Pictures of Kaden and Ava

Kaden giving his little sister some love. What an awesome big brother.

Kaden reading to little Ava.

After surgery and on ECMO.
Daddy trying to comfort his little girl.

Mommy time.
Looking at mommy.
Wide awake before her baptism.
Our family.

Here are some pictures from this past Sunday when Kaden met his little sister for the first time during her baptism. I also included a picture of Ava now, after surgery. It is crazy the difference a day (and surgery) makes. I know that Ava would not have survived without the surgery, but to see how healthy she looked and to see her now just breaks my heart. Last night, Nate, Kaden, my dad, and I went to Wal-Mart to get a few things. We then dropped grandpa off at the hospital. Daddy told Kaden that grandpa was going to see his baby sister at the hospital and Kaden began to cry. At first I thought it was because grandpa was leaving but Kaden shook his head "no" to that. I then asked if it was because his baby sister was in the hospital...he signed "yes." I asked him if he wanted his baby sister to get out of the hospital, he again signed "yes." He was crying pretty hard...it got tears going for me as well. Knowing that he understands what the hospital is and not wanting his baby sister to be there shows how amazing of a little guy he really is...that he has such a sweet and caring attitude.

Still on ECMO

The doctors have tried to wean Ava over the last 48 hours in hopes of taking her off ECMO today. We received a phone call early this morning from the nurses and they stated Ava's heart could not perform it's normal function and began to fail. The surgeon decided to leave Ava on ECMO and to try again on Monday if things go smoothly. The surgeon said it appears Ava's heart is still "stunned" from the surgery and has not fully recovered. Please continue to pray for our baby girl's strength, health, and successful recovery.

On another note, Kaden came back to KC with Grandpa H last night and is being his normal silly self. We were ecstatic to see each other. Kaden showed us all of his valentines cards he received from school and he said he had fun back home. We're not quite sure if Kaden understands everything that is going on but he appears to be happy.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers. It makes us feel blessed to know there are so many caring people in our lives.

Still Hanging in There

Let me tell you, these little ones are so incredibly strong. Ava is doing what she is suppose to right now. The poor little girl has been moving a lot today and opening her eyes. She has tried crying some and gagging on that darn tubing down her throat. I just want to hold her and comfort her so bad. It is crazy how much you hurt for babies when they are hurting. If only I could take it all away. She is such a trooper though and the surgeon said she is doing well for what she is going through right now. Please continue to pray for her strength and successful recovery. Now all we need is for her heart to do the work it is suppose to do for her survival, and I believe the true test will begin Friday. If her heart can not do it's task by then Dr. O'brien said it is ok, that it still is a little early and they will just keep her on ECMO and try again later. Nate took some pictures of her and we hope to post them later.

Kaden is doing well at home. He went to school today and I from what I hear enjoyed himself. He made a valentines box to collect his cards tomorrow and grandma and grandpa will help him fill out cards for his friends tonight. I wish that I could be there with him tomorrow. I am so excited for him and can not wait to hear all about it, he is such a big boy. He will be back tomorrow night...I am so excited to be able to give him hugs and kisses.

I know many of you have read Isabella's blog or heard me talk about her. Her and her family really could use your prayers, as well, right now. She has a trach and is on the vent, like Kaden. Her parents brought her up here yesterday because she was not herself. They found out that she will need another open heart surgery...she has an aneurysym on her heart and it needs to be taken care of as soon as possible. To know more you can visit her blog at www.isabellagudde.blogspot.com
Feel free to leave them a comment and let them know you are praying and thinking about them.

I just want to thank you all...again...for all of the love, support, and prayers. It really helps Nate and I to come in and read all of the positive comments left. It definately lifts our spirits to know so many people are praying for Ava. Thank you, thank you , thank you...from the bottom of our hearts.

