling rack, set her little table with a plate, fork and cup, transfered the cookies to the plate and sat down. Before eating, she folded her hands and bowed her head and whispered, "Jesus sus sus sus sisuss sus. Amen." I literally had my hand over my mouth while watching her, trying to hold in the smile that was threatening to turn to loud laughter. We have a sweet girl, no doubt about it, and she LOVES to pretend and mimic mommy. Even at this young age, her attention to detail is really remarkable and it is becoming such a highlight to watch her play.

a drake holiday

Finally we've resurfaced after a crazy but lovely holiday! Blair had off of work for a few days around Christmas so we went down to the Philly area to visit with family from the 23rd-28th. This was a great time, we saw almost everybody and celebrated fully, though Blair was unfortunately plagued with a horrible cold and we left on the heels of Ava's double ear infection. Blair had to miss out on a few of the festivities and rested a lot, but it was still a joyful thing to watch Ava explode with excitement for Christmas and especially presents.

I slept in the basement of the Drake's house with Ava and she woke up early on Christmas morning. She was happy and ready to be up so I brought her into bed with me and we snuggled and talked for a few minutes while I woke up a little. I then turned to her and said in an excited whisper, "Ava, do you remember what today is? It's Christmas!" She looked at me and her eyes got wide as she whispered back, "...Presents!!!" With what ensued that day, you'd think someone taught her how to "do" Christmas. She shook with anticipation as she opened each gift and squealed the name of the gift, "Puzzle!!!" at the sight of it. What a delight to watch her and feed off her childish wonderment.

With one parent sick and the other on Ava duty, we took a total of about ten pictures during the whole trip. But, here is one to mark that Christmas did in fact exist:

Here also are some pictures of Ava using her gifts in the days to follow:

Resting on her new armchair with her beloved baby

Baking cookies in her new oven this morning!

Having a tea party with Daddy at her new table

All in all, through illness and busyness, we had a truly wonderful Christmas. We are so aware of how blessed we are (though I know we still take it all for granted) to have such generous and caring family, and a daughter that is as sweet as they come. We have so much joy and so much to be thankful for this year, namely our God and the gift of his son Jesus. We praise him for the wonderful things he has done and all that is before us in the new year!