Pumpkin Patch Time!

Well, we finally made it out to the pumpkin patch this year! No, it wasn't our usual Bishop's Pumpkin Farm trip, and it was a VERY short visit, no thanks to the wind and Ava as well as myself still getting over the flu bug, but the kids had fun non the less and we came home with some great pumpkins. :)

We visited a lil place off Old Auburn Blvd called The Pumpkin Farm(though it truthfully doesn't look like they even grow anything other than CORN there...) on a recommendation from a friend. Plus, it was a LOT closer than Bishop's, which is out in Wheatland, almost an hour away.

Anyhow, The Pumpkin Farm is cute, it has the hay rides and the train and all that other stuff, though we didn't partake in much other than the petting zoo(ick, yes I have a serious aversion to petting farms, always have) and pumpkin picking. The kiddos had a blast picking out pumpkins and petting those darn animals. The wind was seriously kicking that day, though. We soon found out that lil miss has the same disdain for the wind that she has always had...bummer. Not as bad as it used to be, though. Ava used to do this odd thing where she would gasp and kinda laugh but also kinda...not breathe in a gust of wind. Yeah...odd. She doesn't do that anymore, this was an infant thing, but she still really isn't a fan of wind. Who can blame her though!

A few photos from our trip...

The "F" Word.

So last week Ava finally caught it, the FLU! As much as we were dreading this and doing the best we could to prevent it, we still knew it was coming. Not ONLY because Ava is now enrolled in Preschool and exposed to that many more dirty, germy little hands, but because this is the first year of her life that she is NOT receiving the synagis(RSV) shot every month through the flu season. I was terrified, because very often, as many of us heart mommies know, FLU, or even just a common cold can result in a not so fab ER trip/hospitalization. BUT, I can't keep this girl in a bubble, as much as that thought sometimes appeals to me, so you just have to be ready, for anything.

So, Ava was complaining of tummy aches and had some serious mudbutt going on(TMI, I know, I know. But many of us ARE parents, and is there even such thing as TMI once you are a parent?!) for a few days before she spiked a 104 temp. Before the fever broke Ava was running around like the usual, lovable little maniac she is. Once that fever spiked though, she was sleeping all day, had no appetite and had a little accompanying cough. It took everything out of her. Her eyes got droopy, though she never once complained, and after her very loooong naps, she would often wake up and instantly start doing her usual dance and singing into a microphone(either her wand, hand or blanket), though that wouldn't last longer than 5 minutes and was followed by another nap. Always in good spirits though, that's my lil diva girl! :) I didn't get too terribly worried though(HAH, right...) until I noticed her breathing started getting just a little bit faster. We put her cardiologist on alert, and dusted off the good old oximeter machine, stats were "good" not great, but not bad either, thank goodness.

Husband and I went back and forth and back and forth weighing the pros and cons of keeping her home and monitoring VERY closely vs taking her into the ER and risking her catching something possibly worse. In the end we decided that as long as she wasn't at ALL showing any signs of distress, we needed to keep her home and as comfortable as possible. After 3 heart catheterizations just this year, Ava has serious anxiety any time we even pull up to the UCD parking lot, and who can blame her. She is terrified now anytime we go to any Dr, where before she had no qualms and trusted them all, she wakes up at night and needs reassurance that we are right there and she is safe, none of this was a problem before the multiple hospital visits this year. It's pretty heartbreaking and definitely will play a part in my decision making about whether to expose her to any unnecessary hospital and even Dr visits from now on.

Anyhow, Ava's fever broke a few nights ago, the following day her temp was running just a little low, the lowest it got was about 96.5, but it shot back up by night's end and has been in the normal, non-temp range since then. Ava is still super lethargic, sort of pale, a bit weak, and doesn't have her full appetite back just yet, though. :( I am just hoping this is the last I have to hear of the flu for the rest of the season! We are done with you, flu. Be gone.

How a Diva Finger Paints...a photo post...