Update on Ava Rae

Ava got through surgery well. The surgeons were actually able to get her off of the bypass machine (aka ECMO), although it lasted for only 10-15 minutes. She was put back on and continues to be on it. The good news is that it will allow her heart to rest after going through such a major surgery. When the surgeons opened her up they were disappointed realizing that her aorta was even smaller than they hoped after doing an echo. They explained to Nate and I that being at a 3 is severe, but hers was probably a 1 1/2 - 2. The problem isn't that the aorta is small, because they can fix that to a certain degree. However, the surgeon said that when the aorta small the corinary ateries tend to be small, and there is nothing they can do about that. I believe these arteries are what carries the blood back to the heart although I am not 100% sure at this time, we received a lot of info yesterday. Ava seems to be doing well on the ECMO machine. It was really hard seeing her yesterday after sending her off in the morning looking healthy. It really brought back a lot of terrible memories being that Kaden went on the same life support. It is the worst feeling in the world, feeling so helpless as a parent. You want to make everything better and you pray and pray that things go well for your little one and that they aren't feeling any pain but you don't know how things are going to turn out. I feel so bad for her lying there, innocent and not knowing what a good life is suppose to be like. I want to hold her close and cuddle her, but we can't. I just continue to pray that God will hold her for us and let her feel our love. I pray that she will come off of ECMO and do wonderful, but only time will tell. I think the doctors are going to try weaning her or taking her off on Friday.

Sunday we had Ava baptized. Kaden was actually able to see her and hold her and kiss her for the very first time. He is such a great big brother. He read her a book and sang her songs. It was all too cute. Kaden went home with my dad today...that way if something were to go wrong (knock on wood) that Nate and I could be at her side and so we could spend more time with her without feeling so guilty that Kaden was here at the RMH waiting for us. It was really hard seeing him leave. I think he was a little confused that he would not see us for a couple of days, but he was sooooo ready to go home. He will be back up on Thurs. I am already wanting to see him. I just want to again thank you all for all of the support and prayers. They mean absolutely everything to my family and I right now. I want to leave you with some pictures of Ava when she was first born. I will try posting pictures of the baptism soon. She looked absolutely beautiful. Thanks again for EVERYTHING.

Please continue to pray

Things are going well for Ava as of now. We are having her baptized tomorrow, before she goes in for surgery on Monday. The chaplain gave us a beautiful gown for her to wear that was donated by a family. We talked to her surgeon, Dr. O'brien, and it really made me face reality again. She has just been doing so well, and to know that the surgery could either make her better or make her worse just is hard to face. He talked about her chances after surgery and it really scared me. He talked about how hard it will be for her the days after surgery and said that with her having a syndrome that she has less of a chance for a good recovery compared to those who do not have a syndrome. He went on to say that she has 2 out of 3 chance of surviving, which to me sounded good until of I thought of the percentage. Don't get me wrong, I will take 66% chance over no chance...hey Kaden had less of a chance and look at him. I just ask that you all continue to pray for her to have a successful surgery, and a quick, painless recovery. I plan on posting pictures tomorrow...I hope. Thank you again for all of your support and prayers.

We Have A Date

We finally have a date for surgery. I know some of you have been about as anxious as we have been waiting for one. The day is this Monday. They said first thing, so I am guessing 7 or 8. Ava is doing well (knock on wood). I hate to say too much right now. Nate and I have still been holding her which is nice and today she was wide awake for both of us. My dad just came down to help out, so it will be nice for Nate and I to see her together. It is hard right now to get on to a computer between our schedules and others using the computers here at RMH. I will continue to try and update as much as possible. Thanks again for all your support and prayers.

The Waiting Game

Well, we are still waiting to find out when the surgery date is. I believe we will find out tomorrow when everyone comes back from the weekend. I pray that it will be soon-. Ava is still doing fine, maybe not as well as when she first arrived, but she is still fighting. Unlike Kaden, Ava is getting too much blood/oxygen to her lungs. The docs want her sats around 88-92%, she was in between 96 and 100 so they had to put her under a hood (almost like an oxygen hood). Instead of receiving more oxygen, it gives her less than room air (room air being 21%, she is getting 16%). Her blood gases were slowly getting bad and they discussed putting her on the vent, but opted to try lasix first being that she had fluid building up around her heart and lungs. So far it seems to be doing the trick, please pray that it continues to work and that she will stay clear of the vent until of course surgery.

She is still gorgeous as ever. I am sorry that I haven't been able to post pictures, I have no way of doing it on the RMH computers. Micah, I thought Nate had your phone number to text a pic, but he said he didn't and for some reason I never saved it in my phone, so if you and Megan want to e-mail me your numbers I can always send you one. I believe everyone else received a text, if not I am sorry and if you want you too can send me your number and I will do so. Thank you all for the prayers, please continue to pray as she is not out of the woods yet.

