MeRrY ChRiStMaS!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas, I know we did. Here are just a few pictures of our Christmas day. Avery didn't care to much about opening her gifts, more with playing with the paper that was coming off the packages. She did like the little toy train we got her though. It is suppose to encourage crawling, although she basically is crawling. It's more of an army scoot and crawl combined. I'm just glad she isn't crawling on her back and pushing with her head anymore, we thought she was going to break her neck doing it that way. I apologize for not blogging much lately, but we have been really busy with moving into our new house and getting things ready for Christmas. I will post soon about our family and my little Avery that is just growing like a weed. She already has a tooth and 3 more breaking through, it's crazy how time flys. Avery with her toy train, mommy and daddy gave her.

Avery on Christmas night eating her dessert from her Aunt Lindsay.

VERY, VERY MESSY!!!

In Memory of Grandpa Thompson

My Great Grandpa Thompson died yesterday at the great age of 100. He wasn't suppose to even make it through November let alone until his 100th birthday on December 2nd. What a trooper! And he truly was during the past little while as his health had been declining. He was doing fair until he suffered a mild stroke in November and lost control of his left side, something he feared deeply. But we all knew he really wanted to make it to 100. In October he had began to plan the big birthday party to celebrate his 100 great years of life, but it had to be canceled after he had the stroke. But that stroke wasn't going to stop him from making it to the big day and so he did. Truly a man of his word. I have such fond memories of my Grandpa and I am so glad that my daughter got to meet him. My grandpa told my dad that this was the 5 generation picture he was looking forward to the most (see the bottom picture). I can't remember a time when my dad wasn't working for or helping my grandpa whether it was taking care of the horses, fixing things at his house, or in the last days getting him into bed at night. My dad had such a great bond with him and loved to take care of his grandpa. I will miss my visits to his house each time I came to town. But he was such a great man and I will never forget that. If your ever in Roy and are by the Aerospace Museum look for the Thompson Gardens right there by it, it's dedicated to my Grandpa. You will be missed by all!! Avery with her Great Grandma Meenderink and Great Great Grandpa Thompson.

5 Generation picture. Me, my dad, my grandma Meenderink, Avery, and my great Grandpa Thompson.

HaPpY HaLlOwEeN!!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween, I know we did. As you can see Avery was a pretty ballerina for her very 1st Halloween. We went to our ward party and had soup for dinner and then did a trunk or treat in the parking lot, then after we ran out of candy it was off to Nampa to visit Kyle's parents and neighbors to show off our beautiful ballerina!! Isn't she a cutie!! We got lots of compliments on her cute costume!!

This is my favorite picture. She is soooooo cute!!

Happy 50th Mom!!

This weekend my mom celebrated her 50th birthday!! We decided we would surprise her with a trip down to Utah to visit and celebrate with her. Me and my dad worked out a plan so that when we got there I would put Avery on the door step and my dad would tell her a "special package" had arrived for her. Well when she opened the door and saw Avery she started to scream she was so excited to see us, but mostly Avery!! It was so fun to visit with all my family and to be together to celebrate such a wonderful mother!! I love my mom with all my heart and am so grateful God sent me to her. She is so good to me and Kyle and even better to my little Avery. She loves that little girl to pieces and spoils her to death. She is such a wonderful grandmother and mother. I love you mom and I hope you had a fabulous 50th birthday!! Here is picture of my dad and Avery on my mom's birthday. We had such a great day just hanging out and doing a little shopping. What a great weekend!!

Here is a picture of my brother Lynn and his wife Tory and there niece Braylyn and nephew Denton and Avery in the middle of them. They feel like my niece and nephews some times because they love to come and visit my parents with them. They are the cutest and I'm glad they were all able to come and visit us while we were there.

Here is the birthday girl and her "special delivery". Avery loves her Grandma and her Grandma's yellow dog. We always love to go to Utah and visit. I LOVE YOU MOM!!!

House Update...

