AVA FEW TURNED THREE

Ava turned three years old on Sunday Nov. 29th. I cannnot believe that it has been three years since this " little" miracle came into our lives. She now weighs 23.6 lbs and is almost three feet tall. She is so smart and is growing up so fast. As most little girls her age are, she is obsessed with princesses. We were able to take the girls to Disney on Ice that featured most of the disney princesses, that Ava knows and loves. It was so fun to see her face when they came out on the ice. Her eyes would get real wide and she would smile so big when she recognized who they were. (Jada fell asleep). Since we didn't have a party we decided to celebrate it with just our family and of course, the disney princesses. Even Antione had fun. Well, he had fun seeing how happy Ava was anyway! I had to work on Thankgiving so we waited until Sunday to celebrate it along with Ava's birthday. The theme of her "party" (a few decorations were hung) was princesses and potty training. She got princess slippers (which happen to be too small), a princess toilet seat cover to go on the big toilet. I thought maybe she would be more inclined to use a stool and climb onto the big toilet instead of using the little toilet which sits on the ground. She also got princess underwear and princess pullups. Then for her dollies, she got a little potty which makes a flushing sound when you push the button. Of course she is obsessed with pushing the button. Oh, well, at least it's a quiet sound. It also came with a diaper, underwear, wipes, and a changing mat all for her dolly. I thought since Ava is really into interactive play right now with her dolls that if she saw her dolly using the toilet maybe she would want to. Then she also got, for her dollies, a little bag that comes with a thermometer that beeps when you push the button (again, she is obsessed with pushing the button, but it also is quiet and it is better than her trying to use the real thermometer), a medicine bottle and spoon, a nasal aspirator, a syringe, and a bandaide ( or bandalaide as she calls them). She sure loves all the toys she got, and so did her cousins (Kylie was a given, but Caden, that was unexpected). We had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner ( great job on the turkey Lorraine) but instead of a birthday cake we had a pumpkin cheesecake from Costco. Ava loves cheesecake, and it was "Thanksgiving" after all. I highly recommend it. YUMMY!! It was so fun to see Ava this year on her birthday. She was so excited all day long and would sing "Happy Birthday to Me" over and over. If you asked her how old she was she would say 2, and they we'd ask how old will you be on your birthday and she would say three. She knows her name is Ava and lately she has been telling me, as she points to Jada, her name is Jada Clair. She also wants to know what her name is, and what her name is ( there is no "he" in Ava's vocabulary yet) as she points to different people. She says my name is "Pamie". So her full name is Ava Pamie Foo. She acutally says Antione's name correctly. She is so funny because sometimes she will call him by his name and if he doesn't she will shout "Honey." She picks up so much of what I say. I have been good and haven't said any bad words or even words like stupid or dumb because I really don't want her to say these words. However, since we have been so obsessed and have been talking so much about her pooping and going potty in the toilet, this is definitley become a part of her vocabulary. She has even talked about it while she was saying the prayer. It is very cute because she is learning to pray and she can say alot of it without help. She always says thankyou for this day, for our blessings, for the food and for friends (which include Mark, TyTy, Marsha, and Greg; she says this everytime without fail) and sometimes she says thankyou for mommy, daddy, Ava, and Jada ( not everytime) but she lost her train of thought once ( I think) and she just went off and before we knew it she was saying "poopoo in the toilet." The funny thing is or maybe the ironic thing is, now when I say ours prayers I actually do say bless that Ava can learn to use the toilet and won't be scared. All the little things we bought for her birthday, so far, have not worked. But don't worry, I am going to use a different approach that her pediatrician recommended. He said we nees to get her over her anxiety by making toilet training, at first, just about her going to the toilet or sitting on the toilet. Nothing will be mentioned about going poo or pee in the toilet for the first little while. Instead she will just get exposed to the idea that every few hours we go sit on the toilet. The first few days we will do this fully dressed. This just really starts to get her into the habit of things. Then after a few days we have her in just a shirt and her diaper or pullup. Then a few days after that, a shirt and her underwear. He said her shirt and bear bottom but I don't know about that. I would think that the underwear would be fine. By then, she would be over her anxiety and would be able to relax and it would just happen and she would be like, no big deal. I know they say it is normal for kids to be scared of the toilet but Ava is really scared. She won't even try to sit on the potty, either one. The only thing I got her to do so far was sit on my lap while I was sitting on the princess potty (both fully clothed). The doctor said that was a good idea just to start to get her exposed. I have also tried to take out certain phrases in my vocabulary, such as, Ava do you want to go poo poo/pee pee in the toilet? Instead it's, Ava, it's time to go sit on the toilet or it's time to got to the bathroom. I know we just need to be very patient with her. Ava has always done things at her own time and on her own terms. I'm sure this is no different. She is still obsessed with opening and shutting doors. Oh how we wish she will out grow this. It is so annoying! We have door knob covers on most of the doors but not all of them. Although, I have found a way to prevent her from doing this. She loves to put lotion on her hands but her hands are to slippery to open the door. Of course then I get the joys of a temper tantrum. We have definitley been going through terrible two's but from what I here, terrible three's are worse. Really? Because how much worse can it get? She loves to tell Jada what to do and how to do. She is so bossy and there are many times in a day when she makes Jada cry. Don't worry though, because Jada is getting bigger and bigger and learning to hold her own, she hits back. Well, enough negativeness about Ava because she is also the sweetest little girl. She is so funny whenever I vacume or do the dishes or the laundry or even go to the bathroom, she is of course right there, wherever I am, and will ask me "What are you doing?" and I tell her and she says "Oh, good job mom." She always says "bless you" whenever any body sneezes and without fail if she or anyone else burps or farts she says " Oh, excuse me, or Oh, excuse you mom, or Jada, or whoever. She loves to give hugs and kisses and says "' I love you!" I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without her in it. She has brought more joy and happiness into my life than I ever could have imagined. She just keeps getting cuter and cuter and smarter and smarter. She has always and continues to amaze me. Ava we love you so much and are so blessed to have you in our lives!! Hope you have a great year!! (try not to kill me and your father)
p.s. I will try to post pictures soon. Our computer has been down so I am typing this at work.

