Rodriguez Residency Riddle

As expected last night seemed to have no end 

 As we wondered where the next 4 years we would spend

 We were up before a little before the sun

 Patiently waiting to for Gods will to be done

Just like that with an email at 7:30 on the dot

 We were so thankful to have received a spot

 With mixed emotions we called our loved ones

 Some tears were shed but overall congrats for a job well done

Well, folks, the verdict is finally in

 And I think I should be more serious about the ideas that I “pin”

 What  a great blessing for me and my spouse

 For it looks like we will be decorating a new house.

  

The day may not have been as pleasant for all

 And we thought about how they reacted when they got the call.

 Medical students young and old alike

 Would wonder if their news was really right

  

God is good, God is good, we exclaimed

 But of course, He always is, what has changed?

 We pray that everyone will say the same

 And if they don’t, will eventually trust in His name

For now our minds are running wild

 With what a fun place to raise our child

 San Antonio, Texas you are now a part of our story

 And for that we give God all the glory!!

  

I am so thankful to be able to stay at home with Ava

 I will be sure to teach her to say please and “thank ya”

 To my hubby, we are so proud of all you’ve done right

 And that you will be able bless people with the gift of sight.

  

Family and friends in Arkansas, we will miss you so,

 But there are 2 and a half  people waiting on us in San Antonio.

 We promise to come home often to see everyone

 But also know that at our house, you are always welcome! 

Thank you for all of the support and prayers! We love you all! We should be moving at the end on May or beginning of June 2012.

Ava turns 1/2 !!!

"In truth a family is what you make it.  It is made strong not by the number of heads counted at the dinner table, but by the rituals you help family members create, by the memories you share, by the commitment of time, caring, and love you show to one another, and by the hopes for the future you have as individuals and as a unit."

-Marge Kennedy

I had been looking forward to this day and dreading it all the same for about a month now! How in the world is my baby girl 6 months old!?  I asked Chris, "Do you know how fast that went?" And he replied, "Yeah, 6 months!" Silly boy! But he is in agreement with me that this is just going by much too quickly! 

When I picked her up from school (haha, I like to call it that) on Friday, I knew something wasn't quite right.  When I walk in she usually gives me a HUGE smile....but not today, she looked right at me and turned the other way. I said, "What is wrong with my baby!?"  Her teacher Emily said she had been like that all day, she had to work to get the smiles out of her.  I picked her up and it only took me a few seconds to get a smile out of her, but still, she wasn't acting like the Ava I know. We got in the car and headed home.  She talked a little bit of the way and then she was OUT as usual.  We got home and went out to eat at El Porton! MMM. Love to go there.  She hadn't eaten since about 3:15 and even then they said she didn't eat much. We tried to feed her at the restaurant, but she just would not.  We held her the whole time and then when it was time to leave I put her in her car seat and she screamed SO LOUD, not cried, SCREAMED! It sounded like I pinched her in the seat belt....but I didn't.  The whole restaurant was looking at us!  I picked her back up immediately and she stopped and started smiling! Just like that! Playing us like a fiddle! She was BEAT.  We got her home, bathed her, and she STILL would not eat. She went down with no bottle and was out until about 4 am.  When she woke up, she hardly had anything in her diaper.  I knew this was weird.  She did take a whole bottle, so I was happy about that, but still worried.  She went right back down and we went back to bed.  At about 7:45 on Saturday morning I got a text from Chelsea asking if Ava and I wanted to go to breakfast. Ava wasn't up yet so I stayed in bed a bit longer.  Once she got up I texted her back and she still had not gone.  I brushed my teeth, put a hat on, changed Ava's diaper (which still barely had anything in it) and we were on our way.  We had a nice little breakfast and Ava stayed in her car seat, buckled the ENTIRE time. Okay, who is this baby and what have they done with MY baby girl?  She would "talk" just a little and give a few smiles, but nothing major.  I kept having to wipe her eye, because it seemed like she kept rubbing her nose and getting a little booger on her eye.  This happened at least 3 times. I tried to feed her, but she wasn't really interested. We paid and walked towards the door and ran into our lovely friend, Hanna and her mother! What a surprise! Hanna and her husband just moved to Fayetteville, so she was the last person that we expected to see! Even Ava was happy! :) 

We got home and I decided to try to feed her yet again.  This time she ate most of the bottle and I tried to get her down for a nap.  She was tired, but fighting sleep. Quietly...without crying. Finally I decided to recline and take a nap with her.  I texted Chris and told him we had a sick child.  I knew she didn't feel well.  Ava and I slept for about 2 hours as usual, and I woke up first.  I looked down at her and could tell her eye was matted shut.  I was dreading her waking up.  I sent Chris a text to show him and told him I would keep him posted! 

