Mother's Day 2013

Hard to believe it's May already...especially with the crazy roller coaster weather we have been having! This weekend we spent with all the grandparents and it was fabulous, albeit too short. Nana and GJ, Grandpa Randall and even Great Grandpa Johnson came to see us. It was a special day for Emmett as he was baptized yesterday and we are very proud!

Happy Mother's Day to all you amazing moms out there! Being a mom is pretty much the hardest job ever. It's the most demanding thing I've ever done, and I live in a constant fear of doing it wrong. Now granted we have some extra special circumstances that may add to that pressure, but let me tell you this; holy crap! Nothing can prepare you for the everyday experiences that get put in your path. I mean how do you decide what's too much sugar? Or acceptable behavior? Or how to stop your 4 year old from screaming "yes!" at you when you ask her if she wants to go to time out? I mean honestly...Who knows the right answers to all of these? So based on the fact that no one hands you a "How to not screw up your kid" manual as they wheel you off the maternity ward...I pretty much think I rock as a mom. Just saying. I'm very proud of all three of my kids... even if I have to pay for therapy for them later. I probably owe a lot of credit to my own mother for moulding me into the patient, quiet, demure mother that I am today - ok so maybe that's not exactly what I am. But credit for me is due to her - so thanks Mom! You did a pretty solid job I think!

So far has been a fabulous day. Breakfast with the family, Starbucks iced chai tea, an E for my necklace, and a new craft table (courtesy of GJ) for my sewing projects!! Now off to the nursery to find my moss roses and probably a nap!

Blessed to the nth degree...

Jenn

Where is Spring?

It's April and it's 45. I'm about done...anyone else?

We have been doing good the last few weeks. Avery has been working really hard on standing alone and learning her letters, as well as potty training. She is doing really well with all 3, although I think there is some issues with the last one. We are hoping our June trip to St Jude will shed some light for us on this. We find there tends to be a lack of full control or maybe it's brain signals, at times for her. Her new Urologist in Memphis will hopefully be able to tell us more after we do some tests.

Emmett has started crawling as of yesterday and we can tell he is going to be a menace already. He is into it all already and only going to get worse. Avery never got into anything so we never really had to fully baby-proof the house. Course we spent a majority of that stage in Memphis so maybe that is why. He has a full head of blonde hair now and it is coming in Zeglin thick. Thank goodness they get my hair. Avery's hair is ridiculously dark with a hint of red in it and she also has my hair. Radiation shuts down hair growth and a lot of kids don't ever grow hair where they have had radiation. Lucky for us, Avery is only sparse in the spot where she has had the radiation twice. Once her top hair gets long enough you will never even notice!

The St Jude Dreamhome raffle is starting soon. I will post more later on it. We did the Cure Search Walk the other weekend up at Legends. And the Cancer Crawl is open for registration. We are signed up and ready to drink some beers to raise awareness and funds for more research...and let's face it, Jeremy and I could use a little adult fun. If interested, check out the website at http://www.crawlforcancer.org/kansascity. We'll get more info about all of them up later as well as some new pictures of sassy pants and her sidekick chubbs!

Jenn

Itty Bitty Rockstar & St Jude FaceBook Page

For all you Facebookers out there...I noticed today on my feed that St Jude Research Hospital page was looking to choose the cover picture to put on their Facebook page.  Much to my astonishment, there was my bald and beautiful daughter as one of the 3 options!!  If you get on my page I attempted to reshare the link/post.  You need to actually click on the picture of Avery (yellow picture in the middle) and hit like on her picture to count towards the voting procedure.  You can also look at the St Jude Research Hospital Facebook page at St Jude Facebook Cover Contest.  You have to open her picture and then hit like.  Very fun!  Obviously all 3 girls shown are adorable and the last one has a teddy bear, which melts your heart even more....its hard to pick I know.  I of course picked the baldy with purple glasses in the middle, giggling because she just spent 30 mins throwing pennies into the Danny Thomas fountain after a long day of Radiation treatment, sedation and therapies. I am, however, biased.

On another note...thought I would share another fabulous website with you all.  Avery is very connected to her blankets and has been since this ordeal began.  It was a  blanket that spurred on the theme for Team Avery (skull & crossbones) and has continued to symbolize this battle and the strength it requires for her and for us as a family.  That being said, my friend Angie has made it her mission for the last 3 years to make sure Avery has as many of these blankets as possible.  She even learned to sew for her!!  Avery has more skull and crossbones blankets than we can count!  Each one is different, beautiful and amazingly soft.  As a result of all her hard work, she discovered she loved making them....and along came etsy.  So if you are looking for a fabulous gift for a kiddo....maybe one going through something tough like Avery, check out her site.  She can personalize one for your fighter, your snuggle bug, your hero.  Itty Bitty Rockstar

Jenn

Don't forget to vote!