The Tinkerbell Party

Avery had a fun, little Tinkerbell party for her friends. She originally said she wanted a green cake, but to my knowledge a green cake mix doesn't exist, not to mention I wasn't sure I wanted to eat a green cake. But she quickly picked out a 'polka-dot' cake (funfetti) for her second choice. And then she got this really big Tinkerbell candle to go on top

For the games we played pin the wings on Tinkerbell. The kids really seemed to enjoy this. I bought the poster for super-cheap at Wal-mart and then cut the wings out of some sparkly scrapbooking paper. After a couple of rounds of that game we moved on to making the ladybugs. In the Tinkerbell movie they have to get the ladybugs ready for spring by putting the spots on them, so I made little ladybugs out of construction paper and then went through all of my kid-crafty stuff to get things to decorate with. We set up Avery's little table and the kids did a great job of getting their ladybugs decked out.

Then came time for cake and ice cream. All the kids were pretty excited for the cake. After cake we did presents. Avery was thrilled when she got some more Littlest Petshops from her friends. And Diana made the cutest set of scrubs for Avery! They are being hemmed up right now, but I will take a picture when we get them back. She also got some My Little Ponies and a set of Tinkerbell sheets for her bed.

The kids were all really cute and well-behaved and it was fun to have their parents (our friends) over too. Avery gave all the kids big hugs before they left and we passed out their Tinkerbell goody bags. This made the kids really excited too. Noah held his for a couple of seconds with a grin on his face and then exclaimed, "And there's even stuff in here too!" I guess just getting a Tinkerbell bag was exciting enough :)

Turning 3

Avery had a great 3rd birthday! Thank you to everybody for the phone calls and the presents. I think Avery was a little overwhelmed with the excitement and wasn't too interested in talking on the phone (not that she loves it on any other day), unfortunately, but we really appreciated the calls.

All day we kept saying to Avery that she was '3' and such a big girl and she would reply that she was almost 3. We would say, no, you are 3! Today is the day! And she would still say, 'almost.' We found out that she wasn't 3 until after her birthday party. Then she would say she was 3.

Avery got so many fun presents. Granny sent her some birthday money and Avery had great fun going shopping and picking out some Littlest Petshop animals. And grandma Louona and grandpa Tanner sent her a beautiful new bedding set with the cutest flowers to hang on the wall. I am so excited about this gift and so is Avery. She had told me a few times now that she can't wait for her room to be pretty. She loves the flowers most of all. I think it's the glitter :) I already have a few ideas for things that I am going to make to accessorize her 'new' room.

Grandma Nette and Grandpa Dave sent her the American Girl Bitty Baby starter set. The baby is darling, but the starter set is on backorder for a couple more weeks, so we will have to wait to open that. But Avery has enjoyed holding and playing with her new baby. We looked at the starter set on-line and I showed her pictures of all of the things that are coming. She seemed really excited to get some clothes and a backpack for the baby. She was interested to see what was underneath the baby's jammies and so we undid the velcro. Underneath is a little cloth diaper. Avery thought that was pretty funny.

Al and I gave Avery a princess bike with the matching helmet and knee pads. Avery was just so excited! She opened the helmet first (we had the bike hiding in the garage) and she couldn't wait to put it on. When it was all secure she said that she needed a bike. Then Al went to the garage and brought it in. Her little face lit up and she smiled so big. She is still working on the peddling and steering, but she loves being up on the bike and riding around. We have been blessed with some warmer weather finally and so it was the perfect weekend to get a bike. Yesterday we took Avery to the park to ride on the trails.

Happy 3rd Birthday!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Avery!!! Avery has been so excited to turn 3 years old and be a 'big girl.' She has been talking about it for weeks and tells anybody that she runs into, including strangers, when her birthday is and how old she'll be.

We love you very much Avery! You have changed so much over the last 3 years. We hope you have a great day and a fantastic 3rd year!!

Sewing Projects

Okay, I think I am all caught up on my blogging now...

Over Christmas break I worked on these two blankets with my mom and my grandma Louise. These are the fabrics that I bought the day after Thanksgiving. I am really happy about the way the blankets turned out. I finished the boy one first because I just had a feeling...I just love the teddy bear and puppy fabric on James' blanket. Then I finished the watermelon and cherry one and gave it to Avery. She was pretty excited. She calls it her 'special' blanket. She calls the one we made for her last year her 'special' blanket too, so now she says she has two of them. She has been sleeping with both of them on her at night. I think it must be pretty cozy under there.

