Yikes!!!

Well, I suck at blogging!

What have we been up to the past 7 months???
Well, I have been teaching at Metropolitan Arts Academy, Joe is going to grad school to get his MBA in Finance, Bella is growing up way too fast and getting even sassier and entertaining and Ava is growing right before our eyes! She's ready to start crawling any day here! I just got back from a week at girls' camp (it was amazing!) and sat down to read some blogs and realized I haven't blogged in 7 months! Here's some photos from the past seven months:

 Ava's blessing

 Our little Christmas package

 bella had surgery. Her Scentsy Buddy was the only way we made it through!

 Our Christmas tradition at Thornton's treeland

 We went to Mesa for Michelle's wedding

 Bella and her cousin Sarah at the Mesa Temple

 Christmas

 Our entourage trying to get through the Phoenix airport

 See I told you getting too big too fast

 I went on a skirt making binge

 Many trips to the zoo

 Bella discovering her inner artist

 once again...too big!

Well, there you have it! The past 7 month in a nutshell! I've recommitted to blog more often, we'll see how it goes!

Miracle Baby

6 months ago I thought I would never get to hold this precious little girl in my arms. On Mother's day I started to hemorrhage and continued bleeding until the end of July. I spent every waking minute wondering if my baby was still alive. I stayed up at night crying and pleading with my Father in Heaven to heal my body so that the bleeding would stop and the chances of a miscarriage would go down.

Our prayers were answered and on Nov. 16th Avalyn Genevieve Wilcox was born at 2:40 am weighing 7lbs 5oz!

I started having contractions late Sunday night and at 1:30am made my way to the hospital. Joe waited for his mom to get there and then came and met me. They were hesitant to admit me because I was 37weeks and 5days. Since I was dialted to a 5 they sent me on a walk to see if my contractions would pick up and if I would dilate to a 6.

Well, I power walked my butt off for an hour and it paid off because sure enough I was a 6! This was about 3:30 am. I thought for sure wed have a baby by mid morning.

OH NO!!!! My contractions started to fizzle around noon...they started me on pitocin and I once again power-walked my butt off! I dilated to a 7 and stayed there forever!!! They finally broke my water...and I was stuck at a 7! The mid-wife checked me and discovered that Ava was sideways and couldn't fit under my pelvic bone. Which explained the excruciating back and nerve pain I was experiencing. This was about 8pm! I finally caved and got an epidural. The pain was so intense I couldn't breathe! (I pulled all the muscles in my lower back!) The OB came in and said I wouldn't deliver her vaginally and we needed to talk C-Section...I said I wanted to talk to the mid-wife. She came back and checked me again and was able to turn Ava.

30 min later I was a 10! I pushed for 45 minutes and Ava was born at 2:45 Tuesday morning!

She ended up having Jaundice and we had to spend 24 hours in the NICU under photolights. We're still trying to get her levels down. She's now at home with a light band that goes around her waist.

She is the sweetest baby. We just adore her. I was so worried throughout my pregnancy about being able to divide myself between two babies. For 2 years Bella has been my entire world. It's amazing how your heart stretches and makes room for more. I couldn't imagin life withought my little miracle.

Bella's First Trunk-or-Treat

Last night was our ward Halloween Carnival and Trunk-or-Treat. I wasn't quite sure what Bella would think of all the Halloween costumes and such. True, she was a little meffiante at first, but quickly got into the swing of things when she found out candy was involved! How she ever learned that word, I will never know!
She loved playing all the games. needless to say she did not win a goldfish! You had to toss ping pong balls in mason jars filled w/ water. Well, bella thought it would be much more fun to chuck them at Joe who was standing on the opposite side of the room! The poor beehives had to chase the balls all over the gym! She did however, win the cake walk and scored herself a delicious brownie and cupcake!

Here's a few highlights from the night and our Pumpkin Carving

I'm pretty sure this was the most enjoyed cupcake there ever was!

                                

Wow! My stomach is bigger than my pumpkin! 4 more weeks!

