Auvenshine Family Blog

Avery visits her Great Grandfather in Ohio

2010-08-15T19:50:00.000-07:00

Avery and I flew to Ohio for 5 days at the beginning of August. Thankfully the days leading up to our trip to, Avery's acid reflux got better and her blocked tear duct opened up. Praise the Lord! After reading about the procedure required if the tear duct doesn't open up (general anesthesia and a probe poked down through the membrane in the duct), I decided really needed to start praying that God would prevent us from going to that. And what do you know, only a few days later and it opened. No more goopy eye! God sure is good!

Avery and I had a wonderful visit with our family up north. She got to meet her great grandpa, her great aunt and her two cousins. She had her fussy moments intermingled with lots of smiles.

Avery meets her great-Papa

Wow! She's amazed at that BIG nose!

Avery and her Great-Aunt Abbey

The many faces of S.K. and Avery!!

Brian and Avery

It's a great life, even on the worst days!

2010-07-18T21:50:00.000-07:00

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD--Psalm 127:3

Our little ones sure are a blessing and a gift, even on the worst days. Over the last month Avery has been suffering from acid reflux. This has been pretty miserable for everyone (although it could be much worse than it is). She cries a lot, has trouble eating during the day, and only sleeps 4-5 hours at a time at night. This results in a very tired Momma.

Nonetheless, she is such a joy to us. When she is feeling good, she is full of smiles. She loves to smile most at her big brother. Scott certainly had some adjusting to do when Avery first came around, but now he has warmed toward her and is such a sweet big brother, giving her lots of kisses and always wanting to help her stop crying (usually this means trying to shove a pacifier in her mouth). The other day I thought he was trying to poke her eye out and couldn't figure out why he was being so aggressive. I then realized he was trying to wipe her eye that has the blocked tear duct, like Mike and I do.

So, while I am usually in a sleep-deprived state, sometimes get weary of crying kids, and on occasion think for a moment that putting the kids in daycare and going back to teaching would be easier, I love my days of being at home with these two precious little ones. I wouldn't trade this wonderful life that God has given me for anything.

Scott loves having his picture taken. We call this his cheesy grin.

Avery deep in thought, but not crying, thanks to the hospital pacifier. I hope we never lose it because you can't buy them!

Here's our smiley girl

She sure loves her big brother!

Such a sweet boy!

Visiting Mam-maw in the hospital in San Angelo over the 4th of July weekend

Not sure what this look is all about

Avery and her Grandma

Trip to Hot Springs, Arkansas

2010-07-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

At the end of May, Mike and I packed up the Durango (and I mean packed up the Durango), picked up Mom and headed to Hot Springs, Arkansas. We had strategically planned this trip. We knew we would need help adjusting with two kids, so why not invite Grammy and Aunt Linda on a trip with us to be nannies while we adjust.

The six of us spent a week at a great 2-bedroom timeshare right on Lake Hamilton. Scott loved watching the boats.

So Hot Springs National Park of course gets its name from the hot springs found here. In the middle of town is bathhouse row, which is part of the national park. Because of our love of national parks, Mike and I had to try out the traditional bath house located here.

We went early one morning to the "not so private" private bath. Let's just say it was interesting. The pictures below are actually from the visitor's center, but the bathhouse we went to was very similar. Here's how it all went down:

1st: we were told to undress and an attendant wrapped a sheet around us (except that Mike and I were in separate parts of the bathhouse. There's a men's side and a women's side). We were then led to a whirlpool tub like the one above. Then, an attendant used a loofa to bath us--scrubbed our legs, back, arms. This was just too weird.

2nd: Then there was the sitz bath. Yep, just like it sounds, you sit in a hot bath in that sink looking thing. The literature says it's supposed to be good for hemorrhoids. If you don't have those, not sure what it's good for.

3rd: Next you almost die in one of these steam cabinets. At least I felt like I was going to die. Didn't care for this much. You get in there and only your head sticks out the hole in the top.

4th: finally is the needle shower. Not sure why it is called that. It sounds painful, but it was actually very pleasant, a semi-cool shower after that dreaded steam cabinet.

This was the tower overlooking the Oachita mountains.

We went on one of those duck vehicles. Glad ours didn't sink! Scott had been watching all the boats out of our condo for days and would get so excited about them. Then, he fell asleep for the whole boat ride on the duck. Poor guy, he was wiped out!

