September Update

September started off with a visit from my parents when they came up to go to the Diamondback’s game with all the boys.  Tanner and Nate went and had a good time except Tanner was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to PLAY baseball and that he had to just watch!  :)  

  
Some of the girls hung out at my house until the boys could join us for dinner.  It was a fun way to spend Labor Day.  After everyone left, my parents stayed with our kids so Nate and I could go on a date for our anniversary.  Nine years baby!!! We went to the movies and had a good time.  We also celebrated Tanner’s 5^th birthday this month.  I can’t believe I have a 5 year old!  Time flies!  We threw him a Lego party and it was a big hit.  Thank goodness since I spent hours making homemade Lego decorations, piñata and cake!  He had fun and that is most important! 

 A few weeks later we took another quick trip to Lakeside for Nate’s sister’s farewell, which was nice.  She did an awesome job and shes going to be an amazing missionary.  We'll miss her for sure!  

For months now Nate’s been studying and studying for a big pharmacy exam which he finally took about a week ago.  He is extremely nervous as he waits sixty whole days for the results.  I’m praying he passes just so we don’t have to go through all the studying again! 

We’ve finally started enjoying a little cooler weather which means lots of play time at the park for me and the kids.  It’s nice to get out of the house other than to go to the pool. 

I just want to say a big congratulations to my Mom and Dad on 43 years of marriage this month!  I’m so thankful to both of them for their example on what a real-life marriage looks like.  Love you both!  Anyway, that’s about all for us this month.  We’re just plugging along and keeping busy!  Take care everyone!

I don't enjoy blogging.  Whatever...it is what it is.  But I also feel incredibly guilty that I'm not better at keeping some sort of journal about our family.  Well, tonight I had a brilliant idea.  My family has started sending monthly newsletters out so that we can stay connected with one another and I realized, I'm typing up a monthly update anyway, why not add it to the ol' blog?  

So, in an effort to dust this thing off and get it going again...that's what I'm going to start doing.  Nothing exciting, just a very short monthly recap of our family's events.  Does anyone even read blogs anymore???  If you feel so inclined, drop me a comment so I can see if I still have an audience.  But even if I'm blogging to an empty room (so to speak) I will still post my monthly updates for journaling purposes.  Here's the update for July and August.  

Well, July has been a very busy but super fun month for our family. Every weekend we've either had family staying with us or we've gone out of town. The kids have loved having so many cousins around. We had a blast with Tiff and her kids when they came to visit.  We did lots of swimming, went to the movies and to the children's museum. But my favorite part was probably meeting up with Lowell and Jeff and their families at Peter piper pizza.  We visited mom and dad in Thatcher on Pioneer Day. We enjoyed a parade, barbecue, and much cooler weather. And once again, my kids had a ball with Bryant and Alyssa, as Gary & Heidi were also there. The last two weeks Tanner has been in a summer camp called Sunshine Singers.  As you can probably imagine, he enjoyed hamming it up on stage for the performance. I got some pretty cute videos so hopefully I can share those soon.  The picture is of his 2 teachers and his friend, Monica.  Avie is just hanging out with me most days. She keeps me plenty busy and always loves singing me sweet songs. Her favorite right now is the ABC song. She also loves helping Nate with any projects he's got going. Other than that, we're just keeping busy with regular day to day life. We miss all of you and love you!

Pictures: 