Sorry it has been so long since I've blogged, but things are getting busy with the house getting finished up and trying to get packed up for the big move. So this will be short, but I thought I would show you some pictures of how the house is coming along. Hope you enjoy, we really love how it is turning out, it's better then we expected.
This is a picture of the front door and the windows to the nursery. The stone turned out really good. Notice the speakers at the top left of the pictures. We had the electrician install into the whole house including the courtyard a high tech sound system so you can plug in your Ipod and listen wherever you are in the house. I 'm sure I will have a hard time learning how to use this. Here is a picture of the backyard and the covered patio. Avery already has a sand box to play in (not pictured), I can't wait for her to be big enough to play in it.

This is a picture of the living room. They were still working on putting the granite and mantle on the fireplace when I took the picture. We just bought a 46" flat screen to put above the mantle. It should look really nice after it gets finished and installed. The door on the side is going to be Avery's playroom/toy box under the stairs.

Here is a picture of my kithcen. This is probably my favorite room in the house. It turned out so good with the different color of cabinets. I LOVE IT!!

Tahdah...this is the front. We still haven't got a rod iron gate for the front, but we love how it has all turned out. In our subdivision they require you to have 18 shrubs/trees in the front yard. I think that is a little much since I don't have much of a green thumb, but let's just hope they make it through the winter.

Fun Trip

We had such a fun trip to Utah last weekend. We got to see all my family and visit with them while we were there. The trip down was very nice, especially because I didn't have to drive. I got to sit in the back seat and take care of the 2 babies who either slept or played most of the time and watch Disney movies with the older girls. Seriously FUN!! We did a lot of shopping while in Utah, my parents spoil Avery to death!! I guess thats what grandparents are for. Avery got a lot of cute outfits for the fall and winter and even I got a few things for myself. We also went shopping for a Halloween costume for Avery. We found a really cute princess outfit at Babies R Us that I thought was cute, but she kind of looked like a cone head with the hat on, so we decided she would be a ballerina. We found a really cute tutu and crown for her to wear. Thanks Mom and Dad for all you do for Avery and I. We had so much fun staying and visiting with you, hopefully we can come again soon!!! WE LOVE YOU!!Here is Avery and my sister at Babies R Us trying on the princess costume. What do you think does she look like a cone head?? Those cheeks are so big I had a hard time tying it around her head.Here she is in her tutu and crown. Not the best picture but these were taken with my phone. She is gonna look so cute on Halloween night.

Quick Trip To Utah...

I am making a quick trip out to Utah tomorrow through Sunday. My friend Kristen Bice is from Utah and is taking her 3 kids out there to visit her family and invited Avery and I to come along so she wouldn't have to drive alone. And of course I said yes, because it's always nice to come and visit the family. Hope to see some or all of you while I'm there!!

6 Month Appointment at 7 Months

Avery had her 6 month appointment on Monday, yes I know she is 7 months. I'm not really sure how we got that far behind on her appointments, but at least I'm taking her right(I think it was the receptionists fault anyway, she scheduled it wrong)!! Well Avery is now 17 lbs 12 oz. which is the 65th percentile for her weight, she is 25 & 3/4 inches long which is the 25th percentile for her height and her head is the 55th percentile. All and all she looks good, just has a little runny nose and cough but that could be from her teething, so we just keep her propped up at night and the humidifer running. The doctor said if it is a cold it should pass in the next week then I am going to have to make her cry it out again at night, because whenever she gets sick it throws her nighttime sleeping off, but her naps during the day have improved so that's good!! Can't complain there I have been getting much more done throughout the day!!