Scott holding his little sister for the first time.

Avery's first 2 weeks of life

2010-06-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pics of Avery's first 2 weeks of life, including a trip to the Fort Worth Zoo.

Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo

The white tigers

Avery slept through her first zoo trip

Scott watching the gibbons, his favorite animal

Avery's first outing...to Target to get her picture taken.

Avery's first bath

Mother's Day Weekend

2010-06-25T20:01:00.000-07:00

I got the best gift any mother could ask for for Mother's Day...a new baby girl...along with a really pretty pair of earrings and a necklace! Mema, Papa, Steve, Cindi, Will, and my parents came to Denise's to celebrate.

Here are the pics...

It was not easy at first, but Scott was showing how much he liked his new sister with a kiss on the head.

Mema and Papa with Avery

Avery with her Aunt Cindi
and her Aunt Denise (below)

Grammy reading to Scott and Avery

Watering plants at Aunt Denise's

Avery Suzanne is finally here!

2010-05-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

If you had asked me at the beginning of 2005 what my life would look like in 5 years, I would never had said that I would have a wonderful husband and 2 amazing kids. But, God has a way of blessing us beyond what we could ever imagine or expect. So much in my life has changed over the last 5 years, and I thank God everyday for the blessings He has given...All praise and glory to Him.

Our sweet and beautiful, Avery Suzanne, was delivered on May 5, 2010, and now we have two of the cutest kids, ever. Of course, we are a little biased. We had scheduled a c-section for that day. I thought 5/5/10 would be a great birthday, aside from making her a Cinco de Mayo baby.

However, I was quite large (seen in an earlier post only two days before her birth), and after quite a few contractions, we thought she would come earlier. Funny thing is, I didn't know I was having contractions. I kept telling Mike that she was just pushing down and creating a lot of uncomfortable pressure. When we got to the hospital and on a monitor, I realized that what I had been feeling for about 4 days were really contractions!

But, she and I held out until the 5th, and everything went just as smoothly as planned during the c-section.

Hope you enjoy the pictures...sorry it took so long to get these pictures posted! I know some of you are anxiously awaiting them!!

Pre-op preparations. I was definitely a little more nervous this time around. With Scott, I was in labor for 25 hours, was exhausted, and just wanted him out (C-section was welcome). This time, I had lots of time to think about what was going to happen, and had to sign all those hospital liability waivers... you know, the ones that tell you everything bad that can happen (like dying!)

The C-section went just as planned. Here is Avery being delivered by Dr. Wilson.

Dr. Wilson and other OR staff sang her "Happy Birthday." It was so sweet and special!!

Getting carried to the nursery for her first bath.

Scott and Grandma looking in the nursery windows.

Clean baby girl!

They brought Avery to me in the recovery room. She looks so much like her brother. Same chin, mouth, cheeks, and nose.

We chose the name Avery Suzanne because for many years I have wanted to name a baby girl after my grandmother Averynelle. We chose Suzanne from Mike's and my mothers' middle names, Patricia Ann and Linda Susan.

Grandad and Avery

Avery and Dr. Baker, the best pediatrician ever--and I'm not just saying that because you share an office with my husband!

Grammy and Avery

Grandpa and Avery

Yummy...clear liquids in postpartum

Grandma and Avery

Avery and Dr. Wilson, who is the best OB/Gyn ever. He took great care of Avery and me.

Poppa and his little girl

Chris, my postpartum nurse, wheeling me out to go home

Coming home to meet her big brother

Avery's nursery

2010-05-08T16:46:00.000-07:00

We converted our office into Avery's room.

Bluebonnets

2010-05-05T19:32:00.000-07:00

So, it's been a really long time since I have written on our blog. They are long overdue, but here are some pictures of Scott in the bluebonnets. He is wearing his very handsome Easter suit.

Our little scarecrow

2009-10-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took our little scarecrow to the Flower Mound Pumpkin patch. What an experience! Last year our little pumpkin was only about 6 weeks old and just stayed wherever we put him. No so this year! He wanted to run everywhere. I hardly got any pictures, because most of the time I only saw his back as he was off to check out something new.

Bright sun and squinted eyes!

A pumpkin just my size!

Didn't like the hat so much, but loved the big pumpkin wagon.

Scott kept "stealing" other peoples wagon of pumpkins.

His favorite thing was to run up to a pumpkin, turn it on its side, and roll it...even when they were almost as big as him!

