Christmas Card

Time has simply skittered away and somehow we neglected to send out any Christmas cards! Hopefully a blog family portrait will suffice this year. Saves on postage! :)

May the joy of this season fill your home and the gift of Jesus enrapture your heart.

Love ~ The McNeil Family

p.s. Have no fear! Our annual DVD will be posted sometime in January...

1 + 1 = 2

Avery's 2 months old today! Which meant another trip to the doctor. She weighed in at 8.4 lbs and 21.5 inches (a gain of 2 lbs and 2 in). Apparently she's still just a little bean, because 97% of all girls her age are bigger than her! She also had to do shots. That little wail is heartbreaking... Before and after. :(

Just Because

Everyone says babies don't smile on purpose this young, but...

She grinned right on cue for this one!

Thankful

This is the first year in quite some time that Matt was able to enjoy Thanksgiving stateside. Avery's Grandma Laurie and Aunt Emily traveled from CA for the festivities! Here are some of the things we are thankful for this year:

1. First and foremost for Jesus and His extension of grace.

2. Six years of a strong marriage.

3. Laughter: that we never take ourselves too seriously.

4. How Avery has enriched our lives beyond measure.

5. God's amazing provision in PERFECT timing.

6. Our health. And a wonderfully uncomplicated childbirth experience.

7. Family: both the ones we came from & the one we're building.

8. Matt's new job!

9. Hayley's new job as Menage Operations Manager!

10. The simple joys of smiles and snuggles.

11. Opportunities to travel to Vegas, Salt Lake, L.A., & Elkhart.

12. An incredible network of supportive friends.

13. God's faithfulness in finances, fresh starts, and forgiveness.

14. Disposable diapers & motorized baby swings!

15. A bright future full of new adventures.

Oma, Opa & Miss Patti come to visit

Hooray! I'm 1 month old today!!!

Just kidding, but not really.

Saw this magnet in a cheesy little gift shop this week. Good thing Matt has an awesome sense of humor...

27!

Last week I celebrated my 27th birthday. Rebecca and I decided that that officially means I'm in my "late-20's." I think that each age is either good or bad depending entirely on whether you like where you're at in life. I most definitely do. My first day at 27 was spent with my mom, dad and Avery. We went shopping and out to dinner. Matt sent these gorgeous flowers and also treated me to a professional massage. Wonderful!

QT with Dad

Today Matt ventured off to Chicago to re-start his Naval career. But before he left, Avery got to spend some quality one-on-one time with her dad.

Bathtime, Aaargg... pirate eye, First pair of Jordans.

No Tricks. Just Treats.

Happy Halloween! Avery, Matt and I had a blast carving her first pumpkin... although she slept right through trick-or-treating. But at least she got the outfit down: what little girl wouldn't want to be a skeleton with mary janes? (click the picture to enlarge it)

Change Number......Ahh whatever, I lost count

Over the almost six years Hayley and I have been married we have accomplished a lot. We've failed in some areas and succeeded in others but a few things have always been constant. One, we both love and support each other (Hayley often more supportive of my ever changing career path than I of hers) Two, we like to keep things interesting and somewhat out of control at times.

Well, 2009 will be no different! Of course Avery has changed both our lives. She is just an amazing gift we've be given that is constantly depriving us of sleep and allowing both Hayley and I to experience love we didn't know we had. I was told by many women in my family that someday when I had my own child I would enjoy changing diapers! Well, they were wrong. The only enjoyable part of changing Avery's diapers is the proud feeling that comes over me when I witness the unbelievably nasty turd my daughter just dropped in her pants! Makes me proud to be her dad.....

Avery all by herself would make 2009 an exciting year, but we are the McNeil's and if we can throw a wrench into our plans than we will! (That's the Matt side of the McNeil's not the Hayley side)

Truth be told, I have wanted to return to the Navy for about 3 years now. It just took that long for me to convince Hayley it was a good idea. Good thing I never went into sales. Since I left in 2004 I've done a lot, gone to college (I'm on the 8 year plan), experience the thrills and close calls of the overseas contracting world, and become a professional aviator. In that time I have come to realize one thing: I love a good challenge and the thrill of an ever changing work environment. There is only one place I know of that I can get that kind of fulfillment in my work, the US Navy. As of November we will begin our next great adventure! God help us!!!!

Upgrade?

