Kathryn and Adam's wedding

getting ready for the wedding...

Trip to Virginia

Back to cloth diapers!

A couple months ago we decided to go back to cloth diapering almost full-time. We cloth diapered Avery about 5 months in Los Angeles, but then stopped because we didn't have our own washer/dryer and paying to do diaper laundry was no fun! When we moved to Charlotte, Avery's eczema flared up a lot worse than in LA, and we never went back to it, because she really tried to scratch a lot during diaper changes. So, disposables were the fastest way to do the diaper change.
Well, partially a way to save money, and partially to see if cloth would be better for her skin we dove back into the cloth diapering world. There are so many awesome cloth diapers out there now! Above and below are pictures of my attempts at pinning a bamboo velour prefold on Avery. This material is soooooo soft, and more absorbant than cotton! But I have to admit, that pinning isn't the easiest way to cloth diaper for me, even though prefolds are a very trim fit!
Fitted cloth diapers velcro or snap together just like a disposable fits and then you put a cover on top of it and off you go! I love fitted diapers because you can still find very soft, gentle and natural fabrics. These diapers are the nicest to our daughter's eczema. My favorite brands are Goodmamas, Baby Beehinds, Dream-eze, and Muttaqin Baby. All-in-one diapers and pocket diapers have the cover already sewn onto the diaper so it acts just like a disposable with no additional cover. Just snap on or velcro on and go! These diapers are definately the fastest and easiest! My favorites of these are Knickernappies and Dream-eze. Dream-eze all-in-one diaper is by far the trimmest cloth diaper I have found and it doesn't give my daughter a big butt!

Here is Avery in a Googie Baby bamboo velour prefold, it's pinned in the back. (the only way i can pin it and it stays on her without sliding down!)

Two of my favorite cloth diapers...

So....while we're on the subject of cloth diapering I will show you two of our favorite cloth diapers. I don't have a picture of Avery in this diaper, so this will have to do. This is the Dream-eze All-in-one. This diaper you use just like a disposable except you wash it instead of throw it away! The outside is a waterproof, breathable PUL material and the inside is organic cotton.

We have two of these Goodmama brand diapers, and I wish we had more! Unfortunately, they are hard to buy because once the stores are stocked with them, they sell out in minutes online. The material is bamboo velour. Very soft and squishy like velvety cotton almost. This diaper needs a cover in order to be waterproof, but I have taken Avery to Target and running errands without a cover before. It is so absorbant that she can usually pee once or twice in the diaper without it leaking through. Many times she's wet on the inside, but the outside is still dry. I'm sure if I left this on her for hours and hours the outside would be wet, but that hasn't happened yet. Sometimes I put her down for naps in this diaper too, but being wet whether it's a cloth diaper or disposable is something Avery DOES NOT like! I believe this is a sign to potty train, but she's not very interested right now despite hating her wet diapers!!

Avery's buddy, Jake Creehan

Today we had the privledge of having the Creehan boys over for the day!
Megan and I were pregnant together (across the country) with Avery and Jacob and now they are best buds and have a blast together. Here they are today playing in our pot and pan cabinets...and that is Avery smiling for the camera. Whenever she sees a camera now she closes her eyes and smiles as big as possible!

What Kyla is doing...

Kyla is reading a lot these days!
Mostly 3 and 4 letter words...she is also learning to write letters and
enjoys socializing with just about anyone. She loves to make new friends.
After she tells someone her name, she tells me, "Mommy, they know me now, they are my

friend!"
She loves being a big sister. She plays so well with Avery and they spend most of their days pretending to have babies, having tea parties, and coloring. Kyla's new favorite art activity is cutting paper.

What Avery is saying...

Today Avery said (word for word)...
"I want a cracker, mommy" and so after I gave her some crackers she said, "that's a lot, mommy."

"I want to go to the pool, mommy!"
"I want wake up Kyla, mommy!"
Avery always wants to wake Kyla up from her nap. Avery wakes up before Kyla so Avery begs me to wake her up to play.