Looking at the ponies.

Last year he cried when we put him down in the pumpkins...this year he cried when we picked him up to leave!

Scott's First Birthday Party

2009-09-18T18:37:00.000-07:00

Scott's first birthday was on August 26th. We celebrated by having a party for him at his Great Aunt Denise's and Uncle Randy's house. Lots of people came to wish him a happy birthday and to watch him eat his first cake.

Denise and I worked on birthday cakes until late the night before his party. Why does it always seem like I am decorating cakes late at night?

The small cake (above) was just for Scott and the monkey cake (below) was for everyone else. We also made some cupcakes with bananas on them.

Scott's birthday lunch....Gerber Lasagna with meat sauce....yummm!

Maddi Gallamore giving Scott some tips about eating his first cake

Uncle Randy, Schaffer and Lib Harris

Grandma and Mam-aw

Ashley and Daniel

Kirby and Daisy

Sophie Gallamore

Papa and Mema

Scott playing with one of his new toys, a Dora car. How many time have I heard, "We made it to the carnival and danced the fiesta trio!" Ugh!

What's better than a stuffed animal that is bigger than you!

Scott savoring his motherload of gifts!!

Coming home from Ruidoso

2009-09-18T18:28:00.001-07:00

On our way home from Ruidoso, we spent the night in Lubbock with our friends Jacob and Georgia Reed. We had a great time hanging out with them, and Scott enjoyed playing with their toys.

When we arrived home Scott managed to find his very favorite food...Gerber crunchies (a.k.a. baby cheetos). You can see a mischievous look on his face as he breaks into the container.

Typhoid Scotty in Ruidoso, NM

2009-09-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Early in August we spent a week in Ruidoso, NM. Grandma, Grandpa, and Mam-aw were also able to join us. Our condo was located on top of one of the surrounding mountains and had an amazing view.

It was a great trip and only tainted by a nasty stomach bug. Scott appropriately gained the Typhoid Scotty. The day before we left for NM Scott went to Mother's Day Out and got sick while he was there. The next day Grammy and Grandad came over for a morning visit while we packed for the trip. By the time we arrived at our condo, both Scott and I were throwing up. By Sunday, Grammy, Grandad, Mike, Grandma, and Mam-aw had all come down with it. Grandpa was the only one spared. As you can see, Typhoid Scotty was quite fitting.

Illness and all we managed to get some good photos of our cute boy.

View from our balcony

Views from Ski Apache

More views from our balcony

Poppa and a sick little boy

Scott's 2nd visit to Ohio

2009-08-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

At the end of July, Dad, Scott, and I flew up to Ohio to visit family up there. It was Scott's second visit to the Buckeye State. We had a great time and got to see the whole family--Papa, Aunt Abbey, Uncle George, and cousins Brian and S.K.

Scott kept wanting to pick his nose while we were there. If he inherits the Schulz nose, he'll have lots of picking to do!

Below are two four-generation photos.

I LOVE ice cream...yumm!

2009-07-18T20:51:00.000-07:00

Scott got to share his Poppa's ice cream. And he got the best ice there is--Beth Marie's. At first he wanted a bite, then he wasn't so sure about it, and then he decided he wanted more. Too cute!

4th of July

2009-07-18T20:44:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July, we went to Arkansas to visit Aunt Linda and Uncle Ronny. Mema and Papa went with us and we had a great time. Scott got to go on his first 4 wheeler ride and played games with everyone.

First Busted Lip...bummer!!

2009-07-18T20:41:00.000-07:00

Not long after arriving home from Canada, Scott fell and busted his upper lip. Poor thing! Those darn teeth!

Trip to the Canadian Rockies--Part 2

2009-07-18T20:11:00.000-07:00

Views of Banff

You will notice a theme in these pictures. Mike is always holding Scott and I am always taking the photos. Since I carried Scott for the first nine months of his life, Mike gets to carry him for the next nine. :)

Mount Rundle at the edge of Banff.

A grizzly bear behind the wildlife fence in Banff.

On our way out of the National Parks we got to see a train going through the spiral tunnels, which was built to prevent steep grades over the mountains. It is hard to tell in the photo, but you can actually see three parts of the train as it travels through the spirals.