P.S Kaden seems to be adjusting well to mommy and daddy taking turns going back and forth!!!! We were able to take him to Sesame Street Live yesterday (thanks to the RMH). After his inital fears...he absolutely loved it. It was so fun for Nate and I to see him enjoy something soooo much. We have lots of pics to post, hopefully I can send my memory card home and have my parents or sister do it.

Ava Rae...

Ava was born on Thursday Jan. 31st at 9:15pm. She weighed 8lbs 7oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. She is doing well (knock on wood). I went in Thurs. morning for the induction and found out that I was already at three cm. They started inducing around 11:30 and after awhile it really started kicking my butt. I could not believe how fast the contractions were coming on. I was having them every minute and a half and they each were lasting about one minute (how fun!!!). I decided to go ahead and get the epidural, which may I add was an absolute life saver once again. They checked me again around 7:00-7:30 and said I was now at a seven. Around 8:00-8:30 I started to feel some pressure and joked around with my mom and Nate that her head must be on it's way out. The doctor came in again right before nine to check me and when she looked she said "Oh my, her head is right there." She broke my water and set everything up, got everyone there and I started "pushing." It took about 2 minutes and she was out...I pushed for maybe 15 seconds...let me tell you that was even easier than when I had Kaden and I didn't think it would get any better than that.

They put Ava on my chest and then took her over to where the bed was setup to clean her off and make sure she was stable...SHE WAS...so then we were able to hold her for about 30-45 minutes or so. It was absolutely unbelievable. Ava is doing great right now...she is breathing on her own and without oxygen (knock on wood). We have been able to hold her and kiss her. I am so grateful for everything. I pray that she continues her strength up until, through, and after surgery. We still do not have a date for surgery, but I guess it is for some time next week.

I did get discharged from the hospital, after some begging, because I missed my little Kaden so much and he was begining to get upset that mommy was not around. He was not allowed back into the maternity ward so we weren't able to see each other. My parents and Nate brought him to the waiting room this morning and I went out there to visit...it made me almost cry when he saw me. His eyes got bright and he got so squirmy and basically jumped into my lap. When I had to go back in he kept shaking his head no...sooooo I promised him that I would come back to the Ronald McDonald House today to stay with him and that is what I did.

I will continue to try and keep everyone updated on Ava's progress. Thank you all for your prayers and support.

The nerves are setting in...

I have been doing well, not worrying too much about the arrival of baby Ava. I think I have been pretty upbeat and "ready." That was until tonight. My family and I were just discussing plans for Kaden and how things are going to work while Ava is in the hospital and I kind of lost it. I couldn't control it anymore....the waterworks were on. I thought it would be a challenge making sure that two children receive the amount of attention they both would require in the same house, but to try and do it in two different buildings seem really scary to me. I just want to make sure that I am able to share my time with both Kaden and Ava and I definately do not want Kaden to feel like I am neglecting him. I am just really nervous at how this is all going to work itself out. I can not believe she is going to be here in a matter of days. We are leaving tomorrow (hopefully) to get Kaden settled into the Ronald McDonald House and that way we don't have to get up extra early on Thurs to make it to the hospital. It will be so much easier to be up there the night before, especially since it is easier to fit Kaden into our vehicle and that way my parents do not have to worry about getting him down there.

I am getting really nervous now. I continue to pray for her health and quick recovery. It's funny how emotions work. I was fine earlier today and I guess just the thought and discussion of everything made it all real. I am so excited about having another little one to love on, I just pray that we get the chance. Don't get me wrong, I still have high hopes for her, but again, reality has come back into play. I THANK each and every one of you who continue to pray for our family and all the encouraging comments and discussion I have had with you all. I will try to keep an update regularly. Please continue the prayers they are very much appreciated.

Getting Ready for Baby...

Kaden giving Ava kisses
Kaden is showing mommy and daddy how he is

going to hold his baby sister.


