Crazy Love Gamble-Style

All Over the Place

2012-02-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

I think these photos speak for themselves although

that won't completely stop me from interjecting...

Dukes of Hazard style

Max

Yum, germs.

I'm sure we both can fit in here...

Up, up, up...

Crash landing

These two are getting married, it's all they

talked about all day.

Nate finally popped the question.

She says he is going to need to get a job

and work every single day.

She wants to stay home and raise the kids : )

I love that she knows how hard her daddy works to

take care of us so I can stay home with them.

Love these kids.

So very much.

Our Little Loves

2012-02-14T23:28:00.000-08:00

John & I decided to do what we usually do for holidays:

A) Not spend any extra money

B) Make it about the kids

We had swimming in the morning but I took a minute to

grab a few shots of the kids before we left.

I'm super in love with Norah's outfit and also

quite impressed that she put up with the hair bow!

Love this.

Could she be more photogenic?

Ava did great, these shots are of playtime, her favorite part,

they are catching ducks & hearts and throwing them in the bucket.

After swimming we went out to lunch with Vashi & Jessica,

it was a nice little Valentines Day celebration : )

Loving the heart shaped carrot!

Oh and the heart shaped chocolate covered strawberries!

These are the ways to Ava's heart.

Just in case that wasn't enough she gobbled down

a box of chocolates from Auntie too : )

We love Vashi!! It was so nice to have her join us!

Next we took Norah home for a nap and Ava & I

tackled the grocery store. I had plans to make heart

shaped pizza & do craft projects with the kids.

By the time we got home even making dinner seemed ambitious.

I asked Ava what she wanted on her pizza, she says

"Heart-shaped olives, heart-shaped pineapple and heart-shaped tomatoes."

What? Um, no.

I love you but NO.

She was also quite disappointed that I didn't cut her

pizza slices into heart shapes either, I'm such a slacker.

She loves to rarrrr at me. I can't figure out why...

Norah just walks away, she doesn't get it either.

Happy Valentines Day!!!

So Much Fun!!

2012-02-14T01:05:00.000-08:00

It has been a really long time since we have been

to the beach, and when I say "really long time"

I mean for us (spoiled brats!) I don't think we

have been since October!

The first thing I noticed was that the baby gates

were going to come in handy. Norah bolts to those

stairs, giggling the whole way up.

She looks pretty pathetic in that picture, poor Norah,

I almost feel sorry for her!!

Beautiful Ava

I taught Ava Mexican Train Dominoes, she did really well.

She cracks me up when she gets all sassy

(when it's not directed at me)!

Beanbag rides! (I can't figure out how they get holes in them!)

These kids are such wanna be phone addicts!

We had a great time at the park!

Snacks

Park trip, round two : )

Could this child be any more photogenic?

No, seriously??!

Rhi brought the kids over to play!

Could she be cuter??

It's fun to go on a walk with 6 kids!

They keep it interesting for sure! : )

We got to walk through the little nature park,

I hadn't even realized I have never taken John there.

I love this!

Ben loves Seren, we all do!

Billy & I had the best time together. It was

so nice getting to spend several days catching up.

I really couldn't love her more.

Ben was telling us about a monster from Monsters Inc.

He says "Little monster, one eye, so cute!!"

The kids all played so well together too!

Jessica, Mike and our wonderful husbands

all joined us for the weekend.

I think it truly was one of my favorite beach trips to date!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful family & friends

and so lucky to have a place to all come together and

celebrate day to day things, with a little "weekend"

mixed in for good measure : )

Walk this way...

2012-02-13T08:51:00.000-08:00

Norah had many days of this, assistants helping her walk.

She loved it. She would like assistants to help her do everything.

Yes, we haven't reached that next stage, the "I DO IT MYSELF!!" stage yet...

Things are changing though.

Norah used to look at where she wanted to go and

immediately fall into a crawl to get there.

Now her confidence is rising, we've seen her do as many

as 5 steps in a row.

I think we may be in trouble...

yet again : )

Bayli

2012-02-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

There is just something about Bayli,

always has been. She owns such a big

part of my heart. Every time I hang out

with her my life feels just a little more

complete. I miss her all the time when

she is not here. She belongs with us.

Really Ava? lol.

Love her, oh so very much.

FINALLY!!!

2012-02-08T10:19:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how much not having Norah's baby

book done has been weighing on me.

I think I have brought it with me, along with my

good intentions a dozen times in the last year.

Turns out my "good intentions" are a bit of a

slacker. Or I am, either way, it's been bugging me

like crazy.

The night before she turned one I sat and finally

OPENED it. I even filled out all the words I could

AND sent the photos to be printed that I needed to

complete the project.

Get this, I even picked up said photos and brought

them with me to the beach (by the way I'm at the

beach this week) and FINISHED the book last night!!!

I am so happy!! YAY!

Wine Charms, How Fun!

2012-02-06T22:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm not a crafty person, I'm actually quite challenged

in that area, however, I'm feeling pretty happy about

this little project.

A few Easters ago I made these cute wine charms for our

champagne flutes: (what's Easter without mimosas?)

It's a bit hard to see in the picture but I took a little bag

of foam eggs & bunnies from the dollar store, glued them

together, punched a hole in them & added a ribbon. They

were super cute.

