Such a beautiful Weekend!

We had such a fun weekend!! The weather was absolutely perfect, three of Avery's little friends had birthday parties and we still managed to spend sometime just relaxing and playing with little miss.

Friday I left work a little early and had a date with Matt, Avery and Cash.  It was in the mid 70's so we grilled burgers and let Avery explore the backyard for the first time!  I love these warm days in the middle of winter, it's such a nice break from the cold!!  She had a great time crawling around and trying to keep up with Cash!

Saturday our neighbors had a princess party for two of their girls. It was so cute!! All of the little girls wore their princess costumes, I can't wait for Avery to have parties like this!!

We are so lucky to have such great neighbors! They have four little girls, the oldest is seven and the youngest is 11 months.  I know Avery is going to love the Brimberry girls when she gets a little older!!

Here she is with Kadyn, one of the birthday girls!

Me and my sweet little princess

 Avery and Harper.  It was a bit of a challenge to get a picture of these two :)

After the princess party, we headed over to The Trapp's for Kennedy's first bithday!! I still can't believe this little girl is already a year old!!

Kennedy is super busy but she did sit still long enough to dig in to her little birthday cake!! So cute!!

 Melissa, Tatum, Kristy, Kim and Gage enjoying the party!

 Sweet friends!

Avery loved Kennedy's little chair... I think I know what to get her for her first birthday!!

Avery is pulling up on everything now, she just loves being able to stand up on her own!! She had so much fun playing with dadada

Hope y'all had a great weekend too!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Creencia

I still cannot believe that my little sister is married!! She has a husband and they are on their honeymoon!! YAY!! Sadly, I did not get one single picture of the wedding or the rehearsal.  Not one.  Thankfully, their photographer posted a few on facebook that I'm going to steal for blogging purposes.  Stefanie and Brian's wedding was so incredibly beautiful.  They were both giddy all weekend and it was impossible not to see the love, excitement and anticipation in their eyes!! I'm so glad I got to be a part of their special day.  It's always hard to be far from family but when special occasions come up it's even more difficult. 

Stef and Brian got married at The Chateaux in Broomfield, CO.  It was a beautiful, sunny Colorado day.  

The beautiful bride!

The bridal party!  I love this picture, the photographer had Stefanie and Brian stand on the far ends of each balcony so they didn't see each other before the ceremony.

 

All of the guests after the ceremony

Kissing on a Sunday...

 Mrs. Creencia!!!

I love my sister and new brother-in-law so much, I couldn't be happier that their wedding turned out to be just as beautiful and special as their love.  Can't wait to see Mr. and Mrs. Creencia again soon!!

Favorite Things

I love that Avery is starting to discover her "favorite" things!!  She definitely has favorite toys, favorite foods, favorite games and right now, I can't ever imagine forgetting her favorites because Matt and talk about them all the time but I know someday I might not remember as clearly as I do right now.  So...

Avery's favorite food... anything except avocados!! She loves to eat! For some reason it's always a struggle to get her strapped into her highchair (you think she would associate highchair with food) but as soon as she sees her spoon, she starts kicking and reaching, you'd think the poor thing hadn't been fed in days!!  Recently, we've been trying more table foods. She loves cheddar cheese, cinnamon graham crackers, oatmeal, bread, gerber puffs, and little bites of brownie :)

This is the face she makes as soon as the spoon gets close

 Can't wait any longer....

 mmm... lip smackin good!

Avery's best friend... Cash!  She loves her puppy so much!! When we got home from Colorado she hadn't seen him in over a week.  She squealed and smiled when she finally saw him and followed him around (as best as she could) all night.  I love that we have a dog I can trust with my baby.  She pulls his hair, pokes his eye, sits on him... you name it and he just loves that he is getting attention.  They follow each other around the house and if one actually decides to sit down for a little bit, the other is usually sitting as close as possible.

These two love to peek out the front window.  Makes my heart happy every time I see this.  

Cash wishes he could play with the kitchen utensils too..

