Nov 30, 2011

We're steadily selling things off. It's a big relief...financially and in the fact that David will no longer have to haul around so much stuff. I can see the weight lift from his shoulders.

I got two teasers from the photographer today. Though the pictures are adorable, I'm excited to see the others. David asked why she took the same pictures as last time since she's wearing the ruffle diaper cover with no top and the pearls. I only took 2 outfits for her so I didn't care what else we did after those outfits were used.

My girl melts my heart every day. We are so blessed with such a sweet, healthy, smiley, loving girl. Some days I just can't believe she's mine :)

Today Avery and I drove to Franklin, ID to get her one year pictures done. We're a month late but that's okay. I can't wait to see them. She fussed the whole way there (it's almost a 2 hour trip...well depends on who's driving). She was perfect and smiley and laughing while getting her pictures done and then fussed the majority of the way home. It wasn't the most pleasant drive.

She's been really...I don't know. She's happy but easily set off I guess you could say. She cut a tooth but I haven't checked to see if anymore are coming. She's been doing this chihuahua yap thing again (she was doing it and then stopped) and it's horribly annoying.

I've been very thankful that she hasn't had many injuries. On Sunday though, she busted her lip (not bad though) and then fell in the living room and bit her lip. It looked like she had bit through it but she didn't. Then yesterday after she was done eating she poked herself in the eye with a fork. That kind of freaked David out but she was fine. Maybe she was trying to keep from having her picture taken :)

I am hoping that the next person/people who move in downstairs are not video game players. The guy has friends over and they play some game. I'm so thankful David is not into video games!!!

Avery was 13 months old yesterday and she was bigger than the photographers 17 month old little girl. I've discovered she doesn't care for oatmeal. I think she might eat the steel cut kind that I have but not the flavored instant kind. Not that I'm upset about that. The kid will eat boring cream of wheat (farina) but not flavored oatmeal. Silly girl. She's got some new shoes and at first she wouldn't walk in them. At. All. But I put her outside and that was enough motivation to get her walking. She likes her shoes now.

Tonight she opened and turned on this little portable dvd player and started watching a Baby Einstein video. She was just laughing and talking. Cutest thing ever.

If you tell her "let's take a bath" she gets all excited and goes straight to the tub. She loves bath time. She understands going bye bye too.

Well, David seems to have caught what I have had for what? 4 weeks now? But of course he seems much...worse...:)

That's all for now!

Picture Catch Up

Thanksgiving day 2011

We like playing with the tea pot.

Avery's helping dad set up the table for Thanksgiving.

We finally set up our desk top. We've been busy selling stuff today. David is selling a lot of his tools and equipment. We're trying to get ourselves to a good spot financially. Today he sold his beloved welder and air compressor. Someone's coming later to look at the Chopasaki. It's tough but it's for the best.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well, my computer is on it's last leg. It's been acting up tonight and then even more of the screen started acting up and now I can't see more than half of the screen. :/

I was going to post pictures but I can't see them to see which ones to post. Except for my stuffing picture.

We had a good Thanksgiving. Our friends Zac and Jocee and their 3 kiddos came over. We split the cooking and it all turned out so good.

I ended up with stuffing and gravy. I've made stuffing once before though. Since I didn't have any pan drippings for the gravy, I bought some turkey legs and roasted them and used those drippings. This was the first time I've made gravy...besides breakfast type gravy. And I have to give myself a pat on the back because it was good :) My stuffing turned out good too. I was pleased with the flavor. I made my gravy yesterday and my pies yesterday so all I made this morning was the stuffing and warmed up the rolls. I'm glad I did it that way, it made things easier.

David was going to deep fry a turkey but we realized the fryer was in storage in Preston so he had to smoke it instead. It turned out awesome! It had great smoked flavor and we put apple juice in the pan too. It was moist and beautiful. Once he smoked on in his other smoker (we used the electric this time) and the turkey was black as coal. This one was perfect in color.

Of course we have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. I'm thankful we've been able to watch Avery grow up and I'm super thankful for David's new job. It's made things so much easier and we're getting ourselves set up for a good future. It's really exciting. I'm thankful we have friends here in Salt Lake. It's made things nice to have a friend to hang out with.

