I love my husband and daughter!

Dear Nick and Avery,

I just wanted to write you and tell you how much I love you both! You two are the most important things in my life and I am truly blessed to have you both!

Nick, Thank you for sticking by me for the last few months. I know I have been an emotional basket case, but thank you thank you thank you for enduring it and helping me get through it! We may have hard times, good times, crappy times and happy times...but there is no other person in this world I would rather experience them all with. Thank you for all your wise words. I may not show that I am grateful for it all, but I really truly am. You have given me a breath of fresh air and have opened my eyes to see what life and love are all about! I love you husband.

Avery, Thank you for being your momma's best friend! We have so much fun together during the day and have even more fun when your poppa gets home. Thank you also for showing me what life is really about and what is truly important! I am so lucky to be able to spend my days with you uninterrupted. We have traveled so much together and have experienced so much in your short life! We have SO SO SO much for you to see! I love you Love Bug!

I love you Peanut and Midge!!

Love,

Bertnie/Momma

My little family is what my life is all about!!! I am truly blessed to have these two in my life. Not every day is a piece of cake or a walk in the park, but I wouldn't change it for the world. This blog is something for me to be able to go back on and read, remember, cherish and rely on. (If I were ever to forget a memory or special moment.) This is for ME! I have had some eye opening experiences in the last few months and it has made me that much for grateful for my life, my husband and my daughter. I am sorry people feel the need to bash others publicly. I have wanted to sooo badly, but with my husbands support, I have refrained. It would only make matters worse and feelings would be just as trampled on as mine have been. So please, if you do not like reading about our life...move on. Because that is what we as a family are doing...moving on without missing a step.

Halloween and THE World Series!

Aahhh...where do I start?

Our day started off at 6 AM. We all got ready and headed over to the Jet Center to fly out towards our exciting adventure. Since this was Ave's FIRST Halloween, and we were spending it in a rather unusual way, we dressed Avery in her Monkey outfit to surprise the grandparents once we got to the airport. She actually really liked being in the costume. It was warm, soft and snugly.

The plane ride was about 4 hours and 20 minutes. Avery did really really well! I was SO nervous at how she was going to do on such a long flight, but since she was able to crawl all over the plane and had 3 grandparents to play with, she did awesome!

We got to Philly around 2 PM. We headed straight to our hotel, The Ritz Carlton. We had two cars with drivers and of course I left my camera in the other car. I wish I could have taken pictures of the city. It has SO much history and is absolutely GORGEOUS! Once we checked in, Nick, my mom, Ave and I headed out for some shopping. (Dale and Sheri are recouping from a bad back and knee surgery, so they stayed at the hotel to eat.) We stopped at H&M. LOVE this store! I wasn't in a mood to shop for myself, but rather for Ave's. =)

We only had time to shop at two different H&M stores (yes, I said two), run to a deli and grab some baseball paraphernalia. We were warned to not wear our Yankee gear around the city, it is a rough city! BUT, we bought hats anyways and I plopped mine on right away. I got a few snickers and stares, but one guy actually cheered me on!

My mom flew down with us so she could babysit Aver's. (Why didn't I leave her in SLC with my mom, well....Ave is still nursing and this was a short notice trip, so I didn't have enough milk stored.) THANK YOU so much mom! I know Ave loved spending one on one time with you too!

We headed off to the game 3 hours early so we could walk around and gaze at what was around us. It was PURE mayhem! Soooo many Phillie fans. Sooooo much fun! Nick and I could not stop smiling. Poor Dale had a really hard time walking and had to stop every few steps. =( It took us a while to get to our seats, but once we did, we were not disappointed. We were 16 rows behind home plate. And once we got to our seats, the Yankees were practicing. Being the HUGE fans that we are, we went and took a bazillion pic's. (Yes, we were soooo giddy!) With our awesome tickets, we were able to sit in a private area, The Diamond Club, to eat and take shelter from the rain. The game started at about 9:10 PM. It wasn't too cold and the rain couldn't have dampened our spirits. HELLO, we were at the World Series!!!


The game was so much fun. We spotted a bunch of politicians by us: Joe Biden and some one else that I did not know. Ask Nick. We also saw ex NYC mayor Guliani. I was looking everywhere for Kate Hudson. Nada! We were about the only Yankee fans in our section. (I think there were maybe 6 of us.) We would jump up and scream every time the Yank's did good. We would get screamed at and booed, but man it was sooo fun!

The game didn't end until about 1:30 AM and we got back to our hotel after 2 AM. We were up at 5:45 to get ready to fly out. President Obama was flying in at 11 AM and all air traffic is put to a complete halt for hours. We would have been stuck there until 6 PM. (Fine by me!) Ave woke up with a fever and slept a little on the plane. She came down with a mild cold, but was such a trooper. We finally got home and settled back in Logan by 4 PM. What a LONG day!!!!!!! We were exhausted.

We had such an AMAZING time and now that the Yankee's won last night, it's a night we will NEVER forget! Congrats Yankee's on your 27th Championship. We were so lucky to be part of this monumental moment!

***Nick's mom Vickie watched our pupper's while we were gone! Gracie went into heat that Monday, so no boarder would let us board them. THANK YOU SO MUCH VICKIE!!!!

Ave being a monkey and going through Grandma Sheri's purse.

LOVE this one!

The LOVES of my life!

Exploring the plane.

Shopping on Chesnut.

The streets reminded me of NYC.

Our NY Yankee Family! (Ave is the rally monkey!)

Just arriving. SUPER DUPER excited!

Yankees at batting practice.

Nick was as giddy as a school kid!

Nick and Dale.

This was PURE MAYHEM! (HEY...we weren't the only Yankees fans!)

Do you spot Mr. Biden?

For SMASHLEY!!!! (The directv blimp. Inside Joke!)

