Getting Settled In

Ugh... I'm terrible at keeping this thing updated! Maybe now that I have this handy app on my phone it will get done more often :)
Well we have been in our new house since the beginning of February and we couldn't be happier (unless we were in California tommy would say). We love our neighborhood, our ward, and we love all the fun things to do that are so close to us! We really don't have to go more than a few miles to get everything we need. It's awesome. We had no idea what all was around until a few weeks after we moved in. Everything really fell into place for us.
Tommy is enjoying his new territory. He is doing well as always. I couldn't be more proud (or grateful) to him for making the big jump and moving out here to TX. He is the best father and husband we could ask for. He is staying busy keeping our huge backyard mowed and taken care of and checking off items on the honey-do list!
I am doing great! It has been fun to paint the kids rooms and get started on decorating. It's a nice feeling knowing we won't be packing up in a year and going somewhere else. I'm enjoying making this house our home. I'm still busy trying to find a place for everything but with some very special "guests" coming out soon I'm sure they will help me get tons done! And I can't wait! I've been busy trying to find all the fun hot spots to take the kids since summer is near and I love taking them to new fun places and meeting new people. I've just been called as the RS Secretary which I am mostly excited about but like 25% freaked out about just because I'm still new in the ward and have no clue who 93% of the people are... And it seems like its kind of a lot of work... BUT I LOVE the Relief Society SO much and have such a strong testimony of how much we all need each other so I am very excited to be serving in this calling!
Maddox is growing like a weed! He seems so tall! And we finally cut his hair (after about 8mo of growth) so he just looks so old! He goes to preschool and loves it! I love hearing about his day when I pick him up. His brain is a sponge and he is learning so much! His favorite thing is "getting jobs". Everyday before school he asks me which job I think he will get (snack helper, door holder, line leader...) and when I pick him up it is so exciting to hear what his job was. He still loves everything CARS and he is such a sweet brother to Avery. He always makes sure that he gives her hugs and kisses before bed/nap and if he doesn't he gets very upset. He watches out for her <3
Avery. Oh Avery. Well she is walking (and almost running). This girl is a firecracker and I am scared for my life when she hits terrible twos because she can already throw a MEAN tantrum! But she is also the funniest little girl ever. She LOVES to dance and already has quite the moves for a little 15 monther. She is such a girly girl and loves shoes and clothes and jewelry. I LOVE how girly she is. Avery can climb onto ANYTHING. She is a very smart little girl and finds a way to get what she wants! She is so much fun and keeps us on our toes!
So that is our life in a nutshell :)

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Baby Avery!

Avery turned one on Jan. 12th. The days prior to her birthday I couldn't help but to be brought back to the few days prior to her birth. How SO much has changed. I remember preparing the house, doing last minute fun things with Maddox, making tutu's with my mom.. We had no idea what the next year would bring. :)
At 8:17pm on Jan 12 our lives changed forever! Some of the things we went through the first few weeks were so hard and personal I don't know if I could ever write them down. I remember when we went to see the specialist for Avery's cleft they talked about how much we would be going through in the first year of her life. Ever since that appointment, I honestly couldn't wait until her first birthday. We went through a lot. Thinking back now I can hardly believe it all... Dr apts every week. Surgeries. Never ending ear infections. Feeding problems. I don't even feel like that was my life a few months ago! I'm sad that ever since she was born, I couldn't wait until her first birthday. I do feel like I missed out on her being a tiny baby and I hate it but there was just so much going on and I accept it. So, to me, celebrating her first birthday was more than just a birthday to me, it was celebrating that we made it through what was (hopefully) the hardest part of her birth defect. I know there is much, much more to come, but I feel like the main things have been taken care of. It was such a happy and special first birthday. It meant so much to me!
So, enough of the mooshy stuff. Since Avery's birthday was so soon after Christmas, we didn't know what to get her.. She had just received more than enough toys and clothes. So, we decided to get her ears pierced! Ahh... She will thank us one day for it right? :)

 She has no idea what is about to happen. She's just enjoying the suckers the nice lady gave her :)

She was pretty upset with us until she fell asleep in the car on the way home and has been fine (with her ears) ever since. She lets me clean them pretty easily and they are SO cute!

So, Happy Birthday Avery!! Haha, we did do a party for her here at my parents house. It was so perfect!

