Five Hugs as Snug as a Bug in a Rug

Stuff and more cool stuff

2011-09-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Avery Jo nibbling on her Rapunzel tower cake...it turned out beautifully but I cant find a picture of the entire cake anywhere! :-( We went camping with Jo's friends Seth and Jaq, as per her birthday request.

Ali with Grandpa Downward who we were able to visit in July

Ryan, I, TJ, Jenn, Diana and friend at our 10 year hih school reunion! Holy cow. We had a great time.

Our 7 year wedding anniversary was in June - how I LOVE this man!

Ali making a super goofy face on her FIRST birthday!!! Avery played with Ali's new toys and we have a day full of adventure - babysitting the neighbor's little boy, driving my Aunt Anona up the mountain, missing Ryan nearly winning a talent show and not even eating her birthday cake until the next day because she was fevering and I had to run her to the doctor, no one got to bed on time and all were very tired.

This is Ali's Rapunzel-themed cake, because her happy face makes me think of sunshine!

Just a cute pic of Ali feeding herself for the first time and actually getting some in her mouth!

Ali LOVES the bathtub, so for a special (belated) birthday treat she got one all by herself until I had to drag her out and put her to bed.

Balloons and vampire fangs.

Our wonderful friend, Ning-sha. She loves the girls and tries to take them home and feed them every other day!

We were lucky to have cousins Janelle and Lolly stay for a week this summer!! The girls miss them like crazy now after our long and wonderful visit.

We went to SF for my mom's GRADUATION! She walked at BYU and will complete coursework in a matter of weeks. SO proud of you, mom! Here she is giving Ali her b-day present.

Lily requested "Rainbow pancakes" on her first day of school for breakfast!

Isn't she beautiful????

This wasso sweet...Avery missed Lily to pieces and I sang a sad missing song a million times the first few weeks to console her.

1st day after school snack.

Avery likes to ask us how much she likes something, then holds UP ten fingers which means a LOT.

It's a Wondeful Life

2011-06-12T15:05:00.000-07:00

At the most magical place on Earth.

So, Ryan's wonderful parents took us to Disneyland!!! It's true. They surprised us and hosted a day at the beach and three magical days of mickey mouse mania. The girls were in heaven! It was amazing to watch them experience seeing the ocean, meeting princesses, walking through castles and riding ladybugs...I will never forget it. We never would have survived the trip without Grandparents and Rindys to help out - the strollers would have outnumbered the adults if we'd gone on our own! Avery was surprisingly adventurous and loved the carousel and pirate ride the best. Lily rode splash mountain three times and river rapids once, braving it all with her sweet cousin Reagan! And their wonderful Aunt Kristie made the most adorable signature books ever for the girls! So much fun. We all did get sick (of course, because it's us, right?) on Lily's 5th birthday, which was our last day there, and Lily sweetly offered to 'save' her birthday until we all felt better! She is so grown up and thoughtful and will be off to school this fall - I can't believe it! So to make it up to her I made her a Rapunzel tower cake a week later and had way too much fun doing it. Lily got a two-wheeler bike, technically four wheels counting trainers, with a basket, bell and seat in back in which she puts her Dumbo doll she got at D-land. I am feeling a bit guilty that she was riding a tricycle until she was 5. Eeps.

Before our trip to CA, we all went up north for Easter and then I got to take the girls to my parents house to visit ALL of my sisters for a couple of days! They fell in love with their long lost aunts and uncles that they don't get to see often enough, and of course Stacy's dog, Diesel. And their droid phones, so now they want to know when mommy and daddy are going to have 'cool' phones like everyone else. Thanks a lot, guys. :-) We had a bday party for my Grandma and had so much fun visiting with everyone. Lily also got to visit grandpa's music store and try out holding and playing a violin, which is her dream. She wanders around the house with two wooden spoons, pretending to play fiddle music with them and asks when she can have her very own. With the musical girls we've got, it's a good thing we've got connections!

Avery could do nothing but follow Lily around, copying everything she does, and wanting everything she wants. I remember having little sister syndrome and worshiping the ground my big sisters walked on, but it sure makes me wonder what Avery would be and want and do without Lily around. Sometimes Avery acts and seems as grown up as Lily - or a 22 year old. Five minutes ago we declared that she is finally officially potty trained, woohoo! and will be receiving her 'gunk bed' (bunk bed) prize soon. She is attached at the hip to her Snow White doll she got on our trip, and keeps telling us she is ready to go back! Singing makes her happy, especially the Japanese version of "I am a child of God". She still sings to her dolls at night for sometimes an hour before she falls asleep! Both Lily and Avery love making mud cookies, watering the flowers, reading books, mommying their baby sister, and easter egg hunts!

Alison is pulling up on furniture and anxious to eat anything she can find on the floor, which helps me keep my house a lot cleaner than usual. She LOVES the camera and will follow it around while I snap pictures, smiling and giggling until she cries when I put it away. I can't get a picture of her doing anything but smiling right at the camera (or sleeping) because as soon as she hears me turn it on, all else is forgotten!

Ryan is hard at work with his summer classes and we have less than a year to go to graduation. I am glad he decided not to be a surgeon, haha. Six years of school is enough! He will graduate with three children, a mortgage and a job, though, so we feel very blessed and all grown up . ;-)

I am trying to get a grip on our yard work, spring cleaning and house projects in between enjoying any good weather that shows up and vacations. We are having the girls' dance recital as soon as we are all healthy again, which I have enjoyed teaching but am ready for a break from things I have to do so the girls and I can do things we want to this summer before Lily starts school. I love being a mom, I love my husband, I enjoy doing the everyday tasks that need doing and am grateful for the insane amount of blessings and opportunities and friends I have. Life is so good!

And really, I should just let the pictures do the talking. Enjoy!

Picturmania

2011-04-10T15:18:00.000-07:00

Ali is always smiling...

Ave with scarlet fever, she fell asleep randomly about every hour for two days. She was miserabe, it was so sad.

The swingset parade! :-)

Cutest cousin Mitch holding Ali - he was in love!

So was aunt Shannon, who keeps trying to steal her!

Three little kittens at Halloween party.

Avery's 'do what I want or else' look.

I had a photo shoot with Lily for fun during quiet time one day, isn't she beautiful?

The girls thought this was hilarious.

Slave labor.

Pet cat, wearing cat ears, in case one pair wasn't enough.

Ali when she was SO tiny.

Our Little Picasso

Smiley, smiley, happy happy.

Little C with Ali, totally excited for his own baby sister to arrive soon.

I gave Lily a haircut that turned out pretty well! I could be wrong, but doesn't she look just like me in a perm picture when I was little?

Moving furniture fun, hiding in desk-caves.

Playing the "chase the light cookie" game. Don't ask, we had to get creative while we were stuck home sick for EVER... :-)

Lily's big girl sleepover with A and M at Granny's house! She was so proud to go by herself and I was SOOO grateful to my parents for watching her so I could sleep. :-) Thank you!

I snuck this when Avery was refusing to take a nap and pitching a royal fit in her crib, but as soon as I let her out...

She was fine. :-) Two year olds. Whaddya do with 'em?

I know, I know, is she really doing a post?