Fun Pics

Sorry I have been neglecting my blog these past few weeks, I haven't been feeling well. Avery and I both got the stomach flu two weekends ago and then this past weekend I ended up in the Emergency Room with a kidney stone that won't move. So needless to say it's been an interesting couple of weeks. Kyle has been helping out a ton with Avery while I haven't felt good and I'm glad that when I have gotten sick it happened on the weekend when he can be home to help.
So the other day after resting I came out of the bedroom to find Avery with a new toy on her head. Dad gave her a cereal bowl to play with and somehow it ended up on her head!! Too cute, and now it's her favorite toy. Avery is such a daddy's girl and I love it!! It's so fun to see them play and bond and it gives me a break from time to time. She does love her mom too!!
Another shot of Avery and her "hat" in her exersaucer. She also loves to play in her exersaucer.
Avery already loves chocolate like her mommy. It's fun to feed her new foods to try and I know I probably shouldn't feed her chocolate, but she was basically grabbing the spoon out of my hand. So we shared a chocolate brownie...mmmm good!!!

Project...

I love putting cute bows in Avery's hair and now I know how to make them. A lady in my ward makes them for her daughter and was willing to show me how to do it. It is pretty hard if you don't know how to tie a ribbon or bow, but it was fun to learn. I made 2 of all of these one set for Avery and the other for a friend of mine who is having a little girl in a few weeks and is having a hard time getting into "girly" mode because she only has boys. So I hope these bows for her help her start thinking "girly"!! I know I don't have a hard time. Part of what is so fun about making these bows is picking the ribbons. It's so fun to put 2 and 3 of them together. I still need to make a blue one that is about the only color I left out.

I also made this cute binkie clip at another of my neighbors/friends house. I have some super crafty friends!! She has made 2 for Avery so I went over to her house and put this one together for my friend. They are super cute and fun for little girls and boys. Everybody needs a little bling even babies!!
It was picture day at the Jones home on Sunday before church. Avery was being such a ham for the camera and I thought I would show off one of the bows I had made. I can't believe Avery is already 6 months old, she is getting sooooo big!!! I miss my tiny baby!!

So here is the new do. It's not a great shot, but I love the cut and color. My cousin always does such a fabulous job!! She is about the only one I let touch my hair, I still haven't found anyone in Idaho that does it just like she does, so just about every trip to Utah I get my hair done. This last time I waited 4 months to get my hair done, but when you find someone you love it's hard to go anywhere else!! Thanks Buffie your the best!!

One Last Trip

We went for our last summer trip to McCall over Labor day weekend to play in the lake and take the boat and jet ski out of the water. The weather was nice for us on Saurday so we were able to go wakeboarding and skiing, but the weather was horrible on Sunday and we had to go to church at a barn, literally. The church in McCall has been closed all summer for some rennovations and so the 2 wards that go there have been holding there meetings at members homes and at a barn of one of the bishops. They set up chairs in the stables for sacrament (at least the ones that don't have horses in them), put up a tent for primary, and even have port-a-potty's for bathrooms. It had been fine all summer because the weather was nice, but this Sunday it was pouring down rain and freezing cold outside. It still probably wouldn't have been so bad, but the barn isn't fully enclosed so you could feel the cold breeze blow through. So needless to say Avery did not go to church on Sunday, she and Kyle stayed home in the warm condo. I wish I would have had a camera because it was quite funny to see all those people huddled up so close to stay warm.
I finally remembered my camera and got some pictures of me wakeboarding although they aren't very good because it's hard to hold steady with the boat bouncing up and down. It was such a great summer up there so for now, goodbye McCall I'll see you in the winter to ski and snowboard.

Here I am waiting to get started, it looks like I have a bald spot on my head because of how the sun is shining and the flash of the camera. I really don't have a bald spot, just in case you were wondering.
Here I am up and going, I'm not the most graceful wakeboarder, but I have so much FUN doing it. I only had 2 bad falls and they were both face plants, but I always got right back up and did it again.

