ok. So this year we started Christmas the weekend before with Christmas at the Schrocks. we had a glimpse into life with three kiddos. This year our time was spent eating, entertaining kids, eating some more and sleeping whenever we can. It was a drastic difference from years past when we spent time doing puzzles and playing games. I think it is only the beginning. next year we will have three getting into everything.
we then got home and spent the evening doing Christmas with the kids. Each of them got to open there present or should we say Jackson opened there presents. Avenlea got her first Baby Doll and Jackson got his train set. Have to say I think Jackson likes there two gifts equally. We then took the Christmas tree down and put away the decorations. Don't worry we really aren't scrooges. We just had plans to leave town. We were headed to MN on wednesday and this was the last chance I had to have help. plus we had therapy and packing to do the rest of the week.
My mom called Monday and weather was not looking promising for our trip to MN. She basically said we shouldn't come. I decided to wait and call on Wednesday morning. However the outlook was still BAD!! my dad said don't come. Adrian decided if we got on the road by 10 we would be ok. So we headed out. We had great travels, good kiddos, and then we hit MN. My older brother made it through white out conditions the next day, but we MISSED My younger brother greatly. We will have to see him next time we are in MN. Hopefully in february
to give you an idea of the amount of snow, here are some pics of the kids outside. there was a good foot almost two everywhere.
we had hopes of a snow man but it was so crusted with ice, there was no moving it. we did find out one thing, that is Jackson is not a fan of being bundled up..We had a great time with my immediate family and we opened gifts from Grandma. Jackson got an Allis Chalmers D45 tractor the same tractor that Grandpa drives in his tractor pulls. One of these days we will be home in the summer and he will get to ride on the real thing. but till then this is what he will have.
He Loves it. Avenlea got another babydoll and some adorable outfits from Nana and Papa
(see the sweater below). We got an updated picture of the grandkids and Nana and Papa. it is amazing how often we have to do this with little ones. They are all growing up too fast.
we all headed north to the twin cities for our fourth celebration with the Christensen Clan. My mom side on Saturday. It was great to see everyone. this was the first time for Avenlea to meet everyone and even the first for some to meet Jackson. My cousin Jason has been serving as a pilot and said this is the first year in 7 he has been home for all of Christmas. It was great to see him and have him there. We did miss those that couldn't make it too. These days we take who we can get. Thanks Judy for hosting.
the greatest Christmas present this year (after the birth of Christ off course) is seeing all these people and having a great time and coming home with two healthy kids. God is good!!
Happy New Year everyone!!! not sure where the last one went, hope all is as great in the next decade of 2010.
lots has been happening in the schrock home over the past few months. So I will try and give a quick update. Jackson trasitioned into his big boy bed. he looks so tiny in it. Eventually he will fill it up. then on Thanksgiving weekend Avenlea was dedicated. It was great to have my Mom and Dad out here and we took advantage. It is kinda neat that both our kiddos were dedicated on the same weekend, two years apart, on the first Sunday of Advent each year. It is the Sunday of Hope. Every since Jackson was born, Hope is something we have alot of and it is because our our Savior that we have it. So pretty special. Jackson has become quite the mover and shaker. Which has added a new level of supervision to our daily activities. he is into everything. although frustrating, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I smile everytime I see him do something new. he has started to climb, sit on his own, and he can even touch his toes while sitting. He is bending over and and picking things up off the floor in the middle of a room. You probably think these are normal things, and they are. However for Jackson they are developmental things that we have skipped over or struggled with due to his medical complications. He also is talking a mile a minute and most of it you can't understand. But he has about 200 words that we can get. Including McDonalds and French Fries. Odd for a kid that doesn't eat it. HAHA!!
Speaking of eating. We about two month ago agreed with our Nutritionist that Jackson was getting a bit ROTUND!! he had increased to the 95% again and he was finally to a good weight so we said we would like to decrease the calories in his diet. So we did. in November we started to notice a correlation with this and his throwing up. We are happy to report that since mid November, so about a month, we have thrown up maybe four times. This is crazy exciting when you think that since birth he use to urp almost 9 times a day. We have also noticed since this started he has been asking for and tasting different foods. He asks for cereal, crackers, he went to town on some pizza sauce the other day, and overall if you let HIM DO IT, he will try most things. We still get a little freaked out when it gets in his mouth and he doesn't know what to do with it. so that will be a little bit challenging. We have Drs behind us too for the first time in a long time. They have planned some testing and are going to do a feeding evaluation of him in Feb. So we look forward to some outside opinions and ideas.