2011-04-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

I am the ultimate slacker blogger, it's true! Quick summary and photos to catch up and hopefully I will be back on the ball again soon (haha) :)

Valerie and Ryan both had surgery last year, the girls were all sick for nearly a month straight - all at the same time! - in February with everything from colds to croup to scarlet fever! For Christmas Ryan, with a lot of help from wonderful friends, almost completely finished an area under the stairs which is now the happy hut where the girls play happily for minutes on end! The finishing details are still wanting, but now our focus is on yard work (we have two peach trees and raspberry bushes coming, yay!) as long as it doesn't snow in the morning, which has happened about 4 days out of 8 the past few weeks, but it melts by afternoon and is usually pretty warm. We also are helping our neighbor with her garden, which is fabulous because we can't figure out a good spot for one in our yard. We have been blessed by friends and neighbors with things we really wanted but couldn't afford, like a piano and a swingset! Val is loving teaching the girls' little dance class and is nearly done with one entire year of joy school curriculum, with a new appreciation for the effort that teachers put into their classes every day. Lily is registered and thrilled for Kindergarten this fall (what? I can't believe I have a school-aged baby)and begs every day for me to buy her a dog and name it Ollie (I must admit I am weakening). She loves to recite the pledge of allegiance, create art projects and do her fast stomping dance for anyone who will watch. Avery is bright and a huge tease like her daddy, loves baby dolls and copying everything her big sister does. She says cute things like "Stank you" or "I stink so" (her /th/ sound comes out /st/), binga bag (bean bag) and gunk bed (bunk bed), which is the incentive we have bribed her with to be potty trained, but she is content as a clam to stick with diapers for a while. Alison is a little ray of sunshine and all of us can't help but smile and kiss her everytime we look at her. I don't know what is so captivating about a perfect little person, but she certainly takes my breath away and can make me cry for no reason other than being overwhelmingly happy that she is here with me. She won't crawl but likes to inch-worm upside-down by arching her neck and back and pushing off with her feet...it looks really painful. Or she rolls every which way and can get to about anything she wants with an 8-point turn, which is usually an electrical cord which she promptly puts in her mouth.She is going to give her mother a heart attack. Ryan is working away at his master's degree, hoping to learn something exciting this summer with various media classes, including how to create films. I have a feeling I am going to be watching a lot of seminary teacher humor videos by the end of it. :-) He has had a few more gigs for his balloon tying, juggling and magic fun, but we are working at finding more. He loves it so much, I am lucky to have a hubby who is so happy with his work.
All in all, life is super wonderful. These girls are so much fun and I really do enjoy motherhood more every day.

Girls love to smile for the camera!

Snuggling in the rocking chair before we sold it; with limited space in our little home, it was the chair or piano. The chair lost.

Cute Christmas pics....

Ry ready to go in for tonsillectomy :-(

He was so brave!

Lily crafting her little heart out.

Photo shoot with Ali, I had way too much fun.

And the rest of the pictures I want are on Ryan's computer, so I'll try to get those up when he is home. :-)

Happy H Hut

2010-12-29T07:21:00.000-08:00

This year's gift to the girls is this most fantastic "under the stairs" hut! Although it isn't completely done yet, I thought I would post the progress for you. The girls have already spent lots of time in this play place. In fact, I found Lily hiding in it at 5:30 this morning. She told me she was hiding from mommy. :)
Thanks for your help Brandon, Cordelle, and Morgan! You guys are great!

Pictures

2010-08-23T19:56:00.000-07:00

Wowzers! So many comments, it makes me happy. I'm going to have a baby everyday! :-) Hahaha...
Thank you all for the well-wishes! Alison is a lucky girl to have all of you!
Here are a few quick pics...more "soon". :-) Love Val

Baby Alison

2010-08-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new baby!
Our beautiful daughter, Alison Catharina (pronounced Cat-a-reen-a), was born August 5at 11:01am. I went in to be induced at 7 that morning, but at 8 my midwife broke my water and she was born 3 hours later! All went very well and Alison and I are healthy and recovering quickly. She weighed in at 8lbs 1oz and is 18.5" long. Ryan and my mom were here being great supporters while I delivered. I love them so much!
Wonderful Wendy watched the two big sisters the night before and brought them to meet their sister yesterday evening. Avery immediately jumped up on the stool by her bassinet and said, "My tiny baby!" and Lily keeps calling her Catharina, which apparently is a beautiful princess name, or peanut, which is her silly name for everything and then Lily laughs hysterically at herself. :-)
Thanks to all the fam and friends and your phone calls, texts, visits, dinners, help, gifts, and prayers. We are so lucky and we love you all so much!

What have I done?

2010-03-31T18:55:00.001-07:00

I worry about what kind of things I am teaching Lily when she says:

1. While asking for a barbie at the store and I say no, "But mom, it's popular!"

2. While standing on the bathroom scale, completely distressed, hands on her cheeks, "Oh No!! Forty-forty pounds!"

3. While I am feeling tired, grumpy, and wanting to rest, trying to get Lily to play quietly: "Mommy, I need to pray for you." and "Please don't break my heart into pieces!" and "My life is not purple, mom!" (Because everything that is good and wonderful is purple).

I mean...I don't know where she gets this stuff! :-/

Listening

2010-03-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful for what happened yesterday.
Lily came up to me as I was starting to fix dinner, holding her blanket and asked if she could "snug" me (She abbreviates snuggle to 'snug' because she wishes she was a bug...in a rug...). Normally I (sadly) tell her to go play or talk to sister or do a dance or something else so I can get food on the table before she is too exhausted to eat. But Ryan was with Avery downstairs, I hadn't quite decided what we were having for dinner, and a snuggle with my Lil sounded really nice. We sat on the kitchen floor, she wrapped us in her blanket, and after a moment of quiet she told me, "Mom? I'm worried." She sounded so innocent and sincere, I was afraid I wouldn't know how to help her with her concern. I asker her why, and she said, "We'll move to our new house and my friends will be far away!" I was so surprised! She's already had a meltdown when we first told her we were moving, which we discovered was because she thought she had to leave all of her toys here! It was heartwrenching to me that she was so genuinely upset about missing her friends, and I was so glad she came to talk to me about it...and that I luckily listened!! We had a nice long chat about moving back by old friends and still seeing our friends from here on occasional visits, etc. When she finally felt ok about things, she told me thanks and hopped up to go play. I fixed dinner with tears in my eyes, so grateful for that beautiful girl who loves people so much, and that I can be her mommy!

And, if this isn't the most adorable picture of Avery, I don't know what is.

LUCKY ME to be their MOM!!

Kids like to be tricked

2010-03-27T18:34:00.000-07:00

Both of the girls are so hilarious lately...Sometimes because they're trying, but mostly just on accident. They will frequently announce that they ARE funny, followed up with, "AM I funny?" Then cackle because they know they have us licked. Avery makes the most adorable pout faces you've ever seen, and says she likes everything but changes her tone of voice so you have to pay attention to know if she really likes it or not.
It's funny how you don't realize how comical things are until you're on the phone with your sister who has no children, and therefore still appreciates every little thing they do with aunt-y adoration, and she asks you, "Did Lily just say that she needed more stuff to build a nest because her eggs are hatching?" It didn't even phase me til I heard it repeated back, then I spent the rest of the day paying attention and really enjoying what I saw.
Today Ryan asked Lily, "Who has babies? Mommies or daddies?" She answered, "Mommies!" Then he asked, "So what do daddies do?" Lily replied without hesitation, "FLIPOVERS!!" Which, of course, is when kids lay tummy-down on Daddy's legs and he flips them over his head! It's good to know what daddy's do and don't do around here!
In the car, Avery immediately asks for "Say Say Paymate" (Say Say Oh Playmate - their most favorite kid music CD). Today, it was already playing when she asked for it. Ryan and I tried repeatedly to assure her that it was already on, but she continued to whine and got increasingly demanding. She was in a perma-pout when we finally said, "OK, we'll turn it on." She gave a mischevious chuckle and kicked her feet with glee, a big ole' smile plastered on her face. Oi. The trouble is, it was so darling we couldn't help but laugh our heads off. We are in definite trouble with that one!
Another thing they love to do lately is to do 'criss-cross applesauce' on each other's tummies, but end it with a xyrbt (Sorry, I'd have to watch Cosby to know how to spell it!). They will do that to each other for AGES. Both of them are tender and sweet to each other at times, sharing toys or food or giving hugs and kisses when the other is sad. It touches my heart to think that they are such good friends, because I know how priceless and meaningful it is to have sisters to love. And it makes me excited to see them embrace and welcome their new little sis to their circle of friendship. Hooray!
I just love these kids.

Extra extra, read all about it!

2010-03-26T21:08:00.001-07:00

WoW! Life sure happens fast. FIRST...We found out that Lily and Avery will be having another sister in August!!