"Mommy, I need help, mommy!"
"Boos hurt, mommy, kiss it."
"Change diaper, please, daddy."
"Watch a movie, mommy." "Dave's sleepin', read book first."
(she likes to watch dave and goliath veggie tales. Sometimes I tell her dave is asleep and it's not time to watch dave yet.")

Visiting the Philippines

After a lot of prayer, thought, and counsel, Pete and I decided it would be important for one of us to use some of the "extra" time we have this summer and visit Davao City, Philippines. This will help us to get a better feel for what life will be like in the Philippines if we move there next summer. Even though regular academic classes will not be in session for students, I will still be able to go into the clinic some and see what students do during their rotations.

Mid-July I will be flying to Davao for 2 weeks and staying with one of the women who is in the midwifery program. She is also a mother and has two small children, so she is in a similar time of life just like our family.

We are very grateful to several close friends who have given to support this mission at Mercy Maternity Clinic and have allowed us to use some of the money given to support this visit to Davao this summer.

When I arrive in Davao, my plan is to keep a daily blog about all that I am learning and doing while in the Philippines. I'm looking forward to sharing stories and pictures with you!

Veronique and me on our front porch.

Veronique, Peter, and baby Ian

The Guy Family Visits us in Charlotte, NC

Veronique, Peter, and their boys arrived late on Sunday night and spent Memorial Day and several more days with our family. Jerome, Seth, and Kyla really enjoyed playing playdough, going to the park and pool, and just being able to be friends again.

I cherished every moment with Veronique. I am so happy that they felt comfortable to make themselves at home in our house. Avery was in the middle of a bad eczema outbreak and a little cold, so she was even more clingy than usual while they were here. So, my hands were a little tied up more than normal and things like fixing everyone breakfast or lunch didn't happen like I wanted it to. They were so great and just made themselves at home in our kitchen so I was truely thankful for that!

Veronique and I had a chance to go out for smoothies one afternoon and just catch up and talk. I miss you so much already!

What a beautiful family and what wonderful friends!

First visitors from California!

This Sunday, our sweet friends, Peter and Veronique Guy and their 3 boys are going to come spend several days with us in our home in Charlotte. We are so looking forward to spending time and catching up with them. It has been 6 months since we last saw them at Noel's wedding in Los Angeles.

I met Veronique Guy through my midwife, Donna Barlow, who is Veronique's sister-in-law. Jerome (Veronique and Peter's oldest boy) was barely 2 years old and Kyla was only a few months old at the time. I had been praying for a close friend in Los Angeles who had a baby and who could walk through this journey of motherhood with me. God answered that prayer by letting our paths cross.

Our friendship grew while our husbands, Peter and Peter, went to school at Cal State Northridge. I would drive up with Peter and drop him off at class and then Kyla and I would drive to Simi Valley and spend the late afternoon with Veronique and her boys. We would have tea and sit outside watching the kids play. She would so kindly feed us dinner every week and listen to whatever I had to say. Veronique is one of the most positive, uplifting people that I know. Her optimism and joy truely comes from the Lord and it is very contagious :-)

Anyway, what started out to be just Veronique, myself, Kyla and Jerome, slowly blossomed into Kyla, Jerome, Seth, and Avery. Their littlest one, Ian, was born just before we moved to Charlotte and I was blessed to be part of watching him come into the world! He just had a birthday on the 23rd too! Happy Birthday, Ian!

Love you, Veronique! See you soon!

Avery's first big fall

We were at a little outdoor music festival the other evening
and Avery was doing her favorite past time-walking up and down
steps. She tripped and fell flat on her face on the brick sidewalk. Ouch! Her face
actually caught herself...she didn't put her hands down to catch herself.
Now she's actually proud of her boo-boos!!

Kyla LOVES smiling for the camera as always! :-)

Life is Good!

Just a quick little update on Avery! She was on some mild topical steriods for 2 weeks and her treatment with those ended yesterday. Her skin improved to the point of not having anymore eczema! I knew that this would happen, and our family has benefited greatly from Avery feeling better and it's so much fun to see her happy all the time and not so concerned with scratching herself.