Half a Year Old with an Ear Infection

Yesterday my baby girl turned 6 months old!! WOW I can't believe how the time flies when your having so much fun!! I absolutely love being a mom it is the best job in the world!! Avery has been pulling at her ears for a couple of weeks now and hasn't been eating very good over the past week so I finally decided to take her to the doctors and sure enough she has an ear infection in the right ear. I guess there is a lot of fluid in her right ear and it was bright red, so the doctor put her on an antibiotic and an ear drop. I think it is working because she finally slept through the night last night like she had been before and has been taking good naps in the afternoon, which she never does!! Does anyone know how to get your baby to take a good nap? Avery takes several cat naps (30-45 minutes) throughout the day and it would be nice if she would take 2 long naps throughout the day, I'm just not sure how to get her to do this? Any suggestions??

Home Again Home Again...Idaho That Is

We got home from our trip to Utah on Sunday and have been going non stop since then. We had so much fun in Utah visiting family and friends and finally getting my hair done!! I totally chopped it off but it looks soooo cute!! I will post some pictures of the new do sometime later this week. I can't really say we did too much while we were there, but thats whats so fun about going, not having any errands or things to do so we just hang out and relax. I did have a great time at the spa where I got a pedicaure. It was my 1st offical pedicure, I have had facials before but never a pedicure, so it was fun. We also had fun visiting my family at the annual pool party. My dad took Avery swimming in the pool and she had so much fun!! On Friday night Avery and I went to dinner with my good friends Shelly and Jodi to Rumbi Grill. It was so nice to catch up and visit with them. I completely forgot my camera at home in Idaho so when I remembered I took my moms camera with me, but I forgot it for dinner, so I don't have any pictures of my friends from dinner, but I just love visiting with them and Jodi finally got to meet Avery. I have known these girls since I was little and we are still great friends, I hope that Avery will have friends like that too, because truly they are wonderful!! On Saturday we went to visit my best friend Chantal and Avery's boyfriend Kian. She kept scaring him with her screaming and kicking, the poor boy would cry everytime she would squeal with delight. I love that she has found her voice, but she is so loud!! She just loves to coo and talk and now scream, it's hilarious!! The drive home on Sunday was ridiculous, because Avery won't sleep the whole time now and gets bored in the back seat all by herself, so she cried the last hour of our drive. Needless to say I was so happy to be home and out of the car, but she's a trooper. I'm not sure when we'll be back to Utah, but we will definetly be there for Thanksgiving. Below are some pictures I took, sorry there are only a few!!
This is Avery in her cute spiderman shades. Kyle took this before we left for Utah, but I wanted to post it because she looks so cute in them.

Here is Avery and my dad swimming at the pool party. She got to go in the shallow kiddie pool where the water was a little warmer...hmm I wonder why??

Here is Avery and her boyfriend Kian in there Bumbo seats. They are the exact same age, but of course Avery is still ginormous compared to him. They had fun grabbing at each other and cooing back and forth.
I loved this picture of Avery. She has the cutest grin on her face. She is such a ham for the camera. I have been putting tiny bows in her hair, because the big headbands keep rubbing her hair off around the front of her head so I want to give it a chance to grow in so she doesn't end up with a huge forehead!

Utah Here We Come...

(I just wanted to add this picture, Avery is now sitting up by herself, not for very long, but she can do it!! I wish she would slow down she's getting to big!!)

Thats's right we are leaving for Utah today!! I am so excited to come and visit friends and family, but I am especially excited to go to Sego Lilly Spa on Wednesday. I have been to the spa before (in McCall), but I am so excited to have an hour or so to myself without the baby!! My parents are wonderful, they are going to watch Avery for me so I can pamper myself. On Thursday night I am going to a pool party with all my dad's family. It's something my family does every year and this is the 1st time I've been in a very long time, so I am excited to go to that too. I will be in town thru Sunday so call me if you'd like so we can get together and visit!!

New House

Here are some pictures of our new house under construction. This is a picture of the fromt of the house. It is a 3 car garage with the one on the right being 2 cars deep. We also have a courtyard so what looks like where the front door will go there will be a gate there that leads thru the courtyard to the front door. The courtyard is where I will put my bench and my flower pots. Also in the path of the courtyard is a bedroom and 3/4ths of a bathroom (only has a shower, no tub) that is detached from the house. It's called a casita, but it is kind of like a guest room or office. We will be using it as our exercise room for our treadmill. This is just a closer view of the front of the house. I love the rounded center. On the main floor the rounded center room will be Avery's bedroom and upstairs there will be a window seat and the computer niche is directly behind it.