Today was my last doctor's appt until the baby arrives. They did however change the date that they are going to induce the 31st of this month...one day later than previously planned, but still just around the corner. I am getting so anxious. Kaden has been "practicing" holding Ava, as you can tell from the pictures above. He is so cute, he was rocking Elmo and giving him kisses which turned into giving all of his stuffed animals kisses. He then decided that they needed to go to sleep so he laid them all down on a blanket I put on the floor for him. He read them a book and even "showed" them the pictures. After a while of leaving them "sleeping," he picked up his Pablo (from Backyardigans) and signed to me "all done, sleep." So I asked him what they were going to do next and he signed "play." Duh, mommy, I should have known.

So Kaden has a new talent. He walks all by himself (using a walker). Nate and I picked him up from school today and the teacher asked Kaden to show us how he could walk. He could not have been more proud of himself, who could blame him. What a big accomplishment for such a big boy. He has been using the walker in the past, but they were leaving it turned around the "wrong" way which I think made him more secure because the bar was running in front of him. The past couple days he has been having to use it the correct way and until today he cried every time he used it. I am so excited for him. We are now taking it home after school so he can use it here as well. Grandpa and grandma came over and he was able to show them as well as nana how great of a walker he is. He just cruised around nana's house. Then tonight he walked to the bedroom by himself as I pulled the ventilator along. This is such perfect timing...I can't wait to see him be able to use it more on a consistent basis for longer periods of time. I really can't wait for him to be able to walk into the NICU or special care clinic to see his old nurses and the docs. Well, I am sure I will be updating more soon...and hopefully posting pictures of baby Ava by the end of next week. Please continue your prayers for Ava's strength and quick recovery. Thank you all for your support, it means a lot.

Surprise....

Friday, one of my good friends threw me a surprise baby shower at work. It was really sweet. I got a lot of things I needed, what makes it even better is that I never registered so I just got really lucky. They even all went in together to get a baby swing, since for some reason I had the bright idea to sell all of our old baby things in a yard sale the weekend before I found out I was pregnant. I am so excited about meeting Ava, but of course getting really nervous. Unfortunately I found out that Kaden will not be allowed in the NICU due to RSV season, siblings are not allowed in until RSV season ends. Hopefully he will be able to see her while she is still at Truman. Kaden's old primary nurse even said that she was going to try to rearrange her work schedule to try and be there. I think that is really sweet. I am counting down the days...9 more days left (not including the rest of this one). I can not believe it. I think back and remember finding out that I was pregnant and it seems like forever ago, but then to know the end is almost here is crazy. I am about to the same point I was with Kaden, wanting to stay pregnant because I know she is safe there, but I feel a little more at ease with her. Maybe it is because I have been through this once, or maybe because God showed me with Kaden that with Him everything will be alright. Whatever the reason, I continue to pray and try my hardest to think positive and of course the excitement of getting to see her and kiss her gets me through the scary thoughts.

I can not wait for Kaden and Ava to get to meet each other and grow up together. Kaden told me today that although he does not like all of the pink outfits for Ava he is willing to share his most prized possessions with her....his beloved books!!! What a great big brother Ava will have.

My Poor Bubby....

My poor little Kaden did not feel well at all today. I actually stayed home with him because we did not have a nurse today. Our plan was to go to school together and hang out, just mommy and Kaden because daddy went on a hunting trip and left last night. Well at about four in the morning the poor little guy woke up and was up and down the rest of the morning. When we finally made it out to the living room he just laid on his blanket watching cartoons, quietly, not interested in books or anything. Then he started whining, so I picked him up and cuddled him and he was out like a light...for about 20 minutes, and the wretching started. This poor little guy stayed in my lap for most of the day, minus the time I decided to give him a quick bath. He would sleep for 20 minutes or so, wake up trying to throw up, and then fall back to sleep. After, oh, about most of the day I decided to move him to the couch because my back was in so much pain and Ava would not stop kicking him, and he laid there for about an hour watching cartoons. He didn't want anything to do with anyone except for mommy and boy was he a cuddle bug. I am not sure what is going on with him, I kind of wonder if it is a stomach bug...or his patch. He was so upset this morning, signing potty, but never went and he hasn't had very many wet diapers. I did start a feeding this morning and he received most of it, and then I gave him water with some medicine that is suppose to help him stool (but didn't). Then I started pedialyte and have had that running continously at a low rate. He is not running a real fever, but the last couple of years we all ended up with the nasty stomach bug without fevers. I have been waiting for us to catch the bug...it's just part of our winter routine, so maybe that is what it is. I just hope that I don't get it for Ava's sake and if I do, it will be over the weekend...I need to work tomorrow, since I have already had to take off three days this week, all being unpaid leave. Please pray for Kaden to get better and for this to be just some bug that will soon pass and nothing to do with any type of surgery or his diaphragm.

