Avery Getting Bigger

Avery is a becoming a big help around the house these days. Here she is helping with the dishwasher...she's got the right idea, just the wrong product :) She also likes helping with laundry and taking clothes from the laundry room into the bedroom that we tell her to. She's really starting to come into her own person - her and brother are having more laughs together than hair pulling sessions (hair pulling by Avery not Jman) these days, and she is starting to have more conversations with us. Popular words are: Bubba, "uh-uh" (which usually means yes), Wormer (Grams and Gramps dog), dadda, momma, and "ruff-ruff." She did say "Melissa" for Aunt Melissa pretty clear one day and has also said "brother" pretty clear a couple times. She is a great eater, loves putting on her black boots that were hand-me-downs from Claire and Ava Norem, but also loves to take off her boots and her socks when daddy is driving them to daycare in the morning. She also likes to get into the bathroom cabinets, put on lotion, and comb her hair. She is starting to get into feeding and walking her baby dolls, but still loves a good Ninja turtle or lego-building playing session with brother.

Making Valentine's Day Cookies

We made some early valentine day cookies and Jman even made some 'cement' out of flour and water, during the process - can we say 'boy!' Avery was our taste-tester :) Daddy was working that night but came home to lots of sprinkles and flour..oh, and some cookies, too :)

Gingerbread Houses!

Daddy and Jman had the idea to make gingerbread houses one sunday afternoon - it was so much fun!

Happy New Years 2013

Here are a couple shots from our New Years Celebration :) This was the first day of my treatments for Wegeners (6 hour infusion) so Adam and the kiddos got Applebees curb-side, a couple movies, some party hats, and some snacks. While I slept for the majority of the night, they played Wii, hung out and had a nice relaxing time. Unfortunately, by the time we got photos, Miss Avery was already in bed and I had just woken up.

Adam and I were both awake at midnight to wish each other a Happy New Years! Even though it is very easy for me to get pretty down about what has happened to my health these past few months and what lies ahead, each moment with our family is one that I treasure. Even though this holiday season wasn't quite what we were thinking it would be, it was still full of many, many blessings,wonderful and amazing family and friends, love, and support that I am so truly thankful for!

Even Superheroes Need Rest

Yes, even crime fighting superheroes like Iron Man need their rest, even if it means falling asleep on mommy's chest on a Sunday night right before dinner. I loved it!

Few More Christmas Photos

Here are just a few more Christmas photos, including one with Landry helping Avery open her gift and a group shot of the cousins opening their gifts at the Parrinos.

Christmas Celebrations 2

Kiddos had a great time unwrapping and playing with all of their toys this Christmas, including a 3 ft. tall Ninja Turtle Sewer System :) We had some wonderful people help us with CHristmas this year - Adam's work "adopted" our family as well as the Holdenmeyer Family (which was a gal that grew up in Waukee and every year their family adopts a family. They heard about our situation through my cousin Allison and brought us some wonderful gifts this year!) We were so incredibly thankful for everything! Another cool thing that happened is my friend Melissa Meyer wrote in to STAR 102.5 and got a Christmas wish granted for us. This included a $300 gift certificate to Hy-Vee,free cleaning service for 6 months, a $200 VISA gift card, and interior decorating services. So, despite all that was going on, we truly felt blessings all around us throughout the entire season and we will never forget that! Also, Jman made us an extra special Christmas present at preschool with his hands that we love!

Cookies and Carrots

leaving cookies and carrots out for Santa

.

Christmas Celebrations 1

We spent Christmas with Grandma Vicki on Sunday before Christmas Eve this year. We then got to celebrate Christmas with the Wilsons on Christmas Eve (to which we forgot our camera) and we had our family Christmas on Christmas morning with Trissel side Christmas that afternoon. It sounds like a alot, but it wasn't too crazy and it was so nice to get to celebrate with everyone and get out of the house a little.

we

Fingernails and Forts

Grandma Vicki came over and Jasper decided he wanted to paint his fingernails,so they did. Then we had a visit from Isabelle and Ethan Meyer and they built quite a fort to play in out of Connectors. It was quite the masterpiece. It stayed up for a few nights at our house and Jasper enjoyed eating his bedtime snack and watching his bedtime movie in it. Actually, one morning he even got out of bed, went downstairs and started hanging out in it before we even woke up. He never does that - he always comes into our room when he first gets up. So, it was quite the fort and got lots of fun playtime.

Avery's Chair

Before Uncle Jason got Avery her very own pink Dora girlie chair,she loved taking her snacks or books or anything else and sitting in Jasper's car chair. She would just plop right down in it and would sit for 5-10 minutes (which is pretty long for her) or would sit and watch TV. Here she is cuddled up with her bubba and a snack in her chair.

We're Back...

Well, what can I say about these past few months since this last post from October. Unfortunately, I landed in the hospital for the month of November and was diagnosed with Wegeners Disease, which is an autoimmune disorder that affects my upper respiratory system. It has been quite a trying few months for the Wilson household with me basically being too sick to function and Adam taking on the reigns of everything, to which he is the most amazing father, husband, and caregiver in the world, I might add!! It is now January 30 and I'll write a longer post later about everything going on with the disease, but for now, I want to start posting some more family photos that we've taken since October. There haven't been too many since we've been pretty busy with all of this, but I wanted to try and catch up atleast a little :) So, here are some photos from Christmas 2012, which is our very first Christmas in our new home in Bondurant and this is us putting up our Christmas tree and decorations. We were