I finally found time to water proof my water garden pots. They have been leaking since we got them 2 years ago. I love to grow a water garden. I have water lilies, a mini horse tail, and a water hibiscus. I also have a small curly willow in my small Koi pond. My small pond can only handle two Koi, but someday I hope to have a bigger pond with a waterfall and more fish.

Water Lily about to bloom

Dragonfly Nemph Rich found in the pond

Father's Day

I celebrated my second Father's Day. We had a nice day together. We went to visit Nona Alicia and Papa Bruce (my parents). Ava also got to see her great-grandpa Bowling which made the day even better.

Lisa made some nice brownie cupcakes that were BBQ inspired. They had Hot Tamales as hot dogs and chopped up Swedish Fish as kabobs.

Our New Neighbors

This spring we've had 2 new neighbors move in. They are both very close and one even made her home on our garage. We have enjoyed our bird neighbors and hope there will be babies. On the ground under the tree nest Rich found a small blue egg. We don't know if a baby hatched or if a cat or another bird got it first. We hope it hatched and the baby bird is safe.

To 2 Awesome Dads...

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Rich's Dad

Rich's Grandpa (who he is named after)

Lisa's Dad

The Elusive Backward Walking Ava

Last week Ava started walking backwards. We were surprised and impressed. We never know when she will do it and haven't figured out a way to encourage it. It is pretty amazing to see, but so far we have not been able to capture it on video.

Two New Favorites

The first new favorite are bubbles. She gets excited when we go outside and immediately searches out her bubbles. She especially likes her bubble rockets. It is hard for her to make them launch, so Rich usually does it. Ava likes to watch them launch and will try to reload for Rich. She also tries to copy her dad and blow bubbles from the bottom of the rockets. She puts the wand up to her face, but she hasn't mastered blowing yet.

Ava's second new favorite are Duplos. She has been playing with them almost exclusively this past week. Ava got a circus set and a small zoo set for Christmas. She loves the animals and will make them walk and make sounds. She has a hard time building, but with mom's help it all works out. Ava also loves to climb in and out of the storage box. Today we joked that we could probably put all of her other toys away and she wouldn't even notice.

Ava Doolittle

Ava loves animals. She loves dogs, cats, tortoises...you name it she loves it. Where ever we go she waves to the animals we see along the way. She even waves to birds and squirrels in our backyard. It is funny and pretty gosh darn cute.

Fortunately, Luca is a very patient dog. Ava loves to chase him around and hug him.

Ava waving and saying "Hi" to Mo our tortoise.

On the Mend

After a rough few days I am starting to feel a little better. Yesterday we decided I should stop taking the antibiotic after I suffered several rare side effects. The worse side effect was severe insomnia. I didn't sleep for 2 nights in a row and only managed to nap for a couple hours during the day. During the sleepless nights I also felt anxiety, hypersensitivity, disorientation, and a numb right arm. It was horrible and much worse than just being sick. Fortunately, last night I was able to sleep through the night which has made a big difference in how I feel today.

Retraction

Yesterday I reported I was feeling good, my fever was gone, and I didn't need antibiotics. Well that all changed around 9:30pm. After Rich encouraging me to take antibiotics and me resisting I finally had to give in when my fever returned. It started at 102.5, but throughout the night it dropped to 99.

That was the only good part of the night. Unfortunately, a side effect to the antibiotic is insomnia. I basically never feel asleep. My mind raced, I felt anxious, and I was hypersensitive to every sound. It was maddening and I really felt like I was going crazy.

Ava also didn't sleep through the night. I got up with her at least 4 times. One time I changed a wet diaper and another I changed a poopy diaper. She finally stayed asleep around 4am after watching a concert on BYU TV by the Chinese Galaxy Children's Choir (they are good and relaxing).

I did managed to fall asleep for a couple hours around 5am. However I felt TERRIBLE the rest of the day. I was grateful my mom drove up to take care of Ava and me. I don't think I could of survived the day with an energetic and healthy 17 month old. My mom not only took care of Ava but also made me a cake because I really wanted one. I am one lucky lady!!

P.S.- I have to apologize to my loving, kind, and medically educated husband. He knew I should be on antibiotics and suggested it several times but I was silly and did not listen to him. I hope I have learned my lesson and will allow him to do his job next time. He really is a smart guy!!

Sick Girls

This week has been a long one. If you haven't read Ava came down with Hand foot and mouth disease. I was worried when I saw her fever over 104. She is a pretty tough little thing. She was still playing and mostly happy.

When Ava started feeling better Lisa came down with a 103 degree fever. I was worried about her. She is usually very healthy. I was convinced that it was some pretty bad infections until I ruled them out. I think Lisa was tired of me telling her I think she needs antibiotics. So far she is doing well and has been able to avoid them.