1. Tanner and Monica w/Sunshine Singers teachers Miss Carrie and Miss Lynndsey

2. Tanner and Mom after Sunshine Singers show

3. Siblings! Jeff, Tiff, Corri & Lowell at Peter Piper Pizza

4. Avie helps Nate mow the lawn

5. Alyssa & Avie waiting for Pioneer Day fireworks

Hi all,

Here’s our recap for August.  We got to go visit Nate’s parents in Lakeside and attend the Snowflake Temple with his little sister, Janae, as she prepares to go on her mission to the Philippines.  It was cool to see the new video the church made for the endowment session.  We really enjoyed the cool weather, sitting around the fire with his family and playing games with his siblings.  The following Monday Tanner started preschool.  He has been really enjoying it.  He goes two days a week for 3 hours and one day for 5 hours.  On the long day he gets to take a lunch and eat with his friends, which he loves.  It’s good preparation for him to start full day kindergarten next year.  On his second day of school, I got a call from one of the other moms, to tell me a story about him.  She said, “Maddie told me after school that Spencer was being mean and kept knocking down her blocks but then it was okay because Tanner protected her and kept Spencer away.”  I was happy to hear that because at home, Tanner picks on Avie non-stop.  It’s good to know he isn’t like that at school, too.  J  Nate took the last week of August off and we did a little stay-cation.  Monday-Wednesday we stayed home and did stuff around Glendale.  We had a picnic, ate at a fancy Italian restaurant, toured a chocolate factory and went to an old-style pet store and saw lots of birds, pigs, goats, bunnies, etc.  Thursday-Saturday we stayed at The Westin Keirland Resort in Scottsdale and had a blast hanging out at the water park and participating in the activities there.  They had tons of stuff for families to do, which was great because we didn’t leave the hotel pretty much the whole time.  All in all, it was a great vacation!  

Pictures:

1. Kids worn out after 3 days of water park fun

2. Avie at the pet store

3. Giant chocolate bunny at chocolate factory
4. Tanner's first day of school
5. Avie at resort

More Tanner Stories

Forgive more silly stories about Tanner.  I have to get them down so I won't forget them. 

That kid has an INSANE memory!  Almost exactly one year ago we had the carpets in our house replaced through Home Depot.  Tanner was so enthralled with the men working as they installed the carpet and chatted with them all day as he watched.  He found out one of them was named Jack.  We haven't talked about him since then (or maybe since a day or two after).  Well today Tanner was watching a show that talked about Jack and Jill and he says to me, "Mom, did Jack and Jill come and give us new carpet?"  At first I had NO idea what he was talking about but after asking him a few questions I remembered that one of the men was named Jack and he must've thought that the other guy was named Jill.  He would have been 2 1/2 at the time and an entire year later he still remembers the name of some RANDOM guy who installed our carpet.  He amazes me.  And I can tell you that he did not get that memory from me! 

Another quick story, tonight he was helping me make dinner and as I was grating the cheese he said, "Mom, cheese is brave!"  I asked why and he said, "Cause first it gets cut like [action] and then it has to fall all the way down to the plate!"  Ha ha...so completely random.  I love that kid and his creative mind.    That's all for now.  Maybe someday I'll actually post some of the million pictures that I have stored on my phone, camera and iPad.  :)  Bye!

Easter Sunday

Well, I just walked in the door from church.  A friend of ours was sitting in Tanner's Sunbeam class with his son and had a few hysterical (albeit inaccurate) stories that Tanner had shared during their lesson.  They, of course, were learning about Jesus' death and resurrection.  Warning: these are a bit irreverent but I wanted to hurry and write them down to remember the crazy things my kid comes up with sometimes. 

The teacher showed the kids a picture of Jesus with the twelve apostles and Tanner said, "That's Jesus but those other guys are the BAD GUYS!" 

While looking at the picture of Jesus and the other 2 men on the cross Tanner told his teacher, "Those 2 guys are bad guys and after they nailed him then Jesus pulled the nails out, jumped off the cross and grabbed the bad guys and nailed THEM to the cross!" 

Later while pretending Tanner said, "You're a bad guy and I'm gonna nail you to the cross!" 

He also said, "I can't wait to DIE and COME BACK TO LIFE!" 

And last but not least he just told me that after Jesus came off the cross he "began to earn wings!"

OH MY!!!  I can only imagine what his teacher must have been thinking!  My apologies to the parents of the other children for the false doctrine my son is spreading around.  I guess I know what we'll be discussing in Family Home Evening tomorrow night!

The Way They Look Tonight

(Keep the "my blog is my journal" mindset with this one, folks...I'm just writing for myself here.  Nothing too exciting going on I just want to remember a few moments from this week.)

Tonight is one of those nights where my kids (plus the extra 2 I'm watching for a week) are sleeping, the house is quiet and I can't help but have a heart full of love and gratitude for these little blessings in my life.  And they are MY LIFE!  It wasn't a perfect or even easy day but it had enough of those little moments that make you just so grateful for the life you have.