For Norah's birthday I wanted to come up with something

equally adorable and had the idea to use mini pictures of

Norah on each glass, how cute is that?

I started with a photo collage, 4x6, it was about 9 cents,

I printed two so I could make the pictures double sided.

You could simply glue them together but I thought it

would be even cuter if they had a little boarder, I used

1 piece of yellow construction paper & a glue stick.

It only took a few minutes and waa-laaa!

I am really happy with how they turned out.

Imagine the possibilities! You could put a picture

of each guest attending your party, how fun!

I know this took about zero skill,

but that is about as crafty as I get : )

The Party.

2012-02-06T01:04:00.000-08:00

We had a truly wonderful party for little Miss Norah.

Wonderful friends and family together to celebrate

our sweet growing girl. It has been a fabulous year

and all these people helped make it that much better.

Auntie : )

I even concord my fear of fondant.

Love this family.

Miss Alayah will be next...a few more months : )

The proud big sister.

Trevor & Billy, love, love, love them.

Katharina & Morgan, love them too : )

My baby.

My first baby.

Give it to me! I need that!!

Yum!

I adore this photo, she is so precious.

Sharing with Dad.

I think I should of made it messier, this was the cleanest
one year old EVER.

Reading

So cute.

LOVE.

Ready for presents

These were her favorite : )

Birthdays can be a little overwhelming, but she did great!

My little baby, you are so very loved.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

2012-02-02T01:03:00.000-08:00

In honor of little Norah turning one,

I started her baby book last night.
(true story)

That being said, even though some of our

actions show she is the second child,

we really couldn't love her more.

When I was pregnant I couldn't imagine

loving a child nearly as much as Ava had

consumed my heart. That just didn't seem

possible. People said it was, I truly did

not believe them.

I do though, we all do. Norah is such a funny,

beautiful, sweet little girl, it would be impossible

not to love her like crazy.

We call her trouble and make the sounds

from Jaws when the shark is approaching

sometimes when she is crawling into the room.

She terrorizes cupboards, pulling out the

contents, attacks computers, crawls behind

everything, climbs on top of tall dangerous

spaces, and just plain gets into things, constantly.

Everything goes in her mouth, even if it's dirty

and gross. Whenever she sees something she

wants more then what she has she simply throws

whatever she is holding on the floor, like it means

nothing. She goes from thing to thing, on a mission.

She is fast! And determined. She loves her mama,

but much like Ava did, refuses to say it. (Although Ava

had it down by now) She says all sorts of things like

"Sit down, kitty, stinky, outside, dada, Ava, this, cheese"

I'm sure there are many other things, they just aren't

coming to me right now. She chatters constantly.

She sounds like she is having huge conversations

about everything but you can't understand a word of

what she is carrying on about. : )

Norah loves to play. All day she goes from toy to toy,

but mostly from person to person. Me & Ava are her

top picks but we are also her only choices much of the

time. When ever someone else is here she is quick to

check them out too. She seems like she will be social

just like her big sister.

It is so easy to make her laugh. She loves to be tickled

or lifted up to see things, she loves to be carried around

or wrestled with, swung upside down or chased. Her

little giggle is infectious and she keeps us all laughing

most of the day.

She is eating all sorts of food now, including peanut butter

& jelly sandwiches, yogurt, chicken & pasta. Cheese is her

favorite food for sure. She still eats quite a bit of baby food too.

I just started her on regular milk and that is going really well.

Norah is super close to walking, she can stand independently

for several seconds and has taken one step, of course she

did it while wearing wings, I think that helped. : )

It is hard to believe that a year went by that quickly,

but it also feels like she has always been part of us.

Norah brings so much joy to our lives, we couldn't feel

more lucky or more blessed to be her parents.

Ava is just as taken with her as us. She takes great care

of Norah, she keeps her safe, hugs and kisses her all through

the day, plays with her and always tells me how cute she is

and how much she loves her. Such wonderful sweet words

that simply warm my heart.

What a day, our little sweet (last) baby is one.

Little Norah, we couldn't love you more.

Thank you for being YOU.

Bath Time

2012-02-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

This child keeps us laughing, all through the day.

She loves to brush her teeth, although sometimes she

brushes her hair with her toothbrush, depends on her mood.

I'm thinking with a little gel she could totally pull off

this look for her party.

Pretty cute, right?

She loves to turn the faucet on and off which can be

quite disastrous depending on if the faucet is actually

still over the sink, she seems to think it's extra funny

if it's going all over the counter : )

One more day and my littlest joy will be ONE!!

I finished her picture slide show, John's working on

the music. I can't say I've been able to watch it yet

without crying.

I feel overwhelmed with love for her, with how blessed

I feel to have her and a little sad that she is growing up

so fast. : (

The doctor is in...

2012-01-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

Morgan came over to play today.

The girls have so much fun together.

However after reading books about Franklin

going to the hospital, they were bound to

catch some serious pretend illnesses.

Fortunately Dr. Morgan & Dr. Norah were on the case.

Although judging from the look on Dr. Norah's face,

I don't think the prognosis is good. Oh well, I'm sure

they will come up with a cure eventually...

I had no time to help, I have been tirelessly editing &

organizing photos for a certain birthday girls photo

slide show.

3 days until my little baby turns ONE *sniff* *sniff*

I should probably start on her baby book, damn.