Natural bridge on the way to Emerald Lake

On our way out to Emerald Lake, we stopped off to see the above Natural Bridge. We got to see this unexpected "natural" phenomenon. Jessica grabbed by camera and had the guts to take a picture. I figured if she was willing to show it off in public, she wouldn't mind a photo. We all had a great laugh.

This is Emerald Lake in Yoho National Park. It was one of the few lakes not frozen over, so we were able to see the beautiful blue-green color created by the rock flour.

Mike and Scott at the top of the Lake Louise gondola.

This was the walk to the Peyto Lake viewpoint. We are actually walking along a paved road. You can see the speed limit sign to the side. It was a fun walk, just a little slick in spots.

Viewpoint and Peyto Lake.

Scott gets his first romp in the snow...not sure he liked it all that much. I guess it's a good thing he lives in Texas.

This is bow lake, and like most of the lakes in the Canadian Rockies it was frozen over.

This is crowfoot glacier. You can see two toes and the remains of the third one.

Trip to the Canadian Rockies--Part 1

2009-05-20T21:20:00.000-07:00

We flew to Vancouver, BC, on May 15 and picked up our friends Stephen and Jessica for a trip out to the Canadian Rockies.

Scott in front of the Banff Springs Hotel.

The above two pictures are from a dinner show called Oh, Canada, Eh? It was a little cheesy, but entertaining.

May in Alberta is not quite like May in Texas. This was the snow falling at our resort in Canmore, Alberta. Crazy weather here. Sunny one minute...snowing the next.

Posing at the Banff Springs Hotel. (above two pics)

Mike and I have played in the snow every summer since we have been together.
2005--Mt. Hood, Oregon
2006--Yosemite National Park
2007--Mt. Baker, Washington
2008--Engineer Pass, Colorado
So, we couldn't pass up the snow in Alberta...Mike even made a snow angel!

Athabasca Glacier, between Banff and Jasper...Next 6 pics...

Walking on the glacier on 1000 feet of ice.

The vehicle that took us out on the glacier.

Scott had a major meltdown on that vehicle in the above picture, which continued outside...he finally crashed on my shoulder.

Following pics (except bear) are from Lake Louise...still mostly frozen over, but still beautiful.

On our way into the National Park we saw two black bears on the side of the highway. We got a picture of this one.

Bluebonnets

2009-04-16T14:18:00.001-07:00

We couldn't pass up the opportunity to take Scott's pictures in the bluebonnets!

Myrtle Beach--Scott's first trip to the beach

2009-03-24T18:37:00.000-07:00

We got to Myrtle Beach on Saturday afternoon. Our friends Shane and Tish McGuire have joined us until Thursday.

We've had a great time...just been a little chillier than we'd like. We did get a chance to take Scott out to the beach when it was a little warmer. I've posted several pics from our photo shoot...he's just so darn cute, I couldn't help but post them.

Tish collected some shells while we walked on the beach. The guys were playing golf, so we decided to enjoy some sunshine.

Congaree National Park

2009-03-24T18:09:00.000-07:00

On Friday, 3/20 we flew in to Columbia, SC, and then headed to Myrtle Beach on Saturday. We stopped of at Congaree National Park on the way.

It was an interesting park, which is basically on old-growth forest...never been cut down. It is very marshy, with lots of standing water. This is why there is a Mosquito Meter at the visitor center. Thankfully, it was rated as Mild while we were there. I don't think I would be spending much time at this park in the summer, when I'm sure the mosquitos are much worse.

We took a peaceful walk around the 2.5 mile boardwalk. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was great.

These are palmettos, the state tree of South Carolina.

Miscellaneous Photos-Part 2

2009-03-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

Christmas with Mema

Solid Foods and Guitar Hero

2009-03-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

About a week before Scott turned 6 months we decided to try solid foods--rice cereal. After a couple of days he was eating like a champ. Now however, he doesn't like rice cereal or fruits. But he does love squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans.

Mike is trying to teach Scott to play the drums on guitar hero. Of course, in Mike's own words he is hardly coordinated enough himself to play them...but he would rock at Bassoon Hero if there were such a thing!

Visit to Lake Jackson/Houston

2009-03-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

In early February, we took Scott down to meet and visit friends and family in Mike's hometown of Lake Jackson/Houston.

This is Georgia Rae Holt...a potential future girlfriend for Scott We are just waiting to see how much dowry Ben and Kim offer. :)

Scott and his Oma (Martha, Mike's stepmom)

Scott and his Uncle Michael. Yes, Mike's stepbrother's name is Michael. (Here's my brother Daryl and my other brother Daryl, he he!)