Life just isn't fair... she gets all of the fun toys.  

On their way back from looking out the window.  Avery has to take a few sitting breaks but Cash usually waits for her.  

Hi Cash! I see you out there!!  

Her favorite toy(s)... purses and shoes!!! Her ultimate favorite seems to be my diaper bag.  It amazes me how long she can sit and play with the diaper bag!! If I make the mistake of setting it on the couch instead of the floor she'll sit next to the couch and cry until I give it to her!   When she gets tired of playing with her diaper bag, she will find any shoe, even if she has to crawl to our bedroom to find it and this will keep her occupied for another 15 minutes or so.  So much for all of the great toys sitting in the corner of our living room!! ha!

Okay, that's all for tonight... time to do domestic chores now that little miss is asleep.


PS - yes, I know I still have my Christmas background up and yes I know it's the middle of January.  My sweet friend Ashley is currently working on a new design for my blog.. she is so talented, I can't wait to see it!!  Stay tuned!

Okay, I couldn't resist adding one more picture of her sweet little smiling face...

This is Me

I have a confession... I'm a bit of a blog stalker.  I just love reading about other people who are in the same stage of life I'm in or have a God-given talent.  Some of the crafting projects posted amaze me, these girls are so talented!!!

I try not to spend too much time in blogland, I have special people in my life who are so much more important than blogger but sometimes I get drawn in.  Anyway, before I get too  far off track, I wanted to share with you (the 10's of people that read by blog everyday) a really great post I read today.  My friend Kim follows this blog called Little Miss Momma.  I love her!! She is amazing with words, has a great eye for photography and makes me laugh!!  So, I've started reading Little Miss Momma's posts and this one almost brought me to tears.  Here is an excerpt of the post that I KNOW I could not have said any better...



Since I was 12 years old,
there have always been things I wish I could change about myself.
About my looks,
my body,
my intelligence,
my personality,
my patience.

Nothing too serious,
just always nagging in the back of my mind.

"Why can't I be as smart as her"
"Why can't I pull that look off like her"
"Why can't my hair look like that"
"Why can't I have her legs"
"Why can't I have those abs"
"Why can't mine be that perky"

And sadly, most of those insecurities had to do with physical appearance, as I imagine is the case for most teenage girls.

But then, not too long ago,
everything changed.
I had a baby.
And that baby changed my perspective.
Made me look at the world differently.
Made me look at my body differently.
Made me appreciate it's power,
rather than focus on what I perceived to be flaws.

The thinning patches of hair represent the nights I lay awake pulling while I worried about little guy (girl) and his (her) sleep condition--because when you love someone, you worry about them.

The stretch marks on my stomach represent the miracle that I brought into this world.

The scar below my chest (on my neck) represents my very brief cancer (blood clot) scare, and my appreciation for life.

The love handles on my back represent the times I chose to enjoy ice cream with my family.

My diminishing golden tan represents my need to be healthy for my family, rather than my need for tan lines.

My recycled wardrobe represents enjoying buying for my little one more than buying for myself.

The new me is living with cellulite--trust me its there, lots of it.
The new me does NOT have her pre-baby body back.
The new me will not be caught dead in a bathing suit.
But the new me is blissfully happy!

The new me has learned to embrace my insecurities.


It's funny, earlier today I was at lunch with a friend talking about these very same things.  Motherhood is definitely a full-time, 24-hour a day job but we wouldn't trade it for the world.  One of God's greatest gifts to the world was mothers.  I say this because I love my mom so incredibly much and know so many incredible mothers, not because of my own mothering skills.  Maybe I'll get there one day :)


Thanks Little Miss Momma for putting my thoughts into words!

What to do

When your baby is sick on a cold, dreary Sunday...

Poor Avery has had a cold since we got back from Colorado.  Last night she woke up in the middle of the night crying and coughing.  She sounded absolutely horrible.  Her little voice was so deep and she just looked miserable.

She sounded equally bad this morning but managed to be in good spirits throughout the day.  By good spirits I mean not crying or fussing too much.  It was sure hard to get a smile out of her though. 