I could see her little eye lashes all stuck together.

About 15 minutes later she woke up and could not get that eye open! She finally did and it was literally dripping with green mucus.  That explained the "boogers" that I thought she was wiping into her eye.  The more I thought back, that eye was a little watery that morning. 

See, it was GROSS! I called Chris immediately and he rushed home from the library.

My Ophthalmologist (hubby) knew that this was not good! We called our pediatric clinic which had just closed and they had the number on the recording to the doctors exchange.  We called and a nurse called us right back.  She asked lots of questions and decided that we needed to be seen THAT DAY. We called Children's and they were able to see us in the next hour.  We took a few more pictures for the doctor and  then cleaned her eye up.  She was happy as a clam.

Crazy look!

And just a little fun before her appointment! 

We fed her before we left and she ate the whole thing! :) We loaded her up and headed to Children's Hospital.  It was her first trip and mine! Chris knew right where to take us! They weighed her and took her temp.  Everything looked good. Well except for her eye.  We waited for the doctor. 

Chris ended up knowing the doctor and that made Ava feel a lot better! :)

He checked her out and was so happy to meet her! He said everything else looked great but she definitely had pink eye! We were in and out of there in no time and on our way to eat lunch, get her birthday cupcakes, and fill her prescription!

We ate at a place called Burges in The Heights and Ava just hung out in her car seat! We headed to Cupcakes on Kavanaugh and picked up her birthday cupcakes and then on to get her eye drops.  I was so sad that she was going to have pink eye on her 1/2 birthday! :(  We got home, gave her the drops (the world was coming to an end) and then we played some more.  She is really working on sitting up without falling over, and she tried extra hard because she thought I might let her lick a birthday cupcake on Sunday! ;)

"Not too bad, huh Mom!?"

We fed her, bathed her, and put her in bed around 6:45.  She woke up around 10 which is very odd and we went in there only to find that she could not open either eye.  Yep, it had spread to the other eye! We had a sneaking suspicion it would do that.  We wiped them with a warm rag, did more drops, fed her and she was back down in no time. We went to bed kind of late and then at 4:00, she was crying.  We ran in there and the swelling had gotten so bad!! Our hearts were broken.  She could not open either eye for about 5 minutes. We rubbed them again with a warm wash cloth.

Her left eye was pretty bad. We decided to call a doctor again to see if we needed to take her to the ER.  Luckily, she got them open and was smiling again and they said we should not take her yet, but gave us some signs to look for.  We decided against doing the drops because we didn't want to give them to her too soon since the last dose was at 10.  

I had another "mother of the year" moment when I had to run to the bathroom because I thought I was going to be sick.  It hurt me so much to see my sweet girl in pain and confused.  She couldn't even open her eyes! I had to sit in the rocker while Chris helped her because I could feel my pulse in my whole body and was going to vomit any minute.  Chris laughed at me and continued to talk to Ava.  It was just so gross to see her eye so swollen and only a little part of her eyeball.  What happened to that whole "It's different when it's your own!" motto! I sure hope that kicks in when it's just me and Ava and she needs me!  We put her down, got back in bed and prepared for the worst in the morning.  At about 7:30 I heard her talking on the monitor.  I went running in there and what do you know.  Her eyes were open and all clear.  Just 3 and a half hours later!!! Just in time for her half birthday!!! I took her in our bed so Chris could see her and we could play!

Yeah! "Give me that hair, Daddy!"

We then went to the living room to watch a few toons and play in her favorite toy!

"It's my HALF BIRTHDAY!!" Love her two little teeth in this picture!

What does any 6 month old want to do on her birthday? Well go to Target of course! :) So we went!