They are both thrilled, with Avery frequently kissing my tummy and singing her songs, and Lily naming her "Haylee Princess Lilliana Belle"! And be sure to say the WHOLE thing or you'll have big sister to answer to. Ha! She is so darling! MORE big news - and another huge blessing, albeit with mixed emotions - WE ARE MOVING BACK to our HOME!! Ryan found out Monday that he will be teaching in Cedar again, and today we learned that his position is at Canyon View! We are so excited, relieved, surprised, homesick, and missing our families and friends up here already. I suppose it is last year's situation in reverse, and I suppose we will be a little homesick wherever we go because we love both of our homes! This will be our seventh move in less than six years,and hopefully our LAST for a LOOOONG time. I am going to plant a tree and watch it grow! And I will heckle my family to keep my dad's promise to visit more often. :-) Even more news, my little bro just received his mission call to the London England South Mission! He leaves for the London MTC the day after my birthday and the week before we move, so I don't think the timing could have been better! I will get to see ALL of my wonderful sisters and bro before we move away. I am so proud of him and excited for him to have this experience! The only sadness is that baby girl #3 won't meet her Uncle Eric until she is as old as Avery will be when he leaves, so I plan on faithful correspondence to soften the absence, and am grateful for Eric's example to my girls of goodness, obedience and ...um....is coolness a word? Although he IS cool, that's not the word I want, but I can't think of a more accurate one. And so handsome. :-) Well, he is the best brother and most loving uncle and a good example even to me. I love you 'dood'! (SORRY...what are big sisters for if not to embarass their youngest and only brother??) So, amid all the change and excitement, life goes on as usual and we play Pony Hair Salon and spend minutes on end videotaping the girls being silly so they can immediately watch the playback and laugh hysterically at themselves. I did discover some stage fright moments and captured them on tape, which I'll have to share because they are adorable. Life is wonderful, eh?

Family Fun in All Kinds of Weather

2010-03-06T05:39:00.000-08:00

We went to the park on Monday and Tuesday and then played in the snow on Friday! What a crazy week. The girls had a blast in the snow castle that we made. Avery kept calling it her "snow temple." Lily had so much fun that she wanted to sleep in it. We love our unpredictable weather!

This is what she does!

2010-02-21T19:01:00.000-08:00

As of late, this is Lily in a nutshell. She likes to make huts/nests out of anything she can find and and then dance like there is no tomorrow. We love this kid.

SMART COOKIE

2010-02-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

So...Val got this puzzle the other day from the library and Avery loves it! She was doing so well with it, but was having too much fun teasing me by putting the pieces in the wrong holes on purpose. So I decided to time her to see how long it would take for her to complete it and to see if I could get her to quit teasing me. Her best time is 19 seconds. This video shows her finishing it in about 24 seconds. Still, I am impressed! Hope you enjoy watching.

Time for Business

2010-02-08T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ryan is starting his birthday party business again. He is trying to get everything in order to tie balloons, juggle and do magic tricks for birthday parties. One of the first things he needs is a name for the business. So...please vote on your favorite name.

Thanks friends and family!

(He has been teaching the girls how to tie balloons too!)

SAYONARA NISSAN

2010-02-07T14:23:00.000-08:00

IN MEMORY OF TAPANGA
Yep! We sold our car. What a trooper! When we took it in to get it inspected for safety it wouldn't pass. It would cost us several THOUSAND dollars to fix and we decided it wasn't worth it. So...Ryan posted an ad on KSL and tried to sell it for 300 dollars. We had one phone call about the ad within 30 seconds. Then we had 20 more calls within 30 minutes and also 15 text messages. The next day we recieved several more calls and texts. The first man who called actaully came and test drove it that night and purchased the car. We sold it to him for 200 dollars and called it good.
Although we girls LOVE the new van, we were sad to see the car go. All well. When we purchased the car, Ryan said that the car had to last at least until graduation. Even though it did run on faith and prayers, it did its job and we are grateful to have had it.
Plus, SCORE...I LOVE my new Van!!!! And I'm not afraid to drive anywhere! It's awesome.

From the person who wears the pants to the person who wears the slacks!

2010-01-24T17:51:00.000-08:00

Yes, that is right. Ryan is the author of this post. I have been sick with with streptococcus aureus(strep throat)for the past few days and I want the world to know how wonderful my beautiful wife is. Not only did she wait on me 24/7, but she took care of the girls, the dishes, and rubbed my back on a regular basis. I love her so much. I owe her everything. She has enriched and blessed my life in so many ways and I am now almost 100% healthy again because of her constant love and care. What would I do without this woman by my side. I couldn't ask for a better mother for my girls and no one else will laugh at my corny jokes "everytime" I say them. Boy, I am the luckiest man in the world!

I love this woman!!

Treat!

2009-11-01T15:16:00.000-08:00

How fun are kids on Halloween? Even when they are sick over the toilet and having diarrhea all night and all day. I know we were being a little silly, but we took Lily to the doctor yesterday morning after only 12 hours of being sick because I was afraid it might be salmonella, which is NOT fun. When I had it, the doctor told me I should have come in within the first 48 hours to get a shot, but Lily's doctor said they don't test for it until after at least 3 days, and don't treat it at all because it extends the carrier period....??? Of course I find that out AFTER I'd been saving her many "deposits" in a ziploc all day so they could have a stool sample. Argh! Ah well, my poor girls had a rough day with being so sick, but were feeling well enough by dinner that we wanted to let them trick-or-treat at a couple of houses. Thanks to their talented Grandma H, they had the most gorgeous princess dresses of all time and I didn't have to concoct the flamingo outfit that Lily had been asking for. Once she saw her Cinderella dress, she was sold! She even insisted on wearing it to the doctor because I'd been telling her all week to save it for Halloween! When we did go trick-or-treating, Lily quickly gave up on the "trick" part of the game and just starting calling out "Treat!" at the last couple doors. Smart girl. Avery was occupied with looking at her reflection in the metal plate along the bottoms of the doors and saying, in surprise every time, "Pretty!" :-)
The food for the day was underutilized since the girls couldn't eat most of it and had little appetite. We had "ghosts on toast" (boiled eggs) and witch pizza and black cat jello....and I had fun decorating the zucchini bread cupcakes.
Also, I am a bad mother and FINALLY just had our family pictures taken for the first time since Avery was born! Yipes. But HOORAY because they turned out so well and I can't wait to get them up on the wall!
We've been able to visit grandparents and friends lately - picking apples, riding tractors, having brunch with my very good friend - I love you AM! We love being so close!

Just Thinking

2009-10-27T19:54:00.001-07:00

Here I am, sitting on the couch, looking up recipes for festive Halloween foods, minding my own business, and now, out of nowhere, I just can't stop thinking about ... now I know this sounds so cheezy ... how blessed my life is with wonderful people. People that are so good and kind and just wonderful. Every person I can think of is so special to me and I am filled with gratitude every time I think of another friend or family member that I am blessed to know.
ALL of my family, and ALL of my friends. Everyone who touches my life and is a positive force for change and growth and goodness. I wish I were more poetic at this, and better at being a friend who knows how to show people how important they are to me. I just wanted to share this overwhelming feeling of being so lucky to have so many people to care for, and that I look up to so much.
I love having people to love. It feels so nice.
It's true.

Post-dated

2009-10-08T19:03:00.000-07:00

I am thinking of starting post-dated posts, that tell what I'm about to do in case I slack off for a few months! :-) So many cute kid stories, so little time to blog! Lily was telling one of her stories at dinner - the kind that consist of one run-on sentence and last upwards of five minutes. When she ran out of breath, Ryan tried to hide his amusement and asked her, "So what is your point, now, Lil?" She replied, "This!!" then pointed her fingers to the side and started wiggle-dancing with a big cheezer on her face! We couldn't stop laughing! Avery is such a helpful little munchkin. She often brings Lily her blanket, combs my hair, brusher her own teeth for minutes on end...the cutest thing yet is when she walked up to the TV during general conference, held her sippy cup up to Elder Perry's face and said, "Drink!" So thoughtful! She also loves to dance with the singing crocodile doll, cheeze the camera, and snuggle mommy. Ave is definitely a mommy's girl and I am SO ok with that! Lily had a very sweet moment after General Conference. She'd gotten in trouble for grabbing something off of the counter, and was pouting in the corner, then asked me to help her say a prayer to help her obey! It gets better. Halfway through the prayer, she gasped, put her hand on her chest, and exclaimed, "My heart! I feel it! It's the Holy Ghost!" I managed to finish the prayer then just held her and felt so blessed to have my testimony and be able to teach my little girl the truths that have brought me so much joy! Life is wonderful. We are loving being up north! My mom brought us a care package while we've been sick, we have family nights together, Ryan's sister Stacy brought us a pan of heavenly cinnamon rolls (Lily calls them snail rolls :-), we have been able to visit so many friends and family that we've missed for a long time, there's so much to do up here and we don't have to rush or gear up for a long drive for every holiday. It's awesome! We've had tea parties with cousins, canning with mama H, camping with our new ward (in which we are nursery leaders..woohoo!), gone biking with high school friends up the canyon, gone to the aquarium in S. Jordan with great neighbor friends, seen friends from Cedar...it's all been very enjoyable. This summer has been full; and after last year, I'm grateful for every moment Ryan is home and able to get reacquainted with our little family. :) If you didn't care to read all that, I don't blame you. The pics will sum-up. :-)

Photosss

2009-08-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

Lily singing herself happy birthday...which she still does about three times a day.
Sisters building sandcastles. Lily's camping face. Avery with sunscreen hair! Oq. Mtn. Open House (I confess I the abbreviation is part laziness and partly because I have no idea how to spell the name of that mountain!) Avery tasting her first birthday cake and loving it! The birthday girl! I love this photo I took of her at her party...such a doll! Moving fun with helping cousins. Lily enjoying her birthday book with daddy. Fourth of July fun with the Boothe fam.