Hanging out in her highchair, eating cheerios, while mommy baked.

Riding her new pony Grandmother and Granddad gave her for Christmas

Helping daddy work

Cuddling with mommy

 

Playing with Cash

We definitely stayed in our PJ's all day... it turned out to be a great day for just staying inside and relaxing.  Surprisingly, I had a very productive day!  One loaf of banana bread, two pans of lasagna and one beef pot roast!! I haven't cooked that much since I found out I was pregnant.  We did find time this afternoon to watch Despicable Me.  It was such a cute movie, I highly recommend it!!

This little girl took a bath and then it was off to bed early to try and get some much need rest!!

No more pictures please!

Avery is going to see the dr. tomorrow morning, hopefully it's just a cold but her cough makes me nervous.  

Hope you had a great weekend!! 

Eight Months

Sweet little girl, you bring so much joy to our lives, I never imagined I could love you this much.  Everyday I think about how much I love this age.  It's funny, I feel that way every month and I'm sad that you are growing up so quickly but each new stage is even more fun than the last. This past month was a big month for you!  You started crawling, you are pulling up on everything, you had your first Christmas and your first roadtrip! PHEW!! It's been a busy month!!

I've been saying for awhile now that I really wanted you to crawl before we left for Colorado. Even though I wasn't personally ready for you to accomplish this milestone I knew everyone would love to see you crawl.  I was shocked when two days before we left your daddy called me at work to tell me you had just out of the blue decided to crawl across your bedroom floor to get to the pink plastic hanger you had your eye on!! After that it didn't take you long to figure out the advantages of being mobile!!   You are such a funny little crawler, you breathe so hard so we always know if you are coming around the corner.  You also enjoy crawling after Cash but for now he's a little quicker than you :).  When you get where you are headed (usually to me or your daddy) you usually try to pull up.  You can't quite get on your feet yet but you can on your knees so I don't think it will be long.

We had such a great trip to Colorado.  You got to meet some of mommy's friends and their babies and hang out with the Nelson clan. I'm so thankful that you do well on a schedule but it doesn't through you off too bad if we don't stick to it.  I think you missed at least one nap probably half of the days we were home but you were having so much fun you didn't mind too much.

You are still drinking four 6-ounce bottles a day and having a fruit/veggie for lunch and fruit/veggie mixed with whole grain cereal for dinner.  You refuse to hold your bottle or feed yourself though!! It is so funny, you are our little bird.  You just sit there with your hands by your side and open your mouth as wide as possible.  I'm starting to wonder if you will ever feed yourself!!!

You've (kind of) learned to wave!! It is the cutest thing!! Sometimes when we wave at you, you will wave back!! It makes me laugh because your wave looks like it is in slow motion and you stare at your hand the whole time!!  Sometimes you'll do it when you're playing by yourself.  Cracks me up every time!!! I've also discovered that you are a ticklish little monkey!

Unfortunately you've spent the majority of the month with a little cold (runny nose and cough).  I feel so bad, your little nose runs constantly but I can't handle how upset you get when you see the nasal aspirator so we just wipe it and give you saline spray if you'll hold still long enough.  You have a second tooth that is about to break through on the bottom with isn't helping matters either.

Ok little monkey, you are sitting in the living room with daddy watching the Cotton Bowl and it is way past your bed time...

I love you so much little girl.  I am so thankful that God has blessed us with such an amazing daughter.

Love you!!

Mommy

PS - You haven't been feeling well all week so sadly a picture you smiling seems to be out of the question today.

Top Ten in Eleven

I'm not really the type to make or keep New Years resolutions.  In fact, if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm not very good at setting and accomplishing goals in general.  I have passing thoughts that seem like great ideas but then life gets in the way and those thoughts become distant memories. So I thought I'd try something different this year.  Maybe if I write my goals down for everyone to see I will accomplish a few, my goal is to accomplish atleast half! 