Fun with Friends

2012-01-29T23:18:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend! We had some visitors,

not just any visitors but the Uppys! Four of our

very favorite people!

In honor of our babies getting together we dressed them as twins!

Seren is so cute!!

Rhi was holding Seren and Norah climbed right up there on her lap, she needed to be part of that too.

In fact every time I turned around Norah was trying to get Rhi to pick her up. She LOVES her!

Matt & Rhi went to see Matt's sister Jenni's dance performance, we watched the kids.

We have two kids, what's two more right? Piece of cake right?

Hummm, Seren did NOT agree.

We tried everything, we fed her, fed her again, changed her, walked her around, bounced her, got her toys, set her down, picked her back up, took her outside, checked her for pins, followed all the happiest baby on the block tips, gave her ibuprofen, gave her to Tiffani, took her from Tiffani, swaddled her up and put her to bed. Now I'm not saying she cried the whole time, I'm just saying little chick missed her mama. She did mention her a few times (read a million) (she actually says mama, like a baby should) but that is our final verdict. That or she hates me, John, Erik and Tiffani, which is totally possible.

We did get her happily to sleep and when she woke back up after her parents had returned she looked at me with the biggest smile as she held onto her mom. "See? Now I'm good" Ha!

The other children liked us : )

Our families are so perfect together. I love Rhi to death and could sit & talk to her for days, John & Matt love playing video games together, Ava and Tyler adore each other & play great too! Who could ask for anything more?? I can't wait for the littlest girls to really start playing, so fun!!

21 Questions to Ask Your Kid

2012-01-28T00:15:00.000-08:00

I found this suggestion on Pinterest that you should ask your child these questions each year to see how their answers change, here is Ava's first go at it:

1.What is something Mommy alwayssays to you?

“Brush my teeth”

2. What makes Mommy happy?
“Cleaning up the house”

3. What makes Mommy sad?
“That I don’t clean up the house”

4. How does Mommy make you laugh?
“By tickling me”

5. What was Mommy like as a child?
“Toys” (I think she thought I meant “what did mommy like as a child?”)

6. How old is Mommy?
“18” (nice)

7. How tall is Mommy?
“That tall!”

8. What is Mommy's favorite thing to do?
“Clean”

9. What does Mommy do when you're not around?
“Play with Norah”

10. If Mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
“Telling people who you are”

11. What is Mommy really good at?
“Tell things”

12. What is Mommy not very good at?
She couldn’t come up with anything!

13. What does Mommy do for her job?
“Clean”

14. What is Mommy's favorite food?
“Oatmeal”

15. What makes you proud of Mommy?
“You hugging me”

16. If Mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be?
“Sarah”

17. What do you and Mommy do together?
“Cuddle”

18. How are you and Mommy the same?
“Your eyes are brown and mine are”

19. How are you and Mommy different?
“Our hair, yours is darker, mine is brighter”

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?
“Because you hug me and I hug Oreo too, because I love him”

21. Where is Mommy's favorite place to go?
“Red Robin” (um NO!)

It will be interesting to see how these answers change throughout the years. I wonder what Norah has to say about all of this too : )

This Week

2012-01-27T00:14:00.000-08:00

This week has been pretty good.

I have got a lot done & managed to

get the kids out of the house a few

times to play.

We have even decided to give in to

Ava's strong social desire and enroll

her in preschool, albeit only 3 hours

a week, she is still super excited!

I have been on a tear to get this house

organized! Every last cupboard, drawer

and closet better watch out! I'm coming

for you!!!! My mission is to reduce our

"stuff" by at least 15%, I can almost

taste the victory now!

I really haven't been taking any pictures

this week outside of crappy cell phone

ones but I will leave you with this,

because what is a post without photos?

Oh and by the way, Norah can say:

Dada, Kitty, Sit Down, This & several

other sounds that I think are words.

She has even said "Ava" twice now.

But...Mama? Not so much

(ok maybe once forever ago)

MAMA!!!! How frickin hard is that???

Who takes care of you child??

Funny Things

2012-01-25T09:41:00.000-08:00

We've just been laying low over here,
not a lot going on. Everyone is a little
sick but pretty much better now.
I figured I would take this opportunity
to write down a few funny things Ava
has said lately.

Ava "I REALLY like being naughty!"
Me: Why Ava?
Ava "Because it's SO FUN!! I can do what ever I want! And then you yell at me, well that's the part I don't really like, you yelling at me."

Ava told me she is never going to talk to me.
"Ever again??" I asked
No, pretty soon I will talk to you. : )

Ava recently got in trouble for setting her bubble container on the couch, I was explaining to her that furniture is expensive and we need to take care of it, etc. She says "Mom I'm so so sorry!!! Really Mom, I'm so sorry!" I have my back turned to her and I say "That's ok Ava, I forgive you, I'm not mad anymore." She says "Your not mad anymore??" No. "Mom I was smiling while you were mad, the whole time."

Yesterday I was trying to feed Norah a bottle
while Ava climbed right on top of both of us,
that's what she does.

I said "Ava I really don't need two kids climbing
all over me!"

She looks at me for a minute then says,
"Well then you shouldn't of had a baby."

Come live vicariously through us, last chance.