There are no real updates/news in the world of Ava, so enjoy the photos. :)

Sorta-Sick Ava

So last week Ava seemed a little under the weather. It started off with the usual symptoms, a runny nose, intermittent cough, etc. Then she started complaining of a tummy ache, which had us a little concerned, especially when she got sick to her stomach and was running a low grade temp. But it didn't turn into anything serious, at all, and by the next morning, the temperature was gone and Miss Diva was up to her usual perky, mischievous, rambunctious self. Hooray! :)

I do have to admit, though, that we ALL really did enjoy a day of Ava a little more chill than usual. She wasn't running at her usual insane energy level, but still had plenty to play. Ava spent the day in her princess dress up, coloring, playing with building blocks, watching movies, and spreading fairy dust with her magical wand. A few photos of a VERY tame Ava. It was worth capturing, who KNOWS when it will happen again. ;)




































And the best part(aside from her kickass immune system fighting off her sickies before it turned into anything too terrible), she partook in NAP TIME! :D

Soccer Sweetie!

We signed Miss Ava up for a Mommy/Daddy and me soccer group, which just started last week. We meet weekly at Carmichael Park for half an hour in the am and the kids do some super CUTE, super basic soccer drills to kind of introduce them to the game of soccer and peak that interest. I am really excited for Ava to be in this, especially because we were able to join with her dear sweet heart twin Maddie. Maddie and Ava are only a few months apart in age, both have amazing and beautiful mended hearts, as well as DiGeorge Syndrome. Maddie's mama and I met a while ago and got to talking about our little divas and were in absolute SHOCK over how much the two shared in common. I am so thankful that our families met and our daughters will have each other to lean on and support as they grow, as well as their mommies having someone who literally knows EXACTLY what the other is going through. Huge blessing!

The Divas...



So soccer seems to be going well. Finding shin guards and cleats(gave up on those) posed to be quite a challenge, they just don't make much sports gear to fit these lil kiddos! Ava is L-O-V-I-N-G every single minute of it and finally has a female friend that she doesn't shoot dirty looks at in the few and rare moments she's not altogether ignoring them. Heh. And seriously, there is probably nothing cuter on this entire PLANET than seeing two little girls who have been through more than many of us ADULTS out playing together amongst their peers and not only keeping up, but kind of kicking some butt, too. :)

A few photos...

AHA Start! Heart Walk 2009

Thanks to all who came out this year to the Heart Walk and got your walk on in honor of our little heart diva as well as the many other children and families affected by Congenital Heart Defects(CHD). We had a pretty good turnout, thought not as large as our first year. Oh well, just gives me that much more motivation to get out there next year and really recruit all of you who didn't show(excluding the ones who couldn't , you were there with us in our hearts that day ;).

We started this tradition of participating in the walk just last year. It was the first time I had really heard of the walk and knew instantly this was something we wanted to do not only to help promote awareness, even if only locally, but to make a lovely tradition we do yearly, JUST for Ava. Something she can look back on and be proud of. Seeing how so many of her friends and family spend months soliciting donations, recruiting team members, ordering shirts and come out much too early for a Saturday, to walk 1 or 3 miles, just for her. A very small tribute to the little girl who has already endured more than most of us ever will in our entire lives.

With that being said, I truly hope to see more family and friends out in the coming years! :) It's really for a great cause and is probably the best you will ever feel waking up before 8am on a Saturday. Plus, it only takes less than an hour to do the 5k walk, and it's just one day a year! ;) Another gigantic, heartfelt THANK YOU to those who have joined us the last two years, you all are amazing!

Not many photos taken this year, but here are a few, the above picture is the image that I put on the back of Ava's shirt, it's perfect!...

Preschool, Take 2!

