So much has happened since I last posted. I wish I had the time to go into great detail about everything, and maybe I will one day. But for now, I'd like to just list all of the major things we've had going on. I especially wish I could have shared some of the smaller, more joyful moments of that year with you (moreso to have them documented). Regarding the big ones I'm about to share, if at any time you want to ask about any of these, please feel free!
1. WE HAD ANOTHER BABY!
Asher Clark Williams was born December 7, 2013. 8 lb, 12 oz of beautiful baby boy! Which means he turned 1 yesterday! Can you believe that? Born and turned 1 before I made my way back here. Sheesh. He is a beautiful, laid-back, smiling little man that laughs a lot just like his dada. He is also the apple of his daddy's eye... they look so much alike! Audra loves him and says they're best friends and we are all adjusting well to having another adorable member in our family.
2. MASTITIS
Asher was born with both a tongue-tie and upper lip tie, and was therefore inefficient at moving milk. This caused extreme (I mean EXTREME) engorgement and resulted in mastitis. It hit me about a week and a half after he was born. ("Hit me" is the truth: from the time I felt pain, I was throwing up and had a 103 fever within an hour, landing me in the ER.) We didn't know Asher had the tongue and lip ties, and I thought the engorgement was natural and would level out after a few weeks. Looooooong story short, the mastitis was treated improperly, and spiraled out of control. Over a month later, I got "rid" of it. In order to get "rid" of it, we had to correct his tongue tie and lip ties. (Did you know tongue ties are the #1 most missed thing during newborn screens?) But because it was treated improperly, it was actually still present but temporarily dormant, and decided to show its ugly face again TWO more times. The combination of birth, mastitis, and caring for two under two had my body run to the ground. I got pink eye. And had some serious stomach issues from all the antibiotics they had me on. And perhaps also some mild depression, as a result of the time I had to take to focus on healing instead of focusing on my newborn baby. I am SO EXTREMELY thankful for the sweet friends that really helped us out during that time. So many of you came to our aid, made us dinner, watched our kids, helped us out. Our sweet friends/neighbors, the Bueche's, literally MADE our Christmas. They invited us over for Christmas dinner so we'd have something special. Because guys... we were just barely surviving, one day at a time. Frozen meals. Disposables. Had to call in help with cleaning and laundry. It was bad. Very very bad. I wouldn't have admitted at the time just how bad it was. But looking back... it was really, really bad.
3. POTTY TRAINING
In between bouts of mastitis, I managed to find time to potty train Audra. I had no idea how to potty train, but I wanted to get it done b/c I wanted Asher to be able to use her cloth diapers. (I did manage to use the cloth a *little* bit during the mastitis craziness.) I had seen a book mentioned in more than one blog, and decided to give it a try. "Oh Crap, Potty Training" was the most wonderful thing I could have read. Hilarious, and written by a professional potty trainer (did you know that even existed?), she lays it all out. Jamie tells you exactly what to do (and what NOT to do), how to do it, and has a whole trouble shooting section should you need it. From start to finish, Audra was day potty trained in a month. This all happened during her 20th month. She still had the occasional accident when she would rather play than use the potty, but that's pretty typical. She's 2.5 now, and is day/night/nap trained & usually only wets herself about once a week (again, b/c she'd rather play than use the potty), and it's not an entire accident. It's usually, "Oh! Mommy I need to potty!!!" and she runs straight there and finishes in the toilet, while having a few tbsp in her panties. So proud of our sweet girl! If you'd like any advice on traveling with a newly potty trained kid (b/c we had to do plenty of that), I've got info on that too! Just ask.
4. MOVE TO ARIZONA
Nic got accepted into the Air Force Critical Care Fellowship at Scottsdale Healthcare. It's a 1-yr fellowship, started in August and will finish Summer 2015. I left with the kids July 1 & took 6 weeks en route. It was great to see some family and friends. We spent 3 weeks in Missouri, a little over 3 weeks in Texas and road tripped out here with Nic's mom. While it was so wonderful to see everyone for longer than normal, we were also very ready to see what our new house looks like and get settled into our new life in Arizona. (I also think it was too long for the kids to be out of schedule. Audra's potty training and behavior were all out of whack.) We've been here now for almost 4 months, and we're happily settled! Found a new church, joined a small group, got involved in a weekly morning women's bible study, joined a Stroller Strides group, got Audra in gymnastics, have already made some really great friends... so ya! Arizona has been very kind to us. :D
Since the move, we've celebrated 5 wonderful years of marriage, had a fun Halloween with Mario Bros. costumes, a family-filled Thanksgiving and are looking forward to going to MO to spend Christmas with family as well.