Now I'm getting excited for Christmas. Ok, I was already excited. I'm so looking forward to when Avery is older and she enjoys Christmas! It's going to be so fun to see her on Christmas morning. I've been getting ideas for traditions we can do each year to help keep the season Christ centered. I'm really excited to implement them. I want Avery to grow up remembering family things like that.

New Video

New Video is up

David thinks this is just totally gross :) She loves them though!

She liked the spaghetti!

The girl who lives below us stayed home from work today. I didn't know this until she decided to blast her music at 8:20 this morning. I'm positive it was because Avery and I were being too noisy. Oh well. Was I supposed to wake up knowing she was home? She blasted it until after 12. Thankfully you couldn't hear it in Avery's room so it didn't bother her sleeping.

I emailed my landlord asking him if he knew for sure when they're moving out. He said no. Bummer. I was hoping it would be mid December like the girl said but looks like it's going to be January. Ugh!

David's working late tonight so I'm going to go play with my girl.

Well, other than the lovely people who live below us, moving to Salt Lake has been AWESOME!! David's new job is such a blessing and the future is looking bright :)

II'm thinking it's about time to go to the doctor. I've been fighting this crud for 2 weeks now. David was sick a while ago and has a sore throat tonight. It's my ears and tubes that are hurting me though. I can't seem to shake it.

Avery's getting to be pretty rotten. We went to a new church on Sunday and I got paged to come to the nursery because she was hysterical. It was sad.

She's driving me nuts with the way she messes around when I feed her. She pretty much pulls everything out of the back of her mouth. She's a little finicky. I'll feed her something and then before she's done with it, she's acting like it's gross.

She's still sleeping horribly. That got old about 8 months ago.

Avery got a little tea pot and tea cups for her birthday and it's so cute because she'll take the pot and pour you some tea. It makes noises like it's pouring too. I think it's so cute. Every animal she sees a picture of she growls.

Well there's not really anything going on around here. I'm excited for Thanksgiving. I wish we had some fall decor but I'm on a strict budget so no extra spending. Some day...

No! You may not take my picture!

Ok, just one.

Must...get...computer...

Chick-fil-A

Cick fil A finally opened near my house and so Avery and I had to make an emergency stop there today! I just can't get over how big she is. Where'd my baby go?! Here she is eating some nuggets :)



She liked dipping her nuggets in BBQ sauce!

Grrr, last week when the girl downstairs and I spoke we had a...I don't know what you'd call it. We didn't fight, it wasn't really a "heated discussion" but it was maybe a slightly "heated discussion".

Basically the issue is she's mad they lost the driveway even though they knew it was coming. In fact, they rented the freakin' basement without the driveway. So, because she's mad about it she informed me that I could take out the trash in the mornings. They had been putting it out and I was putting it up. Ok, it doesn't really matter who does what. What makes me mad is she's only switching who does what because she is being petty since she's mad about the driveway. The trash cans are rigght by their door so they could still easily put the trash out. But I "can put them out since I have the driveway". Um, ok. So I asked her if they were going to put them up and she said if my car wasn't in the way.

This is where I got mad.

The discussion went downhill from there. I smarted off. She accused me of being mad for having to do my fair share. When I've been doing it all along...

Then she went on to say the she didn't think it'd be a big deal (switching the trash) since they were losing the driveway and she's never complained about the noise. Whuck? Who sent me those texts complaining about the noise then? So I reminded her that she has complained. More than once. She said I would too but since it's an old house she has understood. I would hate to see what she's like when she doesn't understand.

Anyways, so we've been putting out the trash. Well, we have three bins. One for trash, one for recycling and one for yard waste (branches, leaves, etc.). We put out the trash one and the yard one. They put up the trash one but not the yard one. Can a person be any more petty? When she accused me of being mad for having to do my share, since it's only fair she says. I told her I wasn't mad about doing my share I was mad that she was being petty. And THEN they do this. Really? Because you weren't technically the person who used that particular bin, you can't put it away? I would like to insert some not nice words here but I won't.