So because of Ava's cath being scheduled one week after school started, Miss Ava had a two week break and started school again today. This time, we were ready. ;) Ava has really been eager to get back to school, to class, to her teacher and her "friends." We arrived to class this morning, and Ava is playing, a bit apprehensive at first, but that's her, always. But she warms up a little and is drawing on the chalk table(whoever thought of making a chalkboard topped kids table is a freaking GENIUS!) and notices many other parents saying goodbye to their little ones, and leaving. I see the lip start to take form...We let her play a little bit more and then when we are pretty much the only parents left, we start to say our goodbyes. The lip is in full effect now, she is trying SO hard to not cry, and clings onto me for dear LIFE. Her teacher comes over and suggests picking Ava up while we say our goodbyes and leave, to see if that helps. Ava practically jumps into teacher's arms(mom suddenly = chopped liver) and they start talking about all the fun they are going to have today. So we tell her we will be back soon, and leave to smiles and waves. YAY! Upon our arrival teacher tells us Ava had a super great day and didn't cry or pout one single second after we left! Success! A few photos from the day...


















My, how she has grown! I cannot wait to see what this next chapter in my little diva's life unfolds. :)

Echo/Followup Appt News!

So last week Ava had an echo, to check the overall function of her heart, and to also check the placement of the stent that was placed in her last cath, as well as check on that leaky conduit. Ava did really well during her echo, I layed beside her and we watched, "Dora Saves the Mermaids" while our lovely echo tech did her magic. The whole thing only took about 45minutes, and only took that long because Ava's aortic arch is always tricky to see.





Miss Ava doing her cath thing, what a pro...




So a few days later we met w/Dr. Van Gundy to go over the echo results, as well as followup on the Cath and make sure the site was healing well, etc. Ava was definitely healing well, hadn't developed a cough or anything else like that. So we moved on to the Echo. Everything looked pretty good, overall. But the conduit was still very leaky. So he said the next step is presenting her case at the next conference. He said his choice is to leave her be for now, but it is always a "group" decision. Plus it's always nice to have the opinion of many dr's, something I really like about the conferences they hold. He said we could chose to have her lung perfusion now, or we could wait. And in his opinion, we should wait a couple months out. We agreed, let the girl rest and stay the heck out of the hospital, hopefully until next year. The lung perfusion will show him the pressures on each side, and how much more he needs to dilate her stent on the left side. Which he can't do for about 6-9months from now anyways, so we REALLY might as well wait on her perfusion. :) Next checkup with cardio in 6 months, and he would let us know what was discussed at the cath conference. He also briefly inquired about where would we like to have the next OHS done, etc. Even when you KNOW your child needs more surgery, to actually talk about it, makes it real. So I had to take a minute and let my heart catch up with my brain. After that I was okay though. :)



So while waiting to hear how the conference went, I was a little worried, because you just never know, they could of all decided the leaking is too much, and got the got the OHS wheels in motion, set a date right then and there. But luckily, we are going to wait, we are going to do the perfusion scan, dilate the stent, and do another echo, check and see what is going on at that point. No talk of surgery = HAPPY MAMA. I know it is still in the future, somewhat near future, but we have time to worry about all that later. I love time. :)

Haircut Honey!

So on Tuesday, after Ava's Cardio appt(which I will get into in another blog at a later date), we stopped by this kid's hair salon(Tangles, off Auburn Blvd, but moving soon to somewhere in Roseville) 1, because it was on the way home, 2, because Ava's auntie Brie takes her boys there and she's been satisfied with the quality, 3, because it was $10 Haircuts Tuesday, and lastly, because Ava had SPLIT ENDS and a wonky "Mama haircut". This was her first "pro" haircut, but it was definitely time to get something done with that mop up on top of her head, by someone who would actually know what they were doing with a pair of shears. :)

The actual place is cute, in a you probably have to be a BOY to fully appreciate this sorta way... But I liked that I didn't have to make an appointment, and hey, if the experience was terrible, we were only out $10. Ava was not so keen on the water that was sprayed on her hair, because some of it got on her face, and, well...she's a diva. But despite Ava taking turns mean mugging the stylist and whipping her head from left to right and back again, we somehow got about 4 inches cut, and it's definitely more even that I ever got it. :)



Plus, Ava was given one of her most favorite, but seldom allowed treats, CANDY in lollipop form. Mmm.

So, this is what we started out with...


And this was the final result...


A pretty darn cute cut! :)