We found out we're expecting our second girl in September! I couldn't be happier about this--every girl needs a sister, I think. Jodee and Stace part 2? I hope Avery loves her little sister as much as I do mine. Avery has been wandering around the house saying "Baby brother or baby sister?" for the last few weeks. Now if anyone asks her about the new baby she says
"Baby sister. Santa's bringing it."
Okay....
(I've already got nursery ideas...coming soon!!)
We had Avery's 2nd birthday party at the Thanksgiving Point farmyard as an homage to her love for Charlotte's Web and all things animal. I think she asks me to take her to see the "forseys" (horseys) near our house every day.
This year was fun because Avery has been hyped about her birthday ever since Rob and I celebrated ours. On my birthday I started telling Avery all about the ideas for her party and she helped me make a list of friends to invite. I asked her who she wanted there and started writing down names as she listed them. It was a crack up. I think she named every family member and friend and neighbor she knew. At one point she stopped, put her hand under her chin and sighing, said "who else..." and then proceded to name some more. I loved it! Whenever I'd come home from work or a date the babysitter would tell me she'd invited them to her birthday party.
Needless to say, the day of she was HYPED. It was so much fun to see all of the friends--thanks for coming, gifts, and lots of love!!! We love each of you!
Avery and her Mom got the flu this week, which doesn't sound like a big deal, but we ended up in the hospital with our little 22-month old. Mom was here helping me (luckily!) when Avery had a seizure on Thursday. It's the scariest thing that I've ever seen. By far. She had one last July (while Rob was out of town, of course!) when a fever spiked too high too fast, and it was the same story this time. We called 911 but this time didn't take the ambulance ride, just had our daddy drive us to the hospital. They monitered her all night and day and gave her lots and lots of medicine. We are getting flu shots every year from here on out.
Little girl surprisingly loved the hospital--lots of attention, markers, and a WAGON ride from her "nice Nurse" Patty. Avery still talks about "nice Nurse." She DID NOT enjoy being hooked up to all the moniters-- the wires were "BUGGING!!" she said all night long.
I told her I liked her hospital jammies and she said "uh-huh, doctor gave them!"
Anderson and Olivia dropped off a patient-baby doll that coughs. Avery has been listening to her chest with a stethoscope day and night.
All in all it was a sad and scary experience for her mom, but little Miss Avery thought it was a great adventure. She did sing "Don't be afraid, it's okay..." from Yo Gabba Gabba a few times to herself, so maybe she was just putting on a brave face!
This is what Avery is saying all the time about herself, the little jokester. She'll do something hilarious and laugh and say "dat's SIL-LY!!"
I was tickling her the other day and when she finally reached her breaking point of giggles she yelled "A's too little!!!" to get me to stop.
She is obsessed with finding a "pink bathrobe-- a little one!" because mom and dad look so cozy in ours. (If anyone sees one anywhere let me know. She is QUITE serious.)
We went to go get pizza the other night and she said "Come on guys, let's go!" She loves the term "guys," she gets that from her mom.
She has been giving me "puppy kisses" daily, which means she licks my cheek and yells "puppy kiss!" laughs and runs away. She especially likes to wake me up with one. Not my favorite of the tricks, but I do think she's clever. You better hope you don't get one, people.
She HATES tags touching her skin. Only she calls them "fags" which is just adorable. She wants me to cut them out of all of her clothes before she will put them on. "Mom, there's a fag!" she'll say. Great.
That's one juice bottle and one milk bottle. She was just laying on the bed acting natural until we caught her and then she busted up laughing. She can open the fridge by herself now. Great.
Still have MUCH to catch up on-- and this is the main reason why:
Behind those aviators, I'm crying. MY CAMERA HAD JUST FALLEN INTO THE BOTTOM OF THE OCEAN.
But then I remembered I was in CABO with some of MY FAVORITES (you know who you are) and our water taxi driver decided to REALLY hit the jams for us. Dirty 90's jams are a Cabo favorite, apparently. Inspiring this:
Happy now. Incidentally, my bday is coming up and if anyone is wondering, I'd LOVE a captain's hat. A FABULOUS idea, Linds. Always festive.
Unfortunately, this happened:
But we redeemed ourselves with some island beats.
Because I lost my camera and had to pirate these photos from friends' websites, I felt compelled to buy about $300 worth of cruise ship photos. Our entertainment every night after dinner was doing classy poses for the professionals. Greg, "that look like a lady pose!"