Today has been fun playing with Ava. It has been difficult keeping her entertained and letting mommy rest. Its days like this that I get a taste of what mom goes through every day.

Good News, Bad News, & Good Again

Good News: Ava is doing much better. Her fever is gone, her appetite is back, and the rash is slowly disappearing.

Bad News: Yesterday I got sick. It was weird. The temperature was in the high 80's but I was wearing jeans, a sweater, and was still freezing. As Rich & I were running errands (my parents watched Ava) I had goosebumps all over my body and couldn't get warm. In the evening we went to a ward activity and I started to get a severe headache. By the time the activity was over I had chills, was shaking, had a headache, and was burning up. We came home and I took my temperature. I was shocked when the thermometer read 103.5. In disbelief I asked Rich to bring me a different thermometer to try again. This time it read 103.8. This freaked me out and I think Rich too. I took some Tylenol, got under a bunch of blankets, and Rich called a friend to help give me a Priesthood Blessing. By the time I got my blessing I was not cold, but roasting hot and sweating. The rest of the night I went back and forth between freezing cold and unbearable hot. My fever dropped, but stayed around 101.

This morning my fever was lower, but Rich was still concerned. This is when being married to an awesome guy that happens to be a P.A. comes in handy. He went down to his office and got some urine test strips. He was worried that I had a kidney infection and wanted to confirm or rule it out.

Good News: I DON'T have a kidney infection. After peeing in a cup 3 times to get a good sample Rich felt comfortable ruling it out. The only problem is he is still not sure what is wrong with me, but it is not as serious as we first thought.

The other good news is by this afternoon my fever is gone and I feel much better. I don't feel 100%, but I'm happy with the improvement. The main problem now is my lack of energy. I'm sure with a good nights sleep and another day or two of taking it easy I will be back to normal.

My guess is I got Hand-Foot-Mouth from Ava. It is rare for adults to catch, but our Pediatrician commented that her husband got it from their child. If that is what I have I should be better soon because adults are suppose to recover quickly.

This is how Ava likes to sleep...

...on her belly with her head in the corner.

A lovely morning turns into an awful week...

On Tuesday morning Ava and I were excited to get out of the house and go the the Fair Oaks Library toddler time. We met some friends from church and then enjoyed stories and songs. Ava had a good time and especially liked the story, "Fish Eyes: a story you can count on". Ava liked it so much we decided to check it out. While at the self check-out station a strange man came up behind us and startled me. Actually, is was just Rich surprising us because he was working at one of the local nursing homes. We were both happy to see him and decided to go out to lunch.

We went to Fresh Choice. It is the best place to take Ava because she is free and we can find a lot of healthy choices for her. I actually think it is one of her favorite places to eat. She always enjoys the food and dances to the music. Rich and I had a good time too. For some reason on this visit I consumed a large amount of pudding. I don't know what came over me, but the cookies and cream pudding was so delicious I couldn't eat just one bowl.

After lunch we sadly said goodbye to Rich, so he could finish work. Ava and I ran an errand and then headed home for her nap. So far the day was going well and we were getting things done. It felt good and I felt productive.

When Rich got home and Ava was done napping we headed out to run a few more errands. We had our game plan and a list of things to accomplish. After our first stop which was not successful we decided to have a bite to eat. Ava was a little unhappy, so we thought some food would make things better.

We went to Togos to grab some sandwiches. While we waited we noticed Ava was pretty warm and agitated. We figured she would cool down in a few minutes from the AC and would soon be happy to eat. We were WRONG! As we ate Ava refused to eat. She wouldn't eat anything including her beloved Nutrigrain bar. She also didn't cool down and become more and more upset. We started to worry that something other than the usual hunger or teething might be bothering her. We honked down our food (in Rachel's words) and decided to head straight home so we could assess the situation better.

As Rich strapped Ava in the car she became even more upset and we were both starting to get scared. I drove a short distance before having to pull over so Rich could get in the back with Ava. By this point she was roasting hot, screaming, and kicking her feet. This behavior was unnerving because it is not typical and she usually does well in the car. I drove quickly (but safely) home while Rich tried to calm and cool her with some water. I cranked the AC on high to also help with cooling her down. I don't think it helped her much, but I had goosebumps all the way home. By the time we got off the freeway Ava had calmed down a little. Her eyes were closed but she was still making sad whimpering sounds.

We took her inside and immediately undressed her and checked her temperature. We were floored and worried when the thermometer read 104.2. I made Rich call the doctor to get some advice and see if we needed to go to the ER. The doctor was shocked at the temperature but said we only needed to go if the Tylenol or Ibuprofen didn't bring the fever down.