Scott and his cousin Amelia

Miscellaneous Photos

2009-03-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Scott dressed up in his Touchdown outfit to watch the Super Bowl.

In his favorite towel after a fun bath time with Poppa.

Scott finally got to meet his first cousin, Ashley.

Scott and his great aunt Denise

Visit to Cowtown

2009-03-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

Jessica and Stephen's friend, Fiona, came from Canada to visit Texas for the first time. We went to the historic stockyards in Fort Worth (Cowtown) to eat some Texas BBQ and watch a cattle drive. Well okay, it was more like a few longhorns strolling down the street!

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day

2009-03-11T13:36:00.001-07:00

On New Year's Eve Scott got to hang out with his Aunt Jessica and Uncle Stephen, AKA Uncle Poopoo. Okay, they are not really his aunt and uncle...but close enough.

On New Year's Day, Scott's cousin Kristi came to visit.

Grammy and Scott

Scott's First Christmas--Brady, TX

2009-03-11T12:55:00.001-07:00

We traveled to Brady, Texas, to spend Christmas Eve and Day with Mike's mom, stepdad and grandmother. Scott got more toys and some clothes. We also had fun seeing what Santa brought Scott--a jumper that was a perfect gift for both Scott and Mom. Amazing how Santa knew just what to bring!

Scott's First Christmas--in Denison

2009-03-04T21:44:00.000-08:00

We had a great time celebrating Scott's first Christmas. The weekend before Christmas we celebrated with my parents in Denison. Scott got lots of new toys...just what he needed, since he didn't really have any!

Las Vegas Trip

2008-12-16T16:22:00.000-08:00

In early December, Mike attended a rodeo sports medicine conference in Las Vegas during the National Finals Rodeo. Scott and I tagged along and we made it a week long vacation.

The day after we arrived we drove out to Death Valley to enjoy the national park while the weather is nice. Mike and I had visited Death Valley on our honeymoon in the middle of July...when the weather isn't so nice. On the day (in July) we were there, the official high for the day was 127 degrees and the official low was a cool 99 degrees!

In December, the highs in Death Valley are only around 75 degrees.

This is a view from a lookout called Dante's View. It over looks death valley and is an elevation of about 9,000 feet (I think).

It was Mike's job to carry Scott around during our trip. We made a deal a few months ago that he would be the main carrier of Scott, since I carried him around for nine months. Scott loves his Baby Bjourn--thanks Stephen and Jessica!

Scott's first trip to Badwater Basin, the lowest place in the western hemisphere.

This was a place called the Devil's Golfcourse, not sure why. The uneven ground is actually created from salt deposits. As the water drains off the mountains into Death Valley, there is no outlet. So, salt builds up over time. By the way, it has only rained 1.08 inches for the year on the day we were there--Dec. 6.

Mike and I took a picture of this same thermometer two years earlier and the temperature read 125. Feeling 125-127 degrees is pretty crazy. Oppressive is the best word to describe it, like being in an oven.

In the above two pictures, we were at Scotty's Castle in Death Valley Nat'l Park. It was really interesting and was built in the early 30's for 2.5 million dollars.

While on our honeymoon, Mike and I stayed in the hotel portion of the Amargosa Opera House. It is found in Death Valley Junction, basically a ghost town. The town was founded by the company that mined Borax. There are a few buildings and this Opera House owned by Marta Beckett.

Marta bought the Opera House and hotel in the late sixties and renovated it. Below are the murals she has painted on the opera house walls. She was a dancer and began performing shows at Amargosa in 1968. She has performed on Saturdays during the winter ever since.

Since it was summer when Mike and I stayed here, she was not performing. When we learned that she was born in 1924, we didn't think we would get to see her perform. But, we found out she was doing a show while we were in Vegas. We went after our day at Death Valley.

Marta no longer dances, but instead sits and tells stories about her life in the Amargosa Opera House. It was really cool to see her and to meet a legend in the Death Valley area.

The hotel itself it pretty old and definitely not the Hilton, but we enjoyed our stay there (July 2006). When we arrived there, are key was in an envelope on the door. We didn't see one person there until the next morning when we checked out...talk about ghost town!

We also toured Hoover Dam during our trip. Really fascinating.