Happiness! 

We headed home and waited for dad to get home so that we could start our newest family tradition! Half cupcakes on half birthdays! :)  I mean what kid doesn't like to say they are 4 AND A HALF! It's really important to add that! :) We wanted some from Mickeys (my fave), but they were going out of town for a family vacation so Cupcakes on Kavanaugh would have to do! 

Looks like a whole cupcake!

But nope, it's just a half because I cut it!  As she gets older, we will probably make summer get-togethers out of it and do lots more 1/2 things! Banana splits, Half burgers, etc.  I can't wait! :)

How does a 6 month old know what a cupcake is? I have NO idea, but they do!!!!

She went right for it!!!!

"I'm drooling! Can I have some!?"

We were even able to practice her sitting up with the cupcake!! Haha!

And then, it all went downhill from there.

  

We lit the candle and sang "Hap".  Yep. That was all we got to before she went in for the kill!

She reached for it and Chris jerked it away, knocking it over, and ALMOST burning the carpet! 

I got it blown out just in time, Ava fell over, and Chris and I died laughing!! There were sprinkles everywhere from me blowing the candle out! It was such a priceless moment.  Ava didn't think it was funny! She needed a lick of that icing! So we had to!

She went to TOWN on Chris' finger! :) Good times!

LOVE my sweet family! :)

And I can't forget.  I asked Chris what I could get Ava for her half birthday and if we could just do ONE gift each time, and he said only if it was made.  But he didn't say I couldn't make it and then pay for it!  Last Thursday me and some of the girls from work headed to The Painted Pig after hours for a girls night out and we made jewelry! (Blog post with pictures later!)  It was SO much fun!  I made Ava a little charm that she could wear one day when she gets older! It's hard to see in the picture, but it's a little A with a sun in the corner because she is my sunshine! :)

As you can seem she wanted MORE icing!

For Mother's Day, Chris took us here and Ava made me a charm with her little thumb print on the back of it! I wear it every day! So I wanted to make one for her to have, too!

It was such a special day that I will never forget and I look forward to her 1st birthday, 1 and 1/2, and every one after that!! She is so much fun!!

6:40 p.m. She was SO ready for bed after all that fun! :) We were so glad her eye healed up so quickly and that she could actually enjoy the day! :)

Nothing like playing catch-up.....

"If you don't think every day is a good day, just try missing one..."

-Cavett Rober

That quote could not be more true.  I'm sitting here thinking about all of the ways our lives are changing. In the blink of an eye.  If all goes as planned, we will soon be preparing our house to sell it.  But, it feels like we just moved in.  Every time I want to buy something new to decorate, I have to remind myself that I should probably just wait.  We won't know for sure until December if we are moving or not for Chris' residency, but as you know....December is just right around the corner. 

This was last December, and now this year, that little bundle of joy will more than likely be walking around!

This last year is just full of so many fun memories! Ava will be 6 months old on the 24th and I just don't know what to do with myself. I already have hundreds of pictures and tons of videos because I just don't want to miss a thing. But, I know I will.  Fortunately, they are all in my heart. :) The past month or so has been so busy with "firsts" for Ava. Eating baby food, getting two bottom teeth, swimming in a pool, getting in a lake, 4th of July, attending daycare, and so many more things. 

 This is at the lake on base. I have SO many fun memories here fishing with my parents and Chris has some, too, fishing with his Pepaw.  He remembers exactly where he caught his first fish here!

She will NOT let you see her teeth! Lol.

She got her first one on June 15th! And then exactly 15 days later, she got her second one! This is too much for Momma!

We took her to the base pool for the first time! She was very sleepy and hungry so not really into smiling on this day.

Just taking it all in.....

A few minutes of swimming....

And it was time for a bottle.  "Here daddy, I will help you hold it."

"And now that you've fed me, sure I will smile for you!" :)

Everything is going great at daycare.  Learning to adapt and improving each day on her naps.  She even already has a good friend named Avery. :)   She loves to go and they love to have her! Her soon to be teacher, Missy, made this picture to go above her crib at school.  She said Ava loves to have her picture taken! I wonder where she learned that..... :)

Love those big brown eyes.