Going Sledding

We took Avery sledding several times in between Al's travels. She had a blast! She didn't even mind walking up the steep hills because it meant she could stomp around some more in her boots. My job was to sit in the warm car and take pictures. It was fun to watch everybody enjoying themselves. Everybody took turns taking Avery down the hills. Towards the end she rode down some tame hills by herself.

Every time we would come home from sledding Avery would talk about her adventures for the rest of the day...especially the time she hit the 'big bump' when she was riding with Grandpa Dave.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Avery had a great Christmas this year. She was really into it and was very excited for Santa to come. One of the pictures is of Al carrying Avery down the stairs to see if Santa came. When she got to the bottom of the stairs we told her to run and check. She bypassed the pile of presents and instead made a dash to the fireplace. Then she stuck her head in there (it wasn't turned on)and said, "yep, he came!" It was really cute.

Avery finally got the hang of opening presents this year, which made Christmas morning even more fun. She was really excited about all of her gifts, especially the dollhouse and all of the pieces that came with it. Santa was really busy this year wrapping all of those tiny little packages that held lamps, chairs, etc.

I think the biggest hit for Avery was all of the additions to her Littlest Pet Shop collection. She loves those little animals and the clubhouse that Grandma Louona gave her. She has played with it every day since. She also loves her princess dresses that Grandma Nette and Grandpa Dave gave her. I love when she gets all decked out in her gowns.

I just had to get a picture of Avery surrounded by a lot of her treasures, dressed up in a new princess dress, holding the pirate ship and watching Ice Age. It doesn't get much better than that.

Playing in the Snow

So, I am a little behind on blogging about our trip to Utah...

Avery absolutely loved the snow. She would have gone out and played in it several times a day if I had let her. I think her two favorite things to do were making snow angels and just stomping around in her boots.

Tap and Twirl

Yesterday Avery started her 'Tap and Twirl' tap dancing class. It is another class given through the city of Saint Charles and it lasts for 6 weeks. Avery was super excited before class. When we were in Minnesota we went with Allison to one of her dance classes and Avery was mesmerized. She just kept asking me if she was going to dance like Allison does. Al has this week off and so he was able to go to class with us.

There are about 8 kids in the class, all girls except one boy, and that one boy is wild! He doesn't really do much but run around. Al and I must have both prepped Avery about listening to what her teacher says because on the way to class she told us she was going to listen to her teacher and then periodically during the class she would call out, "I'm listening to my teacher, mommy!" Avery actually did do very well with listening to her teacher. I think it is because she was on the older side for the class and also because she goes to nursery every week and is used to listening to a teacher. The youngest girl in the class is LDS too and she did really well listening to the teacher also. I think nursery has something to do with it...they are already used to a little structure at such a young age.

Avery had a grin on her face the entire time, pretty much like the grin in the picture where they are holding hands in the circle. She loved every minute of the class. Yesterday they practiced walking in their tap shoes, marching, toe tapping, hopping, toe pointing, etc. Most of the little girls were very attached to their moms and so the teacher had all of the moms come and help their girls out. As you can see in the one picture I am getting a big kick out of the whole thing. I kept looking at Al on the sidelines and were were just laughing the whole time. It was just so cute!!

Avery really liked her teacher, Miss Marla, and tried to be by her for most of the class. When they were doing stretches Avery either sat right in front of her or right behind her. Miss Marla said Avery was her little buddy. At one point they were standing and doing circles with their arms. They did this for a while and then Miss Marla told them to go backwards, as in reverse the motion of your arms. Well, Avery took this to mean that she was supposed to stand backwards, so she turned around with her back facing the teacher and kept doing her arm circles. Al and I just laughed and laughed. That is the picture that I took of Avery's back.

When class was over Avery asked a few times if we could go do dance class again. We told her that we would be going back next week and she was pretty happy. Miss Marla wants the kids to practice throughout the week, which I don't think we will have to bother Avery too much about. She is loving this.

Some Ultrasound Pics

I tried to take pictures of the ultrasound pictures to see if they would come out. So I am posting the ones that turned out the best. There is a picture of James' profile, one of his legs, and the other one is of his fingers fanned out.

It's A...

