Thursday, July 26, 2012

Monthly Stats

Avaree Elizabeth
2 months
10 lbs 13 oz
22.5 in


Well every month I am going to be bragging about my baby. I know it's annoying, but I'm holding myself back from doing it every day. This little girl is the happiest baby ever! She smiles most of the day. I say most because she does have a fussy time before she goes to bed. When she is fussy, she can be easily soothed by talking to her. She will open her eyes and try to cry, but a little giggle comes out instead. She is currently sleeping 8 hours at night. WHAT?! You read that right.... she goes to bed at 9:30 and wakes up around 6:30. She has been doing this for about 5 weeks. What is even better is that she wakes up most of the time happy and cooing in her crib! I go in to get her and she is sucking her thumb! She is a thumb-sucker! ah! I'm still not sure if this is a good thing, but she hates pacifiers. She still sleeps most of the day, but when she is awake, she likes to watch her sister play. Isabella will put things on her lap while she is in her swing and Avaree just sits there and laughs. She loves when I read books to her. She loves getting her diaper changed. She can roll over from her belly to her back. She is independent. She prefers putting herself to sleep. Sometimes I try to rock her and she starts crying, only to stop as soon as I lay her in her crib. She sleeps on her belly... OH NO! Doctors say that is a no-no, but hers said if she likes it to go for it! She is a firecracker; when she cries, she REALLY cries. Especially in the car. Thank goodness she doesn't cry too often. Most importantly, she loves her family. When her daddy gets home from work, she smiles ear to ear. I can already see her and Isabella playing in their tent, giggling. Oh, I just love them!


Wednesday, July 25, 2012

A Blessing

Last Sunday was a special day. Avaree Elizabeth was put in her first "white dress." As always, we were cutting it close with time. We arrived at church and I ran to the mother's room to put on her dress. My mom was in the room with me handing me wipes and a diaper. I had to move quickly, for sacrament meeting was about to begin. Even though I was rushing on the outside, I was taking in every moment on the inside. Looking at her sweet little rolls on the inside of her legs. Touching her soft, curled up toes. Letting her grasp my index finger for just a second. And kissing her little button nose and tiny, pink lips. This day is a special day for us. She is receiving a blessing from her father, who holds the priesthood of God. This marks the journey for her through life. With every challenge and bump in the road, the Lord will be with her.

As I had my moment in the mother's room, I saw the future. I saw my sweet little girl, putting on her white clothes and being laid in the waters of baptism. And for a moment, I saw her in the temple of the Lord, so beautiful. I saw my mom in there with me, helping me place her veil on and slipping on her shoes. Trying to touch up her makeup through the cloudiness of my tears. And giving her a kiss before she walks into the sealing room with her future husband.

What a blessing it is for me to have the gospel in my life and even more, to have a husband that worthily holds the priesthood. It is a blessing.

Monday, July 23, 2012

My Picasso

I have a little girl who is an artist. She is destined to have some artisitic ability, given that her great-grandfather, grandmother, and Abuelo are all amazing artists. She is a unique artist. I have my own Picasso in my hands.

Her medium is markers. Her base is not canvas, paper or wood; it is her body.



You would think I have learned my lesson after multiple offenses, but I have not. I guess I am not hiding the markers well enough and she finds them, pretty much every day. Today, she actually hid in her sister's room and colored her arms and face. I am just waiting for her to color her sister, but that has not happened yet. I will not give her any ideas!!!

And my dear Avaree is just growing like a weed. She still has blue eyes and orangish hair!! I'm crossing my fingers!!!