The Date is Set

So I had a doctor's appt. today and we found out for sure that they will induce on the 30th. TWO MORE WEEKS!!!! I am so excited but at the same time so very anxious. I continue to pray for little Ava's health, strength, and quick recovery. I also hope that Kaden will get to be able to get into the NICU to see his sister. He seems very excited about the whole thing although he did tell Nate and I that he doesn't want to hold her but he does want to play with her and teach her things. He is such a big boy. Oh and boy did he have a growth spurt...time for a big boy booster seat...bye-bye carseat.

I am so excited to be a mommy to two babies and I can not wait to see the two of them grow up together. Kaden has taught me so much, I can only imagine how much more I will learn from having two babies. Oh, and so I started buying a few little girl clothes and I can say that all of the outfits I have purchased so far are PINK...what...I couldn't buy it for Kaden (and he probably appreciates that) and now I have a good reason. Well, I just wanted to let everyone one know to be expecting baby Ava's arrival at the end of this month, maybe the begining of Feb (hopefully I do not have to be in labor that long!!!)!!!!

Is she going to be a January or February baby?????

Well on my last doctor's appt. the doctor (this time) said something about inducing me at 39 weeks, which will make it the last week of January. I don't remember the doctor before saying anything about inducing me prior to this last doctor's appt, but I did see it written on my chart. I am not complaining by any means, it actually makes me excited and I can't wait. My mom is hoping for the 30th, saying that is her birthday...I am just hoping for sometime soon (of course not too soon). I am kind of excited because we talked to a NICU doctor and he said that it is a good possibility that we can hold Ava after she is born, if everything else is ok with her!!! I am looking forward to that. We weren't able to hold Kaden at all for about two months or so. It will be a nice experience for Nate and I. I will find out more next week at our next doctor's appt.

Another picture of the belly

This is a picture Kaden took of me the other day. The date on the picture is wrong...I think we took it on 12-27. Believe it or not...the stretch marks are from Kaden...but goodness they just look wonderful!!! So far I think I have been pretty lucky with her, I don't think I have gotten any from her...yet. Oh, and I do have pants on : ), they are just hard to see!!!

Believe in Santa!!!

Kaden waiting patiently for his present !!!(Christmas eve)

Showing mommy what he got.
Christmas day...opening presents.

He actually had the hang of it...opening presents on his own!!!

Christmas eve was spent at nana's house, as always!!! The family gets together and opens presents from nana and nana opens hers from everyone. Afterwards, Nate, Kaden, my sister, nephew and I went around town looking at Christmas lights. We did not stay out too long because it was late and Kaden was a little on the fussy side. We did however see Rudolph's red nose in the sky!!! That made the boys pretty excited. When we returned home, Kaden put out the food he made for the reindeer and then we picked out some of the cookies he decorated earlier and left them out for Santa along with some milk. We read a few Christmas stories in bed and shortly after Kaden was out like a light.

When we woke up in the morning I told Kaden that I think I heard Santa last night in the living room. He got really excited and started pointing towards the bedroom door...like hurry up and get me out there. When we went into the living room he started signing Santa and pointing to the presents under the tree and then signing "book". After all, he did ask Santa for a book. I then showed him the plate we left with the cookies and he signed "daddy" and pointed to my phone. Nate was at work so we called daddy and Kaden signed "Santa" again and pointed to the tree and then signed "cookie, milk, all done." It was all too cute. It is so much more fun now that he understands a little better. What was even better, was that when Nate came home and we opened presents, Kaden did it on his own, we didn't need to help. At first he did seem a little disappointed when he opened a toy and not a book. As he was ripping the wrapping paper he would see a toy and push it off to the side and sign "book." After a few toys he decided it wasn't so bad getting the toys either. At least this year Santa didn't bring clothes!!! When we went to bed that night Kaden kept signing "Santa, cookies, milk" and pointing to the bedroom door. I had to explain to him that Santa only comes once a year because he is a very busy guy. I think he accepted that excuse. We had a wonderful Christmas, now we are just trying to get over colds. Kaden and I seem to be passing it back and forth to each other. Nate has been pretty lucky so far. He had a little something, but it passed fast. Again I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and that you all have a safe and happy new year!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Christmas!!! I will be posting more hopefully tomorrow when I find more time. About finding time....I have Christmas cards still sitting on a desk here at home...what a wonderful place for them to be since Christmas has come and gone. I do plan on sending them out, hey maybe even tomorrow. It is kind of crazy how time flies, especially as you get older. So sorry to all of you who will receive them late (maybe I can have them out before the New Year!!!). Well again...Merry, Merry Christmas.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