This is a close up of the front door and those windows are to Avery's bedroom. It is suppose to be a formal dining or living room but we turned it into a nursery. I had to have Avery on the same level as us because in our house now her room is upstairs and our is on the main floor and I get all worried about her being that far away from us (and by me being worried I mean Kyle, he is such a worrier).
I didn't take any pictures of the upstair because it's pretty standard bonus room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. We were suppose to have another bedroom but decided this weekend to remove the wall to make our bonus room bigger, Kyle wants to put a pool table in it, I tell him to keep dreaming!! I will take more pictures when they get it drywalled. It is coming along very fast so I have high hopes it will be done on October 31st. Time will tell!!

Fun Facts About Me!!!

My friend Chantal sent me this fun email and instead of forwarding it to people I decided I would post it. It's kind of like a tag so if anyone wants to join in the fun facts sharing, go right ahead.

Welcome to the 2008 edition of getting to know your Friends. Copy and paste or press FORWARD then change all the answers so they apply to you, and then send this to your friends including the person who sent it to you.The theory is that you will learn a lot of little things about your friends that you might not have known!

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Well Avery finally slept through the night last night in her crib upstairs away from me, from 9:30-6:15 AM. YAHOO!!! I have been letting her cry it out the past week although there have been a few days I have given in and just fed her, but I hope this continues because it was nice to not get up until 6:15 AM. It was very hard to do, but well worth it!
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds, because after all diamonds are a girls best friend!
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sex and the City The Movie, it was fabulous!! I loved how the story finally ended.
4. What is your favorite TV show? Right now it's Intervention, but I can't wait for Ugly Betty and Greys Anatomy to come back on.
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Cereal or oatmeal, depends on if we have milk or not.
6. What is your middle name? Don't have one, but now I go by Melissa M. Jones
7. What food do you dislike? Onions
8. What is your favorite CD at moment? I really like the new single from the Pussycat Dolls "When I Grow Up," Avery likes to dance to it and we jam out in the car to it.
9. What kind of car do you drive? 2005 GMC Envoy XL, had to upgrade to a bigger car when Avery came.
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled Cheese or Turkey
11. What characteristic do you despise? Judgemental people, "To Each His Own"
12. Favorite item of clothing? Long shirts from Down East Basics, I think I have every color
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Paris
14. Favorite shoes? Brown Reef Flip Flops
15. Where would you retire to? McCall Idaho on the lake
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? On my 25th birthday I found out I was pregnant for the first time, although I ended up miscarrying on my 4th wedding anniversary.
17. Favorite sport to watch? College football, I love to go to Boise State football games with my husband. Although I only get to go when there not playing a good team.
18. Farthest place you are sending this? The worldwide web.
19. Person you expect to send it back first? Tiffannie is really good at updating her blog and leaving comments, I wish I was like her!!
20. When is your birthday? December 19th, and I'm sure everyone already knows this because I always start a birthday countdown. It's not as fun now that I'm getting old!!
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Night person, but now that I have a baby I have been forced to become more of a morning person, but I am trying to train her to sleep in.
22. What is your shoe size? 8 to 8 1/2, depends on the brand
23. Pets? Cocker Spaniel named Oliver. He is terribly neglected now and I feel bad. I need to find him a friend.
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us? Well Avery did sleep through the night last night, thats pretty exciting to me!!
25. What did you want to be when you were little? I've always wanted to be a mom and I wanted to be a pharmacist at some point, but that changed when I figured out I sucked at chemistry.
26. How are you today? A little shaken from the break in, but for the most part pretty good.
27. What is your favorite candy? Anything really, I love candy!!
28. What is your favorite flower? I love geraniums. They always look so nice in yards.
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? October 31, 2008, this is when our new house is suppose to be done.
30. What is your full name? Melissa M. Jones
31. What are you listening to right now? The baby monitor because I just layed Avery down for bed upstairs in her crib.
32. What was the last thing you ate? Shrimp at Long John Silvers
33. Do you wish on stars? Yes, even on fallen out eyelashes.
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red or Blue
35. How is the weather right now? Hot, still in the 90's at 10:00 PM
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? The police to report the break in and theft.
37. Favorite soft drink? Pepsi
38. Favorite restaurant? PF Changs and The Cheesecake Factory
39. Real hair color? Dishwater blonde
40. What was your favorite toy as a child? Cabbage Patch Kids
41. Summer or winter? Summers in McCall are the best, although winter means my birthday is coming.
42. Hugs or kisses? Both, Avery likes to give open mouth, slobbery kisses. A little gross, but so adorable!!
43. Chocolate or Vanilla? Definetly Chocolate
44. Coffee or tea? Hot chocolate :0)
45. Do you want your friends to email you back? Of Course it's always fun to find out things maybe you didn't know.
46. When was the last time you cried? About a week and a half ago, when a comment was made and my feelings got hurt.
47. What is under your bed? 2 plastic tubs of maternity clothes and usually my dog
48. What did you do last night? Kyle and I took Avery and Oliver for a walk around the neighborhood and watched who won on "So You Think You Can Dance."
49. What are you afraid of ? Irrational things like my eyes being poked out or my teeth being knocked out, I know I'm crazy.
50. Salty or sweet? Sweet
51. How many keys on your key ring? 5, I still have a key to my parents house on it
52. How many years at your current job? My newest job is being a mother and I have been doing it for 5 months now. I used to be a social worker and I did that for 2 years.
53. Favorite day of the week? Sunday, your suppose to be lazy and not work on that day.
54. How many towns have you lived in? 4, Roy, Logan, Nampa, Boise and soon to be Meridian
55. Do you make friends easily? I think so, what do you guys think??
56. How many people will you send this to? Everyone on the world wide web, you count.
57. How many will respond? Hopefully not everyone on the web looks at my blog, but at least my buddies!!

