Catching Up

I find myself saying where in the world did the month of January go?! In hindsight, I know but choose not to remember. It's been a difficult and stressful month for our family but it's times like these that make you appreciate the good times that much more. Ella had been sick since New Years Day with an unexplained fever and through the course of a week learned that she had a uti that caused a kidney infection. Luckily it wasn't a severe infection requiring hospitalization but she was on medication for 14 days, followed by several follow up appts and tests. She was diagnosed with reflux of the bladder- out of 5 stages she is a 2.5-3. That means that hopefully over time she will "grow out of it" and not require surgery but she will be on a daily medication for the next 18 months to prevent further infection and kidney damage. In 18 months she will have to be recathed and have another ultrasound done to see if the condition is improving or if surgery is in her future. From talking with friends, I've learned that uti's in young girls is not uncommon and the tests are fairly routine; however, we are the 1st ones that have required treatment. So this is meant to share the knowledge with the other parents out there and if your child has a high fever with no other symptoms, tell them to check for a uti. The good news is she is in no pain and everything from now till then is preventative. All we can do is hope that she stays healthy and her body literally outgrows this condition. She is still a happy and playful and we are thankful that if this is what was chosen for her, that it's easily curable. My aunt Lois also passed away on Saturday, January 16th. She was my father's sister, the "boss" as we lovingly called her and a role model to me. She will be forever missed. I was able to travel to Pittsburgh to attend the memorial and as crazy as it sounds, it was great to reconnect with family- and what a HUGE family it is! Life won't be the same without her but life goes on all the same. Well, I surely can't end this post on a sad note so I included a few pics of Ella's 1st trip to Chuck E Cheese. Aubrey, a friend from school, invited us to her 2nd birthday party and they had a great time together. I see many playdates in our future!! We also look forward to the arrival of Max and Mia - twins for Carlo and Shannon. It was great seeing you at the shower and can't wait to meet your little angels. Wade says hold out for February 3rd!

Happy New Year - Bring on 2010

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and welcome the new year with optimism and good health. Thanks to our friends Ingrid and Steve, we were able to ring in 2010 as families. The kids had a great time, as did the parents, complete with pinata and fireworks. Avery actually napped for us that afternoon b.c he knew he was going to see his best friend Alex! Here they are all smiles as they toast to the new year! Fireworks fun!! Ella and daddy We traveled to Orlando, FL the week of Christmas and really enjoyed our time with Grandma and Grampa Schmiedecke. Aunt Stephers and Andy were there as well as Great Grandma for Christmas day. Santa Claus came out in full force this year and the kiddos were very excited. Santa even left a note to thank Avery for the cookies which had him speechless if you can imagine that! Avery and Aunt Stephers making brownies! Santa's visit on Christmas morning- all dressed on our Christmas pj's Avery helped Ella open HIS present to her- a baby doll Too bad the weather was just as cold as Texas during our visit. We did have one sunny, calm day that allowed the boys to take the boat out for some fishing. Even though the count was zero for fish, it was good bonding time and a great experience for Avery. Ella testing out the boat for herself Avery ready to go fishing Avery with Kaylei during our visit to WinterHaven to see our friends Kiki and Ashley; or as Kiki says, "Avery's future wife." Avery back at home, dressed in his pirate costume from Grampa Schmiedecke We also enjoyed an early Christmas in San Antonio with Grammie, GG, Aunt Shelly, cousin Evan and let's not forget Angel. It was a beautiful Christmas celebration with our Texas family. Here's a few pics from the fun weekend.

Getting in the Spirit

We hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving holiday. We had a great time at Grammie's house for our Thanksgiving feast. Josh, Mandy and Bella joined us which made for lots of fun for the kiddos and it was so good to see them again, it's been too long. Aunt Shelly and Avery Saturday Avery and daddy brought home our Christmas tree and the rest of the day was spent watching Avery play with the ornaments. If you didn't know already, Hallmark ornaments are my downfall. I tend to pick up at least a handful a year which has accumulated into quite a collection. Avery likes them b.c many play music and this year he found it rather entertaining to have them all playing at once. On Sunday he dressed up like the Grinch and was stealing the ornaments off the tree, placing them in a pillowcase! He even changed his clothes to make sure he was wearing as much green as possible, just like the Grinch. He is non-stop entertainment and exhausting all the same. Ella discovered the tree right away and loves to stare at the ornaments. She hasn't realized that she can take them off yet (hooray for us!) She also has this thing against a Santa we have standing in our hallway- she makes quite a fuss and is almost in tears every time she gets close to it so we've been moving it all over the house to accommodate her. Her newest thing is her laugh- she breaths in when she laughs making this high pitch sound, it's quite funny. We can't wait till Christmas morning to see the smiles on their faces when Santa delivers the presents.

Soccer Party

Yeah, it's the end of the Fall soccer season and that means an end of the season soccer party! The kids loved donuts at the park after our 8:30 game. Who could ask for anything more right? We're positive we won 1 game this season but overall it was a brutal experience. Like many of the other Dragons, Avery will be hanging up his soccer cleats and pursuing greener pastures. He has his sights set on karate but mom and dad need a reprieve. Maybe after the 1st of the year we will be ready to give sports another shot. Here's a few pics of the team and Avery receiving his medal from Coach Dad.

Trick or Treatin'

My apologies to everyone for taking so long to get these pictures posted. We were rather disappointed that Halloween for our little red riding hood was spent handing out candy at the house for an hour with a high fever while Avery and daddy were making the rounds in the neighborhood. I heard he did really good this year, saying Trick or Treat and thank you at every house. (According to Wade, he only busted out with a Trick or Treat, smell my feet once which was suprising since that was his favorite line the past week or so!) Ella was a trooper and looked so adorable in her costume made by Grandma Trish- you can see for yourself. She wasn't having the cape, understandably, and the leggings and shoes never made their debut either. I was happy to just get a picture of her smiling in her cute costume. We'll have another run at it before she grows out of it and pretend its Halloween. Avery was Darth Vader while Wade dressed in his gorilla suit. By the end of the night Avery was wearing the gorilla costume and cracking us up.. it was hilarious watching him walk around! It made mommy and daddy's night. Darth Gorilla??? Sharing the loot!