Avery is SO fun! She definitely has more of Tommy in her. She already has a little attitude on her! She does what she wants when she wants or there will be a fit. She is a firecracker.. and a LOUD one! She is just plain loud all of the time. BUT, one of my favorite things she does is when I'm rocking her at night before bed, as we are snuggling she just starts talking so sweet and soft... "ma ma ma maaaaaaa" She will talk herself to sleep... Its the best!

She has recently started giving "kisses". She loves to wave. She loves to ride in Maddox's "McQueen" car. If she is hungry, she eats fast. If she isn't hungry, she throws it off her high chair even faster. She loves climbing the stairs and me coming to get her. SHE LOVES TO DANCE!!!! All her toys that play music she loves to dance to them, and in the car seat she will start nodding her head along to music. Avery is very extreme.. If she is happy, she is the happiest baby you have ever met. But, if she is sad or in pain, she is the loudest, saddest baby ever and is VERY hard to settle down. Hahaha... but I love it about her!!

Happy Birthday Sweet Avery!!!!! Can't wait to see what you'll throw at us this year! :)

A lot has happened since the last time I posted...

WOWZA!! I cannot believe its been so long since I've been on here!! Needless to say we have been very very busy! I will catch everyone up as best I can and throw a few pictures in here and there!
Well, Avery has a palate that is 4 months old now! Haha, she had her surgery in September. I was freaking out about the recovery and aside from her not drinking anything (I literally had to feed her by shooting syringes into her mouth... It took forever and we were SOOO close to having to take her in for dehydration) it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. She began crawling the day before her surgery (of course). Geez, it feels like this was SOO long ago but I'm just now writing about it! Anyway, after her surgery there was talk of us moving and about 8 weeks after her surgery, thats right, we picked up and MOVED TO TEXAS!!! Ahh, I can't tell you how happy this makes me! I LOVE it here!!

So, we have been living at my parents house since the middle of October. Three days after we got here, Maddox broke his arm chasing his cousin up a bunk bed. I was afraid it was a sign but there hasn't been any more absolute terrible things happen since then :)

We spent Thanksgiving in Colorado with my Dad.. It was beautiful and a nice fun relaxing time.

We were only home for a few weeks before we headed back out! We had a very long "Christmas Vacation" planned. Our first stop was Rexburg, ID for Stacey's graduation! It was a great visit and we are SO proud of her!

Next we went to Las Vegas. It was a VERY quick 2 days there but we spent time with all of our wonderful friends and family there!

THEN we flew on down to San Diego. Ahhhh we love it there. Anyway, I'm so glad we could all be together for this particular holiday. It was the first Christmas that we were without Danny. I know it was so hard for all of the Hainline's. I'm so glad that Heather and Holly were there with us. The family seems so much smaller missing that one person..... Christmas was good though, we always have so much fun when we are together. Anyway, the kids were all so cute together. Avery and Holly are just a few months apart so it was fun to see them interact with each other. Maddox is such a sweet sensitive little boy, he made sure that both the girls were always taken care of. :) We enjoyed seeing movies, going to the beach, visiting friends, a little legoland action, and just hanging out! It was SO good to be there!

One last thing that has happened.... WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! We are so excited to be "first time home owners". Well, a little scared too but what the heck! We close in two weeks. Its a really cute home with a giant backyard! We can't wait to move in.. I will be sure to post pictures when we get there :)

Oh, and we just had Avery's birthday, but that deserves a post of its own.... :)

An Everything Post.

It has been a LONG time since I have been on here so this could be super long..

Where to begin.. Hmm.. Well, I guess a little update on the kids. So, Avery is doing OK. She has pretty much been on antibiotics since she was 2 months old because the ear infections won't stay away for more than 2 or 3 days. Boo.. But the big surgery is coming up soon so we are super excited (and I am super terrified now knowing what recovery is like from the first surgery. Yikes.) but hopefully getting the palate repaired will fix all kinds of issues (once we get through the recovery that is). Like, I tried to start her on baby food. She will eat a little but once it starts coming out of her nose she is done. I don't blame her... Non of us like the feeling of food (or whatever) coming out of our nose. She is really liking the little gerber puffs but she sneezes chunks of those out too so, whatever... I've decided I'm not going to try much (or get upset about the lack of things she can do/eat) until the palate is repaired. Anyway, she is clapping her hands and so so so close to crawling.. I think it will be any day now. I can't believe how fast she has grown up. I feel like I totally missed the "new baby" stage with her because of everything going on but it is what it is. She makes us laugh constantly and has been a huge blessing to our family.

Maddox is the man. He is so much fun and his imagination amazes me sometimes. He still loves everything  CARS. He loves his little sister and I think he can't wait until she is a little older so he can really start playing with her. Maddox is very particular and is a very good listener. He is really good at cleaning up (when he wants to) and it is kind of funny how (somewhat) OCD he is. He is starting pre-school and a soccer league. I can't believe it! He is my little buddy....

So, we had a busy summer as usual.. Let me see if I can remember that far back... :) It all started with us going to Texas to visit my mom. Maddox was pretty excited.... The day I told him we were going to get on an airplane to go to Texas he said "I'll be right back Mom.." and this is what he looked like when he came down the stairs..

We did a lot of lounging by the pool, hanging out with family, and just plain relaxing!!! From there we flew into San Diego. We had a  BLAST in San Diego for the 4th of July. The BEST part was seeing Heather and little baby Holly.

We also enjoyed a little beach time and visiting with more friends and family!

This is a random picture of Maddox on a turtle. A real turtle. Tommy's cousin has this big guy in his back yard.. I think its pretty cool!

 So, after San Diego I came home for 4 days. Thats right, I had been out of town for 3 weeks and then came home for FOUR DAYS before we made the trek up to Idaho. I went a little crazy. Idaho was good. It was hard, especially for Tommy but we tried to make the best of it. We were able to stop at our friends and hang out for a few hours. There Maddox got to do all kinds of fun things, like riding a horse.. He got pretty brave and even let the horse trot for a while. He really loved it!

Since we've been home we have just been trying to hang out as much as possible! We spent a lot of time by the pool and just doing fun summer things. I can't tell you how much I LOVE the "good days".
Here is Maddox playing in the rain. We had bought this Lightning McQueen umbrella a few weeks ago and he was praying for rain. So much so that one night Tommy went out and turned the sprinklers on so that he could use his umbrella. Hopefully he will get some more use out of it..

This was just a cute picture. We were taking the usual stroll around Costco and Maddox had his arm around Avery. They love each other and it makes me SO happy to watch them together.

This is just a cute picture of Miss Avery. 

So life settled down for a bit but now I am looking at my Calendar and freaking out a little bit at what the next month looks like for me. Eeek! But, we will get through it, we always do! It is amazing how much we have all grown this year. We have been through a lot but I love thinking about how much we have learned and learned to lean on one another and also the Savior. My testimony has grown so much. The power of prayer is amazing. I know that we have some pretty special angels helping us through and I feel them often. I love the gospel!!!!

When it rains....

It POURS. And then it FLOODS and you don't know if there is enough room on the LIFE BOAT for YOU.

We have had a pretty rough year so far... It has gone a little something like this:
*Avery was born (Yes, this is also a joyous event and we love her dearly but with Miss Avery comes a lot of.... issues :))
*Avery can't breath and turns blue the night we brought her home from the hospital.
*Maddox gets RSV and I am somehow supposed to keep my very sick little boy completely isolated from my very needy three week old..
*Avery begins to hate eating and is crying during nearly EVERY bottle.
*Avery begins getting ear infections one right after another.
*Our sweet little niece, Holly, was born 11 weeks premature.
*Two weeks after Holly was born her daddy, Tommy's one and only brother, passed away in a car accident.
*After all our travels for the funeral the night we got home Maddox got SUPER sick. He ended up with bronchitis. I also had never been so sick in my life as I was that first week. I don't know what I had at the beginning of the week but my whole body felt like it had been run over by a semi. Toward the end of the week I ended up with strep that stuck around for WAY tooo long!
*Avery continues with ear infections
*Tommy starts complaining of pain in his side and eventually has a hard time sleeping because of it.
*Maddox is starting to stutter and act out a little... (probably because there is obviously a lot going on in the fam)
*Avery has her first surgery. They repair her lip and put a nasal conformer in her left nostril to help shape the nose. She also gets tubes put into her ears.
*After the surgery, my good sleeper turns into a monster at night!
*Even after tubes, Avery has a double ear infection.
*I finally make Tommy go see someone about the pain in his side. He ended up in the hospital for 5 days with a plura effusion, collapsed right lung, and a really bad pneumonia.
*Avery sneezes out her nasal conformer that was supposed to be in another two weeks (I was secretly ok with it cause it was driving her crazy!)