ROBBED!!!

So this morning at 7:30 AM Kyle gets a phone call. I thought it was his boss calling, but it happened to be some random nice neighbor from down the street. Kyle came out of the bathroom after the phone call and said "I think my car got broke into last night!!" I proceeded to say, what in the...??? We always park our cars in the garage, but as we opened the house door that leads to the garage Kyle realized that after our nephew came to mow our lawn last night he forgot to pull his truck back in the garage and left the garage door open ALL NIGHT!! Our kind neighbor had found what we thought was just the belongings of Kyles wallet thrown on his lawn, turns out there was stuff from my car all over his lawn too. We walked out and looked in the window of his truck and sure enough the middle comparent was wide open and his wallet was missing. He searched around some more and couldn't see anything else gone, not even his IPOD. Then we realized my car was unlocked too, because I never lock it in my garage because it's usually always closed. Sure enough my middle compartment was wide open too and my IPOD was missing along with my Chanel sunglasses case (I lost the real sunglasses a few months ago) and my $5 Walmart sunglasses. I didn't realize it until after my neighbor brought over everything that he found but I also had a baby outfit I was going to return to Old Navy in there too they initially took. I guess the thief(s) decided they didn't want the stuff after all, because all they ended up with were Kyles drivers license and my IPOD. When we called the police to report it we found out another neighbor had there car broke into last night too. We are guessing it was just some stupid kids looking for cash, because none of his credit cards were missing although we canceled them just in case they wrote the numbers down. I'm just glad we remembered to lock our house door to the garage because really it could have been much worse. It's also really good Kyle had one of his business cards in his wallet because since his license was missing our neigbor wouldn't have known how to get that stuff back to us. What a good samaritan, he even took pictures of the stuff all over his lawn in case the police needed it. There are not many people in the world today that would go to all that trouble to return a few things, but we are so incredibly grateful to him!!! THANK YOU!!!