As you can see, we received a good amount of snow last night and this morning. Kaden has never really been out in the snow so Nate decided that the two of them would build a snowman. The snow was not wet enough to stick together and Kaden was quick to want to go back in. Who can blame him? I went out to snap some pictures and I almost froze my butt off. Nate bundled Kaden up pretty well though and for the gloves, well, we had some mittens that worked well, but the last time we went to Wal-Mart Kaden took them off before we had a chance and we lost one. I have another pair for him but they are too big and will not stay on. So we settled on two pairs of socks...I know, but what's a boy to do without something to keep his hands warm? I am on a mission to find him a good pair, though. You wouldn't think it would be that hard, but it seems like everyone is making the really thick pairs that do not have elastic tight enough around the wrist to keep them on. If anyone knows were I can find some please let me know.

So I woke up yesterday to a nasty cold. I am already so fed up with it. I have a stuffy nose and the worst pressure in my head and one of my ears. I slept on the couch last night, hoping that I could keep Nate and Kaden from catching it. However, Nate had to work today, so it was just Kaden and I. I felt kind of bad because I am sure Kaden felt a little neglected today, I tried to keep as much distance between us as possible. Don't get me wrong...he did make sure he got attention when he really wanted it...and it was really hard remembering not to kiss him, but all in all I think we made it through the day alright until daddy came home. Tonight he seemed a little whiny, I just hope that he hasn't already caught what I have. The past few days I have been giving him cold medicine because he has been coughing up a lot of "yuckies," but has still been in a pretty good mood. I know if he gets what I have, he probably won't be as happy. Well, I am done babbling for tonight. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and remember only 9 more days until Christmas (when am I ever going to get all of my shopping done???)!!!!!

Baby Ava's Better News Than The Weather

Here are some of the sonogram pictures of baby Ava that we received today. She sure does like keeping her hands by her face and boy, what a mover. The sonotech commented on the amount of strength she has because she continously tried to kick the probe off of my stomach. She was claiming her domain!!! We received pretty good news. I pretty much have no worries when it comes to the Turner Syndrome. Our main focus right now is her heart. However, the doctor did say that they did not see any fluid around her heart, unlike past history, great news!! We were able to see her lungs working and her diaphragm moving. The doctor said that was really good news...she is making her lungs stronger by working them out now. All her measurements were excellent...she is actually measuring at 33 wks 1 day...a whole week more than I actually am. She is about 4lbs 9oz at this time. The doctor said that as of now everything (besides the heart defect) is looking good. He did remind us that things will be hard for her after she is born...but for some reason I am not too worried. My babies are unbelievably strong (they must get that from mom, ha ha). I have all my faith in God and Ava at this point. I am so excited to meet her and can not wait to see who she looks like...mommy or daddy. I still haven't determined who Kaden resembles, I have heard both. Lately I am hearing that he has my eyes...but that really doesn't say much!!!! We are continuing to get Kaden use to the idea of having a baby sister and being a big brother. I think he has mixed emotions : ). He is really good with babies, saying that I have really only seen him with my cousins newborn, but he loves to hold him and kiss him. This little book lover even shares his books with the my cousin's baby. Lately he has been picking out books for us to read to Ava and he even shows her the pictures!!! I think that he is going to be great (I hope)!!!!

