I love Drew's eyes!
Look at those eyelashes. Lucky Girl!!
Look at those eyelashes. Lucky Girl!!
Here is a picture of my Mom and Andrew from when she was here last week
Cute kids
I haven't posted pictures in a while, mostly because my kids turn their backs to me whenever I get the camera out. :( But here are a few I took yesterday for fun
Giveaway Winner!!
Okay, I still haven't decided on a title for my blog, but the winner for the most creative idea is.........drum roll please..........JESSICA!! I'll email ya. Thanks for all your help guys!
Here are a few other crazy ideas for titles I am throwing around ( in addition to Jessica's LAUNDRY ). Tell me what you think.
1. Bubble Wrapped-this is a funny one to me because if he could, Andy would have EVERYTHING we own bubble wrapped, plastic on the couches, plastic on the carpet,...etc. He would even bubble wrap the kids!
2. Oh Happy Day-Don't ask me why, but I have had this song in my head ever since I saw Sister Act (I'm not sure if it is #1 or #2). The one where she teaches the school choir. Random, I know, but I ALWAYS sing it.
3. Sugared Tales- I was trying to come up with something creative by combining "snips and snail and puppy dog tails" with "Sugar and spice and everything nice." This is what I got
4. My friend suggested "Mediocrity" for a title today because I was telling her how I feel I am not really good at anything, I just dabble in a lot of things. She was just kidding of course, but it fits!
Okay, now you can see why I needed help :)
hAPpY BiRtHDaY!!!
You are an amazing husband and father. We love you so much.
Happy 29th Birthday!!
Love,
Lauren, Avery, and Andrew
Last Call!!!
Anyone else have any entries for the giveaway? Come on people, I know you are all really creative!! Throw a couple titles my way! :)
In other news, I got dressed for church this morning and Avery says " Mom, how come you always wear that?" nice. ummm, do you think it is time to go shopping for some new church clothes? Does anyone else out there have as hard a time as I do finding stuff? Where is a good place to find skirts and dresses?
In other news, I got dressed for church this morning and Avery says " Mom, how come you always wear that?" nice. ummm, do you think it is time to go shopping for some new church clothes? Does anyone else out there have as hard a time as I do finding stuff? Where is a good place to find skirts and dresses?
GiVeAwAy!!
Thanks for all your input about the whole going private issue. For know I have decided to stay public, but take a few precautions. I am going to take our last name off of the blog. Here is where the FUN GIVEAWAY comes in. I can't think of anything fun/create/cute for the title, so I am leaving it up to you guys! :) (Or maybe I am just too lazy to think AND I want an excuse to do a craft project). Just leave a comment with your entry (be nice please), and you can enter as many times as you want. The winner will receive something made by yours truly. I promise it will be good. I will tailor the prize to fit the winner. Possible prizes include: Hair bows and headbands, Cute Fridge magnets to match your kitchen, a crayon roll to tote your kiddies stuff in style, or whatever else I feel like doing (suggestions for the prize also welcome). The winner will be picked next Sunday. Please enter so I don't feel like a dork ;). Thanks everyone!
Photo Tip
****Use your flash outdoors on a really sunny day!***
Why you may ask? Bright sunny days are actually bad for taking pictures because the sun creates harsh shadows. If you look at the pictures of my kids at the park a couple posts ago, you will see what I am talking about (I actually even lightened them a little in photoshop, they were a lot worse). If I had remembered to turn on my flash, the pictures would have come out much better. The flash fills in the dark shadowed areas. The best thing to do is find shade, but if that is not possible, just turn on your flash and snap away! Just thought I would share!
bRoThEr, BuDdY Boy, BoOgEr Boy, DrEwDreW
Andrew turned 15 months yesterday. I can't believe it. He is getting so big. Why do they grow up so fast? He is such a good kid and makes me laugh all the time. I can't get enough of him!
I found Andrew underneath the deck stairs eating rocks. Gross, but too cute.
