"Picnic N Playhouse"

Avery has a new outdoor playset from her grandparents and nothing else could have brought her so much joy!  I moved it onto our porch for now; we have had TERRIBLE weather the last couple of days!  When it clears up and our yard dries out it will go back in the grass for her enjoyment! You will notice she has two hairbows instead of one. Now when I put one in she immediately asks for "one more!" Funny girl!

Daddy on a Stick

Ryan and I looked long and hard for homes when we decided to move out of the Little Rock Air Force Base Housing. We really disliked our living situation on base and resented the Air Force taking our entire housing allowance ($1000) for a tiny, 800 sq ft duplex. We did not know how good we had it; if we found a bug we called the housing office and they came and sprayed, when the AC was out someone came and worked on it for free, we had a tiny yard to mow, a fenced in yard for the dogs (in fact our new puppy at the time, Hondo, ate a hole in the side of the house and no one said a word) and we had lots of family time while there because Ryan was able to come home during the day. We are so thankful for our home in Sherwood, AR. We really like the neighborhood, we love the location (a Wal-Mart is literally across the street and the base is 10 minutes away), the size is just right and there is amazing storage space. However, there are some really negative sides to our first house. Our bath room layout is poor and the bathtub/shower were not installed properly, our bedroom is way too small for our furniture, the insulation is average - you get the point. The worst part of our home is the yard. We bought on a hill which didn't seem like a big deal at the time but now that we have a child it has become very clear how yucky it is! If you want to see the problems with the yard check out my submission to DIY's "America's Most Desperate Landscape." I hope they pick us! We could really use some help! 
http://my.diynetwork.com/amdl-2010/South/Erosion-Explosion/detail.esi?oid=16115344

Half Birthday

Avery turned 18 months old on April 15th and to celebrate we went to one of the Sanders' favorite places, "Shakeys" for some homeade custard!  Our friends Chris and Sarah met us and because Miss Avery Beth does not get many sweet treats she was over the moon excited! 

The first 16 or 17 months or her life were spent "catching up" developmentally.  It is so cool to look at an 18 month developmental milestone checklist and realize that your child is on target or more advanced.  It was a first for me and I was so excited.  So what does this 18 month old do?

• Avery loves to color and play outside.  If she is not doing one she is doing the other!  She has a new playset from her grandparents that she ADORES! 
• Avery is saying all kinds of funny words and is so spunky!  Her favorite word is "uh oh" followed by "help me!"  She also says, eat, hungry, Georgia, Hondo, outside, cracker, juice, ball, hot, cook, clock, boo boo, please and thank you, night night, binky, baby, car, truck, Avery's slide, bubbles, nana, cheese, poop, mess, MORE, one more, dance, music, Bebe, doggy, deer, HI!  Wow!  I've got a little chatter box on my hands.
• She loves to mimic.  She sees things done one time and then imitates them exactly.  It is crazy!  She saw a screw driver being used once and now she walks around the house trying to screw things in!  She saw me shave my leg once and the next week came at me with the razor and tried to shave my legs.  She found the fingernail clippers and tried to clip my nails!  
• She explores everything.  She loves to clean out my purse and the cabinets in my bathroom.  
• She loves her baby and she loves her binky!  I just do not have the heart to take her pacifier away!  
• She sleeps through the night and when she wakes up in the morning she entertains herself for at least 15-20 minutes.  I am not a morning person so this agreement between us works out nicely.  It takes me about that long to clear the fog.
• She is charming.  Everywhere we go she makes a friend and says, "HI!" to anyone we pass...even when they aren't looking.  She often smiles and tilts her head and waits on the, awwwww she is so cute.  She knows exactly what she is doing!

As you can see I am totally smitten with her.  I told Ryan tonight over the phone some of the funny, quirky stories about his daughter and he says she is who she is because of me.  I say she is who she is because she has TWO parents that adore her, grandparents that could not love her more, family that supports us, friends that keep her giggling and so much love in her world!    

The Sun Did Not Shine...But We Did!

Even though it was raining, hailing and lightening on Saturday at the March of Dimes, "March For Babies," Avery's Aviators were still able to shine!  The walk was cancelled after a major hail storm came through the area...we were all standing under a tent as it came down!  Many of the folks on our team came out despite the weather and looked awesome in their T-shirts.

