Life is too short

March Madness

March has been a busy month!

We'll let Avery tell you what we've been up to...

I thought my bracket couldn't be beat! I spent lots of time on it:

So as you can see she was very shocked when UNC lost - who DIDN'T pick them for the finals?

Thank goodness Kansas is still in this.

Now, can you fix my bow, please?

Sometimes I get confused... like, I think I can use bubble wands as keys...

And I think I can use keys to "draw" on the wall

(Mommy got mad because I scratched the new paint!)

When cousin Parker came to visit, he and Daddy watched some b-ball on TV!

Aunt Erin and I bonded over finding cool cups with our names on them! Hooray!

But then I got mad that everyone was trying to make me pose for a picture. Can't a girl just enjoy her cup without the papparazzi?

Parker and I played very nice

(for the MOST part, aside from the lovely pushing/biting episode).

We climbed stairs...

Ate snacks...

And we really enjoyed dressing up and playing with our Mommy's scarves.

One of the most fun times we had was attacking Mommy with hugs. We went a little over board, but it was REALLY fun!

Watch out...

Here we come!

Mommy tells me there is a BABY growing in her belly... I'm not so sure about this!

Supposedly I have a new BFF arriving soon, but I think I'll stick with my kitty Stormie in the meantime.

And of course, try to look as cool as possible in my new sparkly shades.

I'm a big kid now...

Avery loves to mimic us, and sometimes she just cracks us up by acting so grown up.

She loves to read book on her own, but even more-so loves to read books to others. Here she is going through her animals with Baby Will (11 weeks old):

Chatting it up on Daddy's cell:

Trying Mommy's shoes on for size:

"How do they look?":

Searching her purse for some lipstick and her bracelet:

It's amazing how much they absorb at this age!

Learning and watching all the time...

Out and about!

With all of the beautiful weather in the last month, we have enjoyed getting out and about! Sure, there are still cold spells, but man, it's nice to get those patches of fabulous SPRING weather.

In mid February, we still needed a heavier coat:

But for Meg's visit over President's Day weekend, it was getting warmer... Coming down from Ohio, Aunt Meg hadn't even seen GRASS in months, let alone worn shorts! :)

Out at the park, just a light sweater was required!:

If you keep busy, you actually get really warm:

Are you eating the sand, Ave?:

How about a snack break?

(Random fact: Avery can gulp a juice box down in about 10 seconds flat):

The last weekend in February we were out blowing bubbles with short sleeves on! Yippee!

Avery really likes to try and blow bubbles herself, which pretty much means she enjoys the taste of soap. We're working on it.

Mmmmm.

Update... Baby White #2

Things have been a little crazy this week. And when I say crazy, I mean kinda scary & overwhelming too.

We've had some worrysome news in the last couple days. The first piece of news came from our ultrasound on Monday. First, the highlights: we got to see our sweet little peanut! Baby was calm, cool and collected. Sleeping, all curled up in a little perfect ball. We loved him/her at first sight, and had (finally) reached our decided not to find out the sex. Everything was checking out great -- heart, brain... things were a-ok.

However, our ultrasound showed our OB doc that there were signs that the lip and nose area was not formed correctly, pointing to a definite cleft lip. It also showed signs that the baby had extra fluid in the kidney. We were referred to the CMC Women’s Institute to get another anatomy ultrasound and to meet with a specialist in maternal and fetal medicine, Dr. Joy.

What?!

Yikes!

Our appointment with Dr. Joy was Wednesday afternoon (two days seemed like an eternity). Baby was much more active this time around, kicking and moving around (much to the U/S tech's dismay, as this makes her job more difficult -- but I was highly encouraged by the active movement). They were quickly able to confirm a cleft lip and let us know that they highly suspected that a portion of the palate was damaged too, though it is very hard to tell how much palate is affected until the baby is born.