She has really been enjoying baby food! Can't get enough....and I can't get enough of these hilarious pictures of people feeding her.  Check out her Dad and her Mimi feeding her! So funny. ;)

Baaahhhaaaaa!

Hilarious! :)

Now, I just need to remember to hide the camera while I am feeding her. ;)

The Sunday before the 4th of July, my mom had a HUGE cookout with some friends, family, and the members of her church.  It was hot, but a lot of fun!  Ava was so happy to show off her 4th of July outfit...she didn't want anything too flashy though. :)

So she opted for this so that she could easily wear it again. Such a smart girl!

Then, her Uncle Nick took her into the lake on the 4th of July and she LOVED picking up the sand and throwing it down.

It was SUCH a hot day at the lake. She never would nap until I handed her to Donna so that we could pack the car up.....

Fast asleep with her hand on her cheek. Being next to her Mimi was all it took for her to surrender.

She needed this nap because we headed home, showered, and went to another cookout! So much to do! :)

So excited to see our good friend Mallory..

And Max, too! :) (Ava has got to work on her tan!)

She really impressed them with her new look.  We like to call it her "beak"!

haha! she kept doing this all night.

I don't get many pictures with my girl because I am usually behind the camera.  Look at how long she is!

We couldn't finish off the night without a few chocolate covered strawberries...

So delicious!

It was a GREAT 4th of July weekend!

Last week Chick-fil-A was doing their annual Cow Appreciation Day.  Chelsea thought it would be fun if we dressed up and dressed Ava up and went and got some free food!  She was correct.  I had to work in Fort Smith that day and wouldn't be home until late, so she swung by and picked up one of Ava's white onesies from Chris.  I got home, freshened up, and then Chelsea was there with her "costume"!

Wow.  Happiest cow I've ever seen! She loved it! :)  And our free dinner was phenomenal! We will definitely be doing this again! I saved her ears! More pictures on Chelsea's blog! :)

And then on Saturday, we got to meet up with our friends Hanna and Kristin! We had a lot of fun.  Ava was only interested in trying to drink our drinks.  "Yes please, Hanna, I would like some lemonade."

And, "Yes, strangers, I would like some of your sprite as well!"

She is serious about trying these drinks, and these sweet people were happy to let her lick on their cup. Cracks me up! They came over to meet her because they had a grand daughter named Ava.

As the months go by, I find myself soaking up every minute that I have to spend with my friends and family.  Now that I am back at work and Ava is in daycare, our time is just so short because she is usually in bed by 7.  So weekends are just so special.  I usually have a to-do list a mile long, but these are the only things that I can manage to get accomplished.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  I have not a care in the world.  Kind of like her. :)

Naptime on Saturday...check

Naptime on Sunday...check....this is our favorite rocker/recliner.  Love my husband for capturing these moments.

The past few days and nights have been a little rough(but she is a trooper) for Ava because she caught her first cold.  It was to be expected with her starting daycare.  She's such a healthy little thing, and it's so hard to see your baby cough and have trouble breathing.  We have spent the last few nights sleeping in her room.  The way it works at our house is that if one of us is "up" with the baby, the other comes in for support, just so we don't have to be alone.  We take turns holding her in the recliner (while sleeping), and the other sleeps on the floor until needed.  It's just nice to feel like we are sharing the load and getting up together.  Chris is such a good Daddy, so thankful for him.  And then in the morning, we all three play on the floor.  It's one of my favorite times! :)

"Daddy, wake up, turn over!"

It does not take long to get him up! She loves to talk and play with his hair. :)

So this is just a little bit of what's been going on at our house! Work is going great for me and Chris is busy studying away for his Step 2 at the end of the month.  He has his Ophthalmology rotation at UAMS next month (he is so pumped), and then he will be leaving us for 2 whole months to go on away rotations! So you know we will be capturing some memories!   My sister in law is due with her sweet little girl any day now and we are just so excited because Ava will have a cousin within 6 months of age of her! We are planning a trip to visit next month, and then a couple more over September and October to visit the new baby, Joie ( and family) and Daddy! They will all be in San Antonio! :) Can't wait.  Until next time.....try to make every day a good day.

Be Blessed!