This picture seriously makes me laugh, I don't know why. Andrew loves anything that has a steering wheel. I got this Little Tikes car on a tree lawn (Cleveland talk, I'll explain it later) a few weeks ago, and he loves it! I think it is a combination of the drool dripping dow his face and the daydreaming expression that kills me.
Andrew is such a sweet little boy and wakes up happy from his naps most of the time. today was such a day and I had to capture his cute face.
i hEarT PeDipEdS!!
Okay, I just had to share these shoes with you guys. They are my all time favorites. They are called Pedipeds and they have soft soles and are So cute!! I found them online but I think they sell them at Nordstroms.
My Mom got Andrew these ones for his birthday
The Baby girl ones are to die for
They just came out with toddler sizes too
If your kid needs shoes, don't tell your husband and splurge on these;)!! Here is the link so you can check out all the cute styles
If your kid needs shoes, don't tell your husband and splurge on these;)!! Here is the link so you can check out all the cute styles
it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!
The weather has been so nice these last couple of days! We finally got to break out the short sleeves and leave the jackets behind. We decided to take advantage of the sunshine and headed to the park with some friends.
wE LoVe GrAnDMaS!!!
Both Avery and Andrew have been on cloud 9 because Grandma and Great Grandma spent the last week spoiling them. We had so much fun and enjoyed their company immensely. I just wish I had taken more pictures. We did a little shopping, went to Kirtland twice, ate lots of good food, watched "Enchanted" 4 times, watched general conference, and played outside (Spring is finally here!). It was a blast. thanks Grandmas! Avery wants to know when you are coming back?! :)
The first night we watched Enchanted Andrew snuggled with his great Grandma for a whole hour without moving. It was SO cute. I don't think he has ever stayed still for that long
Playing Ring around the rosies outside the Kirtland Temple
Avery and Andrew knocking on the temple door waiting for the Grandmas to come out
It's all about the Flowbee
Yes, that's right, the Flowbee! We made fun of my brother-in-law for years for using the flowbee. I mean, how good could a vacuum hair-cutting system be?? But, he graciously passed this fine machinery on to us, and now we are huge fans too. Ya, I know, Ha Ha Ha. Go ahead and laugh it up. But, it is cheap, clean, and gives a great boy hair cut. And, how many people can let their 3 year old cut their 1 year old's hair??!! :) Okay, I'm done with the infomercial .
Here are some pics of Avery chasing Andrew with the Flowbee and me chasing both of them trying get get a picture.
PuPpY LoVe
Our Neighbors have two big dogs that like to bark. A few months ago, Andrew started to get really curious about the noise he was hearing outside. So, we looked out the window and showed him the doggies next door. He is now obsessed. He LOVES to climb up on the stool and look out the window at the dogs. I think he would do it all day if he could! It is actually kind of cute, and I love to hear him say daw daw daw(dog) over and over again.
Okay, I need your help. It seems that more and more people are going private with their blogs. I was against it before because I really enjoy blog surfing and I hate it when you think you have found on old friend, and click on their link only to discover you can't "spy" on them because their blog is private. Some people have mentioned that they are going private because they were getting lots of random people looking at their blog, and some would look several times a day. I must admit that I am probably one of those "scary blog lookers" who shows up a ton on the blog trackers because when I get bored, I like to go to a blog and check out all the links they have on their blog. Which, requires visiting the same blog several times a day. I love to check blogs a lot that have fun craft ideas, recipes, or links to other cool sites and stuff. I would assume that others are doing the same. So, for me, the blog tracker statistics are not enough to scare me into going private. If people really find my life that interesting, I really don't care how many times a day they check my blog. :) I don't know, maybe I am too trusting or something because I really just don't care who looks or how often. So the question is, should I care? Do we all need to be more careful in the blogging world? What things do I need to take into consideration as far as going private or not? Has anyone out there had a problem with identity theft or other problems because of the information on their blog? What is your opinion? Of course everyone needs to do what is best for them and their family. For me, i have not felt the need to go private, but seeing so many others doing it has made me think twice about it. Please share your thoughts!!