Now to the weather...ice, ice and more ice. Lucky for us it started melting today, however we are expecting snow tomorrow, 2-3 inches. We lost power for about 30 hours (Tues morning - Wed evening). My parents had a generator that we used to keep Kaden's vent and other supplies going. I was so stressed before the generator because it didn't work, being that my dad is mister fix it he got it going for us. We have many friends who unfortunately are still out of power and basically all we know is "who knows how long it will take, it could be until the 22nd." I just hope for everyones sake (and sanity) that power is restored to all FAST!!! I hope all is going great for everyone and I want to thank you all for reading and leaving awesome comments. Thanks, it helps make my day!!!

Promised Pictures

Here are some pictures I promised of the Christmas parade and of the belly!!!!!

Kaden with his cousin Kolton, enjoying the parade.

Nate's brother James and the boys.

My sister Melanie with Miles.

Kaden and the belly.

Aunt Melanie and Kaden braving the cold weather.

Kaden, mommy and daddy all bundled at the parade.

On the Road to Diaper Freedom!!!!

Kaden is finally getting the whole potty idea. While I was at work Thursday, Nate put Kaden on his "big boy potty" and he actually went pee-pee!!! Nate and Kaden's nurse Cristen made it a big deal for him, and he surely enjoyed the attention. I talked to him on the phone and when I came home for lunch, he was very eager to show me the pee daddy and him saved in the potty for me to see. That night we took him to Wal-Mart to get a book for being such a big boy. On Friday, when I came home for lunch he signed potty to me. So I put him on the potty and he did it again. This morning he signed potty and pointed over to his DVD's (he has an Elmo potty video). I asked him if he wanted to watch Elmo go potty and he signed yes (which looks very much like potty). I then asked him if he needed to go "pee-pee," he again signed yes. I sat him on his potty and within 5 to 7 minutes he went "pee-pee" again!!! Yea, I hope he picks this up quickly so we can get rid of the diapers before Ava comes. He is so proud of himself. When he arrived to school on Thursday he signed potty to his teacher first thing, telling her that he used his big boy potty. We even bought him big boy underwear. I know it seems kind of fast, but Nate thought it would be a good idea to let him see how it feels to wear those instead of a diaper. He loved them. Nate put them on him just for awhile and he couldn't leave them alone. I am so excited for him. It's crazy to think of how proud we feel as parents just because of a little pee in the potty.

A Eventful Weekend

Even with mommy sitting with Kaden, he still wasn't too sure about the whole idea.

We had a very eventful weekend. It started with Thanksgiving dinner with my family. Everything went good, and boy did we stuff ourselves. Friday was Thanksgiving dinner with Nate's family. Kaden had a blast playing with everybody. The Boeckman side definately has more kids to play with. Friday night was the Christmas parade here in town. We went with my parents, sister, nephew, and one of Nate's brothers and his two boys. It was fun but very cold so we didn't wait to take pictures with Santa there. Saturday my sister, nephew, mom, Kaden and I decided to go to the mall to see Santa. The day started off very "good." We were running later than we wanted. On the way my sister's car got a flat, so we called my dad and he came to change it. We had to stop by the police dept. because Nate took the SUV to work and it had the stroller in it. We decided to just switch vehicles because of "all" of the room in my sister's car. Well in the process of changing things over I some how managed to lock my keys in the car. I called Nate and he had one of the other cops working with him drive by with the keys to unlock the door for us. That was about the end of the "fun."

We get to the mall and lucky enough for us there was a small line. Kaden noticed Santa and kept pointing at him and staring. So I thought this whole picture thing was going to be a piece of cake. To my surprise, it definately was not. I took Kaden up to Santa and Santa reached for him. Kaden hung on to mommy for dear life...that's how I ended up in the picture. We took several pictures and decided on the one above, it was the only one that did not have him crying in it. It's funny though, when somebody asks him who he saw, he signs "Santa" and then he signs "cry" to let everyone know that he cried. He then waves "bye-bye" to let them know that he did say bye. He wants to read all the Santa books he has now, but when I ask him if we should go see Santa again, he shakes his head "no." Oh well, we might try again and see how things go. My plan is to keep talking Santa up as much as I can. Hopefully it works.

Kaden's has some new "tricks." Kaden is now saying "mama" and "uh-oh." I think I posted the "uh-oh" already, but he actually uses it as he should. It's very exciting for us. I can not remember if I posted earlier that he can now pull himself to a stand and walk holding on to furniture. He is growing so fast, and just in time to show his baby sister that he is a big boy!!!