So, it's been a long time since I've posted. We've been out of town for quite some time, battling a vicious stomach flu and a cold that lasted over a month. Not to mention enjoying the Christmas holidays...more about that later.

Anyway, we had our ultrasound yesterday and I am so happy to announce that we are having a BOY!!!

We have a lot of ultrasound pictures, but no scanner :( We've been shopping already and have picked up some really cute boy things! I can't wait to do more shopping.

Avery talks a lot about 'the baby on the TV.' We took her to see the ultrasound yesterday and she was pretty fascinated. When Al was tucking her in last night she said, 'Daddy, do you remember the baby's feet?' Then she told me that we went to the hospital because the baby needed a check-up. She has been really cute about the whole thing.

My First 'Real' Black Friday Experience

Today, for the first time in my illustrious shopping career, I truly participated in Black Friday. I have been shopping the day after Thanksgiving before, but not until late in the morning when the crowds have died down.

This morning, in the freezing cold pitch black, Jen and I made our way to Wal-Mart at 4:30 am. We were on a mission. Al has been wanting a laptop forever and we found a fabulous deal in a Wal-Mart ad. The nice Wal-Mart employees in Minnesota let us wait inside for the madness to start, instead of freezing in a line outside. Wal-Mart was already wall to wall people and Jen and I grabbed a cart and sped back to electronics. We quickly ditched the cart when we saw how impossible it was going to be to maneuver our way around. There were towers, row after row, of electronics wrapped in black plastic, stacked on palettes, waiting for the 5 o'clock go-ahead to reveal what was inside. Jen and I elbowed our way through the crowds, trying to spot where the laptops were hidden. We decided to divide and conquer, keeping in touch over our cell phones. Jen finally got the 'in' on the laptops and discovered that they were being handed out only at the electronics register. They were being safely kept behind the counter. So she held a spot in the chaos that was considered to be the 'line' and I waded through carts and people and finally spotted Jen. It was very close quarters there and I found myself sandwiched between a guy reeking of B.O. and a family emitting some kind of cabbage/B.O. combo scent. It was a little much for me at 4:45 in the morning and I tried super hard not to gag. You girls who are pregnant, or who have been pregnant, know what that heightened sense of smell is like...

5 am finally rolled around and the electronics were flying off the shelf. The mass of people closed in and I fought to hold my ground. Jen could see that I was capable of handling the situation and so she ran off to get her V-smile travel/gameboy type things. It was finally my turn at the register and I was able to get the laptop for Al!! They asked if I wanted the 2-year warranty thingy and I buckled and said okay. I wasn't prepared for that question and so Al and I hadn't discussed whether it was a good thing or not. I blame the decision purely on waking up at 4 and having to inhale cabbage B.O. Luckily it didn't add very much to the total.

I took off with the laptop and found Jen and we headed to the mile-long line. We grabbed a few things as we went (tupperware for Jen, a crock-pot for me for my birthday) and reached the end of the line. Al texted me at this point, wanting to know if I had gotten his laptop. I replied that I had, but that he owed me huge! There I was, almost 4 months pregnant, elbowing my way through in my sweats and no make-up, in the middle of thei night, chomping on pretzels trying to stave off hunger. But it was all so exciting!! I love getting good deals. Happy Med-school graduation to Al!!

The person in front of me in line got a text message from her friend that said, "Black Friday! Yes we can!!" I got a good laugh out of that one.

The line to check out was ridiculous, but Jen is a wonderful partner in crime and she scouted out a great spot for us in a different part of the store and we were able to make it out pretty quickly. We jumped in the car and headed to Target to get some more cheap stuff. Then we were off to Jo-Ann fabrics. Jo-Ann fabrics was insanely busy as well. No joke, people had 30+ bolts of fabric in their cart, some people taking up two carts with all of their bolts. And they weren't just buying a yard here and a yard there. We are talking 5-10 yards of each flannel and fleece that was in their cart. Jen was just going along for the ride at Jo-Anns as I ran around gathering the flannels I needed to make two baby blankets. I needed 12 different fabrics, but just 1 yard of each fabric. We could tell that the wait was going to be insane. My number was H 17 and when we got there they were on G 17. We had to wait for all the way through G 99 before they even got to the H's. We knew we were in trouble when we had been there an hour and they had only gone through about 20 numbers. I found myself multiple times wishing they would just let me cut the fabric myself at one of the free stations and I heard lots of other women muttering the same sentiment. Jen decided to leave me in line so she could head to Gymboree to get in on their early bird special. We played phone tag so we could update each other. Jen got me an amazing deal on a fleece outfit for Avery while I plodded along in my line.