Photoshop fun
We just downloaded Photoshop (Andy gets the professional version for free from his school, how cool is that! ) and I am trying to learn how to use it. I think I might be messing up my pictures more than fixing them :) Here are a few attempts at black and white conversions. It is a good thing my kids are cute because you will be seeing a lot more of them now! ;)
Big and the Magic Washing Machine
***Sorry this is a long post for journaling purposes. Feel free to skip it!
Avery slept in our bed for the first few months of her life. One of my FAVORITE things was that she would hold on to my finger while she slept next to me(she still holds my finger while she falls asleep. so sweet!). After a few months, we decided that is was time to transition her to the crib in her room. I read on line that you can make the transition easier by putting something familiar in the crib that has the mother's smell on it. She loved the soft blanket that we had on our bed under the comforter. It was a pink velour type blanket, so I decided to put that in the crib for her to lay on. Well, she became very attached to this blanket and it officially became her "Blankie." Until she was about 18 months old, she carried around a QUEEN sized blanket everywhere she went. It finally occurred to me that, duh, why don't I just cut a piece of the blanket off to take places with us so we don't have to lug the whole thing around. And thus, "Big" and "Little" were born. We called the piece I cut off "Little", and the rest of the blanket was referred to as "Big." Well, after lots of lovin',both Big and Little started to get very ratty. I knew it was time to do something when I repeatedly got comments like "Wow, you can tell that blanket it is really loved." We were getting ready to go on a trip to my parents' house in California (summer '07) and my mom had recently purchased some of those big ol' new front load washer and dryers. I was trying to think of a way to switch out Big which was not going to be an easy task for a 2 year old who is VERY attached to her blanket. The idea came to me of a "Magic Washing Machine." Before the trip I started telling Avery that Gramley had a Magic washing machine, and that if we put Big in, it would come out brand new. She was a little hesitant, but started warming up to the idea, and actually got excited about it. When we got to California, we put Big in the washing machine, sprinkled some magic fairy dust(glitter) on it, and started the washer. We watched it spin around for a few minutes and then headed off to play with some toys. While we played with toys, Gramley snuck into the laundry room and cut a heart out of Big. She then sewed that heart onto the new and improved Big (a cute new cuddly blanket that we bought), and put it in the dryer for a few minutes. When the dryer beeped, we ran back upstairs to see what happened to Big. Avery opened the dryer and was excited, but a little perplexed. We showed her the heart, and she started to gently rub it on her face. A few minutes later she came to me and in the sweetest voice said "Mom, can we ask the magic washer to give me my old Big back?" A part of me wanted to give in and just give her the old blanket back, but I didn't. She never cried or complained. She carried around her new Big and constantly rubbed the heart on her face. When she went to sleep, she always made sure the heart was right next to her face. It took a few days of "talking up" the new blanket, but it actually worked! She still talks about gramley's magic washing machine and how it made her blanket new again.