Once upon a time...

2009-08-02T21:23:00.000-07:00

(I'm on a storytelling kick with Lily, and it seems natural to start all of my sentences with "once upon a time". :-)
Wow! Moving does a number on me. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, but I have obviously been out of blogging commission for a couple months and am just now gaining access to a computer and internet at home, so I am thrilled to be updating. PLUS, thanks to the wonders of modern technology, I heard Cordelle's voice upstairs and ran up to discover Ryan video-chatting with the Morr"i"'s, which made me realize how grateful I am for and how much I miss all of our wonderful friends in Cedar!
We found an awesome apartment in Orem with 2 bedrooms, 2 family rooms, and a huge backyard that is completely fenced in, so we have been practically living outside and loving every minute of fenced-in freedom for our Lily. I just let her run and collect "goobers" (roly-polies bugs) while I follow Avery around and pull everything out of her mouth that she sticks in - which is anything she can get her hands on (including bugs! blech.) Lily puts the bugs and snails in the trunk of her tricycle and chauffers them around, feeding and watering them at regular intervals. Ryan and I laugh because we were so excited to have found a place with such a great yard area, and the girls seem to spend a large part of their time on the cement porch! Lily clims and jumps off the handrail, Avery practices her stairs and eats all the rocks along the way! We have unbelievably great neighbors, Shaun and Natalie, who have helped us settle in very comfortably and help us SO much ALL of the time! We received callings today as primary workers and are anxious to get our specific assignment from the Primary President. Ryan loves his work and I love being home, learning how to be a mom.
We have been spending so much time with family, it is the best! Both of our parents and siblings close by have been so much help while we've been moving in and taking care of crises (ie: Lily getting cellulitis and getting a staple in her head - placed by a doctor to patch a big cut Lily got while banging her head on the wall during a huge tantrum! :-( ... ) Plus we got to spend July holidays and plenty of birthdays with cousins, and returned yesterday from Bear Lake with the Huff fam! We were able to go at the last minute thanks to some help from the parents, since our car didn't seem safe (oh yes, the Nissan is still running...sort of) for such a long trip, we borrowed Ryan's mom's sweet ride and had a blast at the lake and camping up at St. Charles.
My Avery baby turned 1, is walking and talking a LOT(her first word was "peez" (please), and she can get just about anything she wants with it from daddy :-), and has such a funny sense of humor. She is still a little mama's girl, which I thoroughly enjoy, and loves to sing, climb, take baths, and snuggle. Lily turned 3!!! just before we moved up; she is so adventurous and independent and darling. She lives half of her life as a cat, still, and is working really hard on her potty training so she can wear princess underwear like Reagan. :-) Ryan and I had our FIVE year anniversary, and my lovely parents babysat overnight and we had a getaway to Olive Garden, Cold Stone (thanks Rindys for the gift certificates!) Nickelcade (seemed appropriate for our five year anniversary and we loved to go there in High School when we were dating), and went shopping for things we needed to fix up things in our apartment and visual aids for Ryan's seminary lessons. I love marriage and my husband and my kids and my life.
We have caught up with some friends from Cedar and old roommates of mine since we've been up here, which has helped with the homesickness. I was surprised when I thought of going home from Bear Lake and pictured returning to SUU housing! For a full minute I could NOT remember where I lived, and had to try really hard to come to the realization that it wasn't Cedar City! That was when I felt it the most...that home was in Orem now, and when we left Cedar I felt like I'd finally gotten used to not calling Spanish Fork 'home'. I hope it doesn't take me five years to adjust this time! But that is where our life has been since we've become a family, and it just seems lonesome to be so far away...
I have so much to catch up on , I can't remember it all. I will post pictures soon!
We love Orem!
We miss you Cedar City!

Ryan: Seminary teacher? or Professional Juggler?

2009-05-15T13:10:00.000-07:00

YES!! Finally, after a grueling trial of our patience, we have our reward! Ryan begins this Monday as a full time seminary teacher! This job is a one-year apprenticeship, followed by regular employment (as long as you don't REALLY mess up, I guess. :-)
All we know today is that we will be relocating to northern UTAH COUNTY!!!
We are thrilled to be closer to some of our family and old friends, but are feeling a great pinch of heartache at the prospect of leaving Cedar and all the people here, and closeby, that we love SO much!
We are beyond excited...
While I'm announcing, I might as well send out a BOLO to anyone and everyone who knows of any good (good meaning inexpensive) rentals or housing deals in N. Utah county area. We will know soon exactly what school and where, but in the meantime we need to start gathering any info we can, and all is welcome!
Also, if you know of any single girls who need housing in Cedar this next school year, please let them know there is a cute little house for rent just four blocks away from the school... :-)

Thanks to everyone for all the help, support and love over the past few years of craziness. We are counting our blessings and never seem to run out!

HIP HIP HOORAY!!

This n That

2009-05-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Lily gets funnier (more funny) every day. A while ago, she snuck a treat one day so I told her NO more until tomorrow. She came back at me with, "BUT...if I go potty, I get a mimi (Translation: M&M)?" I wasn't quick enough to outsmart her, since I had created conflicting rules and had to break ONE of them, I couldn't decide which. So while I slowly answered, "Yes, but..." she darted off to the bathroom, went potty, then returned with a big grin on her face and her hand outstretched, awaiting her earned reward.
Then we introduced her to Juan, the maintenance man, and when asked if she could say his name, she quickly jumped in with her answer: "TWO!!" Because obviously, Juan, two...
When I do something she doesn't like, she tries to send me to timeout, points her fingers at me and sternly says "Stay, fomommeemomee minutes". I'm not sure what the middle is, but the look is what cracks me up! She often tries to turn the tables of mommy/daughter roles when she knows she's in trouble!
She makes me smile with her new princess catch phrases: "My Daddy is my Prince", "My home is my castle", and when asked her name, "Lily Belle Huff Princess".

Avery is wanting to walk and is wasting away...I can't figure out how to make her take a bottle, and she isn't getting enough milk. Her weight is in the 3rd percentile, which is at least on the charts as it wasn't a month ago. She eats like a tank but doesn't keep it in, I guess. Any advice?
She is darling and cuddly, loyally following Lily everywhere and driving her crazy. Aren't little sisters great? Of course, my little sister was very patient with me bugging her with my problems...I was the one tagging along after Jennie and causing her grief. But it's good to know it all works out and that your sisters are eventually your best friends.

I've missed so much I wanted to write about and have now forgotten! Shame on me. Lily likes to help say her own prayers now and definitely has a one-track mind. She usually picks one thing she's thanful for and says thank you for it as many times as she can before we help her out a little with the end. Her usuals are Reagan, Cori, parks, her prince, sugar, chapstick, and Avery.
Pictures soon and hopefully more often. We'll post when we find out about Seminary and congrats to Ry on graduating! HE FINALLY DID IT!!!

