Adios paci -- Adios sleep

As innocent as she looks here, this child can be a royal terror when she hasn't gotten a good nap or long night's rest. Upon getting the cast off last week, we took the front off Avery's crib (as suggested by the doctor to prevent any more base jumping.) She adjusted pretty quickly and seemed pleased to have been trusted with a bit of freedom.

On Saturday, she told us that she was ready to trade in her paci for a toy. We'd been building up the moment for a while. Although we'd initially planned to get rid of the paci whe she turned 2, Stuart's arrival was a bit too imminent. But Saturday seemed perfect because she thought it was her idea. We took her to Babies R Us and let her trade it in for a big Magnadoodle. Of course, at naptime that day, she realized what she'd done and lost it. The last few days, she hasn't napped or slept through the night. No matter how rough it gets, she's not getting the paci back. We're just going to have to ride out this little storm.

She doesn't seem the least bit jealous of Stuart's paci. In fact, she loves to give it to him when he gets fussy. She's pretty proud of her baby brother.


Loving on Stuart

Stuart loves to swing

Stuart flexing his massive muscles

Welcome to the world baby girl!

Campbell Reese Loiseau was born Thursday to my sweet friend Keeley and her husband Gene. When I found out that she and I were expecting at the same time, I was thrilled to be going through this with her. Keeley and I have been friends as long as I can remember. Our moms were college roommates. Keeley's parents, Susan and Steve Furman, have always jokingly called me their second daugher, so I'm claiming this sweet baby as my niece.


Keeley, Gene and Campbell

Proud grandparents, Susan and Steve (Go-Go and Doodah, I think)

Little girl, you're going to have a great life! You've got really fun parents and your grandparents are full of energy. And Stuart is really looking forward to getting to know you!

"Doctor take Avery's arm off"

Avery has been looking forward to this day. We've been building it up for the last week so she wouldn't be afraid. She wanted to match her cast today to go to the hospital to see the doctor. She kept saying "Doctor take Avery's arm off" and we kept having to explain that he wasn't taking the arm off, just the cast.

They didn't really tell us what to expect this morning. We just showed up expecting to get the cast off, come home, and take a big bath. Not quite so easy. Avery had a minor flip out moment when the fella came at her with the saw (I think I would have, too, at that age), but she sat really still and let him pry it off. He was desperately trying to joke with her, but she wasn't having anything to do with it. Poor guy.

Next, they took her for an x-ray to see if the arm had healed correctly. They informed me afterward that if it hadn't we would have to have another cast put on. Try telling that to a 2-year-old who is living for her freedom from the cast. Luckily, the x-rays looked great, so they had to take the pins out. No anesthesia. Poor child. The nurse gripped each pin with pliers and pulled. Kill me. Even bubbles and a Lion King book couldn't distract the child. They slapped on a Bugs Bunny band-aid and sent us home.

We got the bill for all this over the weekend. It was over $10K before insurance. That's more than it cost to have Stuart and stay in the hospital 3 days! That's crazy!!! The bulk of the expense was anesthesia. There's no telling how much Stuart would have cost if I'd gotten an epidural. One more reason I'd do it all over again! He's happy to hear that he didn't cost too much.

Baby Goliath

Stuart had his 1-month checkup today. Our big boy is now 11 lbs., 11 oz. and 23 1/4 inches long. That puts him in the 95th percentile! When he was born, Alice Griffith lovingly dubbed him "Baby Goliath," so I guess it's gonna stick!

Yesterday, Avery found funfetti frosting in the pantry and begged me to help her bake me a birthday cake since I didn't have one last week. The cake turned out great and she went into sugar shock from licking the spoon. Aside from a broken egg on the counter, we managed to keep the kitchen fairly clean. I'm raising a little Betty Crocker!

As promised

As promised, here are some photos of a happier child in her cast.

Here's Stuart (Baby Goliath) in the same bassinet my grandma slept in as a baby.

And Avery LOVES her baby brother. Aren't they sweet?


This is a personal favorite. Grandaddy is very excited about his first great grandson!

Spiritual Bath

Sunday morning, I went to church for the first time in a month. Chad agreed to stay home with Stuart so I could take Avery with me to Sherrod Avenue, the church I attended growing up. We sat with my best friend Jennifer and her husband Jason. Avery managed to behave herself, staying distracted by a Magna-doodle and goldfish crackers. But during the invitation song, a young girl went forward to be baptized. Avery seemed concerned when the projector screen raised, so I explained what was going to happen.

I told her, "Watch the curtain. It's going to open and there will be a boy and a girl back there. He's going to baptize her because she believes in Jesus." Avery looked up at me with big eyes and said, "Amen."

When we got back to Grandma's to get Chad and Stuart, Avery was still talking about the baptism and sharing every detail with Chad. She kept telling him that the girl got a bath behind the curtain and that she wiped her eyes and that she was crying and that people were clapping. Chad told her that it wasn't the same kind of bath that she gets. The best he could come up with was that it was a spiritual bath. Pretty good, huh?

We'd been in Florence for my 10-year reunion. It was a very low-key gathering at Dale's Steak House. We had a great time catching up with each other. Music City was well represented, so we're determined to get together regularly here with the Nashville residents.

I know I promised pictures, but I have yet to download them to the computer. Next time ...

On the upswing

Just a quick update ... we're doing much better. Avery is finally trying to be active. For the first couple of days with the cast, she just wanted to let it hang limply by her side. We've encouraged her to use it as much as she can. She is mostly frustrated with herself when she can't do something that would normally come very easily to her. Since she's left-handed, eating and coloring are the toughest tasks.



If any of you have tips on how to dress her, please help me! At least we're staying inside all the time right now. We can only put sleeveless or short-sleeved shirts on her and they have to have big enough holes to fit her cast through. Pray that this cold snap is short-lived! If we let her have her way, she'd wear her nightgown all day long!

The first couple of nights, we had to wake up every 2 hours to wiggle Avery's fingers for her to make sure she doesn't swell and be certain her arm is in an elevated position. I was taking two shifts when I was already going to be up to feed Stuart. (Interrupted sleep is common in our household!) Now we're cutting back to every 4 hours because she's finally doing most of the moving on her own.

We head back to the doctor for x-rays on Monday! Let's hope the arm is healing correctly. Pictures of a happier, more active child next time ....