Avery slept in our bed for the first few months of her life. One of my FAVORITE things was that she would hold on to my finger while she slept next to me(she still holds my finger while she falls asleep. so sweet!). After a few months, we decided that is was time to transition her to the crib in her room. I read on line that you can make the transition easier by putting something familiar in the crib that has the mother's smell on it. She loved the soft blanket that we had on our bed under the comforter. It was a pink velour type blanket, so I decided to put that in the crib for her to lay on. Well, she became very attached to this blanket and it officially became her "Blankie." Until she was about 18 months old, she carried around a QUEEN sized blanket everywhere she went. It finally occurred to me that, duh, why don't I just cut a piece of the blanket off to take places with us so we don't have to lug the whole thing around. And thus, "Big" and "Little" were born. We called the piece I cut off "Little", and the rest of the blanket was referred to as "Big." Well, after lots of lovin',both Big and Little started to get very ratty. I knew it was time to do something when I repeatedly got comments like "Wow, you can tell that blanket it is really loved." We were getting ready to go on a trip to my parents' house in California (summer '07) and my mom had recently purchased some of those big ol' new front load washer and dryers. I was trying to think of a way to switch out Big which was not going to be an easy task for a 2 year old who is VERY attached to her blanket. The idea came to me of a "Magic Washing Machine." Before the trip I started telling Avery that Gramley had a Magic washing machine, and that if we put Big in, it would come out brand new. She was a little hesitant, but started warming up to the idea, and actually got excited about it. When we got to California, we put Big in the washing machine, sprinkled some magic fairy dust(glitter) on it, and started the washer. We watched it spin around for a few minutes and then headed off to play with some toys. While we played with toys, Gramley snuck into the laundry room and cut a heart out of Big. She then sewed that heart onto the new and improved Big (a cute new cuddly blanket that we bought), and put it in the dryer for a few minutes. When the dryer beeped, we ran back upstairs to see what happened to Big. Avery opened the dryer and was excited, but a little perplexed. We showed her the heart, and she started to gently rub it on her face. A few minutes later she came to me and in the sweetest voice said "Mom, can we ask the magic washer to give me my old Big back?" A part of me wanted to give in and just give her the old blanket back, but I didn't. She never cried or complained. She carried around her new Big and constantly rubbed the heart on her face. When she went to sleep, she always made sure the heart was right next to her face. It took a few days of "talking up" the new blanket, but it actually worked! She still talks about gramley's magic washing machine and how it made her blanket new again.
This is Avery Showing what is left of Little
This is her New Big
(sorry I took this picture at kind of a funny angle)
P.S. How funny is this girl! She sleeps with a sleeping mask on!
I finally got my new camera(Canon Rebel Xti) and I am having so much fun with it! I have so much to learn though. Photography is a lot harder than it looks. I'm trying to figure out how to use manual mode so the exposure isn't quite right in the photos, but I'm working on it! Here is the first round of shots. What do you think?
My little artist
Hi this is Avery. I just made some pictures for ya and it is a picture of a snowman and I just want you to come over and look at my pictures on our blog. :)
This is a picture of me
This is a picture of me
Another Week
This week was pretty uneventful again. The kids have both been sick so we haven't really left the house much. I am starting to get stir crazy and I'm just about ready to buy a ticket home to California. Enough with the snow and cold already!! I know I am always complaining about the cold and lack of sunshine, but listen to what the newspaper had to say about this blasted city last week...
"If the sun does not shine today, we'll set a 5 year record for the most SUNLESS days in a row - -eight -- and the National Weather Service says we will probably get through 10 before we get a chance of a glimmer, on Monday, when the prediction is mostly cloudy."
"The Cleveland area has enjoyed only two perfectly clear days since Nov. 1. That leaves the other 97 DISMAL DAYS since then either cloudy or partly cloudy."
"Cleveland ranks among the CLOUDIEST CITIES in the nation "
"Cleveland averages 202 CLOUDY days a year."
Oh Mister Golden Sun PLEASE shine down on me!!!!!!!
On to some happier news, here are a few highlights from this week.
1.I got to see WICKED on tuesday. Andy got me tickets for my birthday/V-day present. . It was AMAZING. The writers are seriuosly geniuses and Elpheba is my hero. The girl who played her was incredible to say the least. I LOVED it and I think everyone should go see it. Thanks for going with me Andy!!
2. Andrew is sleeping through the night!! Yes, he is a year old and I probably should have let him cry it out a LONG time ago, but the truth is I LOVE nursing and snuggling with my babies even at 12:00, and 2:00, and 4:00, and 6:00 in the morning. It is exhausting, and I know I'm crazy, but I kind of like it. They just grow up too fast. But, I am very happy that he is sleeping now.