Speaking of Eating. Little Miss Avenlea is eating too. She started Cereal about four weeks ago, but only in the past two weeks have we decided to start on a schedule. this is new to me...so if you have any advice on best times to try it that would be great. we have been mega frustrated. I think she is too hungry when we are trying, so she is impatient. Also we don't have a clue what we are doing. But we are working on it. I think I am also frustrated, because we thought it would help with sleeping and it seems to have made it worse rather than better.
well that is an update in the Schrock home. A few frustrations, but lots of excitement this holiday season. it is so much fun when you can do baking with your kids and get to find special things for them.
We have so much to be thankful for and SO MUCH TO THANK OUR SAVIOR FOR. Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!
So 6 month visit went well. For new news: we found out that Avenlea has a growth on her head. I thought it was just a mole, but Adrian has said that it has been bigger some days than others, so we decided to ask about it today. The doc says that it is a .............i can't spell it, say it or pronounce it. So it will continue growing until she is about the age of one and then should start to disappear or fall off. He said hers is in a good place it won't get in the way of breathing or sight which some of them do. Could get in the way once we have to come her hair, but for now we are ok. He said we will monitor it, but for now it is fine.
She weighed in at 17 lbs 10 ounces and is 26 1/4 inches long. So much for being a preemie...she is in the 75th percentile on the big girl chart in both categories. WOWSA!!! I am not use to hearing these numbers. Way to GO GIRL!! They are also very pleased that her head has caught up too. she is average now. Avenlea is growing well and he said everything else is on track we just need to work on some more tummy time. She is loving sitting with a boppy but falls over quick and she hasn't rolled over since her tummy sleeping at two months. So we need to get her moving. Last time we had her on her tummy though she said forget the rolling, pushed her knees under her and I thought she was going to say bye mom and take off. I am happy I have a little more time before this happens.
Update on Jackson.... he got his flu booster today. It was quick he pulled down his pants got the shot and pulled them back up, with some help. But he was a trooper, very few tears and he even gave his sister kisses and told her she would be ok. I am not sure if I should be proud of him or if this should make me cry. HE has been through so much shots are minor too him.
We head to Riley tonight. We have appointments at 8 am tomorrow, blood work and some x-rays. We also see Dr Lubicky, our Ortho doc for the last time. He is moving south to take a position as the head of ortho surgery somewhere down there. We will be sad to see him go and we are incredibly thankful to him for what he has done so far. We have the joy of seeing him walk today, because of his talent in combo with the determination of our little man.
We are going to stop in and see the Younghans' while we are down there. We have been praying for Barrett that he gets well. Barrett was in my youth group when I first moved out here. He was like 12 then, and he is now 17 and was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy, an enlargening of the heart. Please pray for his quick recovery and peace for their family in all the decisions that have to be made in the hospital.
That is the update around here. have a happy monday.
I can't believe my baby is a half a year old. (Since it is too cold outside for pictures and she can't sit up quite yet on her own you are going to have to enjoy these. ) I can't believe how big she is. WOW!! We haven't had her check up so I will have to tell you next week after her doc visit. She is so full of life. She spends her awake time, chewing mostly on her fists. You would think that she was going to eat them whole by how far in her mouth she gets them. She is sleeping or was sleeping through the night about 8 to 7. Now however has started the last couple of weeks waking up once to twice a night. We started Cereal to see if this would help, we saw an improvement at first but it has slacked off recently. She is still getting use to the cereal and the little bits of fruits we have tried. I am new at this so I am not sure what I am doing. So any advice you have on starting food is more than welcome. this is my second kid but the first one that wants to eat.
All in all she is a content little girl. She is happy as a lark even in the middle of the night. She is smiling and laughing all the time. More and more she is starting to look like her big brother. Speaking of Jackson, he loves talking back or should we say shrieking back at her. We call it talking. It is fun to watch them interact. She is pushing up on her knees when on her tummy and still hates to be there. She doesn't last long. She absolutely is in love with bath time or just being naked. She kicks around, smiles and laughs through the whole thing. She loves to splash and tends to make her way down the tub from one end to the other.
She loves to stand, not to interested in laying around anymore. She trys to sit up every chance she gets. She love looking at books and sing songs with her big brother and watchs every move he makes. Even the bad ones *hopefully she is not taking notes*
I gotta say I am having a blast with a little girl. It is ALOT harder to pass up all the cute clothes in the stores and not want to start buying her dolls and kitchens and all that girly stuff I remember having so much fun with as a kid. I don't want her to grow up too fast, but I can't wait for tea parties and playing with her when she is a little older.
the first 6 months have been great!! Can't wait to watch her grow for the next 6months too.
we then got home and spent the evening doing Christmas with the kids. Each of them got to open there present or should we say Jackson opened there presents. Avenlea got her first Baby Doll and Jackson got his train set. Have to say I think Jackson likes there two gifts equally. We then took the Christmas tree down and put away the decorations. Don't worry we really aren't scrooges. We just had plans to leave town. We were headed to MN on wednesday and this was the last chance I had to have help. plus we had therapy and packing to do the rest of the week.