Yesterday was her last day of treatment and the eczema is now already back on her legs and ankles but it is mild. I knew this might happen, cortizone only treats the symptoms (which was very helpful for the time being!) and you cannot apply them to the skin every single day without taking a break from them. Now we have to wait about a month before we can do it again for 2 weeks.

It's been very nice to see avery so happy! Just wanted to keep you updated!

Daily Life with Eczema

Hello everybody!

It has been quite awhile since I have updated this site. I think I partially slack since Pete's blog is so great...he's such a great writer!

We've been battling through another flare-up of eczema on little Avery. I have realized lately, in talking with friends and other people that most people really don't understand exactly how a baby who has bad eczema affects the daily life of a family. I have been debating about writing about how our lives are on a daily basis, but didn't want to come across as complaining. So, I will simply write out what it's like for us to walk through this trial. I do thank God daily that it is ECZEMA and not cancer or another horrible disease affecting our child. The dermatologist says she will almost 100% grow out of this by the time she is 5 years old. In the meantime, we just try out best to keep her comfortable and happy.

Playing in the Sandbox

Today we got home from Barnes and Noble where we spent the morning reading books. It was a nice outing. Both Avery and Kyla did great and had a lot of fun tearing the books off the shelves! On the way to B&N I had Avery in footie pajama pants so she wouldn't scratch her skin. Then I changed her in the car to regular pants. These pants have been great because it keeps her from breakking the skin and the car is her favorite place to scratch because she is idle. The dermatologist told us and I have read that the itching/scratching is mostly triggered by a stressor, allergy, heat, and/or being idle.

When we got home from our morning out the girls ate lunch and then Avery wanted to play at the sand table in our backyard. She loves the sandbox so much. But a toddler who has eczema all over and sand do not mix very well. I knew this would make her happy and I d0n't want to keep her from normal toddler activities just because she has eczema. So, she played, threw sand all over...had a great time! When she was done I realized sand was everywhere, of course, stuck to her skin. She started to scratch it. I took her clothes off and it was in every crease and fold. After she was totally naked she wanted to go back outside and play, so I let her for a little while. After all, some articles on eczema say the sun helps a lot. Since it wasn't really hot out, I thought this might be a good thing for her skin.

After playing awhile it was bath time, and Avery FINALLY likes the bath!! We have to keep the water almost cool (lukewarmish) or she will scratch her skin to pieces in the bath water. She scratched anyway today as I washed the sand off her with her oatmeal bath. She didn't want to get out. She threw a temper tantrum when it was time to get out. Whenever Avery throws a temper tantrum or doesn't get her way, guess what she does?? You got it...she scratches and scratches and screams. Stressors make her scratch. This is the hardest part about having a kid with eczema. You can't let them always have their way and still have to train them, yet when they get upset (which is inevitable) they scratch.
And why is it just so bad they scratch? The more she scratches, the more her skin gets irritated ,red, and swollen. Then, the more it itches. The more it iches, the more she wants to scratch until it's bleeding. Then it's just really hard to get under control. We've tried steroids and they work to a degree, but you are not allowed to use them all the time and as soon as we stop, it comes right back. Currently our best creams are Aveeno Eczema Care and 100% Pure Shea Butter from www.naturessheabutter.com.

So, I slather her arms up with her several lotions/creams and put her in her eczema mitten shirt we just ordered about a month ago from SnugglePaws.com. This shirt has been a lifesaver in many ways. And she LOVES it. She asks to wear it. And she can't get to her hands in it, but it doesn't bother her at all. I put her shirt on, lay her down and she tries to scratch at her legs while I lotion them up, but it ends up being just a frantic rubbing instead of bleeding/scratching. After she's all dressed she goes back to her happy self and I put her down for a nap.

So, that is what is involved because I let her play in the sand. It's a lot. It is stressful at times. But, right now, it is also life. I just pray every time I lotion her up and change her diaper that the Lord will choose to heal her skin and give us wisdom on how to care for her throughout this time.