Behind Mike are the turbines that generate the electricity for Nevada, only four of the eight are needed during the winter months, no AC, I guess.

This is the massive bridge being built that will divert traffic from the Hoover Dam. It is scheduled to be complete in 2010. This picture doesn't do it justice...it is MASSIVE. I think it will be the tallest in North America.

We dressed Scott up in his Santa outfit and went to the Bellagio, our favorite Vegas hotel, for some Christmas photos. What was really weird is that there were probably about 10 different strangers that asked to take his picture. I know he's cute and all, but I thought that was kind of odd.

This was in the lobby of the Bellagio. On the ceiling you can see some really cool deocorations. Those are all different colored flowers made of glass. Scott looked at those for a long time, of course, so did I!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-16T16:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving at Denise's house in Aubrey.

Scott laughing at Pa Pa

Naptime with Grandad

Naptime at home with Papa and Mo

Flyfishing at Beaver's Bend

2008-12-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

During the middle of November, we took a weekend trip to Beaver's Bend State Park in southeastern Oklahoma. The trees were still changing and the views were beautiful. We "taught" Scott how to flyfish, and turns out he's a great fisherman.

All Smiles

2008-11-04T19:18:00.001-08:00

Scott loves his Papa!

Throughout the day Scott gets moved from one apparatus to another, which keeps him happy and entertained.
Above is his bouncy chair.

Today we tried his Johnny Jump-up, even though he is a little young for it. It brought a big smile to his face.

In his Bumbo chair he gets to sit up on his own...kind of.

Bath time is now his favorite time of day!

This is Scott's favorite apparatus, where lots of colorful things hang down.

Visit from Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Mam-ma

2008-11-04T18:51:00.000-08:00

Scott finally got to meet his Great Mam-ma last weekend when she came for a visit with his Grandma and Grandpa.

Four generation picture

George and Scott

Halloween at Cross Timbers Medicine

2008-11-04T17:48:00.000-08:00

Mike's office dressed up on Halloween. Scott and I went to visit for lunch.

Mike as a jester

Scott in his bat hat with Batman (Dr. Baker)

DoDo bird (Tracy--office supervisor), Jester (Mike), Princess (April--Mike's nurse), Batman (Dr. Baker), Dr. Baker (Holly--Dr. Baker's nurse), Domino (Joan--front office staff)

Scott with two of his girlfriends, Holly and April. Yesterday, they gave Scott his first immunizations. It wasn't his favorite visit with them. :(

April and Scott

Trip to Ohio

2008-11-03T18:39:00.001-08:00

On the day that Scott turned 2 months old, he and I flew to Columbus to visit my grandfather, aunt, and cousins. The process of getting through security at the airport was quite an ordeal, and I am very thankful for the nice people that helped me get Scott and all our stuff to the airplane.

As soon as we got on the plane, Scott started smiling. It melted my heart. He is just the cutest!

Scott had a great time with his great Aunt Abbey. She made all kinds of faces at him that kept him smiling.

When Scott met his great PaPa he started smiling immediately. I think it was his big Schulz nose!

Scott and his cousin S.K. with matching faces

Scott and his cousin Brian

S.K. and his big truck

Trip to Arkansas

2008-11-03T17:47:00.000-08:00

In the middle of October, me, my mom, grandma, and aunt took Scott to Arkansas to visit his Aunt Linda. He did great in the 7-hour car ride...slept most of the way.

Scott being held by his uncle Ronny. When he's old enough, Uncle Ronny is going to teach him how to cut calves!

Scott and Jessie

Scott and Aunt Linda

Scott and Mema

Scott and I at the Applegate craft show

Jessie and mom

Scott and his Aunt Ronda

Scott and Lindsay

Scott and Andrea

Scott and his Grammy on her birthday. The birthday girl got to wear a crown all day!

Scott's trip to The Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-03T18:53:00.000-07:00

Since we are not able to take Scott to our favorite pumpkin patch in Oregon, we settled for a trip to The Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound. We dressed Scott up in his pumpkin outfit and took off for the pony rides, bounce houses, ferris wheel, and hayride.

Scott was a great sport while we put him in the pumpkin pile. It didn't look very comfortable at all, but he didn't seem to mind while we took several pictures of him.

Scott and Mike had a blast in the bounce house. Scott can really bounce high for a little guy!!

I think Scott was getting tired of the picture taking, and he really didn't like being put down in the grass.

Scott is 1 month old!!