I was told by a March of Dimes representative that never has a family team raised more than $5,000 in the entire state of Arkansas.  Avery's Aviators raised $8,055!  I am so proud of all of our fundraising efforts and feel confident what we did and the inspiration of my Avery is going to make a difference in the lives of so many.  Thank you to all of the folks who joined our team or gave GENEROUSLY to Avery's Aviators!

 

Professional Photos...18 Months in the Making

There were so many wonderful things that came out of our time in the UAMS NICU.  While there we fell in love with our baby and knew for the rest of our lives we would do anything for her happiness.  Encountering so many families that were struggling made us appreciate our own situation; we realized that we had it pretty good.  Ryan and I learned that our marriage grew stronger in times of crisis and it brought out the best in us instead of the worst.  The best thing we encoutered was the kindness of others.  Nurses gave us tissues when we could not hold back the tears, doctors hugged our necks and shared in our victories, volunteers from Ryan's squadron brought us meal upon meal, perfect strangers sent us emails and words of encouragement through our blog.  We also had a neat surprise the day Avery came off the ventilator.  Crystal Goss, a local photographer, volunteers her time and talents to take pictures of NICU babies and she offered to take Avery's picture.  As you will see below Ryan and I were totally unprepared - he still looks in shock and I look so tired.  But the good news is the pictures were not about us they were about Avery Beth.  So why are we just now seeing these pictures you ask?  Crystal already had one child born prematurely (this explains her interest in photographing preemies!) and was put on bedrest with her second pregnancy shortly after she took Avery Beth's picture.  The March of Dimes preparations reminded me I never received these pictures and I found the name of the photographer and gave her a call.  As it turns out her family is the March of Dimes Ambassador Family for Arkansas this year!  I have been checking my email inbox almost hourly since we talked - I am so excited to share these!

No More Itty Bitty Babies!

When Avery Beth was born I did not have a direct connection with a premature baby. As far as I knew I did not know anyone with a premature baby. In fact I thought of preemies as those small versions of Cabbage Patch Kids! I had no idea what a premature baby looked like, how they struggled and how their birth could change lives forever. After having my sweet baby girl I found friends from all corners of the nation that had preemies, were a preemie or were somehow helpful in educating me about what we were going through. So many people contacted us to tell us their stories of miracles - I was astonished by how many people we knew who had been impacted by a premature birth! I in fact have a close friend here in Little Rock that was a former preemie weighing exactly what Avery did when she was born...2 lbs 6 oz. I am so thankful for her friendship and know that God placed her in our lives for a very special reason. It was comforting knowing that my baby had the potential to grow up to be smart, successful and beautiful too. But because of all of these stories my eyes were opened to a huge problem and that is why we walk with and raise money for the March of Dimes! We walk with hop that no one else we love will go through this struggle! I don't think anyone else but Ryan and myself (and maybe my mom) have seen this video clip. Avery was about 2 weeks old, finally off the ventilator and making her first sounds. I remember crying tears of joy when I finally heard my baby making noises! She even had an opinion then...she did not care for all that stuff "all up in her grill!" I love that you can hear the nurse in the background. I will forever be thankful for those ladies who took care of my baby when I could not!

Marching!

Avery Beth and I will be walking this Saturday in the March of Dimes, "March for Babies!" I am so excited and am desperate for no rain! Above is a picture taken of Avery just moments after her birth. It was such a scary time for us and am thankful for all the people who helped us through our struggle, including the March of Dimes. It is so amazing that this tiny little baby has inspired so many to give!


We have our very own team, "Avery's Aviators" and above is our team logo. We currently have 25 team members and have raised a whopping $6,765!!! We have so much momentum right now! I am so close to my goal of $1,000 but I am $130 short. Click this link http://www.marchforbabies.org/personal_page.asp?pp=79702&ct=4&w=4064292&u=laurengsanders or the purple box to the right to give!

Please think long and hard about giving to the March of Dimes. What a difference they can make in the life of a family. One of the focuses for March of Dimes funds is on educating expecting mothers about what to look for and signs of problems with their pregnancy. How different my experience may have been if I had been more informed about my symptoms and knew to question my doctor. I was so sick. I was literally dying, in my bedroom, alone, with a dismissive doctor who sent me out the door with pain killers and an appointment at a specialist for heartburn. I learned so much from my experience and feel it is MY DUTY to tell expectant mothers to trust their body, visit the March of Dimes website while expecting, ask for a second opinion and trust their new "maternal instinct" if they feel something is wrong. I wish I had.

This image was taken the day Avery was born. Her hand was the size of my engagement ring. So tiny!