I can truly say we have never had anything as stressing as eczema before in our lives. I think it's because it is something that is requiring perseverance and endurance for our family. In May, Avery will have had eczema for 1 whole year. She has good days and bad days. Let's all pray for more good days.

Afternoon of Fun

We had such a fun afternoon! Our friends Curt and Heather from lifegroup have beautfiul horses, a couple dogs and a cat (Kyla's favorite!). They had our entire lifegroup over for dinner and the kids ran around and went on a scavenger hunt around the barn. Kyla fed one of the horses a carrot and she also helped groom him. Avery loved seeing the "forsey" and didn't want to leave. It was a very fun day, despite the sudden drop in temperature here!

Teething...

This has been a hard week to walk through. Our family could use some prayer, especially Avery. She is cutting at least 2 molars right now which, of course, is a stressor for her. When Avery is stressed, her eczema flares up. This makes her itch and cry and scratch till she bleeds, which makes her not sleep well. Then mommy and daddy don't sleep well. Avery's skin is doing much better and today Avery actually ate lunch and dinner. Her teething has made her become quite picky with her food, but today she actually ate. Things are looking up! I've also been adding a tablespoon of coconut oil to her goat milk to increase her calories some. Coconut oil is also supposedly helpful to eat if you have eczema, so it can't hurt to give it a try, it can only help with her weight gain!

We are also praising God through this trial because my sister and brother-in-law offered to take Kyla for the week. What an answer to prayer! So, Kyla is in Radford, VA with her aunt and uncle and Pete and I can focus on just Avery. She is still quite a handful by herself but everything is so much more manageable with just focusing on one. It is a very big blessing to be living closer to family especially in times like this where we need one another. Pete's blog gives an even better story of what last week looked like: www.peterdavis2.blogspot.com.

Thank you, Rosie and Jonathan!! Give Kyla our love!

Rainy Day

A steady rain has been falling most of the day today, like the steadiness of your heart beating inside your body, constantly maintaining life. The rain outside is, as well, maintaining life and helping the earth around us recover from the severe drought we have been in since this summer.

I love what a rainy day does for my soul. I thank God for giving us days like this, because they slows me down and quiet my heart. We've had lovely piano music playing in the background today and the girls are still in their pajamas from this morning even though it is 1:30 in the afternoon. I can tell the rain and the music quieted their souls as well because they were better behaved, more quiet than usual, and seem more contented. They are napping now, and I'm sitting here watching the rain and thanking God for all of the blessings He has poured down upon us.

Kyla has starting writing letters now and writing some names of her family and friends. She surprised me yesterday with showing me how to spell her friend's name "Ella" and "Josh" and her grandma, "GaGa". I guess she might be ready to start learning to read! So, as we get ready to start doing some homeschool for preschool I bought the book "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" since it was so highly recommended by several of my homeschooling mom friends.

Avery is talking small sentences now and turned 20 months old on March 5th! She says things like, "Home, mommy" (She often wants to go back home when we are out in big crowds...my little introvert) or "Where Mommy go?", today she said "be scused?" (be exused?) from eating lunch!

I hope you have a wonderful day today, friends! And I want to say a special "hello" to all our California friends, you are always in our hearts and on our minds and we love and miss you every single day. What a dear place you have in my heart...each and everyone of you. Each of my friendships with our friends in Los Angeles and Simi Valley are so unique, special and long-lasting. Here's a big hug from across the miles!

Happy 4th Birthday, Kyla!

We celebrated Kyla's 4th birthday this past Saturday with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! What a blessing Kyla has been to our family. She is becoming a very thoughtful, compassionate young girl who cares so much for her sister and loves her mommy, daddy, and God very much. She loves crafts and painting so that's what we did on this very unusually warm February day.

Little Picaso at work.

Cousin Ian is 7 months old!

Avery is enjoying some juice and smiling for the camera

Aunt Charlotte playing with Kyla

Kicking back at her party

Look at the beautiful butterfly Aunt Charlotte painted for Kyla's room