Where the crap are my pictures?!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love fall time in Utah. There is so much more you can do now than when I was a kid. Sure, I remember getting pumpkins and carving them and of course dressing up and going trick or treating around the neighborhood. We took the kids tho Hee Haw Farms last week. It was so much fun and there was so much for the kids to see and do. Since they are 2 and under they were free and me and Antione each paid just $5. They had a little petting zoo where you could go right up to the baby animals and pet them. They had sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens running around. They also had a baby cow with her momma cow but they were behind the fence. They had a little pony ride, just like at the state fair but this time Ava did not want to have anything to do with it. Her favorite thing was the animal train. It was pulled by a tractor. It had all these hollow barrels that were painted and cut to look like different animals. Of course Ava wanted to ride in the piggy and Jada and Antione rode in the chicken. It was a very bouncy ride, especially in the back. Jada also thought it was so much fun. You can't help but smile when your squeezed inside a hollowed out barrel piggy bouncing around a farm with your daughter sitting on your lap laughing. Then we went a trick or treat hay ride. Again, a tractor pulled us but we went a lot farther. We rode through a corn maze and throughout it they had people dressed in costumes. There was a witch, tigger, winnie the pooh, a turtle, shrek, and many more. Everytime the kids would see a character they would all yell "hee haw, hee haw" and they they would throw candy at the kids. We got a lot of candy. They we went and shot corn husks out of a cannon type thing and see how far they would go. (that was more for me and Antione) And of course, before we left we stopped at the pumpkin patch and picked out a pumpkin for me and Ava to later carve. What a fun time we all had! Next year, I am thinking of having the girl's birthday parties there.
I asked Ava, "Do you want to go to a pumpkin patch and pick out a pumpkin and bring it home so we can carve it." She had no idea what I was talking about but she sure was excited about it and always said "yeah." And ,for some reason, she should would say "the pumpkin has a big nose" whenever I would talk about pumpkins. She is obsessed with big noses and everything from pumpkins to sharks, to elephants have big noses. So the next day while Antione was at school we carved our pumpkin. I bought a cheap $4 carving kit at Walmart and it worked great. The scooper scraper thing really helps to get all the guts out inside. I scooped out all the guts and seeds and Ava scooped them out of the garbage sack and put them right back in the pumpkin. Oh well, at least she was having fun. I cut out the face and she colored all over it. It turned out pretty good. We had it sitting on our table the past few days and above that hanging from the light was a big black spider. Ava would walk into the room and see them and say, "hello pumpkin, hello spiderman" (that's what she called the spider) Silly girl. Today we took down the Halloween decorations and through away the pumpkin. Ava was sooooo sad. She cried and cried for the pumpkin. Just like she did last year when I took down the Christmas decorations and she had to say goodbye to the snowman, santa, and the tree. Change is not easy for kids. So I told her that we had to say goodbye to the spider, the pumpkin, so we can bring back the snowman, santa and the tree. She said, ''okay" and that was that. For the past month or so, I would ask Ava what she wanted to be for Halloween. Again, I don't think she had any idea what I was talking about but she would always say "a elephant." I finally thought, an elephant, why not. So I got on KSL and started looking. I found one from the Disney and it was way cheaper. When we went to pick it up at the ladies house, she had several other costumes. We found an Old Navy mouse for Jada. Both of the costumes were very warm and had padding on the tummies. I couldn't stop laughing when I tried there costumes on that night. Ava's has the biggest ears and a cute little tail in back. And Jada is the cutest little mouse I've ever seen. Not surprising, Jada hated it and couldn't wait to take it off and Ava, well she would have slept in it if we would have let her. We took the girls on Friday night to the ward Halloween party. We had chili, cornbread, and donuts. Then after dinner they had several games for the kids to play and win candy. I'm not sure what Ava thought about everything but whe had fun wearing her costume. I was able to go out with Antione and the girl's last night for about an hour before I had to work. We started at 4:30 and the weather was so nice. Within a half hours time it started to cool off. Ava loved going door to door to get candy. Sometimes she would say "trick or treat" but she would whisper it and usually said it before they opened the door. All in all it was a fun holiday!
Jada still does not have even one tooth but you would never know it the way she eats. She is getting closer and closer to walking. She has taken a few steps and continues to stand up in the middle of the room. They are both growing up so fast. Life is never dull with the two of them around! Love you Ava and Jada!!! :)