My boyfriend pretty boy A Rod!

Having fun!

Final Score: Sweet sweet VICTORY!

Sad to leave!!

3 1/2 hours of sleep: CHECK!

Thanks Grandma T for watching Aver's!!!

Hanging out with Grandpa.

Ave's new fave: APPLES!

Playing with Grandma Sheri.

Ave was bright eyed and bushy tailed the morning after. Mom and Dad were TIRED!!!!

2009 MLB World Series

And we are off in the morning to attend the 2009 World Series in Philadelphia! Of course we are routing for the Yankees! We have some stellar seats and will make sure to take a TON of pictures.

Since it is Halloween, we will make sure to take pictures of Aver's in her Halloween costume too!

See you next week. Have a Spooktacular Halloween!

The Midge is 7 Months Old Today!!!

Happy 7 Month Birthday Midge!

(She looks like Katie Holmes in this pic to me.)

Our Little One "Midge" turned 7 months old today! Where oh where has this last month gone? We have been oh so busy playing and learning new things. Avery is soooo soooo determined to grow up on us!

In the last month she:

-Has gained a pound
-Is almost completely wearing 12 month size clothes! Aaahhh!!!
-Has become a fan of mixed veggies for dinner. She now has a three course dinner: Rice w/ milk, Mixed Veggies and a Fruit. I don't know how she fits that all in her tummy, but she does!
-Her bedtime gets earlier and earlier. She goes to bed between 7-8 PM.
-Has started waking up once in the middle of the night to be rocked back to sleep. We think it's due to teething. (No teeth yet!)
-Still is not on any formula. (To her liking, not necessarily mommies!)
-Can go from laying down to sitting up all on her own!
-Can say Momma, Dadda, BaBa....she usually jumbles them all together and has her own Avery language.
-She LOVES the computer and will try to type on it any chance she gets.
-She LOVES remote controls and mommies phone.
-She likes to scare us by standing up in her crib waiting for us.
-Her naps are shorter. =( She takes a 30-45 minute nap in the morning (let's momma get ready) and a 30-60 minute nap after lunch. She doesn't want to miss anything!
-She is officially a CRAWLER! Crazy! It's scary, yet fun. I'll leave the room and tell her to come find me and she will try to crawl to where my voice is coming from. Smart Cookie!
-Her favorite place to crawl is mommies closet. She wants to EAT all my shoes. Yuck! Still working on that one.
-She can also pull her self up on furniture. She likes to stand against the sofa. She learned to stand against her walker and try to walk around it. Hasn't been successful yet. We have had many many scary spills. Kids heads are sure tough!
-She got a rocking snail. (Instead of rocking horse it's a snail. I found it at a home consignment store for $29 and put some elbow grease into cleaning it!)
-She is a BUSY BUSY girl. When dad gets home from work, usually momma passes her along to dad so she can have a grown up conversation on the phone or try to clean up the house after all the messes we make all day! Who knew a 7 month old was such a handful?

As you can see, Midge is growing up...FAST! Next thing you know, she'll be asking for the keys to the car. Avery is so fun to be around. I love being able to stay home with her. We are also trying to learn sign language together. They say a baby will pick up on it faster than an adult. I believe it!!! But, we will continue to try.

Here are some pictures from our Love Bug through out the last month:

We finally purchased a high chair. This thing is a lifesaver! I can wheel her around while I clean and she gnaws on a biscuit. =)

Kisses from poppa!

Avery LOVES her poppa! She loves giving us kisses!

See Cookie Monster in the background? THIS is Ave's new favorite friend. He must go everywhere with us! This is her in her walker. She's used to a jumper, so she tries to jump in it. It's funny!

The Rocking Snail. (Notice Mr. Cookie Monster?) We have also had many many spills off of this snail. We are trying to install a seat belt.

Standing with her walker. Shortly after I took this, she face planted. Takes after her momma!

Lovin' Poppa Time!

Telling one of her MANY stories!

The infamous "Avery Scowl"

I LOVE this smile!

Toys!

She now sits in the high chair at restaurants AND she can suck out of a straw. (She usually sucks in way too much, so we do it this way instead.)

Miss Midge crawling. This is her warm up position. =)

Finally...An Update!

I am probably the BIGGEST ditz and I lose just about everything these days! I thought it was bad when I was prego and blamed it on being prego. Well, it only got worse. I am now blaming it on being purely exhausted!!!

Here is what our October looked like. I'll spare you a novel, and we will have a picture story:

Nick's friends, Jeb and Shelley and their 2 year old son Alexander, flew in from Arizona for our BBQ Shindig. They are now MY friends too. I LOVE these guys and can't wait to go visit them in May!

Andy, Mandy, Alex and Connor.

Ryan, Chalene, Gage and Gavin.

Avery with her Great Grandpa Bob. He flew in on Saturday afternoon from Seattle and flew back out Sunday morning! Thank Grandpa. We miss and LOVE you!!!

Mike and Andy

Avery getting kisses from Alexander. So Sweet! He is such a handsome little guy!

Nick was trying to prove to me that he is a natural with two kids. (Good luck getting another kid from me for awhile babe! ;-))

Nick and his mom Vickie

Nick, my Grandpa Roger, Me, Ave and my Grandma Donna at our BBQ. It was also her birthday!

Nick, Me, my Grandma Wendy, my Grandpa Neil and Ave

Ave with her 2nd cousin Ashlynn. She just turned 3!!

Nick's cousin Ryan and Amy just had their baby September 30th. Welcome to the world Andrew!!

Avery now LOVES bath time so much, she hates getting out!

This little tyke is now on the move! YEP, she is CRAWLING! YIKES!!!!

(I still need to download pictures from my OTHER camera, so if you see some random pic's pop up in the next week, don't be alarmed.)