2012-01-23T09:27:00.000-08:00

So this is it, the last installment of our amazing trip

to Puerto Vallarta.

She was LOVING the strawberry daiquiris!

On Wednesday Dad, Angi & I took a bus into

town for a local Art Walk. It was really fun, we

got both a lot of walking and a lot of art in. : )

It felt a little brave as we scoured through the

narrow streets on what felt much like a

scavenger hunt, looking for the next art gallery

on our map, in the dark.

The next day Dad & Jessica went on a 3 hour

zip line tour which I really should of gone on too.

They had a wonderful adventure and I am so glad

they got the opportunity to do it, together.

Next time I must try it too, what a cool thing to do! : )

In the mean time, John & I took the kids on the bus

back into town for our own little adventure.

It was a nice little family outing walking the water

front and checking out the parasailers and all the cool

statues along the beach.

We stopped at a few little restaurants along the way

to soak in the experience. Sadly our little all inclusive

bracelets failed to work for us there, I kept joking that

I was going to wear this bracelet forever, trying to

utilize it at home once our trip was over : )

Back at the hotel we happily reunited with

our all-inclusive benefits.

I'm usually not one to like buffets but this

place actually had a pretty amazing one.

Every morning you awoke to a delicious breakfast,

there with endless amounts of fruit and fresh squeezed

juice, an omelet bar where they made you omelets to order,

these wonderful sauce covered chips that we couldn't get

enough of, hash browns, french toast, really you name it,

they had it.

The dinner buffet was no different, endless

choices and cooks ready to make anything you

desired. There were no less then hundreds of things

to choose from, they tended to do a different theme each

night so you were never stuck with the same old thing.

Ava & I loved the dessert bar, ice cream with

a million toppings. They even had someone

standing by ready to make bananas foster, a

liquor flamed banana saute.

It was really quite lovely.

If all that wasn't cool enough, they had tequila

tasting every night. They would even leave a set

of bottles just out on a table for you to help yourself.

I *might* of added some to my drink here and there : )

We began talking to Ava about how we would soon

be needing to go home. She was sad, she so many

times had said "can we stay here forever??"

But in Ava fashion she looked on the bright side

and thought about the opportunity to chew bubble

gum on the plane again. (It turned out that was less

of a draw when we actually had to leave)

I love this picture with all my heart.

Could she be cuter? It was such a blessing to be able

to spend extra time with this girl solo since Ava was

living it up over at auntie's. Thank you Jessica for that

gift, it was really nice of you to take her in, it made

our trip that much more vacation-y. : )

We took Dad & Angi out to dinner at Le Kliff in an

attempt to thank them for taking us all on this wonderful,

magical vacation.

The place was beautifully situated right on a cliff

with amazing views all around.

The dinner was wonderful! Dad & Angi had actually been

here before but were eager to enjoy it a second time with us.

Ava also got to try Shirley Temples, at home she

mostly has to stick to milk or water so this girl was

in heaven!

Check out this platter of deliciousness!

Creme brulee : )

Such a silly goose!

Our one group shot!

This trip was really more then we could of ever asked for.

Wonderful resort, food, scenery, swimming, drinks, entertainment

& so much more.

But the best part?

Sharing it all with the people you love.

We are so very blessed.

Vacay, bit by bit.

2012-01-21T23:41:00.000-08:00

Each night we slept listening to the waves crashing on the beach,

it was heavenly.

The next day we woke up early, to this smiling little face : )

We had a nice breakfast with our littlest while Ava slept in,

this became our routine as Ava & Jessica like their sleep.

We went swimming of course!

We also played on the cute little

ocean front play ground,

Ava loved it there!

Norah thought it was pretty cool too!

The moon : )

The amazing people that made this all possible : )

Weeeeee! (Or I see London, I see France...)

They had Karaoke, that is Jessica's thing

so we were all excited to watch her!

She did great, we failed to convince Dad to go up : (

We took a boat out to go snorkeling!!

The Night of the Iguana set : )

You nearly didn't need to snorkel, the fish were so viable right from the boat!

It was beautiful!

Best auntie ever!!

Our resort, from the water.

Happiness!!

How cute are they?

Love this!

And this!

Yum!! This salad was awesome!


The resort really did have great food, this was one of my favorites!

So lush & tropical!!

There was at least some form of entertainment every night : )

There is still more to come,

I wish I had a hundred stories to share but really

it mostly consisted of relaxing, swimming, eating

and just plain enjoying our family.

Pure perfection, more tomorrow : )

Still Here....

2012-01-20T11:18:00.000-08:00

I know I am not getting this vacation stuff out very quickly.

For some reason I am struggling with that. It feels like

a lifetime ago already.

Ava loves the snow, even when it's nearly non-existent.

She desperately wanted me to drive her up to Bald Peak where Grandma gets real snow, I told her I don't drive in snow and she said "Put the chains on Mom!!"

Norah is jealous, she really wants to go out there.

Things have felt crazy this week.

Busy getting the household back together

and just getting back in the groove of things.

I cooked two new recipes, that was

pretty fun and inspiring, they both turned out great.

Ava told me she doesn't love me anymore,

for the very first time.

Sadly, I'm sure it won't be the last.

My mind is spinning from several devastating things

that are happening to my close friends.

We are so blessed to have the love & security and health

that we do. I hate to see people hurting around me.