Happy 1 yr B-day Jada!

Jada turned 1 yr old!

Jada turned one last Thurs. (sorry this is a little late). I can't believe it. Where did the time go. Seriously, wasn't I just pregnant? She now weighs 20.6lbs, just 3 1/2 lbs less than her big sis Ava. She does not have any teeth yet but I swear she has been teething for about 6 months. She pulls to stand and cruises along furniture. Not walking yet but I don't think it will be long. Just yesterday she stood up in the middle of the room without holding on to anything. She kept doing it over and over and thought it was so funny. We agreed and couldn't help but laugh. She can say uh,oh and baby. And I swear and heard her say hi or hey a few different times when I would walk in the room. She loves to take baths. She goes crazy when she hears the water being turned on. You can't get her clothes off fast enough. She makes the biggest mess splashing water everywhere and I usually end up getting pretty wet when I bathe her. She loves eating "real food." No more baby food for her. She will spit it out. She won't even eat cheerios anymore. I think her favorite food is Mac N Cheese. She' s obsessed. She can't get enough of it. She can clap her hands and always does so when ever anybody else does or if she she's it on TV. She loves music. Whether it's me singing to her or hearing a song on TV she stops whatever she is doing and smiles and listens. Oh, and many times she dances, especially to " move it, move it." (see last video post) She sleeps on her stomach with her butt in the air. It's so cute. And when she is tired and trying to go to sleep, she stands with her head down and her butt in the air. I don't know where she learned that. Jada gets so excited in the morning when she first hears Ava and knows she is awake. Sometimes they play so good together. Did I mention that Jada is OBSESSED with binkies. Her world would literally end if we lost it. We have come close, but somehow we always find it. And it has to be the soothie binky. We tried the other ones and she was not amused. Jada still does not sleep through the night. Well, sometimes she does, but that's usually on the nights that I work (rude). And to make matter worse, she does not take regular long naps during the day. She takes cat naps. The longest she will sleep is a couple of hours and that is only if I am laying down with her. (Hey, I work graveyards so I have to have naps during the day, or I would die) Anyway, Jada has not been the easiest baby at times, but she is the sweetest baby. It is not hard to get her to smile. She's always doing it. I use to think she was a momma's baby but I think she is just as much a daddy's baby. It just depends on who she hasn't seen the longest. We are so blessed to have her in our family. It wouldn't be the same without her. We love you Jada.