Somehow Aaron and I became a couple for this photo. I didn't even realize what had happened until after the photo. I love that Aaron just went with it and put his hand on my shoulder. Lindsay looks a little too mischievous about it. Oh brother, Catanos!
As I said, CLASSY. Christie looks so adoring, I love it.
Holla at your girl.
In closing I would just like to add that I have come to realize blogging is a very important task as it keeps me backing up my photos regularly. I lost all of my pictures from Thanksgiving to Cabo because I was such a bad blogger. Food for thought people. Keep up your blogs! I will try and do better... XOXO
We went to Idaho the day after Christams to visit the Harris family and enjoy the snow. Avery LOVED riding on her new sled behind the 4-wheeler--especially when Daddy whipped it. She kept yelling "FASTER, daddy!" and giggling with Mom and Maddi on the sled. I adore her bravery and fun-loving nature.
Avery said her first prayer by herself the other night and this is how it went:
"Heavenly Father, thank you mommy and daddy. Bless be safe. Thank you for Quincy. Jesus Christ Amen."
Aubrey, Maddi and Ryan came to stay this last weekend and we had a blast as always. Avery and Maddi giggle more when they're together than at any other time in their life. Little best friends. I was telling Avery that Maddi was getting a baby sister soon and asked her what Aubrey should name the baby. Her response: "TAMMI!" Aub and I burst out laughing. Needless to say, baby's name is still undecided.
Visiting the lights at temple square was cold but the girls loved it. I always think it's incredible to see the reverence small children have for any statue/photo of the Savior. I felt all lit up inside and finally found the Christmas spirit this year.
We Love Arizona and Woffindens!! So fun to see you guys. Avery got sick in the rental car the first night we were there, poor thing. First ever adult-version throw-up. Of course we were 35 minutes away from our hotel and on the freeway while she got sick numerous times. Poor little thing. She kept saying "I spit out." I like her term for it, it sounds a little more lady like.
Anyway, sorry for the puke story; that was for me, not for you.
We stayed at the Arizona Grand in Tempe. It reminded me of Melrose Place without the catfights If anyone is going down there I highly reccomend it. They have a water park and a lazy river for the kids.
Look how big she is!
The other night as Avery was snuggling in our bed settling down for the night, she touched Rob's cheek with one of her soft little paws and my cheek with the other, let out a sigh and said "best friends." It was the first time I'd ever heard her use the term and it warms my heart every time I think about it. Little sweetheart. I hope we're always best friends.
Our beloved Dad passed away in Hawaii on September 21st. You can read his obituary here. Our hearts are broken. At this time of terrible loss, I am buoyed up by overwhelming feelings of gratitude.
There have been many gifts given. At the end, Dad was in a place he loved having a great time with his family surrounding him. Even though it was sudden and shocking, we were all able to be together with him and say goodbye. I got to kiss his warm cheek and feel his whiskers on my face and hold his hand one last time. We were able to grieve together, removed from our regular lives in a place of paradise.
The funeral was on september 27th and was perfect. I am so grateful to those who contributed to that day. We are so proud of Nic and Mom that they could stand and represent our family and pay tribute to Dad. I am amazed at the love that was shown to my dad. There were hundreds of comments on the KLCE website, messages of love and concern for our family from people we didn't know well but who Dad was a friend to, businesses and schools paying tribute on their marquees, etc. I heard many stories from people whose lives he touched or how he was a friend to them or helped out in a time of need. Dad in his humble way would be embarrassed by all the praise and admiration, but he deserved it all.
Our family has felt an outpouring of love and kindness. To those of you who have been so thoughtful as to send gifts, cards, letters, phone calls, travel great distances, etc! and find small ways to help, I thank you. None of these actions have felt small to us, I assure you. Your kindness has touched my heart and I will never be the same.
Above all, I am grateful that Heavenly Father saw fit to give Mom, Nic, Stacy, and I the blessing of being Wayne's family. I just keep thinking that we were so amazingly lucky to have him as long as we did. That thought keeps coming to my mind over and over and gets me through. How grateful I am to be Wayne's daughter. How grateful I am to have grown up with his strong, peaceful influence. How grateful I am for his goodness and for his quiet example. He worked hard all of his life. He gave everything he had to those around him. If you asked him, he would do it. And he would do it the best he could. He loved being a grandpa and he was wonderful at it. He had the tenderest of hearts. He added humor to our days. He made the world around him a better and more fun place to be.
I don't think the loss we feel will ever be diminished in this life; but I take comfort knowing that our love for each other will never fade and we will be together again in a place of paradise.