Photo Shoots

2009-03-22T19:49:00.001-07:00

Some days, I just can't get enough of these beautiful girls. And ANY day that they are both dressed and clean and happy at the same time is worthy of note.
So, here are some darling pics of this morning before church. It makes me wish I knew anything about photography because the picture quality isn't great, but you get the idea. They are gorgeous. Some from the other day of just Lily - I love the classic stomping away while covering her ears because she's tired of me telling her to be happy for the camera. :-)
Also, Lily got this new hat and some shoes and won't wear anything else (unless bribed). I got her after her pajamas were on tonight, but for two days all she's been wearing are the things on the tip top and her tippy toes! And Avery's favorite new game ... hiding in the laundry hamper.
Oh! And of course, showing off my green eggs and ham, rueben rolls, green shepherd's pie and green fixin's for our St. Patty's day fun! Food...I'm obsessed.

My Angel Mother

2009-03-08T21:00:00.000-07:00

I am overcome with the compassion, love, and care that is rendered by my sweet mother! Knowing I was having a hard time coping with the loneliness and sleepless nights, she drove down after spending the night at my sister's house babysitting so they could go out for my bro-in-law's b-day, and surprised me at my front door Friday night! She was here to help take care of my family so I could have some much-needed rest and greatly-desired recreation. Isn't she wonderful? THEN she drove down to my other sister's house to help HER for a day! And all with a broken thumb!!!
I feel so blessed and happy to have her for a mother!
I LOVE YOU MOM!

Here are some shots of the fun weekend! Lily LOVED the snow...the snowman, eating the stuff, sledding all by herself, crawling like a cat in snow up to her cat-chin, making snow angels, and hot chocolate afterwards! We were determined to have fun, so despite the fact that she fell asleep on the three-minute drive, we woke her and had a blast anyway!
Lily is also loving dress-ups more and more every day, dancing on her daddy's feet, and helping do her own nails while sticking q-tips in-between her toes!!
Avery HATES to be on her tummy and can't crawl an inch yet, but she LOVES to stand holding on to furniture! What a big girl! Ryan loves to put her on Lily's bike and blow in her face so that the pictures look like she is cruising along, full-throttle. :-)
These kids are too fun!

A word to the wise....

2009-03-01T20:58:00.000-08:00

In case anyone was wondering where to hang their bath towels and they have a two year old, you don't want to hang them within reach of the bathtub.

Ryan thought it would be fun to introduce a toy called ICE into the tub just to mix things up, which Lily loves, but is then forced to warm herself by pulling in mom's towel for a snuggle! With the number of times this has happened, it's a good thing we don't pay for laundry!

Speaking of laundry, Lily made a discovery on laundry day last week that, in her innocence, delighted her.

What a feat!

Also not a good idea...
Letting two year old stack jars of peanut butter as high as she can. (Caleb, wanna start a club?)

Letting her hug said peanut butter tower.

Allowing baby sister to watch the festivities within three feet of said tumbling tower. Ouch!

Happy Ending: Sweet big sister shares her precious ducky with her sad, peanut-butter-blasted little sis.

Aaaahhh, the adventure. :-)

Happy Birthday!

2009-02-19T13:07:00.000-08:00

To my dear cousin "A", Happy Birthday! We wanted to call you and sing, but our phone is broken and we can only receive incoming calls, so we wanted to post a special song just for you! I played the recorder and sang! We love you and miss you SO much and hope you had a Super Fabulous day! Love love love, Lily & Avery & Aunt Val & Uncle Ryan

Love me too?

2009-02-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

We were making cookies to deliver to Lily's friends with valentines, and I had to keep explaining to her why she couldn't eat any of them. I told her that we were making them for friends to show them that we love them. After thinking for a moment and with puppy dog eyes, she placed her hand on her chest and asked me so sweetly,"Love me, too?" !!!!!! So of COURSE she got a cookie because, let's face it, I love her the most!
What a wonderful day! Happy VAL day to all the people I love!

Germs

2009-02-08T15:25:00.000-08:00

I think I am failing as a mother.
Hence the post-less blog for the past month. At least one person in our home has been sick since New Years, so I am just grateful that we were all well for Christmas and New Years, since Avery had RSV for the 3 weeks before Christmas too! My sad, sick kiddies have been so sweet, despite being cooped up in this house for weeks on end.
Avery is so grown up now! She has two front teeth (that cut on Christmas day, haha), can sit up by herself, eats all sorts of baby foods and goos and babbles all the day. Lily is regressing and refuses to potty train, feed herself, speak real words, and sometimes walk. Then when we got out the high chair for Avery, I told her she was such a big girl. Lily heard me, thought for a moment, then jumped up on a chair, stood on her tippy toes, reaching for the sky, and exclaimed, "I BIG!" So I suppose all I need to do is treat Avery like a 2 year old and we'll be FINE. :-)

Indoor Winter Germyland

2009-02-08T15:07:00.001-08:00

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T14:07:00.001-08:00

Much 'To Do' About Nothing

2008-12-21T18:48:00.000-08:00

Some days I feel like I've done nothing, then I check my camera and realize how eventful my life truly is. I don't want to let it slip by so fast...
I think we should have named Lily "Lily Belle" like my mom calls her, because she is all about "bells". She wakes up in the morning announcing "I Belle", because Belle is her favorite princess. She sleeps in a hut with Belle on it and tells her goodnight a million times before she can fall asleep, while wearing her Belle princess pajamas that she wears over almost EVERYTHING, day or night. Her favorite song is Jingle Bells, and her new favorite thing to play with is the jingle bell collection in our kitchen table centerpiece. I love this shot...she was playing with the bells, singing to herself and kissing them so lovingly, and I asked her to show them to me and this is what I got. Too cute!

This is just a beautiful child getting ready to play in the "snowman" (NOT just snow; she is very particular about this.)

Avery has a certain affinity for the camel in our little people nativity set. The camel can almost always console her, and she'll chomp on him for minutes on end with a big grin on her face. I think she has found a kindred spirit since all she does these days is drool and spit and drool.

Come on. This is the stinking cutest picture there ever was.

To kick off our "Giving Christmas", we made bird feeders to hang in the tree outside our window. Lily really was having great fun sprinkling the bird seed over the peanut-butter-coated pretzels, and Ryan was stoked to wear the hard hat as he hung the treats up in the tree located in the construction zone that is our backyard. He looked so cute, I couldn't take my eyes off of him! I have a sneaking suspicion that this grouchy shot of Lily is like looking into her eyes 12 years from now. Teenagers. Yipes!

Avery has successfully eaten rice cereal! Now that she is over her RSV and can breathe again, we tried feeding her and - as you can see - she tore the bowl from my hands and licked it clean! Great job punkin!

We are also fish-sitting for some friends and caught this little clip of Lily meeting "Nemo" (that's what she names every fish).

And last but not least, FINALLY a clip of Avery laughing. She is camera-shy when it comes to giggles, so it was fun to get her little chuckle on "film" at last. (I am so old-school...what do you say these days? Disc? Card? Drive? Anyway, you know what I mean...)

So, even though there are some days when I look at my life and feel like I've done nothing, while I simultaneously feel overwhelmed with all that I need to do, I see this and know that we do much and life is GOOD.

Quote of the day

2008-12-15T14:25:00.000-08:00

I found this on my friend Cyndi's blog and laughed so hard and out loud that I thought it deserved its own post, especially around the Holidays.
"There is a skinny women living inside of me crying to get out, but I can usually shut her up with a cookie."
~unknown
Merry Christmas everyone!

A real post

2008-12-10T19:10:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I did a post about our actual lives, and this one's a doozy. Lily....drumroll please....had her first real haircut! Real as opposed to fake, which was when I tried to trim it and hacked it into a boy-looking bowl cut. So, Grandpa Roland gave her bangs and a bob and it is so adorable! The original plan was to trim as little off as possible, but I finally convinced Ryan that an actual style would be better. We had to bribe her with smarties to hold still and look at herself in the mirror, but when all was done she exclaimed "I like it!" So it was a success! I can't stop snapping photos, and I am stunned at how much she looks like pictures of MY first haircut...am I imagining that, mom?
Anyway, a few other cute photos of the sisters laughing together, Lily playing in the snow for the first time (kept washing the tree with it and singing "Frosty-man"), and a few of her going to bed with the Baby Jesus from her Little People nativity set. She insisted on taking Him with her and when I asked why she said, "scared" and hugged Him tight. Which I am thinking means that she wants Him so she won't be scared since we always tell her that if she is, she can say a prayer. So sweet!
I love Christmas time!