I know I posted these videos on fb but I had to put them on my blog too. This is Ava and Jada dancing to the song "I like to move it, move it" from Madagascar. So dang funny!

Jada on Coke!

This is so dang funny. Jada's first taste of Coke. As you can tell she loved it! But the funniest part is the face that she keeps making after each time she tastes it. I don't know where she learned how to make that face but it cracks me and Antione up every time she does it. Sometimes she does it when she gets mad. LOL Hilarious!!

What the crap is Roseola? Well, apparently it is a viral rash that appears a few days after a fever and it lasts about a week, and yes it is contagious, and oh yes Ava has it. Last Tuesday right before dinner I noticed she was really hot. I took her temperature and it was 101.7. She didn't act sick nor had she been complaining about anything hurting. I thought okay, no problem, we'll just give her some Tylenol. PROBLEM. All of the sudden Ava has decided that she does not like taking medicine. When did this happen. She has always done so good to take any medicine and it's a good thing because she has had to take alot. So we tried for over an hour and finally after a couple of times of her spitting it out, we got it down. Then, later that night, her temperature was 103.7. She has never had a temp that high. Not even when she was in the NICU, or any other time she has been sick. So again, we tried to give her Tylenol and she refused. Finally I put in a the tub which she hated because it was not as warm as she likes it. She just sat there shivering and crying. I felt so bad and helpless but her temp went down to 101.5 so it was worth it. And we got her to take her medicine. So for the next few days she continued to have a fever on and off but never over 101. And she has been good to take her medicine because we just threaten her with a cold bath, sounds mean but it works. Anyway, today she was very cranky and just laid around a lot. And she took a four nap, which by the way was heaven sent. She was still running a low grade temp when she woke up so the nurse at the doctors said to bring her in. When I was changing her, right before we left, I noticed she had a rash right where her diaper was and it looked to be spreading to her stomach and chest. What now, we thought. Anyway, we saw the doctor and they did a strep test because her throat was red. It was negative, thank goodness and her lungs sounded great. So, diagnosis: Roleola. I just pray and hope Jada doesn't get it. There is so much going around our neighborhood so I'm sure Ava got it from someone in nursery on Sunday. I think now that we are in the flu season, I am not going to have Ava go to nursery. I had a friend that told me last year that she would take her son to nursery on Sunday and by Wednesday he'd be sick. I would be too worried with Ava to play that game every week. The safest thing we can do it just keep her away. Too many people bring their kids to church sick. It's just not worth it. Anyway, other than that, not much else going on. I work full time, graveyard shift Wed, Fri. and Sat. at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, on medical/surgical/orthopedics floors, as an RN. (that was a run-on sentence) Antione goes to school full time and is getting his degree to be a building inspector. Jada does not want anything to do with "baby" food now that she has discovered how much better the food we eat is. She still does not have any teeth but it does not matter because her gums are so dang strong and hard. We started adding whole milk to her bottle so we can take her off formula (hooray!). I don't know if she is lactose intolerant or milk just gives her a lot a gas or what but last night she woke up too many times to count. I think her stomach was hurting because after I gave her some gas-x she finally calmed down enough to where she drifted off to sleep in my arms. It's a good thing I love her so much! We miss Marley, and I still expect to see him when I come home from work. Oh well, as Ava says, "He's happy now" and he's in a much better place. Life goes on.

Just a couple of more pictures to show how beautiful Marley was!

Here is a picture of Marley, as we would like to remember him! We were at our friend's little boys birthday party. Yes, Marley is wearing a birthday hat. Like I said, he was a member of our family. We didn't want him to be left out!