2008-10-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

On Friday, September 26, Scott turned one month old. We celebrated by taking him to his first high school football game--Rider High School v. Ryan High School. We drove to Wichita Falls and had dinner with a family friend. Then, Scott and I sat near the Rider band, so he could learn the Raider fight song and ROHO cheers! (Rider is my alma mater) Meanwhile, Mike was on the sidelines of the enemy (Ryan H.S.) working as their team doctor. Fortunately, Rider won!!

On Saturday and Sunday, Scott got to spend some quality time snuggling with his Grammy, Granddad, Mema, Pa Pa, and Aunt Denise.

Below are four generation photos.

Mike and I thank God everyday for the blessing of having Scott in our lives. He is a miracle and truly a gift. God is so good to us!

Photos at 1 week old

2008-09-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

These are a few of the photos we had taken at Target Portrait Studios when Scott was 1 week old.

Scott's nursery and first public outing

2008-09-15T16:23:00.000-07:00

When Scott was just 8 days old, Mike and I took him on his first public outing (not including medical related trips). We had some newborn portraits taken of him at the Target Portrait studio. He was a perfect angel for the photographer--asleep the whole time!

Below are just some snapshots I took of Scott and one with him and his Papa. They spend lots of time together in Mike's recliner. Since I'm not an experienced blogger, one picture is sideways because I couldn't figure out how to get it rotated.

Below are pics of Scott's nursery...

We love his crib given to us by his great Mema and Pawpaw. The tree in the corner is a paper mache' (not sure if this spelling is correct and too tired to look it up) creation that I spent many hours on. It was much more labor intensive and messy than I ever imagined it to be.

Fortunately, two days before I went into labor my mom and Aunt Denise came to help me finish decorating and organizing Scott's nursery. Denise worked on painting the tree and putting in the greenery. She did a wonderful job--it totally makes the nursery!

Because Scott was a week early, I was only able to finish one of the three painted canvases that will hang as a mural across the wall. I chose to paint canvases so we can take them when we build our house.

This furniture actually belonged to my great-grandmother, and even though it doesn't exactly look like baby furniture--it works!

Scott discovers his new home and his family

2008-09-01T17:12:00.000-07:00

Scott's first night at home was not the best. No one got much sleep, and Mike noticed that Scott was pretty yellow, which meant a trip to see Dr. Baker the next morning.

Here is our favorite pediatrician, Dr. Baker. He and Mike share an office which makes visits very convenient. He takes great care of Scott, even though Scott doesn't think so. He learned while still in the hospital that seeing Dr. Baker means all kinds of poking and prodding and cutting of things he'd rather not have cut.

After seeing Dr. Baker on Friday, August 29, we learned that Scott had lost almost a pound since birth and had to make a trip to the hospital to have his bilirubin levels checked. His levels were almost high enough to put him back in the hospital under lights, but we fortunately remedied the situation by supplementing his feeding and placing him in his swing in front of a window.

On Saturday, August 30, we spent the day at Aunt Denise's where Scott got to meet new family members. He got a lot of love and attention!! Here he is with Grandad (my Dad).

Scott is the first great-grandchild on my side of the family. His Mema is so proud of him!!

Looks like Scott is telling Pawpaw all about his first week of life.

By Sunday, August 31, everyone is pretty worn out and needed a nap.

Mike was helping me feed Scott, which has been somewhat of an ordeal, by burping him. A little while later Mike changed his clothes and saw a significant amount of poop on the outside of his shorts. He thought for a moment if he could have made this mess (I think it's pretty funny he questioned this at all!!) But, quickly realized that Scott must have had a blowout while begin burped. So, Scott pooped Papa's pants.

Scott is so blessed to have such a good Papa. Mike takes such good care of us. Thankfully, Mike completed a nursery rotation during his family medicine residency and knows more about babies than me. He has taught me how to get diapers on tight enough so they don't leak (after the incident in the above photo), how to give him a bath, and all kinds of other things they learn in residency.

I certainly could not have made it at home without Mike's help. He is the best husband and dad!! Scott and I will miss him so much when he goes back to work.

The swing has become Scott's favorite activity. He likes to spend time swinging while I try to get things done around the house.

Here I am giving Scott a bath for the first time, since Mike had given him all the previous ones. As you can see, this is probably Scott's least favorite activity--such a boy!!!