Dr. Joy confirmed that there is extra fluid backup in the kidneys, but pointed out that this is pretty common in boys (though we still do not know the sex) and can self-correct by birth in both sexes. He additionally found what they call "bright bowel" which relates to the intestinal area. These two markers are more "normal" findings and, if isolated, wouldn't be too worrisome. However, the fact that baby is showing these along with the cleft lip is leading them to believe there could be more serious genetic issues. The baby is still showing NO sign of developmental issues in heart or brain, thank goodness.

Dr. Joy went over the risk of Down's Syndrome and Cystic Fibrosis, because our chances have now been elevated. To put it in numbers, the average women at my age has a 1/481 chance of having a baby with Down's. They have elevated my chances to a 1/48 --- 2% chance overall. ("2% chance" sounds a whole lot less scary than "10x more at risk than the average person"). We have heard the list of "what if's" and it is a bit scary and WAY overwhelming. We also went over several genetic testing options.

From there the conversation went into if we would choose to abort and I couldn't even believe we were going there. Never did I think I would be having a conversation like that in my entire life, especially just after I've seen my baby moving and kicking on the U/S screen. This sweet little innocent baby! It's really scary to know what you have the capability to think about when you are scared. Your mind runs wild. But, termination was not an option. This baby, OUR baby, is a gift from God and is being intricately designed in His perfect sight.

It's amazing to think that on Monday I was so freaked out about the cleft lip/palate and now that is the LEAST of our worries!!! We just need to pray the damage doesn't go back far even into the head to affect the brain (which, again, seems to be fine developmentally thus far).The cleft lip and palate can cause feeding and developmental issues, and of course call for surgery... but the resources are amazing nowadays, so I feel confident already that we will be in good hands. We will take one day at a time and trust the professionals.

Please keep us and sweet baby in your prayers.

We go back for a follow up with Dr. Joy on March 30th and may also meet with a genetic counselor that day as well. In the meantime I will also have a visit with our midwife, Hallie Lyon. We are praying that the kidneys will look more normal and that the intestinal issues will clear up by the appt on the 30th (where we will get another scan done). If there is an infection in the intestines, we pray that God clears that infection away.

Thankfully time is on our side and ANYTHING is possible before sweet baby makes its debut into the world. I am concentrating on remaining calm and productive, and am focusing on keeping my stress level down. I can tell you one thing I know beyond a shadow of a doubt - the love and protectiveness I have for this baby has increased tenfold.

Wanted to give everyone an update. We have mentally and emotionally exhausted, but we are trying to remain positive and we know that God is MORE THAN CAPABLE of miracles! :)

Prayers gladly accepted.

Much love,

Jeff, Kate and Avery

The Caped Crusader

Batman, Batman, Batman.

Next to her baby dolls, Batman has become the most-coveted friend of the moment. Avery received a plush Batman toy from her Daddy and to say she loves him is an understatement.

And Avery's newfound love of Batman means Jeff is currently winning the battle of "do we or don't we" get rid of his comic books. She throws open the box and yells "Where Batman?"

So, when I saw these PJ's at Old Navy I couldn't resist... and we can't wash them fast enough before Ave's asking for them again.

Our little Caped Crusader.

Making faces

Oh, that tongue!

I feel like she is going to bite it off one day (and believe me, she's bitten it more than several times as she goes running across the room in full-on sticking-tongue-out mode). Avery uses the side tongue swipe to concentrate on a task at hand, charm us, or even while she is just playing intently. Here she displays it while she walks her baby around the neighborhood:

She refuses to look at the camera any more (frustrating!) unless you trick her. Here, we were highly unsuccessful at getting her to look, but we captured the tongue again!:

We usually just get the pouty lip when she's really mad, sad or frustrated. Dealing with Avery when she is angry is not exactly fun (well, sometimes it funny, but we have to suppress smiles and tell her to be nice). She is independent and opinionated. She has started saying "stop it, Mommy" and "stop it, Daddy." She even points her little finger at the cats and says "stop it, kitty cat." Avery has no problem telling you when you are annoying or upsetting her.

And the only way I get the kid to look at the camera? When she is showing me something she found that she's not supposed to be getting into. This is one very serious request for some biscuits: