Max's Story

Every day, I thank God for Avery. I thank God that the worst thing that happened to us as a result of the few vaccines she received was three days on the pediatric floor of the hospital with no explanation as to why we had to bring our 2 month old daughter into the ER the day after she received her vaccinations. And even though those were the worst days of our lives, I thank God for them...because it made us better parents, and we are some of the lucky ones with no long-term effects.

winter soup

this is a little off topic, but i made a delicious winter soup the other day, and i just wanted to share the recipe:

2 tbs olive oil
6 cloves minced garlic
1 small minced onion
saute until brown

4 stalks minced celery
1 large minced green pepper
add to pot with salt and pepper, cook until soft.

2 large minced carrots
2 medium minced sweet potatoes
1 cup chicken broth
add to pot, cook until very mushy, then puree.

i chicken breast, cut into small pieces
cook in pot with a little bit of water/olive oil.
add pureed mix, add equal parts water
and chicken broth until you get the consistency you want.
add seasonings to taste. I used:
a pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp crushed rosemary
1/2 tsp crushed thyme
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper

3 large diced russet potatoes
add to pot, simmer 10 minutes

2 cups peas (i used frozen)
3 cups cut green beans (i used fresh)
add to pot, cook until all veggies are tender.

Served with oven-warmed ciabatta bread - yummy!
avery ate a whole bowl of it! i was really happy to get all those veggies in her.

first tattoo

we went over uncle mike & auntie heather's for dinner - they fed us yummy meatball grinders and gave avery a present :



yay for tattoos!




mommy & avery compare artwork....

avery had a great time dancing in the living room to the christmas music, and playing with their tree -yes, their tree is already up :)- and she loved nora!

bad puppy

so, i'm in the room with avery, but we're each doing our own thing, not really paying attention to each other. she's playing with her puppy that sings the abc's, and i look over to see her put the puppy in her little time-out chair, back up a few steps, point to it and say "okay puppy? one minute. okay?" she leaves the room, then pokes her head back in and says "no puppy, not done, one minute, okay?"
this is exactly the conversation avery and i have when she goes in time out, so it was hilarious to me :)

trick or treat

avery was a doctor for halloween...we went trick or treating with two of her friends and their families, and we all had a great time! avery tried to stop after each house, and would pull out the candy piece she just got, throw her bag on the ground, and start saying "open? open?" we managed to make it through the night without sugar overload by giving her one m&m after each house. of course, that apparently meant daddy had to help her eat all her candy!! :) after trick or treating, we went to the church for a "fat soul" concert where avery showed off what a great dancer she is! she was even head banging at one point - it was hilarious, and so much fun to spend this time with her.





avery, ambulance & patient










chloe, avery & elise = bff



















you just know she's saying "what? i don't know where all the candy went!"









and she's a singer :)





dance, baby, dance!