September

September has been quite the month. We've had a lot going on! Ava turned 3 months on September 1st and she continues to develop daily. She started rolling from her tummy to her back but stumbles a little trying to roll the other way because of where she puts her arm. She loves playing with her toys more than ever. She enjoys her mobile, her activity chair, her hungry catepillar, blocks, books, rattles, and toy blankets. She adores her monkey beanie-baby, Coco, and smiles instantly when she sees him. She will put anything she can into her mouth and she has quite the bite so keep your fingers and hair away! Putting her in water will instantly put her in a good mood so it is our fall back when we can't get her to calm down. She still doesn't love taking naps but she sleeps wonderfully at night and for mommy and daddy that is what really matters!She loves to laugh, talk and smile (except at church) and she always wakes up in the best mood! I posted some pictures of her getting into her activity chair for the first time, her first time on a slide and swing, and a picture her of her and our Fall Turkey. Guess whose bigger? Ava barely weighed more coming in at 13 pounds and 3 0z!

This month we drove to Utah over Labor Day weekend and picked my mom up. We spent a few days up there visiting with friends and family. Of course, I also did a tour of all my fave eating establishments. Thank you Italian Place, Fredricos, Pier 39 and Juniper Take-Out! I've missed you so much these last two years. My mom came back with us and she is our life-saver right now and is Ava's Granny Nanny through January. With her reflux and the previous choking issues we just couldn't put her in daycare and we are so fortunate that my mom could live with us and take care of Ava for now.

I went back to work on September 12th. It was a tough day but I am so blessed to work from home. I know most people think that translates to, oh, great you can take care of you daughter and work at the same time, but that is not the case. I'm busy all days on calls, webmeetings, and email. Hence, having care for Ava is critical to me keeping my job. I miss snuggling with her the entire day but for now I am so lucky to be able to walk downstairs and sneak a hug and kiss every once in a while.

We were also blessed to have a step-mom of mine, Carol, visit us. I hadn't seen her in 13 years so it was so much fun to get caught up and introduce her to Mike and Ava.

Mike's gramndmother (AKA Mamason) passed away in early September also. She died peacefully in her sleep which we are very grateful for. We were able to travel down to New Mexico and attend the viewing and funeral. It was great to catch up with family and such a neat experience to have Ava meet her great grandfather. It was obvious how happy our little girl made him and I am so glad we could bring a glimmer of happiness to his life amidst a very challenging time.

Once we got back from the funeral we had our own personal health drama set in. Mike ended up in the Emergency Room on September 18th due to a debilitating headache with weakness, numbness, and nauseau. Of course, these all point to very bad things. We woke Ava up and put her in her car seat and got Mike in the car and spent the night in the hospital. Mike had a CT scan which showed nothing so they decided it was critical to do a spinal tap in case they were missing hemoraging. Mike passed out during the first spinal tap, while the needle was in his back. It was horrible and I had to run in the hall and get help because the doctor didn't have a nurse to assist him. After they calmed Mike down and he stop convulsing they did a second spinal tap. Luckily they did not find any blood on the brain but unfortunately the spinal tab caused a several spinal headache because the spinal fluid was continuing to leak out. We ended up in the neurologists office a few days later and he gave us home remedies. Unfortunately we had to go back to the hospital for a blood patch where they took Mike's blood and infused it in his spine. He didn't pass out this time but his heart rate dropped to 30 and they had to quickly give him some medicines to keep him conscious. The patch has definitely helped. We never did find out why he had a violent headache in the first place but we have a follow-up MRI/MRA and appointment with the neurologist in the near future. Let's hope it was just a serious lack of sleep!!!!

The weekend we went back for the patch I also took a major fall down the stairs and got my leg caught under me. I really hurt myself but luckily there were no broken bones! Aargh! I hate our stairs. This is the fourth time I have taken a major tumble down them.

As you can see, September has been a very busy month for us and has taken twists that we didn't expect but we are so grateful for all that we have, our friends and family! We ended the last few days with Ava catching her first cold so now we are helping her recovery as we enter another exciting month.