Poor little Ava has been sick since Wednesday.

She had her MMRV vaccine on Tuesday, not

sure if that was what did it or something else but

she has been laid up since and that always

throws things off too.

I had grand plans to get out of the house

every day this week, I feel like we have fell off

the social wagon. The week before our trip I

had sort of quarantined the household, trying not

to expose anyone to any illnesses before we

left on vacation. I fully intended to jump back

in when we got home but it just hasn't happened.

I made an attempt at a playdate on Wednesday

and Ava just laid on the floor and asked to go

home. That was my first clue that she was really

sick. Ok, maybe my third clue but I thought

she would snap out of it when presented with

fun options. I had also planned a playdate

on Thursday and Friday but ended up canceling

both of those.

She moved from the floor to a chair then asked to go home, so not Ava.

The little shorties were wishing they could play more.

Norah kept watching Max walk around, studying the possibilities : )

We did get one fun thing in this week, we

celebrated my Mom's birthday with a nice

little dinner party. That was really fun!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

We love you!!!!

She takes after her mommy :)

A new box = hours of fun!

Next week will be better & I will attempt

to post about the rest of our vacation soon.

I could use a little more sunshine in my life,

even if it is just through pictures : )

Our Trip (take one)

2012-01-17T21:07:00.000-08:00

Ok, where do I begin? After checking in and getting our

awesome room upgrade we headed through the beautiful

property taking in all the amazing landscaping of the

lush & tropical place we would be calling home for the

next week.

We were all nearly speechless as we just

took it all in. We wandered around heading up to our rooms

where the whole family, me & mine, Dad, Angi and Jessica

all took a tour of each of our rooms, just because it was fun,

not because they were different in the slightest. : )

Then off to grab drinks & snacks,

so many options everywhere you look!

Don't like whats on the menu? Grab a

taco from the taco bar or a pizza from the

pizza bar! Don't think your drink is strong

enough? Ask for a triple! What ever

your heart desires, they basically had it!

It was so fun just walking around the place and seeing

just how pretty it was. We had such a nice time hanging

out with Dad & Angi! They were our next door neighbors

and we would sometimes lower Norah onto their deck

and let her crawl into their room : )

My sister was just two doors down, right past my dad so we could all

use our "deck intercom system" to talk to each other, it was great!


Ava was pretty excited about swimming, that was top on her list and she wasn't going to quit asking until it happened.

Never mind that we were all starving or needing little

Norah naps. She just wanted to swim and that was that.

We strung her along for awhile but eventually she got

her way which really was great, the pools are fantastic!

Ava LOVED pushing Norah in the stroller,

she did it everyday, a million times a day

and only stopped when we made her.

Can't say that went over well either. : )

It is pretty cute the role she takes in caring

for her little sister though I must say.

So we just spent that first day with

our jaws on the floor, getting the lay of

the land and turned in early. Getting up

at 3am, which actually meant never going

to bed and a long day of travel had taken it's toll.

Fortunately, the endless cocktails

were taking the sting out of all that.

We made it! We didn't care about much else!

Little Norah tried to drive me crazy on the plane

wiggling and whining non stop but after that

first flight I learned trapping her in the Bjorn

was at least part of the answer, that and constant

snacks. She tended to fall asleep for the last 30

minutes as the plane was descending. Not sure

that is better then nothing since mini naps kill her

but oh well...

We made it! And that plane ride was all in the past!

This little piece of paradise was in our immediate

future and we fully planned to embrace it!

Love the resort and night too, it was lit up beautifully.

I brought this cute little bath tub for Norah,

she loved it! The shower was like rain coming

down from the ceiling, both the kids thought that

was pretty cool!

Little Norah was exhausted! She fell asleep in

my arms. Thankfully the hotel provided a little

crib for her and extra super thankfully since they

upgraded us to this family suite, Norah got her own

room with a door that closes!! Just what a tired girl

needs to sleep well!

We were also really lucky to have my awesome sister

not just next door but next door and willing to let Ava

live with her for the week! Ava got her own little room

and her own little bathroom, she was thrilled!

She was so excited she brushed her teeth over and over

each day just for the excitement of utilizing her own space!

That's it for today, more to come later : )

From Here to There...

2012-01-16T02:37:00.000-08:00

...funny things are everywhere.

We loved our vacation, every single minute of it.

The airplane ride wasn't super fun but I know it

really could of been so much worse.

Once our plane landed we were drove across town,

so many things looked pretty sketchy. We started

to get nervous about our hotel, maybe the pictures

online were deceiving? Maybe it really wouldn't be

that nice? We decided to keep our expectations low

and see how it went.

Then we arrived.

The view from our room

The resort is perfection, lush, beautiful & tropical.

We had a glass of champagne in our hands before we

even got checked in. While sipping that champagne

we were informed that we had all been upgraded to

2 bedroom family suites on the penthouse floor, in the

best part of the hotel!

So there you have it, the first five minutes.

It was such a great glimpse into what was

about to come.

Unplugging

2012-01-06T01:22:00.000-08:00

That sort of sounds like I'm making some stand against

technology to get closer to my family or something.

No. That is not the case.

We will just be in Puerto Vallarta!

It's not that we can't use our phones there,

Verizon would LOVE us to do so,

they would consequently make a small fortune.