Life has been absolutely exhausting... emotionally and physically. It's been hard but some how we continue to make it day after day!

When LIFE gives you LEMONS, you make LEMONADE.

"What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger." -- My new motto. I am beginning to think God thinks I'm a pretty big whimp that needs some toughening up!
I know that we have trials to teach us and to make us learn and grow for the better. I like to think we are learning alot..

*We definitely enjoy and appreciate the good days.
*Patients and understanding.
*The Relief Society is amazing. Not only in our ward but through our friends and family members as well. There are people who are always willing to help. I have been overwhelmed with the help and prayers we have all received over the last months.
*It will never be okay that Danny is no longer with us. However, when we remember him we remember how kind and funny he was and I know I strive to learn from the example that he was. He didn't judge and could be friends with anyone.
*I need to remember to make time and have special moments with each of my kids... and hubby!
*BREATHE
*Life isn't going to go how we wanted it. But there is a plan that is bigger than us that will make us better and we will end up right where we should be.
*Talk about it
*I think we have all become closer to our Heavenly Father.
*FAMILIES are FOREVER and we have definitely become closer.

There is SO much more that I have learned. I don't think I have ever asked WHY this year has been so hard and I am glad that I have been able see past everything and look and the things we are learning.

My friend asked me just the other day.. "So, are you just like BRING IT ON now?!" And honestly, I am. I know now that we can get through anything. I would really love for life to lighten up a bit but, we can do it... Whatever comes our way we will get through it.


**I didn't write this to complain about our lives. More because this is like our family journal and I know we will never forget this year but I never want to forget some of the things we have learned!

My Amateur Photography

Last weekend we decided to do a little photo shoot in our extra bedroom... Here is what I came up with...

The Past Month...