For the last 2 months, when she has complained, I have bent over backwards to comply and keep the peace. For the first 2 months we have left every Saturday and Sunday morning so as not to bother them. But of course they don't realize any of that. I have tried to be nice. David even said I was being too nice! Well, I'm over it. They. Need. To. Move.

I do not like those people, particularly the girl. She is so unpleasant. I wish I could turn back time and have never entered into her life. My life would be better for it. Come on January! They're supposed to be out by then!

I'm getting so excited about Christmas! I get excited every year but it's even more exciting with Avery here. I was thinking about traditions that we can do as a family and keep Christ as the center of Christmas and found some good ideas on the internet. I love love love christian blogs! I'm glad other people have good ideas that I can "steal" haha!

I'm so frustrated with our living situation. The people downstairs are ridiculous. I think if you expect us to be mindful of the noise we make, you should too. The guy always has his TV turned up incredibly loud. It has never bothered us too much because in our living room you can't hear it too much but he's started keeping it loud until 11 twice this week. Avery's room is right above their living room. It hasn't kept her awake but it's still making me mad. David put tape around the door that goes downstairs and a towel at the bottom to help muffle the sound and it worked some.

The main problem is that we are in an ideal location. And to stay in this location and not pay out the wazoo, you have to live in a 2 family house. If you want a whole house to yourself, you pay for it. We also need a 2 car garage. Those are limited around here. If we move any further south, David will have a heck of a time getting home because of traffic. If we move further west, it's not the nicest area. We're close to the highway and school. It's a nice neighborhood. I need to look into seeing what it costs to live further north. We're in south Salt Lake, maybe we could find something in north Salt Lake. I hope that by the time our lease is up, we can find something that will work for us I'm ready to find a place to stay for a long time. Moving into this house was such a mistake :(

Yuck

So I never get sick but this last week I've been sick. Not down and out sick but a head/throat thing that won't go away. It's so annoying. I can't even remember the last time something has stuck around this long.

David went to Preston on Friday night to get some stuff of his and came home Saturday. He told me he was feeling kind of achey. Well, we went out with the Brackin's and then he came home and went straight to bed with fever, chills and aches. He woke up the next day feeling fine. I don't think he was 100% but he said he felt a million times better and he acted perfectly fine. So I hope Avery doesn't catch all of this. I hope she gets my immune system haha. David always gets things worse than I do. This time mine is lasting longer but the symptoms haven't had me laid up in bed.

We went and bought Avery a coat last night and got our sledding discs from Preston. The park near our house has a huge hill you can sled down so we plan on taking Avery sledding this winter! I'm pretty excited about it. I think she'll really like it.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving. We'll be celebrating with our friends here in Salt Lake. It's funny because I feel like a real adult doing my own Thanksgiving! We've always gone to Bonnie's or the Brackin's.

I'm really looking forward to Christmas! I can't wait to put a tree up but I'm going to have to wait. I think I'm going to get a real one this year and then try to get a pre-lit one on sale.

I'm also looking forward to next September when I can move out of this house. It can't come fast enough. Actually I can't wait for the downstairs people to move out. I hate this living situation. David was about to have me text them last night because the guy plays video games REALLY loud and he was still going at 11. But then I heard the girl yelling at him, he still didn't turn down the volume and then we heard a door slam and THEN we heard him turn it off. So thankfully I didn't have to ask them to turn it down. I avoid them at all costs except for the other day when she pushed me to my limit. For the last 2 months I've tried as hard as I can to keep the peace but she made me mad. Grr I don't like her.

Anyway, it's beautiful outside. I need to go get Avery some shoes so she can walk around outside. She has a pair that seem like they should fit but I think she might have a wide foot. I had to take the shoe laces out for them to fit and then I couldn't get her right foot to stop popping out of the shoe. She loves eing outside. I think we'll go for a walk later. She loves going on walks.

A Few Pics

In the picture below, Avery had hit her daddy in the face and all we said was "Don't hit" and she burst into tears. Broke her heart :(
Love this kid. Alot.

An Apple A Day...

Keeps the doctor away! Look at those pretty blue eyes :)

She LOVES to draw.