I have never understood women who carry huge purses. In college, my driver's license and $20 in my pocket sufficed. Once a career women, I reluctantly transitioned to a purse, but never one larger than could hold a chapstick, my checkbook, some bank cards and a small camera. So today was partly a sad day for me... I officially transferred all my purse things into the diaper bag. The horror! Fortunately it's pretty hip-looking, but significantly larger than anything I've ever carried before. I feel rather uncool admitting this, however I'd like to think that I'm simply carrying a new larger purse, that only happens to have diapers, wipes, burpcloths, a change of clothes and snacks in it! :) So, if I were a betting gal, I would put money on the fact that women with huge purses often start the habit with a kid and a diaper bag...

1 week down... 4,179 to go!

The expected lifespan for a female born in the USA in 2008 is 80.4 years. Today Avery has made it through one week of hers... check out the highlights.

Avery Meets Oma

With so much awesome family to share in Avery's life, my parents have opted for the names Oma and Opa. (That's grandmother and grandfather in German) Avery got to meet Opa in the hospital and Oma popped in for a couple days this week to snuggle her first grandchild...

The B-Story

A few of you have requested a down-low on our birthday story...
So here's a quick synopsis:

Wednesday 10.15

8p - Check into Banner Gateway hospital for induction of labor.
9p - Get into room, answer a billion questions, start baby monitoring.
9:30p - Dilated to 2cm.
10:15p - Start Cervidil medication to ready me for Pitocin in the morning.

Thursday 10.16

12a - Start IV drip, draw blood, etc.
12:40a - Ambien... sweet Ambien.
1:15a - Sleep.

5:30a - Wake with noticable, but easily managable contractions.
6:15a - Call nurse b/c contractions are gnarly and only 30 sec apart.
6:20a - Dilated to 4cm. Labor started naturally w/o the use of Pitocin. Hooray!
6:35a - Request epidural b/c contractions REALLY hurt.
7:00a - Epidural in.
7:05a - Epidural works... wierd heavy legs, but relief.
7:45a - Another dose of epidural for pain of low pressure.
8a - Dilated to 8cm.
8:35a - Dilated to 10cm. Let's rock and roll.
9a- Push 4 times with the nurse.
9:05a - Nurse calls the doc.
9:25a - My doc arrives and suits up.
9:30-34a - Doc says push... twice.
9:35a - Head out, but cord around neck once. Not uncommon. No signs of trauma.
9:36a - Avery greets the world!

Four hours of labor & only 6 pushes... a charmed life indeed.

Welcome Home

Avery, Matt and I made it home safe and sound. Now the real fun begins! Matt's already nicknamed her "Squeaker." We'll post more as we go, but for now don't be too bummed if we don't answer the phone! :) Thank you for all your prayers...

Avery's Birthday!

Avery Corynn McNeil

Born October 16, 2008

9:36am

6 lbs 7 oz - 19 in

Minutes old.

New daddy adventure!

And baby makes three...

Avery meets Opa for the first time!

Rockin' out to the hearing test!

Happee Amputee

If you've ever been to our house and met our dog, you would know that her favorite toy by far is this ratty, smelly plush cat. After a year or more of rough play, Mr. Cat's leg was only hangin' on by threads. Dr. Matt decided it was time for an ampuation. Refusing any pain meds, Mr. Cat underwent major leg-removal surgery via kitchen scissors. It seems Aspen now prefers the dismembered unit over Mr. Cat.

T-Minus 3

Crazy to think our countdown to baby is in single digits! (Random tangent: why do we say single digits, which is plural, to decribe something that is singular?) An ultrasound at the doctor on Friday showed she's still in her proper place and pumping a steady heartbeat. If she doesn't show up on her own by Tuesday, we have another appointment that morning to discuss our options.

In other news... the weather here has been absolutely stunning this week! In the mid-70's, sunny with a slight breeze. That prompted an outing to the dog park today for a little exercise...

External Cephalic Version

It pretty much sounds just like it is ... something straight outta sci-fi. Last Friday, after finding out that our girl was still breech (head up) at 37 weeks, we had two options.

1. Schedule a C-Section. Apparently no doc delivers breech anymore.
2. Try an External Cephalic Version. A fancy term for turning her from the outside.

Wanting very much to avoid the major surgery and recovery of a C-Section we opted for door number two and went into the hospital the next day. On first time moms, there's only a 30% chance of it working, but with the skilled hands of my doc, we were successful! It did hurt a bit (imagine Hulk Hogan digging elbows into your gut), but now we've got a chance of foregoing surgery!

Just say a little prayer that she doesn't decide to upright herself in the next two weeks.

My Mom Rocks! (and so does the new nursery)

My mom was recently in town helping us get prepped for the upcoming kid. The biggest task was finally pulling the nursery together. And we got it done in splendid fashion! Thanks mom!

The name is still a secret, but here's a little teaser...