My absolute favorite time with Tanner is bedtime.  Ha ha...like every parent, right?  But that's actually not why.  Anyone who knows Tanner knows he is wild, fun, crazy, hyperactive...all of the above.  But some nights as I'm tucking him in and he's FINALLY settling down to sleep, we'll just have these wonderful little moments together.  He says some of the most adorable things I've ever heard come out of a 3 year old's mouth.  I really need to start writing all of them down because it happens pretty frequently. 

One of the songs I like to sing to him at bedtime is The Way You Look Tonight.  If you've been under a rock for the last few decades and don't know what song I'm talking about, here are the lyrics.  Or even better you could listen to my FAVORITE version of it here while you read the rest of the story.  Ha ha...it will add to the whole mood of what I'm writing.  :)  This song describes how I feel about my children perfectly and I've gotten a little choked up a time or two as I sing it to them when I'm having one of those "I LOVE being a mommy" kinda days.  Don't make fun.

Anyway, I've sung it to him quite a few times without any discussion or anything but a week or so ago he started asking me what all the different lines mean.  So first he says, "Mom, what's awflee (awfully) low?"  So I said something like, "it means you're really sad."  Then he says, "And what's world ascold?" (world is cold)  I told him, "the song is trying to say that if I'm ever feeling sad and cold and lonely, all I have to do is think of your little face and I will 'feel a glow' or feel happy in my heart."  He seemed pretty happy with this description because he smiled really big, put his hands on my cheeks, closed his eyes and whispered, "keep singing".  So I finished the song again and left for the night.

Well, tonight I was singing it to him and he starts singing along with me...almost word for word!  I was so impressed at his memory and especially for such an adult song!  We're not talkin' Wheels On The Bus here!  After we finished the song has asked me what "never never change" means.  I explained how I love him just the way he is so he should never try to be different.  And as cute as ever he goes, "Awwwwww" as if he had just seen a cute little puppy or something.  Too sweet.  Now you can see why I LOVE bedtime with him.  I usually don't get moments like this with him any other time because he is just so BUSY!!! 

One very small moment with Avie was actually today in Relief Society. I was holding her as I was listening to the lesson and she was just talking up a storm! In her sweet little baby way. It's too bad I can't understand her because she looked like she was telling a GREAT story. I know this is nothing too big or exciting but she's growing so much, so fast, and she has become so animated and interactive lately. I was sitting in a room full of other women so I was trying to be discreet but she was being so cute I just couldn't help but to hug and kiss and love on her then and there. Nate even made a comment after church as we were trying to put her down for a nap that she was in such a good mood he couldn't even get her to settle down to sleep or take her pacifier cause she was grinning from ear to ear. He said something like, "It's hard to be mad or frustrated that she won't go to sleep when she's in such a good mood!" Pretty sure I have the smiliest baby alive!

So there you have it.  Sorry for the least interesting blog post ever.  But I know I (and my children) will appreciate it later.  And now I need to go to bed and thank Heavenly Father for trusting me with these precious babies...right after I sneak in their rooms one more time to see the way they look tonight.  ;)

Good Things Come in Threes

I wanted to do an update on my little ones while they're both in their threes.  Or more specifically 3 months and 3 years!  :)  I wrote a little about Avie in my previous post so this one will mostly be about Tanner.  He just turned 3 on Sunday!  Hopefully I'll have some more time later to post about his birthday celebration but for now here is a little something I put together to tell about our little 3 year old!  ( I saw the idea of the picture with the words on a blog I like and decided to copy it.  Here's the blog if  you're interested.)  Plus some of our newest pics of Avie.

     

Our Sweet Avie

(Sorry for the rambling...I shouldn't blog at 1 AM. :)


I posted in November of last year that I was expecting baby #2 and said that I would post again once we found out the gender.  Well...I failed to do that.  I'm hoping that everyone who reads my blog is in contact with us via another source otherwise they might be wondering what the heck happened!  If you don't have another way of keeping in touch with us than it might be because you're a creepy blog stalker that I don't know in which case please move on!  Ha ha...only joking.  But I do need to (FINALLY) write about the sweet little addition to our family Avie Gwen.  Baby Avie as she is currently called in our home. 