So no facebook, no blogging, no texting, no phone calls.

Yikes?? That sounds awful!! How will I survive??

Lets see, beach, sand, palm trees, pools, all inclusive food and drinks,

I think I will be just fine...

We are all super excited!!

Can't really think of much else.

Don't let Ava's serious face fool you.

This girl can't wait to go on an airplane,

chew bubble gum and end up at a resort!

She is so cute, I had her watch all the security

kid videos on the TSA website and she LOVED

them. She is confident that she knows just what

to do to get through the security efficiently.

Ava is ready to swim the second we get there.

She has informed me of this approximately 84 times.

Even though I am unplugging against my will

it really will be a great opportunity to fully

enjoy my family without the distraction of

my little phone/computer addiction.

It will be cold turkey though, I may have to drink

some extra margaritas to cope with the

withdrawals....oh well, what can you do??

On a side note,
about 6 years ago John & I went to Aruba on
our honeymoon. We had the most amazing time.
As we soaked in each other and the overwhelming
amount of fun we were having I couldn't help
but notice all the little families enjoying a whole
different aspect of the same vacation we were on.
We talked about how once we had kids
it would be so cool to be able to do something
like that with them, especially if we could bring
the grandparents to switch off a little with.

That was a little dream of mine and here
it is, coming true.

We are so very blessed to be going on this trip!

We really couldn't be happier or more excited!

See you in a little over a week

with a new picture or two. : )

Sisters

2012-01-05T09:03:00.000-08:00

Ava is super into Norah right now.

I say "right now" because they are sisters,

there is bound to be some bumps in

their relationship.

But right now she LOVES her like crazy & wants to hold her all the time.


She saves her from any dangerous situations she may get herself into...

She knows it's her job to keep her safe.

We have made a point to instill that mentality,

that we as a family have a responsibility to keep

each other safe, always.

She loves her, fiercely. It's the cutest thing.

I'm not saying she doesn't get bugged by

Little Norah ever, but as long as she keeps her

grubby baby paws off Ava's stuff and heaven

forbid doesn't drool on any of it, they are good.

No, scratch that, they are GREAT!

Scared.

2012-01-04T10:09:00.000-08:00

Packing, list writing, panicking.

Five & a half hours on a plane with Norah??

Love that girl but try to sit still with her for 20 minutes

and you will see that we have a major problem here.

She looks innocent enough right???

Hahahahahaha. Ha.

I'm not even worried about Ava. Maybe I should be, but I'm not.

Even waking her up at 4 am is not scaring me

(although it should)

but I think my worry over Norah is over shadowing

any concerns I have with how Ava will do.

It's this Can't Sit Still Girl, Not Able to Sleep in People's Arms Girl I am worried about.

I generally try not to indulge in worrying. What is the point??

The bad thing either happens or it doesn't but worrying about

it only makes it sort of happen either way, if that makes sense.

If your mind is consumed with the fear of something

happening you are basically living it twice, if it actually

does occur.

So I guess I am TRYING not to worry

but rather be super prepared with things

that will make the plane ride go smoother.

We have a 6 hour trip, we will need some

prayers, luck and VODKA for sure.

Super worth it even if it goes terribly,

soon we will be in MEXICO!!! YAY!

Playing with Dad

2012-01-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Norah is 11 months old today.

She has changed our lives in all

the best ways.

I love watching John play with the kids.

He always gives Ava the choice of what she wants to play.

She usually chooses horsey which often turns into wrestling.

Norah's favorite game is putting things in peoples mouths, she thinks it's hilarious.

Ava adores her daddy.

I don't know what Norah is doing here.

I think she is updating her Facebook status letting people know how much fun her dad is.

11 months old

Love these girls!

And love the relationship they have with their wonderful dad!

Happy New Year!!

2011-12-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

What an amazing year!!

Not only did we gain an new addition,

but our happy family became complete.

We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams!

Oh and SNOW makes us happy too!

Happy New Year to you & yours!!

Love to all.

Me

2011-12-30T00:53:00.000-08:00

My mom recently gave me these photos of myself as a baby.

I can't get over how much they look like little Norah!

What do you think?

Birthday Fun

2011-12-29T00:18:00.000-08:00

Here we have it, little chick turned 4.

It was a fun day packed full of all the

things Ava loves, family, friends,

playing, eating sweets, the day couldn't

of been more perfect.

Love our little four year old!!

This is going to be a great year.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Bitter Sweet

2011-12-27T01:12:00.000-08:00

We just rolled over midnight so,
Today is Ava’s birthday.

I couldn’t be more thankful that I have Ava.

She is my heart.

She fills my days with laughter

She challenges me on a daily basis.

She surprises me constantly.

Ava has the best heart and 9 times out of

10 the very best intentions.

She loves, she loves HUGE.

I adore watching her with all the wonderful

people in our life. She embraces them

with such strong pure love.

She IS happy, she is what happiness looks like.

Not every single second of course,

but so much of the time.

This evening we decided to sleep Norah in

her little portable crib in Ava’s room

since Bob & Barbie are staying with us for

a few day.

We let Norah settle in and go to sleep first.

When it was time to sneak Ava in I carried

her into her bed, the little crib situated

right next to her head.