Tonight I was looking back at my posts from when she was born and the month after. I just can't believe that little baby has turned into this toddler. I'm just as in love with her now as when she was born. I could kiss those cheeks all day. And believe me, they do get kissed alot!

I was looking at a picture of me when I was pregnant, 2 days before I had her. Geez I forgot how big my belly was! What a fun time. This time is fun too.

This past year has gone so fast and it boggles my mind to think at this time next year she'll be two. Wow.

Avery is so silly and such a joy. I forgot when I was putting down the things she does now to add that every night when it's time to go to bed, she tells her daddy night night. Any time you mention night night, she'll wave bye bye and say bye bye. So every night she waves and tells her daddy bye when she goes to bed. It's so cute.

That's all for now.

Thankful

So thankful I get to stay home and play with this silly girl.

Rambling On and On

I think I've said it before on here but I love this website called Pinterest. There are just so many awesome ideas on there. The latest thing that I found on there that I really want to do is to make journals for each of my children. Pretty leather journals that I want to write letters, memories and anything else pertaining to that child. I think it would be such a wonderful gift to give them one day. I think it particularly hits home with me because I don't come from a family of story tellers. I don't know things about me as a child that I wish I did know. Unfortunately I've learned a hard lesson about this. Sometimes you realize things too late. I wish I would have prodded my mom for more information about me as a baby/kid.

A while back I also started labeling things and need to finish it up. I have a tub of Avery's things I've put away for her. I intend on labeling them so that when she's older she'll look at something and know exactly what it is. I have chests and trunks full of items that were kept for a reason but I don't know what those reasons are. Clothing and other items that I don't even know who exactly they belong to. I hate that.

I'm very good about making sure I label photos too. Another pet peeve...not knowing who are in old photos that I have.

I was also thinking this morning about how much I love watching Avery figure things out. I love the little things that she does. So of course, I'm going to put them on here :) I love the big milestones but I love these little ones:

--I love how she gets so excited turning the light switch on and off (and on and off...). Her face lights up when she realizes she turned the light off and then back on. She flips the switch and then flips her head around to see what she has done.

--I love that she can close a drawer and keep her fingers out of the way.

--I love how she tries to turn the stick that hangs from the blinds.

--She imitates me and takes a rag and wipes the couch off or table.

--She pushes buttons on the DVD player and then looks at the TV to see what she's done. She's been learning a big lesson in cause and effect!

--I love how excited she gets when it's bath time. When I undress her she'll help pull the shirt off her head and then it's so cute how she'll step out of her pants. I also love how she puts her arm through her sleeves when getting dressed.

It just amazes me how she learns when I'm not even trying to teach her. Then it amazes me how she won't cooperate with the things I am trying to teach her haha!

I am so thankful that I am blessed enough to experience what it is to be a mother. I love my husband and he comes first. But the love of my baby is something different...

Update

We had a good weekend. We woke up to beautiful, fat snow falling on Saturday morning. I love fall and winter. Some days are dreary in a bad way but I just love the coziness. I love having my heater on and cozy'n up. The weekend was especially good because our downstairs neighbors are not here. They left at 4 in the morning on Thursday and haven't been back. It's been awesome.

David and I have been blessed with having a wonderful landlord. I finally told him today about our "relationship" with the underlings and he's dealt with the same bad attitude from the girl. He came over tonight to flip a breaker that we couldn't get to since the underlings are gone and told us that he is giving them a notice that this will be their last month. Their lease was up Oct 31. The girl is mad at our landlord for giving us the driveway so I guess they decided they were going to leave but then decided to stay longer. Our landlord sweetly offered us the house they live in if they move (they'll find out in the next 30 days). The situation seemed better...3 bedrooms, basement that we get and it's only $50 more. But there's no back yard and only one side of a leaky garage. Then the landlord offered to let us rent his walk out basement if they get the new house. He truly is a kind man. His wife is too. Wonderful people.

AVery is the cutest thing ever. I noticed the other day that she had quit crawling completely. She is constantly on the move. It's so cute to watch her. She's getting pretty fast too and has great balance.