I finally decided to just drop the whole thing and just go to the express line, which was still an hour wait, and where you are limited to two fabrics. I decided I would just pick my favorite two and leave the rest behind. I was in that line for about 45 minutes, just one person ahead of me, when a manager came and informed me that I was in the wrong line. I told her my plan and she nodded and said that I could take my two fabrics back to another counter that they had opened up. I pushed my cart to the back corner of the store, which was pleasently empty. A nice looking older lady was waiting for me. I picked my two fabrics and placed my order. The lady eyed my full cart and asked if I wanted my other fabrics cut. I asked her if she would get in trouble and she said maybe, but she didn't care. I felt kinda guilty that I had somehow scammed the system, but was elated at the same time. I quickly handed the lady each bolt as she finished her cutting, waiting to get caught, but we didn't! When I was just down to two fabrics the manager ambled back to check on things. I have no doubt that she saw my mounting pile of fabrics, but she did not say a word. My new friend finished cutting my last two fabrics and I was off to wait in the check-out line. Before I left I thanked her profusely for her help. She was a life-saver! By the time I got in the check-out line I had been waiting for over 2 hours to have my number called and they were still just on G 63. It would have been another 2 hours if I had had to wait in the other line. It was all worth it when I found out that I had saved over $52 in fabric. I would have never been able to afford the blankets otherwise. Now I will be able to make two baby quilt/blankets for under $10 each.

After Jo-Ann Jen and I hit the Burger King drive-thru to finally get some breakfast. Then we headed to the mall to check out Ann Taylor Loft. After a little shopping there we headed home to show the boys our treasures. Al had tunnel-vision for the lap-top, as did Derek, and I don't think they came near to reaching the level of excitement that Jen and I did over our successes. I am still smiling over it all. Jen and I took some much needed naps and I now I am taking my turn on our new laptop, typing up this blog. What a day!!!

Avery has something she wants to say...

We are so excited to announce that we will have another addition to our family!! I am just a couple of days from finishing the first trimester. Today I had my second doctor's appointment and I got to hear our baby's heartbeat! I had an ultrasound 4 weeks ago and was able to see the baby moving around and see the heartbeat at that time. Everything looks/sounds great!!

I am hoping to avoid the Cholestasis this time around. It made for a miserable last trimester. I felt awful and the worrying was off the charts. Not to mention that I got to know my way around the hospital super well with my 3 appointments a week. But only time will tell if I get it again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't!! The only good thing is that if I do get it than the baby gets delivered 2-3 weeks before the due date, and I'm all for shortening a pregnancy ;)

Anyway, as for now the due date is May 22nd!!!

Halloween in Minnesota

Here is a picture of my niece and nephews in Minnesota, or Derek and Jen's kids. It's Allison, Dylan and Ethan.

Aren't these costumes great?!? Jen made them all. I just look at Ethan and have to laugh. What a riot.

Halloween in STL

Avery had a great Halloween. She's been asking for the last couple of weeks if she could go trick or treating. Anytime we would see some Halloween decorations on somebody's porch Avery would say, "Mom, can we go trick or treating?" I think it was a long wait for her :)

She absolutely loved her costume. I think she would wear it every day if I let her. And she loved getting to wear a little bit of make-up on her face. We had a ward trunk-or-treat on Thursday night. There weren't too many cars there, but Avery still had a great time. The ward had a table set up with hot chocolate, cider, and donuts. Al and I took Avery around to the cars and then she spent the rest of the night either chasing or being chased by Spiderman. Spiderman is her friend Kaysen.

Al took the day off from work on Friday (ha ha ha) and so we got to spend the whole day together. We ran some errands and just enjoyed being together. That night we had Melissia, Finn, and Mike (Melissia's dad. He's in our ward and Diana was out of town)over for dinner and then we all set out to go get some candy.

The kids loved trick or treating. Avery had a blast. She got so much candy I don't know what we are going to do with it. Not to mention that we bought too much for the trick-or-treaters and still had two unopened bags of candy when the night was over. Avery's little pumpkin full of candy got so heavy, but she was determined to carry it on her own until the very end. Then I finally convinced her to let me hold it.