After administering some medicine Rich got a cool bath ready. Ava did not like this idea. She got angry as soon as Rich put her in the water. She screamed the entire time and it took a while after the bath to calm her down. On the positive side it did help cool her down some. By bedtime Ava's temperature was around 102...not great but better.

If the fever and agitation weren't enough, I forgot to mention Ava had a small round lesion on her hand and foot. I'm sure many of you parents know what this mean...Hand, Food, and Mouth Disease. Ava also has cankers in her mouth which is why she doesn't want to eat.

Fast Forward to today, Friday, she still is not better. The good news is her fever is down, but the rash is worse and she is uncomfortable. She barely slept last night because she could not get comfortable. Ava kept kicking her legs, rubbing her feet together, and scratching at her mouth. She has moments when she is happy and playing, but she becomes quickly upset and grumpy. She will only eat a little through out the day and refuses most foods. She will eat yogurt and naan bread. Fortunately, she is a good water drinker and is staying hydrated. I feel so bad because there is not much I can do. There is nothing worse than seeing her child, your baby, in pain and not being able to take it away.

Disney DDR

While Ava waiting for her bath I did some Disney DDR (dance, dance, revolution). I like this version because it is family friendly and not as hard. Ava really enjoyed watching me and kept signing "more" when a song ended.After her bath Ava got in on the action. She got on her own (unplugged) mat and danced. She did turns and then just started running back and forth. It was cute and made me think someday in the future we could all play DDR together.

In the Kitchen

I'm sure you have realized I haven't updated my recipe blog for several months now. I had good intentions, but with Ava somethings have to give and that would be one of them. I'm sure most of you are not too disappointed and I really did it to motivate myself in the kitchen. I still enjoy being in the kitchen and trying new recipes. Here are some of the things we have done in the past couple months:

Corn Chowder

Ava & I making a fritta.
Banana Muffins
Ava loves muffins, so we made these mini muffins for her.

Ava stood on the chair so she could help me & then enjoyed licking the spoon.

Pizza Dough Doughnuts

I saw Giadia De Laureniis make these and they sounded good, but they weren't. I don't know if it was me or the recipe, but I'm not going to make them again to find out.

Roasted Cornish Game Hen with Rosemary Cream Biscuits

Big Balls

Whenever we go to Target Ava gets excited to see the big red "balls" outside. She says "ball, ball, ball" and signs it at the same time. On this trip we thought it would be fun to take some pictures. The last two photos are our tribute to the greatest summer TV show, "Wipeout".

Fake Flowers & A Chocolate Chip Cookie

Last Wednesday I had to run some errands for the mutual activity and of course Ava came with me. On this day she was extra sleepy and became impatient. Ava was not shy about her displeasure at being out and not being free to run all around. She began to yell and throw a little fit. Since I needed to get some things for the activity I tried my best to distract her. I was not entertaining enough and she quickly lost interest. Fortunately I found 2 things that grabbed her interest and kept her happy until we could return home.

The first things she discovered were some fake blue flowers at Michaels. I decided to buy them to turn into hair barrettes and it turned out to be a great decision. Ava played with them while we were in the store and had even more fun with them in the car.

The second thing she discovered was given to her at Safeway. While getting bread sliced in the bakery the employee noticed Ava's frustration and offered her a cookie. It really was a blessing because I needed to get the shopping done and the cookie pacified her until we were done.

On the way home Ava was much happier. She had flowers to play with and a cookie in her belly. She even had some chocolate chip on her cheek for later.

Safety First

I don't know if Ava is safety conscious, trying to start a new fashion trend, or preparing for extreme sports because she loves to wear her bike helmet. If we leave it out she will find it and make me put it on her. The other day she wore it for the majority of the day because I kept forgetting to put it away. Ava wore it for any and all activities and probably would of worn it for her nap if I let her.

Bike helmet for lunch...

while running around...

while watching "First Signs"...
and while looking at books.

Ava also tried to help Luca be safe and fashionable. He didn't like the idea and didn't cooperate.

Funny Story

Tonight while shopping in Target Ava gave Rich and I a good laugh. We were in the kids section and walking toward the lingerie when Ava pointed at the bras and said, "ha, ha", which means "hat". She started walking toward them and almost tried one on, but Rich got to her in time. It made me think of the movie "Weird Science" and now I almost wish I would of let her try the funny shaped hat on. It probably would of made the experience even funnier and made for a good photo opp.

Animal Sounds

Recently Ava has started to make animal sounds. The first animal sound she made was a dog. Within the last two weeks she started making monkey and elephant sounds. It is really cute and fun to watch her make the animals talk, eat, or walk around.