Lazy Days of Summer...

I can't believe how lazy I have been since I got home from McCall. I feel like a bum and have totally neglected my blog. SORRY!! My family came to visit us this weekend and it was great fun. When they got here on Friday I had just gotten home from the ER, yes thats right another hospital trip!! I have ULCERS, again!! About two years ago I was scoped and the doctors found I had eight large ulcers in my stomach from taking to much Advil. Now I'm sure your wondering why in the world was I taking so much Advil, but I have TERRIBLE cramps (thus the reason I had such a hard time getting pregnant). Well I made the stupid mistake of taking it again because I have bad cramps still and have had some tooth problems. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!!! So I woke up Friday morning with terrible abdominal pain and we ended up in the ER, I think they know me a little to well there!! So they are pretty sure it is recurrent ulcers and they gave me some meds to take. I think they are helping, because the next day I was already feeling better, so I could entertain my parents although they were just happy to see us and little Avery!! We took my parents and sister to our new house, our at least the construction of our new house and everyone seems to like it. They are almost done framing it so when that is done I will post some pictures of it. Yesterday we did a walk through with the cabinet guy and tomorrow I have an appointment to start picking things out. The only bad thing is that I have a hard time making a decision, so I'm sure it is going to be a long process deciding on things. Our walk through of the cabinets took 2 hours out in the 98 degree heat and I didn't even change that much, but when I start hearing options I get all flustered and can't make a decision. So this house is definetly going to be an experience, good and bad. My family left on Monday and it's always sad to seem them go, but I'm trying to plan a trip down there soon...I really need my hair done Buffie!!
Here are a few pictures I took of Avery in her swing. She LOVES her swing and has since the day she came home from the hospital. I can't believe how fast she is growing and how big she is getting, I miss my tiny baby. But she is at a very fun stage with her giggles and exploring. She can roll to one side, but hasn't quite figured out how to get to her belly, all in good time I guess. It's probably good she's not mobile yet, I like being able to put her in bed with me in the morning and if I doze off she won't fall out!!
Is she the cutest baby or what??
Finally I have a picture of my dad with Avery. On Friday Avery didn't make it out of her jammies because she spent the day at the ER with me and Kyle. What a trooper!!

FINALLY HOME!!

We're finally home from McCall!! We love it there but it's nice to be home, it gets old living out of a suitcase!! I didn't take near as many pictures as I intended but I posted a few below. I totally forgot to take a picture of me water skiing or wakeboarding, heck we even tried wake surfing this year, but of course I forgot my camera or would say "Oh I'll bring it next time we go out" and would forget that time too. All and all vacation at the lake for 6 weeks was absolutely amazing. I love having the opportunity to stay home with my daughter, because now my work is transportable!! Now I'm just trying to catch my breathe at home and get caught up on house work and things...the fun stuff!! Hope everyone is enjoying there summer as much as I have. I do love traveling, but I've got to stick around for a bit so I can start picking out things for my new house. Hopefully I will be making a trip to Utah soon to visit family and friends down there. I'll let you all know when so we can come and visit.

Happy Birthday Dad!!

I want to wish my wonderful and amazing Dad a very happy birthday today!! He is such a great dad and grandpa and I don't know what I would do without him in my life!! I couldn't have asked for a better dad or grandpa for Avery, he completely adores her and she has him wrapped around her little finger. I think he shops for her more then I do and thats a lot. Thank you so much for all you do for me and my little family and the great example you are to me. My dad is truly the best and I hope he had a fabulous day!! WE LOVE YOU!!!
(I can't believe I don't have one picture of my dad with me or with Avery, he is usually the one snapping the pictures, so just imagine Mr. Clean without the earring and thats what my dad looks like, bald head and all).