Yesterday was a sad day for the Few family. He laid to rest our beloved dog Marley. Marley came to join our family about 5 yrs ago. He was a collie and looked just like Lassie. He was 12 yrs old when he died. Collie's only live to be about 13. he had a good life and was such a great dog. He was our baby when we didn't have any babies. He lived in the house and was spoiled wrotten. Marley loved to play. We bought him all kinds of toys and I think he was the happiest when it was just him and Antione, or me, playing with him. We used to tease him and say" Marley, where's the kitty, where's the kitty"? and I would meow like a little kitten. He would just start barking and go over to the back door and look out the blinds, looking for the kitty. Without fail he would bark and go over to the door every time. Good times! Marley was also incredibly intelligent. He knew several commands. Sit. Shake. Lie Down. Stay. Come here. He was so obedient. Of course, it helped that he would get treats. He loved treats, but only Pupperoni! Everyone loved Marley, old and young. People would always comment that he was such a pretty dog. He loved the attention. Marley gave a lot of love in return. He seemed to always know when I had a bad day and he was very protective of me, especially when I was pregnant. If I started attacking Antione (in a playful way, of course) and say "Help, Help" he would always bark at Antione, always. I used to love that. You always knew if Marley did something he wasn't supposed to, like get in the laundry (hey, he's a dog and dog's are perverts). He would be standing in the doorway and his ears would be hanging down. You'd say," Marley, what did you do?" He would just hand his head down in shame. The first signs of Marley being sick happened about a year and a half ago. We took him in for minor surgery on his eye. Two days later he was still lethargic and weak and would barley eat anything. he wasn't peeing either. We took him in to the vet and they found he had a tumor on his kidney about the size of a tennis ball. They had to put a catheter in his bladder to drain it. We thought we would have to put him down then but over the next few days he got better and better and was like his old self. I told the vet but he said, he will get sick again. I thought he meant sooner than later but it never happened so we didn't really think about it. About six months after that we took him into get groomed and ended up having to shave him. His hair was so matted and dirty they said nothing else could have been done. I felt so bad when I saw him. He just looked at me and I could tell that he felt like he was "naked." When Antione saw him for the first time he laughed so hard. In, fact most people did. They didn't shave his head or ears so it looked like Marley on a pig's body. Seriously, his body was pink and he was so skinny without all that hair. We thought it would grown back in a few months. But it didn't. And gradually over time he looked skinnier and skinnier. We didn't realize it but he was sick again. Lately it didn't seem like he had been eating very much. Then a couple of days ago when I opened the garage in the morning, instead of him standing there waiting to go out, he was standing over his bed and I could tell something was wrong. Antione said the same thing when he came home and saw him. He was struggling to walk and appeared very weak. He was also leaking urine, just like he did when he was sick before. I knew then that we needed to take him in to the vet and it might be time to let him go. So much easier said than done. Antione took him in yesterday about 3pm. The doctor said Marley was very sick! The tumor had grown to the size of a small melon. He had lost 35lbs since his last appt. almost half of his weight. He was just skin and bones. There was nothing we could do nor nothing we could have done. It was time to say goodbye to one of our family members. Antione spent the next hour with him, talking to him and saying goodbye. We both cried. It's was hard to imagine our home without Marley. Even now, when I came home from work this morning, I expected to see him run out and greet me the way he always did, but he wasn't there. We know Marley is in a better place and he is happy now. We couldn't stand to see him suffer anymore. We will be together with him again someday. And when the time is right we will get another dog. No one will ever replace Marley, though. He was one in a million!! We will always love you Marley and will never forget you. You will be missed.