Demographic Winter

2008-12-05T11:05:00.000-08:00

Ryan watched this movie in his Economics class and came home to share it with me. It is fascinating. Food for thought anyway, eh?
It's nearly an hour long, so if you want to watch, pop some popcorn and get comfy. I think it's worth the time.
link:
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=demographic+winter&emb=0&aq=0&oq=demographi#Enjoy!

Ka ching

2008-11-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

$142.98 retail?
NO Way!
I only paid $13.01
HAahahahahhhaaaahhaha.

Anger management

2008-11-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

I suppose you never truly realize what you're like until you have a toddler; and imitation is not always the highest form of flattery, if it's flattery at all.
To remedy Lily's copycat habit of saying "dangit" when she is frustrated, I have chosen instead to exclaim "You are kidding me!" Sure enough, the other day Lily stopped mid-play, thoroughly upset, and very tensely, and with feeling, said: "You. Are. KIDDING me."
This next behavior I think is in the bloodline, because I distinctly recall a specific sister of mine using this method of anger management when we were younger. On the verge of a tantrum, I told Lily to go sit somewhere until she could calm down. Otherwise unprompted, she grabbed her xylophone book, sat in the corner, and began banging the keyboard as hard as possible while singing "TWINKLE TWINKLE TWINKLE" at the top of her lungs. As hard as it is not to laugh at these things while they're happening, Lily is now in the phase where she cries anytime and everytime she thinks someone is laughing at her. I love love love that sad, sweet girl.

What can you do? Girls LOVE shoes.

2008-11-16T18:26:00.001-08:00

Moments before I snapped this photo, Lily was hugging these shoes to her chest. She sprawled out while I was fetching the camera, but I figured it was still snap-worthy. Sleep frequently evades her when she is shoeless...

Industrious and creative, Lily rounded up my shoelace and a sheet of stickers and began threading it through the holes! She and Ariana need to start a sewing club!

My new hobby: saving money. Thanks to Jennie, a newspaper, and a few websites, I purchased all the food on the table, retailing for $255, for only $75!!! The website grocerysmarts.com lists killer sales and links to coupons which, when combined with store-sales, cuts your grocery bill in half. So we stocked up on some food last week and I have plans for another thrifty week ahead. Viva los coupons!
PS The passport code for Utah is g84ctb if you want to check it out!

Princesses and Parties

2008-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a wonderful day, and I don't even like it! Ryan had the day off of work, so we spent the morning playing and carving jack-o-lanterns. Then he ran to class and when he got home we napped and got ready for parties that evening. We had a jam-packed schedule, and all day Lily was hoping to go to Reagan's house, but would be ok when we told her not Reagan's, but Seth's. The girls were purple fairy princesses, and I was shocked that Lily was not as interested in dressing up that day as she is every other day of the year... go figure.
And I don't understand it, but I have this obsession with Halloween food that is cute or creative...I can't get enough!
Hilarious thing: two of the RA's dressed up as the hall directors! The one dressed up as "Ryan" bought identical shoes and everything...it was pretty great.
We went with Linda and Audrey to Juniper where they'd organized a trick-or-treat party, and Audrey fit right in dressed up as a midevil princess holding a baby dragon!
Seth was a dragon, and we joined the More-I's in Enoch for a trunk-or-treat. We were relishing in the first opportunity we had to be more than 5 minutes away from housing on a weekend since it was Ry's first weekend not being on-call since school started! We had dinner and then joined the Askeroths for a little party until Lily was so exhausted we had to go home.
Friday Ry turned 26!! We had a fun day, I made a killer ice cream cake, watched the Jazz game with friends and Ry got to play bball saturday morning with the guys. He got a ladder so he could work at the house, heehee, then HSM3 soundtrack and some yummy snacks to stash in his office. I hope he enjoyed it and I'm so glad he was
born!
Also...we had sister pics taken, so don't worry grandmas! Prints are coming soon, so put in a portrait size request if you want. :-)

Blessings from Heaven

2008-10-19T21:02:00.001-07:00

Avery's blessing was last Sunday, and she looked beautiful in my old blessing dress, made by my Grandma Donna Jones 25 years ago! Lily wore her Cinderella dress, which was also one of my old dresses that my mom saved, and loved twirling around in it and saying "Princess!" She had a great time hiding under tables with Reagan and chasing the boys like a lion.
We had a lot of family and good friends come, and we are so glad you could all be there! We love you and your brownies (val didn't see me type that in here.) Thanks to everyone of you, for coming, bringing food, and to Bug for catching some really cute pics of Avery, and for watching Lily and having a girl sleepover this last weekend. She had such a great time, can't stop talking about what I think are animals, Reagan, the park, and pumpkins, and has gone right down for naps and bedtime since you brought her home! So seriously, you guys are HIRED. Thank you so much!
Also, here is a picture of our car, all touched up. We forgot to get pictures before the spray paint job, but here is our new, improved, $2 look...we decided we needed the money from the insurance company more than a cool car. But Ryan's dad did score us a new hubcap so now we're 3 for 4! Sweet.
My girls are just the cutest thing I ever saw. A few more snapshots of Lily finding winter-wear and Halloween hats and playing dress-up. I can't wait to come up with a fairy princess costume for her for Halloween! This girl could dress up ALL YEAR LONG....

We're SO glad when Daddy comes home...

2008-10-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

There is nothing quite as wonderful at the end of the day as Ryan coming home, for many reasons. Lily LOVES when Ryan shows up, running from him so he will chase her and give her kisses and tickles. She learned this song for his Father's Day gift, and I am finally catching it 'on film' because it is too cute to miss! Getting it on camera at all was a challenge, between her wanting to play with the camcorder, needing a snack, the battery dying, switching to the digital camera, the memory card being full, her throwing some tantrums, me sneezing in the middle of the song... we were lucky to get through it at all, so excuse the rough footage and construction noises in the background. Isn't she beautiful? :-) Hmmmm....

2008-09-29T11:16:00.001-07:00

So, I am behind in my blogging and in my journal...why is it that the busiest times of your life are sometimes the best and usually the ones you would like to record, but don't have time to do so? At least, I haven't made time. And it's been the little things that make life so sweet, but are so easy for me to forget - like Avery's first real smile, Lily discovering her shadow, Ryan telling me that I make his heart sparkle and how it made me feel so wonderful, reconnecting with a good friend I haven't seen for a few years(Lindsey :-), and finishing a creative pillow project for Wendy's new baby girl (creating something beautiful (I hope) like President Uchtdorf said...it's true that it makes you feel bettter!). Life is good.
We have had some fun times lately. Aside from our car accident (pictures of our ghetto car pending) and a few random illnesses, we have attended a few football games (which were lost by our teams, but Lily had so much fun shaking her pompom I didn't care), picked apples off of our trees, began Lily's job chart which she dances for every time she flips them to "done", and spend a lot of time cuddling and watching my girls be cute sisters together.
Ryan is not AS busy as he was a month ago, but is still working away at school, seminary teaching (which he loves) and being a hall director (which he kind of loves, but deals with a lot of sad, "alcohol dependent" students - I'm not supposed to say drunk). We kind of started a new diet plan, too, since we are getting fluffy, but we keep modifying it as we go through sugar withdrawls.
All in all, things are good.
And in reference to all of the things that sometimes don't go so great, I love this quote:
"I'm letting go so that I can open my life more fully to the things that are worth holding on to."
(Thank you Sara!)

Autumn time update

2008-09-29T11:13:00.001-07:00

TAG, I'm it!