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Smile and Carry On

I braved a trip to Publix today. I was behind on everything today. I only needed a couple of things for dinner and hoped to run in and out. (So silly of me for thinking this) Bella always picks the racecar buggy to sit in. I put the kids in the cart and placed my bag next to Bella. Apparently, this is forbidden. Bella flipped her lid. She demanded I remove the bag from the seat next to her. For some reason, I was not going to tolerate her stubbornness today. I thought, "Why CAN'T I put my bag there? I'm in charge." So I let the bag there and carried on with my grocery shopping as she continued to cry, which turned into screaming. I now changed my mind about the bag, but at this point consoling was not an option. She was too far gone with her fit throwing, nothing would have made it better. So, I decided to just get what I needed and leave. The next ten minutes consisted of me running through Publix frantically, Bella screaming, and Avaree sound asleep in her carseat (thank goodness!). People stared and some tried to console her. Someone even brought her a balloon. I started thinking about my mom, grocery shopping with 7 kids and I could hear her stories of how people would rudely make comments to her as her kids threw fits in the store. Was someone going to make a snide remark to me?? I was thinking of comebacks I could say if anyone attempted to be rude to me. It was becoming too overwhelmed so I stopped, shut my eyes, and took a deep breath. Everything was still and I heard the words, "Smile and carry on." I opened my eyes and did just that. I even brought it to a laughter as I approached the checkout lane. I'm sure at this point people thought I was crazy. I sang the hymn in my head, "Carry on, Carry on, Carry on!!!"

Well, Bella cried all the way to the car and home. All because she refused to have my bag sitting next to her. Later, right before laying Avaree down in her crib, I had a moment. I looked at this beautiful baby smiling from ear to ear and I counted my blessings. Count your blessings, name them one by one. I am truly blessed. These little meltdowns don't matter in the grand scheme of things. They will be forgotten. What will be remembered is Bella saying, "Come play with me mommy" and her singing happy birthday to me everyday. What will be remembered is Avaree's little hands touching my face. I will remember Bella's face after catching her coloring her hands and feet in the kitchen with markers. I will remember sweet little Avaree trying her hardest to hold her head up and look at me as I pat her over my shoulder. Her beautiful blue eyes. Bella's messy curls. This is what I remember about today.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Hello Panhandle

Hello Pandhandle. You have forsaken me. No, I am not talking about that place with beautiful beaches over on the northwest of Florida; I am talking about the handle of my pan. We had a beautiful relationship and just like that I was betrayed. Cooking dinner has been so pleasant up to this point. Now I can't look at it the same way. It was partially my fault. I should have been paying attention. I had the pan in the oven, took it out, did some other things, and without thinking came back and picked that scaulding hot pan up by the handle. Just as quickly, I threw the pan back onto the stove and could feel my skin melting.
Through all of this I learned a few things, like: Don't talk on the phone while you are cooking. The most important thing I learned: That I have a daughter who is sincere and loving. Isabella immediately ran to my aid and said, "It's ok mommy. It's ok mommy. It's ok mommy," as I ran threw the house trying to ease the pain. When I stopped, she would rub my leg or back and say again, "It's ok mommy. Oh and I forgot to mention, I had Avaree in the sling the whole time, sleeping on my chest. She didn't wake up threw the whole ordeal.
So today, when I got up the nerve to wash the pan out, all I could think about was my melting skin and throbbing hand. It might take me a few days to wash the pan completely.
Thank goodness I have these cuties to ease the pain!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Let's Do This

I am committing. I can do this. It will be tough, but I can make it through. I won't give up.. what's that? What am I committing to? Oh.. BLOGGING of course! I am going to do this. I have been looking at recent pictures for the past hour and I thought, "I wish I could share these pictures with EVERYONE.. oh wait, I can!" It's been almost a year since my last post. Seems like a perfect time to blog again! I could write on and on about Avaree's birth, my pregnancy, Isabella's birthday, our trip to Maryland, Terry's promotion, and the bazillions of stories of living in a tiny room in a house with Abby, Nick, and Mom, but I'm sure they will be brought up somehow in one of my future posts. So, for now, I will just leave you with pictures of recent events. Let me just say, I love my life, I love my family, I love my savior, Jesus Christ. I love being a mother, it is my divine role, and I wouldn't want to be doing any other thing right now.


ok, so you were expecting more photos... well, the photo editing program that I use is going way too slow for some reason right now and I don't have the patience. I am going to leave you with this lovely picture. They say a picture says a thousand words. This one does just that. I could stare all day at her cute little curls. So while you think of those thousand words, I'm going to go cuddle with my hubby, eat my strawberry/banana/raspberry smoothie and cry over my burnt hand (cooking mishap :-/)