Some one year updates on her (minus height and weight): She obviously is walking now, she is showing her temper and acting less like a baby every day. She enjoys eating anything we're eating. She prefers to drink water over anything else. She likes cinnamon applesauce better than plain. She plays with her food lately. She likes to pick it apart now, which is kind of annoying sometimes. She likes to put food in her mouth and then pull it out and then eat it. She loves electronics of any kind. She loves to stand at the window at the head of our bed. She likes to jump in her bed. She's still a pain to get dressed. She's better about not fussing when getting her diaper changed. She thinks she's funny and she is. She gets really excited every day when her daddy comes home and even gets in a better mood when he's home if she's been grumpy. She has no attachment to any toy or blanket or anything else. She's the happiest baby I know. She's such a blessing and makes our life so much better. She tries so hard to talk and it's the cutest thing ever. She crosses her ankles like a little lady. Adorable.

Well, I'm tired and I can't think of anything else. Back to the grind tomorrow. Thankful for a wonderful weekend!

Christmas on the brain

All the snow we got this morning has got me in the mood for Christmas! I've been thinking about the goodies I want to get my family and friends and thinking about decorating and hot chocolate and Christmas music!

Our travel plans haven't been nailed down because a certain someone keeps forgetting to find out what days he'll have off for Christmas.

I'm excited that Avery will be 14 months old this year and can enjoy getting gifts. At 2 months, Christmas isn't all that exciting.

A friend of mine on facebook mentioned getting a list from her family of what they want for Christmas and I think that's a good idea. So... Bonnie...Dad...a list of things you've been eye ballin' might be nice :0)

Don't forget to turn your clocks back tonight!

This and That

Avery made off pretty well for her birthday. Here are some goodies she got from her Aunt Shannon. She also got gifts from the Brackins, grandma, grandpa, Great uncle Wayne and Aunt Sonya and her great grandma! I think she did pretty well for not having a party :)
Avery had to get a Las Vegas shirt while she was there. Her poor eye!

We were talking last weekend about how we're amused with how she already shows preference for her right hand and how she holds the pen. We think it's pretty cool that she doesn't hold it in her fist. So David wanted me to get a picture of it.

She's been happy today but the last 2 days she has been ornery. She's been slapping and clawing. When you tell her no, she squeals and hits at things. I think she's got some spunk in her.

Birthday Cake!!!

We bought Avery a Halloween cupcake while we were in Las Vegas and never had her eat it so tonight she ginally got to eat her birthday cupcake. It wasn't homemade but that's ok...next year. The cupcake's icing melted in the car on the way home too :(










Check my youtube channel soon for a birthday video. I ran out of room on my memory card so it got cut off.

Pictures!

Avery had a good time in Vegas. In fact on she had such a good time she fell off the bed... party animal...
This is the only picture I have of her on her actual birthday. She loves to drive the car.

One night we went to Fremont St. which is I guess where the strip started a long time ago. It was WILD. Vegas is fun to go to for people watching but I thought Halloween was even more perfect to be there because you got to see some CRAZY costumes.

This was a restaurant on Fremont St. I thought my dad would get a kick out of this.

This is one long continuous screen. Largest in the world. When we were leaving they played a little show with cartoons singing and dancing to the monster mash. There was a giant zip line that ran right below it too.

This is us right outside of the pawn shop from the show Pawn Stars. I don't know how anyone owning a pawn shop gets a TV show. The inside was more like a museum and it definitely wasn't your typical pawn shop stuff (I'm guessing). They had a ton of Rolex watches. One was $23,000!

Here's the inside of it. They even had ropes keeping you in lanes when you come in.

Avery enjoying the Hoover Dam!

This is that new bridge they built going across. Ugh, Gold's gym and I will be negotiating some prices soon.

This tunnel is one of the tunnels they dug to divert the Colorado River when they started working on the dam.
These are giant turbines.
David went on top of the bridge and the above and below pictures are from up there.
These picures below are from the Virgin River Gorge...I think it was gorge...
in Arizona.

Avery just hanging out in the back seat.
Avery did awesome onthe trip and on the way home she didn't make a peep. Vegas wore her out!