have you ever

played under a blanket with a baby?

soooo much fun.

i have never heard my ave giggle so much.

..oh hello..

i got a bit blogged burned out.

i will do a wrap up of february in a bit.

but, until then......

...i thought this was funny...

(there's always room for laughter. right?)

comfort

i love that my husband ALWAYS reassures me that everything will be ok.

i am a stress monkey and he always, always, always tells me it will all work out.

...thank you husband!...

(i just received a collection notice from a hospital bill 2 1/2 years ago. nothing feels worse than an unexpected debt that you KNOW you paid. and working with a collection agency isn't fun. they do not want to help in any way, shape or form. sigh! i learned a valuable lesson that i need to hold on to every piece of paper for atleast a bajiliion years. and the saga begins.)

i love that my baby always wants her mommy to comfort her when she is upset.

when she falls, she wants mommy.

when she gets a boo boo, she wants mommy.

when she wakes up, she wants mommy.

(well, she wants daddy too. AND monte and gracie!)

things aren't always peachy in the real world and it is nice to always fall back on someone.

that someone is my husband.

for my baby, it's her mommy and daddy.

nothing feels better to know you are needed.

short but sweet

this will be short but sweet.

no husband + a very active baby = one tired mom.

(yesterday was a L  O  N  G day!)

...nick drove from logan to salt lake & we got a good hour with him. better than nothing...

i woke up to some of avery's toys going off at 7 this morning in the front room.

....they're back!

(i have ghosts in my house. a scary movie was filmed here in the 90's & ever since, the house has been haunted.)

i love that my husband has nicknames for me.

it reminds me to not take life too serious and that it's ok for us to act like kids...at heart.

i love that my baby loves to dance.

she dances to everything. especially beyonce.

when we go shopping, she grooves to the music in each store.

at her Little Gym class, she bounces to the music they play during our activities.

(i hope to one day have her in dance classes. a mom can hope right?)

we are off to another day without daddy.

nick has a golf tournament in st george this morning, then a conference in mesquite until friday.

(he left at 3:30 this morning. poor guy!)

so, i'm going to be a lil' worn out by the weekend.

have a great hump day!

see ya!

and to continue with the month of love

i am going to try and continue posting my gratitude for my family for the rest of the month.

the posts may become combined, but i will try.

i love my husband for putting up with my snoring.

(he may not be able to handle the dog's snoring, but he never complains about me!)

(thank you for not making me sleep on the couch.)

i love that my baby already pretends to put makeup on her baby, her dora doll, her bears, me, her daddy or even the dogs. she is already such a girlie girl and it makes her mommy smile! 

(totally unrelated, but still funny.)

best buddies

we have so much fun with these munchkins

(hopefully avery will start to play nice soon!)

how was your v-day?

we had a lovely valentine's day.

we were able to get a sitter on saturday. we went and saw the movie valentine's day (loved it!), grabbed a drink at the wing and had dinner at our favorite local restaurant pago.

it was an awesome date night!

then on the actual valentine's day, we went to breakfast and vegged the entire day. avery took a two and a half hour nap!!! mom and dad took a nap too. (not quite as long, but still!) we were able to go on a walk, thanks to the awesome 50 degree weather! we ordered take out and watched a movie. avery still went to bed at 8 and woke up at 8:30! she must have been pooped!

oh! and avery ate an entire can of gerber spaghetti oh's! her diet is a changin'!

we hope you all had a wonderful vday as well!

we let her have a delicious cupcake. (prep for her bday!)

all smiles after her marathon nap!

dimple doo!

nick being an interpretive dancer on our walk.

ave colored her own valentine. (i'm not kidding!)

a masterpiece!

avery's "other" valentine to her daddy.

want some sketty?

so tired!

i love my husband for being compassionate, romantic and just dang hot!

i love my baby for being curious, for always wanting to share with her mommy & daddy and always wanting to give "loves".

love note day twelve

so my cookies weren't a TOTAL disaster.

they may not look all that pretty, but they are pretty dang good!

i love my husband for supporting me.

he never once said i had to go back to work.

he has never questioned my "extra" purchases at the grocery store. (the baby outfit was on sale. i swear!)

he never questions how i entertain or teach new things to avery.

i love that he loves to support me.

i love my baby's cute little voice.

even if she is whining, it is cute.

i love that i will be down the hall and she will yell out for me. it is as if she is having a valuable conversation with her mommy.

i can't wait for the day that she says i love you mommy.

i hope you all have a lovely weekend!

....baby....steps....

way to go avery!

(sorry it's sideways. i do not know how to change it.)

love post eleven

so, i have come to the conclusion that i am not a baker! this was proven last night while my sister and i were attempting to bake cookies.

i do not even own a rolling pin. is that evidence enough? i have ALOT of work to do before my midget's first birthday.

(which is right around the corner!)

...and to stay on the cooking subject...

i love my husband for always pretending that he likes my cooking.

i can make some great dishes, but i can also FAIL miserably too.

the other night i was cooking a turkey loaf. usually it turns out so yummy, but not so much this last time.

it was HORRENDOUS!

i wouldn't even eat it.

BUT, the husband did. and said it was good.