The Pregnancy
My due date was officially June 2nd but toward the end of my pregnancy I started having problems with high blood pressure just like I did when I was pregnant with Tanner.  I knew I wouldn't make it to my due date.  And I was okay with that.  I am a MISERABLE pregnant woman.  Plus, I had to be induced with Tanner 3 weeks early and everything worked out okay with him so I felt okay with being induced this time.  At the end of this pregnancy the doctor had me coming in twice a week (yeah, with a 2 year old and a lot of back pain) just to get my blood pressure checked...you can see why I wanted to just be induced already. 

The Arrival
On Monday, May 23rd, I went in for my regular appointment and once again my blood pressure was elevated.  And for some reason which my doc didn't understand I had about 3 times the amount of amniotic fluid than most women.  This is why I looked like I had a "beach ball under my shirt" at the end of my pregnancy.  (Yes, someone actually said that to me.  And if the person who said that is reading this I still love you! :D)  My doctor didn't know what was going on with my body and said that at this point (38 weeks) it might just be better for me to have this baby girl already!  At this point it was about noon.  He called the hospital to see if they could take me that day and they said I should check in at about 2 pm.

Once again, I got to make that super fun phone call to my husband, "We're having a baby today!"  I love that phone call.  It's my favorite.  Anyway, I went home, made some phone calls and arrangements.  Cleaned a few things, packed a few things and checked in at the hospital at 3 pm.  Yep, an hour later than I was supposed to.  And proud of it.  Ha ha!  They had started me on pitocin by 4, I had an epidural around 7 and had her at 9:03 pm.  She weighed 8 lbs 3 oz, exactly one pound heavier than her brother, and was 21 1/2 inches long.  She's been nice to her mommy right from the start...I only labored for 5 hours and only had to push about 3 or 4 times to get her here.  It was easygoing and a truly wonderful experience. 

The Name
We got her name a few years back when we were called to work in the nursery in our last ward.  There was this family that had I think 4 children all of whom were beautiful blondes.  But the cutest of all was the youngest, a 2 year old blond haired, blue eyed, SWEET little girl, Avi.  At first I thought the name was a little weird (and you might still...that's okay with me) but as I started to fall in love with this adorable little girl, I fell in love with her name, too.  And it was added to my list of names for future children.  Nate didn't really like it to begin with but since we hadn't even started thinking of having kids at that point I knew I had time to wear him down.  Over the next 5 years I kept casually bringing the name up anytime we would talk about baby names.  And I think hearing it enough, he grew to like it. 

Her middle name, Gwen, is very special.  Gwendolyn is the name of my maternal grandmother, whom I have not had the oppotunity to meet in this lifetime yet I feel connected to her still.  My mom was a mere 16 years old when her mother passed away.  Throughout my life I have heard stories about my grandma and what a wonderful and neat woman she is.  Even as a little girl I realized how important a mother is in a child's life because I heard how difficult it was for my own mother to lose her mom at such a young age.  Through my mother's stories I gained a love and appreciation for my grandma, though I knew I would never meet her in this life.  I believe that Grandma Gwendolyn was with my Avie Gwen in heaven before she came to me. 

The First 3 Months
I can't believe that it has already been 3 months since that day I first met my sweet little girl.  Time truly FLIES by when it comes to your children.  I already feel like I want to STOMP on the brakes and make time STOP for a little while so I can enjoy my children a little more.  At 3 months old Avie is a very CHUBBY, sweet and happy little girl.  She has a nice set of lungs that she does use on occasion to let us know she's upset but for the most part she just likes to look up at you and smile, coo and giggle (although her laugh still sounds mire like a grunt at this point).  She is SO beautiful and a perfect addition to our family. 

It is true what they say about every child being different.  I feel blessed that both of my kids have been pretty easy babies compared to some of the horror stories I've heard.  But just cause they're pretty easy doesn't mean they are the same.  I am learning to be a parent all over again with baby #2.  It is easier in some ways but in so many ways still challenging and exciting.  I love being a mom.  I wish I was better at it but I am trying and learning every single day.  I'm so blessed to have these 2 sweet kids to call my own forever!