Well, I plan on posting pictures from the parade. I have to get them from my sister first. I brought my camera, but unfortunately the battery was completely dead. I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and an even better Thanksgiving.

Getting Ready for Christmas

Today Kaden and I put up our Christmas tree while daddy was at work. He put a few of the ornaments on himself, but my back starting hurting me from lifting him so I had him hand me the ornaments. He was a really big helper!!!

Kaden is now pulling himself up to a stand all by himself. He is very proud of himself. Who can blame him. He wants to walk everywhere (still with some assistance). We even made it up the stairs the other day on our way to school. I think that he will be walking all by himself pretty soon. The only problem we will probably have is that darn ventilator. It is way to heavy for him to bring along while he is walking. We will figure it out though, just like we have with everything else. Oh, he also can say "oh, oh." He is getting so big...and fast. Well, I am not sure if I will write an entry before Thanksgiving, so I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe turkey day!!! Take care.

The Results Are In

I received a call today from one of the geneticists telling me that she had the results from the amino. They found that Ava has what is called Turner Syndrome. She believes this is the reason for the heart defect. I didn't learn too much at this time except that it only happens to girls and it is a missing X on the 46th chromosome. However, on one of her cells she is missing this X but on another of her cells she has an extra X, so it looks like this...45X and 47XXX. I honestly can tell you I have no idea exactly what this all means right now and probably will not fully understand it until we get a chance to talk to genetics. Ava should be able to function at each level normally, although she could have difficulty in math. She might not go through puberty and she most likely will be small in size. The average height for a girl with Turner Syndrome reaches 4'8". The doctors can start her on hormones to help with her growth. She could have some abnormalities in her features as well. I don't know at this point what all to expect. She did tell us that right now her heart is the big problem. It is really hard to explain everything, especially when I feel like I don't know anything. I will definitely update everyone once I find out more.

After I put Kaden to bed I will add a video of Kaden's new trick.

Happy Halloween

Kaden is getting ready to hit the town in search of
candy!!!!



Here is Kaden showing off his monkey costume.





I think he has had enough of mom taking pictures.




Kaden is looking through all of the candy he collected.


We had a blast taking Kaden trick or treating. This was the first year Nate and I took him out. In the past we went over to grandpa and grandma's to help pass out candy, but this year we decided to let him have the full experience. The plan was to go out with my sister and nephew. However, those plans didn't quite work out since my nephew didn't get a nap and decided once we were out he did not want to trick or treat. So we borrowed my nephews candy bag since we didn't bring one for Kaden, we were not planning on collecting any candy since he won't eat it. We were thinking that Kaden going to the door and getting candy my entice my nephew...it didn't. So my sister and Miles went home. Kaden enjoyed going to the first house so Nate and I decided to take him to a few more houses. Well, Kaden was having a blast and we ended up trick or treating the whole two hours. He was so cute. Nate and I would take a very excited, squealing Kaden to a door and he would get his bag from me and hold it open for the candy. After receiving the candy he would sign "thank you" and wave bye-bye. After a few houses he had his routine down and didn't need our reminders to say thank you or bye. He even started saying "thank you" all the way up to the doors.

There were a few home owners who wore the scary masks. The first one we went to, Kaden had big eyes and was just staring at him. Nate, the homeowner, and myself were laughing so I guess Kaden decided that it was funny too, and began to laugh himself. So the rest of them that he saw he thought were pretty hilarious. I even overheard one mom telling her little girl who was probably in the 4th grade or so that "that little baby is up there, you should be able to go up there." Kaden had a ton of admires, including a 4 year old little girl. She came up to Kaden and began to rub his cheek and hold his hand all the while telling him how cute he was. This lasted for about 3-5 minutes and then Kaden had enough and began to wave bye-bye to her. Nate and I were so excited that Kaden seemed to have a blast and can not wait to take him next year. He did so well and was excited throughout the whole thing. Our next tackle will be to try and get a picture with Santa Claus. That one is still a maybe, it is just during the sickest time of the year so we will see. Our luck, Kaden will probably be more scared of Santa Claus than he was of the scary masks.