1. Andrew hates getting his hair washed in the bathtub and totally fights me every time. Well, on Friday he was trying to get away from me and banged his mouth on the side of the bathtub. He totally chipped his front tooth!! Poor kid! He chipped a pretty big chunk off too. Good thing Daddy is an almost Dentist. As soon as Andrew can hold still, not bite off his Dad's finger, AND stop drooling long enough to let the composite dry, we can get it fixed. I don't think I can wait that long. Am I totally vain for caring that much?!? Don't answer that.
2. Avery got her first Cold Sore. Who ever heard of a 3 year old getting a Cold Sore??? I have never had one and Andy hasn't had one for months so I have no idea how she got it. Now she will have them for the rest of her life. SO SAD!! She has been a pretty good sport about it though.
Well, maybe this week wasn't uneventful after all. I hope I haven't bored you to death. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I'm sure I will be posting LOTS once I get the new camera!
"If the sun does not shine today, we'll set a 5 year record for the most SUNLESS days in a row - -eight -- and the National Weather Service says we will probably get through 10 before we get a chance of a glimmer, on Monday, when the prediction is mostly cloudy."
"The Cleveland area has enjoyed only two perfectly clear days since Nov. 1. That leaves the other 97 DISMAL DAYS since then either cloudy or partly cloudy."
"Cleveland ranks among the CLOUDIEST CITIES in the nation "
"Cleveland averages 202 CLOUDY days a year."
Oh Mister Golden Sun PLEASE shine down on me!!!!!!!
On to some happier news, here are a few highlights from this week.
1.I got to see WICKED on tuesday. Andy got me tickets for my birthday/V-day present. . It was AMAZING. The writers are seriuosly geniuses and Elpheba is my hero. The girl who played her was incredible to say the least. I LOVED it and I think everyone should go see it. Thanks for going with me Andy!!
2. Andrew is sleeping through the night!! Yes, he is a year old and I probably should have let him cry it out a LONG time ago, but the truth is I LOVE nursing and snuggling with my babies even at 12:00, and 2:00, and 4:00, and 6:00 in the morning. It is exhausting, and I know I'm crazy, but I kind of like it. They just grow up too fast. But, I am very happy that he is sleeping now.
3. I got a new camera on Ebay (different than the one mentioned in the last post. I returned that one to get a bigger and better one :)! I have always thought it would be so fun to be a child photographer, so I decided to add it to my never ending list of things to do. I have been reading a ton on the internet and trying to learn as much as possible. I can't wait to actually get the camera in my hands and start shooting. Anyone want to volunteer their kids/babies to be my guinea pigs, i mean models?? :)
And now for the weeks lowlights1. Andrew hates getting his hair washed in the bathtub and totally fights me every time. Well, on Friday he was trying to get away from me and banged his mouth on the side of the bathtub. He totally chipped his front tooth!! Poor kid! He chipped a pretty big chunk off too. Good thing Daddy is an almost Dentist. As soon as Andrew can hold still, not bite off his Dad's finger, AND stop drooling long enough to let the composite dry, we can get it fixed. I don't think I can wait that long. Am I totally vain for caring that much?!? Don't answer that.
2. Avery got her first Cold Sore. Who ever heard of a 3 year old getting a Cold Sore??? I have never had one and Andy hasn't had one for months so I have no idea how she got it. Now she will have them for the rest of her life. SO SAD!! She has been a pretty good sport about it though.
Well, maybe this week wasn't uneventful after all. I hope I haven't bored you to death. Sorry I don't have any pictures, but I'm sure I will be posting LOTS once I get the new camera!
Look Ma!
...but not TOO close. I made some curtains for our kitchen! I love sewing, but I am not very good at it. I think I am physically incapable of sewing a straight line! They still turned out pretty cute though. I just need a little more practice I guess.