(either he is a great husband for lying or i am starving him to death & a cardboard box would taste deelish!)

either way, i am thankful he doesn't hurt my feelings and tell the truth.

i love my baby for always wanting to help!

as i have mentioned before she loves to organize, do laundry, help with the dishes or put things away.

it is HILARIOUS!

i betchya she'll be an amazing helper when she is older.

i love my little family!

bessie is RETIRING!

well kids, bessie is about to retire.

it's quite a funny story really.

we had a date "family" night on saturday with our friends sean, erika and coraline. we were planning a trip to vegas for erika's 30th (uhem...25th) birthday in may. i said i could only attend if i could get avery to stop nursing. at that moment, avery smiled and gave erika the most devilish look like "haha, i control things here!"

well, THAT night she refused to nurse. (i thought it was due to pure exhaustion for beating up coraline all night. yes, you heard right. avery literally beat up coraline...all...night...long. she better be careful, or she'll be one less friend.)

then, she refused every feeding since then. so, i had to start pumping more. if you know me, you know i hate loathe pumping! i called our pediatrician and talked to the lactation specialist. (this chick went to harvard, she means business.) she asked all sorts of question & had me schedule an appointment for this morning.

sooooo, at our appointment today, i brought: breastmilk, a bottle, a sippy cup and a sippy full of juice. i had to taste ALL of my milk from the week to make sure it didn't taste salty. (a sure sign i had an infection of some sort. like mastitis.) nothing, it tasted sweet like milk with sugar in it. (weird, i know!)

well, avery threw a tantrum when we went into a nursing position. she won't even look at a bottle anymore. she threw the sippy across the room when it was full of milk. she got the shudders when i gave it to her on my finger. BUT, she LOVED that damn sippy with juice.

so blogger world, my child is OVER nursing. DONE...NO MORE...CAPUT!

i get to pump now. YAY! (insert swearing under my breathe.) well, sort of. i am going to wean myself to pumping only 3 ounces of milk a day. i have to sneak it into avery's food until she is one! but, i also get to start introducing her to whole milk. i get to make smoothie's for this itty bitty midget! lucky girl!

(now please keep the "your child is difficult" comments to yourself. my child is not difficult. she is smart. who wouldn't want juice over milk? i hate milk. i do not drink milk.)

so, bessie (aka: my boobs) is retiring! i am looking forward to the day where i get to go bra shopping. it has been a day i have looked forward to since before avery was born. WOO HOO!

ps: avery has now taken SIX steps! she averages around FOUR every time though!

...don't we all feel this way some days...

the following is for your enjoyment.

(i got a chuckle!)

love stamp day ten

i hope you're not getting sick of me...yet.

i love my husband for always ending a conversation with

i love you.

(even if we are fuming mad with each other and hang up the phone...we always call back and say i love you.)

life is too short for the what if's.

i love my baby's bum! it is the cutest little tush & i love to pinch it!

(i know, a little weird to be a reason why i love her. BUT, it is one thing i love about her!)
(...seriously, how could you NOT love that coooot bum...)

love day number 9

it is almost Vday and i am soooo excited. i'm not sure why, but i am.

i went to the store yesterday and stocked up on baking supplies for cookies and strawberry frosting.

nick has a date on wednesday to go to the jazz game (lucky duck) so maybe i can talk my sis into coming over for takeout and a baking cookoff!

well to continue the month of love, here we go......

i love my husband for leaving me random love notes in the morning.

they are not a daily occurance (which i like, i do not want it to become an expected thing....but rather a spontaneous act.) but i LOVE getting them!

i love my baby for her infectious laugh.

no matter what mood i may be in, she always makes me laugh or smile when she laughs. it melts my heart!

have a happy tuesday!

Love Note 6...7...AND 8

....whew....

the weekend kept me busy. too busy to post on the blog over the weekend. sorry to inconvenience you. ;-)

i'll combine the THREE days into one post.

i love my husband for:

1. his strength (he proved this yesterday by lifting a firefighter over his shoulders. yes, she was female. yes, it was funny!)

2. his wanting to help. i was cleaning the house this saturday and he INSISTED that he helped. he said it is nice sometimes to do the chores. (good husband indeed!)

3. his love of being a father!

he is such a hands on dad. he loves taking avery to run errands on his own. he loves playing with her. he loves reading avery her bedtime story every night. he just LOVES being a dad!

i love my baby for:

1. sleeping through the night. it took her 6 months to be able to sleep 12+ hours a night, but it was worth the wait. she wakes up rested and happy and ready for the day!

2. her sense of adventure. she wants to explore and discover everything! there is NEVER a dull moment in my house!

3. her beautiful BLUE eyes! i absolutely LOVE her eyes! i love looking into them and wondering what she is thinking and how she is perceiving the world.

i hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. we did. (more on that later.)

happy monday!

hey! look what i can do!

yep! this child is growing up on us!

she can now stand for 30 seconds AND can take TWO steps before sitting down.

such a BIG girl indeed!

love post it - numero cinco

(no, i am not mocking you honey!)

i love that my husband gives me good advice. i may not always follow through with his wise words, but i am grateful for them.

i love that my baby loves our dogs as much as she does. somedays, i would like to drop them off on the side of the road due to their naughtiness. (i am only partially joking.) BUT...i know my baby would be devastated if they were gone.

i love that my dogs let my baby play so rough with them. they are best friends.  

this is what we do

we like to stay busy and have fun while we are doing it.

(this all happened in ONE week mind you!)

we go on hot dates!

this is nick's christmas present to himself. it was his fantasy car as a child & was a smart boy and saved for it.

(we only get to take it out on sunny days & with no baby.)

we go to the shooting range. this was my first time in YEARS! i hate guns, but think i did pretty good. i couldn't shoot with nick's 40 or 9 (way TOO powerful for me!). so, a kind gentleman lent me two of his 22's.

we make messes!

have you ever given a child a kleenex box? it is cheap entertainment that lasts hours!

we gave ave her first (of many) pedicures! it was hard but it is so COOOOT!

(she was pointing to her cherry red tootsies!)

we go to The Little Gym every monday & have SOOO much fun!

we let ave have her first rib and she LOVED it!

did i already mention we make messes?

we LOVE bathtime. so much so that we have on twice a day!

we build forts with daddy!