A couple of sickies hanging out watching Sleeping Beauty

Pumpkin Patch

Following tradition we made our yearly trip to bi-zi farms Pumpkin Patch. A little advice...Don't go the 3rd Saturday in Oct. It was soooo busy! It was so packed that it was hard to walk around anywhere!

We still had a pretty good time! Bella loved all the animals and being able to play in the hay and sample fresh pressed cider. She especially loved the ponies. The line was SO long though so we didn't wait around to ride them. Next year.

 She thought this guy was pretty cool!

 My two favorite people

 She picked out her "pum-pim" all by herself!



Oh Bella!

Bella cracks me up! We got a bottle in a baby shower gift. I told her it was for the baby...she then insisted that I pulled up my shirt to show her my belly and put the bottle up to it and made drinking noises!

Love her!

Grateful

I am so grateful for the priesthood and to be married to a worthy man who is able to excercise his priesthood whenever it is needed.

Bella's surgery is tomorrow. Over the past week I had been slowly falling to pieces. I would just lose it at the drop of a hat and start bawling hysterically! I keptm thinking of all the horrible, unimaginable "what-ifs".
What if they cut through an artery and she bleeds to death on the operating table. What-if a 4 1/2 hour surgery is too long to be under general anesthesia and she suffers brain damge, what-if they rupture her bladder....and on and on.

I keep hearing about people who go in for routine things and either end up dying or in critical condition in the ICU.

I have been a walking time bomb of stress. I can hardly look at Bella without tearing up.
It's been rough.

Well, the other night Joe and I were talking about all of this after I'd already sat and bawled hysterically on my couch for over an hour. I asked him to give me a priesthood blessing.

What a blessing indeed! I innediately felt comforted. I was assured that everything was going to be just fine and Bella would make it through the surgery with no problems or complications.

As I'm preparing all of our things for our hospital stay, I'm trying to remind myself over and over the words of the blessing. I don't know what I would do without the knowledge of the restores gospel and the knowledge that I have a loving father in heaven who is very much mindful of my little family here in Vancouver, WA

Past Few Weeks

The last few weeks have been INSANE! I seriously feel like someone stuck my head in a toilet and flushed it over and over! We've been super busy trying to get projects finsihed before Bella's surgery next week. Which btw we totally suck at! Ava's room is painted at least. Joe is going to refinish our hardwood floors while Bella and I live at Doernbechers. It should be interesting. We have absolutely no idea what we're doing. If anyone does and would like to help PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!

We went to the Harvest Festival at Sauvie Island over labor day weekend with Joe's parents. It was a lot of fun and Bella had a blast!

Anywho...we had Bella's pre-op appt last week and here's the low-down on her surgery:

The surgery itself will take about 4 hours. They have to either re-implant the extra ureter tubes into the bladder or create a new with the extra tubes. They won't know until they've started the surgery. They also need to remove a cyst from her right kidney and possibly remove the upper half of her left kidney. I KNOW right?!

She will have two systems of drainage tubes put in place. one internal (will be removed 6 weeks after) and one external (removed 2 weeks after) She will also have an epidural for 2 days after the surgery. They need her to be totally immobile so she doesn't rupture the sutures or the tubing. I have no idea how to explain to a 22 month old why she can only move from the waist up!!!!!!!

We'll be at the hospital for a minimum of 5 days. If we're lucky we'll get to go home the 27th...MY BIRTHDAY.  It's going to be a trying time, I'm sure I'll freak out and lose it a few times. But, I know it will all work out and it's for the best.

As for miss Ava, things are going really well. We have an ultrasound tomorrow. I'm curious to see how big she is. My midwife promised me she won't let me have bigger than an 8lb baby!

I am holding her to that! I'm carrying her really low. She is literally camped out on top of my cervix! Moms I know you can relate when I say that half the day I feel like my crotch is going to split in half. Sorry if that was a little too graphic but it's seriously the only way to describe it! I spend most days walking around like a cowboy! I'm getting excited to meet her and see her personality.if she's anything like Bella we are going to have our hands full..because let me tell you that girl is FULL of personality!