On my last post my friend Jess suggested I take more pictures of my kids to entertain myself. I just got a new camera, so I have been having a lot of fun. So for your viewing pleasure, here are a few pictures of Andrew. My camera has this feature called Color accent. It takes the picture in black and white and then randomly picks out some colors to highlight, mostly yellow. I don't have photoshop so I can't do any editing. We are going computer shopping soon. I'm trying to decide between a MAC or a Dell. Any recommendations?
Sorry I'm turning into a once a week blogger. Life is just so incredibly boring right now. There is absolutely nothing going on. Is it just me or do January and February seriously last FOREVER?!? Anyways, my friend Lindsey tagged me. It is kind of similar to the one I already did, so I'll just answer the new questions. And, if anyone is lacking for things to post on their blog, consider yourself tagged!
10 years ago...check here
5 Things on my To-Do List Today...1.Laundry,Laundry and more laundry 2. Grocery shopping 3. Make curtains for kitchen 4. Give kids a bath 5. Etsy stuff
5 Snacks I Enjoy...check here again
5 Places I Have Lived...1. Morgan Hill, California 2. Encinitas, California 3. Mission Viejo, California 4. Provo and American Fork, Utah 5. Cleveland, Ohio
5 Jobs I've had...1.Los Hermanos-server 2. EFY counselor for 3 summers (Yes, I was one of them. I know they can be annoying, but I had some seriously AMAZING experiences.) 3. A million Temp jobs doing secretarial stuff 4. Center for Change- A treatment center for girls with eating disorders- we basically watched their EVERY move to make sure they weren't hiding food or barfing or anything (not to sound insensitive) 5. Mother of 2
5 Things People Don't Know About Me...1. I am totally afraid of the dark! Andy went out of town a few weeks ago and I slept with almost all the lights on and I left the TV on the BYU channel all night in my room 2. I love scary roller coasters. I remember going to Magic mountain with my fam when I was little and crying because I couldn't go on the scary rides with my siblings 3. I love to play the guitar and sing ( that doesn't mean I am any good, I just like to do it). 4. I took a bowling class at BYU. It didn't help much, but I once bowled a 179. 5. I LOVE to drink bottled water. andy thinks it is a waste of money, but I just think it tastes better and is so convenient. Plus, in the winter I leave it in the garage and it is always the PERFECT temperature
Well, there you have it. Any one have any ideas of something I can do to make life a little more interesting?
10 years ago...check here
5 Things on my To-Do List Today...1.Laundry,Laundry and more laundry 2. Grocery shopping 3. Make curtains for kitchen 4. Give kids a bath 5. Etsy stuff
5 Snacks I Enjoy...check here again
5 Places I Have Lived...1. Morgan Hill, California 2. Encinitas, California 3. Mission Viejo, California 4. Provo and American Fork, Utah 5. Cleveland, Ohio
5 Jobs I've had...1.Los Hermanos-server 2. EFY counselor for 3 summers (Yes, I was one of them. I know they can be annoying, but I had some seriously AMAZING experiences.) 3. A million Temp jobs doing secretarial stuff 4. Center for Change- A treatment center for girls with eating disorders- we basically watched their EVERY move to make sure they weren't hiding food or barfing or anything (not to sound insensitive) 5. Mother of 2
5 Things People Don't Know About Me...1. I am totally afraid of the dark! Andy went out of town a few weeks ago and I slept with almost all the lights on and I left the TV on the BYU channel all night in my room 2. I love scary roller coasters. I remember going to Magic mountain with my fam when I was little and crying because I couldn't go on the scary rides with my siblings 3. I love to play the guitar and sing ( that doesn't mean I am any good, I just like to do it). 4. I took a bowling class at BYU. It didn't help much, but I once bowled a 179. 5. I LOVE to drink bottled water. andy thinks it is a waste of money, but I just think it tastes better and is so convenient. Plus, in the winter I leave it in the garage and it is always the PERFECT temperature
Well, there you have it. Any one have any ideas of something I can do to make life a little more interesting?
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