The look on Ava’s face when she saw our

sweet little sleeping baby was over the top

pure joy. She leaned real close to me and

said “Mom, she is just so sweet!” Ava looked

thrilled.

I tucked Ava in and headed out the door,

looking back to see Ava just staring at her

baby sister, completely taken by the love

she has for her, it was the cutest thing.

So today was my last day of Ava being 3,

she tells me she won’t remember being 3,

that she has already forgotten most of it.

I really hope that is not true.

If it is true and she forgets all the details of

this last year together I suppose that is ok.

I think she know just how much she means to

us, details or not. That love we have for her

has become such a strong part of who she is

that no matter what she remembers or forgets

she will always know that she IS our heart.

I don’t know what I ever did to deserve such

and amazing little girl to hold my hand through

life, to make me laugh and love fiercely each day.

But today I am a little sad, because that little girl

isn’t as little anymore.

Four years old, bitter sweet, but mostly

overwhelmingly BEAUTIFUL.

Christmas Day

2011-12-27T00:29:00.000-08:00

Here are the rest of the Christmas photos.

It was such a fun-filled weekend.
I couldn't love my family more or

be happier to have the chance to share the

holidays with them.

Looking over the photos there were so many

great ones I missed, people that should be in here.

But that is okay, sometimes you just have to put

the camera down and live it.

Merry Christmas, I hope your blessings our

as grand as mine : )

The First Night

2011-12-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

We had a lovely 2 days of Christmas.

Thank you Linda, Kim, Martha & Mom for hosting!

Here are just some of the photos from the

first part of this super fun weekend!

More to come tomorrow...

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-24T14:49:00.000-08:00

Since it all starts today for us, our two day extravaganza,

I can say Merry Christmas now.

Plus it's pretty certain I won't have time later.

Last night we got it all caught up and ready for today,

yes there was one major snag.

I had got Ava her main Christmas present off of

Craig's List, a purple princess starter bike.

We just needed to put the training wheels on it,

clean it up a little & it would be good to go.

So last night at 10pm we discovered the lady

gave me the wrong training wheels!

They didn't fit!!

John went out to find her (hopefully) a new purple

bike but it turns out everyone else got there first.

Thankfully he found some new training wheels

that fit just fine. Crisis adverted. Daddy to the rescue!

We had a wonderful Christmas morning just the four

of us. It was perfect. We let Norah sleep in a little

and soaked all the fun up with Ava first. We took

it slow, ate donuts, sipped on coffee & mimosa's

and just enjoyed the wonder of what Christmas morning

is to a almost four year old.

She loved the bike! She has been riding it all around

our house ever since. She also loved the hot wheels

daddy got her, almost as much as him! : )

Norah was next and honestly we didn't do much for

her, what is the point? We got her a few gifts

but she mostly just played with the packaging and

crawled around the house.

Tonight we go to the big family party, then tomorrow

morning we are off to my aunt's house first thing

at 9am and then to my mom's for the rest of the day.

So much fun to pack into two days.

This is not just Norah's first Christmas

but also our first Christmas as a complete

family. I feel so blessed to have this

wonderful family, my amazing husband and

these two perfect, happy little children.

I hope everyone has a truly blessed holiday

and a wonderful weekend.

Merry Christmas!!!

Ready? Um no.

2011-12-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

Things are both coming together & getting a little hairy

over here. My "done" list is MUCH longer then my

"to do" list which is always a good feeling.

It's like when you enter the longest line ever but

then feel a sense of progress & relief when

you look behind you and see that

SO MANY new people have accumulated behind you.

A false sense of awesomeness

but I will take it!!

I stayed up until 3:30am last night wrapping presents AGAIN.

I also re-wrapped the ones Norah destroyed

and found the home of the stack of bows she has removed.

I still have to bake all day today and get a few

details worked out for tomorrow.

Santa will be arriving in the morning since our schedule

is far too busy to accommodate him showing up

on Christmas morning.

So I guess today is officially Christmas Eve Eve.

She actually asked him for exactly what I got her, a purple bike!

If anyone needs a baby fix today please call me!!

I happen to have a little whirlwind of destructiveness that

needs some distraction so I can get some things done!

Oh and a big shout out to my mom who took the kids

over night Wednesday. We enjoyed our time so much!

I wish I could say that the 23.5 hours away made me

miss them like crazy but it was more like nooooooo

I'm not ready to pick them up yet!!!!

Love them, but this girl has things to do!

Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!!!!

Keeping Everyone Safe

2011-12-21T01:59:00.000-08:00

Sometimes she catches her, sometimes she helps her fall.

She really tries to protect Oreo from her.

Keeping a watchful eye.

Don't worry Oreo, I think she saw a shiny object in the other direction.

I'm here for you.

We will get through this, together.

Oh-no!!! Sorry Oreo, I tried.

You just can't trust a baby.

Especially this one.

Love them both.

Yikes.

2011-12-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

Ava is nearly four now.

Wow.

I was looking back on our relationship

through these last four years and it is

funny how things have changed.

When she was a tiny baby,

actually really for the first few years,

I thought she was perfect.

I took pride in that, since I

basically molded her into this perfect

little person.

I would look at her in all her innocence

and loving ways and just not be able

to imagine a time when we would have

any conflict between us.

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Ha.

Well, lets just say her third year was

different.