2008-09-28T16:18:00.000-07:00

The ABC's of Me:
A. ATTACHED OR SINGLE? Very Attached
B. BEST FRIEND? D. Ryan
C. CAKE OR PIE? Either one, stinking diet. (Linda, we have to talk!)
D. DAY OF THE WEEK? Today is Sunday
E. ESSENTIAL ITEMS? Swiffer wet jet, comfy shoes
F. FAVORITE COLOR? Pink, purple, green
G. GUMMY BEARS OR WORMS? The mini-bears, they are so cute.
H. HOMETOWN? Born in Salem, grew up in Spanish Fork
I. INDULGENCE? Spa pedicures
J. JANUARY OR JULY? July. January means Ryan is starting school yet again and I am tired of snow by then.
K. KIDS? Oh yes
L. LIFE ISN'T COMPLETE WITHOUT? Family
M. MARRIAGE DATE? June 25, 2004 (LEON day)
N. NUMBER OF BROTHERS AND SISTERS? 1 brother, 4 sisters
O. ORANGES OR APPLES? Oranges, if I don't have to peel them
P. PHOBIAS OR FEARS? Sinking in water in the car with my girls and not being able to save them.
Q. QUOTE? Lately, it's this: "It is not about who is right, but about what is right."
R. REASONS TO SMILE? Everything about happy children, non-junk snail mail, free food, and foot rubs
S. SUPERMAN OR WONDER WOMAN? I am niether
T. TAG 5 PEOPLE? Tiffany Askeroth, Jennie Wilson, Lindsay Clark, AnneMarie McDonald, Monica Jackman
U. UNKNOWN FACT ABOUT ME? I wish I could discover a treasure (historical, not monetary)
V. VEGETABLES? No thanks.
W. WORST HABIT? Jumping to conclusions
X. X-RAY OR ULTRASOUND? You mean which would I prefer? Ultrasound
Y. YOUR FAVORITE FOOD? My mom's chicken enchilades
Z. ZODIAC SIGN? Gemini

Adaptation

2008-08-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

I never liked feet until I had babies. Now I think that little piggies are the most beautiful, darling thing there is. Being a mother of two is more than twice as tricky, but I am now remembering the joy of holding a tiny piece of me in my arms and basking in her innocense and beauty. My Lily seems all grown up and I am thrilled as I behold her giving her sister hugs, kisses, and diaper changes while she sweetly sings Twinkle Twinkle to stop her from crying because she shoved the binky into her mouth and now she's mad. As cliche as it is, my family is truly my treasure.

We had a fantastic visit up to Spanish Fork where Avery met a lot of cousins, Lily got to play princess dress-up, and my mom let me sleep in!! Thanks to mama & papa Huff for driving us to and from - I don't think I'd have survived a road trip wiyhout help and good company.

I feel so overwhelmed today. A friend of ours was in the plane crash last Friday that took his life, leaving behind his sweet wife who is eight months pregnant and who planned on starting her final undergraduate semester today. My heart aches for her, while I am amazed at her strength. I feel blessed to know through this tragic experience that I truly do have a testimony of the plan of salvation and feel sorrow only for the loneliness of those who are now missing their loved ones who have passed on. It has given me a chance to truly reevaluate how I cherish the people I love and show them how much I care about them.

Sorry so slow at posting pictures of the past month...I've been a wee bit busy :-) Avery is a whopping 11 lbs 4 oz, has a cold, and still thinks day is night and vice versa. We are tired but content with life as Ryan starts classes today and continues to enjoy his seminary teaching. Soon I will be getting a babysitter so I can read Breaking Dawn and take a bubble bath. :-)

To my sweet wife while you are away

2008-08-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

For all that you do
Your wage is too small
You cook all my food
You pick up the hall

For all that you do
My gratitude is much
You rear our two kids
You dust off the hutch

For all that you do
Nothing can repay
You finish my homework
With our family, you play

For all that you do
How can I complain
My life is now easy
You keep us all sane

For all that you do
I wish I could say
All of the feelings
That I'm feeling today

My life is complete
All because of you
Our home is our heaven
For all that you do

I love you and miss you Valley. Come home soon.
Ry

Happy Due Date

2008-07-22T10:26:00.000-07:00

She is here! Avery Jo Huff arrived on Thursday, July 17th, at 7:51pm weighing in at 8 lbs. and measuring 19.5" long. She is beautiful and perfect and the mom is so glad to have her here!
I was in labor but unsure of it all day on Thursday, ended up in labor and delivery (unadmitted) to be monitored and make sure baby was ok. Contractions were every two minutes and ALL in my back, and I'd felt like pushing since 2 that afternoon. Laurie, my midwife, broke my water at 7:27 and Avery was born while I was standing up after 24 minutes of screaming and crying and wishing I'd had an epidural! Ryan was wonderful and so sweet...I am thrilled that he is my husband and daddy to my little girls. He likes to actively participate in labor, helping push Lily out the first time and having my bag of waters empty on him this time around, as I was standing up and holding him around the neck when most of it came out after Avery was halfway out. Needless to say, we need to go shoe shopping!
Lily is adjusting to being a big sister, and is doing fairly well. Today, now that she is finally acknowleding Avery's presence, she reached over and tickled her toes with a big grin on her face. It was so sweet and gave me hope that she won't resent her for too long. Not to overlook her achievements with all of the new baby stuff going on, I will brag on her using her big girl potty for the first time yesterday! Lily was in the tub and indicated she needed to go "yucky". I helped her to her potty where she quickly went, hopped up, and dashed out naked into the hall! I was too preoccupied with catching her and getting her back in the tub, I didn't realize she'd actually gone wet in the potty until about five minutes later, after which I started singing a congratulatory song which Lily reveled in and clapped along. She was so proud of herself! Looks like I'll be buying pull-ups and diapers next time I go to the store! (Which may not be for a while...)
I hope this all makes sense to you - I am still taking pain meds and am a little fuzzy. All I know is being a mom is the best thing in the world, no matter how tired and sore and frustrated I get, I know that there is no better feeling than to hold my girls and feel my heart sparkle!

Patience

2008-07-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

Maybe I'll have to name this baby Patience, because I sure feel like I could use some. Happily for the baby, I am still pregnant and all is well. She got too comfy and decided to stay put awhile longer than I thought, so even though I FEEL a week or two overdue, I've got 11 days until my official due date. I am dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced, and have been for over a week. Evidently I take a month to go through the first phase of labor. My midwife has all but given up on knowing when this baby will come, so she gives me her weekly schedule at every check-up just in case.
Being off of bedrest has been wonderful, and I am so grateful to everyone who helped us keep me down all that time. I've been freezing meals and cleaning house (looking for new renters for our basement apartment...it's been a mess) and trying to get another one of Ryan's online classes over with and praying for a passing grade! He has been so busy with work lately, too, and is generally discouraged because we had to sell his baby (the scooter). He sold it to our friends the Kelly's and they said we could go for a spin after the baby comes, since I couldn't ride pregnant, even with a "belmet" (my belly protection device, much like a helmet,that I dreamed up but Ryan didn't approve of).
While still on bedrest, Ryan and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! We feel so old. I couldn't do much and Ryan had no time, but two sweet girls who work with him and have become good friends helped me decorate the Loft above Juniper Hall, made us a cake, and watched Lily while we ate Pizza Factory, watched our wedding picture slideshow DVD, and exchanged backrubs and love letters. I got Ryan gerbera daisies this year because flowers are supposed to be the traditional fourth anniversary gift, so I got them in our wedding colors, and he got me some beautiful lilies. I was LOVING having so many flowers in my house! Ryan was probably bummed, but he was super sweet about it and we enjoyed our hour together before he had to go do homework.
The fourth of July was spent seeding bare spots in the lawn at our house, cleaning the basement, sorting through clothes that Lily HAD to play dress-up in after I'd already sorted and folded, and of course hitting the Cedar Parade. It starts just a block from our house, so we took a break from yardwork and walked Lily up to the corner where it begins, parking ourselves just off of main street in the only shade available. It turned out to be a sweet location because we were the first people that anyone saw and they all went throw-happy with their goodies. Lily scored a bag or two full of treats and toys, Ryan got a t-shirt, and we all got popsicles and bottled water. Lily's favorite parts (besides the goodies) were the SUU T-bird mascot, a person dressed up as a cow, and of course the horses at the end.
Now we wait until this little angel shows up, hopefully sooner than later!