1. Plant a garden.  This was a goal for 2010 but when my dr. put me on bedrest in March I quickly gave up on this idea.

2. Read 5 books. This should be doable.  I used to read a book in a week, no problem!! Sadly, I haven't read a single book since Avery was born.  I really need to start reading again.

3. Put together a photo album/scrapbook/shutterfly book of Avery's first year.  (this needs to be done by June!)

4. Run a 10k.  I use to run the Bolder Boulder  so I know I'm physically capable of running a 10k.  The problem is finding the time to train and following through on the commitment.

5. Redecorate our guest bedroom.  Right now this room is such an embarrassment I often keep the door closed and when anyone is staying with us I feel the need to apologize, multiple times, for the sad state our guest room is in. 

6. Get involved in a bible study. 


7. Get a massage!  Or two or three :)

8. Repaint the main living areas in our house (or save the money to hire someone to do this!)

9. Be a better mom / wife / daughter / sister / friend.  I have no idea how to measure this but I really want to make it a priority this year to let the most important people in my life know how truly special they are to me. 

10. Volunteer or donate to a charitable organization. 

Bridal Shower

I cannot believe that my sister is getting married in 20 days!! I'm excited for the obvious reasons, she absolutely deserves all the happiness in the world and I think she's found a wonderful man to marry.  But on top of that, the upcoming nuptials gave us an excuse to have a party while I was home (aka bridal shower) and we get to go back to Colorado in two and a half weeks!! 

Thanks to my mom for helping me coordinate and organize the shower, I couldn't have done it without her.  She did open her house to 20 women after all :)

Here are a few pictures of the gorgeous bride-to-be, her bridesmaids and family.

Love you sis!!

Six of the seven bridesmaids

All of the girls

Gifts!

We had a great time, thanks to everyone for coming and celebrating with us!!

Colorado Part II

We made it back to Texas!  We got in at 1:30 this morning after a 14 hour drive.  I am so proud of my little munchkin, she did great in the car.  We left Colorado at 10:30 so she was awake for about half of the drive.  She fussed a little bit before we stopped for dinner but Matt and I took turns entertaining her and luckily she is easily entertained!

We had such a wonderful trip, it was really hard to leave.  It was great to stay for more than a weekend because I actually got to spend some time with friends that I hadn't seen in years.  I had so much fun catching up with my friends that I completely forgot to get pictures of us and our kiddos but I did manage to snap a few of Avery and Lucy.

Lucy is two and half, she was so cute with Avery!! 

 Shawna and I have been friends since high school, it was so fun to hangout and finally meet Lucy!  She decided that she didn't want her picture taken, silly girl. 

For the past month or so I've been hoping that Avery would start crawling before our trip home so my family could see her.  Well, two days before we left she started crawling!! At first she would only crawl to her favorite toys or if I bribed her with a puff.  By the time we left she was really starting to explore and she is definitely very curious and getting into everything!

She is fascinated with cords... this is definitely going to be a problem.  There was just enough room between the table legs for her to scoot through.  And every time we turned around she was trying to get back there!

Avery loves her new toys!!

Exploring the stairs.  I'm so glad our house doesn't have any stairs, makes life much easier!

Showing Grandma how to drive

Such a happy girl!

 

On Thursday morning it finally snowed!! I was really hoping for some cold, wintry weather.  Grandma bought Avery this adorable little snowsuit.  She wasn't very happy when we were putting it on but didn't seem to mind the snow.  She made the cutest little face when the snowflakes would hit her cheeks.  

When the snow stopped falling, the temperatures plummeted.  I think we got down to about -3 Friday night.  

Here is our little snow bunny getting bundled up before heading to Fort Collins to help Stefanie and Brian move into their new condo. 

I'm so glad we were able to see their new place, I can't believe they are getting married in three weeks!! I'm so excited that we get to go back so soon and I can't wait for the wedding!!

What a great trip, I couldn't have asked for a better 10 days.  It was so good to see everyone and I know Avery enjoyed playing with her aunt and grandparents.