Last of 2015

 Here is a photo dump of photos that I didn't think made it into the count yet. These girls are my life. Their faces are the memories that I try to preserve through these books. I love journaling the ups and down of our lives. Someday I hope the words are read and memories and laughs are brought back to light. Here's to another year that has gone by:)

Goodbye 2015

New Years Eve 2015 was a quiet one, but good one. Dave got us tickets to see the Harlem Globetrotters in the afternoon. It was entertaining, but we had a hard time hearing the speakers. They had some pretty cool dance moves and I even got Dave to stand up and do the YMCA. My parents came up to celebrate at our house this year. We had a spread of yummy food and set up for a movie night in the family room. The girls thought it was pretty special to have a picnic table in front of the tv. Addison had picked out, Despicable Me to watch. During the movie the girls got to make a candy necklace. Addison took hers very seriously while Avery just shoved fistfuls of gummy rings in her mouth:) Auntie Kate gave the family Pie Face for Christmas which is a great game! We even convinced Papa and Dave to play. You put a plop of whip cream on and then spin to see how many clicks you have to turn the knob. It smashed everyone's face, but Grammie and I! Avery loved asking Papa to fill her mouth with the whip cream. I was surprised that Addison thought it was fun to get her face that messy. We played a few rounds and then got out the party poppers. Netflix had a countdown video that we played with the girls. We got out sparkling bubbly out and toasted to a new year! We used the whole bag of poppers and then cracked open some glow in the dark sticks. Addison's favorite thing to do lately is to turn off all the lights and have a candle going. The glow sticks were her favorite part of the night. After the girls were in bed we watched a movie and continued to eat way too much goodies! We toasted at midnight and then we all passed out! I'm looking forward to seeing what 2016 has in store for our family. Mostly that we get to add another little Michael baby girl in March! Happy New Year!

Big Girl Things

Avery Mae is growing up whether or not we're ready for it! After Santa brought bunk beds the next step was to move the girls into the same room. Three weeks later and I am still questioning why as parents we mess with a good thing! I remember going through this with Addison and trying to get her to stay in her bed. Avery now has the temptation to scoot up the latter and jump all over the top bunk. Dave and I feel helpless as parents and I want to pull my hair out every single night at bed time. Avery likes to come up with some really good responses like, "I slept long time LAST night!" and "Never EVER!" As soon as we get her settled on her bed and close the door she springs up and asks Addi what she's doing up there. We resorted to a lot of creativity and finally we've started to rock her to sleep. She fights it hard until she finally goes limp and starts snoring. Most nights it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to get her to fall settle down. I'm documenting this so that when we are one round three of moving a child out of a crib I will know it gets better:) Avery now has to keep her binky in her bed for quiet time and bed time. It's somewhat of a motivation for her and she's getting better at obeying. Avery is still getting the hang of sleeping with all body parts in her bed. A couple times a week Dave jumps out of bed to a loud thud of Avery doing a summersault off her bed! It's a good thing Avery is so cute or she would be kicked to the curb doing bedtime!

Lets Add a Stone...

The day after Christmas was the annual lady shopping day at Kenwood Mall. After about an hour into the morning I started to not feel well. I felt like I was having stomach pains and then it turned into feeling really dizzy. Soon enough I knew I was having a kidney stone. Jenny drove me up to the base which was the longest hour drive of my life! I was terrified and panicking since I knew I couldn't have pain meds with being pregnant. They checked me into labor and delivery and began running a series of tests. I got to experience lots of fun poking which I felt like I could barely handle being in pain. It turns out that I had blood in my urine so they made me stay overnight. I thought I was going to start bawling at that point. They moved me into a room and I got situated for 24 hours of observations. I had to pee in a jug for 24 hours and keep it on ice. Awesome way to spend Christmas vacation! I was grateful it was a weekend and that I had extra hands in town. The girls went down to Cincinnati to play with cousins. After my 24 hour collection was over they didn't find anything and I was safe to go home. I still didn't visibly see the stone pass and that made me nervous. For the next few days I sat on the couch with a heating pad and took a lot of baths. This pregnancy has been so trying for me that I often wonder if I will emotionally make it. I ended up taking the girls into the doctor a couple days later to find out that they had pneumonia and sinus infections. Addison had to have a series of chest x-rays and and both were put on antibiotics. We didn't leave the house for a week and I hope the winter illness bug stays far away!!