Avery's 4 month Appointment

Avery's 4 month well child exam was today. I can't believe how big she is getting, time sure does fly. She now weighs 14 lbs. 14 oz. which is the 72% for her age, 23 & 3/4 in. long which is the 17% for her age, and 70% for her head size. She is still short and chubby, but the doctor said she has thinned out quite a bit since her last check-up. She is growing like a weed and I want her to slow down a bit, because it seems just like yesterday she was still inside of me. It's crazy how fast time flys when your having fun!!
Now that Avery is 4 months old we started her on rice/oatmeal cereal (she prefers oatmeal) and its the funniest thing to watch her eat, because she makes the funniest faces. I think more of the cereal gets on her then in her, but its fun to be able to feed her some solids now. She is still eating about 4-6 ounces of formula every 3-4 hours, and NOT sleeping through the night yet. As soon as we are done traveling and am at a place where I can let her cry it out I am going to, because I can't remember the last time I slept 8 hours straight and am looking forward to enjoying it again some day.
Along with her appointment came more immunizations, but I gave her Tylenol 3o minutes before her appointment and am giving it to her every 4 hours for the next day to help with the fever and pain. I hope she doesn't get to cranky, because that will make our McCall trip awful, but she wasn't to bad the last time she had shots, so heres hoping for the best!!

Avery's 1st time eating rice cereal. I'm not sure if she likes it or not, but it was fun to watch her make funny faces with each bite.

See most of it gets on her not in her!! I learned from this point on to feed her only in her diaper and no clothes, it helps when laundry day rolls around!!

She was done with the cereal by this point. There is no feeding her if she is this angry, she needs her food fast and that translates to "GIVE ME A BOTTLE NOW!!"

Home Sweet Home...If Only For A Few Days!!

I LOVE MCCALL, but it's nice to come home too, if only for a few days (we leave again tomorrow), and in October we will be going to a new home sweet home. That's right we are moving, no not to Utah (which would be nice) just to a different subdivision and now in Meridian not Boise (but really it's like 3 minutes away from where we live now). We decided we needed a bigger home with our growing family, but I'm really nervous about going from an 1800 sq. foot home to a 3300 sq. foot home, that's a lot of house to clean!! But it will be nice to have Avery's bedroom on the same level as ours and when all my family comes to visit they can all stay with me and have there own rooms. We sold our home and are renting it until our new house is done in October or November. I am very sad to be leaving our Royal Park ward, because I love all my friends I've made, but I guess it's time to move on. I am excited though to start picking things out and to be able to start out fresh with a clean home that only I have got dirty.
I haven't taken many picutres in McCall yet, but believe me there is still time. We leave again tomorrow for another week or so (at least for Kyle) and it's been super fun to just relax and enjoy the scenery.Here is Avery in her swimming suit, robe, and shades with my mother in-law Carolyn. It was a little chilly that day, but she looked so cute just chillin outside in her gear.

Here is Avery with her 2 cousins Megan and Alison on the "phantom wing". Avery didin't go on the tube, but I sure did!! My neices and nephews like to go in the "danger zone" which is just a lot of waves and circles, but they all love it as do I!!

Here is Avery and I at the Gardens. The Gardens is just a persons cabin that they have planted all these beautiful flowers and have fun bridges and waterfalls that they have opened to the public to enjoy. The only bad thing about it was the mosquitos, I think I got bit 5 times.

Avery and Alison on the 4th of July. Her onesies says "Daddy's All American Sweetie." She actually had 2 outfits for the 4th of July, but she wore the other one the next day for her cousins baptism.

Another picture of Avery on the 4th of July. I was holding her inbetween my legs, because she loves to stand now (obviously with the support of another person) and stretch and move her arms. It's so funny to watch her pull out her binkie and try to put it back in her mouth because she had terrible aim.
I will post more pictures in the following weeks as we continue to go back and forth from McCall. I'm sick of packing and unpacking, but we only travel like this once a year so I guess it's not too bad.