Ava is still an amazingly awesome little girl.

She steals the hearts of most people that

she meets. She is loving, caring and super

sweet. She loves her friends and family

fiercely. She is happiest when out and about,

always seeking new adventures.

She adores her sister and takes such great

care of her.

Okay now all that being said, she tends

to butt heads with us, her parents, constantly.

It might have something to do with a new sibling

or whatever but age three has been challenging.

Her desire to please us vanished.

She actually finds JOY in pissing us off now,

she thinks it's hilarious.

She is purposely defiant several times a day.

One of her favorite things to say is

"I do things my own little way"

She says it in a sing-song voice,

totally knowing it bugs us. : )

Just as I took credit for her perfection,

I also take credit for all these fun new behaviors.

I am not perfect, in any way, shape or form.

I react poorly and yell more then I should.

I manipulate & bribe whenever I am not getting

my way. I get way too frustrated at stupid

little things.

Mine & Ava's relationship isn't all bad,

we both tell each other we love each other

a million times a day. We enjoy each others company.

We play together and I try to incorporate teaching

into most every thing we do.

Often I find that I end up learning from her.

She is a perfect mirror of who I am, how I am

acting, what I am putting out there.

I'm determined to see better behavior out of Ava

this year. I'm hoping I can help her get there.

I know this starts with me.

I must demonstrate better behavior too.

I'm going to try to be a lot more patient

and stop yelling and losing my cool when

I am frustrated.

It's funny because I was just saying how I

am surprised she still throws fits.

But you know what? When I really think

about it SO. DO. I.

Yikes.

Thankfully she still tells me that

I am the best mommy in the world.

I really want to be that for her,

with all my heart,

for both of them.

Linda

2011-12-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

The best aunt in the world.

Homework? Really?

2011-12-16T00:00:00.000-08:00

Bayli informed me that I needed to do her homework for her,

or more accurately she asked me to write a testimonial about

her for her English class.

At first I was mad.

Homework? Again? What the hell?

But it's Bayli, so really? I can't say no.

Love that girl.

I was anxious to know exactly what was expected of me

in this little assignment. I haven't had to turn in homework

in as long as I can remember. What exactly were they

looking for? How long must it be? How can I get an A???

But sadly they offered no guidelines.

Oh well, just as in school, we wing it right?

Here it is, my ode to Bayli:

Bayli Laine Curl is one of my most favorite people in mylife. I have known her since she was alittle two year old bundle of opinion & attitude. The first thing she ever said in front of mewas an inquiry as to whether I was a monster or not. Despite her initial doubts about myintentions, we became fast friends.

I have had the honor of being a second mother of sorts toMiss Curl and have enjoyed helping guide her into who she has becometoday. Bayli has continued to impressand amaze me as I have witnessed her growing into a truly lovely younglady. She is responsible beyond heryears and carries a heart filled with love and generosity. Bayli is a wonderful student and not just inthe setting of an organized classroom, but in life. She has a thirst for knowledge abouteverything, often collecting random, possibly useless facts. She is eager to become an adult and from whatI know of her, she will be a fabulous one! I couldn’t be luckier to have her in my life.

Of course this is just the 3 minute quick homework
version, I could actually fill pages and pages explaining
just how amazing Bayli is, and even that wouldn't really
do her justice.

Love her, so very much.

Sleepless buy smiling...

2011-12-15T03:46:00.000-08:00

I recently read a little tutorial on getting your

Christmas light photos to turn out super sparkly.

Here are my attempts:

I like this one, even if it turned out crazy.

This is sort of fun too.

Here we go, the twinkle, but it's too far away.

Now we are getting somewhere.

If only I had a tripod!

I could play with this all night, but it's 3:30am, I am sure to wish I had gotten more sleep tomorrow. My constant struggle.

Super fun.


I also got all our Christmas presents wrapped, I even put the bows on.

I made a list, I checked it twice.

There is still a lot to do but this makes me feel better.

Yay me, oh and yay for coffee in a few hours.

Tricky.

2011-12-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Bathing Norah has become a problem.

She's a mover and shaker, a stander-upper and a slipper and faller downer.

Little chick is dangerous in the bathtub.

I spend the whole time yelling at her,

"SIT DOWN NORAH!!"

She thinks she can edge herself all over the tub

and gets herself into all sorts of slippery trouble.

All of a sudden it occurred to me that I could bathe her

in the sink since we got a new deeper one.

It is perfect! It is easier to keep her contained in

this smaller area, uses less water and I can stand

up and manage her perfectly!

She seemed pretty happy about this turn of events!

She had a nice quick bath...

...and I knew exactly when she was done. : )

Deck the Halls

2011-12-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month we put up our tree,

traditionally we always have Jessica over

to join in the festivities, this year Mike

joined us too : )

I love watching the girls play together.

The tree may have some issues but we sure had fun!

Fun at the Mountain

2011-12-12T00:23:00.001-08:00

We just got home from an amazing weekend

with the Macy family, my Sister & her boyfriend.

No surprise that I have far too many photos to share,

here is my attempt at narrowing them down to

just a few : )

Yep, we broke every single sled.

I think that is a sign you are doing it right,

or maybe that you are having lots of fun.

We are so grateful for the opportunity to

have such a lovely place to make

the happiest of memories.