Welcome to the World, Michael Scott Auvenshine, Jr.

2008-08-27T17:41:00.000-07:00

On August 26th at 5:25am Mike and I welcomed Michael Scott Auvenshine, Jr. into the world. Below is our story of that day.

Labor and Delivery at Presbyterian Hospital of Denton (Now I understand why the term "labor" is used)

This is a photo of me when I first was admitted to the hospital. Notice I'm smiling...that means I'm not feeling the contractions yet. If you don't want to here the gory details (I actually leave them out!) of labor and delivery, please move on to the next paragraph. At 4am on Monday morning, the 25th, my water broke. At the time, I wasn't sure if that was what happened so I went back to bed and waited to call my doctor's office that morning. The nurse told me to go to labor and delivery at the hospital. Since, it was a week before Scott's due date, I had to rush around the house getting my bag together, knowing that the hospital would not let me come back home if my water had broken. I made it to the hospital and my doctor came in at lunch to verify that indeed my water had broken. Mike rescheduled his afternoon patients and came up to the hospital. They put me on pitocin to speed things along. They wanted Scott born within 24 hours to prevent infection. After a few hours, I thankfully got an epidural, which allowed them to max out the pitocin. This part of labor was very nice and relaxing (I now highly recommend epidurals). By 3am I was ready to start pushing. Unfortunately, Scott changed his mind and decided he wasn't ready to come out. I pushed for an hour and a half, with no real progress--I was exhausted, hungry, the epidural had worn off, and Scott had developed a nice cone head. At 4:30 my doctor came in and we decided that we needed to resort to C-section. So, I was off to the OR and Scott was delivered at 5:25am. This was definitely not fun, but worth it!

Here is Scott's first picture right after the C-section. He weighed in at 8lbs. 5oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

Scott was not so happy when he got pulled out by Dr. Wilson. He let it be know by peeing all over the place. Mike says he screamed and cried until they brought him to me in the recovery room.

While getting stitched up, I got one of my first glimpses of Scott.

Here are a couple of pics that we can embarass Scott with in the future.

Mam-aw, Grammy, and Great Aunt Denise are so excited to see Scott in the nursery after waiting all night long for him to be born.

Scott got his first bath from the nurses in the hospital nursery.

A Clean Baby. Notice the cleft in his chin. He definitely inherited his mouth and chin from his Papa.

Our first picture as a family. This was in the recovery room and I am feeling as rough as I look.

Day 1 of Scott's Life--August 26, 2008

Mike is such a proud Papa!

Mam-aw (Mike's Mom) is so proud to hold her first grandson!

Grammy (My Mom) is so proud to hold her first grandchild!!

We are all so thankful to our favorite OB/Gyn, Dr. Wilson. He took such good care of me and Scott for the last nine months and brought Scott into this world safely.

Our friends and family sent us some beautiful flowers.

Day 2 of Scott's life--August 27, 2008:

Scott is so content being swaddled. He even let me work on this blog.

I got to take a shower today, and felt 100% better.

Day 3 of Scott's life--August 28, 2008:

We got Scott loaded in the car and came home!!

Mike got to introduce Scott to one of his favorite pastimes--watching college football on an HD TV. It was even a Baylor game, even better. Of course, I think Scott shares my enthusiasm, considering he is asleep.

Lake City, Colorado Trip--July 2008

2008-08-13T14:17:00.000-07:00

Mike and I traveled to Lake City, Colorado, with 16 of my family members for a week in the middle of July. With only 5 weeks until my due date, I was ready to leave the 100 degree Texas weather. We had a wonderful week, with lots of relaxing for me.

On our way to Lake City we stopped at the Great Sand Dunes. It was fun climbing to the top of the dunes and sliding down on cardboard (OK, not really!).

Here is view of Lake San Cristobal. I had fun trying out my new camera, a birthday gift from Mike.

Here are Mike and I flyfishing at Deer Lakes. This was my first attempt at flyfishing. It was fun, and I didn't even hook anyone.

I got to teach my two aunts and mom how to geocache. We had a great time "treasure-hunting." Geocaching has become one of mine and Mike's favorite hobbies.

Mike and I took a Jeep ride up Engineer Pass on a 4-wheel-drive only road. There were some hairy moments on the road, but Mike did a great job of driving. I'm not sure how much Scott enjoyed all the bouncing though. We got sleeted on and got to play in the snow for the 4th summer in a row.