This has definitely been the craziest month. Ever. Aside from bringing a newborn home, we have been bogged down with doctor visits, trying to get used to life together, and everyone being sick! I will just start from the beginning. So, we all know now that Avery has a cleft lip/pallet. We had no idea what this would affect in terms of eating, sleeping, etc. Well, we came home from the hospital on Friday afternoon. Friday night was the scariest night that I think I will ever experience in my life. Tommy had taken Maddox to a basketball game so my mom and I could hang out before she had to leave the next day. After dinner, we were cleaning up in the kitchen and looked over at Avery in the bouncy seat. Her arms and legs were going crazy. It looked like she was fighting. I went over to her and she was blue. She wasn't breathing. I tried all I could to get her to breath but I was panicking. Luckily my mom was there. I called 911 while she worked on Avery. After suctioning out her nose and mouth my mom got her breathing. The paramedics came and Avery was struggling a little at first but continued to get much better. They suggested we go to the ER. We went.. not really knowing why... there was nothing they could do... I think WE knew why she stopped breathing but we were so shaken up we didn't know what else to do. We went to the ER and they did tests but found nothing. With her cleft pallet, when she has spit up and can come out of the mouth and nose. When I found her, she had a bunch of stuff dripping out of her nose. So.. I think all her airways got clogged up. They suggested we get an apnea machine so that if it happened again at night, we would know. We didn't get the machine until Sunday so Tommy and I took turns staying up making sure it didn't happen again. I love this machine :) I sleep so well at night knowing it will yell at me if something is wrong! Luckily, it has not happened again.
So, we went to meet the plastic surgeon and he told us what to expect over the next 15-18 years. Wow. He gave us a whole list of other specialists we need to see. First, we needed to do weekly weight checks with the pediatrician. Yep, we go in every week to get her weighed (and may I say she is chunking up pretty well.. about an ounce a day!). We have been in to see the feeding specialist twice. The first time was really hard. When we were still in the hospital the pediatrician said he didn't think she would be able to breastfeed. The lactation consultant thought she could. I really enjoyed breastfeeding with Maddox and the thought of not doing it with Avery broke my heart.. Specially since I knew we had a lot of challenges ahead and I was worried about not having that bonding experience with her. So, for the first week I tried. I tried so hard to breastfeed her. It took a VERY long time.. 45min-1hr for one feeding. And even then I knew she wasn't satisfied. So, the feeding specialist told me in her 25 years of doing what she does, she has never seen a cleft baby successfully breastfeed. I think I burst into tears right then. Luckily, being a mom herself, she totally understood. I was a wreck for the rest of the appointment. We talked about pumping and also that formula fed babies do just fine! I think it was hard because breastfeeding was all I knew and I loved it. Pumping.... UGH! I know it is important for her to get breastmilk for as long as possible. I HATE pumping. But I do it.  I am surprised I have done is for as long as I have (a whoppin 4 weeks). I got mastitis after the first 2 days of pumping and I wanted to be done right then. Anyway, I am taking it week by week.. we will see how long I go! The feeding specialist also told us the only bottles she should use until her pallet surgery are called the "special needs feeder". Its weird that I got sad that she wouldn't be using the same bottles that Maddox did but I was an emotional wreck and pretty much everything made me cry. These bottles are 20 bucks a bottle!.. Your not even paying for the bottle, your paying for the nipple and all the little parts! I was using the 2 the hospital gave us for the first 2 weeks. My family pulled together and helped us out a ton by buying us a bunch of bottles. This is all new to me.. pumping and feeding and HAND WASHING everything!! It has definitely taken some getting used to and it is sooo time consuming but I'm doing the best I can!
We have a bunch of other appointments scheduled.. ENT and the geneticist. We also have her first surgery scheduled for the end of April! I have mixed feelings... I am excited to get her lip fixed but not excited for the pain my little baby will be going through :(
Anyway, then when Avery was about 3 wks old we all got sick. Even Avery was extremely congested. I took her and Maddox to the doc cause Maddox was REALLY sick. Turns out he had RSV. The first thing the doctor said when he came into the exam room and heard Maddox cough was that I needed to isolate them from each other or Avery would end up in the hospital. (My first thought was how the heck am I going to be able to do this! I was SO emotionally exhausted.. It felt like we couldn't catch a break!) It is VERY hard taking care of a newborn and a very sick little boy when they cannot be anywhere near each other! That was a very trying week and a half. Luckily over the weekend we were able to get Tommy and Maddox into a hotel so that I could disinfect the house and relax a little. I am happy to say that we are all doing much better!
Amidst everything we have had to get used to and the trials we have had to over come this past month.. We have also been able to sneak some fun in...

Here is Tommy loving his TWO kids!

We have been very lucky so far. Maddox has shown no signs of jealousy or anything like that. All he ever says is how cute the baby is and how he loves his sister. :) I'm so grateful for our two precious kids!

Maddox and Avery snuggling in Maddox's bed...

Maddox trying to teach Avery the Texas Longhorns sign with her hands!

 When the boys were away at the hotel for the weekend, Avery and I made some yummy banana nut muffins. It got me excited for all the things we will enjoy doing together as a mother and daughter. I hope that we will have as good of a relationship as my mother and I have.

This last weekend we went to Sedona with our friends...

This is what Avery looked like for the whole trip!

We went to visit Montezumas Castle. 

Sedona... it was BEAUTIFUL! I want to go back and spend some more time there...

We were pretty exhausted when we got back.. Maddox has been falling asleep in some unusual places recently. Here he is asleep at the computer watching Cars.

I must brag about little Avery before I finish this extremely long post! She loves to sleep. Period. From the day she came home I have only had to wake up once a night to feed her. She doesn't even cry when she is hungary.. I just hear a bunch of sucking noises and I know its time to feed her. She slept through the night for the first time at 3.5weeks. and has done it once again since. I hope to make it a regular thing soon! She loves her swing and loves to be held. Every once in a while I can get away with letting her chill on the floor but she prefers to be swinging or being held. She is a pretty good baby... She can be fussy don't get me wrong but overall pretty easy. Anyway, this has been a very long post and duty calls so I'll wrap it up. I love being a mommy to Maddox and Avery. We have had a few challenges and a lot to get used to but I have found sooo much comfort in prayer. I am very lucky to have these two kiddos and Tommy has been so much help and very supportive. I love my life!