Belly Updates

2008-06-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

Here is the latest shot of my 35 week old pregnant belly and a quick snapshot of Lily's scar from her surgery. She still likes to milk it for everything it's worth, lifting up her shirt and going "Ooooooohh" with a pouty face until people laugh or coddle her to pieces. She is hilarious.
We had such a fun time this past week with my sister Keri and her two girls, Ariana and Mariah. Lily adores both of them and I've decided we need to hire Ariana for the next few months as Lily will do anything she asks with a smile on her face. We have to wrestle Lily down to brush her teeth, but when Ariana asks her she runs to the bathroom with her mouth wide open, smiling and saying "Aaaaaah". It's ridiculous. Ariana was an awesome helper. After they left on Friday and we were putting Lily to bed, she started really crying and wailed "Yep" when I asked her if she missed 'the girls'. We called Ariana and let her say goodnight and ask Lily to brush her teeth, which cheered her up momentarily and made her open her mouth. When she woke up Saturday she ran into our bedroom (where Keri and the girls slept) and started calling for "Anyana!". It almost broke my heart when I told her the girls were gone and she looked completely crushed. I'm so glad she loved her time with her cousins!

Our Gorgeous Girl

2008-06-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

I know I'm biased, but Lily is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen! Aunt Jennie watched her for nearly a week and had fun playing hair salon, which she doesn't get to do with her boys. I think I will do her hair like this a LOT more often!

Lots to Celebrate

2008-06-03T08:32:00.000-07:00

I'm still pregnant!!
Lily loves to come cuddle with mommy on the bed in the front room now that she's accepted the fact that I can't get up and hold her for now. We find things to do to keep her entertained, one of which was caught on film in the not-so-glamorous shots below. :-)

Our little Lily turned 2 yesterday and had a marvelous birthday! She was so darling and fell instantly in love with our $4 DI bargain pony we found, refusing to get off to open her other presents. She had a day date with Seth as Wendy took care of all of us, then Reagan came over later for pizza and birthday cookies (sans the candles because they're not allowed in the apartment...) But pictures speak better than words - here are some of my favorites plus a cute movie clip of Lily on Bullseye, the horse's name in honor of her favorite movie, Toy Story 2!

Beached Whale

2008-05-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Well all of my wonderful family and friends, I should finally be able to keep up to date on my blogging. :-) That's what should happen when one is put on bed rest and can do nothing but use bathroom privelages every two hours and watch Ryan break his back taking care of wife, daughter, school, work, home, church,tenants, and all of the other responsibilities that now load his super-dad pack. Thank goodness Jazz season is over, there wouldn't be enough time in the day to even think about that! Lily is handling things relatively well, and only really puts up a fuss when she tries to drag mommy out of bed and I have to stay put. Other than that, she is loving having lots of visitors and getting into trouble when it's just her and mom and she knows I can't chase her down...unless she's in danger. Then we bend the bed-rest rules a little.
Lily is recovering very well from her surgery and likes to show off her owie and put on a pathetic little face to draw sympathetic responses, which makes her grin from ear to ear.
I am officially a quarter of a century old and spent part of my birthday in the hospital, getting shots from a friendly nurse who said the shots were presents. I liked her, but would have liked her better if the shots didn't make my heart pound and my muscles twitch. Made me feel prematurely crazy...but, I am getting old. :-)
Everyone has been so wonderful and willing to help - we appreciate it more than we can say and are so grateful. Not only for help already received but for continuing support and the help we're going to need over the next few weeks! We feel so blessed.

Lily's Abdominal Hernia Repair Surgery

2008-05-16T20:44:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Learning Curve

2008-05-11T20:33:00.000-07:00

I feel like I will never be ready to be a mom, then realize I already am. I have so much to learn.

No pregnant mother should be required to speak in sacament meeting on mother's day after a talk about mothers and after being up all night worrying over her own talk. Right? Well, I was pretty upset and exhausted this morning while Ryan was gone to his early morning meeting and I was trying to finish up my talk, get Lily and me ready, and dealing with nerves that were making me irritable. I was thinking about how to most effectively complain about how Bishop had ruined my mother's day, and was still oozing over it as sacrament meeting started. Fortunately, a little angel named Linda Leavitt spoke before me and softened my heart...but to the point that I couldn't stop crying! I got up to start my talk and had to wait a few minutes before I could even read my notes! I slogged through the whole thing, feeling guilty for having been so selfish all morning and realizing what a huge blessing giving this talk was for me. It was on charity, and boy did I need a lesson today.
I asked friends and family for help with this talk (thanks, by the way, to all those who contributed!) and most expressed to me that Charity and motherhood are so obviously linked that this talk should come naturally. Imagine my humility when I as a mother was being the least charitable person I knew on the very day set aside to honor me in my role as mother.
Whew.

Well, since then it has been a wondrous mother's day and I have felt so blessed and loved. Lily did my hair, drew me a picture, and cuddled me while we danced to some soft church music. Ryan cooked all the food and cleaned up after it, rubbed my neck and made me brownies and balloon flowers. :-) Plus he gave an especially sweet tribute during his talk which made my heart melt and caused me to cry even harder.

Our sprinklers are finally functioning, thanks to bro-in-law Brad teaching Ryan the ropes. Tomorrow we plan on re-planting some grass seed and making our yard look decent again. What a project!

I am trying to keep busy this week as Lily has surgery coming up on Friday and the mama is apprehensive about watching her little love be put under and operated on. I probably won't be able to be with her, actually, which might feel harder but is probably better. I don't want to be one of those crazy parents who boss the doctors around thinking they know what is best for their baby. But I sure am ready for it to be over and hope I can take good care of Lily while she recovers.

Ryan is doing classes all summer, so life is still pretty lonely as he studies at night and works all day, but I feel blessed that we will be done a year from now and hopefully starting a seminary teaching job the next fall! Fingers crossed...

Above are some pics of Lily with her cousins...Janelle and Lolly (who love and cuddle her to pieces), and Dalton, Coleman, and Jeric. She loves to chill with the boys and copy everything Dalton does. She is sweet and gentle with baby Jeric and is happy as long as daddy isn't holding him. Good luck baby sister on-the-way...daddy might never get to hold you!

I love all of you. It has been so fun to read comments from those I haven't heard from in a long while as well as from those that I see once a week or so. :-) I am lucky to have such wonderful friends and family.
Happy mother's day!

2008-04-21T06:58:00.000-07:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Sewers and Such

2008-04-17T18:33:00.000-07:00

Funny how a little thing like replacing a sewer line makes you think and be grateful for all of the 'little' things in life. Like indoor plumbing and sanitation. And backhoes.

Evidently, our sewer line runs diagonally from the back of our house to the road. This was discovered after digging two 10-foot deep holes in areas where they thought the line connected to the house and where a clean-out valve would go, and now they might be digging another hole in the backyard before they can even start on the street. Who designed this house?

I will post a few pics of the demolition progress. They tore out some fencing and busted a few water and sprinkler lines along the way and we're only halfway done. Life sure is exciting! They may do us a favor and rip out an old tree stump while they're at it. :-)

Update

2008-04-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

I guess I ought to give a general update for my first "real" post.

Generally, we are all doing very well. Ryan is working hard at school and with his new Eccles Hall Director position...we are occasionally stunned by the silliness of students and get a good chuckle out of it, but for the most part they are good "kids"(they are our age, but we seem so old...).

I am settling into our apartment and pray that Ryan doesn't get anymore fancy ideas because I am tired of moving. For those who don't know, we purchased our first home last September and got to live there for almost three months before Ryan took his new job and we moved into the dorms. Now we rent out the upstairs and downstairs seperately and are discovering the joys of being homeowners/landlords. Our latest adventure is discovering that we need to replace our entire sewer line (which they are actually starting today!) which will cost us at least $8000, if their estimate is correct since they weren't sure where the line came out of the house. Luckily we found a company that does "pipe bursting" and only has to dig two big holes instead of trenching the entire line, which saves us about $4000 in concrete work, if they are right and it runs under our driveway and the city main line is on the other side of the street! So much to learn...

Lily is stinking adorable. We asked her what to name baby sister the other day and she said "Jo-Jo", so Ryan and I are thinking about Josie, which we actually both agree on! Still up for good suggestions, though, as we count down to July 22!
Lily's favorite pasttimes are cooking with mom, going for walks, playing mama to all of her dolls, coloring, bubbles, and wearing mom's flip-flops. She will be a great big sister.

There it is! I will try to keep up as I figure out this blogging world.
Love to our family and friends!

2008-04-01T09:56:00.001-07:00

Testing again to see if my name still shows up...I don't know how I made that my post signature, so I'm having a hard time changing it!