It's a Boy!

Some of you may have already figured this out due to the chubbiness being displayed in my belly region.  But for those of you that are not in the Kansas City area and haven't seen us these last 2 weeks, we are expecting.  We were hesitant to share until we had met with the Perinatologist and had our 16 week sonogram done.  Luckily, that appointment proved uneventful.  We decided to post pone our Amniocentisis until the next sonogram in 4 weeks in hopes that maybe it won't be needed at all.  So far the baby looks great!  No areas of concern, although it is still early.  We did discover - quite easily that Avery will have another Baby Brother come September!  Needless to say we are cautiously excited for this blessing and looking forward to showing Avery what its like to have a sibling. 

Avery has been doing well this week.  Her counts were stable, which really means her bone marrow is keeping up rather than shutting down.  We are hoping to see some improvement this week when we check labs.  Her platelets are a lot lower than I would prefer, especially with a toddler that has balance issues.  She has been spending the week with her buddy Chance and the puppies.  She is really smitten with Grandma Marlene's puppys as they are too dumb to run from her and let her hug and squeeze on them.  We may be trading Jersey in for one of them...

On Thursday last week Avery flew to NYC with Jeremy to take part in a photo shoot with St Jude and Marlo Thomas.  It was very exciting - however this 3 year old decided she didn't feel like smiling during the session so we'll see how many pictures she actually makes it in.  They will use the photos during the last few months of the year when they run the "Thanks & Giving" campaign in the retail stores.  The campaign asks you to give thanks for the healthy kids in your life and give to those that aren't.  If you haven't noticed it in the past, keep an eye out for the purple glasses near the registers in November and December.  I'll remind you - no worries.

Avery seems to be keeping her energy up for the most part.  She is loving the outside right now and thankfully its been in the 70's and 80's the last 2 weeks and we've been able to spend a lot of time outside.  She loves sitting on the front step and using her chalk.  Great temps right now make me leery for the summer.  I'm going to be huge and miserable already -- and I am pretty sure we are going to pay for the mild winter and beautiful spring with 150 degree summer -- I just know it.  If anyone recalls my ankles and knees when I was pregnant with Avery, this is not going to be pretty. 

It feels like we just got home and we are so relieved to be here, but in 3 short weeks we'll be returning Memphis for the dreaded first scans post radiation.  We pray that the radiation has gone in and cleaned house on all these nasty cells and tumors, but we know what the reality is.  We have a 50/50 shot of this working and we've risked it all to win that bet.  Every day it feels like Avery learns something new... and every day we know what this radiation is taking away from her.  Its a fine line that Jeremy and I walk each day.  We rock back and forth on feelings of relief, guilt, exhaustion and gratefulness.  What this cure will bring is devastating but in the same breath it will bring us her.  So we hold on tight to knowing that we did everything we could and that come what may - we will do our best to make her life the most fulfilling life it was meant to be. 

Here's to Avery being a Big Sister again!!

Jenn

Home Sweet Home

We arrived home late Friday night after a long drive from Memphis. We were all anxious to get back to our own beds, our somewhat normal routines and the comfort of friends. Saturday and Sunday were spent unpacking, doing laundry, cleaning and of course yard work. Avery was ecstatic to see all her toys and most of all Jersey. You'd have thought she was just handed the key to Toys R Us the way she squealed at her toys. Rightfully so I suppose since she never got the chance to play with her birthday toys before we left.

Avery appears to be feeling well. She has tummy aches that we control with Zolfran and a serious burn on her neck that we have cream for. I made the mistake of telling the kids at the birthday party on Sunday that her burn was a sunburn and it was very important they wear their sunscreen. One little girl looked at me and said, " You didn't do a very good job.". Well said 5 yr old, well said.

Her vocabulary is really filling in and every day she surprises us with a new word. She prefers to put the word "now" at the end of every sentence rather than the word "please". She told me today she wanted to stay naked...can't say I really recall using that word recently but she picked it up from somewhere. She has also decided to be the mediator and match maker between Jeremy and I lately. If we bicker about anything she basically yells at us to stop. What's the world coming to when you can't even argue with our spouse about who shut the light off? I mean what a buzz kill! I guess the whole " Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" mantra can be justified in her eyes more than any and who's to judge her? She's experienced more in her 3 years than I ever will in my lifetime. Still, sandwiched between the demands of a tyrannical 3 year old, it's hard to be corrected by your toddler...knowing full well she's right... Why at 31 am I too dumb to realize it until after she scolds us? She's tough. She's demanding. She's my hero.

Take that cAncer.

Jenn

Team Avery March Madness!

Hey Team Avery! Just in time for March Madness, it’s time for Team Avery’s Bracket Challenge 2012!

The Rules:
$10 minimum donation per bracket.
No limit on the number of brackets per person.
Scoring is as follows:
1st round wins 1 pt.
2nd round wins 2 pts.
3rd round wins 4 pts.
4th round wins 8 pts, etc.
Half of all donations will go to the Christiansens, the other half will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as follows:
1st Place - 60%
2nd Place - 30%
3rd Place - 10%
All brackets must be submitted by 11am CST on Thursday, March 15, 2012.
All donations must be received by Thursday, March 22nd, 2012. If your donation is not received by this date, your entry will be removed.

How to Enter:
Go to this website: http://www.teamavery2012.bracketmonkey.com/
Create an account (you will create a log in and password).
To start your bracket, click “create new entry”.
Complete your bracket by clicking on the name of the team that you choose to win each game.
Select a name for the bracket to appear on the score page.
Guess the total points in the final game (used as a tie breaker, if necessary).
Save the entry.
Create additional entries if desired.
You may go back in and edit your bracket by clicking on the name until you finalize it.
Finalize your bracket by clicking “submit entry”.
Once your bracket has been submitted, you may make your donation online by clicking on the “Donate” button – using this option, you may pay by credit or debit card or via PayPal.
If you wish to mail a check, checks can be made out to The Avery Christiansen Fund and mailed to Nikki Pealer at 201 NE Hidden Valley Lane, Lee’s Summit, MO 64064. Please note that your entry will be removed unless your payment is received by March 22, 2012.

Scores will be updated as soon as possible as the games progress. If you have questions, you may call or email Julianna Kruger: 913-269-9659 or juliannakruger@gmail.com.

Good Luck!

Julianna Kruger