Well this week has been a fun one. Last Sunday at about 2pm Jada threw up. From then on until about 9pm she was throwing up about every 20 min. It was so sad. I have never seen anyone throw up that much. Ava never did anyway. Jada didn't act or look sick the beginning but a few hours into she became more lethargic. She just laid there and looked up at me with those big brown eyes. I felt so helpless. She could not keep anything down. I tried to give her just 3ml of pedialyte and within 15 min she threw it up. We took her in to the Dr.s that night and they gave her a shot of Phenergan. She threw up one more time on the way home and that was it for 2 days. Then Tues. night about 12:30am she threw up 2 more times. Ava, on the other hand has only thrown up once but she has had diarrhea every night. So pretty much we have been cleaning up a lot of poop and throw up. You can see why I said it has been a fun week. Speaking of fun, 2 weeks ago we went to Disneyland with Ruth and her family. We left Wed. and came home on Mon. It was a lot of fun and great to spend time with Ruth, Joe and the kids. I do however, think that 3 days in a row of amusement parks is a lot for a 3 yrs old. Jada did pretty good. She only cried or became upset if she was tired or hungry. Ava on the other hand was a little harder. The first day was a 12hr day and it was very hot, so you can imagine how tired and cranky she was. The second day we decided to break it up and take the girls back to the hotel for a nap. I think that day did go a little smoother although, again by the end of the night Ava was being a pill. The third day was just wrong. We met up with Antione's mom, aunt and her boyfriend at Universal Studios. We love the Jurassic park ride there and thought that his family would have more fun there. Well they did but Ava did not! I was ready to kill her by the end of the day. Not really, of course, but she was very very cranky. The few things they did have for kids she didn't like. I decided that I will never take a 3 yrs old there again. It is NOT a place for kids that young. I feel bad about it now because I know she was so bored. After we got home from Universal we went back over to Disneyland and Ava got to watch the fireworks and go on the Winnie the Pooh ride with aunt Ruth while I went on Splash Mountain and the Matterhorn with Joe and the kids. Ava had a lot of fun Ruth said. It's funny because you would never know it by the pictures but overall Ava did have fun. She is not smiling in any of the pictures. I think she was just mesmerized by the princesses. The first day we had lunch at Ariel's Grato and got to meet and take pictures of all the princesses. Ava is obsessed. She got so excited when each one would come out but when it came time to taking pictures with them she just put her finger in her mouth like she does when she's scared, and and just looked up at them in awe. Our only misfortunes on the trip was Ava threw up 3 times in the car (yes, it looks like she takes after me and has motion sickness) and Jada fell out of the stroller and landed on her face. But other than that we had a great time and made a lot of fun memories. Here are some of the pictures from our vacation. I will post more when I get them from my sister.

What a cutie! We can always get a good picture of Jada. Wow, and look at Ava, she actually was holding still and smiling for this picture. Usually impossible!

I am really going to try to keep up with this blogging thing. I think it it a great way to journal your life. I just signed up on facebook this last week and I am addicted. It's been fun to talk to people that I haven't seen in years. I am supposed to be at work right now but instead I am home with a stupid UTI. If you have ever have one of these then you know how miserable I am right now. Don't worry, I am drinking a ton of cranberry juice and I started on antibiotics today. Side note: I don't know why I am watching the food network at 11:00pm at night. It is making me so hungry! Anyway, we leave for Disneyland this coming Wednesday. I am so excited. It has been way too long since I have been on a real vacation. Also, I am so excited to see Ava's reaction to everything. Recently we introduced her to the world of Disney. She is absolutley obsessed with "Snow White and the Sammy Dwarfs." She also like "Cinderelly", "Lil Merlaid", "Jungle Book" (she says this one right), and "Nochio". She is so cute right now. Her vocabular is expanding everyday. I don't know where she picks up half the words she says. She is so sweet and so caring. If I say "ouch" for any reason she says, "are you okay mommy?" And then she will kiss my owie better. On the other hand, she drives me and Antione crazy opening and shutting doors. She is so obsessed with doing this. No matter where we go, she finds a door and has to open and shut it, over and over, and over.....you get the idea. I am trying so hard to not let it bother me. For the most part, she is not hurting anyone. I know I have to pick my battles when it comes to her. I think kids teach you way more than you could ever teach them. We are definitely learning patience! For the those of you who don't know, I went through the temle last night for the first time. It was quite an experience. I am so glad that my family and friends were there to share it with me. I have been told to go back and go back often. I can see why. "If you don't use it, you lose it." Here are a couple of pics of my sweet girls.